Do you Desire the Christ Life??

Do you Desire the Christ Life??

The question still remains! Who are we? What are our desires, our longings, our cravings? We live in a world taken up by ambition, success & competition. Are we to be any different from them? What about the holy ambition of becoming more like Christ? Does it have a place in the core of our being? We do well to give utmost thought to these searching questions. Many of us want the best of this life, do some good deeds and have our eternity secured in heaven. If all we want is to get to heaven, it is most likely that we will not get there! The journey begins during our earthly life! A life of beholding Christ and knowing him, loving him, worshipping Him. A life of holiness where He calls us to hate sin & have contempt for all that this world has to offer. A life where we are changed from image to image and glory to glory continually being transformed in the renewing of our mind. A life that  presses towards total conformity to Christ who is our forerunnner. A life taken up to do the will of the Father & seek his kingdom here on Earth beginning with our own hearts. All that the world offers is garbage in comparision to the quality of life that Christ offers us! That's our purpose. That's what were created for! That is what will satisfy the inner vaccum in the depths of our being. We look for gratification in earthly things, and we are disappointed. We seek recognition, love & significance from others and we are discouraged when we don't get it. The time is now! Choose Christ and the Life he offers! Make that shift today! Set your heart to seek him today! Maybe you have grown cold in your devotion to Christ. Or you may be you are in a place where distractions, discouragements & disappointments just seem to be the norm in your daily life! If we only trust Him, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask of think! Seek his face, draw near to Him, look into His Word and let it renew your mind. And it won't be long when the rubber hits the road and you find yourself on the Kings Highway enjoying the glories of eternity here and now having in you the spring of water welling up to eternal life!! May the Lord Bless you! 

A Heart Cry - Pressing on to Perfection!

 O Father in heaven,  we need you this very hour. We are destitutes in our faith without your enabling grace. Our lives reflect so little desire for You! So many things crowd our hearts and we are distracted in the core of our being from the very purpose you created us for. We run from activity to activity, always  hurriedly to get the best out of what this life can offer. We fail to realize Father that we do this to the peril of our own soul. What will take for us to make that shift? To quit minding earthly things and setting our gaze upon your Son Jesus who is the author and perfector of our faith. What will take us Father, to have a singleness of purpose and a deep abiding desire to know Christ not just as a one time act, but in an increasing degree of intimacy to the extent that our lives become conformed to His image and His likeness. Draw us nigh O God, let not the pressures of this life slow us down in our white-hot pursuit of the eternal riches in Christ Jesus! May we never lose sight of your infinite goodness and loving kindness Father and so forgetting what lies behind, leaving behind all regrets of time lost, of sin tolerated and of the lukewarm attitude towards the Person of Christ, may we move forward and  press on towards perfection. Spirit of the living God, you who breathed into man so that he became a living being, breath upon our very souls, the breath of life that in dying to this world, we may become alive to God! O blessed Spirit, you who hovered over a formless void and created a world with inexplicable beauty, how much more can ye display the worth and beauty of Christ through my life! Blessed be his name. Amen!!

Fullness of Joy!!

 Father, in your presence and only in your presence is fullness of joy.  When you fill our hearts with joy, no one can take it from us. The world, the flesh and the devil may try to steal it, but they won't be able.  May we always be overflowing with joy regardless of our circumstances, regardless of the giants we face in our daily life and regardless of all the fiery darts that the enemy throws at us. This joy, abundant joy only to be found in the Father's presence. Men seek happiness in temporal things and work hard to get them, but they won't go far enough till they realize that such happiness is never lasting and changes like the weather. Lord, keep us in your joy always. Keep us from besetting sin that steals our joy in God. May we be so hidden with Christ, that no matter what the enemy does, we will be secure in Christ who is our Rock at all times. Amen!!

A New Heart!

A New Heart! I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) Father, we thank you for this precious blessing of the new covenant. You have made all things new and the old has passed away. We were a stiff necked people without God or hope of anything good in life. Yet, thou because of.your great mercies have done a mighty work. Our arms were too short to reach you, yet you because of the great love you had for us reached out to us. While we were yet sinners, you sent your Son to die as a sacrifice for our sins. You sent your Holy Spirit to revive our hearts and set them ablaze for your glory. We were hardened in our sins, yet you removed our heart of stone and gave us a heart of flesh - a heart that will be sensitive to your leading, a heart that will hate sin and love God will all it's strength, a heart where the Spirit of God will dwell and not be grieved by our neglect. So, keep this heart we pray in your ways O Lord. May it never depart from you or your blessed Word. Lord, we will hide your Word in this heart that we may not sin against ghee. By your grace, we will keep this heart with all diligence since out of it shall flow the issues of life. Lord, keep this heart undivided for your fame and for your glory. Let not the world, the flesh or the devil find any room or any open door within it. Let it burn with the fire of your holiness every single day of our life. You Lord who have begun a good work in this heart, will keep it and bring it to a glorious conclusion till we meet you face to face in glory - In the matchless name of your Son Jesus we pray. Amen!!

The Lord, our All in All!

