JESUS COMES TO YOU IN YOUR STORM - A DEVOTIONAL BY RICK WARREN

“About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.” (Mark 6:48b NLT)

In Mark 6, Jesus went off by himself to pray and sent the disciples ahead of him to Bethsaida. It wasn’t a long trip by boat, but they were blown off course by a storm, and when Jesus saw them struggling against the wind in the middle of the lake, he came to their aid. 

Have you ever had a storm blow you off course? You had no intention of being where you are today in your job, your marriage, your finances. You’ve been blown off course by situations you couldn’t control. You feel like you should be there by now, but at this point, you’ve given up hope of getting to your original destination. You just want to get back to safety.

Maybe you had big dreams for your life that you gave up on a long time ago. You’re not even worried about progress anymore. You’re just wondering, “Can I survive?” 

What does Jesus do when you’re at your moment of desperation? Mark 6:48 says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water” (NLT).

Notice he didn’t tell the disciples to come to him. He knew they couldn’t get to him. He went to them. When you’re at that point of desperation, Jesus comes to you! 

I love the fact that Jesus did not stand on the shore and shout instructions. When you’re in a storm, you don’t need advice. You need a miracle! You need somebody to show up, and this is what Jesus did. He intervened in the disciples’ storm.

This is the Gospel — that God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling us what to do. He comes out and meets us in our pain, our fear, our depression, our storm, and our discouragement. He comes to us. What a God!

You may feel abandoned right now, but you’re not. The Bible says in John 14:18, “I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm — I will come to you” (LB). You can count on it!

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved.

FEAR NOT, YOU WILL BEHOLD THE MIRACLE OF YOUR ENEMIES BEING VANQUISHED - MONTHLY BLESSING MSG BY BRO. MOHAN C LAZARUS (TAKEN FROM A SPIRITUAL MAGAZINE)

 

 

 

DO NOT DOUBT GOD'S POWER

“...O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:31

Recently I was asked to preach in a church. I asked God what I should speak and Holy Spirit gave me a promise verse to speak in that church. I sat in God’s presence to write some important points from that verse. But yet I could not put myself into the process of preparing a sermon. I found the verse so tough to speak and I could not able to prepare a sermon at all.

So I asked God to give another verse but again God insisted me to speak on the same verse before. I prayed and wrote the sermon. Throughout that day I was thinking about the sermon and I could not love it as it was. 

On the day of preaching, I told Jesus Christ that I dislike this sermon and so asked Him that at least 3 people should come to me after the sermon and tell that the message was good and it is for them. 

With lot of fear and doubt I stood before the congregation and preached God’s word through the help of Holy Spirit. I felt God’s presence strongly upon me and once I came down from the pulpit, 5 people came to me and told that the message was superb. 

I was so happy to hear those words and as I was returning from the church in the car, I thanked God for what He has done on that day. As I started praising God, Jesus Christ spoke to me through Holy Spirit saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt Me?”

When He asked me that question, I felt so sad to know that I had hurt God’s heart on that day. 

There were times in our lives, we doubt God’s mighty power and His promise. God tells us in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Whatever God had promised you, will be fulfilled in your life. Do not hurt God’s heart by doubting His promise or His leading. When He leads you in some way which you can’t understand, just trust Him. He will do things for your good and He will do only good things in your life. 

My dear young friend, put your faith upon Jesus Christ and trust Him always. He will lead you beside quiet waters and to green pastures. You will not lack anything. Jesus Christ loves you. He will give you all that you need and will bless you. 

GUEST ARTICLE - 10 (GOD WILL SURELY FULFILL HIS PROMISES IN YOUR LIFE - WRITTEN BY MR. RAVI SHANKAR)

Dearly beloved in Christ, we, as the children of GOD have received so many promises (and prophecies) from GOD in our life. But unfortunately, many times we take them very lightly. There may be many reasons for us to show such an attitude toward GOD’s promise, but the primary reason is “we always compare His promise with the current state of our life.” My dear beloved, that is not the right attitude. In our world, if a person promises us anything, we will always think about his/her potential to fulfill that promise before believing in the promise. In the same way, if GOD has promised us something; we just have think about the potential of the Promise-Giver and not about our current state of life. So can any one of us say that, GOD is impotent to fulfill His promise in your life? No friends, our GOD is not Impotent, but OMNIPOTENT. He is all-powerful.

