When You Are Up To Nothing, God Is Up To Something!

When You Think It Is All Over, Think Again, God Is Doing Something New!!!

By Abraham Israel

There was a time in my life when I was so confused whether to be in full time ministry or do some work outside in a company and continue to work for the Lord. This was happening when I was around 23 to 24 years of age, particularly after I was recovering from a serious physical infirmity which God allowed to come to me a couple of years earlier in order to speak to me personally through which He desired for me to obey His voice (Psa 119:67-68, 71; Lam 3:25-33, 57). Here I was with a promise of God which God spoke saying, "Do my work and I will bless you...," but internally crushed not knowing what to do and how to support myself further if I do God's work.

In the midst of all my problems, I would sincerely seek for the will of God to be fulfilled in my life and pray for it regularly (Lam 3:25). When ever I would pray like that, joy would fill my heart, and when ever I would take my eyes of Jesus and would search for some job for my survival I would become peace less. Then further pressure from family and public regarding my job would make me miserable after which finally I would not be able to get in to any job too because of consistent failure in getting through. At that time God spoke to me regarding this situation saying, "Even when the whole night the professional fisher men tried to get some fish and return back to their business they were not able to get one fish, but once they became hopeless I gave them enough until their nets began to break (John 21:3-19; Luke 5:1-11). If you try to get on with your job professionally when I want you to work for Me, you will never get it. But if in your hopelessness you seek my Kingdom, all these things will be added to you in abundance..." Then I firmly decided to pursue God's will and be in full time ministry even if it means mockery from others or severe financial crisis because of it. Then I joined Bible college surrendering all of me to God and looking to Him for all sustenance.

From that time God supernaturally filled my life with peace and joy in the midst of all my needs. I began to understand in my life what it means to say, "The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not be in want!" Even though my elder Brother John was the first one to come to my city Bangalore because God gave clear guidance to him to come to this place saying, "A city on a Hill cannot be hidden" (Matt 5:14), He returned back soon to pursue other things back at our hometown. Truly after that God became the source of my joy and my dreams. At that time as I was left alone to trust God for my survival, God supernaturally moved and provided all my needs day after day. Then my Brother John after a couple of years slowly moved back to Bangalore and wanted to get in to a job.

At that time I became full of faith trusting the Lord for everything. So I took the spiritual leadership in our home and guided my elder Brother as he came back to Bangalore. God's anointing became stronger and stronger on me day after day. As He went to an interview, I prayed and sent him to it. But then something happened, they told him to come again. When I asked God, He told clearly that my elder Brother should go to the interview further and that he will be able to get the job in a couple of times. Exactly the third time He got in to the company, but seeing that it was more of a service providing company with a moderate salary, he was very skeptical about the job. Then I told him that it was God's will that he should get in to the job, and God will supernaturally lead and bless him if he will trust the Lord's way. Then he agreed and joined the job. He worked hard and came first in the company and they honored him in various ways. Then he understood what it is to be in the favor of the Lord.

Then after working for a couple of years in that company, suddenly they told that they are going to close the process, and all the two years of experience will not be considered as a technological one but more of as a call center based service providing one. That means in the outside market, the experience will not mean much for a better job opportunity. He was heartbroken on that weekend and went back to our home town with tears. But I sensed something different within my spirit, an unusual joy that something good is going to happen. I told to my elder Brother that God is going to do something good as you will come again, so rejoice in the Lord because you have obeyed God and you are in the will of God. Then with a very little strength he came back and went to his office on Monday, he then me told that he felt that something different is happening in his office. Then people told him that the company to which they were providing technical online service has decided to take all the people in to their own process, in to their own company that they are starting newly in India and are ready to take him as their very own employee. Not only that, they told that they will add the past experience as though they were working for their own company and will also increase their pay and position to a higher level. Then at that time he understood the power of rejoicing when there seems to be a crisis especially when we are walking in the will of God. GLORY TO GOD! For God's glory he has continued to work as trainer, assistant manager and team leader until now in the same company.

