BELIEVE IN GOD

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shalt have no other gods before Me.”(Exodus 20:2-3 NKJV)

Faithful Christians believe in God as Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.As a Christian, you cannot love God too much. He is in all the universe and He knows everything about every one who has ever lived and who will ever live. Despite the fact that He knows all, the amazing truth is that He loves everyone.God created man and He sustains man throughout life on this earth. Without His loving care, no one in the world could live for even an instant.And above all else that He has given man, He has given Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ to save all men. This is the best gift of all.Thank God for all He has done for you and pray that your heart will be so grateful to Him that you will love and serve Him every day of your life.Thank God that He is God and that He has created you; that He loves and cares for you; providing all your needs. Ask Him for help to be stronger in your faith and that He will help make you a better servant in everything you do.

BEING GODLY

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

They found no dirt, wrongdoing, faults or sin of neglect on the part of Daniel.

Like Daniel we should be people of character and integrity.

Endure hardship like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one serving as a devoted soldier gets entangled in affairs of this life. We must seek only to serve the Master (2 Timothy 2:4).

We should strive to be light unto the world like Daniel. Do everything heartily as working for God and we will receive an inheritance (Colossians 3:23, 24).

There will be lions in our lives so we need to prepare ourselves for battle. The devil is like a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may devour(1 Peter 5:8).

When Daniel prayed 3 times daily he was building an inner strength that could later be a comfort and aid in time of need. Daily prayer, repetitious worship, and daily Bible study may at the time not seem important in and of itself but, over time builds strength and fortifies our inner character and faith. It develops within us a reservoir of strength and full assurance that God will deliver us and help us to be able to bear any burden that may come our way.While God rescued Daniel by shutting the lions’ mouths, Daniel still spent all night with them in the lions den.

We often pray and want God to deliver or remove us totally out of crises (sin, sickness, financial difficulty, etc.). This deliverance may not be answered as we would like to see it, but God may still direct a deliverance which enables us to endure or overcome and escape(1 Corinthians 10:13).Jesus Christ through forgiveness on the cross can free us of the lions in our lives giving us the promise and pledge of a resurrection for all (Romans 1:4, 5).

Blessing God

“Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ...”(1 Peter 1:3)

What did Peter mean when he wrote those words in 1 Peter 1:3?

How did he do that and how can you do it?

In the common use, everyone understands the word “blessing.” The rain is a blessing. A loving, caring, helpful daughter is a blessing to her aging parents. But how do you bless God?When you are blessed you have received something. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” (1 Peter 1:3).As a Christian, God gives to you a “living hope.” This, however, does not apply to your blessing Him. Gratitude consists of the disposition of returning to another something, if only an expression of thanks, for favor received. In contrast, though you would never be able to return fully your obligation to Him.Your blessing God appears in your thinking well of Him; speaking well of Him; recommending Him to others. Perhaps you can see it praying, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Your “reasonable service” is explained in this verse, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Hopefully, this helps you understand better what Peter meant when he would have you bless God.

The Cross As A Story of Love

What would be the biggest and most famous story of love of all time?

While we think about it, let me tell you a story. We begin with a mother which was trapped in a blizzard accompanied by her little son. As the mother desperately looked for a way to save her son she decided to take off her thick cloths and wrap her son in them. In the morning her body was found lifeless, and frozen next to her body a pile of clothes was found. From that pile of clothes a cry of a baby came out; a child who was in fact alive and safe. When this boy grew he constantly would tell the tale of his mother’s sacrifice and love towards him.

This kind of love story warms our hearts and drives us to love our mothers more. It is always said that the love that always follows the love of God is the love of a mother. If we meditate a bit in this story we will find out that Christ did the exact same thing for us. The word of God tells us that he gave everything up for us and was even willing to die just so that we can have salvation through the sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. Now tell me, just how generous are we, and how much of our lives to we give to him? If we (the ones that say to pertain to the Church of our Lord) meditate and think about the sacrifice of Jesus more often, then we will be more grateful because we see that what Jesus did for us was not something easy. To be humiliated, abused and crucified just so that we can attain salvation through his blood would give us more than a good enough reason to be thankful and grateful to Him every day of our lives. Now let’s think of something else, Was Jesus obligated to give himself up for sacrifice? Of course not, he did this through pure love. If we go to the gospels we will find out how much Jesus suffered, for example if we go to John 19:1-11 it is narrated to us of the arrest of Jesus and the things he suffered for us. “So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on Him a purple robe”….. “Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “crucify Him, crucify Him” Pilate said to them “you take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.””…. “And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the place of a skull, which is translated in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center”.

