Launch Out Into The Deep

(Devotional - Ps Joseph Prince)

Luke 5:44 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

God wants to bless you — big-time! It was for this reason that He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” The deep is where you will find a whole lot of fish. You won’t find them near the shore in shallow waters. But to launch out into the deep is to move away from the comfort of the shoreline.

My friend, God wants you to break away from your comfort zone and step out in faith to do what He has put in your heart. It may be something simple, but which you have never done before or only dreamt of, like attending a care group. A church member did just that and found love. Today, she is happily married.

Now, our Lord Jesus who said, “Launch out into the deep…” also said, “… let down your nets for a catch.” Notice that He used the plural “nets” and not the singular “net”. Beloved, God wants to give you more than what you need. His dream for you is bigger than anything you can ever dream of. Dream big and God will exceed your dream because He delights in giving you exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

Another church member who was formerly working for someone else had wanted to start his own company. When praying with him, I received a word from the Lord for him to launch out on his own. When he did that, he made a handsome profit at the end of the first month alone! Today, he has more than one company and his businesses are flourishing. God is blessing him beyond his wildest dreams!

Beloved, God wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. He did it for Simon who was astonished at the size of the catch of fish. (Luke 5:9) But it was not until Simon launched out into the deep that he ended up with the net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish. (Luke 5:6–7) You, too, will be astonished at your catch when you step out of your comfort zone and launch out into the deep with the Lord!

He LORDS over me??

Hi to all who is reading this. How's life? Hope all is well with you and family. =)

It has been a hectic-few-weeks for me due to the coming Christmas. Many things are to be done and yet to be done. All my nights literally are preoccupied with practices, practices and more practices. Of course, am not forgetting the cell groups, prayers and visitations. That explains the frequent migraine and pimples I have! (haha) I guess the same goes to many of you too! ;)

Despite all these, the Lord is our strength! "O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation". Say it aloud again, "O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation". Does it speak to you? I woke up one morning, reading a psalm and this verse spoke deeply to me.

"Lord" in the dictionary.com refers to:
1. a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.
2. a person who exercises authority from property rights; an owner of land, houses, etc.
3. a person who is a leader or has great influence in a chosen profession: the great lords of banking.
4. a feudal superior; the proprietor of a manor. Manor: (in England) a landed estate or territorial unit, originally of the nature of a feudal lordship, consisting of a lord's demesne and of lands within which he has the right to exercise certain privileges, exact certain fees, etc.

Let's persomalise it a bit ^^

This means, the God that we believe in, is the Lord (master, chief, or ruler) of all things in your life & has authority, control, or power over your family, relationships, health, finance, career, studies, ministry, talents, reputation, responsibilities, and even your very OWN life!

He is the owner your land, your houses, your cars, your investment, your shares, your income, your monthly wages, your savings, your everything that is GIVEN for your stewardship and for the well-being of your life! Even your future!

He is also the leader and has great influence in (your) accountancy, banking, engineering, medical sciences, dentistry, PR, human resource, marketing, architecture, contruction, sales and more sales, music, teaching, counselling, zoology to your evanglism, reaching out & doing good works, pastoring, discipling & mentoring, serving the Lord, healing, preaching and deliverance and community transformation. He has a say in all these because He is the pro!

Christ is the "Feudal Superior" of God's Kingdom. All authority, power, rights, rulling and grace, blessings, favour, anointing and inheritance are all in His hands to dispense. It has been given to Him by Father in heaven when He defeats death and rose again! He now has the right to decide to give to any of His children who asks from Him! So, ask from the LORD!

Salvation?? All of us know we are saved the moment we believed the Lord as our Savior who redeemed us from sins. Salvation is freedom from the effects of the Fall of Man! It is given to us when we believe. We were and are still and will always be graced under His salvation as long as we live! Meaning, it covers your whole lifetime! All the days while you still breathe!

Let's read it again, "O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation".

As you are still living on this earth; under His salvation, the LORD of all grace you with strength (which is He, Himself), for you to reign, to have authority, control & power over everything that you own, everything that you need in life, every field of career & ministry that you embark on and receiving all blessings, inheritance and anointing that you can never earn nor work it out yourself!