After I got married in Dec 29, 2011, my wife Florence was working in a business and technological park as a assistant manager. Everything was fine for a couple of months after our marriage. Suddenly one fine day as we were praying in the morning before she could leave for work, God gave a word of wisdom in my prayer that my wife will be getting promotion very soon. At that point of time, their team had perfect unity and all were enjoying their work. But in the same weekend, the management got in to trouble with a good manager who had been faithful to them, and because of a wrong guidance within, they terminated him. Then problem started for my wife more and more along with their team members, who one after another started to jump out of the company because of the bad treatment from the new manager. On that particular weekend, she was very discouraged not knowing which company to go if they throw her out too and had tears in her eyes. But I remembered what happened to my elder Brother when he faced the same situation and told my wife about it and how God turned the "mourning into joyful dancing and sorrow in to joy" (Psa 30:11; John 16:20), I reminded her to cheer up and rejoice that God will not fail his word. I sensed again this time that something good God is going to do, then again by God's grace she got a interview call early next week in a new company. She was very glad about it. As she went for that interview, they told her that she will be getting no promotion but only the same job profile according to her present qualification and experience. She told yes and came, and then told to me about this. I simply told her that God will not fail His word and may the will of God be done in your life as He wants. Again I told her that God wants to make you know that it is only He who has given you something higher and that is why they have told to you like this. On the day the new company gave their joining order, to her surprise they mentioned that she has been given a manager post along with a good pay hike which is actually a promotion to her from her previous job profile. Nobody who came out of the old company was able to get such favor of God immediately like her. GLORY TO GOD!

Then she started working as a manager in the new company and faced many troubles from her higher ups many times in her new job. When she joined in that new job, she had to travel to various sites of her company each day as a part of her probationary period in the first month, after that she was put in a office that was nearly 15-20 kms away from our present place and needed at least 1 hour of travel with two buses to change. We came to know that she has become pregnant by the grace of God just before that time. So it was very stressful to her too. But the great faith she had knowing that it is God who had given her this job made her to face all difficulties with rejoicing in her heart (James 1:2-4). That spirit of rejoicing in our home made God's grace to be available in abundance towards her and me the whole period of time. Each day new grace of God was sufficient to carry her all through the way. Praise the Lord!

What can we learn from the above incidents? God will never fail His word. He has good plans for us in our lives. But when we are disrupted in our comfort zone, rejoice that something good and better God is taking us to. God will never close a door before He know the door in which He wants to take you further in to His destiny for you. Never be sad when a door closes, but rejoice that God has some other door ready to be opened for you when you are facing any kind of crisis in your personal life. God never fails to those who trust in His unfailing love and mercies. So keep trusting the Lord and you will never fail to rejoice and be glad in Him. Reminding you my favorite verse which says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Php 4:4). Praise the Lord!

"God enjoys you the best when you enjoy Him the best." — Abraham Israel

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What Does The Spirit Of Truth Do In Our Lives?

Is The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit So Important To Be Talked About?

Question : Someone I know was talking about "The Spirit of Truth", and how the Holy Spirit shows us the illusions of our mind, or the things we believe to be true about people but they are not, or the erroneous perceptions we have about ourselves, etc..., this has happened to me many times, God has shown me "the truth", about people and situations even though this was painful and horrible at the time.

I think this is what the Holy Spirit does, He shows people "reality" as it is, even if it means that we have to let people go, or we have to lose what we have. I have lost more since I have been a Christian than I have ever done before, as God keeps eliminating what is false in my life. But this aspect of the Holy Spirit is never really talked about, or at least I have never heard anyone talk about this. What is your perspective? Thank you in advance and Blessings....

