The book of Nehemiah vividly demonstrates that God is all-powerful and able to accomplish his will, both in individual lives and in nations. Nehemiah’s prayer in Neh. 9 focuses on praising God for his sovereign and powerful acts: God created the heavens and earth (Neh. 9:6), called Abram from Ur, and gave the land to Israel (Neh. 9:7-8, 22-25). The miraculous signs in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the provision of guidance, food, and water in the wilderness all demonstrate God’s power over man and nature to provide for his people (Neh. 9:9-15).
The Lord had sent the Israelites into exile after generations of persistent sin (Neh. 9:26-27). Now he was fulfilling part of his promise to restore them (Neh. 1:8-9).
NEHEMIAH HAD CONFIDENCE IN GOD
Nehemiah had confidence to pray and lead because he knew that everything that happened was part of God’s sovereign plan. This same confidence in God’s sovereignty led Abram to leave Ur and by faith go to an unknown land (Genesis 12:1-3; Hebrews 11:8-10), caused Rahab to trust in God (Joshua 2:9-14; Hebrews11:31), and prompted Hezekiah not to give in to the demands of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (2 Kings 18–19).
Confidence comes when people believe that God will keep his promises and complete the work he has started in their lives.
“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
How about you? Where do you lack confidence? Can you think of any promises God makes that you can rely on as a source of confidence? Share some of God’s promises that have given you confidence in the Comments section and I will share them on LEN. Love to get feedback.
Available as a ebook on Amazon and from me as a trade paperback edition by making a donation of $10 (Australia) or $15 (International to cover postage) Click on Donation icon on Home Page. Email ron@bakb.com.au your mailing address.
Asking God for vision in the new year should be a solemn act. It should also be specific, personal, uncomfortable, and riddled with challenging questions. It should involve more than a half-hour of brainstorming hyper spiritualized resolutions. More than praying for God to help you kick that pesky habit or finally read the Bible from cover to cover. It should probably involve less asking for blessings and more asking to be transformed into his image. Attempts to map out our destinies and polish our illusions of control should be replaced with humble submission to God’s sovereign plan. Less “we will” and more “if the Lord wills” (James 4:13-17). Not only must we ask God for vision, we must ask him how to ask for it.
So this new year, let us ask God to prepare us for the unknown and grant us the grace to accept the unexpected. Let us pray for our hearts’ desires to more closely reflect his own. Let us seek conformity to his likeness, that in circumstances we hoped we would never face and never dreamed we could handle, we would respond in humble obedience. Come what may, we know God is faithful. In 2021, may He give us faith in return.
Ultimately, instead of writing a liturgy which asks, “How can we hack into God’s vision for our future?” perhaps we should ask, “How should we respond when our personal ‘vision’ is shattered by God’s divine interruption?” The biblical figures were blessed with grace-filled opportunities for growth. When our biblical heroes responded with trust and obedience, they experienced God working in and through them in extraordinary ways. When they clung to their shortsighted expectations and entitlements, as in the case of Jonah, they brought unnecessary grief on themselves and those around them. But in the end, God’s will was achieved despite their obstinance.
Let us ask this year for God to prepare us for the unknown and grant us the grace to accept the unexpected. Let us pray for our hearts’ desires to more closely reflect his own. Let us seek conformity to his likeness, that in circumstances we hoped we would never face and never dreamed we could handle, we would respond in humble obedience. Come what may, God is faithful. In 2021, may he give us faith in return.
This excellent article is taken largely from a post by an unknown guest contributor “10 Ways God Might Ruin Your Plans for 2021? on the website http://www.patheos.com
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday to ask a simple question: Is that a baby?
“That face, that nose, those two eyes, that mouth, that chin, those fingers—is that a baby? That’s really the only question,” the Senator explained while pointing to a series of images set up on the Senate floor. He also shared his “shock” at some of the work the current nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, has done to actually promote and allow abortions of the most vulnerable humans among us. Lankford’s speech comes ahead of the annual virtual March for Life this week. Lankford said America can no longer ignore the question of whether a child in the womb is in fact a human baby.
President Biden’s nomination for the Secretary of Health and Human Services has actually no health care experience at all. Sen. Lankford said, “It’s surprising to a lot of us when we saw it because we are used to seeing the leader of Health and Human Services be a physician or scientist. Which would make sense in the time of enormous global pandemic to have a physician leading health and human services, but he actually nominated someone that his biggest qualification is he is one of the most radical advocates for abortion in the country. He did as a House member. He did as an attorney general in California.
