God has made everything beautiful in its time; also, He has given human beings an awareness of eternity; but in such a way that they can’t fully comprehend, from beginning to end, the things God does (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
There are a lot of incredible things on this earth that God has given us to enjoy. We live in a beautiful world full of gorgeous trees, breathtaking mountains, immense oceans, fabulous sunsets, and so on. Nature is beautiful. Bright, sunny mornings, with the birds singing; and dew sparkling on the grass; are truly a gift from God. It is when we look at the world through the eyes of God that we come to appreciate just how fantastic it is.
Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Proverbs 4:7
Real wisdom is the knowledge of God and all His handiwork. We have been given life so that we may enjoy it. It is a gift from God. When we seek God and a deeper knowledge of His will, we are seeking a greater understanding of all creation. There is nothing greater that anyone can desire than to see this world of ours through the eyes of the creator.
In God’s creation, we can catch glimpses of God Himself. In prayer, we need to remember to ask God to help us become wise as He is wise, and in doing so, we will see beauty like we never knew existed. We will appreciate life in a new and exciting way.
The New Heaven and the New Earth According to John: Revelation 21
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold; the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Furthermore he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem
The New Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come; I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold,clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Jesus Christ in Capernaum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Does God always answer your prayers? What do you think is the reason your prayers have not been answered? Many followers of Jesus Christ, including me had to endure periods during their lives when they doubted God. You have found yourself in almost dire straits, and you have prayed for deliverance, but it never happened. It seemed God is so far away and out of your reach.
However, the devil is a liar. God is never more than a prayer away. But, prayer without faith is futile. Subsequent to healing the boy with epilepsy the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked; “Why could we not cast out the demon?” And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief. For verily, I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).
The Faith of the Centurion
“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For, I am a man under the authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment” (Matthew 8:5-13).
So it seems lack of faith is the reason most of our prayers go unanswered. Petitioning God is a serious act. It should not be used frivolously. Instead, we should be sincere when we pray and believe that we will receive what we asked God for. However, avoid getting carried away every time you get a headache.
“Saint John on Patmos” by Hans Baldung Grien, 1511 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Lord, this day is Yours, and my life is yours. Let each step I take leave an impression of your glory. May each word I speak produce an echo of your love. I pray that each deed I do leave the fragrance of Your presence.
May my hands be an extension of Your mercies. Break me and mold me Lord, that my heart will be a mirror of Your heart. Let my life be a reflection of Your image, and may my attitudes be expressions of Your character.
Father in heaven, remove fear, doubt, and self indulgence from me. Let me not forget that I am nothing without you. Lord, remind me daily, not to praise; for all praise is unto you.
Thank you, Lord, for the privilege I have to be Your child and to be set apart for Your plans; and to be called according to Your purposes, and to be used as an instrument of Your will. Amen!
Every person who came in contact with Jesus Christ has a story to tell. The apostle Paul had his experience (then Saul) while on his way to Damascus to persecute the Church. I had mine in the St. Francis Hospital, in Hartford, Connecticut.”And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul why persecutes thou me? And he said, “who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, “I am Jesus, who thou persecutes; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” And Paul trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou has me to do? And the Lord said unto him, “Arise! Go into the city, and someone will thee what thou must do” (Acts 9:3-6).
Many of us grew up in Christian homes, where the gospel was taught very early in our lives. Still, some of us grew up in homes where the gospel was never mentioned at all.
I grew up in what I would call; a semi-Christian home. My mom was a praying woman, and Dad was a dreamer. I never saw my dad in church, but that did not stop Mom from indoctrinating me and my brother with the gospel of Jesus Christ. She made sure we knew all the popular church songs and Bible stories. Each week she would drill the Sunday School Golden Text into our heads, and when called upon, the Golden text was to be recited without error.
Mom was truly fired up for Jesus, but she never allowed her children to know Jesus Christ for themselves. She completely ignored the simple fact about Christianity: To be a follower of Christ, everyone has to have an awakening and a personal contact with Christ. Each of us must have our own Damascus road experience. Without that experience, you are doomed to fail because the moment you decided to follow Christ your enemies increased a 100 fold.
I never had a personal contact with Jesus as a young child. I was merely following Mom’s orders. It was not until I was stricken with a very dangerous autoimmune disease called Guillain Barre Syndrome. (That’s what the doctors told me, but years later I discovered that I was poisoned). I thought I was going to die. The enemy had me cornered, and the doctors who were attending to me had never treated anyone for this disease before. I had no place to turn to, so I called upon the Church and Jesus Christ–Jehovah Rapha.
The church came and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed for my deliverance. Today I am rejoicing in the Lord, completely healed and delivered from Guillain Barre Syndrome:
I can truthfully confess that prayer works. My God is ever faithful. Whatever he says, he will do.”Oh Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me” (“Psalms 30:2). I am now a new person and a true follower of Jesus Christ.
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