Answer : Greetings to you in Jesus name! The world is working upside down, and we through practicing the truth of Jesus are again turning the worldly mind set downside up to make it work in the right godly way in which it is supposed to work. The whole world judges everybody and everything except themselves. But we as the people of God are told to judge ourselves first and not others of their faults and iniquities as the world does (1 Cor 11:32). The people of the world condemn themselves by condemning and judging others rather than themselves first (Mat 7:1). God has clearly started the freedom of the Spirit and the kingdom liberty that he gives to reign spiritually in the lives of the people of God by making self judgment start first within the Church (2 Cor 3:17; Gal 5:1; 1 Peter 4:17). The world is already judged and condemned to be in darkness because they have not believed the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they can be saved from sin, darkness and condemnation of the evil one, once a unbeliever dies he will be eternally judged immediately to be separated from the Presence of God forever after (John 3:18-19; 2 Thess 1:9).

When we encounter the truth of Jesus in our lives, many people who were our family members, friends and acquaintances might leave us and may even become our enemies (Matt 10:34-39). But those who are eager to follow Jesus and grow spiritually in Him, must place their self life below the spiritual priorities, their love for their own family below the love for Jesus. Only then, without fail a believer will be able to stand for the truth of Jesus and please God in his God-given life time (John 14:6). Truth is like a sword that cut the flesh of soulishness away from our lives and replaces it with the spiritual guidance of the Holy Spirit (Heb 4:12-13). Truth is the reality of how God sees us and our situations in which the decisions we make might help us grow in spiritual relationship and intimacy with Himself. If we really want to grow spiritually, though it might cause pain, we have to allow the sword of truth to fall on us again and again (Eph 6:17). As much as the adage "without pain there is no gain" applies to the physical muscular growth of our body, the same applies to our spiritual part of our lives too.

When Jesus told to his disciples about His imminent death and his departure to heaven to be at the right hand of our Father God, they were very discouraged and heart broken. They felt like they were going to be orphaned without Jesus who until then acted as their father and mother who sustained them both spiritually and physically (John 16:5-6). They had everything when Jesus was with them. But then, Jesus knowing how they felt inside their heart, told to them all, one of the greatest truth ever said till today. Jesus said, "7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:7-14).

Jesus was the personal spiritual guide who trained them all under His personal ministry for three and a half years to become His witnesses to the whole wide world. When ever they had any doubt about any thought, people, themselves and or any other thing regarding their spiritual lives, immediately they consulted Jesus to understand which is truth from the false deceit of the evil one. Jesus shone the light of God on themselves, others and Himself as long as He was with them (John 9:5). But at the point of departing to heaven by dying on the Cross, He introduced a advantageous new Helper the Holy Spirit who can be with the disciples at all times and places by dwelling within them unlike Jesus who can be at only one place at a time (John 14:17). Jesus declared Himself as "the truth" (John 14:6) and in the same like manner He declared the Holy Spirit as "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17, a) which in other words mean that there can be no other person like Jesus to tell the truth of the spiritual condition about ourselves, others and about God except the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that as long as the disciples have the Holy Spirit to be within them, they cannot be a spiritual orphan because the voice of Jesus Himself will come to them through the Holy Spirit who will speak and repeat what Jesus will speak towards them from heaven (John 14:18; 16:13-14).

The Holy Spirit in all His Characteristics was declared by Jesus to be like Himself in all essence of spiritual guidance of teaching right from wrong, giving comfort, giving courage to be a witness to all people around us and compassion towards our weakness (John 14:26; Acts 1:8; Rom 8:26-27). Father God in heaven made a pact with Jesus and promised Him that if He by faith will leave and submit all the disciples of His and return back to heaven trusting the Father to send the Holy Spirit and guide them in to all truth (John 17:11, 14-15; 14:16), then surely the Holy Spirit will be sent, but until then it is not possible (John 16:7). So according to the understanding of His apostolic disciples at that time, once Jesus goes away to be with the Father God in heaven at His right hand of sovereign authority over all the world (Mark 16:19-20; John 16:28), He will be able to send the Holy Spirit to all disciples for the supernatural spiritual guidance from heaven, which will be equal to and even more than the effect of Jesus walking with all disciples in the flesh and guiding them in to all truth about God and His ways (John 16:7; 15:26-27; 14:15-18, 26). The greatest advantage of having the presence of Jesus and the promise of Jesus in which He said, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen." (Matt 28:20) was made possible through the Holy Spirit who made Jesus to be real and alive at all times and places to His disciples by coming within them to deliver the voice of Jesus and His presence to them personally.

