Never Again Looking Back

There are times when we look back at past mistakes in our life. We condemn ourselves for not recognizing what we were doing at that time while we were overcome in certain sins which we were totally blinded for some reason. Such is the nature of sin which causes blindness of heart (Ephesians 4: 18).

Sometimes we look back onto situations in our life that we had no control over, and allow these issues to harden our heart. We just can’t control the pain any longer so we give in. We establish a self-destructing pattern in our own life when we constantly look back.

One fact that many people fail to realize is that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to the earth to die for our sins so that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10: 13).

Although Jesus performed many miracles, He was ridiculed. On the noiht before He was to be taken, He prayed to God saying: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done” (Luke 22: 42). When Jesus came to earth, He was a fleshy man. He could have changed His mind at any time and gone back to Heaven especially since so many of those He came to save had instead rebuked Him. But if He did so, mankind would forever be doomed to an eternity in hell. Just how intense was His prayer to God: “And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat was as it were drops of blood”.

Following His prayer to the Father, Jesus was arrested. He was then mocked, spat upon, had a crown of thorns crushed into His skull and was beaten so badly (Isaiah 52: 14). After the torture, He was forced to carry His cross from the Judgement Hall to Calvary. Once He reached this destination He was thrown to the ground and held as spikes were driven into His wrists and legs onto the cross. As He suffered in torment He could have easily ”looked back” at those who were persecuting Him and sought revenge on them. But His response was: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34).

All Jesus had to do was to look back at the torment He suffered; but thank God he looked forward instead. He realized that nothing escapes the sight of God. By looking forward, He fulfilled the perfect will of God. Each time we ”look back”, we deny God’s perfect will in our life by allowing pain and torment to keep us a prisoner to the disappointments in life. Its true that some of us have suffered enough in this life, but it will be devastating to spend an eternity in Hell after our death by not accepting God’s plan for redemption. If you have never made a committment to Him, this day could be the starting point of eternal joy which begins at the moment of accepting Jesus into your heart. Just repeat the following prayer with your heart:

Dear Jesus, I realize that I am a sinner and could never save myself. I believe You died for me and shed your precious blood for my sins and that you arose from the dead. I receive you as my Saviour. Lord be merciful to me, a sinner and save me according to the promise of Your Word. Amen.

Let this day be a new beginning for you!!!

 

Prayers That Are Of True Value

Prayer is a weapon by which the Christian mounts pressure on the devil, reminding him that he is a failure and he would forever be a failure. Prayer is also a means by which we commune with our Father and making our requests known unto Him. The importance of prayer in the life of a Christian cannot be over-emphasized. We are commanded in the Bible to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). Jesus also knew the importance of prayer. He usually went to a solitary place to commune with God early in the mornings. He even taught His disciples how to pray.
But sometimes we don’t know what to pray about and when to pray. Majority of us pray for our own needs such as food, shelter and so on while we neglect the salient prayer points at the mercy of intercessors. This ought not to be so. We are called to not called to make demands on God as to our earthly needs but to shew forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2: 9).
We know that the perilous times are here and tendency to pray for our needs increases. We should not allow that to be the centre of our work. I am not saying that we should not pray for our needs at all, afterall Jesus prayed that God should supply our daily needs. Our main and primary assignment is to work for the advancement of God’s kingdom. When we do this, our needs would be met. We are to intercede for men with the power of the Holy Spirit just as the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in the presence of God. God is looking for those who are willing to lay their lives on the altar to plead the cause of men and nations. The whole world lies under the power of the evil one, only the power of God can save men from the imminent destruction. We cannot afford to neglect these and pray for our own comfort. No wonder the Bible said that we pray and receive not because we ask amiss (James 4: 3).
When the multitudes saw the great power of God with which Jesus fed them with five loaves and two fishes, they decided to follow Him everywhere He went not because they were hungry for the Word but for food. They wanted Jesus to meet all their earthly needs while they neglected the salvation they needed. Jesus told them to labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life which the Son of man shall give you (John 6: 26). When the people realised their mistake, they asked Jesus, “what shall we do that we might work the works of God?”. This should be the first question every Christian should ask. God is faithful and just to supply all our needs when we are ready to do exploits for Him. We should therefore live our lives proclaiming God’s message and make our supplications to Him of secondary importance.

 

God’s unfailing love

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years (Deut. 8: 3, 4 KJV).

This verses of the Scriptures give deep insightful teachings on the way Christians should live and conduct themselves. God is ever faithful, glorious and eternally merciful. He led the Israelites out of bondage because He saw their sufferings and He heard their cries; just as He hears our calls and sees our inmost struggle to gain the mastery over sin. God heard our cries and He has led us out of that land of bondage into a good and large land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3: 8; Romans 5: 8) by giving up His only begotten Son to die in order to redeem us from our sins.
However, God allowed the Israelites to pass through the wilderness amid severe drought. He could have led them through a shorter route but He chose to lead them through the wilderness in order to prove them, refine them, humble them, build them and to know what was in their hearts Deut 8: 2. God is infinitely rich in wisdom. None can be compared unto Him. He deliberately allowed His beloved children to suffer hunger, thirst and harsh weather conditions in the wilderness because He was preparing them for that higher place which he has destined for them. In the same way God makes and prepares His children for the place He has destined for him. Many times we face crises in our daily lives, but God has good motives behind it. Sometimes we tend to use our own little wisdom and experience to solve these problems, neglecting the Source of all wisdom. That is why problems seem to persist and even grow worse. But God, our creator, is calling out to us in the midst of the storms of life to cast our burdens on Him. Hear his words, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt 11: 28, 29).
The clothes of the Israelites did not get old for forty years. That is a manifestation of God’s wisdom. He made them to know that man does not live by bread and material things alone, but by His word. If our problems are to be solved, we must quit our effort in trying to solve them and allow God to do His business. Our destiny is tied to God’s word, we cannot be of any value if we turn away and despise its life-giving truths. Many so-called rich men get frustrated by little things because they failed to hear what God has to say concerning them. The only way one can truly be successful in life is to find out God’s will for his life and to pursue after it.