How can we preserve our faith in Jesus during the year of 2008, part 2?

1st of February

Part 2

I will start this time by reminding you of the most important points from last time. In order to be preserved in our faith, we have to RECEIVE JESUS AND ALL THE GIFTS HE WANTS TO GIVE US AND ALL THE THINGS HE WANTS TO DO FOR US. We must GIVE HIM ALL OUR BURDENS AND BELIEVE THAT HE LOVES US. HE IS FOR US AND NOT AGAINST US. Sin and pride can be hindrances.

When we are born again, a unbiblical cord is risen straight up to the Father and we can have contact with God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit at all times. If we do not deny Him, we will be born by Him, live with Him and die to Him. We can always, always, always have contact with Him. He gets very happy when we come to Him. He wants us, but you and I have to choose how much time we want to spend with Him. We can never be too much together with the person we love. You can imagine how you feel or felt when you are in love. That particular person is in your thoughts day and night. One talks to each other by phone and one tries to get together as often as possible. Everything else is of less imporance.

We are living in a world with a lot of different duties, but we should always find a time when we only are together with Jesus. We can always have a sense of awareness of Him. Smith Wigglesworth said that he never prayed more than five minutes at a time, but he did not wait more than five minutes before he prayed again. That shows us that he had a very close relationship to his Father in Heaven.

I saw a short clip on television. The one who played Jesus said to a young woman:” When do you have time for Me? You are so busy in the morning, at school you are with all your friends,when you come home, you study and in the evening you see your male friend. When can we get together? ” You should not think about Jesus in a legalistic way. It is not a burden to be with Him. If you do not look forward to be with Jesus, you live a religious life. You might be bound by religious spirits. Another possibility is that you are very self-centered and very busy to fullfill all your needs. THEN YOU MUST DISCOVER THAT IT IS JESUS WHO IS SUPPOSED TO FULLFILL ALL YOUR NEEDS IN GLORY. (Phil.4:19)

I feel that many people do not really know Who Jesus is, what He has done and what He can do for you to-day. You cannot do anything more important than to start a LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. His Spirit is always with you, but He is longing for a special time with YOU. Have you ever had a party and everything is fine, but you still have a desire for the guests to leave. You want to be alone with your partner. This is the relationship we should have with Jesus.

IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR FAITH ALIVE, WE MUST HAVE A LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. We must know Jesus in order to trust in Him.

Do you know that the Bible is full of promises? The Bible describes what God wants to do for us and what we have to do in order for the promises to be fullfilled. When I was young, we sang a song that goes like this:” The promises of God never fail. No, they stand like a rock.”

A lot of circumstances were described, but the promises never fail. What shall we do? We should believe in them. That’s our choice. If you are a child of God, He has given you faith as a gift. You do not have to perform, but make a choice to use the gift.

In Matt. 28:16 we read the Great commission. Jesus is telling us what to do. The last sentece in verse 20 goes like this: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We can be anywhere in the world. It does not make any difference. God is with us. We are never alone. He is always helping us when we do what He has asked us to do.

I have just quoted the fact that He is fullfilling all our needs. Here we have two promises: HE IS ALWAYS WITH US AND HE IS FULLFILLING ALL OUR NEEDS.

Let’s look into some of the psalms and read some promises.

I start with psalm 91. It is a powerful one, but we have to dwell in the secret place of the Most High. If I do that, He will cover me with His feathers and He will deliver me from the snare of the fowler. He will protect me from pestilence and if a thousand fall at my side and a thousand at the other side, nothing will come near me. No evil shall come near us. His angels shall protect us and we can tread any enemy under our feet. God will satisfy us with a long life. Who are the promises for? YOU and ME. We can go to the next psalm, 92. There we read that the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree and bear fruit in old age. What a comfort for us who are getting older. I quote psalm 103: “Bless the Lord, O, my soul; and All that is within me, bless His holy name.” Why? Because He has forgiven all your iniquities, He has healed all your diseases and redeemed your life from destruction. He has crowned us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. I am so glad that it says all. Then I am included and all sicknesses are included. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

Do you have any enemies? In psalm 110 we can read that the Lord will make our enemies our footstool. Many try to humble and punish their enemies by their own strength, but the biblical way is to trust the Lord and leave it to Him. I have recently heard that the Lord revealed the truth and restored some of my friends. They had been exposed to injustice. It took two years, but our God is always a just God. His timing is always different than ours. In psalm 111 we read that His righteousness endures for ever. It is up to you and me to believe that what God says is THE TRUTH. Maybe you are longing for a child. Then you can read psalm 127. It says that children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. You can claim your inheritance. That is your legal right.

WE HAVE TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH HIM AND TRUST HIS WORDS.

If I would ask you: “Does Jesus lie?” You would probably answer. No. But you might still live according to your emotions and circumstances and act as the Word does not exist.

I have only quoted a few promises. The Bible is full of them.

God also wants to bless us. We read about that in Deut. 28. We have to obey His voice and keep the commandments in order to be blessed. Everything that we do and everything that we touch shall be blessed. I think of that when I cook. Your work will be blessed. You are supposed to be the head and not the tail. You shall be above and not underneath. These are His desires for YOU in the year that we have just started.

RECEIVE ALL THE BLESSING FROM GOD AND LIVE IN THE PROMISES HE HAS WRITTEN FOR US TO PRACTISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mother Else