Jesus clearly described that once the Holy Spirit comes in to the world on behalf of Jesus to be a mouth piece to Him, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. In other words, the believers will be convicted when they follow the thinking of the world instead of the thinking of Christ so that they can be able to walk in the perfect will of God for their lives (Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 2:16), then when the believers sin, they will convicted to repent of it through confessing it to God and be clean from it (Heb 4:4-6; 1 John 1:7, 9). Then the Holy Spirit will speak to them how they cannot be accused or condemned for the sin or mistakes they have done because of becoming the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1; 2 Cor 5:21) and finally the Holy Spirit will speak of the truth of the defeat of Satan and all his evil powers at the Cross, and how the sins of each believer and the requirement of the wages of sins demanded according to the justice of God have been completely paid by Jesus in full and wiped off by Jesus who had taken it out of our way and have nailed it to the Cross, so that we could contact God without any difficulty about our failures, because God has already forgiven all our trespasses (Col 2:13-14; John 19:30). Praise the Lord!

The above precious ministry of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for all believers because when we sin, we can again believe Jesus to help stand against its deceitfulness (Heb 3:12-14; 1 John 2:1-2), then when we are condemned by the evil demons for our sins, we can be able to overcome it by declaring how we have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus even though we do not see Him because He has gone to Our Father in heaven and we see Him no more (2 Cor 5:21; John 16:10), and finally to rebuke and drive away all the demons of hell by confessing against them and reminding them of the judgment that had taken place on the Cross of Calvary two thousand years ago, where the ruler of this world has been judged and thus have ceased to have any authority over us who have become the children of God in Christ Jesus (Rev 12:10-12; Col 2:15; Matt 28:18-20; Luke 10:18-20; John 1:12).

Thus we must understand that there is no substitute for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gives us liberty in our Christian lives and makes us grow spiritually to bring Glory to God through Jesus Christ in our lives (2 Cor 3:17-18; John 16:14). Without the Holy Spirit of God we cannot be guided in to all truth without any error creeping in to our lives to deceive us. But with the Holy Spirit's guidance, we can get light of the truth on ourselves, others and God Himself because the Holy Spirit will only tell us what Jesus wants to tell to us from heaven, of how we should with wisdom act in order to walk in the exact will of God. Like Jesus was the Light of God on earth as long as He was present, we too can be a light of God to all those who are in the earth without it (John 9:5; Matt 5:14-16). When we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will be able to experience every kind of spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus that the Father God has stored for us in the heavenlies, which if known by us through revelation and faith, have the power to shake the world with the light of heaven on earth (John 16:15; Eph 1:3). Be a light house of God for the darkened world which is searching for a beacon of hope to know and experience the reality of truth!

Much Blessings.....

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Is There A Command For My Parents When They Do Wrong?

Should I Honor My Parents Even When They Are Wrong?

Question : I need an answer to this Urgently, if you don't mind? It is written in 10 Commandments that we should respect our parents, but if in case our parents are wrong, what is the command for them? Plz reply now if possible. God bless you.

Answer : Greetings to you in Jesus name! The 5th command of the Ten Commandments says, "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you." (Deut 5:16). The Greek word for honor means “to revere, prize, and value.” Honor is giving respect not only for merit but also for rank in which God has placed our parents over us. The basic principle of honoring one's parent from the Ten Commandments was commanded by God to us so that we could learn to submit to the spiritual guidance of our parents whom God has placed over our lives by his own choice. Each parents are responsible to God to properly guide us in God's ways by teaching us by being an example to us. This parenting responsibility which God has responsibly put in their hands will one day be evaluated by God to reward them eternally according to the way they have trained their children to become godly men and women of God (Eph 6:4; Deut 6:1-9; Matt 10:42).

