YouTube is such a great tool. Today sermons from Watchman Née popped up on my feed. He was a Chinese evangelist of the 1920s. So much wisdom. Watching “Forgotten Episode 05 Watchman Née” tells the following story. Née (ignore the apostrophe lol) and his evangelist friend travelled to a small CHinese island and preached their hearts out. No result. This island was under the control of a principality idol that they worshipped every year on Jan 11th. They explained to Née that each year on the 11th they held a huge celebration and that the weather for 300 years was always perfect on that day for the parade – a gift to them from the deity. Née told them that on the 11th this year Jesus would bring rain. They laughed of course. The day started out beautifully. Then at the time of the ceremony the sky opened up – for the first time in 300 years causing them to drop the statue and it broke. WELL – they said – it really must be the 14th this year due to a calendar change!! They glued their idol back and tried it again on the 14th at 6 PM. This time there were flash floods and torrential downpours starting right at 6. Well as you might imagine the whole town got saved. I recommend some of the Watchman Née short messages. I heard one today for 9 minutes that said “the greatest gift of grace is not prayer, not Bible reading nor even worship – it is the working of the Holy Spirit.” It’s true!! That is how we all learn the most – from how He guides us, teaches us, orders our steps and chastises or comforts us – His greatest personalized gift to us.
HOPE
Hebr 11:1 (ESV) Now faith is the assurance of things HOPEd for, the conviction of things not seen Rom 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Rom 8:24-25 For in this HOPE we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we HOPE for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Psalm 39:7 Now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. Psalm 119:114 You are my hiding place & my shield; I hope in your word. Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in HOPE.— Our HOPE must be in the Lord & His word! Hope in Him opens the door to joy, peace & love, for we have been saved! Our HOPE comes from the Lord, for He first loved us, He died for us, & now His spirit lives on the inside of us! That is worth rejoicing over! May our HOPE abound! Love Mel
The Holy Spirit and You
Eph. 4:30(ESV) Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 1 Thess. 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit. —Matthew Henry’s Commentary, “All lying, and corrupt communications, that stir up evil desires and lusts, grieve the Spirit of God. Corrupt passions of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, evil-speaking, and malice, grieve the Holy Spirit.” —This world is so far from this! Every TV or Movie is filled with filth! So how do we accomplish this? We must look at the scripture around verse 19!— 1 Thes 5:16-22 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. —Love Mel
Ask, Seek, Knock and it Will be Answered
John 15:7 (ESV)If you abide in me, & my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, & it will be done for you. Matt 7:7 Ask, & it will be given to you; seek, & you will find; knock, & it will be opened to you. Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, & He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, & He will give you the desires of your heart. — Do you believe in wishes coming true? Our God does! He clearly says “if you abide in Him & His word abides in you, then ask WHATEVER you wish! And it will be done! Praise Him! We honor God when we do good, love mercy & walk humbly(Micah6:8), so the more we abide, the more fruit we bear. The more fruit we bear, the more like Him we become! So ask, seek & knock. You will find what you desire! It is Him! Love Mel
Joy, Laughter and Gladness
Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your PRESENCE there is fullness of JOY ; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Prov 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Prov 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. Neh 8:10….. for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Zeph 3:16 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.— JOY, LAUGHTER, & GLADNESS lead to His presence where we find LOVE, HEALING, & STRENGTH. A place we should strive to go often! Love Mel
