Hindu Militants Attack Indian Pastor

Hindu Militants Attack Indian Pastor
While Police Turn a Blind Eye

ON DECEMBER 3, members of the militant Hindu organization Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) attacked a pastor in Hyderabad, India.

While Pastor Yesupadam was conducting a prayer service in the village of
Ashaiah Nagar, someone called for him to come out. Thinking they were calling
him outside to pray for them, he approached seven men who began to beat him.

The Hindu militants then took him to the police station where approximately
twenty other RSS members were waiting. Handing Yesupadam over to the police,
the RSS accused him of converting Hindus to Christianity. The police
sub-inspector said that Christians had become a serious headache.

Mocking Yesupadam, the police officer said, "Did your mother conceive you
through an English man or Telugu man? Are you a Telugu man? Are you an Indian?
If you desire to live, stop preaching about Jesus Christ. You know people are
killing pastors in the city but still you do not learn anything."

In the presence of the police, the RSS members attempted to apply a tilak, a
mark of Hindu devotion, on Yesupadam's forehead. When he refused, they
threatened to kill him and harm his family. The police did nothing in response
to these threats. When other Christians arrived to help him, they were refused
entry into the police station and were threatened with death if they did not
stop praying.

Pastor Yesupadam was eventually released but the threats continued. Services
were cancelled on December 4 because of the threats.

Pray that Pastor Yesupadam will continue to be filled with boldness as he
proclaims the good news of freedom in Christ. Pray that his courage will
influence his persecutors toward a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Fear Not

Today's Scriptures:



Fear Not!

The waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm."

Proverbs 1:32,33 NIV

__________________

All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
And great shall be the peace of your children.

In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression,
for you shall not fear;
And from terror,for it shall not come near you.

Isaiah 54:13,14 NKJV

__________________

The LORD is thy keeper:
the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul.

The LORD shall preserve thy going out and
thy coming in from this time
forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 121:5-8 KJV

__________________

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again,
but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry
out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that
we are children of God.

Romans 8:14-16 NASB

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Read the Bible in One Year:



November 15: James 3, Jeremiah 25-26, Psalm 131

Today's Meditation:



Be Doers of the Word

This you know, my beloved brethren But everyone must be quick to hear,
slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve
the righteousness of God.

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of
wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to
save your souls.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who
delude themselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man
who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at
himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of
person he was.

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual
doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:19-25 NASB

Translations:

CEV - Contemporary English Version
ESV - English Standard Version
KJV - King James Version
MSG - The Message
NASB - New American Standard Bible
NIV - New International Version
NKJV - New King James Version
NLT - New Living Translation
RSV - Revised Standard Version

Send feedback about this Ezine to: bibleverses.editor@arcamax.com

All Good Gifts Come From Him

All good gifts come from Him

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or
shifting shadow.

James 1:17 NASB

__________________
"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
opened.

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a
stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of
a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him!"

Luke 11:9-13 NKJV

__________________
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have
fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not
practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his
Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:5-7 ESV

__________________
Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Read the Bible in One Year:

November 7: 2 Timothy 3, Jeremiah 9-10, Psalm 123

Today's Meditation:

Be Exalted, O God!

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 57:7-11 NIV

Translations:

CEV - Contemporary English Version
ESV - English Standard Version
KJV - King James Version
MSG - The Message
NASB - New American Standard Bible
NIV - New International Version
NKJV - New King James Version
NLT - New Living Translation
RSV - Revised Standard Version

Send feedback about this Ezine to: bibleverses.editor@arcamax.com

Witnessing - Stay at It!

Today's Scriptures:

Witnessing - Stay at It!
__________________

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who
belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:9,10 NIV
__________________

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

John 15:7,8 KJV
__________________

Those who sow in tears
shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping,
carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again
with a shout of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 126:5,6 NASB

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20
__________________
Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Read the Bible in One Year:

October 14: Revelation 14, Esther 5:1-6:13, Psalm 106:24-48

Today's Meditation:

Faith & Patience

Dear friends, even though we are talking like this, we really don't
believe that it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant
for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not
unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how
you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians, as you
still do. Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving
others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you
hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and
indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are
going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and patience.

Gods Promises Bring Hope

For example, there was God's promise to Abraham. Since there was no
one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

Hebrews 6:9-15 The NLT

Translations:

CEV - Contemporary English Version
ESV - English Standard Version
KJV - King James Version
MSG - The Message
NASB - New American Standard Bible
NIV - New International Version
NKJV - New King James Version
NLT - New Living Translation
RSV - Revised Standard Version

Send feedback about this Ezine to: bibleverses.editor@arcamax.com

Have You Any Rags?