We need to obey our parents till we cross our age of accountability or innocence which is expressed by God to be anytime under the age of twenty. The age of accountability and innocence might vary according to the culture, upbringing, faith of the parent and the emotional growth and understanding of the youngster. If we have got married before that time in our lives, again we are freed spiritually and legally from submitting to our parent. Generally, it may be attaining the age of twenty or our marriage, which ever comes earlier will makes us get severed from from this familial responsibility and binding of submitting towards our parents (Deut 1:34-39; Num 14:29-30). We see that when Jesus was twelve years old, at that time itself he was longing to serve God the Father (Luke 2:41-50). But He submitted to their imperfect parents till in to his thirties (Luke 3:23; John 2:3-5). Considering the sin nature which acted in his parents which Jesus did not have, it must have caused him to submit to them in obedience for everything and then suffer for doing it many times. Through this Jesus has set Himself as a perfect example for us all to follow (Luke 2:51; 1 Peter 2:20-21). Though our parents are not perfect, we should choose to submit to them if what they say is not against the word of God (Eph 6:1-3). Only in the case of knowing what they say is against the word and will of God, we should choose to obey God at that point of time and again submit to them in all other things as usual after that (Acts 4:18-20).

In the case of unbelieving parents, the same should be applied. What ever things that God says clearly in the Bible to keep, should be the highest priority in our lives as we are God children first and then the next priority is to our earthly parents who are our physical parents appointed by God to look after our well being. If our parents do wrong things in their lives, one day they have to give account to God for what they have done wrongly (Heb 9:27; Eccl 12:14). It is not the children's business to rebuke the parents, as God has told to speak respectfully and graciously to all elders and not rebuke them even if they are wrong (1 Tim 5:1-2). Instead we as God's children to have peace in our home we should pray for our parents so that God might touch their hearts and change them if they are wrong in anything (1 Tim 2:1-2).

When our parents become old, still we have the responsibility to honor them out of gratitude, through financially, emotionally and physically helping them until they die. Any hypocritical reasons we give not to fulfill these important responsibilities will take away the blessing of a long life away from us (Matt 7:9-13). Jesus was so much concerned about the well being of his mother as the first son of his family, so that even in the midst of all the pain He went through before his physical death on the Cross, He personally asked his closest disciple to take care of her as his own mother (John 19:26-27). In this too, Jesus has shown himself to be the greatest example for all of us to follow when our parents become old or in need.

When we obey this commandment of honoring our parents which comes with a promise, God will see it and will make sure that we are blessed with a long and a satisfied life in our future time (Eph 6:2-3). Long life is a gift and is absolutely a blessing of God that God only gives to those who honor their parents (Psa 91:16). Wish you a long and a blessed life ahead!


Much Blessings...

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Which Day Is Sabbath Day For Christians?

More On : Is Keeping Sabbath Important?

Question : No Change Documented in the Bible. In both Old and New Testament there is not a shadow of variation in the doctrine of the Sabbath. The seventh day, Saturday, is the only day ever designated by the term Sabbath in the entire Bible. Not only was Jesus a perfect example in observing the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, but all His disciples followed the same pattern after Jesus had gone back to heaven. Yet no intimation of any change of the day is made. The apostle Paul, who wrote pages of counsel about lesser issues of Jewish and Gentile conflicts, had not one word to say about any controversy over the day of worship. Circumcision, foods offered to idols, and other Jewish customs were readily challenged by early Gentile Christians in the church, but the weightier matter of weekly worship never was an issue. Why? For the simple reason that no change was made from the historic seventh day of Old Testament times, and from creation itself. Had there been a switch from the Sabbath to the first day of the week, you can be sure the controversy would have been more explosive than any other to those Jewish Christians.

The whole point is not keeping the true sabbath legalistically, its about honoring God. Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments. So true love is keeping God's commandments, we love Him not when we try to work our way into heaven. Paul never talked about doing away with the Sabbath holy days etc.. He was talking about the gnostic and ascetic beliefs that was creeping into the church at the time.

