DEVOTIONAL: RESURRECTION LIFE CONQUERS DEATH

Think of how trees seem so barren in the wintertime. Nothing on the outside of the tree indicates life, and yet on the inside the tree is very alive. That is when the sap (much like blood to our bodies) is being produced and moves the strongest, bringing a life flow to every branch and twig. Then spring comes, and the trees turn beautiful with blossoms and leaves. All of the life on the inside is now flowing out. Do not underestimate the winter times. Life is at work in the destitute, dark, and gloomy moments. Remember that when times seem their darkest, life is building up from the deep places. Soon, just as the trees blossom and create the beauty of spring, summer, and fall, the time of prosperity will come. When we see everything prospering around us, it is easy to think only of how great and how wonderful that is. But remember this: During the times of prosperity, all the life is flowing out. That would not be possible without the life that is developed deep within during the dark winter seasons of life.

Released from the Grave “Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. “(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) “Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. “When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. “When he had heard there f o re that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. “Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. “His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

“Jesus answered, A re there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. “But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:1-11).

“Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:2 1-26).

“And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11: 42-44).

Lazarus was sick and he died. When people are sick, they are taken to the hospital. When they are dead they go to the funeral parlor, and then they are buried. We were not born into this world to meet Jesus Christ as sick people but as spiritually dead people—people who are without a source of eternal life until we meet the Savior and are born again. God quickens those who believe on Him. Even though we were dead in trespasses and sin, He meets us in death, where His resurrection power takes over. And, whoever believes on Him lives and never dies again.

That is what Jesus was trying to explain to Martha in the midst of her grief over her brot her Lazarus’ death. She was upset that Jesus had not visited earlier as He had so many other times. “Look, Martha, I a m the re s u r reaction and life, right now!” He told her. “All that I will be tomorrow, I am today. All that I was yesterday, I am now. I am resurrection and life, Martha. He who believes on Me, though he was dead, he shall yet live. And whoever believes on Me will never die.” Jesus was led to the gravesite of Lazarus. He saw the unbelieving Jews wailing over the man’s death. There was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, falling at Jesus’ feet saying, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died!” With that, Jesus groaned in His spirit and wept, for He so well understood the pain of sickness and death and the pain of their sorrow.

The Smell of Sin, the Triumph of Grace

Standing near the grave, Jesus asked that the stone be removed. “What?” He was asked. “Surely, the body stinks.” Behind the stone was a rotting, smelly corpse. The Lord wanted these people to get close so they could get a good idea of what sin smells like and what happens when bodies die and decay. “Come close to the grave,” Jesus was saying here. “Get a good look at what sin does to a body of death.” Finally, Jesus spoke, saying to Lazarus, “Out! Now!” That is exactly what He said, according the original Greek text. At that moment, life came back into Lazarus, and he came forth from the grave. Jesus then told the people who stood t h e re in amazement to help him get out of his grave clothes. The Lord brought in resurrection life and released the grip of death. Reading on into chapter 12 of John, we find Lazarus alive and enjoying fellowship around the Gospel. Martha and Mary were back serving Jesus Christ. What a beautiful story of life coming out of death.

Devotional: A Cross for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

A Cross for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2).

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy [Spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:38-39). “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

In the twenty-second chapter of Revelation, the Word of God speaks of a throne, a Lamb,

and a pure river, clear as crystal, flowing out of the throne. Think of that scene and the awesome beauty of it. This passage also mentions the Tree of Life on each side of the river and in the midst of it. No curse is there—just the Throne of God, the Lamb of God, and the redeemed people of God. I have received more joy and happiness from the blessings that come from the throne and that river because of the Tree of Life and the fruit that grows there. The Past, the Present, the Future From the very beginning of time, God has spoken of the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9).

Through the years, I have pondered on that tree and the river. As you consider the river, there is nothing cloudy about it. It is all pure, all clean. And where God places a river, there is also a tree. Why is it that the Tree of Life was said to be in the middle and on both sides of the river? It is because we need three dimensions of that tree to take care of three dimensions of our lives: the past, the present, and the future.

According to the picture we have in Revelation 22, the tree yields fruit every month. First

Peter 2:24 calls the Cross that held Jesus Christ “the tree.” And though it cost Him his life as a man, it was indeed a Tree of Life for all mankind. What He has done for me, He has done for you. One aspect of the Tree of Life on the side of the river refers to the Cross that takes care of all the things that relate to our yesterdays.