These things were not written in the word of God so that we can find entertainment in ourselves, they were written so that we can obtain a living faith and so that we can transform our hearts. When we hear of the life and death of our Lord Jesus on the cross we should not hear these things and then forget them. Let us just imagine, if Christ did not come to this earth, what would happen to our lives? Simply put the answer would be that we would be owned by someone else, that is to say the devil. But that is why Jesus came to this earth, so that he could save what was his from the beginning.
Illustration
The story begins with a boy who made a boat with which he went to go play with in the river and while he was playing with it the current snatched the boat from his grasp leaving him desolate and sad. After a few days the boy saw his boat in a pawnshop and saw that his boat was for sale. When he entered the store he told the owner “this boat is mine, I made it but I lost it in the river while I played” the owner responded by saying “someone sold me this boat so if you want it you have to pay me the price that I am asking”, the boy quickly ran home and took out all his savings and ran back to the store to buy back his boat. When he got out of the store he told his boat “I love you a lot because I made you and I bought you. You are mine two times”
This is exactly what has happened to us, He made us. And when the current of sin snatched us away from Him we fell in to the hands of the devil. God sent his son so that he could save us and buy us out of sin through his blood that was shed on the cross. Now we are His twice just like in the story of the boy and his boat, Doesn’t this seem marvelous to you brother? Let’s see what
Matthew 20:28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”
1 Peter 1:18-19 “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”.
1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died in sins, might live for righteousness- by whose stripes you were healed”.
What else can we say about the story of Christ on the cross at Calvary? Well that it definitely is a story of Love. Let us just remember brethren that we were lost in our sins and our transgressions, we needed someone like Christ to come and save us. The only thing that is left for us to do is to be appreciative of that immense love he has towards us.
Conclusion
Before Jesus died on the cross He said “It is finished” according to John 19:30, after saying this he bowed his head and gave up His spirit. Jesus followed a plan for His life and finally he had fulfilled it. His death was not accidental, no one took his life away from him but rather he gave up His life following the plan of God to redeem us from our sins according to Galatians 1:4 “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”. Finally brethren what can we say or do but to thank our God and to be appreciative for all he has done for us.
May the Lord bless us today and always.

Antonio Arguera

A Time For Everything

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NKJV)

Whenever you are excited about something does it feel like an eternity to wait for it? I know that it is sometimes hard to be patient for things like dating, getting older, driving, and other matter of beings

In Ecclesiastes, chapter three, it tells us that there is a time for everything in heaven. We shouldn’t wish our lives away, but use every day that we have to teach someone else about the salvation of God.

Remember that God has a plan for everybody’s lives. Everything He does for us is not to hurt us, but help us.

There may be some pain along the line, but it is all worth it in the long run. Be happy that God sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.This life is short compared to the eternity that we will one day spend with God in heaven.

A PRESENT

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-33 NKJV)
We often hear,
“I’ll be glad when this day is over” or “I dread tomorrow.”
Obviously, these phrases are often lightly spoken. In reality we can find something good that we have either seen, heard or done each day that we can thank God for giving us, after all that is His present to us.
In Lamentations 3:22-23 Jeremiah says it is the Lord’s mercy and compassion that we have new blessings every morning.
Thank you, Holy Father, for loving us so much.
“Yesterday’s the pastTomorrow’s the future,But today is a giftThat’s why it is called, ‘The Present’Today is a gift from God.”

