HE SPEAKS DAY AND NIGHT

I love Melbourne, Australia! Here are some photos of the Swanston Street in Melbourne, State Library and China town.


HE SPEAKS DAY AND NIGHT

God speaks to us day and night with His love and wisdom.

Psalm 16:7 (New International Version, ©2011)

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.

King David clearly had an intimate relationship with God because he said God was his counsellor day and night. God was constantly watching over him and directing him to the right path. God guided a shepherd boy into a great King of Israel through their personal relationship. God was everything to David. He was known as a man after God's heart. David always sought God for direction in life. He honoured God by seeking God for wisdom and guidance before making any major decision for his life and Israel. God helped King David prosper in every way because of their intimate relationship.

Let us be sensitive to the leading of God and Holy Spirit in our daily life. God wants to communicate to us His vision and direction for our family, business and future.

The bible says "Come close to God and He will come close to you" (James 4:8a).

Let God speak to us day and night so we can follow His wonderful plans during these uncertain times.

OPEN DOORS

I took some photos of my holiday in Adelaide, Australia on Glenelg beach.


OPEN DOORS

God opens new doors when we dare to push them open

2 Corinthians 2:12 (New International Version, ©2011)

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

Colossians 4:3 (New International Version, ©2011)

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

God opened many doors for Apostle Paul to share the gospel in many places. He prayed to God for open doors. He also sought God for new doors of opportunity to share the gospel to new regions and people groups. He was always active and looking for new doors to open so he could proclaim the gospel.

I want to encourage us to seek God and pursue new openings in all areas of our lives. Seek God for new career, business and ministry opportunities. God always desires to bring us to a new level of effectiveness and to receive new blessings. Don't get discouraged when you face a closed door because God is able to open new doors for you.

Matthew 7:8 (New International Version, ©2011)

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

New doors of opportunities await those who ask God and dare to venture into new things.

IMMEASURABLE & PRICELESS LOVE

I am in Jakarta with some friends from "Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International"


IMMEASURABLE & PRICELESS LOVE

God's love toward us is immeasurable & priceless
Psalm 36:5-7 (New International Version, ©2011)

Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, LORD, preserve both people and animals. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

There is nothing on this earth that is able to measure the love of God; it is immeasurable. There is no price on this earth that can match the love of God; it is priceless. To know God and His love toward us is the greatest fulfilment of mankind. Without God's love, we are incomplete and restless because we were born for His love.

For those who are believers, I want to encourage you to desire more of God's love each day because God wants to pour out His fresh love every day. God gives more of His love to strengthen us and enable us to walk in victory.

For those who are searching for God and love, I want to encourage you to allow God to reveal His amazing love. You will never be the same once the love of Christ becomes part of your everyday life.

Ephesians 3:17b-19 (New International Version, ©2011)

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I am praying for you to experience this immeasurable and priceless love of Christ

G.O.S.P.E.L

I really like this simple yet very powerful video presentation of the gospel message. I pray that your life will be totally changed by the greatest love story ever told, God sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins.

THREE FACTS ABOUT JESUS’ DEATH

• JESUS DIED PAINFULLY

The prophet Isaiah spoke of Jesus enduring two kinds of pain on the cross. First, the physical pain of iron nails piercing His hands and feet (Isaiah 53:5a, Psalm 22:16).

‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.’ Isaiah 53:5a

Secondly, the emotional pain of rejection and humiliation from Romans soldiers, bystanders, his Jewish race. (Isaiah 53:3, Mark 15:34).

‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.’ Isaiah 53:3

Jesus suffered the physical and emotional pain on the cross.

• JESUS DIED PURPOSEFULLY

The prophet Isaiah foretold Jesus’ death would save mankind from their sins

‘The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.’ (Isaiah 53:5b)

There is no other way possible to take away the sins of mankind, except through Jesus’ death. No animal sacrifice or good works can atone for our sins. Jesus received the punishment of sin on mankind’s behalf. The Apostle Peter stated that Christ’s death brought righteousness to believers.

24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Jesus died for mankind’s sins and offers believers a life of righteousness.

• JESUS DIED KNOWINGLY

Christ knew that he must die and rise again (Isaiah 53:10-11, Matthew 16:21, Luke 24:46).

For everyone who believes in Jesus, his resurrection means victory over sin and death. Jesus can grant forgiveness because He died to free us from sin. Jesus can grant eternal life, because God has raised him to life.