Answer : In the New Testament the Sabbath is internal in our heart whereas in the Old Testament it was external (Heb 4:9-10). So no one should confuse the two. If you want to keep Sabbath on Saturday, well and good, if you keep it on Sunday, well and good, New Testament accommodates flexible timing to set apart a day of worship towards the Lord and meditate upon His word, which can be a Sunday as people already have leave in various parts of the world (Col 2:16-23).

Sabbath in itself means rest and therefore needs no explanation. Yes you are right in the area of Love where the Spirit of God will help us walk in it. Yet there is no right or wrong way of keeping Sabbath in the New Testament as it has become an internal one.

Clearly we must also understand that writer of Hebrews was speaking and reminding about "a rest" which really means internal that remains for the people of God and not "the rest" which is Sabbath Keeping that comes week after week (Heb 4:9; Exod 20:11).

This does not point to the Israelites entering Canaan either, because the word of God says, "Now it came to pass, a long time after the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age." (Jos 23:1). But David nearly five hundred years after Joshua had given rest speaks about a spiritual rest in Psalm 95:7-8 that comes as a result of hearing and responding to the voice of God internally, of which it says that the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses missed the internal rest which comes by faith and then as a result of it missed the external rest too, when they did not believe God's word of promise and missed the Canaan physical rest which the second generation under Joshua experienced (Deut 1:21-32). The twenty and above crowd who were above the age of accountability were denied by God the external rest of Canaan because they did not want the internal rest which comes by hearing and believing the word of God (Deut 1:34-39; Num 14:29-30; Rom 10:17). If Joshua had given the Israelites "a rest" permanently and internally, then God would not have spoken through David of another day afterward in which they need to enter in to a rest by obeying the voice of God and not harden one's heart through unbelief (Heb 4:7-8).

There are three steps of faith that one has to go through until we reach God's timing in which the perfection of faith will happen, which is nothing but the work of faith finally displayed through one's action that will help us get the reward for now and for eternity ahead (James 2:22). God's work of faith done in God's timing will bring the provision of reward in the right time. The three steps are Hearing of faith in which faith comes in to us (Rom 10:17; Gal 3:5), Fight of faith in which we keep the faith that God has given intact without losing it (1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7) and finally the Rest of faith which teaches us to be patiently delighting in the Lord while we look forward to the reward of God that is awaiting us (Heb 4:1-3,9-11; 6:12; 10:35-36; Psa 37:4). The external physical rest was a copy and shadow of the internal rest that comes to us spiritually by believing the promises of God, which is considered by God as the real Sabbath rest which He expects all believers to keep it with out fail (Heb 4:9-11).

The external Sabbath law was just a copy and a shadow of the real spiritual rest that God had planned for all believers spiritually and internally within (Heb 8:4-5). This is the reason apostle Paul instructed the New Testament believers saying, "16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. 20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Col 2:16-23). So no one should be allowed to judge us spiritually according to the law of the Old Testament which is a shadow, but the spiritual reality of the New Testament which leans on maintaining relationship with God and men through love in Christ rather than keeping the law should be our prime priority. When we love God and men, we live not by subjecting ourselves to regulation of the law of the Old Testament which Christ kept for us fully and has replaced within us internally with the law of the Spirit who influences us to live 24/7/365 for God and God alone (Matt 5:17-19; Rom 8:2). Christ expects all believers to keep this internal law so that the external also can line up with it (Matt 23:25-26), the Pharisees kept all the external law of the Old Testament without any internal spiritual law which the Holy Spirit guides and gives energy to fulfill it, of which Christ pointed out and said that the law keeping should go beyond Pharisaical external means (Matt 5:20).

Say for example, you are having a copy of your wife's picture in your pocket while you have gone to some foreign land to participate in a war, once you have won the war and return back to your home, will you still have the copy of your wife's photo and cherish over it when your real wife is standing physically before you. It is a madness to do something like that. The law is like a photo that had been given to guide us spiritually for a while until Christ who is the real substance would come in to our heart to guide us spiritually in to receiving the very life of God within us (Gal 3:21-25; 2 Peter 1:19).

