The triumphant life!

II Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

The life of a believer is a triumphant life. Can you declare it, 'My life is a triumphant life in Christ'. The word triumph means victory or celebration of victory. Your life is a life of victory. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Victory is not an achievement, its a condition. You are conditioned to win, to triumph and to be victorious. Its in your DNA because you are in Christ. The day you accepted Christ, you received eternal life, the nature of God into your spirit. You are born of God. John says whatever is born of God overcomes the world. By being born again, you are a world overcomer. Not going to be, you are! Every child in God's family is a world overcomer. Victory doesn't just happen once in a blue moon rather victory is our nature, victory is our lifestyle. Think victory. See victory. Speak victory. Live victory. Dream victory. Dress victory. Breathe victory. Predict victory. Celebrate victory. Be victory conscious all the time for Jesus is your Lord. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus has qualified you to receive the victorious and triumphant nature of God. Take some time and discover yourself in the scriptures. Some will be shocked, others will be glad. I am so glad. Glory to God.

As you consistently see yourself in the mirror of God's word, you will begin to realise who you actually are. As you grow in your identity in Christ and begin to walk in it, you will manifest your  victorious and triumphant nature. There is a lion in you. There's dominion in you. There's heaven in you. There's so much potential and ability in you. You can do all things through Christ which strengthens you. You are more than a conqueror. This is is your life, the triumphant life. Look to Jesus, look to the word and live your triumphant life for Jesus did it all, just for you. Jesus loves you. This is your time of victory.

Leave the temporary, go for the eternal!

Proverbs 21:6
A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

Lies have terrible consequences. Jesus said about the devil, He has no truth in him, when he lies, he speaks his native language for He is a liar and a father of lies. Satan is the father of lies, meaning all lies - all colours and all sizes, comes from the devil.

Look around the world today, lies have become the order of the day. Its sad to say that even believers who misunderstand the gospel of grace abuse the grace gospel by speaking lies only to cause disgrace to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. They say, its impossible to progress without lies, its impossible to get a promotion without cute lies, its impossible to live without white lies. Well, this verse says whatever we achieve by lies is a fleeting vapor and a deadly trap. Its temporary and will eventually trap you. Let’s settle this in our thinking, lies have terrible consequences and it does not come from God. Its from the devil and we have no business with Him or his lies. Refuse to lie. Dare to speak the truth even if it costs you everything you have. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life.

Friend, irrespective of what the world says or think, you have God’s ability,  you have his grace and you can achieve uncommon success by speaking the truth and living an honourable life. You don’t need lies, you don’t need the devil, you have God Almighty living in you, He is with you and for you. You cannot fail when you walk with Him. Whether you are a politician, student, artist or some businessman or a minister, His grace will enable you to speak the truth and achieve great success. Leave the temporary, go for the eternal. Remember, wisdom is the most important thing.

Give your cares to Jesus!

Give your cares to Jesus.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

I Peter 5:7
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Lets look at this verse in the Amplified version, Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

Jesus is your Lord and He has commanded you to give him all your cares, worries, anxieties and concerns. Be obedient and do exactly what he says. Refuse to carry it any longer. Turn it over to Him and refuse to take it back. Refuse to touch it again. Refuse to give words to it. Refuse to pay any attention to it. When you are tempted to worry, boldly declare, "I have given all my cares, anxieties, worries and concerns to Jesus and He is taking care right now, I refuse to worry and I refuse to take it back from His hands. I choose to celebrate because Jesus is my caretaker and therefore all things are working together for my good and the best is yet to come. Thank you Lord Jesus"  Once you give your cares to Jesus, refuse to take it back. Worry is expensive because it causes stress, health problems, chaos in relationships, unhealthy habits and eventually leads to wrong decisions. Notice, Jesus didn't command us to manage worry, He said give it to me, I can handle all of it. He is Love and everything He says is for our benefit because He cares for us and love us deeply. Believe that He loves you and cares for you!

Friend, we live in a planet where worrying has become as natural as breathing. They say its common and its sensible to do so. No wonder, there has been a tremendous increase in the stress level, health problems, unhealthy habits, broken relationships and so on in our world. But, you are from another planet called heaven. You are a citizen of heaven. We don't worry, we don't manage worry, we give it all to our King, Jesus and He takes care of it. We acknowledge and celebrate the fact that our Lord has all our cares and He is working on it and its all turning out for our good.

"Because Jesus is my caretaker, I refuse to carry any worry and cares, I give it all to Jesus. Thank you Lord you are dealing with it and its working for my good. I am carefree and I enjoy my life with the Lord Jesus."

Give thanks!

Psalms 136:1
Oh, give thanks to the Lord , for He  is good! For His mercy endures forever.