President Biden this week celebrated the passage of Roe v. Wade by declaring that he wants to pass a federal law requiring abortion to be provided in every single state in America. Not just trust a court decision from 1973. Lankford said, “He wants us to proactively require in statute that every state demands abortion in their state. And that the federal taxpayers with hard-earned tax dollars should actually be required to pay for those abortions all over America. It wasn’t long ago that Senator Biden was saying things like ‘taxpayers shouldn’t be required to pay for abortion. They shouldn’t be required to pay for something that they find so morally objectionable.’ It wasn’t that long ago, Senator Biden was talking about abortion being safe, legal, and rare. Now as president, within the first week, he’s moving as fast as he can to promote abortion and demand taxpayers pay for it.”
It is now evident that Joe Biden’s call for unity in his inauguration speech was a sham as he puts contentious policies into action through executive order.
Late last year Pastor Alfred’s wife and daughter came down with Covid 19 and sadly his daughter died. Just this week I received a report to say that Pastor Maurice lost his wife Helen to Covid. The small House Church movement in Kenya is in shock with death in the families of two house church leaders from Covid 19.
In the following email Pastor Charles has asked for support to help the Kenya House Church group provide support for Maurice, the funeral and hospital expenses. If you feel inclined to make a donation to help the group then please do so via the donation icon on the Home Page. I am committed to send $250.
Past Maurice and his wife Helen of the Ndhiwa House Church Group
As you may know, pastor Maurice’s wife, Helen was a believer in the Ndhiwa House Church Group, where husband Maurice is the group pastor.
Maurice has provided great support and taken responsibility in the KHC movement for the Ndhiwa group despite the challenges he has been undergoing. He has stood firm and strong in proclaiming our faith and doctrine. You may remember, his house burnt down almost three months ago now and nothing was rescued. Now he has lost his wife, Helen. Surely he needs our prayers and support.
The late Helen contracted Covid 19 at a funeral service she had attended at her aunt’s home.
Her body is in the mortuary nearby her aunt’s health facility waiting for burial which must take place within a maximum of four days, as is required by the public health department Covid19 protocols. It means that Helen’s body will be buried on Monday, February 1st.
I was able to call an urgent meeting today with the church group pastors. We resolved to give our beloved sister a final send off within the stated time frame and we agreed that every pastor is to attend and organize for a small contribution of Kshs 1000/. As well, we all agreed to give a personal contribution of Kshs 1500/. All to be done latest Saturday.
We expect a total collection of Kshs 20,000/, from all our 8 KHC groups, and pastors. This is is to help give support to our brother.
Unfortunately, this amount is not enough compared to the budget, and hospital bill. We have a total budget of Kshs 45,000/, this is to cater for :- Transportation – 9,000, Coffin. – 8,000, Tent hire – 3000, Mortuary bill – 5,000, (1000 x 5 days), -Medical bill -15,000, Food & other expenses – 5000.
Request: On behalf of pastor Maurice and the KHC movement leadership team, I do hereby kindly request you to help give our brother a financial assistance , so that together with our small contribution here, he may be able to give his wife a memorable final send off. We are still in need of Kshs 25,000/, approximately Au$300, depending on the exchange rate.
What an entire generation of Christians do not understand is that refusing to align your language, choices, and actions with scripture is a blatant denial of Christ Jesus. Attacks on the doctrine of scripture are attacks on the Kingdom of God. Likewise, if we deny His word, we also deny Him. We cannot claim Jesus as our own and also continue to endorse the world’s philosophies. As the years continue to pile up in our postmodern society, so do the excuses Christians make about why they are willing to deny Jesus and His doctrine.
We would all do well to meditate on Jesus’ warning in Luke 9:62. He says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Here, Jesus is reminding us all not to “look back” at the worldly life we left behind. In doing so, we err like Lot’s wife did in Sodom – not trusting God’s provision. When we take our eyes off the prize and look back at the world we left behind, we declare ourselves unfit for the kingdom of God.
Christians, a day is coming when you will be forced to make this very decision: plow forward or look back.
“But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased,the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13
God’s word warns us of many last days false prophets and teachers and apostasy in the church, all evident now and proof we are living in the last days. Prepare your heart now, you will be tempted to deny your Lord and Saviour. You need to consider the cost of following Christ but also the cost if you turn your back on Him. Your eternal destiny is at stake. We need to be prepared to lay down our lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Remember, that it is “He who endures to the end that shall be saved” Matthew 24:13
Let us meditate on the apostle’s words. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Philippians 3:8-10
While our current persecution might be light, in comparison to what other brothers and sisters are experiencing in the world, it is still persecution. The doctrine and truth of God’s Word is being put to shame in our culture. It is time for you to decide if you will heed the call. Will you follow Christ or is the cost too much for you to bear? Far too long has the church been idle, ignoring this question. Will you take the yoke and plow the field for the Kingdom of God? Yes, there will be a cost for following Christ. But in such work, you will find joys and wonders of which you never dreamed. Pray that when you are forced to decide between plowing forward or looking back, you will choose the yoke of Christ. Pray that you will be a faithful slave of Christ. It is time for Christians to start owning that title.
