Author: Elna

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 89:15

To be blessed means to be divinely favored, happy, or contented. We all want to be blessed. Don’t you? Most people don’t want to pass up on God’s favor, and you probably don’t either. If we acclaim God, we are blessed. To acclaim Him means to applaud Him or welcome Him with glorious sounds or shouts of approval and joy.

If we want to be blessed, we also need to walk in the light of God’s presence. If we walk in the light, we avoid the darkness of sin with all its consequences. We seek God. We obey Him because we know the “exceptions” to our obedience bring heartache.

When we wake up to praise and worship music instead of an alarm clock, we can start the day in the light of the presence of the Lord. As we read our Bible each morning, we can also walk in the light of His presence. The habit of reading the Bible before breakfast also places a person in the light of the Lord’s presence soon after getting up.

Another way that demonstrates our walk in the light of the Lord’s presence is our fellowship with one another. Fellowship means we look forward to going to church and church events with our community. We all know how important it is to go to church and praise Him with our fellow church mates. Together in fellowship, we pray to God and thank Him for all the blessings He has given us and for forgiving us on our sins.

Dear God, the desire of my heart is to be blessed.

I acclaim your glory and walk in the light of your presence.

Amen.

Have you accepted Jesus as your savior? Have you let Him control your life as you accepted Him as your God? Do you think that you can be saved now? Let us find out how we can be saved.

When we accept Jesus as our savior, we are committing ourselves to Him and by doing this, we are called Christians. As a Christian, we will have the Holy Spirit act in our lives; we will change and become a better person. Our vices will be stopped accordingly to God’s will. We will be having what we call “FAITH”.

Mark 10:52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Faith can change everything within us. Good works and positive changes in your life are a result of your faith. God can change you through your faith. It’s not easy for us to change, but only faith in God can help us.

Indicators that you are a good Christian:

1. You are kind-hearted and slow to anger.  
2. You are not involved in any vices.
3. You are honest and you never speak any lies.

God loves all His people. He wants us to be saved. He knows that it is not easy for us to follow what the Bible says, but it is possible. God will help us to do so. We just need to stand in our faith and believe in Christ alone.

Life is an examination, full of tests and challenges. Our life should have foundation in able for us to be strong in times of trials. We are called by Jesus to prosper and to win the victory.

“The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”(Genesis 12:1-3)

Partnership requires action. The first action of Abraham was obedience to leave his father, mother and relatives and go to an unknown land on God’s word alone. Abraham had to leave his comfort zone, his area of influence and dominance. He had to be obedient to God, leave certainty, and part with his ego to go to an unknown, unfamiliar destination. Abraham was considered righteous because he staggered not at the promises of God (Romans 4:20). It was not an easy decision to make, yet Abraham did it. He took action in his relationship with God and God reciprocated.

Partnership is often more compelling than friendship. A friend is under no obligation to act in a particular way or manner. In partnership, there is no room to take the other person for granted. Abraham understood this well. He was actively involved in partnership with God, even to the extent that he was willing to sacrifice his only son in obedience to God’s directive. Isn’t it wonderful to note that God offered His only son too, just like Abraham offered Isaac? Isaac was in total submission to the will of his father and Jesus was in total submission to the will of God, His father, even unto death. This theological premise reveals that the partnership between God and Abraham did not just stop at God’s mighty hand of blessings resting upon the life of Abraham. It extended as a blessing to the entire world.

Partnership also makes our lives easier. One biblical example of the benefits of partnerships is when Moses had the tedious work of judging over the entire nation of Israel. Imagine what a herculean task Moses had. It must have been such a tiring duty to sit all day and listen to numerous cases of disagreement between the Israelites. It is evident that Moses continued to struggle under the heavy yoke of having to be the judge in all matters, just as his father-in-law had warned him. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, advised Moses to appoint lesser judges, and Moses would only judge the cases that were beyond the capability of the elders that were appointed as judges over the tribes of Israel. In that way, these lesser judges would help Moses with his work and allow Moses to better lead the people. Jethro understood the power of partnership and covenant.

Christ has given us salvation, the revelation of the Father, and many other great things. But as Christians, what is our responsibility in our Christian life?

Whenever we glorify our Father, we bear fruit — the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the fruit of our labor when we share our faith with others, and good works, such as acts of kindness and helping people.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

We should multiply and be fruitful according to God, but how? It is by sharing the good news, miracles and the greatness of God in our life in order for them to believe and make Jesus the center of their life. Show them how to be a child of God and share the advantages of being one. Show them the changes that Jesus has made in your life. Show how amazing you are because of Jesus.

The importance of fruit bearing:

Jesus says, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruits should remain” John 15:16

It is our main purpose for which we are saved, for which Christians are saved.

For Christians, if you abide in Christ and your life bears a lot of fruit, God will invite you to abide more deeply in Him. We must deepen the quality of our devoted time with God.

Whatever stage of fruit bearing that you are in, ask God to lift you to the next higher category, and commit to do your part.

Leviticus 26:9 So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.

We’re all living because of love, faith and hope. These are the things that make us alive and kicking. All of us know how to love — we love our mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, friends, and even our enemies. But do all of us have faith and hope? Where and how can we get these things? We need these to keep us moving, to endure the pain, and to enjoy our lives as God had intended.

Love

1 Corinthians 13:8

 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

We love because He first loved us. God loves us — yesterday, today and tomorrow. Love is the best feeling that we can ever have. It can make us inspired, motivated and contented. Love God and love yourself; with that, you can able to love the people around you.

Faith

1 John 5:4

 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

God fills us with faith. Faith can change our life, in this world that is full of wrong, discouragement, destruction and inequality. God can make you still and trust in His ways. With faith, you believe that anything is possible and everything will be perfect in its time.

Hope

Romans 8:24

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

Hope is the one thing that will make us believe that everything will happen for a reason. Everything will fall into the right place. All you need is trust and faith.

Love, hope and faith come together for us to feel warmth, safety and happiness. If you inject these in your life, you can live your life to the fullest. You will be at peace and blessings will continually flow in your life.

There are many barriers that separate people from each other and from God. There are gadgets, social activities, jobs, preferences and personal commitments. This is true today as it was in the time of Jesus. Let us see how He dealt with them and how we can follow His example.

Breaking through social and cultural barriers.

A Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well at noon, against Middle Eastern practice of drawing water at sundown.

Genesis 24:11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

Jesus, upon meeting her, asked her for a drink. The woman’s response revealed that Jesus just did two socio-culturally unacceptable things for Jews: He talked to a Samaritan (the Jews despised Samaritans), and He talked to a woman (the Jews considered women as second-class citizens). He talked to a woman of ill-repute.

They were talking about the water then Jesus moved the conversation to the living water.

We should break these socio-cultural barriers in order to share the goodness of the Lord. No matter what people says the more important is what the Lord will. And we know that God will be glad if we share Him and if we let others to be saved.

Breaking through personal barriers.

The Samaritan woman in the story kept on changing husbands, and it was an indication of her “thirst”. Jesus reveals Himself to be more than an ordinary man. In telling her these things without any criticism or condemnation, He is communicating that she is significant despite of her background.

Jesus didn’t judge the woman by her background, even though he knows everything. This shows that Jesus didn’t come for those good people but Jesus come for the people who need to see God.

Whenever you are sharing gospel, share it to everybody even if it sinful man or whoever. Let everyone know His goodness.