The record of history, from the Resurrection of Christ, Christians have always worshiped on the first day of the week (Sunday) and never on the Sabbath (7th day). Sunday is not a Christian Sabbath or a day of rest, or a holy day to be kept based on any Biblical law or instruction. On the first day of the week, the saints during Roman rulership in the first few centuries had a day off or leave officially, and so in that day they utilized to gather together as a Church to worship and celebrate communion with one another in fellowship (Acts 20:7). So before the end of the 1st Century AD, the author of the last Book of Revelation who was Apostle John gave the first day its name as the "Lord's Day" because on this day the Lord has risen from the dead (Rev. 1:10; Luke 24:1, 6-7, 20-21, 34-35; 1 Cor 16:1-2). Besides this Biblical truth, Saint Justin Martyr (100 A.D. - 165 A.D.), philosopher and defender of the Christian faith, in his historical writings described and confirms that the Christians gathered together for worship on the Lord's Day: the gospels or the Old Testament was read, the presiding minister preached a sermon, and the group prayed together and celebrated the Lord's Supper.

Christians are not under the ten commandments or any other law of Moses or of the Old Testament Prophets (John 1:17; Rom 6:14). By the way that does not mean that a Christian can steal, kill, commit adultery and do all kinds of evil things, if they do, the local governmental laws of the land will act and put then in prison because they are framed and put in force by the political servants of God who are rulers of each land whom God has appointed (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Tim 2:1-2; 1 Peter 4:15; 1 Peter 2:13-17). Christians are under a new law, a better Law, the law of Christ, (Gal 6:2) a better covenant (Heb 8:6-7). The better law of the Spirit which comes to us moment by moment when in relationship with God through Jesus Christ will fulfill the righteous requirement of the law in us because we are walking according to the direction of the Spirit of God (Rom 8:2, 4). So we do not break the law but instead keep it all in a higher level in the New Testament by the strength and power that comes by the Spirit within us.

So above all, the most important thing to keep is the Sabbath Rest which is entered internally within our heart by faith, that should be kept in our heart all the 7 days of the week in the New Testament time of ours. New Testament demands this higher level of spiritual life and rest in the Lord internally than mere physical and external keeping of Sabbath on just one day. We must understand this and be blessed eternally with the favor of God.

Do not misunderstand me thinking that I am advocating people not to keep the Sabbath day of rest once a week, all I am saying is that you can set apart any particular day of the week to have fellowship with God and the saints, as there is no set day or a rule to keep regarding Sabbath in the New Testament time. At the same time we should hear the apostolic writer to the Hebrews saying, "24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Heb 10:24-25). The gathering of saints once a week together on any particular day was advocated by the apostolic writers to emphasize the need to stir up love and good works, which can be maintained easily through exhorting one another. Some people were neglecting the gathering of saints to worship together once a week and did not realize the benefits that come to one's soul because of corporate fellowship and worship. So it was a heart felt exhortation of the writer to the Hebrews to all the Church saints to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. This day of assembling together can be a Sunday, but there is nothing official about it. Think about the Christians who are in the Middle East, they do not have leave given to them on Sunday, but faithfully they gather together on Friday to worship the Lord. In the same way, around the world saints gather together to worship the Lord at various times. Once a week it is good to set apart a day to take rest and fellowship with the Lord. But the external rest we do is to maintain the internal rest of faith that really pleases the Lord at all times. External Sabbath keeping without the Internal Sabbath Rest of Faith is a complete waste of time, but it good to have the inner Sabbath kept first by faith and then allow the external keeping to aid it.    

Much Blessings...

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Top 12 Reasons To Give Thanks To God On Thanksgiving

Why It Is Very Important To Give Thanks To God On Thanksgiving Day?

By Abraham Israel

Thanksgiving holiday can really become a holy day in its essence only when we remember to give thanks to God for all that He has done for the whole year.

