Ready! Set! Clean!

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Thank you for joining for some Coffee with Jesus this Saturday morning! I love Saturday mornings. I usually wake up before the family does, make myself a cup of coffee, sit in my favorite kitchen chair to watch the birds in the backyard - all the while praising God for His love, mercy, the colorful birds, the bluest skies, the beautiful chair and the cozy pajamas... what not!

But this Saturday morning I invite you for a Cleaning Spree. No, there is no heavy duty lifting or washing or moving involved. Just right where you are, lift up your holy hands and start praising the Lord. Just keep on praising the Lord, keep on, keep on praising the Lord.

Visualize your heart getting cleansed by the Lord, by His blood, by His grace, by His love, all the while praising the Lord. Imagine the hands of Jesus reaching out to the innermost corner, all around, under, over, everywhere, touching, healing and cleaning your heart. Just keep praising, keep praising, lift up your voice and keep on praising the Lord. If you feel like crying out loud, do that, want to clap your hands, go ahead. Just continue to praise His Holy Name. Hallelujah!

Wow! That's a wonderful experience, is it not? You have now received a brand new "sparkling clean" heart and a beautiful renewed spirit overflowing with such love and joy that you can not even fathom.

Go in peace! Enjoy your day & God bless you!

Today's giveaway!

Dunkin Donuts gift card for $20!

 

Who gets it? The first person who follows the cleaning spree above and comments below! Fair enough, right? :)

Fruitful - Are we?

"A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9

We have a parable for discussion this morning: The parable of a fig tree. It doesn't take an expert to understand these parables. Parables are simple stories which any common man could relate to. Also, these parables were preached by Jesus Himself which make it even more interesting.

Here we see, a fig tree master getting disappointed with no yield from his tree and in his anger wants it cut down. But the gardener pleads for the tree and buys some more time.

Do you think the gardener then just left the tree to itself? No; he took special care to prune it, trim it, feed it and water it more often. He toiled hard to make it live. Let's pause right there.

Don't you see a similarity of Christ our Savior pleading our case to the Father God here? Yes, that is correct. Every time we anger Holy God who cannot look at sin, and whenever He is ready to punish us according to our sins, Jesus Christ comes in between asking God to give us another chance.

Then He takes special care of us, giving us more and more opportunities to improve. Do we appreciate His efforts and try to make it or do we dismiss it and remain the same without much fruits in our lives?

Let's ponder over these thoughts as we kick off the weekend...

We have yet another give away as part of the Coffee with Jesus second year anniversary:

Names of Jesus Journal

Only Pastors are eligible for this giveaway. If you are a Pastor or in full time ministry please share a comment below. The winner will be picked by random number method on Oct 1st! If you are not a Pastor, you can share the announcement with your Pastors, Youth Pastors, etc.

God of Daniel

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land:

“May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”  Daniel 6:25-28

 

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”  Daniel 3:28-29

 

The Book of Daniel is full of exciting incidents that took place in the life of Prophet Daniel and how he found favor in the eyes of great kings such as King Nebuchadnezzar, King Darius, King Belshazzar etc.

 

Some of the most miraculous events we have heard as Bible stories since childhood such as the fiery furnace incident, the lion's den incident, interpretations of dreams occurred in Daniel's life. He has ministered to many kings of different kingdoms. Yet one thing remained constant throughout his life - His prayer life!

The Scriptures above are in fact testimonies of Daniel shared by the kings who had witnessed these incidents first hand.

In Daniel 6:10 we read, "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."

 

Imagine it being us in Daniel's place, we would reason, "okay I am going to pray in my heart and won't make it obvious that I am praying; after all God would understand...". When it came to the idol situation we would have said, "I will just bow down but will not worship..." These are our excuses to "go with the flow". We waver in our faith. We try to fit in. We are afraid to stand up and out for our beliefs.

I believe Daniel's courage that defied the kings' orders to honor God was an effect of the power of his prayers. We waver because we lack prayer. We have ridden too long on others' prayer for us; it is time we get started on our own seeking after the perfect will of God in our lives. After all it is the same God we serve - the God of Daniel! He is able and mighty to save us from our fiery furnace and lions dens like situations. Amen!

"How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."  I Kings 18:21

Giveaway Day 3 details: NKJV Compact Ultraslim Bible - LeatherSoft Grain Black

You will qualify for a random number draw if your birthday falls between Sep 27 thru Sep 30. Please share a comment in the comment section below to be enrolled for the giveaway. Winner will be announced on Oct 1st.

 

Seek the LORD while he may be found

* On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Psalm 63:6
* But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
* I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:7
* In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law. Psalm 119:55
* My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. Psalm 119:148

Yesterday we saw the importance of praying in the morning; today's focus is on praying at night. King David has set us a great example as a prayer warrior. He was constantly connected with God, day in and day out.

Prophet Isaiah too insists on praying in the night; he writes: My soul yearns for you in the night Isaiah 26:9

Prophet Jeremiah reminds us in Lamentations 2:19, Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also prayed at night. In Luke 6:12 we read, One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

We may reason we do not have time to pray; but it is high time we make time to pray. If we don't pray for our children who else would?  If kings and prophets and our Lord Himself chose to pray, what makes us think we can survive without it?

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6

Today's giveaway as part of the Coffee with Jesus anniversary celebrations is:

The Hurt & the Healer--CD and Free T-Shirt

This giveaway is open for the prayer warriors among us. Please share your prayer time experience for the benefit of the fellow believers in Christ, in the comments section below.The winner will be announced on Oct 1st by random number method.

Dining at dawn

* Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. Exodus 16:21
* In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3
* In the morning I will sing of your love Psalm 59:16
* His compassions never fail. They are new every morning Lamentations 3:22,23
* I rise before dawn and cry for help Psalm 119:147

Scriptures show the importance of sitting at His feet in the morning and yet that is one area we mostly neglect. When Israelites were fed by Manna in the desert, every morning they had to gather as much as they needed. When the sun grew hot, it melted away.

Same is true for our Spiritual Manna - the Word of God. We need to gather it every morning before the sun rises as when the day progresses we may altogether skip it.

We all know the Lord's prayer, "Give us each day our daily bread" Let us take an effort to eat it every day, possibly as breakfast for a healthy start.

Trust me, it is such a refreshing experience sitting at His feet first thing in the morning. His presence will overwhelm your thoughts and your heart will be filled up to the rim and overflowing with His love and mercies.

Is there any better way to start our day?

Before you go away please check out today's giveaway as part of the Coffee with Jesus second year anniversary celebration:

Our Daily Bread Promise Box 

Share your salvation testimony in the comments section below to be considered for the giveaway. Winner will be chosen by random pick method on October 1st 2012.