In Genesis 18, there is an incident recorded where 3 messengers were sent from GOD to bring judgement on Sodom & Gomorrah because of their increasing immorality. On their way, these 3 men had a meeting with Abraham. At this point of time, Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah (his wife) was 90 years old. They didn’t have a child of their own and also Sarah lost her ability to bear a child anymore. My beloved, this may be today your condition too; where you are not in a state to bear spiritual fruits for GOD. Your present life may not be fruitful.But the Promise-Giver (GOD) will certainly fulfil his Promise in your life in due time. So cheer up beloved. Now, coming back to the story, at this moment GOD gave a promise to Abraham saying that; “Sarah will bear you a child and she will give birth to a son in the next delivery period and in that son all the nations of the world will be blessed”. Sarah was hearing this promise which GOD gave to her husband Abraham and she LAUGHED at it.

Now, why did she laughed by hearing GOD’s promise? Yes beloved, it is recorded in the bible that; she laughed thinking about the present condition of her life. She lost her ability to bear a child and hence, the promise of GOD became like a joke for her. She forgot to realise the potential of the Promise-Giver. My dear beloved, many of us are like Sarah. We laugh at the promises of GOD by comparing it with the current state of our life. We often forget the potential of our Heavenly Father who is an OMNIPOTENT GOD.

GOD’s view on His promises for us is different. If your view about GOD’s promises in your life is like the one of Sarah in the Bible, GOD is telling you today that; “If I was SERIOUS about my promise to Sarah, I am indeed SERIOUS about my promise to you. So if I am SERIOUS about my promise for you, then why not you be SERIOUS about it”. 

Yes my beloved, GOD is very much serious about His promises in your life. Don’t see at your present condition of life and take His promises lightly. Just remember this, “GOD is serious about His promises in the Bible and He proved it to us by fulfilling each one of them”. Yes beloved, If GOD was not serious about his promise to Abraham in Genesis 18, JESUS CHRIST, his son would not have come to this world.

Therefore, let us change our attitude in perceiving GOD’s promises in our lives. Let us BELIEVE & RECEIVE.

(Note: This article was written by Mr. Ravi Shankar. He is currently working as a software engineer. GHG team thank Mr. Ravi for the article. May God bless him abundantly. If you wish to send your own article, kindly mail it to goldenhandsofgrace@gmail.com)

SPIRITUAL VITAMINS A TO Z - AUTHOR UNKNOWN (TAKEN FROM A FORWARDED EMAIL)

Remember to take your vitamins every day!

Anxious?  Take Vitamin A.  "All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."  (Romans 8:28) 

Blue?  Take Vitamin B.  "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name."  (Psalm 103:1) 

Crushed?  Take Vitamin C.  "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."  (1 Peter 5:7) 

Depressed?  Take Vitamin D.  "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

Empty?  Take Vitamin E.  "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him, bless his name."  (Psalm 100:4) 

Fearful?  Take Vitamin F. "Fear not, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God."  (Isaiah 41:10) 

Greedy?  Take Vitamin G.  "Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put unto your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."  (Luke 6:38)

Hesitant?  Take Vitamin H.  "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" (Isaiah 52:7) 

Insecure?  Take Vitamin I. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) 

Jittery?  Take Vitamin J.  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) 

Know nothing?  Take Vitamin K.  "Know this that the Lord is God, it is He that made us and not we ourselves.  (Psalm 100:3) 

Lonely?  Take Vitamin L.  "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) 

Mortgaged?  Take Vitamin M.  "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) 

Nervous?  Take Vitamin N.  "Never, no never will I leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

Overwhelmed?  Take Vitamin O.  "Overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) 

Perplexed or puzzled?  Take Vitamin P.  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (John 14:27) 

Quitting?  Take Vitamin Q.  "Quit you like men and women, be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13) 

Restless?  Take Vitamin R.  "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." (Psalm 37:7) 

Scared?  Take Vitamin S.  "Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me."  (1 Samuel 22:23) 

Tired?  Take Vitamin T.  "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31) 

Uncertain?  Take Vitamin U.  "Understand that I am (the Lord).  Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me." (Isaiah 43:10) 

Vain?  Take Vitamin V.  "Vexed with unclean spirits:  and they were healed every one.  (Acts 5:16) 

Wondering what to do?  Take Vitamin W.  "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  (Micah 6:8) 

eXhausted?  Take Vitamin X.  "Exercise thyself rather unto godliness."  (1 Timothy 4:7) 

Yearning for hope?  Take Vitamin Y.  "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you art with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."  (Psalm 23:4) 

Zapped?  Take Vitamin Z.  "Zealous for good deeds." (Titus 2:14)