A CONFESSION

“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”(Psalm 39:4)
Reading this every day provides a reminder to give thanks to the Father that He is in charge and not this frail, earthly human, who sometimes tries to carry too much on his/her shoulders and falters along the way.
The idea from this scripture seems to denote that we know not how long we will live on this earth, which is to God “...as handbreadths…” and our age is “…as nothing before…” God (Psalm 39:5).
There is no time to waste in doing service toward God within His kingdom, because we do not know how much time is allotted us to be of service to Him. We must prepare to reap salvation and to bear good fruit along the short span of life that we have been afforded (which is as a vapor in the wind). We must confess Christ daily as our Savior and our strength, through our trials.
Incidentally, Psalm 39:4 is taped on my refrigerator door at eye level, and in large print so I can't help but be reminded to read it daily.
There are others there also. One is, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).
I try to remember that even though I may be frail, physically, I can be filled with the Holy Spirit so that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

TEACH US TO PRAY

Any study about prayer starts with a relationship, and this relationship is with God. He is the center of all expression and movement of all true and faithful Christian. Looking for God, to get to know him, to trust in him and obey him according to his word is what molds us to be children of God, if we don’t have the knowledge about who God is, then the prayer of all those who prophesy piety will come to be an empty prayer. The depth of our prayer is the result of the knowledge we have about who God is. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thess. 5:17 “Pray without ceasing” This means that every Christian needs to have full knowledge to whom we pray to and why we pray. The disciples went up to our Lord Jesus and asked him “teach us to pray” according to Luke 11:1-4. Jesus told them when you pray, say “our father which art in heaven”….. What we note is that our Lord Jesus has a very clear start, beginning with acknowledging the father, with words easy to understand. Jesus gave us the format in which we have to pray but that does not indicate that we are to repeat the same thing every time we go to our father in prayer, considering that prayer is according to one’s own needs. Jesus declares in John 14:13 “And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the father may be glorified in the son.” Prayer is such a small word that describes a great experience for all those that form the kingdom of God (the church). Prayer is to be something natural for everyone one of us, but if we ask what the worst failure in a Christian life is, the answer would easily be prayer. Let’s suppose that someone tells you that a Christian that prays three or four times a day does not indicate that he is more spiritual than a Christian that prays once every two days or once a week. What would you say? Is this possible? Prayer is the only base that we have to communicate with our God. If we only pray once in a while or not at all it is because we don’t trust in God, however His word tells us in 1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous , and his ears are open to their prayers….” We see then that the disciples were wise in asking our Lord Jesus to teach them how to pray. But for some reason the Christians today try to be better than the apostles by thinking that we don’t have to pray to be right with God. Jesus was the person to have the right to say that he didn’t need to pray since he was God, however we see the complete opposite, as he prayed as much as he could. We confirm this in the gospels when we read that “Jesus went to pray” or “Jesus prayed through the night” or “Jesus prayed till day break”. Someone may ask, what was the purpose for our Lord to pray at every moment? I believe that it is so that we could learn from his example. If Jesus being God and man at the same time needed to pray, then how much more is prayer important to us? If prayer held an important part in the life of Christ, than how much more is prayer important in our lives? Prayer is for those who say “God, be merciful to me a sinner” Luke 18:13. Prayer is confession, submission, is humility of heart to accept that we need help in every moment of our lives. For God the most wonderful thing that comes out of man is a humble prayer coming from a contrite heart. This is what the apostle John wrote in 1 John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us”. These words is what allows us to say that if we persevere in our prayers we convert our Lord God in our helper and our provider, and he is willing to help us in anything of course according to his will as we read in 1 Juan 3:22 “whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight”. What more can we say? Jesus gave us many teachings like the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount or the teaching of the true vine in John 15 among many others, but no teaching can compare to that of His life of prayer He had throughout His three and a half years of his ministry. This is why his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. How many of us have gone to Jesus and asked him how to pray? Is God obligated to bless us and give us the things we need like if it was magic without remembering him? Prayer is to ask, prayer is to meditate, prayer is to submit and prayer is to call. ConclusionLet me tell you that a just prayer can only come out of a just mind, from someone who has a right life in the eyes of God. It is few that pray and fewer are those who persevere, prayer is indispensible in our lives as Christians. If you don’t seriously involve your life in prayer, then why should God be involved in your life? Just a few words of thought- If we are too busy to pray, then we should be too busy to receive as well.

May be the Lord Bless us today and always.

Antonio Arguera