As you keep your eyes fixed on His, the storms suddenly quieted down and waves stilled. Even in your days of business, you'll be surprised by the many surprises He loves to give to you.

I visited few friends in the hostel recently (was thinking of not going as I was too tired, still I went), merely to just to pray for their exams. Then, I was suddenly reminded of this verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I shared with them and one's face just brightened up! It gave her hope. I know she has been through many ups and downs, be it in studies or family. But this verse gave her strength. It gave her the solution, the ultimate strength; Jesus, and she accepted Christ. Praise God!

It then dawned on me on how I had responded to this simple yet powerful verse when I first heard it. It gave me hope too. I spoke it over and over again over my life. Didn’t know that strength He can give is He himself, the Strength of my salvation. Surprise, surprise, a soul was redeemed that night! He is truly a wonderful LORD who LORDS over your life, giving no harm but abundance of benefits!

Friends, when times get busy / tough, look to Him. He is the answers for all things! Spend time with Him, He longs to speak to you more than you know it. Return to the first love, that time when you were so young (still young) and so full of enthusiasm in getting to know Him. Ask the LORD to fill you again with that passion and longing to know and love Him again!

Wanna know other meanings of “Lord”? It’s something we are familiar with:
5. (initial capital letter) the Supreme Being; God; Jehovah.
6. (initial capital letter) the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 140:7, Philippians 4:13

When God Ran

(Devotional - Ps Joseph Prince)

Luke 15:22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.”

If you are a believer, you are probably familiar with the touching story of the prodigal son that Jesus shared. Who do you think the father in the story represents? Jesus’ Father in heaven, of course. Jesus was giving us a picture of His Father, who is also our Father.

In the story, the father was seen running toward his son, who was returning home. (Luke 15:20) Do you realize that God is never described as being in a hurry in the Bible? He is always cool and composed. The only time He is portrayed as being in a hurry is in this story. Though improper in Jewish culture, the father held up his robe and ran. Where was he running to? Why was he in such a hurry?

The father was in a hurry because he had seen his son, who was still a long way from home. He was running toward his son as he could not wait to embrace and kiss his child again. The father was in a hurry to clothe his son with the best robe. My friend, our Father has put the best robe — the robe of righteousness — on us. In doing so, He has reinstated us as sons of the Most High God, a position which we had lost when Adam fell.

The father was in a hurry to put a ring on his son’s hand. Like the authority that is invested in the signet ring of a rich man’s son, our Father is eager to put back into our hands the authority to invoke His name, so that we can walk in dominion every day.

The father was in a hurry to put sandals on his son’s feet to assure him that he was still his son — only servants went about barefoot. Our Father never wants us to feel like hired servants or outcasts. We are always His sons.

Beloved, if the Father appears to be in a hurry, it is only because He is in a hurry to assure you of your position as His precious child!

P/s. More updates soon =P

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

(Devotional - Pr Joseph Prince)

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The night before Jesus died, He gave His peace to His disciples — “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…” This peace was not just for His disciples, but also for us today. We have His peace.

The moment you believe in Jesus Christ, He who is the Prince of Peace comes to live inside you. And when the Prince of Peace resides in you, every blessing that you will ever need pertaining to your soundness and wholeness is already inside you.

“Pastor Prince, if this is true, then why do I still see problems in my health, finances, family and relationships?”

The answer is a troubled heart. That is why after Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you,” He said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

A troubled and fearful heart works like fingers that clamp down hard on a water hose. The supply of water is flowing from the tap, but little or nothing is coming out at the other end of the hose. God’s ever-present supply of blessings toward you is like the water flowing freely from the tap. But you don’t see the blessings when you allow your heart to be gripped by worry or fear.

So when fearful, anxious thoughts come, remind yourself of Jesus’ words: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Even when things appear to get worse, say, “Lord, I refuse to worry about this. In the midst of all this, I see the finished work of Christ. He said, ‘It is finished!’ So my child’s healing is accomplished. My marriage is blessed. My debts are cleared. I will let not my heart be troubled by these things.”

