If you know Jesus

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you...”

— Isaiah 66:13 (NIV)

God has promised us He will comfort like a mother comforts her child, so therefore never doubt, instead put all of your trust in Him. The following poem sums it up best, I hope that you will enjoy it.

IKNOW JESUS

* I know He is the beginning, so why do I worry about the end? * I know He is the Creator, so why do I wonder who will destroy? * I know He has forgiven me, so why can't I forgive myself? * I know He is a healer, so why do I speak of sickness? * I know He can do all things, so why do I say I can't? * I know He will protect me, so why do I fear? * I know He will supply all my needs, so why can't I wait? * I know He is my strength and my salvation, so why do I feel weak? * I know that everything and everyone has a season, so why when someone's season is over do I weep instead of rejoice? * I know He is the right way, so why do I go the wrong way? * I know He is the light, so why do I choose to walk in darkness? * I know that whatever I ask of GOD, GOD will give me, so why am I afraid to ask? * I know tomorrow is not promised, so why do I put off for tomorrow what I can do today? * I know that the truth shall make me free, so why do I continue to lie? * I know He gives us revelation, knowledge and understanding, so why do I lean on my own understanding? * I know I should live in the spirit as well as walk in the spirit, so why do I choose to live in the spirit but walk in the flesh? * I know that when praises go up, blessings come down, so why do I refuse to praise Him? * I know I am saved, so why do I refuse the word He has given me? * I know He has a plan for me, so why am I rushing it because * I am eager to do His will, when it is His time not my time? - Author unknown

Ps. Shibu Thomas IPC Hebron , Oklahoma

Fear Not

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

— 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Nelson Mandela once stated, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” But we are reminded of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy above. When you are in the company of great people like men of God, your parents, or elders in places like your home, school, church, or workplace, or when you move from one level of life to another, there will always be fears. It is a natural feeling, but I encourage you to not let your fears control you. A psychological study at a prominent university made a startling discovery about how fear controls your actions. The study involved 10 participants (students) where nine of the participants were. Two lines were drawn on a blackboard, one shorter than the other. Each student was told to identify the shortest line. One by one, each of the nine students did as they were instructed and claimed the shorter line was longer than the other line. The tenth person knew they had picked the wrong line but since the other participants seemed so confident, he also picked the short line. He was afraid to be different than the rest!

Henry David Thoreau challenged a generation of young minds when he told the world that he “marched to the beat of a different drummer”. He didn’t want to do things just because everyone else did it. Rather, he listened to a cadence set by a distant conductor. Thoreau had to be courageous enough to face his fears and do the right thing. For you, this may mean refusing to participate in activities that clearly violate your principles. It may mean supporting that which your mind tells you is best, even if it’s opposite of the crowd. It may also mean reaching inside yourself (even when you’re afraid) for inner strength needed to face the enemies of life.

God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and strength. Prepare, think it through, seek spiritual guidance, and then stick to your guns, come what may! Everyone has fears. It isn’t a matter of whether or not you have fears, it is whether your fears control you.

Ps. Shibu Thomas IPC Hebron , Oklahoma

Secret of Spiritual Achievement

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that* you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. **And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”

— Romans. 12:1-2

A key to success is to surrender ourselves to God. What does that mean?

It means that we must give up our entire way of seeing and measuring things and see the world through "Kingdom" glasses. First we have to surrender our sense of personal confidence. This is the notion that we can accomplish anything, alone. When we surrender to God we change our attitude to one that says, "I can't do anything without God." My personal ambitions and goals have to align with the perfect will of God I can't succeed in business, school , ministry or my profession without God's blessings. Once that is done then kingdom building becomes the highest priority. Surrendering is not easy. Everything in us wants independence. Everything in us says, "Seek your own, do for yourself, and reach your own goals." Surrendering requires us to put our own goals on the back burner and to put those of Christ on the front burner. Those who are unable to surrender will also find the remaining four secrets difficult as well, because they are almost impossible to accomplish without an attitude of surrender. Those who are able to surrender themselves can say with the songwriter, 'All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give. I will ever love and trust him; in his presence daily live. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to thee my blessed savior; I surrender all."

Ps. Shibu Thomas IPC Hebron , Oklahoma

Be An Overcomer By Resisting The Devil

Those who succeed have learned how to resist the devil. The devil pushes us to promote ourselves in many ways. He promotes us to do things so that we can receive personal pleasure, credit, praise or power. We are told that if we want to spiritually succeed we must resist these motivations. We should ask the question, "Why am I doing what I am doing? What is my motivation? When it is over do I expect praise, credit or power?" If so, we are encouraged to resist devilish impulses. The weapons we use to resist the devil are: faith and prayer. A man or woman who operates on faith and prayer is able to resist the devil. God will help us recognize that a certain act is not according to his will, when we pray before we act. He will also help us to stand when the devil attacks. To resist the devil we cannot afford to abandon our prayer lives. If we went through this week without taking time to read our bible or share in a moment of personal prayer, our resistance will be low. Satan will find plenty of room to impose himself on our thoughts and actions. He can't get a word in if we are constantly focused on the Lord and His kingdom.

Ps. Shibu Thomas IPC Hebron , Oklahoma

A worshiper of God at all times

Those who refuse to worship and those who sit like statues, refusing to say “Amen” or show any sign of gratitude for the blessings of the Lord, will, one day, find themselves outside of the "Ark of Safety". In their place the rocks will cry out “glory and honor!”. When God blesses us, we should be willing to praise him and lift him up in the sanctuary so that everyone can see the joy we share in the Lord.

Instead, many whom God has richly blessed choose to stay home regularly and refuse to praise him publicly. And if they do worship, it’s in a very unresponsive manner. These believers deny Christ in the sanctuary! We are saved by the grace of God and are sustained by His strength. Let us develop an attitude of gratitude and remain in it at all times.

“I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

— Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)

Your Brother in Christ,

Ps. Shibu Thomas IPC Hebron, Oklahoma