May 27, 2022
ABIDE Devotionals
Good Morning
AN IMPERISHABLE INHERITANCE
(Click the link below to listen to the audio)
https://abide.co/prayer/adhpug
1 PETER 1:3-4 NLT
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
Peter launched into praise of God the Father, who had chosen and cleansed the believers (1 Peter 1:2). All honor goes to God. The Old Testament believers praised God, but the New Testament believers praised Him with an entirely new name, one never used in the Old Testament: Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is “Father,” the first person of the Trinity. He did not exist before the Son, for the Son has always existed (John 1:1-3; 17:5, 24). God the Father sent the Son, and the Son responded in full obedience.
We find God’s mercy always at the center of any discussion of salvation. Only God’s mercy would allow Him to have compassion for sinful and rebellious people. Salvation is given to us because of God’s boundless mercy alone. That salvation is called the privilege of being born again. Our Lord Jesus Christ used this concept of new birth when He told Nicodemus that he had to be “born again” in order to see God’s Kingdom (see John 3). In the new birth, we become dead to sin and alive to God with a fresh beginning. People can do no more to accomplish their “new birth” than they could do to accomplish their own natural birth. In his introductory comments, Peter thanked God for the new spiritual lives of the believers to whom he was writing.
Believers are born again not for this world, in which they are no more than foreigners, but for a wonderful expectation of life to come. That expectation is based on the conviction that God will keep His promises to raise us because Lord Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. By rising from the dead, Lord Jesus Christ made the necessary power available for our resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:22). Our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection makes us certain that we too will be raised from the dead. Believers are “born again” from their sinful state into the life of grace, which, in the end, will become a life of glory. We shouldn’t be discouraged by earthly trials, for we have the Resurrection to be our backup. Amen!
The word translated inheritance is also used in the Old Testament to describe the inheritance to which the Jews had looked forward in the Promised Land of Canaan (Numbers 32:19; Deuteronomy 2:12; 19:8-10). Christians look forward to another inheritance—eternal life with God. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God’s only Son; thus, He is sole heir (Mark 12:7). However, as children of God, believers also become heirs with Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17) of this priceless inheritance.
Peter used three Greek words, each beginning with the same letter and ending with the same syllable in Greek, to describe this inheritance (aphthartos, amiantos, amarantos). This inheritance is pure—it won’t lose its glory or freshness. It is undefiled—it will never become unfit for us or polluted by sin. It is beyond the reach of change and decay—meaning it will never pass away, disappear, or come to ruin as the result of hostile forces. These words contrast this inheritance with all earthly, human possessions. Nothing in the natural order—catastrophe, sin, age, evil—can affect it. God has made it indestructible, existing for all eternity.
Believers have noncancelable and nontransferable reservations in heaven. The inheritance is kept in heaven for us. The word kept is in the perfect tense in Greek, expressing a past activity with results that continue in the present; God has been keeping and still keeps the inheritance there—prepared, reserved, certain, and waiting. No matter what harm might come to believers on earth, the inheritance awaits, for it is kept safe with God. Amen!
You may stop, wait, and read the ABIDE – Good Night, until one (1) hour before you go to bed to have a restful and peaceful sleep.
Abide – Good Night
PRAISING the PEACEFUL CREATOR
(Click the link below to listen to the audio)
https://abide.co/prayer/s3lw5u
PSALM 148 NLT
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise Him from the skies! 2 Praise Him, all His angels! Praise Him, all the armies of heaven! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon!
Praise Him, all you twinkling stars! 4 Praise Him, skies above! Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds! 5 Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for He issued His command, and they came into being. 6 He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, 8 fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey Him, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all livestock,
small scurrying animals and birds, 11 kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, 12 young men and young women, old men and children. 13 Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For His name is very great; His glory towers over the earth and heaven! 14 He has made His people strong, honoring His faithful ones—the people of Israel who are close to Him. Praise the Lord!
All creation is like a majestic symphony or a great choir composed of many harmonious parts that together offer up songs of praise to the Lord. Each part (independent, yet part of the whole) is caught up and carried along in swelling tides of praise. This is a picture of how we as believers should praise God—individually, yet as part of the great choir of believers worldwide. Are you singing your part well in the worldwide choir of praise?
Yes, and Amen!
This concludes our Daily Devotional Good Morning & Good Night as of May 27, 2022.
Our local home church is BRIDGE CHURCH > https://bridge.church.
Please continue if you want to experience of being Born-Again Christian.