Jesus died on the Tree of Life, and on that tree He also bore our sins. This tree takes care of everything in our past. God’s Tree of Life takes care of everything pertaining to guilt, sin, failure, heartache, wounds, and bruises. What people have done to us is covered by the precious grace of God.

Taking Care of Today That tree, as it stands in the center of the river, takes care of what is happening to us today, right now. Right now, God is taking care of every single thing through the Cross. Regardless of what we have done, regardless of how we have failed, we have that Tree of Life. Thank God, it wasn’t just for yesterday. It is for today as well.

“I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). Paul was saying, “I want you to know that I have received a Tree of Life, and God forbid that I glory in anything but the Cross.” The Cross takes care of my yesterday. The Cross takes care of my today. And then there’s a Tree of Life for my tomorrow, my future.

A three dimensions of my time are taken up in the “Eternal Is” of Jesus Christ: Yesterday is gone, Now just passed by, and To morrow doesn't exist.

Devotional

COMMUNION, CONSISTENCY AND COMMUNICATION

When we consider decisions, we are brought into conclusions. Every single matter has a conclusion. As we get alone with God and let the Holy Spirit minister, we realize that in every area of our lives we need a conviction for a conclusion. We have to continually ask ourselves, “If I keep making these decisions, where will they lead me in my conclusion?” What will be the end result? As a pastor, it is most difficult to watch seasonal Christians throw their lives away. I feel so helpless in seeing isolated individuals make a series of decisions against convictions. No longer do they respond to the Word of God, because they have established their own Christian philosophy, void of the whole truth. They have already decided what they will believe and what they are not going to accept, based upon self-preferences.

It is so crucial that we do not react negatively when God allows us to face verbal or physical challenges in our lives. We must not respond in self-defense and self-preservation. As we abide in faith-rest, filled with the Holy Spirit, God will operate freely through us. We will reveal His character in the situation. God wants us to have a conviction of what sin is. God wants to have the conviction of judgment because the prince of the world is judged. He wants us to have the conviction of God’s righteousness and Satan’s defeat. God’s righteousness is our righteousness, and that takes away any possibility of satanic victory in our lives.

Steadfast and Immovable

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

With conviction comes consistency. To be steadfast means that we determine to go forward without change or equivocation. There is no hesitation but a determination to do right. I thank God for everyone who is steadfast. The blessing of a pastor is when he sees people remain steadfast as an army in the Finished Work. Steadfast people don’t leave the devil much room to play with them. Another thing conviction does is make us immovable. “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8). Finances, health troubles, domestic problems—none of these things can move me because the Lord is before my face.

Consider someone who is immovable because of conviction and conversion; one who has humility in agreeing with God no matter what is happening. Those who are steadfast and immovable always abound in the work of the Lord. If I am abounding in the Lord’s work, then I am occupied with Christ. When I am occupied with Christ, then I enter into faith-rest. Resting in God’s love by faith is the greatest manifestation of maturity we can ever have (Zephaniah 3:17). Thank God for faith-resting in love. That means I am not resting in what I do, I am not resting in how I feel, I am not resting in what I don’t do, but I am resting in what He did. I am resting in Calvary’s love, which never changes and is so supreme.

Effectual Communication

“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 6). Another effective principle for three-dimensional Christians is godly communication. Philemon 6 refers to how we communicate according to the power of the residency that is at work in our hearts in a residual process of responding. We have this precious life of God. Oh, I am so grateful for the life of God. It is so precious so precious.

Just to be saved, to have God’s life and get up with it, to go to sleep with it, to face situations with it is a marvelous, wonderful, glorious thing. As His vessels on earth, we have the privilege of communicating what is within us— releasing that life according to the power in us. It is a very sacred thing to be on this planet at this time, in the midst of everything that is going on in terms of worldly compromise and lasciviousness. Here, we have the privilege to be able to communicate life from heaven through our human vessels. All of this leads to communion, which is so precious.

