a new season of grace and power to do miraculous signs and wonders

Acts 14:3  But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

Acts 15:11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Acts 20:24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

Acts 20:32 “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

Ephesians 2:8-9 [Full Chapter]
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 1:2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Ephesians 1:6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

Ephesians 2:5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

Ephesians 2:7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

Ephesians 3:2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

Ephesians 6:24 May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

concluding words from an apostle: our conscience is clear, our strength comes from God’s grace

Hebrews 13

New Living Translation (NLT)

Concluding Words

13 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.² Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! ³ Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
⁴ Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
⁵ Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,

“I will never fail you.     I will never abandon you.”

⁶ So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper,     so I will have no fear.     What can mere people do to me?”

⁷ Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹ So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.
¹⁰ We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. ¹² So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. ¹³ So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
¹⁵ Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. ¹⁶ And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
¹⁷ Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
¹⁸ Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. ¹⁹ And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace—     who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep,     and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— ²¹ may he equip you with all you need     for doing his will. May he produce in you,     through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.     All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

²² I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation.
²³ I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released from jail. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you.
²⁴ Greet all your leaders and all the believers there. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.
²⁵ May God’s grace be with you all.

____________Verse of the Day
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!        2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
 

journey on: to undeserved favor - grace, grace, grace!

The last sermon 2013 and first sermon 2014 he heard for the over-midnight service by watching online a recorded Sunday worship (due to time zone difference he does not watch live) is all about getting rid of the trash in our lives. The watchman admitted that this was truly most appropriate for this spring cleaning day for him!
Pastor Sandra Kennedy aptly titled the subject, “God is the Redeemer not the condemner”. It is about getting rid of our daily trash. She said God has paid for the trash collector, but each man must take out his or her own trash. We cannot let the trash stay in the house and go out. Because when we come home the trash is still there and stinks! She opened her preaching by quoting from NLT Bible Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:19, then Jeremiah 29:11, 31:33, 37, Psalm 103:8, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17. Pastor Kennedy warned that the devil is the condemner. If anyone condemns, he is walking with the devil. God is Redeemer!
Here is a summary of the action steps we each need to take to get rid of our personal trash:

1. be specific about our trash (sins). name them and claim them.
2. allow God teach us something from it.
3. allow God have our past: forgive, heal, pour oil and wine.
4. forgive ourselves. (God has forgiven us and there is no record of it.)

Do start our new year 2014 right by hearing God right. Here is the last message for 2013 and the first one on this first day of the new year!
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewEmbedResizeCC2.aspx?ccEnabled=false&autostart=true&indexSessionSKU=i8mIsipYweI6PFo4Pu3dkw%3D%3D
http://hosted.earthchannel.com/WholeLife/tabs/sundays.php#

Isaiah 43:25 (NLT)

²⁵ “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake     and will never think of them again.

Micah 7:19 (NLT)

¹⁹ Once again you will have compassion on us.     You will trample our sins under your feet     and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

Jeremiah 29:11

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 31:33

New Living Translation (NLT)

³³ “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Jeremiah 31:37

New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁷ This is what the Lord says: “Just as the heavens cannot be measured     and the foundations of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away     for the evil they have done.     I, the Lord, have spoken!

Today’s prayer: enriched in all utterance and all knowledge

Speak the Word of God’s power

How to use the powerful sword of the Spirit in prayer?
Today’s Prayer: Praying through the Bible -using 1 Corinthians 1 (NKJV)
Dear heavenly Father, in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I give thanks that you have given Me every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
_________________________
(Verses 1-9)
That I am sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: that I have received grace and peace from You, God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God always concerning me for the grace of God which was given to me by Christ Jesus, that I was enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in Me, so that I come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm me to the end, that I may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are faithful, by whom I was called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Verses 18-25)
To us who are being saved the message of the cross is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
For since, in the wisdom of You, God, the world through wisdom did not know You, it pleased You through the foolishness of the message preached to save us who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to us who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of You, God and the wisdom of You, God. Because the foolishness of You, God is wiser than men, and the weakness of You, God is stronger than men.
(Verses 26-31)
For we see our calling, Father, my brethren and I , that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But You has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and You have chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised You have chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in Your presence. But of Him we are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
__________________
Father, it is really wonderful to be predestined, called, justified and sanctified by You, in Christ Jesus, and to know that You have made us into more than conquerors in Him who loved us. Indeed You will supply us with all we need according to the riches of Your glory in Him. We can do all things in Him who strengthens us.
We bless You and praise You.

__________________

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
“Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.”
(1 Chronicles 29:10-13)

Journey to see God: His mercy, kindness and undeserved favor

Today we see why we have become olives. All about God and His mercy, kindness and grace. Let us be humble. Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

Romans 11 New Living Translation (NLT)

God’s Mercy on Israel

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

² No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

⁴ And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”

⁵ It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. ⁶ And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

⁷ So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. ⁸ As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep.
To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see,
    and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

⁹ Likewise, David said,

“Let their bountiful table become a snare,
    a trap that makes them think all is well.
Let their blessings cause them to stumble,
    and let them get what they deserve.
¹⁰ Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and let their backs be bent forever.”

¹¹ Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. ¹² Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

¹³ I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,¹⁴ for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.¹⁵ For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! ¹⁶ And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

¹⁷ But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. ¹⁸ But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

¹⁹ “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” ²⁰ Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. ²¹ For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

²² Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. ²⁴ You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.

God’s Mercy Is for Everyone

²⁵ I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
    and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
²⁷ And this is my covenant with them,
    that I will take away their sins.”

²⁸ Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁹ For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. ³⁰ Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. ³¹ Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. ³² For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

³³ Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

³⁴ For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
³⁵ And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

³⁶ For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.