Beloved in Christ Ministry

Exodus 13:21 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. When the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, God led them by going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. By day, God spread the pillar of cloud as a covering over His people in the desert to prevent the scorching sun from striking them down. The people were shaded and kept cool. Today, you are also under His covering. He will not allow you to be struck down (Psalm 121:3–8), nor be oppressed by the “heat” of the day. (Isaiah 54:14) At night, when the desert became dark and cold, God gave His people the pillar of fire to light the way for them, as well as to keep them warm and safe. Today, as you walk with God, you will not be overwhelmed by the cold, dark places in life because God’s Word says, “You are all...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “In the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria ...

Romans 1:7 7 … Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When you fly first class in an airplane, the cabin crew gives you first-class treatment. They ask you, “Is everything okay with you, sir?” They ask you what magazines you want to read. They give you a blanket if you are cold. They give you the best kinds of food. They give you preferential treatment compared to those traveling in economy class. The grace of God is defined as “undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor”. And one of the definitions for favor is “preferential treatment”! Today, God wants you to know that you have His favor on you. He wants you to know that He gives you preferential treatment which you do not deserve. And He wants you to depend on and take full advantage of it in your life. God also wants you to know that His favor in your life can be increased. You can experience more of His favor from day to day. How? The Bi...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria When you go about your day, are you looking for God’s favor? Do you expect ...

Hebrews 12:2 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… What does it mean to look unto Jesus? Well, we can think of it like this: If you are drowning and somebody walks past you, you do not look at him. You look unto him. When you look unto him, you are turning to him and expecting him to rescue you. In the same manner, you look unto Jesus expecting Him to save, heal and protect you because you know His mighty power and sacrificial love for you. God’s Word says that we are to keep “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”. That is how God wants us to live. So if you have a recurring migraine, keep looking unto Jesus. See Him taking that migraine upon His body on the cross and say, “Lord, I thank You that by Your stripes I am healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) As you keep looking unto Jesus, your healer, that migraine will have to bow to His finished work! If you have a financial lack in your ...

Matthew 6:11 11 Give us this day our daily bread. Doctors have discovered that worry, stress, fear and anxiety can cause stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and other health problems. The Bible says that a merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. (Proverbs 17:22 ) It also says that God wants us to prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. (3 John 1:2) When our church was much smaller, I used to worry a lot about my sermons weeks before I even preached them! I was so stressed that I developed symptoms in my body. Two doctors checked me on separate days and found my blood pressure to be very high. Other tests found traces of blood in my urine. I even had mild panic attacks. I believe that the devil was trying to undermine my ministry and destroy me. But praise God, He delivered and healed me, and taught me not to worry. Today, the church is a lot bigger and I have learnt by the...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!” (Psalm 91:2, AMP) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Your words...

Romans 8:33 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. The book of Job tells us that Satan came to God’s throne and complained about Job. (Job 1:6–12) God’s throne is the most holy place. So why did God allow Satan to come before Him? Satan could come before God because Adam had given up his place when he bowed his knee to Satan in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3) So Satan had the right to take Adam’s place and come before God. But praise God, Jesus, the last Adam, has come! And the sprinkling of His blood has cleansed the things of heaven. (Hebrews 9:22 –24) His blood has cleansed and redeemed the unclean place where Satan walked and stood before God. There remains, therefore, no place in heaven for Satan. He cannot come before God any more to accuse you. Who then, is in God’s presence today? Jesus! He is there for us. (Hebrews 9:24 ) And since He is for us, “Who is he who cond...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34 –35, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Where the Spirit of t...