Father God, we thank you for every blessing you have bestowed upon us through the new covenant in Christ Jesus. You have been our good shepherd always leading us to green pastures and still waters where you have restored our souls from the tumult and toil of this present world. We are too weak to grab hold of your hand and walk with you, our strength is lost in the fury of temptation and the pressures of this life. But O gracious Lord, in our weakness you be our strength, when we walk through the valley of darkness, you be our light, when we go through the desert, you meet us with streams of living water, when in chaos and confusion, you be our peace and when we lose earthly wealth, you be our all sufficiency. You be are all in all. We seek you not only for our temporal needs to be met, but we seek you as the all satisfying river of joy and peace. We seek you Lord that we have more of your Spirit, we seek you Lord to be changed from image to image and glory to glory of your Son Jesus Christ, we seek you with the joyful hope that One day we will see you face to face and we will be in your likeness and enjoy your presence in Heaven for all eternity forever and ever Amen!

The Heartcry of a Prodigal

Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Psalm 13:3 Loving and Merciful Father, I come before you now, I put my trust and my confidence in you alone. Lift me up Lord, for I am cast down. Quicken my heart and draw me to yourself again. There was a time Lord, when my prayer was like incense going up to your throne, your Word was a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, I ate your Words and they were as honey to my taste, I was like a lamb that was made fat with the choicest food and I was made strong like an eagle by the Words of your mouth. It was my joy to spend time in your presence to gaze upon your beauty and inquire before your throne. I was indeed glad to be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in tents of wickedness. My joy was complete when I met with the brethren encouraging them and building them up in the faith. As a good shepherd, you led me beside still waters and my soul was refreshed. I was sensitive to your voice and you led me in paths of righteousness and holiness. But today Lord, my eyes have become dim for I have lost my spiritual vision. Good seed had been sown in my heart, but the cares and worries of this life have choked it. Temptations of every kind come like whirlwinds to shake me off the ground and more than these, there are sinful passions, fleshly lusts and evil desires that continually wage war against my soul. Sin has been crouching at my door and I have been powerless against it. Busyness has seeped in keeping me occupied with other less important things in life. I have failed to keep guard over the gates of my soul – the eyes, the ears and my mouth and as a consequence – the world has made it’s way into my heart. Lord, your Word says that If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them (1 John 2:15) the Father’s love have I despised, I have forgotten my first love, I do not desire the secret closet as I did before, I can go on for weeks without prayer and reading the Word and feel no guilt in my spirit about it. I have declined spiritually and with each passing day my heart is changing, it’s growing cold to the things of God. Anointed preaching does not move me anymore, worship music fails to touch my heart, encouragement and exhortation from other believers don’t seem to get through me. Sin is no longer loathsome to me and my heart is no longer grieved when the name of my Lord is despised. Now Lord, I present my case before you. Because of the multitude of your mercy, I pray revive my heart. Let the fire of your Spirit be rekindled in my heart again. Draw me in Lord by the power of your might. I reject sin in every form and I call upon the name of Jesus who gave his life on the cross for me. Your blood O Lord will cleanse me, by your wounds I will be healed and restored. Lord, you are my redeemer, you are my advocate before the Father and you are the righteous one. I will be made righteous not because of anything I have done, but because of what you did on the cross. Take away this heart of stone and put in me a heart of flesh. Write your laws in my heart that my life will be guided through them. Send your Spirit O Lord and let the Love of God be poured into my heart again. That I will take hold of you and never let go of you for one single moment. That I will commune with you and put away all distractions that hinder me. That I will soak myself in the Bible and let Your Word permeate my being. That I will not let a single day pass without spending time with you. That I will relish times of corporate worship & anointed preaching. That I will close every door to the devil in every form and that nothing of this world be found in me. That I will pursue the Father’s heart relentlessly. That I will spend the rest of my days hungering that thirsting for righteousness and holiness and that whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – my thought life may be filled with them. Hear me O Lord, this is the cry of my heart to the God of my life. Amen!

Grasping the grand reality of Christmas!

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because *he will save his people from their sins."* Matthew 1:21 What is Christmas then? As we look at houses and streets overflowing with cribs, Christmas trees & glittering decors, we need another reminder about what this season is all about. Many of us have a picture of Santa Claus coming with a bag loaded with goodies, but that isn’t what the Bible tells us. The Bible says, God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. Nothing can change this priceless truth. Why did God send His Son? To save us from our sins. Have we allowed God to do that work in us? Have you conquered addictions, bad temper, bitterness, unforgiveness? Are you still buffetted by besetting sins and is your thought life pure before God? If not, here’s the good news. Jesus Christ has come and he’s full of grace and full of truth - grace to make us more than conquerors and truth to guard our hearts and minds & live a life that is pleasing to your Heavenly Father. The very best gift you can bring to the Lord today is yourself. The very best way to have a meaningful Christmas is to spend time with Jesus. If your sin is deep, His love his deeper still, if you’re hurting, He is the balm of Gilead and will surely heal you, if you need guidance and direction for your life, He gives you His Word as a lamp to your feet and light to your path, if you feel you’ve not made progress spiritually, He gives you His Spirit who searches the deep things of God and reveals them to your heart. These are glorious promises, but if the rubber must hit the road - you must step out in faith and Come to Jesus! May the Spirit be with you!