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"For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me." - John 5  Verse  36 (NIV) Some people lead out in Ministry work because God has called them into it. Some do because they have called themselves; they are driven by other, totally personal and selfish motives . Verbal self-testimony doesn't mean much. One really does not get much mileage by claiming to have been sent by God. There is a crucial indicator that puts things in their correct perspective. Here it is: the work that one does should testify that the Father sent them. If you are a prophet , your prophecies should testify that God sent you. If you are a preacher/teacher , your teaching should confirm that God sent you. If you are a shepherd , your attitude, actions and reactions, i.e., your general shepherding , should testify that God sent you. The Word of God is the yardstick. Do everything exactly as the Word would hav...

"I seek not to please myself but him who sent me." - John 5  Verse 30 (NIV) Jesus - what a role model! He says, "I seek not to please myself but him [ God ] who sent me." It's time for some introspection - who exactly do you seek to please?  Some Christians seek to please themselves, the very thing Jesus shunned . Such people do anything that gives them pleasure - what God thinks about it matters not, or they just might be struggling with certain issues pertaining to their lives.  Similarly, some Christians go a long way to please other people - their friends, parents, other relatives, etc. What's worrying is that some of such Christians even go to the extent of doing things that are clearly out of line with the will of God - just to please people . Some have been asked by their relatives (and obliged) to abandon the way of the Lord ! Who exactly do you seek to please?  Think seriously about this for a moment. " But Peter and ...

"One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'" - John 5  Verses  5-6 ( NIV ) When one is not well, they tend to ask, "Does Jesus want me well?" or "Does He want to heal me?"  These questions are wrong . You shouldn't ask them. Here is why: " A man with leprosy  came and knelt before [Jesus]  and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' J esus reached out his hand and touched the man.  'I am willing,'  he said. ' Be clean!'  Immediately he was cured  of his leprosy" -     Matthew 8:2-3 (NIV). Fact: Jesus wants you well . He is willing to heal you . He sacrificed His life for you . He will never forsake you - for you are the very reason He went to the cross in the first place! Questions: Do you want to get well? How may one...

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned , but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son ." - John 3  Verse  18 (NIV) If you believe in Jesus , you are not condemned. If you do not believe in Him, you are condemned. That's the message in this verse. People are only condemned if they do not believe in the name of Jesus.   "Here is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" - John 3:19 (NIV).  " Jesus straightened up and asked her [ i.e.,  the woman caught in the very act of  adultery ],  'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'   'No one, sir,' she said.  ' Then neither do I condemn you ,'  Jesus declared. ' Go now and leave your life of sin .'" - John 8:10-11 (NIV). Look at this: " For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn ...

" The royal official said, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.'  Jesus replied, 'You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed.  While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.'" - John 4  Verses  49-51 (NIV) Smith Wigglesworth used to say, " God said it, I believe it, that settles it."   This short statement summarises how Wigglesworth related to God. If God said it, Wigglesworth believed it and that settled it . What a life! What does God say about your life? What does He say about the challenges that you are facing?  What does He say about the plans that you have? Do you know? I suggest you do as follows: Take your Bible . Using the index, find portions that speak to your life, i. e., your family , your marriage , your finances , your fellowship with Him , your challenges , etc. If you have an electronic Bible , this will be quite easy for you ...

"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony ." - John 4 Verse 39 ( NIV ) This is the most inspiring message that I came across as I read my Bible today. The verse refers to the Samaritan woman who met and spoke to Jesus at the well .  The Bible says, "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ' Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did '" - John 4:28 (NIV). The Bible further records that, in response to the woman's words, "They came out of the town and made their way towards him" - John 4:30 (NIV).   This is excellent!   You know Jesus. You are in Him; He is in you. You therefore cannot afford to keep quiet about Him. "Come see Jesus!" you should exhort people around you!  Here is the result of the woman's testimony : People came out of the town and made their way toward Jesus . Many of the Samarit...

"Meanwhile, his disciples urged him, ' Rabbi , eat something.' But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you know nothing about.' Then his disciples said to each other, 'Could someone have brought him food?' 'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'" - John 4  Verses  31-34 ( NIV )    This portion of Scripture inspires me every time I read it. It also challenges me. To some people, fried chips and chicken mean the whole world. Talk of pizza ! Jesus' favorite food was spiritual ; physical food was secondary. Jesus focused more on feeding the spirit than on feeding the body . Jesus' best food was "doing the will of God and finishing the work that God had assigned to him." How nourishing this was! Imagine what your life would be like if you were to put the will of God ahead of pizza and fried chips. Imagine a situation where the will of God dominates you...

