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A backslider cannot pray, and a prayer warrior cannot dwell in sin!

Dear all,

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 13

Word:

Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. Luke 24: 45

Thought:

How is our everyday walk with our LORD? Are we spending quality time in the presence of God?  I personally believe that nothing is more essential than carrying the presence of God wherever He leads us. God has called us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Let us do some self-analysis and make corrections wherever required.

Let us ask God to give a total restoration and a great revival for our spiritual eyes to focus clearly, to see the people and their souls like Him.

A backslider cannot pray, and a prayer warrior cannot dwell in sin.

“Transformed souls impacting the campuses and the globe as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Be brave and courageous! Our future is secure in Christ Jesus because he knows all about it.

Have a Victorious walk in Christ

Multiply – Disciples making disciples – Pass it on

Proclaiming Jesus Wherever He Leads us!
To make ready a group of people to meet our LORD Jesus Christ.
The Journey Team

Life Through the Spirit

Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hope you are doing well.

Word:

Life Through the Spirit:

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 1-2

Thought: Before we believed in Christ our nature was evil. Born-again Christians have a new nature in Christ. God has crucified the old nature (Romans 6:6) and replaced and replaced it with a new loving nature (Colossians 3: 9-10).

“Transformed souls impacting the campuses and the globe as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hospitality to Strangers

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Word:

Hebrews 13:1-2

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Matthew 25:43

I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me

Thought:

The author of Hebrews in the first reference urges the readers to show hospitality to even strangers.  Jesus also associates our treatment of strangers with our treatment of Him.  How many times are we quick to ignore strangers and turn the other way? Is that the way we would want to treat Jesus?

Prayer:

Lord, we pray that you work on our hearts to be loving and hospitable to be people around us. Amen.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Word

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:1-2

What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that God’s kindness will increase?  That’s unthinkable! As far as sin is concerned, we have died. So how can we still live under sin’s influence?

Thought:

It can sometimes be confusing knowing sin separates us from God, but at the same time knowing we have a sinful nature. How, then, can we reconcile with Him? Jesus died for our sins and paid the price, so we don’t face its consequences, when we truly believe this, we are His followers, we are no longer followers of sin, and we do not do what our sinful nature asks us to do, but since we believe in the gospel, we strive to imitate Christ’s nature in everything we do. One way we can discern whose followers we are is to see how we respond to sin, are we defeated by it? Are we dragged down by it? depressed because of it? Are we stuck in a cycle of falling to sin again and again, or are we running to God knowing that the grace of God powerfully overcomes the hurt caused by sin?  

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for your grace and mercies through Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross for our sins, we ask for power and strength to overcome our sinful nature and desires. Amen.

Let us Hold Unswervingly to the Hope!

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

Is fellowship vital for a believer? The hope we hold means that Jesus is the sole author of our salvation, should we then exclude ourselves from others. The Bible answers that in Hebrews 10 23:25, it mentions that we should tightly hold on to hope but at the same time we are also called to spur one another in doing good things and be encouraging to others. Also, it warns about some people who have a habit of not meeting. Though Christ alone is sufficient for our faith, how can we put that faith into action without outwardly showing that love among others, including believers? Hold on to fellowships if you are in one or seek and find fellowships if you are not in one, or in some cases even start one. In any case, do it prayerfully, listening to God’s will.

Word:

Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Prayer:

Lord, we pray that you lead us to find fellowships and grow in them. We pray that we can encourage and love others. Amen.

Thanksgiving and Encouragement

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

Apostle Paul thanks God for the people of Colossae because of their faith and love; it is almost certain that people would be encouraged to see such things written about them. In Paul’s letters, we sometimes see warnings and instructions, but he also shows appreciation wherever apt. Often our minds only see the differences and wrongdoings of a person or a community, but we are completely ignorant of their positive impacts on someone or society. This divisive mindset can only be removed if we understand the love of Christ in the true message of the gospel, the main motive of which is, to reconcile God with man as opposed to causing division.

Word:

Colossians 1:3-5

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel.

Prayer:

Lord, we thank You for the love you have shown through Jesus Christ, help us to love others by encouraging others. We ask that You remove any divisive thoughts that harbor within us. Amen.

DR.THEODORE WILLIAMS–A EXAMPLE TO MODERN GENERATION

A man of God, who finished well in Christ – Jesus! FORGIVEN! Many people believe that to thrive in this world the person must be tough, strong, unbending and harsh. But God says, “Not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit.” The key word is “by my Spirit.”

