Sunday, April 23, 2017

ABBA!

Today’s Reading: Galatians 3-4

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

Looking up the stairs from the Chapel of Saint Helen in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, you can see hundreds of crosses that have been carved into the stone walls.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: Galatians 4:6

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

What a great change! We were enemies of God, but have become His friends…and more than friends, we have become children of God. As His enemies, we deserved His wrath. Instead, He has shown us His infinite love. We deserved to be punished, separated from Him forever. Because of His initiative, the opposite has happened. We are welcomed into His Kingdom as members of His family.
In these chapters, Paul explains an astounding change. The Galatian believers have come from being slaves — slaves to sin and from trying to obey God out of a sense of duty — to being heirs of God. In reality, they have the rights, privileges and freedoms of sons and daughters of the King. We have these same rights. Therefore, we can call God “ABBA, DADDY!” If we struggle with this, consider praying the prayer written in our Prayer for Today…

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father God, I pray for the Spirit of Your Son to fill me now. I pray in faith believing that You are now keeping Your promise to me. The promise of the Spirit was given to me by Jesus, Himself, when He said, “How much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:11-13). I’m asking, Abba Father, and You are more willing to give of Your Spirit than I am to receive. Therefore, I am receiving the Holy Spirit at this very moment. I praise You! I thank You! I worship You! Hallelujah! Glory to Your Holy Name! Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

As a child and in my early teens, I would go forward to the altar at church from time to time, asking Jesus to come into my heart and to write my name down in His “Book of Life.” I was confident that He did this at the time. However, when I did something that I knew was wrong, that confidence was gone, and I would give up until the next time I came forward to kneel at the front. We called the bench in front of the pulpit “the penitent form.” Sometimes it was called “the mourners’ bench.” Of course, I knew I was to be “penitent” and I was to “mourn” over my sins. It was not until I was 16 that I realized that I truly am a child of God by faith and faith alone. I believed that even as my human father would not ever cease to be my father, even so God, my Father, my Abba, would not ever take an eraser and rub my name out of His Book. The day after I fully believed that, I went down to the creek behind my sister’s house at Shady Nook, just outside of Pembroke, Ontario, and quoted over and over John 6:37. Jesus said, “The one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.” I came to Him! He does not lie! Therefore, He does not cast me out. He receives me! What freedom and confidence that fact has given me right up to this day, over 64 years later.

Yours for believing Ephesians 2:8-9 (our next New Testament book after we read 1 & 2 Kings): “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast,”

David

9 thoughts on “Sunday, April 23, 2017

  1. Thanks for your comments and prayer for today, David—I have also forwarded them to some relatives who might find them helpful and might pass them on. I pray God’s continuing blessings upon you and your extended family.
    Bob

  2. Wonderful scripture, message, prayer, and vlog, this morning, Ron and David! I still marvel at how you created this blog, five years ago, dear David, bringing so many saints from around the world, together for a daily bible study and prayer, each day. What a joy! Such a blessing! We thank you! God’s continued blessings, dear ones, on this beautiful sunny day!

    See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:a NLT

    Down To The River To Pray – Alison Krauss
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSif77IVQdY

    • Love that music, Down To The River to Pray. Would love to have been there. I can’t believe it has been 5 years this blog has been going. The time just went so fast. May God bless all today (a beautiful day here in S Ontario).

  3. Yes wonderful blog and vlog today Pastor David and Ron. Thank you, thank you. Thank you also Beverlee and Irene for your faithful prayers. Two of my brothers and sister-in-laws took me out to a pre-birthday dinner today and we had good fellowship. Thank you Jesus. Got victory over a situation as well. God is faithful!

  4. I’ts winter wonderland in the Rockies today, in the West, soaking the dry land.

    As you so wonderfully stated in today’s lesson: We are no longer in bondage, we have been set free in Christ Jesus Our Lord: We are children of God and can call HIM, “ABBA, DADDY!”
    Oh, how wonderful, Oh how marvelous, is the Savior’s love for me!!!

  5. Beverlee Kay and Irene! I love you both! I am so thankful that we can be very open and honest with our feelings on this blog! That is also an area where I have appreciated David Mainse for his honesty!
    The Holy Spirit works over time when we are honest with each and with God! I wonder why we think we can act one way with someone and another way when their back is turned! That’s our sinful nature BUT when we confess the issues such as anger, jealousy, gossip, and so on, the devil flees and we can come to our Lord God and tell Him we are sorry for our sins, please forgive us and HE HAS ALREADY FORGIVEN US! Amazing Grace!

    Lord I pray that You would place Marc at the top of the list to receive the liver….
    we thank You that he will be able to return home soon and live a long happy healthy life! Thank you Lord……..Lord I thought it was Your timing that I watched the program about a transplant of a liver with Hep C and how it turned out to be very successful! What a blessing Lord! Thank you!

    Thank You Lord for hearing all our prayers! Thank You for healing all who are ill; grant them a new body, grant them a happy life, that they may serve You always and give You all the glory and thanksgiving!

    I want to share some very interesting information regarding acupuncture! I have had acupuncture for years,
    what this treatment does is open all the arteries, making sure there is no blockage, when there is a blockage it takes a few treatments before everything runs smoothly!
    When the arteries run smoothly with no blockages this greatly reduces any cancer from growing. Acupuncture works on every part of the body! It is a very amazing treatment, I would encourage people to do research!
    It is very good for arthritic problems, for many mental illnesses, headaches, so much more….

  6. please pray the Lord will grant me a financial breakthrough soon ! I would like to give Monica $1,000.00 by Friday, she is moving, very ill, has many needs, like a working phone, some medical treatments; I will miss her very much;
    I also would like to give Jordon and Landon $1,000.00 each, they are her sons and they have been very good to mom however they have some urgent bills also!
    The Lord removed addictions from me 22 years ago, gave me swimming, gave me a car! With the Lord God all things are possible!
    blessings to everyone, may all who are ill receive a supernatural healing from God! AMEN!

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