I just found one of the greatest illustrations of our Lord and Messiah Jesus Christ from the Heart To Heart Blog on BlogExplosion and it is an awesome message worth sharing with anyone you love.

Have you any rags?

I saw a strange sight. I stumbled upon a story most strange, like nothing my life, my street sense; my sly tongue had ever prepared me for. Hush, child. Hush, now, and I will tell it to you.

Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our City. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new, and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!" Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.

"Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!"

"Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself, for the man stood six-feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular, and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city?

I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.

Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking. The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers.

"Give me your rag," he said so gently, "and I'll give you another."

He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up, and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver.

Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then HE began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear.

"This IS a wonder," I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away from mystery.

"Rags! Rags! New rags for old!"

In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage, whose eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek.

Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity, and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart.

"Give me your rag," he said, tracing his own line on her cheek, "and I'll give you mine."

The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with the bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood – his own!

"Rags! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman.

The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.

"Are you going to work?" he asked a man who leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head.

The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?"

"Are you crazy?" sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm.

"So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket, and I'll give you mine."

Such quiet authority in his voice!

The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman - and I trembled t what I saw: for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs; but the Ragman had only one.

"Go to work," he said.

After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, and old man, hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.

And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old, old, and sick, yet he went with terrible speed. On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the City, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.

I wept to see the change in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so.

The little old Ragman - he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And then I wanted to help him in what he did, but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labor he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.

Oh, how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope - because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep.

I did not know - how could I know? - that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too.

But then, on Sunday morning, I was wakened by a violence.

Light - pure, hard, demanding light - slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the last and the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, besides that, healthy! There was no sign of sorrow nor of age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.

Well, then I lowered my head and trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place, and I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me."

He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him. The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!
posted by Himself | 10:09 PM
1 Comments:
Orikinla Osinachi said...
The last blog to visit of 92 blogs today and the only one that made my day so complete and I thank God for keeping awake till 11.45 pm in Nigeria to read this awesome illustration of the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53) by whose bleeding stripes we are healed. Our Lord and Messiah Jesus Christ.

With your kind permission, I blogging this message right away on my Christian gospel blog
The Rhema
12:47 AM

Remember The Gospel!

Today's Scriptures:

Remember the gospel!

I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NIV

__________________

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

"Death is swallowed up in victory."

"O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:53-58 ESV
__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Read the Bible in One Year:

September 30: Jude, Ezra 9-10, Psalm 95

Today's Meditation:

Chosen, called, strengthened, encouraged!

As for us, we always thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters
loved by the Lord. We are thankful that God chose you to be among the
first to experience salvation, a salvation that came through the
Spirit who makes you holy and by your belief in the truth. He called
you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm
and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and
by letter.

May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his
special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your
hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 NLT

Translations:

CEV - Contemporary English Version
ESV - English Standard Version
KJV - King James Version
MSG - The Message
NASB - New American Standard Bible
NIV - New International Version
NKJV - New King James Version
NLT - New Living Translation
RSV - Revised Standard Version

Send feedback about this Ezine to: bibleverses.editor@arcamax.com

REPARATIVE RELATIONSHIP

REPARATIVE RELATIONSHIP

By Pastor Bimbo Odukoya

Peju is the first of three (3) girls born to Mr. & Mrs. Abolarin. As far back as she could remember Peju’s mother had always been responsible for the upkeep of the entire family even though both parents lived together. Her father had a job but he never provided for any of the family’s needs.

Mr. Abolarin was a heavy drinker and would come home repeatedly late at night drunk, only to collapse into bed in deep sleep. In this state, he was constantly irritable. The only time Peju, her siblings and mother ever saw him was on Saturdays and even then, he would go out all-day to return very late at night. On one of such days, he slept and never woke up. He died at 46. Bola was just 14 at the time of her father’s death. Peju and her family missed him only for a while.

A year later Peju met Tunji. They soon became intimate friends. All Peju wanted was to have a close relationship with a member of the opposite sex. She sought succour to help overcome all the emotional setbacks she suffered growing-up. She wanted a father figure desperately. Peju and Tunji remained friends for about a year until he had to leave for America for further studies.

Eventually Peju also gained admission into the University and everything changed. She moved into the university hostel and soon began to make new friends. She met Mike. Mike was very nice to Peju and she felt, ‘Yes! This is the type of friendship I have always desired.’ They became very close and to Peju’s greatest joy, Mike asked her out and they began a relationship.

One day, Peju met Mike in her friend’s hostel room. They were in a very compromising position. Peju was devastated. Mike lied that nothing had happened. He however pointed out that the reason he had been tempted was because Peju had persistently disallowed questionable physical advances between them. Eventually, Peju bowed to Mike’s pressure and they began to indulge themselves in petting, which finally resulted in sexual immorality.

