Posted on July 01, 2009 at 10:08 a.m. JUNE - JULY 2009 Edition

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“Train Readily All Imparting Nurture! (T.R.A.I.N)”

By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

July 01, 2009

Editors Note: The devotional has a background song which can be heard if you use Internet Explorer.

SCRIPTURE:
"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:1-2, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself how does Paul address those receiving the letter at Philippi?

1. To all the saints
2. To the overseers
3. To the deacons

Observations/Interpretation:
I decided to focus on point 2 & 3 today:

I asked myself who are the overseers and deacons?
They are leaders of the Philippians' church to whom Paul is also writing to.

I asked myself the significance of Paul writing to the overseers and deacons?
As leaders of the Church at Philippi, they needed guidance on how to live their lives and how to conduct themselves in light of those around them. So, Paul is the one who takes initiative to train them and lead them by setting an example of how he is living his life even amidst persecution because of His love for Jesus Christ.

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. As a leader of any group of people, I too need the help and training of those above me. Paul acted as a mentor to the Church of Philippi to the saints in Christ Jesus and the overseers and deacons. I too should look to the leadership of those that the Lord Jesus sends my way to train me and lead me in the Ways of the Lord.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING T.R.A.I.N:

Just as Paul trained the saints in Christ Jesus, the overseers, and deacons on how to live a joyful life amidst persecution through his letter to the Church of Philippi, I am reminded of how the Lord Jesus has been using Pastor Paul Bucknell of http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net to train leaders of churches all over the world through the writings our Lord Jesus has blessed Him to train others. Recently, Pastor Bucknell just returned from Nigeria where he trained church leaders. I am blessed to have him part of Oakland International Fellowship, where he trains others in discipleship, etc with Pastor Ed. I love reading his material on his website that opens the nuggets of truth in God's Word. I am also blessed how the Lord Jesus has been using Pastor Hugo Cheng of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland and Edwin recently to train me to live a godly life through the power of God's sanctifying grace. There are many more the Lord Jesus has used and will use in my life to train me for His honor and glory. For that I am very thankful. You too can be trained by those the Lord Jesus has placed in authority over you who will help disciple you to live a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as you make Jesus your central focus.

I ask you now dear friend, will you let a servant of God T.R.A.I.N you in life?
Dear friend, no matter what kind of leadership position we hold in ministry, we all need to be trained and spiritually grow in the areas the Lord Jesus has placed us in. We will never be at a place where we can think, we need no more training. Paul made it a mission and goal to train not only congregation members of the Church at Philippi but also it's pastors and deacons. We too should let others train us.

But most of all the best training we need to take is from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But to have Jesus Christ in our lives, we need to first and foremost acknowledge what a sinner we are and we are in need of a Savior and Lord who will come and transform our lives. When Jesus becomes part of our lives, we will be seen as a saint in the eyes of God. We can live as saints in Christ Jesus as we receive our help and training from the Lord. The Good News is that we can live a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ when we are submissive to His calling, confessing all our sins before our Creator and making Him the Lord and Savior of our lives.

Friend, there will always be someone in your life that you can turn to who God has placed in your path to train you. You and I should seek after those people to train us but most of all we should never neglect the daily seeking after God's Word to train us as we study and meditate on the Word of God. For God's Word is the best training we can get to live our lives so it should be a daily part of us starting our day. I am so thankful for the Word of God to transform our lives when we spend time with Jesus and His Word. That is so exciting to know for God promises to train us.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

May you know that our Lord Jesus will train readily all imparting nurture!

"Train Readily All Imparting Nurture! (T.R.A.I.N)/"Will you let a servant of God T.R.A.I.N you in life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving us so much that you went to the cross to die for our sins and came back to life to give us life cleansing us by your precious blood. I love you Jesus. Thanks for using Paul to train the pastors and deacons at the Church of Philippi. You have taught me through this verse how important it is for everyone to get training no matter what position they hold for there will always be something new to learn. Thanks so much Jesus. But most of all thanks for training us by your Word as we spend time with you studying and meditating on it. Oh Lord, help us to always depend on you Lord knowing you train readily all imparting nurture to those who yield to you. Thanks so much Jesus. Thanks for hearing our prayer and answering. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

May you experience the POWER OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR, JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.

You don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and give you peace to live out your actions.

How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?

One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this example one Sunday at the RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:

If you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no peace.

But as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Yes, friend God is alive and wants to bring a transformation in your life through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and live with us.

Yes, friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE & LIVING GRACE.

When we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.

^"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (Colossians 5:17-21, NIV)

^"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)

Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!

If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's army, you can become it right now. Now is the time of Salvation! You do not have to wait but can pray this prayer and give your life to Christ to serve Him daily! There is no draft but coming to Christ is voluntary. He loves you so much and wants you to come to Him! He will take care of you, guiding you and leading you!

Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for loving me so much and thank you for choosing the cross to die for me. You became the Son of Man and lived here on earth. Then you humbled yourself and became obedient to death-even death on the cross. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. You died on the cross so that I can be covered in your blood and cleansed by your blood as I acknowledge that I need you and cannot enter Heaven without you being my pathway. So, Jesus I confess all my sins to you and all the ways I have tried to get into Heaven when you already provided the means and the Way. Thank you for all that you have done for me. The cross is the place, a wonderful place where accused and condemned find mercy and grace. Thank you Jesus, it is at the cross where the wrongs we have done and the wrongs done to us were nailed at the cross. Thank you Jesus, at the cross you died for our sins and at the cross you gave your life for us. I thank you for that and thank you for coming back to life to save us. Thank you Jesus for being there for me! Thank you for loving me. I love you Jesus! Please take me as I am and make my life into something that you will be proud of. I surrender my life to you and need your help to live for you. I am forever grateful for what you have done for me and I can never repay you. I want to live for you and need your help. Help me Jesus please. I thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me. Whatever your will give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you Jesus! I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray precious Jesus! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.

As a professional, it is not too late to join a church! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus this new year of 2009! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and forever! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!

Spend time in His word and let the Lord speak to you! Start out in the Gospel of John! You can also check out the Gospel of Mark which are the devotionals I have been going through. Learn from Jesus through study and prayer. Also find yourself a church fellowship and a college fellowship you can be part of where you can be part of a community of believers to supplement your own walk with the Lord. Let it be a Bible-believing and Bible-breathing church! Believe in Bible Live Eternally!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-720-4579

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Love in Christ,
Ramesh

Express Your View

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