As you lead a Christ centered life, determine not to trust in your own strength or abilities. Instead, depend on God’s unlimited resources and work in the power of His Spirit.

dust from miry clay

(This is the biography of a great servant of God who was mightily used in India for sharing gospel and doing Missionary work)

Dr.Theodore Williams was born on 24th February 1935  in the town of Nazareth in Tutucorin District of TamilNadu,India.His grandfather was a Anglican Priest and His father was a School teacher.He was the eldest of his four siblings.Being born in a strict christian family He attended church services,Sunday school in time and was made to memorize short-prayers,Bible verses and Confessing the Sermon points in Home..

He finished his SSLC honours at the age of 14..since his age was too premature for college,He started learning type-writing,book-keeping and Hindi too..All these things helped him in the later stage of His ministry.Then he pursued his Inter-mediate in Loyola college .During his college he had a deep affinity towards Dravidian politics and also wrote stories in a Tamil monthly magazine .After completing…

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Recognizing our critics

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

Apostle Paul in his instructions to the church of Thessalonica asks them to recognize three important characteristics in people; those who work hard, those who care for others, and those who admonish others. It seems sensible and practical to appreciate hard-working and caring people but it’s not easy to appreciate them when they strongly criticize us. The type of admonishment that Paul talks about is done in love where the person who admonishes someone cares enough about them to boldly warn them of their sinful ways. A simple illustration is a mother admonishing her child for playing with fire. We know she does it in love and it is for the child’s well-being. As believers, we should be able to humbly accept and live with people who admonish us, at the same time, when a situation arises, we should also be courageous enough to admonish others in love.

Word:

1 Thessalonians 5: 12, 13

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

Prayer:

Lord, help us to be humble when You or others admonish us, help us fix our sinful ways, and also give us the courage to admonish others in love. Amen.

Sharing the Gospel

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

As believers, we are called upon to share the gospel with others.  Before we share, we should remind ourselves of the reason or motive behind this sharing. It was indeed done to spread the knowledge and love of Christ. Paul is a great person to emulate in sharing the gospel. In Acts 17 v16, he is distressed by seeing people worshipping idols and being ignorant of who God truly is. His response to the distress is to love on them by sharing the gospel Acts 17 v22-31. To understand the extent of his sacrificial and selfless love we can refer to Romans 9 v1-3 where he is willing to cut himself off from Christ so that his people may know Christ.  

Word:

Acts 17:16

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

Romans 9:1-3

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race.

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for the love and mercies we receive from you every day. We pray that you lead our hearts to share the gospel with others in love. Amen.

Mastering ourselves

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

In Judges 16, Samson’s lack of self-control and humility was on full display as he made a series of poor choices, sleeping with a prostitute, sharing secrets with the enemy, and being proud of his strength. Eventually, God left Him. We run the same risk when we haven’t mastered ourselves from doing what our flesh or the world wants us to do. Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 9:27 goes so far as to say that he made his body his slave to prevent himself from being disqualified as he is preaching the gospel to others. To each person, making their body their slave could mean different things, but one thing is for sure, it will push us out of our comfort zone. We should strive to push our boundaries to master ourselves for God’s glory and avoid disqualification from attaining eternity with God.

Word:

1 Corinthians 9:27

No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Prayer:

Lord, give us the strength and endurance to master ourselves. Strengthen our weaknesses for Your glory. Amen.

Godly Optimism

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

As Christians, when our faith is strong, we tend to be optimistic because our hope is in the living God who holds our future. Joshua and Caleb came across a situation where they could have easily been discouraged by the nature of the land and its powerful people or by the bad report of the other spies or by the grumbling of the Israelites. Despite such circumstances, Joshua and Caleb gave a positive report and urged Moses and Aaron to proceed to the promised land. Their confidence was from the fact that God was with them, and in reality, the world will try to bring our hopes down, we also have to be confident in whatever future God holds for us and if He holds it, nothing can change it.

Word:

Numbers 14:8-9

If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us. This is a land flowing with milk and honey! Don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will devour them like bread. They have no protection, and the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.

Prayer:

Lord, our hope is you, the true and living God. we want to abide in You all the days of our life. Give us the strength and wisdom to live out the plans You have for us. Amen.