Being Born-Again Christian Believer
Please continue to scroll down if you have not experience of being Born-Again in Spirit as our Lord Jesus Christ said in these passages of John 3:3-8 NLT, and I quoted below;
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you; no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
Let’s meditate and look for the life application of these passages.
What did Nicodemus know about the Kingdom? From the Bible he knew it would be ruled by God, it would be restored on earth, and it would incorporate God’s people. Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to this devout Pharisee that the Kingdom would come to the whole world (John 3:16, see The Gospel – The Good News), not just the Jews, and that Nicodemus wouldn’t be a part of it unless he was personally born again (John 3:5). This was a revolutionary concept: The Kingdom is personal, not national or ethnic, and its entrance requirements are repentance and spiritual rebirth. Our Lord Jesus Christ later taught that God’s Kingdom has already begun in the hearts of believers (Luke 17:21). It will be fully realized when our Lord Jesus Christ returns again to judge the world and abolish evil forever (Revelation 21–22).
The Words > “Of water and the Spirit” could refer to (1) the contrast between physical birth (water) and spiritual birth (Spirit), or (2) being regenerated by the Holy Spirit and signifying that rebirth by Christian baptism. The water may also represent the cleansing action of God’s Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Nicodemus undoubtedly would have been familiar with God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:25, 26. Our Lord Jesus Christ was explaining the importance of a spiritual rebirth, saying that people don’t enter the Kingdom by living a better life, but by being spiritually reborn.
Who is the Holy Spirit? God is three persons in one – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God became a man in Jesus Christ so that Jesus Christ could die for our sins. Our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead to offer salvation to all people through spiritual renewal and rebirth. When our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, His physical presence left the earth, but He promised to send the Holy Spirit so that His spiritual presence would still be among humankind (see Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit first became available to all believers at Pentecost (Acts 2). Whereas in Old Testament days the Holy Spirit empowered specific individuals for specific purposes, now all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them. For more on the Holy Spirit, read John 14:16-28; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; and 2 Corinthians 1:22.
Our Lord Jesus Christ explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in ways we cannot predict or understand. Just as you did not control your physical birth, so you cannot control your spiritual birth. It is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12; 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 6).
Let me encourage you to visit this page link An Invitation to Meet Our Lord Jesus Christ | HOME FELLOWSHIP CHURCHES in how you can experience of being Born-Again Christian Believer. Amen!
The Gospel – The Good News
In John 3:16-17 NLT says, “16 “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.”
The message of The Good News – The Gospel comes to a focus in these verses. God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships – when we love someone dearly, we are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay. Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us. When we share the Good News with others, our love must be like our Lord Jesus Christ’s – willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s unconditional love.
In John 14:6-7 NLT says, “6 Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had really known Me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!”
This is one of the most basic and important passages in Scripture. How can we know the way to God? Only through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way because He is both God and man. By uniting our lives with His, we are united with God. Trust our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit to take you to our Father God, and all the benefits of being God’s child will be yours.
Home Fellowship Churches Services
We are glad to invite you all to join us in person at our church, and/or in our Zoom Services; Evangelism, Leadership & Discipleship at 5 pm every Sunday except some holidays and important events of the month, Bible Studies on Tuesday at 7 pm, and Praise & Worship/Karaoke on Friday at 7 pm Central Time (CT). Karaoke location TBA or call/text/email us. Our home church is at https://bridge.church.
To Join our Zoom Meetings, just click the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7354863381?pwd=aFJXV0g4S0NZcUNVeGtZZ0NsTHVZUT09
Meeting ID: 735 486 3381
Passcode: 718522
If you have any questions and/or concerns, please don’t hesitate to send them to:
Email: trinityblessings@homefellowshipchurches.org
Podcast Messages & Bible Studies Topic: Fruit of the Holy Spirit, God’s Promises for All Our Every Needs, Books of Leviticus, the Gospel Books (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John), Revelation and Romans, Pastor/Chaplain Elias’ books – “From the Words and Thoughts to the Swords and Battlegrounds”, and “From the Battlegrounds and Wars to the Overcoming and Victories” portions (to be published soon).
Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples,
Pastor/Chaplain Elias Aguilar Busuego Jr PhD DTM
Small Group Leader – https://bridge.church > ENCOURAGE > ENLIGHTEN > EMPOWER
Founding Pastor – Home Fellowship Churches – https://homefellowshipchurches.org
Chaplain – American Legion (AL) District 10 – Texas, AL Post 302 Hutto, TX, formerly at AL Post 447 Round Rock, TX
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