Posted on July 02, 2009 at 10:21 a.m. JUNE - JULY 2009 Edition

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“Blessed Lord Everyday Saves Souls! (B.L.E.S.S)”

By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

July 02, 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 after the salutation, what does Paul do?
Paul does four things:
1. Paul writes, 'Grace to you from God our Father.'
2. Paul, writes, 'Grace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.'
3. Paul writes, 'Peace to you from God our Father.'
4. Paul writes, 'Peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Interpretations:
I asked myself the significance of what Paul did?
Paul could have begun his letter right away after the salutation to the Philippians but instead he wants to bless them with grace and peace from the One He has a personal relationship with who is also the Creator of the Universe. He wants the Philippians to know that the blessing of grace and peace is available to them too just as it is available to Him from God who He refers to as 'God our Father' emphasizing a son-Father personal relationship. He also acknowledges the Lordship of Christ where the grace and peace come from for Him and also for them whom he wants to bless.

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. Just as Paul blessed the Philippians in the Name of the Father and the Son, as He was led by the Holy Spirit, I too need to bless others whom God puts in my way. In this world of curses and sadness, it will be refreshing for others to be blessed by words and deeds as I depend on God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ so I need to do that.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING B.L.E.S.S:
Day before yesterday, while I was reading parts of a 'Small Group Leader's Handbook' at night, I had a nudging to text two people from our co-ed prayer group that we had on Friday at Living Acts. Also, earlier during the I felt I should call another person to pray with that person. I went ahead and contacted all three of them at different times. I wanted to be a blessing to them and did not want them to forget that I was thinking about them after the prayer group too. One of them wrote me back saying that the timing of my text message was impeccable and it came at the right time to bless that person. I thank the Lord Jesus for that opportunity. When my focus is on the Lord Jesus and my desire is to bless others through words or deeds, He does provide a way.

Lot of times I go through my week without checking up on how my brothers and sisters in the Lord are doing until Friday or Sunday when we meet but I learned from this experience I had that people can be going through a lot during the week and every blessing they get through words or deeds, can be seen as a blessing from the Lord who is watching over them no matter what is happening around them. Everyone needs compassion and blessings and it is awesome that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ can choose us to bless others just as He chose Paul. I want to always be a blessing to others as my Lord and Savior provides me an opportunity. I hope you can be a blessing to others too.

I ask you now dear friend, when do you bless others in life?
Dear friend, if you bless others in your life when it is only convenient to you, you are missing out on blessing them when they need that blessing. We are not called to bless others at our convenience. Paul did not even do that. Paul blessed the Philippians with words of GRACE and PEACE while he was still in chains. We to should take every opportunity to bless others that the Lord puts in our paths as we depend on God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for those opportunities.

Friend, you may not know who you will touch with the love of Christ until you make yourself faithful, available, compatible, and teachable as my Pastor Hugo says. If I had not taken the initiative to text my prayer group or contact through phone, I would not have known what they were going through but by taking that few minutes to check up on how they were doing, it provided an opportunity to be a blessing. You too can bless others in life even without knowing it when you seek the Lord for opportunities. For that to happen, we need to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior first so we can bless others in the Name of Jesus Christ. It starts with Jesus Christ and not with us. Paul had a relationship with God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit before he started blessing others. We too need that relationship if we do not already have it.

When we have that blessed relationship with Christ, we can bless others leading them to the blessed Lord everyday, saving souls.

Recently, I shared with you a poem I had written called, "Downing Depression" that became such a blessing to someone who was planning to commit suicide. This poem and the prayer showing Christ's love to the person changed that person's life around. I thank the Lord Jesus for that opportunity. Praise the Lord.

Always open yourself up to be a blessing to others as the Lord has blessed you. I love what Daniel & Amy Spector, my brother&sister in the Lord are doing by having a guest room for visitors to bless them at their house. To bless others does not have to be gigantic but can even be simple. Either way when it is done in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for His honor and glory, ripple effects in the lives of others can be seen!

We live in a world filled with curses. Now is the moment to take time to send others a blessing in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior whether it is through writing a letter, speaking over the phone, text someone, or even personally meeting with them as the Lord Jesus provides opportunities. There are tons of blessings in Scripture that you can impart upon others as you claim those promises! Amen!

May you come to bless others as our blessed Lord everyday saves souls!

"Blessed Lord Everyday Saves Souls! (B.L.E.S.S)"/"When do you B.L.E.S.S. in life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving us and dying for our sin. Thank you so much for coming back to life to save us covering us in your precious cleansing blood. Oh Lord thanks for blessing us by your grace and peace. Help us to bless others as we depend on you Jesus. Lord, you have given us the greatest blessing in the Salvation you bestowed upon us by your grace. Thanks so much Jesus. I want to be a blessing to others throughout the week. Help me Lord to do that. Thanks so much Jesus. 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

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