We
live in a generation with highly intellectual man and woman. But still most
people are afraid of new ideas, of experimenting, and change. Why do most
people shrink or run from thinking or working a problem through to a logical
conclusion? The answer is simple; they need a change of mind.
Text for
the day: There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that
the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a
flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:5-6 (MSG)
Our Devotional
Every good thing that is in a Christian, not
merely begins, but progresses and is consummated by the fostering grace of God
through Jesus Christ. Today we are looking at the subject of salvation which is
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Salvation is God’s work,
not man’s! To help us understand this better, let us take a look at Jonah the
prophet. When Jonah was in the great university of the belly of the fish, the
Bible says he learned the theology of salvation.Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. It is amazing, whenever God calls someone to do a great work for Him and they refuse, they always go further and further from Him. The word of the Lord says Jonah want down in the ship.
Running from God can sometime cause you to end up in darkness with demons, and the end result is a slimy life covered with sin. This ship could represents sex before marriage, lying, greed, murder, drugs, drinking act. Whenever one gets involved in these sins, they take you down.
As the Lord allow a bad storm to blow upon the ship, it seem like it was about to be broken in pieces. Then all the sailors on board the ship started to call on their gods. They even threw their ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Through all this, Jonah was down below deck, sound asleep. At this point, the ship’s captain went down to him and said, “How can you sleep at a time like this? Get up and pray to your God! Maybe he will have pity on us and keep us from drowning.”
There is a great lesson here that we should never overlook. At times when people are so deep in sin like a deep sleep which Jonah was in, they need someone with the fear of God and their interest, to wake them up to seek help to break their habit of sin. As the storm kept getting worse, the running Jonah asked the sailors to throw him into the sea, and the storm will calm down. The Bible says the sailors tried their best to row to the shore. But they could not do it, and the storm kept getting worse every minute. So they prayed to the Lord, “Please don’t let us drown for taking this man’s life, and don’t hold us guilty for killing an innocent man.
Then they threw Jonah into the sea and everything calmed down.” It is said, “The sailors were so terrified that they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made all kinds of promises. But the Lord did not leave Jonah. As he was going down into the sea, “The Lord sent a big fish to swallow him, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Form this story we see that salvation is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy! The apostle Paul was clear when he said, “I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.” As you look at the text for the day, you can see that God had mercy on Jonah and after three days, the fish through him up on the beach with a change of mind. We are living in the great day of God’s salvation. This is the day of which the apostle Paul spoke saying, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
This is the day of God’s mercy. But the day will come, that the door of mercy will be closed, and there shall be no more salvation. “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for [anyone] sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” Hebrews 10 26-27
For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2
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This letter was written by Chaplain Kevin J. T. Santucci
Click on to the
song of the day:
Ø
Today is the day of Salvation Day. I call
heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before
you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that
both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 30:19
Our Prayer for today: That you Heavenly Father for your great act of love through Jesus Christ for our salvation.
Prayer Request
Community /
International Prayer
Ø Let us pray for Leighnae Hill. She has an inoperable tumor on the brain, and radiation
treatment .
1. Pray that the Doctors and nurses will be
guided by the Holy Spirit in administering treatment and that the PERFECT WILL
of GOD will prevail.
2. That you will forward this prayer
request to all the friends in your address book.
Let us pray for this precious little girl and BOMBARD HEAVEN !!!! Little
Leighnae Hill is around 6 years old and attends Midland Heights SDA church in
Crawl Bermuda with her family. PLEASE pass this on .. let's start a massive
prayer chain for the Hill /Lowe family today.
World Events:
Ø Let
us pray that God will hold back the winds of war as the U.S. President Barack
Obama said today Saturday September 31,
2013 that the United States "should take military action against Syrian
targets" over its alleged use of chemical weapons, but added that he will
seek congressional authorization for the move. President Obama's remarks came
shortly after U.N. inspectors left Syria carrying evidence that will determine
whether chemical weapons were used in an attack last week in a Damascus suburb killing
1,429 people.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those
who love God, who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
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Today is a great day to
praise the LORD for the things He is doing around the world through all types
of ministries. Although the work of spreading the gospel in different countries
is moving ahead by human hands, it is not advancing as it should advance. Yet,
that which has been accomplished affords reason for gratitude and grounds for
encouragement. To add to this great work of finishing the work of God in this
generation is (Garden Ministry). But we need your help; more and more people
are seeking for Garden Ministry to be translated into their language. If you
would like to translate this devotional into your language and send it off to
your friends in different parts of the world, please do so.
If possible, share with us your response.
Join us next time for another ray of
sunshine from Garden Ministry.