Category Archives: Christian Discipleship

Living Under an Open Heaven

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Dear all,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us praise our Lord and forget not all His benefits. His grace is new every day. No matter what the circumstances are, He is with us, and He is carrying us in His Shoulders. When you trust Him, by faith we can see His works in our life and through our life.

Let us ask God to give us the eyes to see His glory.


Word: However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him. These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.1 Corinthians 2:9 -10

Thought:  Have quiet time each day with God and be still before Him, reverently honoring Him for who He is. Never underestimate the resurrected power of Christ Jesus in you. Retain His promises in your consciousness. The Glory of God comes to all, those who are waiting. We may be in the bend of the road not at the end of the road. This will give you the strength to overcome every challenge you face in your faith Journey.

“Go and make disciples of all nations” – Matthew 28: 18 – 20
 “Go and preach the gospel to all creations” – Mark 16: 15

Gift of God and Faithful Stewardship

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Dear all,

Be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. Ephesians 6: 10

Living for God:

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. I Peter 4: 10-11

Thought: God has given us special and unique abilities. We are called to use these gifts for God’s glory, permitting his generosity to flow through us.  When we are careful to focus on God’s glory, we can make a significant difference wherever God placed us!

In Christ, we have everything we need for salvation and for living the Christian life. Thank God for what we have received in Christ Jesus.

Proclaiming Jesus Wherever He Leads Us!

Stand firm in Christ

Have a Victorious walk in Christ

Your strength will equal your days. Deuteronomy 33: 25

The Journey Team

https://thejourneyinchrist.wordpress.com/

Never forget – Your identity in Christ.

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Dear all, 

Grace and peace to you in the name of the LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.

Word:

All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Ephesians 1:3

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Phil 4: 19-20

Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2: 11-12

Thought:

We must never forget that God is in charge of our lives. The strength of Kindness – God calls His people to show mighty kindness. 

Never forget – Your identity in Christ.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

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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.

Recognizing our critics

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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

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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.

Being Angry, sin or not?

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Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

Thought:
Being Angry? Is it a sin? No, anger in itself is not a sin but when kept uncontrolled, it can lead to undesirable consequences. For example, most acts of physical abuse, verbal abuse, and thoughts of hatred stem from being angry and this is what God doesn’t want from us. Jesus, Himself was angry when he drove away people from the temple. There might be situations where God uses our anger to do acts for the greater good like correcting others or stopping injustices, but in most other situations we need to be patient, exhibit self-control and leave the situation prayerfully for God to handle.

Word: Ephesians 4:26-27
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold.

Prayer:
 Lord, forgive us whenever we have left anger to control us. Give us control over our anger so that it doesn’t hurt anyone. Amen

Misplaced hope? Trust God! No Matter what!

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Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thought: What are the worldly things that we put our hope onto? Sports, politics, entertainment, money and even family/friends are sometimes things we misplace our hope on. All these can perish, spoil or fade. A good way to know if our hope is misplaced or not is, how we react to changes in any of the aforementioned things, say like, a closely lost game of our favourite sports team or person, a lost election of the party we hoped to win, sudden financial loss. If we lose our peace  over such things it’s time to shift our hope. How and where? It’s clearly mentioned in the word (included below).

Word: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4

Prayer:

LORD, We are grateful for your mercy because you have given us a living hope through belief in Jesus’ resurrection. Help us to overcome temporary worldly things that distract us from putting our hope on You. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Total Transformation In Christ Jesus

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Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Word:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Thought:

What is worshiping God? How do we do it regularly? Sometimes we are drawn to think that it only involves singing songs and praising.   But more importantly it is about offering our whole selves to God, that is considered true and proper worship according to Romans 12:1-2. We shouldn’t do as the world does, instead each and every action, small or big, should be done in a way that honors God. Being honest, generous, patient, self controlled are some examples of that.

Prayer:
LORD, we want to offer our lives in worship to you, for you are worthy. Give us strength to stand apart from the world and do you Your will. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Unity is Strength – Unity among Believers!

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Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Word: I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10

Thought: Today we have so many different churches, sometimes, even within a church we have groups with different opinions on how the church is to be run. Just imagine if each part of our body has its own mind, there will be total chaos and confusion. Very little to nothing gets accomplished as each part looks out for its own good. Therefore, as members of the body of Christ, we must be humble and stand united so that we all can be extremely effective in doing God’s will.

Prayer:
LORD, help me and other believers to be of similar mind and thought. Let Your will unite us over our own ideas. Give the churches the ability to look over their differences to work together for Christ. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen