How The Holy Spirit Helps Us May 9, 2020 bizadmin Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26 HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPS US The Holy Spirit is not inside you to point out your faults or nag at you when you do wrong. God’s Word tells us that He is inside us to help us in our weaknesses. In areas where we are without strength, He is there to help us. When we don’t know what to pray, “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Now, don’t read the verse and say, “Well, I don’t know what I should pray for, and since the Holy Spirit makes intercession for me, I will leave the praying to Him.” If the Holy Spirit, without our participation, makes intercession for us, then every Christian would be living victorious lives automatically! But we know that there are many Christians who don’t seem to be walking in the fullness of God’s blessings. So obviously, Romans 8:26 is not saying that. What is it saying then? [abc] In the first part of the verse, the word “helps” is sunantilambanomai in the original Greek text. It means “to take hold together against.” Now, “together” means that our participation is required. In other words, the Holy Spirit sunantilambanomai or takes hold together with us against the problem. So if you just sit back and don’t take hold of the problem, the Holy Spirit has nothing to “take hold of” with you. If you don’t pray, He has nothing to plead. If you keep quiet, then even if He wants to pray through you, He can’t. But when you release your prayer in tongues, you are allowing Him to pray through you. And He will take hold together with you against the problem, and pray the perfect prayer through you because “He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And you can be confident that when you ask anything according to the will of God, He hears you. And if you know that He hears you, whatever you ask, you know that you have the petitions that you have asked of Him (see 1 John 5:14–15)! [abc]
There Is No Spot In You April 27, 2020 bizadmin You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you. Song Of Solomon 4:7 THERE IS NO SPOT IN YOU Jesus tells us His bride, “You are all fair, My love, and there is no spot in you.” But our reply to Him tends to be, “Me? All fair and no spot? You don’t know me, Lord!” Do you really think that God doesn’t know you? God sees reality like no one else sees it. He sees the perfection of His Son’s finished work in your life. By one offering of Himself at the cross, Jesus has perfected you forever (see Hebrews 10:14)! You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). And you will never find any spot in this righteousness that Jesus died to give you. So God wants you to see yourself righteous—all fair and spotless in Christ. Every day, be conscious of your righteousness in Christ. Say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. There is no spot in me whom He has perfected with His blood.” When you do that, you are honoring Jesus and His finished work. [abc] If you are conscious of your sins, then you are not honoring the work of Christ. You may think that you are being humble or holy by being sin-conscious. But do you know that the Bible calls sin-consciousness an “evil conscience”? Hebrews 10:21–22 tells us that since we have Jesus as our High Priest, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” What does the writer of Hebrews mean by “an evil conscience”? If you read the beginning of the same chapter, you will find that he is talking about a “consciousness of sins” (see Hebrews 10:2). Paul calls it a “conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). The Greek word for “seared” here is kauteriazo, and it means to carry about with you a perpetual consciousness of sin. So don’t carry with you evil or seared conscience. Your lifetime of sins has already been punished fully in the body of Jesus at the cross. Be conscious, instead, of your perfection and righteousness in Christ. Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can boldly declare, “I am all fair. There is no spot in me!” [abc]
Seek First God’s Kingdom April 24, 2020 bizadmin [abc] “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:31–33 As a child of God, know that it is your Father’s pleasure to meet all your needs. Jesus Himself tells us, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” But God does not want you to seek after things. He wants you to seek first His kingdom. And when you do that, all the things that you need will be added to you! So your first priority every day is to seek His kingdom. The word “first” in verse 33 is the Greek word proton, which means “first in order or importance, holding the highest place in all our affections.” My friend, God wants us to seek first His kingdom, and all things will fall gloriously in place. [abc] We are not to seek after things the way Gentiles do. The word “seek” in “the Gentiles seek” (verse 32) is the Greek word epizeteo. It means “to seek with all their might with much sweat or with much stress.” However, the way God wants us to “seek” in “seek first the kingdom of God” is the Greek word zeteo, which means “to hunger, to desire to worship.” It is simply a hungering, a desiring for the kingdom of God, without any labor or toil. But what is the kingdom of God? Romans 14:17 tells us that it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And the kingdom of God dwells within you because the Holy Spirit indwells you. So the kingdom of God is His righteousness, peace and joy in you. Beloved, if you want to have peace and joy in the Holy Spirit flowing inside you, then seek every day to be conscious of your righteousness in Christ, not your own righteousness, but His righteousness given to you as a gift. Pursue Jesus first. Spend time with Him and listen to His Word. And when you do these things, you are seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the things that you need will be added to you! [abc]
