Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

READ: Luke 23:32-43
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Luke 23:34

Perhaps someone has offended you deeply , and you are having difficulty forgiving that person. Let me help you. There is the need to analyse the offender very well, that is, the person who did whatever to hurt you. Luke 23:34 gives an example of Jesus analysing the offenders. He said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..."

Jesus was not just forgiving them Himself. He had gone a step further, and was asking God to forgive them for the evil that they had done to Him. The Son of God explained why they needed to be forgiven: because "they know not what they do". If you analyse the offender, you will realize that although he is doing evil, he may not be fully aware of the implications of his action. As soon as you analyse it this way , it will help you relate well with whoever offends you.

Let me share with you a personal experience. Once, one of my junior pastors was extremely rude to me. This pastor spoke in a way he should never have spoken - least of all, to me. As he shouted and threatened me, I looked at him and I said to myself, "I am very sure he doesn't know what he is doing. Maybe he is confused or disturbed."

The excuse I made for him that he did not know what he was doing, helped me to relate with him. Learn to make excuses for people. Jesus made excuses for His murderers! Perhaps your offender is sick, ignorant or confused. You will find that you have the capacity within you to forgive.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
—John 15:9

The great Swiss theologian, Dr. Karl Barth, was probably in his generation the greatest theologian in the world, and a great philosopher as well. I did not always agree with him, but he was my friend and I respected him. While he was in this country, a student at one of the seminaries said, “Dr. Barth, what is the greatest truth that ever crossed your mind?” All the seminary students were sitting on the edge of their seats to hear some great, profound, deep, complicated answer. Dr. Barth slowly raised his great shaggy gray head and looked at the student and said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.

Psalm 35:27, The Amplified Bible

If traditional religion has taught you that God wants you poor and oppressed, I have good news for you today. The Bible says, "God takes pleasure" in your prosperity. God wants you to prosper!

Not just in the financial realm but in every area of your life...spirit, soul and body.

No matter where you are or who you are, God wants to see you delivered from every adverse situation.

Why? Because He loves you and He has a job for you to do. He wants you to help meet the needs of mankind and He's smart enough to know that you can't give away what you don't have. You can't give to spread the gospel or buy food for the hungry when you're broke. You can't go out laying hands on the sick when you're lying in a hospital bed. You can't minister joy to others when you're being held captive by depression. No! You have to be blessed to be a blessing.

If you really want to tap into the riches of God today, make up your mind to be a blessing to others, and before you know it, you'll be receiving more from God than you ever dreamed.

That's what happened to me. I decided years ago, first and foremost, to be a giver. I developed a lifestyle of giving. Today, I literally "live to give." And I don't mind telling you, God dumps blessings on me by the truckload!

He'll do the same for you if you'll become His servant—if you'll lay down your time and your money and your love for those who need it. Become a giver—and God will take pleasure in prospering you!



Scripture Reading:

Genesis 12:1-4,Genesis 13:1-4

Find your flow.

Change can sometimes come into our lives at the most unexpected moments.

We may fear it, we may run from it, but when things change in our lives the opportunities for growth are immediate.

We have only to look at the gorgeous Irrawaddy dolphins of Southeast Asia to understand the power in adapting to our circumstances.



The dolphins adapted their hunting skills to combat a dwindling food supply. Instead of allowing their circumstances to be their demise, they found a new way to survive. They learned to aid local fishermen in order to find food. The dolphins get first pick of the catch in exchange for driving schools of fish into their nets.


When faced with changes that we cannot control, we have the same opportunity to adapt, to find a way forward. Let’s not spend precious time describing the water as we drown. Instead, fight to stay afloat.

Fighting against the unexpected changes depletes us; we live with power when we find our flow. Research shows that those who exhibit flexibility are better able to adapt to the ups and downs of life; they build meaningful reserves of emotional strength.

Welcome change into your life as if you had invited it. Ride out these waves, however frightening, with grace and flexibility.

You will adapt, you will overcome and ultimately you will thrive.

When I said, My foot is slipping, Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, held me up.

—Psalm 94:18

Some people seem to start their day on the "wrong foot." They feel all right when they wake up, but as soon as something goes wrong, they lose their footing and walk with a "loser's limp" the rest of the day. Once they are off to a bad start, it seems they never catch up.

If someone offends us early in the morning, our anger can keep us defensive all day. If we start the day rushing, it seems we never slow down. But to¬day our feet can be firmly planted in God's Word.

Memorise: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35

Read: John 6:5-13 (KJV)

5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.


7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.


8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,


9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?


10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.


11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.


12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.


13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.




Bible in one year: Matthew 4-5, Isaiah 1:18-2:5, Hymn: Sing hymn 4
MESSAGE:
One of the titles of the Lord is “The Bread of life”.
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35 Open Heaven Monday 2 January 2017:- The Divine Bakery

Do you know that no name or title of the Lord Jesus Christ is there just for fun? Each of His names is revealed to accomplish a definite assignment in the life of the one to whom it is declared. May the Lord’s names and titles become real in your life this season in Jesus’ Name!


In John 11:25, the Lord introduced Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Less than an hour later, just to demonstrate the reality of that name, someone who had died and had been buried for four days came out of the grave alive. In the Name of Jesus Christ, I command every good thing that is dead in your life to experience a touch from the Resurrection and the Life now! Similarly, He announced Himself ad the Bread of Life. In our Bible text, a young boy handed over his lunch to Him, comprising five loaves of bread and two tiny fishes, and when that day ended, everyone present could testify to the reality of that title: The Bread of Life!


