Run your race!

Run your race!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

You are in a race. A race to fulfil God's plan for your life. We have great examples of the heroes of old who completed their race in God and we can learn from their lives so we can finish our race with joy. Hebrews 11 talks about some of the faith champions.

In running your race, identify every weight that is and that could pull you down and lay it aside. This is serious business. There is nothing more important than fulfilling God's will for your life. Refuse to yield yourself to sin which ensnares us. Refuse to be distracted. Refuse the principles of the world. Refuse the temporary pleasures of sin. Refuse to be offended. Forgive freely. Forgive quickly. Forgive now. Shake off the distractions and keep running! Never give up. His grace is sufficient, His love is limitless and His mercy endures forever.

Run your race fixing your eyes on Jesus. Study His life, His focus, the opposition He faced and His response, the temptations He overcame, His patience and His victory. Study Jesus, look to Him and run for He is our strength, our hope and our victory. You will not grow weary, you won't faint but you will finish your course with joy. Jesus is Lord!

"I fix my eyes on Jesus and run my race with holiness, excellence and joy. Lord, help me identify every weight that hinders me so I can lay it aside and run for your glory. I am yours Lord and for you alone I live."

God swore by Himself!

God swore by Himself!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Hebrews 6:13‭-‬14
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

God is a giver. Since the beginning of times, all He wants to do is bless His children beyond measure. To show Abraham the seriousness of His counsel to bless him, He swore by Himself.

Think about this, since there was no one greater to swear by, God swore by himself. Why would He do such a thing? This is God's love! How much He desires to bless you! How much He loves you! He added His oath to His word to let Abraham and his seed know that God wants to bless them beyond measure. With this, there is no question, no doubt remaining about God's willingness to bless us. It's sad, so many people see God as one who takes away and steals the blessings. No one has been more misunderstood than God.

For you, God didn't even spare His one and only begotten son, Jesus. God's desire to bless us and His love for us moved Him to send Jesus to die for us so that every one who believes in Jesus would become the seed of Abraham and therefore a recipient of all the blessings of God. In Christ, you are the seed of Abraham and you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. God always wants to give you more than what you ask, think or imagine. God is good. God is love. God is light. God is for you and God loves you. Jesus is Lord!

"God loves me and greatly desires to see me blessed in every area of my life. I receive the blessings of God and I walk in it. Jesus is my Lord and I am the seed of Abraham. My Father loves me as much as He loves Jesus."

Fear is bondage!

Fear is bondage!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Hebrews 2:15
and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Fear brings you under bondage and makes you a slave. Fear is bondage. Fear is slavery. No fear comes from God because God is love and there is no fear in love.

Satan is the spirit of fear. The only way Satan can bring you under bondage is through fear. The only way He can keep you in bondage or slavery is through fear. According to this verse, Jesus has delivered us and released us from the fear of death by destroying Satan, the one who had the power of death. Believer, the enemy has no legal authority over you but He seeks to get access into your life through fear. Fear opens the door to the devil just like faith opens the door to God.

Fear in any area, about anything is unacceptable! You cannot afford to be in fear because fear is very expensive. You do not manage fear, you kick it out of your life. Do not tolerate it at any cost. Do not give Satan access. Do not open the door to the devil. Fear has no entrance where love is king. Know and believe that God loves you. You are God's beloved. The only way you can walk and live fearlessly is by growing and maturing in your understanding of Gods love for you. No more fear. Love is King! Live fearlessly!

Sins wiped out!

Sins wiped out!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Hebrews 9:22
In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Breaking God's law is called sin. Sin has consequences and is very dangerous. The wages of sin is death.

All of us in some way or the other have broken God's law and therefore all of us are guilty and condemned in the eyes of God. This verse says, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. The Scripture also says, the one who sins will die. But God, who is rich in mercy and because of his great love for us, He sent Jesus to bear the punishment for our sins, the judgement and the condemnation in our place and through His sacrifice, through His blood completely wipe out our sins.

Believer, your sins are not hidden or covered, your sins are wiped out! In Christ, you are a new creation, old things have passed away and behold all things have become new. God treats you as if you never sinned. God doesn't remember your sins. The blood of Jesus has taken away your sins. The payment has been made in full, you are legally justified and declared innocent by the Most High God, the Chief Justice of the supreme court of the universe. Forget what God has forgotten. Live the new life!

The power of praise!

The power of praise!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

You are in the wonderful light of God. In this light, we declare the praises of Him who redeemed us from the kingdom and the authority of darkness. We praise our Lord and Saviour, our love King, Jesus. What an honour!

David said in Psalms 34:1, 'I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.'  Praise is powerful! Your praise opens the door for the manifestation of God's presence because Psalms 22:3 says, But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. God inhabits and dwells in the praises of His people. When the Lord shows up, everything changes! Hallelujah! When Paul and Silas began to praise God in prison, there was an earthquake and all prison doors opened. Praising God opens doors which are naturally impossible to open. 

Become an all time praiser. Praise by faith. Praise from your heart. Praise now! Exalt, magnify and boast about the Lord! When you praise the Lord, you are giving Him thanks, you are focusing on Him, you are celebrating Him, you are giving Him all your problems and you are resting in Him. Keep praising, keep rising! This is your time. Go on with Jesus!

“I bless the Lord at all times and His praise is continually in my mouth. I am an all time praiser. Praise God. Praise God. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.”

Love is more than words!

Love is more than words!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

I John 3:18
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Love is more than words. God didn't just say, 'I love you' but He showed, He demonstrated His love by giving His best gift, the gift of Jesus.

Jesus is God's love in action. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest demonstration of God's love for you. Never doubt God's love for you. You are God's beloved. God loves you and Jesus is the proof. As God's beloved children, we imitate God in the love walk. Without actions, love has no life, has no meaning.

Let's make a quality decision to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Love is demonstrated in forgiving one another, praying for one another, serving one another, blessing and caring for one another, sharing with one another and standing up for one another. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Love never fails! Go on with Jesus!

“God demonstrated His love for me. I demonstrate my love for others in deed and in truth. I love because God first loved me.“

Know thyself!

Know thyself!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

I Thessalonians 5:5
You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

As a believer, one of your greatest responsibilities is to discover who you really are. Who are you in Christ? What do you have in Christ? What is your position, your place in Christ? What can you do in Christ?

Once you know who you really are in Christ, you will believe right, think right, speak right and live right. A believer who doesn't know his identity in Christ lives a defeated life. There is an abundant life, a higher life in Christ waiting for you. Know thyself! The word of God is your mirror. God has given you His word so you can discover yourself in the word. For example, this verse shows us who believers are, we are sons of the light, sons of the day and we don't belong to the night nor to the darkness. This is who you are! You are light in the Lord and you are the light of the world in Christ. Can you see yourself as God sees you? It will change everything!

Say what God says about you. Let these realities be established in your consciousness. The day you become aware of who you are in Christ, that day will be the end of every struggle in your life and the beginning of a new dawn of victory, peace and joy. What a life in Christ! Go on with Jesus!

"I know and am aware of the In Christ Realities. I am in Christ and Christ is in me. I live the Christ life with Christ consciousness. Christ is my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification, my redemption, my life, my peace, my ability and my sufficiency. Jesus is Lord. Hallelujah"