Easter Bunny and Happy Easter 2020 April 12, 2020 bizadmin It’s a known fact across the United States that the egg-laying Easter Bunny goes hand in hand with Easter Sunday. Every year, eager children rush to their Easter baskets (likely a great DIY Easter basket idea) to see what kinds of treats, chocolate bunnies, and other special fillers the furry, mythical creature left behind for them. But, just like Santa Claus and Christmas, the mysterious hare has no obvious connections to the Christian significance of this post-Lent holy day. So, what are the Easter bunny’s origins, and why has it become such a prevalent symbol? 🍰🎂🧁 [abc] What does a rabbit have to do with Easter? One theory of the Easter Bunny’s origins is that it stemmed from early pagan celebrations around the vernal equinox, says Time. Pagans celebrated the springtime renewal of life as well as the goddess of dawn and fertility, Eostre, who was often represented by the hare or an egg. As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the celebrations around the vernal equinox may have merged with the observance of Christ’s resurrection, since they both occurred around the same time. Missionaries were said to blend pagan traditions with Christian holidays to make the transition smoother, so it is possible that the celebrations of Eostre and the resurrection of Christ became one. 🌸💐🍀 [abc]
Happy Good Friday 2020 April 11, 2020 bizadmin Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, and Black Friday. Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, and Reformed traditions, observe Good Friday with fasting and church services. The date of Good Friday varies from one year to the next on both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world, including in most Western countries and 12 U.S. states. Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day. [abc] According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus’ disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) (Matthew 26:14–16) for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled (John 18:1–24). Personal Views It started with Maundy Thursday, followed by Good Friday and today is Holy Saturday. Tomorrow will be Easter Sunday, where for the first time, all Christians, if not most of them, will celebrate this beautiful day at home due to the lockdown of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. It is postulated to be a year of recession, according to the Singapore Government. This will last for quite some time, maybe up to next year, and many companies are closing down due to no income and money to roll and to tide over during this challenging period. So, in the meantime, for most of us staying put in the comfort of our home, let’s keep occupied by reading, learning a new course, and stay sane and happy. Be Safe and Be Happy! [abc]
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – An Andrew Llyod Webber’s Musical April 10, 2020 bizadmin Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is based on the “coat of many colors” story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly in 2005. Look out for Joan Collins as the seductive Mrs. Potiphar in this 1 hour 20 minutes long musical. Donny Osmond stars as Joseph. Act I Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is based on the story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. [abc] A Narrator opens the show by introducing Joseph, the dreamer (“Prologue – Any Dream Will Do) . The Narrator then draws the audience’s attention to Joseph’s father and his 12 sons (“Jacob and Sons”). Jacob has given Joseph, his youngest and favorite son, a multi-colored coat and his brothers are envious of him (“Joseph’s Coat”). The brothers’ jealousy is compounded by Joseph’s dreams, which suggests that he is destined to rule over them (“Joseph’s Dreams”). To stop this from happening they try to kill him, before changing their minds and selling him as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites (“Poor, Poor Joseph”). To hide what they have done, Joseph’s brothers and their wives tell Jacob that his beloved son has been killed by a wild animal. As proof, they show Joseph’s coat, which they have torn to pieces and covered in goat’s blood (“One More Angel in Heaven”). When the devastated Jacob exits, the brothers and wives cheerfully celebrate Joseph’s departure (“Hoedown”). Meanwhile, Joseph is taken to Egypt (“Journey to Egypt”). There he is bought as a slave by the wealthy Potiphar. He works hard and is promoted, eventually running the household. Joseph catches the eye of Mrs. Potiphar and although he turns down her advances, Potiphar sees them together and jumps to the wrong conclusion (“Potiphar”). Furious, he throws Joseph in jail. A miserable Joseph laments his situation (“Close Every Door”), but things look up when two prisoners, both former servants of the Pharaoh, are put in his cell. Joseph interprets their strange dreams and predicts the Butler will return to Pharaoh’s service, while the Baker will be executed. On hearing his prophecies, the other prisoners encourage Joseph to follow his own dreams (“Go, Go, Go, Joseph”). [abc] Act II The Narrator opens the second act with news that there’s a glimmer of light for Joseph in jail: Pharaoh himself had a run of crazy dreams and nobody can interpret