Whatever you hand over to the Lord Christ is multiplied by Him. When the young boy gave Him his loaves of bread and fishes, He began to break the bread. As people watched Him, they could not believe what they were seeing. The more they focused on Jesus as He broke the bread. The more they marvelled. He was breaking off thousands of pieces of bread from one loaf of bread, and yet that loaf in His hand did not get smaller! Why? It is because as the Bread of life, He Himself is the heavenly bakery. Having Him as Source means He can supply all the bread that is needed to feed the whole world. 2 January 2017 Devotional message. If He could feed the thousands of people in this passage, and if He could feed the nation of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness (without them engaging in any form of farming, fishing or hunting), He can definitely feed you and your family throughout your stay on earth. Therefore, hand over what He has given you back to Him! How much do you depend on Him for both physical and spiritual bread?

John 10:3

…he calls his own sheep by name…

Do you sometimes feel like you are just a face in a crowd or a number in a system? You are identified by your social security number. Even when you see the doctor, you are called by your queue number. If you feel depersonalized and dehumanized, that is exactly how the devil wants you to feel — that you do not matter much to anyone, especially to God.

But you do matter to God! He calls you by name. He knows exactly what you are going through and where you are hurting. He sees you and cares for you, just as He cared for the people when He first walked on earth.

My friend, He will do for you what He did for the woman in Samaria. The Bible says that “He needed to go through Samaria” to get from Judea to Galilee. (John 4:4) Now, any Jew of His day would have taken a different and longer route to avoid going through Samaria because they hated the Samaritans, though the way through Samaria would take much less time. But Jesus deliberately took the shorter, avoided route, just so He could stop by Samaria to speak to the woman who had been searching for something in her life to satisfy her.

This woman had had five husbands and the man she was living with was not her husband. Clearly, things had not been going right in her life. She was probably looking for answers and fulfillment, and must have felt ashamed about her failed marriages and current lifestyle.

Yet, in spite of all this, she mattered to Jesus! He needed to go to her to minister to her. And indeed, after she met Jesus, the perfect Man, she was transformed. She was no longer ashamed, and went into the city to tell the people about Him. (John 4:28–29)

Beloved, Jesus wants to meet you wherever you are at in life and minister His grace to you. You certainly matter to Him. He came to give you life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) You are not just a face in a crowd or a number. No, He knows you by name and has a personal love for you. And in spite of the mess that you might be in, He wants to meet your every need and make your life beautiful!

Thought For The Day

You do matter to God! He knows what you are going through and wants to meet your every need.

READ: Romans 4:13-25
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Genesis 15:6

Abraham's faith in God was considered as an act of righteousness. Abraham believed that El' Shaddai was able to give him a child in his old age. God was very pleased with Abraham because he had faith in His commandments. Maybe by your standards, Abraham would have been disqualified. But he was a great man in God's sight. His greatness was as a result of his faith.

Dear Christian friend, God is happy, impressed and pleased when you believe in Him. When you believe that God will heal you, you make God happy! When you believe that your breakthrough is on the way, God is so pleased with you. When you have faith that you will live long, God is provoked to extend your life. When you believe that God will give you increase and abundance, you excite the deep parts of El' Shaddai. You make Him pour out the milk of His blessings into your life.

From today, never doubt any part of God's Word. Accept that you are the champion He is speaking about. Flow with the message of prosperity, healing and abundance. Always remember that God is happy when you believe in Him.

God did not bring you to Christ in order to demote and disgrace you. He brought you to Christ to lift and establish you in an abundant life. I see you walking in the great blessings of Jehovah! I see you free from sickness and disease! I see the power of curses broken in your life! I see that God is pleased with you because you believe in Him!

Consider [Jesus] that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Hebrews 12:3

Look up...because in times like these, your very life may depend on it.

Some time ago, the Lord showed me that a spirit of weariness is trying to work its way into our lives these days through all the pressure and bad news that surround us. It's working to get our eyes off the Word of God by bombarding us with negative forces. It's trying to get us to look down at defeat instead of up at Jesus.

If you let that happen, your spirit man will begin to lose his dominion. And the Word tells us what the results of that is. It says you will "be wearied and faint in your minds."

Jesus put it this way in Mark 4. He said that when the cares of this world enter into your heart and mind, they'll choke the Word and cause it to become unfruitful. And since your faith is the product of the Word, that means your faith will wither. Once that happens, you're headed for disaster.

What can you do to stop this chain reaction of weariness?

Look up! Get your eyes back on Jesus. I remember on the field of athletic competition that when an opponent allowed himself to drop his head, he was no longer dangerous. He could be very easily defeated. So keep your head up. Keep considering Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. Consider Him instead of the cares of this world. Consider what God says in His Word. Be moved by the thoughts of God. Let His thoughts become your thoughts.

Look up! Get your eyes off the circumstances around you and onto your heavenly source. Don't be afraid you're going to lose everything. God is your source, not the world. He can take care of you regardless of what happens around you.

If you've gotten weary lately, begin to lift your eyes. Raise your head up instead of looking down. God is up. Jesus is up. The devil is down—under your feet. Look up!



Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 40:21-31