Beloved, I cannot “let not” for you. Your family and friends cannot “let not” for you. Only you can “let not your heart be troubled”. So guard your heart from being troubled. You don’t have to guard your career, reputation, children or even health. When you guard your heart, God will guard everything else for you!

Word of the day

Something to ponder:
"Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:11-12)

You've got the faith? You do, in fact ever since you received Him into your life! Isn't that a demonstration of your faith in Christ? Uh huh.. Then, let's do it together! Yeah! =)

When Death Becomes Birth

(Devotional - Max Lucado)

You live one final breath from your own funeral.
Which, from God’s perspective, is nothing to grieve. He responds to these grave facts with this great news: “The day you die is better than the day you are born” (Eccles. 7:1). Now there is a twist. Heaven enjoys a maternity-ward reaction to funerals. Angels watch body burials the same way grandparents monitor delivery-room doors. “He’ll be coming through any minute!” They can’t wait to see the new arrival. While we’re driving hearses and wearing black, they’re hanging pink and blue streamers and passing out cigars. We don’t grieve when babies enter the world. The hosts of heaven don’t weep when we leave it.

Oh, but many of us weep at the thought of death. Do you? Do you dread your death? And is your dread of death robbing your joy of life?

Jesus came to “deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Heb. 2:15).

Your death may surprise you and sadden others, but heaven knows no untimely death: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Ps. 139:16).

Dread of death ends when you know heaven is your true home. In all my air travels I’ve never seen one passenger weep when the plane landed. Never. No one clings to the armrests and begs, “Don’t make me leave. Don’t make me leave. Let me stay and eat more peanuts.” We’re willing to exit because the plane has no permanent mailing address. Nor does this world. “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” (Phil. 3:20).

Why don’t you do this: give God your death. Imagine your last breath, envision your final minutes, and offer them to him. Deliberately. Regularly. “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.” With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.

You are being too religious!

Ouch! That hurts especially when it's a nudge from Papa.

I had a faced-on with one of the many issues in (my) life; religiosity, since the past few months. Yep, you heard me alright. ;)

Life wasn't very easy waaay back then. There were moments of tears when people came bashing at the gate, messing up the house. There were also moments of harsh words lashing directly at my face in front of my ONLY friends. And I could never forget the torment of those criticizing and condemning comments made in the class by my past (gone, no longer in existence) beloved & most respected form teacher. I swallowed everything down, held back my tears, kept everything to myself, not wanting to create even more pain to my family. Yet, all this made my used-to-be-soft-and-fun-loving heart to turn cold. Thick walls built around that indifferent heart. In short, a standoffish I was.

I had concluded (though did not aware of it) that life is about proving yourself. Proving of your capability lest you'll be despised. Showing a strong front (no tears in public etc) in any amount of painful circumstances. Nobody would understand. Nobody would cherish the things you do for them. Nobody would want to hear you speaking. Simply because nobody cares!

7 March 2004.
A day where my life changed, changed forever. I received Papa into my life and His peace (now that I know of) filled my heart. Burdens that I didn't even know exactly what it was, were lifted up for no particular reasons. (I didn't know that much initially, you see) He took that away very instantly. That night, I rejoiced and I talked to Him. A moment that I can never forget. He was with me and I now have Him. That's all I knew, nothing more. Just that.

Life became vibrant. I enjoyed my days in college, serving in church, hearing His voice and it just went on day after day. More and more of Him in my life.

Snapped! Something's wrong. I got so upset over many things early this year. Instead of drawing near, members drifted further away from Him. Some got so caught up with the things in the world. Am not saying those things are wrong. Rather, you'll lose a lot of marvelous things in life by just seeking those without Him. Visiting the children became burdensome, loathing the going-alone-again time. The untidy house irked myself too. That's how I started all the nagging at my housemates. I now seriously understand mum's feeling. Surely, I was a heartache and pain in her neck. Lol.

Then, He showed me a book by C. Peter Wagner. It says (part):

One of the most deceptive characteristics about the religious spirit is that is is FOUND UPON ZEAL FOR GOD. We tend to think that zeal for God could never be evil, however that depends on WHY we are zealous for Him.