She initially felt very guilty about it but rationalized that since they were both in love with each other it was alright. Having satisfied his selfish desires, Mike called off the relationship. Peju became inconsolable. She felt used and had no one to turn to.

She got involved in several other relationships (some with married men), which all began and ended the same way as that with Mike.

Peju was trying to fill a void in her life; a strong desire for a father figure, which she had lacked in her developing years and so she turned to men in an attempt to fill this void. She would do anything and go to any length to maintain these relationships, which ultimately always involved her indulging in sex with them. But the emptiness remained.

PASTOR BIMBO’S COMMENTS
Proverbs 24:6 says, “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety”.

My heart goes out to Peju, who is obviously trying to fill a void in her life, a strong desire for a father figure. This, she was denied of in her formative years and so turned to men to satisfy this desire.

It is clear from our story that Peju’s father before his avoidable death did not fulfill his mandate of fatherhood. She apparently suffered from lack necessary parental support. She needed the input of a father in her life, which she never got. So she turned to the opposite sex for succour.

All Peju thought she needed was to have a close relationship with the opposite sex, but she was actually longing for succour from a father figure to help overcome all the developmental setbacks she suffered growing up; she wanted a father desperately.

The tragedy of Peju’s situation was that she knew what she wanted but she did not know how to get it. She became a cheap victim of sexual exploitation in the hands of both single and married men. Since that is the wrong solution to her problem her emptiness only remained and increased. She only reaped the fruit of frustration in saddening abundance.

So many young women have found themselves in this situation because they have confused a reparative relationship with a romantic relationship.
It is therefore essential as a single to distinguish between a reparative relationship and a romantic relationship. On no account must the two be confused as they serve different functions. A reparative relationship cannot be a romantic one. A reparative relationship is one that would develop in you what you did not get from your childhood and family life. It is actually designed to repair developmental injuries. In order words, a young girl, who grew up without her father for one reason or the other, God brings a father figure into her life, who becomes a father and repairs the damage and hurt she has suffered. Such a person becomes the father she never had and therefore provides the psychological, social and mental need which only a father figure can provide.

A romantic relationship on the other hand calls for responsibility. Any individual who desires it must be mature spiritually, socially, mentally, financially, empowered to contribute positively to the partner’s life. A person in Peju’s shoe can’t get into a romantic relationship because she needs to be repaired first.

She still needs to be invested in because she’s a needy person who is lacking something she should have had in her childhood. Developmental repair isn’t an adult need, it’s an unresolved childhood need.

In the same way that parents don’t date children or children don’t date parents; dating (romantic Relationship) is not what she needs. She needs a father child relationship. (A Reparative Relationship)

Peju therefore doesn’t need a boyfriend or a dating partner, she needs a mentor. Her focus at this stage should not be dating but mentoring. Mentors are people willing to be transparent and willing to share the secrets of their successes. Mentors do not take advantage of sensitivities. Once a mentor takes his eyes off nurturing you and begins to take advantage of you emotionally or physically, he ceases to be a mentor. When choosing a mentor, seek someone who leads by example, someone in whose life you can testify to tested and exceptional qualities. You should look for someone who not only has knowledge, but wisdom, the application of knowledge. Look for someone who has the fear of God, and by that I mean someone who is more concerned about pleasing God than pleasing you. Therefore, he will give Godly counsel. Your search should be for someone who models a level of Christianity you are yet to achieve.

Once a possible mentor (a father figure) is found, approach him sincerely and honestly and ask him if he would be your mentor and have enough time to devote to the relationship.

A mentor must have a good prayer life because he needs to pray for God to give him genuine compassion and right counselling at the right time for the dependant.

In situations where the man is married, be sure to involve the wife. Again, keep the boundaries clear. One way to do this is with an older couple that understands their role as mentors and models in your life. If the wife is part of the relationship as well as the husband, then there’s built-in safety. I know a single lady who had a very close relationship with a couple who basically adopted her as part of the family. They are still her adopted parents and mentors She is eternally grateful to them for their role in her life. Where a man is the mentor to a female romantic feeling might rear its head. They often do because of the natural emotional attachment that follows an intimate relationship between two members of the opposite sex. Therefore the boundaries for the relationship must remain clear. So, make sure you’re in a setting with built-in structures so this kind of relationship doesn’t turn romantic.

Peju ’s need for a relationship with the opposite sex is real and valid. But it must be fulfilled in non-romantic ways. If with single men. Peju must insist on a platonic kind of relationship. If with married men, she must make sure there are the protective boundaries of a restorative relationship or the built-in safety of becoming good friends with the wife as well. If you stick to these principles, chances are that you can find some deep healing in a mentor/ dependant relationship.