It is important to given thanks to God on thanksgiving day because,

1) The day is set apart for this very purpose for which it is given. If you go on a holiday binge and enjoy the opening fanfare of the season without any thanks towards God for all His provision and protection for the whole year, you have completely forgotten the very purpose you have been given this day. Purposelessness will take you no where because it has no destination. Be purposeful!

2) Giving thanks to God will bring successful thoughts of prosperity from God and will lighten up your heart with the spiritual light of God from heaven, which will in turn drive away the darkness of the earthly realm (Rom 1:21).

3) Giving thanks to God makes God to give us more mercies and a repentant heart towards Himself (Rom 1:24). Though ten lepers came to Jesus asking Him to show mercy and was commanded by Him to show themselves to the priest, and as a result of obeying His command got healed. Only one Samaritan returned to give thanks to Jesus. Jesus was so sad to see people with no gratitude for receiving healing except this one man with no spiritual pedigree. Later Jesus made this Samaritan to become spiritually cleaned and a whole man because of his gratitude (Luke 17:11-19). True spiritual blessings of God are received only by people who are thankful for the physical blessings that they have been received from God freely (Matt 5:45; Luke 16:11-13).

4) Giving thanks to God actually glorifies Him and magnifies His goodness greatly (Psa 69:30).

5) Giving thanks to God helps us enter in to the gates of His Presence, even if we have failed to seek and be grateful to God for the whole year, this is the God given day and time to renew our relationship with God and enjoy His Presence again (Psa 100:4).

6) Giving thanks to God declares our testimony of faith that God is a good God and His love continues forever in our life, thus making God as a personal God of ours and our family (Psa 106:1; 118:28).

7) Giving thanks to God breeds miracles and makes us be satisfied in the supernatural provision of God (Mark 6:41-43). Expect your miracles to happen if you are celebrating thanksgiving as a gratitude towards God!

8) We should give thanks to God for all the supernatural spiritual graces that God has given us and our family to serve Him (1 Cor 1:4). We should never forget to give thanks to God for always giving "us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 15:57) and for always leading "us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us [...spreading] everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." (2 Cor 2:14).

9) If we say that we are really impacted by the awesomeness of God's grace in our lives, then it must naturally cause thanksgiving in our lives (2 Cor 4:14-16). When you generously celebrate and disperse the grace that you have received from God by helping people on thanksgiving, it will cause thanksgiving again towards God (2 Cor 9:10-11). Th domino effect of thanksgiving will increase more and more as you dispense, thus making God glad about your gratefulness toward Him that you have shown openly towards people in His name (Matt 10:42).

10) Being thankful towards God and giving Him petitions of all our need that we have faced in the past, will drive out the worries of the year that has gone by without any eventful change and will fill us with peace of God's assurance of the success that He will bring very soon in the area of all our need (Php 4:6-7).

11) Thank God that though we are not where we wish to be at the end of this year or not where we ought to be, yet we are not as we used to be before because of the spiritual grace and faith that God has given us and our loved ones who are beside us in our journey of life (2 Thess 1:3). We must remember to give thanks to God for our lovely family, colleagues, fellow students, church members and even for the enemies and problem makers in our life without which we would have never grown in our spiritual life (1 Thess 1:2; Php 1:3).

12) Finally giving thanks is a gratitude of worship towards God for all His benevolence towards us, do not fail to worship Him who deserves it on this thanksgiving day (Eph 5:19-20). Whether you eat a special thanksgiving turkey or a simple vegetarian food, whether you help people who are in need or preach a special sermon in the Church, whether you are present in a vacation paradise or in your lovely home enjoying the fellowship, whether you are present in a hospital or in your work place having no option than to work, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col 3:17).

Finally if you do not feel like being thankful after reading all the reason to do it, simply say to God by agreeing with me saying, "Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." (1 Chronicles 29:13). I pray even as you have said it, may the spirit of thanksgiving take hold of your heart and make you be thankful towards God for all the blessings you have experienced from heaven, so that you may continue to abound and super abound with all blessings of God in your life and yours. 

To all my dear readers, friends, brothers and sisters around the world, WISH YOU A BLESSED AND A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


Much Blessings....

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