Women’s Ministry

WEEKLY MEDITATION 21-27 JULY 2014

As you begin this week, we ask that you meditate on the following scriptures and how they apply to your life and your growing relationship with the Lord.

” Respecting the Lord and not being proud will bring you wealth, honor, and life” (Proverbs 22:4)

” In every way be an example of doing good deeds. When you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. Speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized…Grace teaches us to live now in a wise and right way and in a way that shows we serve God. We should live like that while we wait for our great hope and the coming of the glory of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:7-8, 12-13)

“God is fair, he will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them. We want each of you to go on with the hard work all your lives so you will surely get what you hope for.” (Hebrews 6:10-11)

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Prayer Request For The Persecuted

Fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Here at Sola Fide Ministries, we are deeply concerned about the ongoing persecution of Christians around the world and the endless war against us and the Lord. Whether in China, South America, Europe, the Middle East or even here at home in the United States, Christians are suffering under some level of persecution. In some cases losing their lives for their faith in the Lord.

We know that Jesus has told us “When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic” (Matt. 24:6MSG) or simply “dont’ be afraid” (Luke 12:7NIV). We also know that Bible tells us “though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident” (Ps27:3 RSV).

The world is a mess! War in the Middle East, financial challenges in the global economy, etc etc etc. As a result, we ask you to consider the many persecuted Christians in your prayers. There are those in prison from Iran, North Korea to Venezuela for their faith. Those being murdered and tortured in Iraq, Syria, and Africa for their faith. There are those who suffer under “soft” persecution in Europe and the United States. While not considered as extreme as those in other parts of the world, we are still persecuted at some level. Simply visit our friends at the Voice of Martyrs (http://www.persecution.com/) to see all the evil in the world. Its also a great place to see how you can help those being persecuted. Non of  this should surprise us. Did not the Lord say that we will be persecuted by the world for our faith? Then we should not be afraid.

We should do as Paul said in Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

However, we ask that you take it one step further. Please visit the many groups that support persecuted Christians and get involved. You can learn more about how you can help by clicking here: https://solafidedigitalministries.org/partners/ 

Finally, we humbly ask you to put on the whole armor of the Lord in your life and pray for all those in great need whether persecuted Christians, the poor, hungry, destitute, those in pain, ill, lonely, afraid, those in dispair and more . We are called to be Christ on Earth. So when the world continues to seems to be out of control, we can put our faith in our rock….the Lord. We can be sure that he still sits on the thrown. We can take comfort in the words of Jesus when he says, “These things must come to pass” (Matt.24:6) and “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev.2:10 RSV).

God Bless,

David

 

American Pastor Saeed Abedini wrote the following Easter message from his hospital room serving an eight year sentence for his Christian faith in Iran.

Crucifying the resurrected “self” with Christ and resurrects our death faith with Christ.

Happy Resurrection Day.

On the Eve of Good Friday and Easter I was praying from my hospital room for my fellow Christians in the world.  What the Holy Spirit revealed to me in prayer was that there are many dead faiths in the midst of Christians today. That Christians all over the world are not able to fully reach their spiritual potential that has been given to them as a gift by God so that in reaching that potential, the curtain can be removed and the Glory of God would be revealed.

Some times we want to experience the Glory and resurrection with Jesus without experiencing death with Him.  We do not realize that unless we pass through the path of death with Christ, we are not able to experience resurrection with Christ.

We want to have a good and successful marriage, career, education and family life (which is also God’s desire and plan for our life). But we forget that in order to experience the Resurrection and Glory of Christ we first have to experience death with Christ and to die to ourselves and selfish desires.

Jesus said to His Disciples:  “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

This means that we should not do things that we like to do (that God does not want us to do) and to do things that we do not like to do (but God wants us to do) so that He may be glorified.

So in addition to spending our days and night in doing the works of faith as described above, we should also transform our death faiths into living and active faiths through the resurrection of Christ which is an active and constructive love that is effective.

In conclusion, let us resurrect our Dead faiths to living faiths by first dying to our selfish “resurrected” self and experiencing the cross of Jesus. Then we are able to experience the Glorious resurrection with Christ.

A Glorious life with Christ starts only after a painful death (to self) with Christ.

We will start with Christ.

Pastor Saeed Abedini
Prisoner in the Darkness in Iran, but free for the Kingdom and Light

Please continue to pray for Pastor Saeed as we continue fighting for his release, and sign the petition for his freedom.

The Truth and the Way

“I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6)

Cross 8

These are the words of Jesus. Quite a statement and promise.  Jesus made this incredible promise to those who would build their lives on His words and teaching. Jesus’s words stand alone in truth, power and authority. Its important to understand that His promise is not for those who followed or follow the words of any other teacher, prophet or leader. He promised “If you abide in My word, then you are truly the disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32 NASB). But this was just the beginning. Think about the many other promises Jesus made to those who chose to “abide” in His word:

  • You will receive eternal life
  • Your desires will be fulfilled in answer to your prayers
  • God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will be your constant companions, both with you and within you
  • You will receive a level of peace and joy, direct from God, that is otherwise is unattainable
  • You will impact the lives of others in ways that can’t be achieved strictly by human effort
  • You will be loved by God in a unique way
  • You will avoid God’s ultimate judgement
  • You will see miracles in your life that others can’t understand or explain
  • You will learn eternal truths that will set you free from all that holds you captive

Are these difficult for you to believe? Really? Why? These are the promises Jesus teaches us throughout his ministry here on earth.  You see its important to understand that Jesus did not come down to earth to start a new religion. In fact, he saved his harshest criticism and judgement for the religious leaders of the day. He accused them of not knowing God and said they had used religion to bind people to a life of misery, frustration, and failure. He claimed those leaders were blind and had blinded the “spiritual eyes” of their followers (see Matthew 15:13-14; 23:13-24).

When He described Himself, Jesus claimed that He had come from God and that His mission was to reveal who God was and what God wanted for his children. Most importantly, Jesus claimed that He would lead anyone into an intimate relationship with the only true God and that in doing so, He would lead them into eternal life. In His final prayer before His crucifixion, Jesus stated, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

As we begin this  weekly mediation series, we will be looking at the greatest words ever spoken. The direct teaching of Jesus Christ taken from the New Testament in the Bible. We will carve out one or two related teachings a week and share them in this series so we can meditate on them and in doing so, get to know the creator of the universe. Your savior and God and learn how to apply these teachings in our lives so we to can “abide” in his word. Remember John 3:16 -17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”. We hope you join us on this weekly journey and further your relationship with your Lord and Savior.

Humbly in Christ,

David