Much of this post is taken from the article entitled Doubling-Down on Christian Persecution: The Cost of Following Jesus JANUARY 19, 2021 by Jack Lee http://www.patheos .com
Prayer is urgently needed if Victoria is going to be stopped from going down a path that has very serious implications for the free practice of the Christian faith in that state.
To indicate what’s at stake, a child who is too young to drive or have a tattoo will be allowed to irreversibly change their gender. If a parent says no, they will be deemed ‘family violence offenders’ and will be subject to restraining orders and up to 10 years in jail.
Pastors will be severely restricted in what they can say or do when a LGBTQ person seeks their help. A same-sex attracted person who wants to live according to the Bible will not be able to request prayer or group support. “On what basis can the government impose restrictions on prayer?” Archbishop Comensoli rightly asks. Soon, praying for LGBTQ struggles could be a crime. The pretext for the bill is transphobia, a contagion for which the Andrews government believes the church is a super spreader. It will be illegal to counsel a person to change or suppress their chosen gender identity. Prohibited actions include “carrying out a religious practice, including but not limited to, a prayer-based practice”. The prohibition applies whether or not the subject consented to the prayer-based activity. The penalty is up to 10 years’ imprisonment or an enormous fine.
All Australians are asked to please pray that MPs, churches, and parents will have the courage to stand against the LGBTQ agenda and protect our freedoms.
The Premier’s rhetoric (“The Bill bans bigoted quackery” ) is extreme and insulting because the Bill clearly bans perfectly innocent conduct by Victorians, including parents who want what’s best for their kids.” “A Victorian parent who does not think irreversible hormone replacement therapy is best for their child is not a bigoted quack, yet that is what the bill bans, on the threat of jail. “A Victorian who prays for someone at their request is not a bigoted quack, yet that is what the bill explicitly bans, on the threat of jail” Martin Iles of ACL said. “If Mr Andrews wants to ban bigoted quackery, he should go back to the drawing board, this bill would jail parents, pastors and doctors for perfectly innocent conduct. If Mr Andrews truly believes what he says, then he must also believe that 73% of Victorians are bigoted quacks because polling is showing they do not agree with the bans imposed by this bill” said Mr Iles.
How can we take captive unwholesome thoughts? Without God’s Spirit, we have no hope of reforming our own thoughts. Until we are set free from the clutches of Satan and his minions, we remain blind, even though we think we can see. We cannot bear righteous fruit without God’s Spirit.
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4),
Only trusting in Christ allows us to resist the Devil, and only then will he flee from us. Only then is the following true: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
David had a way of resisting evil thoughts. He wrote, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11), so along with the Spirit of God we have the Word of God to help us avoid such evil thoughts, and only then are we able to “not sin against” God.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
One way to eliminate something is to replace it with something, and in the case of our thoughts, replace them with something much better than evil thoughts. Dwell on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). By allowing the Spirit of God to renew our minds, we will not be conformed to this world. With the Spirit of God and the Word of God, we can renew our minds. The Word of God allows us to walk in safety since the “word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). His Word shows me the path in order that I might stay on the path and avoid leaving the path. That’s the power of God’s Word.
Before conversion, our thoughts gravitate toward whatever pleases us, with little or no regard for those around us. Our minds are held captive until we repent of our sins and put our trust in Christ. Only then can we have God’s supernatural power; the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and changes the child of God into being more like the Son of God. We will not be sinless, but we should sin less over time. Sanctification takes time… in fact, it takes a lifetime, and only until we enter the kingdom will our minds be completely free of evil thoughts, desires, and intentions.
In summary: When we are saved, by receiving the Holy Spirit, we receive a new nature and we strive to have it renewed daily by prayer, by the Word, and by His Spirit. It is only through the indwelling Spirit can we become overcomers in our thought life, particularly our thoughts on things of the world and of the flesh. Paul asked the Corinthians, “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Paul admonishes us to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7). When we focus on serving others in humility, there is no room for selfish thoughts to satisfy the flesh. Instead of it being all about us, the mind of Christ makes it all about others. We cannot control our thoughts but the Spirit of God can. The Spirit of God allows us to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).