Romans 14:17 17 …the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Are you troubled by many things today? For example, are you concerned about your rebellious teenager? Perhaps you see him as your problem, so you do your best to discipline him, only to end up with a heart full of worries and pain. And he is no better! God says to you, “Don’t focus on controlling your rebellious teenager. Instead, seek first My kingdom, which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Be conscious of the righteousness you have as a gift from My Son. Keep your inner man flowing with My peace and joy, and I will take care of your child.” We tend to think that the people around us are the problem. When we don’t get the promotion we want, we blame our bosses and colleagues. When we lose our temper, we blame our wives and kids. However, God wants us to stop looking outsid...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:18 , NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Have you e...

2 Corinthians 10:5 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, Have you ever felt condemned because of the bad thoughts you have had? You could be in the middle of a prayer meeting when suddenly a dirty thought enters your mind. Actually, it is the devil who puts such thoughts in your mind. Then, he steps back, looks at you and knocks you on your head, saying, “How can you call yourself a Christian and still think such thoughts?” I used to be in bondage over the bad thoughts I had because I felt that I had to confess every one of them and seek God’s forgiveness. But that is not what God’s Word exhorts us to do. You see, God wants us to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ ”. Now, whose obedience are we to focus on? Christ’s obedience and not our own obedience! But what ...

Hebrews 4:9 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. In the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–16), Jesus knew that for 38 years, the man had been flat on his back, unable to do anything for himself or others, no matter how hard he struggled. In the case of the woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:10 –13), Jesus knew that the woman had been bowed over for 18 years. And in that condition, she saw very little that was beautiful in life, only thedusty ground, dirty sandals and bruised feet. What about the man with a withered hand? (Luke 6:6–10) Jesus knew from His carpenter days how a useless hand could have easily given the man a very poor sense of self-worth. I believe that all three of them must have struggled for so long to get back on their feet, to try to lift themselves up, to attempt to do something about their situations, only to be disappointed each ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11 , NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria In life, sometimes it’s easy to get so focused on our dreams and g...

Romans 4:13 13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. God promised that you would be the heir of the world. It is the same promise that He made to Abraham. And because you are Christ’s, you are Abraham’s seed and an heir “according to the promise”. (Galatians 3:29 ) When God made this promise to you, He made it so easy for you to receive—“through the righteousness of faith”. All you have to do is believe that as the heir of the world every blessing is righteously yours because Jesus died to give them to you. He also rose from the dead to enforce them in your life. So don’t try to earn your blessings “through the law”—through your efforts or performance. Freely receive what God freely gives to you through Christ and His finished work at the cross. When a church member was retrenched at 41 years of age, he refu...

Ecclesiastes 8:4 4 Where the word of a king is, there is power… In Bible times, a king’s word carried tremendous power. What he decreed would come to pass. It would be done. For example, if he said, “Raise the taxes,” the taxes would be raised. Do you know that we are kings? The Bible tells us that Jesus has washed us from our sins with His blood and made us kings. (Revelation 1:5–6) And as kings in Christ, our words carry power too. When we place our hands on a sick person and say, “Be healed,” the person is healed. When we lay hands on our children and say, “Be blessed,” our children are blessed. There is power in our words because they are the words of kings! When I was a young Christian in my teens, I wanted to practice what I had learnt about the power of my words. There was this particular plant near my home and whenever I passed by it, I would say to it, “Be cursed in Jesus’ name!” Many days passed. And...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14 , ESV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria God is constantly calling us to higher places in Him. He wants us to know Him more. He wants us to know His ways, walk in His ways, and ...

Isaiah 60:1 1 Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. People might have said to you, “Why are you so lucky?” or “You seem to be looking younger and younger,” or “There is so much bad news these days, yet you seem untroubled by them.” Now, the people of the world don’t have spiritual discernment. They can only go by your physical appearance, behavior and what happens to you. In other words, if they notice something different about you, it is because they see the evidence of God’s glory on your life—in your family and work life, health and finances. Your friends and colleagues may have told you that you stand out from the rest as though a spotlight were on you. Indeed, this is so because of Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27 ) When God’s glory rises upon you, your words carry weight, even if you are not eloquent. I should know. I stuttered and stammered right u...