As I release and express the Word of God, I am also eating His bread, feeding on His doctrine, drinking the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit, experiencing the joy of eternal life. No wonder the psalmist and Joshua said that their delight was in “meditating on the Word of God day and night” (Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8). From meditation comes communion. Communion is being still before God: He speaks, we respond. He speaks again, we respond. Then, He gives illumination that blesses us now and will help us in the future. Our communion is by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. It is that great and wonderful principle of meditation in the third dimension of the resurrection power of Christ.

DEVOTIONAL - THE SUBSTANCE OF CONVICTION

THE SUBSTANCE OF

CONVICTION

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 

“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; “And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him” (Matthew 4:1-11).

Notice, Jesus always answered the devil with “It is written….It is written….It is written.”

Three times Jesus said this, speaking of the perfection of the Word of God. It other words, Jesus was telling Satan, “You can’t touch this, devil!”

“It is written….”

“It is written….”

“It is written….”

Satan had to flee.

Still, Satan does try to take away from the Word, add to the Word, and alter the Word (Revelation22:18-19; Deuteronomy 4:2; 11:16-20). He tries to take from the Word so that we won’t be complete, so we won’t be mature. Satan tries to add to the Word so that we will live in a kind of “liberty” that is not the liberty we have in Christ (Galatians 5:1; Romans 8:21). Also, the devil tries to alter the Word of God so that we think that we don’t have to submit to it.

In Genesis 3, Eve failed three times when confronted by Satan. But Jesus Christ answered, “It is written” three times when tempted by Satan. The truth experienced in the third dimension of the human spirit gives us complete and full victory.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. “And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass” (Psalm 37:4-7). When we began our ministry, the desire of our heart was to have a building, fill it up, and send missionaries into all the world. Our desire was to have oneness, unity, and peace. Our desire was to go forward with supernatural grace andsupernatural power in a supernatural expectation.

Oh, the things God is going to do for those who let Him by committing their way unto theLord. Trust in Him, and He will bring these things to pass. Pick up some promises from Godtoday and believe, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

When the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit take over, we have fullness. We see that

nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). The very things that seem impossible for us are possible with God (Matthew 19:26).

Bible Evidence of Conviction

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: “Of sin, because they believe not on me; “Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:8-11). If a Christian is not living in the third dimension, he will have no conviction. He may be living with God the Father and redemption through Jesus Christ, but without the Illuminator— the Holy Spirit—fully operating, he will have no conviction. God’s viewpoint cannot be interpreted through the Holy Spirit in his life.

God may do something supernatural right in front of him, but he will not be moved by it. Many decent churches preach the Gospel but do not go soul winning. They have no outreach program and they are grieving the Holy Spirit. There is no conviction prompting them to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. The first thing the Holy Spirit does is to convict. When a Christian makes a decision to withdraw from attending a Spirit-filled church, he is not convicted. He can hear any kind of message, but he rationalizes, regulates, and eliminates its effect in his life. No conviction. The Spirit convicts as He did in the Word of God. Joseph’s brothers were convicted when they met Joseph again years after selling him into slavery (see Genesis 45:4-5)

They came under great conviction when he revealed himself to them. Isaiah was convicted when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, in Isaiah 6. Three seraphim were singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” All Isaiah could see was the seraphim’s wings. Smoke came in and the temple began to shake.

 “Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,” Isaiah said (see Isaiah 6:5). As far as we know, this was the first time in his ministry that the prophet was convicted. Then the seraphim took a live coal from off the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips, saying, “Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isaiah 6:7).

The Trinity asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” “Here am I; send me,” responded the prophet. Conviction is such a precious and sacred thing. We are so limited in our knowledge of absolutes. When we start with absolute love, absolute grace, absolute power, absolute holiness, and absolute promises, we will find absolute answers.

God’s Moves Bring Changes

God moves in the third dimension and the result is conviction. Jonah ran when he was told to preach in Nineveh. He spent three days in a big fish and, finally, came under conviction. He went and preached and the city repented for the wicked, wicked things it was doing. Many lives were saved. Ezra was convicted and he then identified with the people of Israel (Ezra 9:6). He preached to them and the people got right. Ezra’s conviction led to their conviction and ultimately obedience. Another picture of conviction involved Peter after he denied Christ three times.