A lot of this post is taken from the article What Does The Bible Say About Our Thoughts? October 21, 2019 by Jack Wellman http://www.patheos.com
Those concerned with end times events and Biblical prophecy want to know when will the Third Temple be built in Israel. The Two Witnesses’ role, however, is something very few are considering. But the Two Witnesses in Revelation chapter 11 are directly linked to the Temple. Israel is not looking for two witnesses, but rather just one, Elijah the Prophet who is to come before their messiah. Will a false Elijah, a false prophet come on the stage to encourage the building of the Temple? And will a contest between the true and false witnesses take place? Watch this Nelson Walters YouTube video for amazing answers. His revelation on the 2300 days of Daniel 8 is remarkably explanatory and a good fit with other Scriptures.
The conflict in Armenia has taken the lives of many soldiers and displaced over 100,000 people. All the while, the world has kept silent and preferred not to know about it. In November a Russia-brokered peace deal was agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It ended six weeks of war in which thousands of people were killed and displaced. In these conditions, the role of the Church has increased. People just have nowhere else to go. The church becomes the only place where people can be helped. The churches have become the beacons of hope for scared and suffering people. They don’t do services on Sundays because of the coronavirus but they continue serving refugees every day sharing their bread and their homes as well as words of comfort and hope. Even before the war, more than 32% of the population lived below the poverty line. Now with the conflict raging on, these alarming rates are growing every day. Asatur Nahapetyan, pastor and general secretary of the Baptist Union of Armenia, anticipates this conflict to linger and asks everyone to get ready for a hard winter. Over 100 families from Karabakh have been placed by Baptists in their homes and 42 people were accommodated in a conference hall in Razdan.
The church with a symbolic name Noah’s Ark (in Ararat) is providing shelter for 40 people. At first, the refugees were really afraid of Christians regarding them as sectarians but now they don’t want to leave. Pastor Araik says that people from Karabakh are not very religious and many of them still retain the Soviet spirit, but there are no atheists in trenches. The church in Ararat has 700 members. They all minister to refugees as one strong united team. “It’s the only place where we are welcomed,” say women refugees, who didn’t want to know anything about God just yesterday. They learned to pray in the church and when their husbands who are on the front lines call their wives many now say, “We didn’t believe in God but it was your prayers that kept us safe” women and children say to their pastor often, “When you pray we sleep well and we stop having nightmares.” Everyone lives on prayers here. It all started on the first day of war when the pastor called the mayor’s office and said that the church was ready to take in refugees. It’s been filled with people since then. It’s important to understand that the church prepared themselves for this ministry even before. The pastor says that successful work with young people changed the way the society viewed the church. “We fed 40 people every Saturday and took hot lunches to 20 families even before the war. Everyone knows us as the ark of hope and salvation. For people, we are not just a religious organization but a charitable organization. Although it’s interesting to see how the state church starts to imitate us. Priest David started doing what we do, preaching the Gospel, visiting people in their homes, meeting them and talking to them. Even the police say to people, ‘contact the church; they’ll help you there.’ Everyone respects us now.” Pastor Vazgen from the church in Abovyan says something similar: “Almost all the refugees that we received in our church have made a decision to follow Jesus.” The church in Artashat is also filled with refugees and it’s also filled with the spirit of hope.
While evangelical churches of Armenia are serving their people we have an opportunity, even responsibility to pray for this ancient Christian nation.
Did Christ at His first coming fulfill all that God promised regarding the establishment of His Kingdom, Israel and the church? At Hisfirst coming, Christ provided the means for us to receive the Holy Spirit and be reunited with our Heavenly Father but our “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time“1 Peter 1:4-5. Peter makes it clear that our inheritance is future. Therefore, many of the covenantal promises of God are still awaiting fulfillment at His second coming. Most of the O.T. prophets spoke of their Messiah ruling and reigning the nations from Jerusalem. The Scriptures are not just focused on redemption. Of course redemption is important, but so is the judgment of Satan and the demons; so is the Kingdom; and so is the glory of God. Even redemption does not always refer to His first coming, as the books of Hebrews and 1 Peter make clear (e.g. Hebrews 1:13-14; 5:9; 9:28; 1 Peter1:3-9 ; cf. Romans 13:11).
The fast spreading Progressive Covenantalism does not see the church as directly extending or fulfilling Israel as did Replacement Theology. Rather, Christ is the antitype of Israel, who fulfills Israel’s identity, purpose, and mission such that in Christ the church inherits all the covenant blessings. It is Replacement theology with a twist and still fails to view Jesus second coming is when He fulfills all that God had promised. The driving assumption of fulfillment at the first advent endangers unfettered exegesis of “the texts in their context.”
Dr Paul Martin Henebury of Telos Ministries is the source for the information on Progressive Covenantalism. Paul is a Biblical Covenantalist (his description). I agree with his understanding of the Biblical covenants and of creation about 6000 years ago. Paul is a native of Manchester, England and a graduate of London Theological Seminary and Tyndale Theological Seminary (M.T.S., M.Div., Ph.D).
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 