In cultivating any relationship, your priority focus must be that such a relationship must be God-centered. A relationship that does not have God as its foundation would ultimately fizzle out in frustration.

The very first place to start is to give your life to Jesus Christ. If there is anyone you need at this time, its Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has proven His steadfast love and friendship for us by laying down His life. For you to fully experience and enjoy the beauty of true and sincere love, you need to make a commitment to Jesus Christ today. Please pray this prayer if you would like to give your life to Him:

Dear Jesus, I repent and confess all my sins today. I believe that you are the Son of God and that you died and rose again. I invite you into my life to be my lord and personal saviour, wash me in your blood and baptize me with your spirit. Amen.
And for those of you having challenges relating to the issues raised in this article please pray this prayer: -

Dear Jesus, I thank you for your word, which is able to save. I have received your word and I ask for the grace to break up the romantic relationship I am in now and to stop sexual sin which I don’t need and will only frustrate me the more. I ask that you will send a God fearing mentor to me and that you will fill me with love and peace. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

Did you really read this article? If you did and it pulled a string within you, you might want to talk to me about your challenges or make further enquiries about the ministry and teaching tapes.

FELLOW PASSERBY

Fellow Passerby, kindly permit me to share a few thoughts, which I believe will do you a lot of good.

In today’s world, information has become the zing thing. Information is being transmitted across the web as never before on almost every subject, anybody who wanted can avail himself or herself of whatever knowledge on earth.

With this trend, you might think that most literate men and nations are up to date on the vital aspects of life. But, sad to say; Man has made progress, researches, investigations into things deep and profound, especially when it comes to the mundane, the life here and now, but most so called educated men and women are totally naïve, ignorant and illiterate when it comes to the eternal, the life hereafter.

My fellow passerby, are you that ignorant? I don’t believe that you who always try to get the latest appliance or gadget to make life easy will be bereft of the knowledge of God!

Many seek to get the best in life, but it is a pity that the One Who is the Source of life is neither sought for nor recognized. You may or may not believe it. But, the truth is that life cannot exist without a Creator!

God, the Being who inspired the writing of the Bible, creates you. His Holy Book.

From the blessed writ, you will discover that you will be accountable to Him one day, whether you accept it or not. The good things of life, you have had are to show you how good He is, and to give you a reason to appreciate and serve Him. (Romans 2:4.)

Not acknowledging the Creator-God who sent His Son Jesus Christ to die and resurrect for man’s salvation from sin is the worst kind of ignorance.

Lack of this knowledge has made the world a place of evil, sin, immoral pleasure, violence, cheating and all kinds of vice. The true knowledge stems from the fear of God and that is wisdom. Herein wisdom: that God so rich in mercy sent His Son Jesus Christ to die and become a sacrifice for our sin. He also rose from the dead and is man’s escape route from spiritual destruction. This is the true knowledge that sets free.

Knowledge is said to be power, but it has been further observed that knowledge alone is not power, but knowledge applied is power. Medicine or drug, no matter how potent in curing a particular ailment, but if not taken in the prescribed way will not be useful. Therefore, just knowing or acknowledging mentally that God exists is not enough.

There is need for you to know Him by asking Jesus Christ to come into your life as Saviour and Lord. This will enable you to share in the privilege of becoming His child. God’s word says, “As many that received Him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God.” (JOHN 1:12.)

Acknowledge Jesus Christ today and be totally free from spiritual darkness and ignorance. Please, eschew any bias in this regard, because your spiritual condition is at stake and the only way of freedom is Jesus Christ (JOHN 14:6, ACTS 4:12.)
Being hardened to this truth will attract eternal punishment in Hell Fire. Therefore, avail yourself of this knowledge today, by giving your life to Jesus Christ. And you will never regret it forever.

Here is a simple way you can do this.
1. Believe that Jesus Christ died to set you free from your sin.
2. Be sorry for your sins and ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and repent from them.
3. Ask Jesus Christ to come into your life as your Lord and Saviour.
4. Decide to live for Him.

God bless you.

For further spiritual help, please contact.
The Pastor-in-Charge
Assemblies of God Church
Plot 471-473, Zone 3, Finima.
P.O.Box 268, Bonny Island,
Rivers State.
Tel: 08035519071
E-mail: likpoko@yahoo.com




Today's Scriptures:



That I May Know Him!

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to
pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of
His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all
might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and
longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified
us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into
the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for
Him.

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is
the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Colossians 1:9-18

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

Read the Bible in One Year:



September 18: John 18:38b-19:16, 2 Chronicles 29, Psalm 85

Today's Meditation:



Hold out the Word of Life

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.