Hi everyone :)

Welcome to Wednesday morning in the month of May! Each day is a day given by the Lord and something good can come out of it.

Even if we feel things are really bad now, having the Lord on our side can give us strength and endurance to go on. The Lord never promised that we won't face hardship but He has promised neither to leave us nor forsake us when we come to Him!

 Devotional Times (John 1 & part of John 8)

What I learned and continue to learn in my time with the Lord!

Whatever is on the email in the summer list, I usually recite from memory. If I spend time reading the Bible and don't remember what I learned, I have not really studied or mediated on the Bible. I keep reading it until I learn and remember something. God has a way of amazingly teaching us!

Before anything existed there was Christ with God. He created all things and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him is the light and the light overcomes the darkness.

John the Baptist was sent as a witness to the light. He was not the light but the one who identified the light.

The Light finally came into the world but the world did not recognize Him. Even in His own home town He was not accepted but to all who received Him, He gave them right to become children of God. All they needed to do was trust in Him to save them. All who do this are born again, not of the flesh but by the Spirit of God. It is a Spiritual birthday. The Light is Jesus Christ.

Imagine we are in a courtroom. We have one witness who takes the stand to testify. His role is to point out the one who has come to be the Lamb of God. John was that witness and He pointed out to the crowds to look to Jesus, who is the Light and became the Lamb of God.

Lamb of God has a lot of significance when we realize that lambs were sacrificed on the altar as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ was sacrificed to atone for our sins when He went to the cross.

Just because Jesus was sacrificed does not make us followers of Christ unless we receive Him.

It is significant to realize that the first chapter in John, emphasizes Jesus as the Word and the Word was with God.

If you study this concept carefully doing cross-referencing and inductive analysis through the Bible, you will come to the conclusion that Jesus Himself is God.

Jesus called 4 disciples to be with Him just in chapter 1 of John.

Jesus first met Andrew and Andrew later went and told his brother Peter about Him. Both of them spent the evening with Jesus as He told them 'Come and See' where I live.

This is very significant because we see an aspect of Evangelism right here when Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus.

How many of us introduce our friends or family members to Jesus?

When we make new friends, do we tell them about Jesus who is our best friend or do we think that they don't need to know?

If we think they don't need to know, are we ashamed of Jesus, being our best friend? If we are not why don't we introduce Jesus to each person we meet and have a conversation with?

Don't allow rejection to get you down. The Lord did not allow rejection to stop His message. Let us follow in His example. Remember, we have the Holy Spirit working is us to help us as we rely upon Him.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, He will give you the power to be a witness to Jerusalem, to Samaria and the ends of the earth (United States or where ever you live in)

I hope we all can introduce Jesus to others, especially to those we spend a lot of time with. Introducing others to Jesus does not mean that they automatically become His followers. But, you have done your part in sowing the seed.

It seems people have a misconception these days about 'Children of God'. It is clear from Scripture that 'all who receive Christ, He gave them right to become Children of God'.

This means that Jesus alone has the right to say who becomes and does not become a child of God. If we are followers of Christ, we are His children but if we are not followers of Christ, we are not children of God.

Jesus makes this perfectly clear in John 8 when He addresses the Pharisees about who are the children of God.

It is true that God created all of us. He is the Creator and we are the created. But, when it comes to being called 'Children of God' it is a Spiritual inheritance and can only occur through the genes of Spiritual heredity and being washed and cleansed by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

We have to receive Christ to save us. When we receive Christ, we have to trust in Him to save us. This means we cannot save ourselves no matter how many good works we do. Salvation is a gift by grace. When we receive Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.

When we have the Holy Spirit in us, He will start transforming our lives and making us to be all He wants us to be!

May you all reach out to those the Lord has put around you that they may share in the Spiritual inheritance and become children of God! Amen!

It would be so wonderful to have a family tree of born-again spiritual inheritance brothers and sisters who are followers of Christ.

John 1 alone reveals so much about Jesus! Please read it and see what the Lord wants to speak to you! Amen!

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, the concept about being children of God when we receive you is so awesome. Thank you Jesus! Also, Lord for many this can be a hard concept to grasp. Help us Lord to abide by your Word and take it seriously. Thank you Lord for giving us the right to become the Children of God and in essence your children because you are God. Lord help us to follow you diligently as we rely upon your Spirit. Thank you Jesus for living in us and making us heirs to Spiritual inheritance. Help us to be diligent in telling others about you. Thank you so much Jesus! Thank you for teaching us from your Word. We turn our lives over to you and to the usage of your plans. Whatever your will is, please give us the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you Jesus so much. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. Thank you for being the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. We give our lives to thee and acknowledge you as our Lord and Personal Savior. In Your Name We Pray Jesus! Amen!

Love in Christ,

Ramesh