Jesus appeared to Peter and the disciples many times after His resurrection. Peter didn’t want to see Jesus. He was so filled with guilt, so filled with shame and remorse. But the Holy Spirit, breathed out by Jesus upon the disciples, began to convict Peter’s conscience. God wooed Peter through love and through forgiveness by conviction. In the seventh chapter of Romans, we can see Paul the apostle under tremendous conviction and in deep trouble with his soul. But he came right out of it by receiving the revelation of Romans 8, starting with verse one, “There is therefore now no condemnation….”

As long as a minister and ministry have conviction, they have something very, very precious. One of the most difficult things to watch when you are praying for someone is when the Word isn’t received as a two-edged sword, bringing conviction the way it should. This is important because, sooner or later, every one of God’s people has to come to a decision. We are constantly in a place where we have to come to a decision. Conviction leads to right decisions. Without right decisions, we have no conviction. Whenever I read something or hear something that I know is for me, I immediately write it down. I allow the conviction to lead me into a conversion. No matter how small a thing it is, I agree with the Spirit and say, “That is for me.”

I believe with all my heart that God wants His people to come to right decisions through choosing life (Deuteronomy 30:15), so we can be blessed. We have a tremendous future in front of us. We have such possibilities. We don’t know when Christ is coming. We know not when we are to meet Him. So, we need to be a people who allow the Word of God to bring in faith and let faith execute conviction and let conviction bring in a conversion to make right decisions.

DEVOTIONAL

3-Dimensional Christianity

In the Bible, the number three is very important. Jesus raised three people from the dead: Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:22-24, 35-42), Lazarus (John 11:38-44), and the widow’s son (Luke 7:12- 15).

On the Cross, the sign above Jesus’ head (naming the “offense” he was guilty of) was

written in three languages (John 19:19-20), indicating the fullness of man’s rejection of the Messiah. Jesus was raised on the third day (Luke 13:32).

As members of the human race, created in the image of God, we have three dimensions: the spirit (God-consciousness), the soul (self consciousness), and the body (world consciousness), in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Together, these three dimensions form the instrument through which Jesus performs it all (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Everyone has problems. Yet, a person who is always worn down by problems often lives in only two dimensions—the soul and the body in his relationship with God. The human spirit, which is the God-conscious dimension, is designed to bring in light from the Word of God through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 119:130). If we are not functioning in the truth of the Word of God stored in the human spirit, God’s light will not enter in, no matter how much we go to church. There two kinds of Christians around today: those who do not see heat when it comes and those who do not see good when it comes (Jeremiah 17:5-8). We are talking about positive Spirit-filled Christians versus negative thinkers. The difference is that when the Word of God enters into Spirit-filled believers, they experience divine good and do not see the “heat” of adversity.

They allow the Word of God to quicken their human spirit, engaging the third dimension

of Christian living. How can you live in the third dimension and go from being a person who doesn’t see good when it comes to a person who doesn’t see heat when it comes? This booklet will show you how.

THE SPIRIT BEARS WITNESS

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departed from the LORD. “For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-9). “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:14-16). Two dimensions cannot describe an object that has substance. Two lines cannot enclose a figure or form. Three lines—marking the dimensions of length, breadth, and depth—are necessary. The number “three” stands for things that are substantial, complete, entire, and necessary.

In the natural realm, objects are divided into three kingdoms: the plant kingdom, the mineral kingdom, and the animal kingdom. In the spiritual realm, we have body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

But until a person is saved, his human spirit is inactive because of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12). Once he is born again by receiving Christ as his Savior, he has the opportunity to choose life continually (Romans 5:21). That keeps him “seated above” in his experience—living in three dimensions of Christian life. Three distinct Persons who have absolute oneness make up the Trinity. God the Father is sovereign; Jesus Christ the Son is our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, co-equal with God and Jesus Christ, glorifies Jesus Christ in us (John 8:16:14) and also guides us as adopted children.

If the third Person, the Holy Spirit, is not allowed to have His way in us, we are never guided into God’s truth. We may be sincere, but we are not led in divine guidance. We need to have this third dimension at work in us. Only the Spirit can bring this divine dimension to life. It is important that we learn three-dimensional praying. Discover the Father’s plan, experience Christ’s execution of that plan, and witness the Holy Spirit’s power and revelation of Christ’s availability—three dimensions in action.

Tender Mercies in Action

“To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1).