‘Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.’ (Isaiah 53:10-11).

21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)

God allowed Jesus to die and raised Him to life to save us.

GREATER FAITH, GREATER MIRACLES

Here are some beautiful photos of Phuket Island with my friends.


GREATER FAITH, GREATER MIRACLES

Great Faith in God leads to Great Miracles in God

"Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment" Matt 15:28

Can our faith in God make any difference in our life, family, ministry, church or society? I really believe the more we trust in the love, wisdom and power of God, the more we will experience the blessings from God.

I am always inspired by the faith of the Canaanite woman. She was so convinced that Jesus could heal her daughter from demon possession that nothing was going to hinder her from approaching and requesting Jesus to heal her daughter. The disciples of Jesus did not think that she was worthy enough to receive God's blessing because she was a Gentile and Jesus came to bring salvation to the Jews.

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us. 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15:21-28

This Canaanite woman managed to pass through the disciples and go directly to Jesus. She faced further objections from Jesus because she was a Gentile. Instead of going home empty-handed, she wanted to receive whatever blessings that was leftover. Jesus saw her great faith and answered her request. What happen if we continue to grow in faith every day of our spiritual life? I believe we will see many breakthroughs and miracles in our lives, family, business and ministry as our faith grows from a mustard seed into a giant tree.

Let us have greater faith in God so we can see greater miracles in God. We can go beyond the realm of impossible into possible when our faith is strongly anchored in God.

FAITH PRAYER

I had a wonderful seafood buffet dinner with my two friends, Ford and Dontana in Bangkok.

FAITH PRAYER

Faith is so vital in prayer. Faith is trusting God to answer our prayers no matter how long it takes...

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:17-18

Some prayers get answered immediately by God while other prayers will take longer. We should not doubt God when we do not see prayers answered within our expected time frame. Over the years, I have come to understand that God’s time frame of answering prayers is so different from mine. My responsibility is just to pray. Afterwards, I want to have peace while waiting for God to answer my prayer. I do not want to have any doubts about God’s love and His ability to answer my prayers. It is so easy to slide back in unbelief when we see nothing happen. In the Bible, Elijah kept praying for the rain to fall even though there had been no rain in Israel for three and half years.

When the rain finally fell, Elijah did not pray just once, but he prayed seven times for rain to fall. There was only a small cloud in the sky after Elijah seven prayers, yet God brought the wind and created bigger clouds for a heavy rain. Faith in God is needed to see the greater works of God in our lives. I am sure Elijah was discouraged when nothing seemed to happen, but he persevered in prayer and witnessed the power of God in sending rain after a long drought.

Our faith in God and His abilities can influence the outcome of our prayers. When we have great faith in God, all things are possible.

LOVE SHIEKA'S HEALING TESTIMONY

I am very encouraged by Love Shieka's healing testimony in Bangkok, Thailand. I pray that you will be inspired to believe God for greater miracles through this testimony.

LOVE SHIEKA'S HEALING TESTIMONY

In 2008, I had an operation in my uterus due to cysts caused by endometriosis. Though the operation was successful, the doctor prescribed me to take medication to prevent the cysts from returning.

Two months after my operation, God blessed me even more. I went to Thailand and immediately found a job within three days. Everything was going well. My health was good and I was even able to join in different church activities and presentations. One day, I felt pain in the lower part of my abdomen. At first, I tried to ignore the pain but I started feeling it regularly.
I went to see a doctor who diagnosed me with adenomyosis; an enlargement of the uterus. The doctor added that if the size of my uterus reached or exceeded 12 inches, I would need to undergo another operation removing my entire uterus.

I was so depressed when I heard the news. I cried and succumbed to self-pity most of the time. But I never stopped praying. I continued to have my appointments with my doctor every three months. During one of my scheduled ultrasounds, I was holding my Bible and praying to God, asking Him for a miracle. When I opened my Bible, I read the words from Jeremiah 33:6 that said, "I WILL BRING HEALTH AND HEALING TO IT." I praised the Lord and thanked Him in advance for His miracle.

I received prayer by the church leaders and even attended the healing service led by Evangelist Peter Troung. I returned home to the Philippines with a positive heart. I went to see my doctor for a check-up and I received a negative result for adenomyosis! Praise God, because He really answered my prayers! I went home and testified to my whole family how great God is in my life. We were crying and my family was so blessed.

Love Shieka Palmones
Oasis of Bangkok Church International