Paul wrote of his Jewish brethren in Romans 10:2. (refer Bible) At that time of Paul, no one on the earth prayed more, fasted more, read the Bible more, had a greater hope in the coming of the Messiah or had more zeal for the things of God than did the Pharisees. Yet these religious leaders turned out to be the greatest opposers if God and His Messiah when Christ came.

Those who are TRULY zealous are the MOST DIFFICULT to deal with, so the enemy’s strategy against them is to PUSH THEIR ZEAL TOO FAR. His first step is to get them to glory in their own zeal. Regardless of how important a gift we might have, if the enemy can get us to take pride in it, he will have us in his snare and will begin to use that gift for evil.

The Lord had little trouble with most demons while He walked on earth. They quickly recognized His authority and they begged for mercy. But the religious spirit was different. It was embedded in the conservative, zealous religious leaders, who immediately became Jesus’ greatest enemies. Those who were the most zealous for the Word of God ended up crucifying the Word Himself when He became flesh to walk among them. The same is still true.

When the religious spirit succeeds in producing pride, it leads to perfectionism. The perfectionist person sees everything as black or white. This develops extremes, requiring that every person and every teaching be judged as either 100% right or 100% wrong. This is a standard of perfection that ONLY Jesus could comply with. It will lead to a serious delusion when we impose it on OURSELVES or on OTHERS. True GRACE imparts a truth that sets people free, showing them the way out of their sin and beckoning them to higher levels of spiritual maturity.

Those who have the religious spirit may be able to POINT OUT problems with great accuracy, but they seldom have solutions, except to tear down what has already been built. The strategy of the enemy is to nullify progress that is being made and to sow discouragement that will limit future progress.

I had been imposing my value system on others. Though it started out right, very subtly it took a turn and held me pointing fingers on others. I then understood the verse (even better), "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. I literally needed to put the reading to halt for some time before rereading it again. It pierced deep. It was painful. Yet, that learning was needed. It showed me how far the things we kept in our subconscious mind can drive us to. (Sometimes, we don't even know it ourselves.) As for me, its the old mind set; the proving of self, developed without my knowledge.

He doesn't need that at all. Not from me or from any of you! He loves you even if you sinned sooo much, messed up your life (or people's life) sooo terribly or fall back again and again.

There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm going to have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb
(The Climb, Miley Cyrus)

The grace of God will lead us up the mountain step by step. The Lord does not condemn us because we may trip a few times while trying to climb. He graciously picks us up with the encouragement that we can make it. We MUST HAVE A VISION OF MAKING IT TO THE TOP, and we should never condemn ourselves for not being there yet AS LONG AS WE ARE STILL CLIMBING - relevant for both ourselves and others.

Yet, let's not think of our leaders as being religious (and not understanding) when they keep encouraging, urging us to move up or complain when the decisions made by them do not seem to be the best. We need to be settled in our hearts, knowing that they want us well. That's all. And learn to submit to them. Though leaders aren't perfect, we are STILL to submit to them BECAUSE WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD. (So does that means we keep silent when the leaders are wrong? I'll suggest you to read Undercover. It's a long subject to talk about. lol) Leaders (or rather anybody else) do not owe us any explanation. They are accountable to God. We just need to be OBEDIENT TO HIM who wants us to DO SO. We don't need to feel small or threatened or FEAR OF BEING MISJUDGED by anyone for God is our defense! Then you'll find anointing and grace flow into your life and needless to say, results and fruits! I believe this with all of my heart, how about you? =)

Always know that He is ALWAYS good. Hebrews 4 doesn't end with verse 12. It ends with "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need". After all the inner piercing, His love still embraces us. So comforting.

Thank you Lord for Your awesome and great love. You are ALL I need for my every climb, INDEED. AMEN =)

Recommended resources: Freedom From The Religious Spirit by C. Peter Wagner, Regal books. It's a compilation of several authors' writings on this subject. Worth the read! (Thumbs up with a big grin) CAUTION: THIS BOOK IS FOR SELF EVALUATION PURPOSE ONLY.