God is good and His mercy endures forever. No matter what mistakes you have made in life and no matter how many times you have missed the mark, always remember God is good and His mercy endures forever.

The psalmist says give thanks to the Lord. Give thanks. Give your heart to the Lord and let him know that you are grateful for who He is and for what He does. To give thanks to God is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving. Once you wake up, thank Him. Before you eat, thank Him. Before the church service starts, thank Him. Before you drive, thank Him. Before you sleep, thank Him. When you fellowship with other believers, take a moment and thank Him. Look for ways to consistently thank God for He is good and His mercy and endures forever. Thanksgiving is our lifestyle and dominates our language.

Friend, when you realise all that Jesus has done and is doing for you, you can't help but thank Him. Thanksgiving is a response to the goodness of God and to the ever enduring mercy of God. Thanksgiving positions you to receive and experience more of His goodness and His mercy. Refuse to complain, refuse to grumble, refuse to be mad, be glad and thank the Lord for all things work together the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpos. Thanks be to God, who always gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and always causes us to triumph in Christ. Give thanks and give it lavishly for He is worthy.

Switch on the light!

Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

The word of God is light. The entrance of God's word gives light. God has given us His word to teach us, to reprove us, to correct us and to instruct us in righteousness so that we may be equipped for every good work.

Your ignorance is Satan's strength. The more ignorant you are of the light of God's word, the more power Satan has over you. But the day you get the word and believe it, light comes and when you act on it, darkness flees, confusion flees. Satan is the king of darkness and He works hard to keep you from the word of the living God so that you will remain in darkness all the days of your life. When light comes, darkness flees. You see, all around the world, think about people who have absolutely no idea why they are alive, where they have come from, where they are going, what they are supposed to do here and what is right and wrong, meaning who decides what's right and what's wrong? Absolutely no clue. Just living life and following the latest trend. We don't have to live like this in darkness and confusion because we have the light, we have God's word. Everything we need to know about our origin, our destination, our purpose, our work, our life and morality is in the word of the living God. You see, His word is lamp to our feets and light to our paths.

Friend, when light comes, direction comes, understanding comes, wisdom comes, right decisions can be made. God's objective in giving you His word is to help you be supernaturally successful and prosperous. His word will make you wise. His word will expose the deception of the enemy and his people. His word will help you avoid the traps laid by the enemy and help you go higher and higher. His word will take you from glory to glory into everlasting glory. Switch on the light and Stay in the light!

Chosen, called by birth!

Galatians 1:15
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

Did you know that even before you were conceived in your mother's womb, you were chosen by God and called to do a specific work that He planned for you to do.

You are not an accident. You are not a mistake. You are chosen by God and called by Him. The Bible says you are God's masterpiece. There was no like you. There is no one like you and there will not be anyone like you. You are unique. You are God's best. Paul didn't know this and hence he wasted his life, doing things and getting involved in activities that he regretted later. The day he had an encounter with Jesus Christ, it changed his life and it was revealed to him that He was chosen by God while he was still in the womb and called for a specific and glorious work. Paul knew that he was valuable and highly precious to God and therefore he lived honorably and fulfilled his calling the rest of his life.

Friend, Gods choice and calling is not based on how good you are or how bad you are, you see the verse says He chose us while we were still in our mothers womb, before we did anything good or bad. Be conscious that Gods choice and calling is not based on you or your works but it's solely based on His goodness and grace. When we realise this like Paul realised it, we become serious about life and make the necessary changes so we can live in a way that honours God and fulfils his work ordained for us. This is your time. Jesus is Lord.

Ignore your senses!

II Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.

To walk by faith it is required of you to ignore your senses. The world calls the five senses as the 'gateway of knowledge'.

The world receives knowledge from the five senses and they live accordingly. As believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we live and walk by a higher knowledge. You remember, Jesus asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am? They said some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, some Jeremiah and other prophets. Jesus said Who do you say I am? Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus told Peter, He didn't receive this knowledge from flesh and blood or senses but he received this knowledge from His Father in heaven. There is a higher knowledge and that is the word of the living God. The word of God is the highest knowledge. The word of God is the highest authority. The word of God is the highest truth. We ignore the knowledge of the senses and receive the knowledge of the word, we believe it, we meditate on it, we prophesy it, we confess it and we celebrate it. We live according to the word knowledge.
Friend, Jesus said this knowledge is like a rock and the gates of hell will not prevail against those who build on this knowledge. We ignore the knowledge we receive from our senses, our feelings and our sight, rather we choose the knowledge that comes from heaven, the knowledge that the Holy Spirit gives us that is the knowledge of the word. Choose heavenly knowledge. Choose the word of the living God. Choose God. We walk and live by faith and not by sight.