ojaysjoel blog

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalms 34:19" Devotion : Reading the opening scripture should encourage believers in Christ Jesus to keep pressing on in the midst of challenges or afflictions. The Holy Spirit wants us to focus on Jesus Christ, the Deliverer, because there is a sure Word that He will deliver us from all our afflictions or difficulties. When we focus on the Deliverer, He gives us more grace to overcome our obstacles. However, when we focus on the afflictions or challenges, doubt, fear, and anxiety are created in us which robs our faith and our ability to receive grace to overcome. Hence, we complain, murmur, and feel self-pity, which prolong the afflictions and draw us back in the faith; they may even rob us of our joy in Christ, which is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Dear beloved, are you going through any afflictions or challenges? What do you think you must do to overcome them? Share your comments here...

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31" Devotion : The Apostle Paul asked the above questions after touching on many subjects. Some of the subjects he touched on were the intercession of the Holy Spirit for us, predestination, justification, and glorification. All the things he spoke about are in our favor as believers in Christ Jesus. He taught these subjects to encourage the believers in his era not to give up their faith even though they might be going through a lot of challenges. He said the destiny of Christians has been planned by God, we have been declared not guilty by God, and we will be glorified in the end. Sometimes we are deceived to think that God does not care or that God hates us, because of the challenges or sufferings that come our way when we became born again. These trials are just passing for us to be glorified in the end. If God gave His Son to us, then He, by His Son, will give us all things because...

"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Timothy 2:4" Devotion : God is good. He is good because He does not want anybody to go to hell. Even though He does not want anyone to go to hell, He has left everyone to his own will; in other words, He has allowed mankind to make their own choices. The almighty God, through His saving plan, gave Jesus Christ to mankind that through Jesus all men can be saved. For this reason, the gospel is still being preached today; this is the saving knowledge God is conveying to the people of the world through His ministers of the gospel. The desire and expectation of the Father of creation is that sinners, evildoers, and the wicked will take advantage of the knowledge of Christ and be saved. If they don't choose the path of salvation, then they have chosen the path of eternal damnation. Dear beloved, what path have you chosen? Share your thoughts here! http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstu...

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8" Devotion : The Apostle Paul exhorted the church in Colossae about the strategy of the enemy to entangle them again. The devil was going to do that through philosophy and vain deceit with respect to tradition and rudiments of the world. The strategy of the enemy and his cohorts of darkness still lingers on today. He has colored the educational system with subjects and courses that seek to mock our faith. An example is the big bang theory, which does not recognize God as the creator of the earth. Another example is a false belief by some Jews that without circumcision in the flesh, one cannot be born again. When a person becomes born again, all the old things, including human traditions and philosophies, pass away (2 Corinthians 5:17). What the believer in Christ needs to do is to adopt the Word of God and God...

"A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Psalm 91:7" Devotion : The mental picture painted by the opening scripture is how our enemies have been designed by God. They have been made to fall in their thousands at our side; they cannot come close to us. Therefore, there is no need, as a child of God, to fear the enemy. Besides the devil and his cohort of darkness, anything that seeks to oppose or seek our downfall is an enemy. All of these have been designed to fall flat before us. Jesus Christ emphasized this in Luke 10:19, where he said our enemies have been perpetually placed under our feet for us to trample over them and that nothing would hurt us. Let this consciousness be in you, and you will overcome all doubts and opposition in your life. Dear beloved, do you have opposition in your life? How do you seek to overcome these? Share your thoughts here! http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstudybible....

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17" Devotion : The Christian must come to terms with God's view about who the Christian is. Anybody who is born again is made a new man or woman. This means his spirit is reborn into the kingdom of heaven, where even what is impossible with men can be possible. If you are sick and you receive Jesus Christ as Lord, God sees you as healed, so you keep declaring what God says you are, and you will be healed. If you were an armed robber, God sees you as a righteous man, hence you declare to yourself that you are righteous. If you were poor, God sees you as rich, so declare that you are rich, and you will be rich. In the kingdom of God, confession leads to possession. As a child of God, everything about you has become new, and you have no past; view yourself that way, and silence the negative imagination and accusation of the enemy. Dear belo...

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, 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" Devotion : The Apostle Paul, by the inspiration of God, has given the believer another key to live a victorious Christian life. The key is to always abound in the work of the Lord. He admits that as a Christian, the race is not always rosy, hence we must be steadfast and unmovable. The enemy would always attack the children of God who are doing the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. His motive is to make you think your labor for the Lord is in vain so that you give up the Lord's work. The only key to nullify his attack is to be devoted and immovable and to enjoy the work of the Lord, knowing that surely your reward will come. Dear beloved, do you feel like giving up on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? Don't give up but apply the key in the article, and you will definitely share your t...