them (“Pharaoh Story”). Pharaoh’s (now freed) Butler tells him of Joseph’s skills deciphering dreams (“Poor, Poor Pharaoh”). Pharaoh has Joseph brought to him and describes his dream involving seven fat cows, seven skinny cows and seven healthy ears of corn, and seven dead ears of corn (“Song of the King”). Joseph deduces that there will be seven plentiful years of crops followed by seven years of famine (“Pharaoh’s Dreams Explained”). Impressed with what he hears, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of preparations for the famine and the former slave becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, Pharaoh’s right-hand man (“Stone the Crows”). Meanwhile, Joseph’s family back home is struggling due to the famine, with his brothers regretting what they did to him and how they lied to their father (“Those Canaan Days”). Hearing that Egypt still has food, they travel there to beg for supplies (“The Brothers Come to Egypt”). In Egypt, the brothers request food from Joseph, not realizing who he is (“Grovel, Grovel”). Joseph gives them sacks of food but puts a golden cup in the one belonging to Benjamin, his youngest brother, whom he has never met. When the brothers attempt to depart, Joseph stops them, accusing them of theft. Each brother empties his sack (“Who’s the Thief?”) and when the cup is found in Benjamin’s sack Joseph accuses him of stealing. The other brothers beg Joseph to take them, prisoner, instead and let Benjamin go free (“Benjamin Calypso”). Joseph sees that his brothers have changed and reveals who he really is (“Joseph All the Time”). Joseph sends for his father and the pair are reunited (“Jacob in Egypt”). Joseph wears his colored coat again (“Any Dream Will Do”/ “Close Every Door”). [abc]
Power From Jesus’ Body To Yours April 4, 2020 bizadmin … “Take, eat; this is My body.” Matthew 26:26 POWER FROM JESUS’ BODY TO YOURS Can you imagine the Lord sick, nursing a cold or fever while He walked on earth? No, our Lord Jesus was never sick! He was vibrant, full of life and full of health. When He told His disciples, “Take, eat; this is My body,” they could practically visualize what it meant because they had lived and walked with this Man. They had seen people without hands or feet made whole when they touched His body (see Matthew 15:30–31). Even His clothes were soaked with His health! A woman who had a bleeding condition for 12 years—no doctor could cure her—was healed immediately when she touched the hem of His garment. If the hem of His garment was soaked with His health, vibrancy, energy and divine radiance, how much more His body! You know, some of the most encouraging verses in the Gospels are these: “And as many as touched Him were made well” (Mark 6:56), for “power went out from Him and healed them all” (Luke 6:19). I love those verses! That is our Jesus! [abc] The Bible says that they put sick people along the streets, and Jesus walked around, touched them and healed them. Now, you see movie stars doing this: They run here and there, they slap their fans’ hands, but nobody gets healed. But wherever Jesus walked, whoever He touched, He healed. Picture this: A trail of people. Those in front of Jesus are lying down, but those behind Him whom He has touched are leaping with joy and following Him! That is how Jesus healed the sick. So that night, when He said, “Take, eat; this is My body,” He broke the bread and gave it to His disciples to eat, they knew what it meant. They were probably thinking, “We are going to ingest His health into our bodies! Hallelujah!” That is what you must believe when you partake of the Holy Communion. It is not just a ritual or symbolic act. No, you must believe that He is the true bread from heaven who took your cancer, diabetes and heart disease so that you can have His supernatural health! And when you eat of His broken body with this revelation, you will have life in abundance and the health of the Lord! -Joseph Prince [abc]
Confessing Your Righteousness Pleases God March 28, 2020 bizadmin …the righteousness of faith speaks… Romans 10:6 CONFESSING YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS PLEASES GOD Every time you confess, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ,” God the Father is pleased. When you confess that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, it reminds Him of what His Son has done for you to become righteous. Also, by making you righteous, God is showing Himself righteous—“to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Each time Jesus hears you confess, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ,” it brings much pleasure to His heart too, because you are laying hold of what He suffered and died to give you. [abc] The Holy Spirit, who now indwells you to convict you of righteousness (see John 16:10), also rejoices when you confess, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” He is pleased when you flow with Him. The delight of the Godhead is not the only thing you gain when you declare, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” The Bible tells us that when you “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Whether it is food, clothing or other necessities in life, “all these things” will be added to you. They will not just be given to you but added to you as your inheritance when you seek first His righteousness. You don’t need to use your faith for every single need in life. You just need to use your faith for one thing—to believe that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, and it will cause all the blessings you seek to come after you and overtake you! -Joseph Prince [abc]