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth , for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship [Him] in spirit and in truth." - John 4  Verses  23-24 ( NIV ) When you believed in God, you did so from your heart (spirit), not from your brain (see Romans 10:9 ). God is a spirit and can only be believed from one's spirit. The opening verse reads  "...his worshippers must worship him in spirit and in truth." If you follow God, then you must  worship Him in spirit and in truth. Your worship must come from your spirit (the real you), not from the physical you. In addition, and crucially so, this worship must be sincere. God also expects you to worship Him in truth. Truth is "what the Word says" . So, in your worship, be sure to act only according to what the Word teaches. In all circumstances of life, conduct yourself ...

" Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water .'" - John 4  Verse  10 ( NIV ) What people generally refer to as thirst is, in fact, not the true thirst.  Physical thirst is not real thirst. But when the spirit thirsts , that's real thirst, and one would never be at rest until and unless they get the real water to quench the thirst! For example, some people think their lives will be fulfilled the moment they become rich. On the other hand, there are many 'filthy' rich people who still feel empty, unfulfilled, in spite of all the riches they have. There are also people with just enough income to meet their basics, yet they live fulfilled lives.  The difference comes from the kind of thirst that one has and the kind of water that one takes to quench the thirst. According to Kathryn Kuhlman , before one receives salvation , ...

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life , but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." - John 3  Verse  36 ( NIV ) This is how serious it is. If you believe in the Son, you have eternal life...now and forever. On the other hand, if your aunt does not believe in the Son, it means you are living in a totally different world from hers. Your aunt doesn't have eternal life and shall not see it, unless she gives her life to Christ. Just imagine yourself in her condition! An article that I posted online two years ago had a statement which read something like, "Receive Jesus Christ and get yourself a life." It angered one reader. He posted a comment which read, "You unnecessarily elevate Christians . You mean non-believers do not have life?" It is God who means it; that's where I got it from. Of course, non-believers have life, but it's not the kind that John referred to. John says, ...

"He must become greater; I must become less." - John 3  Verse  30 ( NIV ) These are the words of John, the Baptist . Before one is saved , they exercise 100% of their own will. I believe, however, that in the 100% might be the will of other people. After one receives salvation , they may continue to exercise 100% of their own will. One hopes that this will be only for a season! Note this: Growth means the progressive shedding of one's own will, replacing it with the Lord's . The more one grows in Christ, the more of Christ they exhibit in all the spheres of their life. How would Jesus respond under these circumstances? Would God be happy with this? What direction does God want me to take? What does the Word of God say about these things? Should I do this; shouldn't I? What kind of words would Jesus use? How did Jesus interact with people when He walked the earth? These are the kind of questions that those whose focus is on the will of God con...

"But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need men's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." - John 3  Verses  24-25 ( NIV ) Jesus knows you .  He does not need man's testimony about you. He knows 100% what is in you. You cannot fool Him. This knowledge is truly life-changing!  Real progress is relying not on what people testify about you, but on what Jesus sees in you and thinks of you - His testimony about you. I have come across a number of worshipers who are concerned more about what people think and say about them than about what Jesus testifies of them .  We are born again , yes, but only so that we would live for the Lord . Play-acting before the Lord is the height of folly! It pays to sit and reflect on Jesus' testimony about you.  Remember, man's testimony is good for you only to the extent that it tallies with Jesus'.   View our Christian living books her...

"When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, 'They have no more wine.'" - John 2  Verse  3 (NIV) To whom do you turn whenever you face lack or any other challenge? The moment they face challenges, some people turn away from the Lord and begin to look for solutions from strange places and equally strange characters. Is it a need that you have? Is it a problem? Why won't you turn to your Source in every situation? Jesus and Mary were at a wedding. The wine had run out. Mary turned to Jesus because she knew He was the Source.  "Son, won't you do something about the situation?" Mary asked. Jesus had no wine on Him, yet Mary still believed that by some means Jesus could deliver wine to the guests and keep the joy alive. Here is how the matter ended: "...the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine..." - John 2:9 (NIV). I am humbled; we have a limitless Source . From wa...