“Tender mercies.” I recently learned something brand-new about this. It means that God makes an unconditional commitment regardless of us. It is God committing us to the Finished Work of Christ, to the sealing of the Holy Spirit, to eternal life that we can never lose. God has committed us to sonship forever. This is exactly the picture that is expressed in this verse.

These tender mercies come toward us. For this reason, David will be prince in the Millennial Reign in spite of the sinful things that he did in his life. In God’s mind, David never turned aside (1 Kings 15:5). The Word of God tells us that we have the sure mercies of David (Isaiah 55:3; Acts 13:34).

When we understand this, we will see God move as we have never seen before.

The Power of Expectation

My soul waits only upon God. My expectation is from Him (Psalm 62:5), and this expectation shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18, Proverbs4:14). In entering into the third dimension, we enter into a phase of consistency. The Resurrection is over and the Ascension is ours. The power of God is now available for three-dimensional friendships, three-dimensional relationships, and three-dimensional marriages. Though we are saved and the Trinity dwells in us, if the Spirit is grieved, then we do not have the life of three-dimensional Christianity.

We are powerless. Christ is not glorified in the details of life.The most beautiful thing is three—God’s number of fullness. There is the principle of being filled with the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Ephesians 3:19). There is the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13, Colossians 2:9). When I operate in the third dimension, my marriage becomes amazing. The third dimension brings in abundant life. It brings in absolute forgiveness. It brings in the tender mercies of God. A man who had some very serious health problems was healed recently. He was even healed of a herniated disk. Three-dimensional praying brought in a wonderful healing, praise God. We have many documented reports of healing as the direct result of prayer.

Overcome Strife

“Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me” (Psalm 18:43).

David praised God for delivering him from the strivings of the people. Oh, I know a lot of precious people who strive nonetheless. A striving person comes out of experiencing a problem about six times a week, only to go right back into another one. Thank God that all of us can be delivered from that kind of lifestyle. If we understand that Jesus’ tomb is empty, then striving will go away. We won’t see the heat when it comes because we know that nothing is impossible with God. God Almighty is on our side. Beyond that, He is in us. The power of the Holy Spirit is in us.

Devotionals

Valid Faith - Romans 12:3

by Carl H. Stevens

Our faith must be rooted and grounded in who God is. As a believer trusts in the perfect character and nature of God, he can appropriate the Scriptures in every situation and detail of life. He bases decisions on absolute authority of the Word of God, rather than on sight evaluation or the limited perception of the senses. As he learns to think with the content of the Bible, he begins to rely on God´s sovereignty, integrity, immutability, mercy, goodness, patience, faithfulness, holiness, power, and in His infinite capacity, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).

This faith is necessary for proper thinking (1); the content of what we think makes our faith valid. When we hear the Word of God, we are released. We think about the fact that not one of His promises will ever fall to the ground (2).

"For all the promises of God in him, are yea, and in him Amen" (II Corinthians 1:20a). It is impossible for God to lie (3). Because of these promises the believer can think in the right attitude by trusting not in his own faith, but in God´s faithfulness. Thus, we come "boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16)! 

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 

Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 

About Our Church

Welcome to Abundant Life, the English Ministry of Korean Baptist Church. Our mission to bring reality of God into our lives. So often, we as people, think that we need to face everything alone. We fail because we really can't do it on our own. We need divine intervention in our lives.


This is what is says in Hebrews 10:22 - "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water".

If we simply allow God to walk along with us and participate in our decision making, through renewal of our minds, we can find out our true potential in life. Psalm 64:5 says that we will be filled with good things of Gods house. We will get encouragement, grace to face everything that we encounter in our daily lives and new purpose. 

Come and visit our ministry and learn of God who loves you and cares for you. 

WORSHIP
We have Sunday Worship Service @ 12PM. After service, there is a small hospitality dish to share. We'd love to spend some time getting to know you and introducing our church family to you. Our address:
506 Benfield Rd 
Severna Park, MD 21146

BIBLE STUDY
We have mid week Bible Study called "Practical Christian Life" that allows you to study the word of in categories and apply it to your life daily. 

SERVICE
There are many areas of opportunities to serve God through serving His people. Its includes Hospitality, Evangelism, Event Planning and Administration. If you are interested to serve in any of the areas mentioned, please contact us.