|
"Christ Awaits Listening Lovingly!
(C.A.L.L)"
Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher
SCRIPTURE:
"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know through your prayers
and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to
me will turn out for my deliverance." (Philippians 1:19, NIV)
Approach Question:
When your loved ones need deliverance, what
is the first specific thing you do?
OBSERVATION:
I asked myself, what 3 things do I learn about Paul?
1.
I will continue to rejoice.
2.
I know through your prayers what has happened to me will turn out for
my deliverance.
3.
I know through the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has
happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
I decided to focus on points 2& 3 today:
Interpretations:
I asked myself what is the significance of
Paul writing,
"I know through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus
Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance!"
(Philippians 1:19, NIV)
Paul is expecting his brothers and sisters to pray for him. He does not
deal with his afflictions alone, thinking he will just pray for himself,
but realizes the importance of intercessory prayer from the Philippians
for his deliverance. Yet, Paul also knows it cannot be any kind of
prayer to anyone. Paul understands prayer alone cannot bring
deliverance in people's lives if the prayer is directed in the wrong
direction. People could believe in idols and pray to them without
praying to the Lord of the Bible and they could just get a wrong number
without getting the answer from the Lord, our God. It is interesting
that Paul's letter has a conjunction: 'for I know through your prayers AND the help
given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn
out for my deliverance'. Paul wanted the
Philippians to focus on intercessory prayer through the help given by
the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Wow! Amazing!
Implications:
I asked myself what are the
implications for my own life?
Intercessory prayer
should become a priority in my life. When I pray for
myself or others, I need to remember that it is the Spirit of Jesus
Christ that brings deliverance through praying to Jesus. I cannot expect
to pray to anyone who has no power and expect results. Paul wanted the
Philippians to be focused on Jesus Christ through His Spirit. I need to
do the same expecting deliverance in the Name of Jesus for myself and
for others as I only call the Name of Jesus and no one else. Of course,
Jesus is God so I can pray to God, the Father who is also referred to as
Jehovah and receive an answer as I pray in the Name of Jesus. Paul may
have remembered what promises Jesus gave in John 14, John 15, and John
16.
HOW GOSPEL
GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING C.A.L.L.
I have a wonderful senior pastor in Pastor
Hugo
of the church Oakland International Fellowship and
an awesome small group leader in Calvin
Chiang. He and the congregation had been calling on
the Name of the Lord for my dear wife
Chandra to join me in
the U.S.A. so we could be together. I praise the Lord
through the prayers offered to Christ, the answer came in His perfect
timing when my wife arrived with me on New Years Eve to spend her life
with me in the states. It is all the Lord's doing through the intercessory prayers of
my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Right now my sweet wife is under the weather so please call upon the
Name of the Lord for her healing!
I love how Jason &
Andrea Huang, staff workers with Asian InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship, Thomas Grosh IV of IVCF, Brother
Paul Bucknell of
Biblical Foundations for Freedom, Faith Sadar
and Jason & Maria Weimer of Campus Crusade for Christ, etc send prayer letters
asking for the intercessory prayers of brothers and sisters for the work
of the Lord. They realize the importance of prayers for their own
deliverance in different situations.
I am glad the Apostle Paul did not forget the way
Jesus delivered him time after time so now he still expects deliverance
from the Spirit of Jesus Christ as the Philippians intercede for him. I
want to intercede on behalf of my brothers and sisters too even as I
know they intercede for me. I wait on the Lord and so can you trusting
in the Lord as you call on Him.
I ask you now dear friend, who do you often
C.A.L.L in life?
Dear friend, you may spend most of your time calling your
boy/girl friend, friends, parents, husband/wife, etc. In the process, you may overlook
the most important One to call often. It is good to call others we love
but what about the One who loves you so much that He went to the cross
as nails of three pierced His broken body so you can be set free. Jesus
is His Name and He came to deliver you and me from the flame. Now, He
wants to give us a new Aim.
Is that not exciting?
It is exciting for me! Jesus waits for your
call often, for He loves you and wants to help you just as He helps so
many others.
Jesus wants to be your Immovable Rock, your Strength and Skill in
battle, your Fortress, your Shield, etc so come as you are and receive
your help from the Lord.
Why don't you talk to Him?
It is not hard; just speak to Him as a friend. For He will be the best
friend you can ever have.
Are you in pain?
Is your heart growing faint?
Is
trouble all around you?
Are you confused about your life?
The Lord wants to be your refuge and tower.
Why don't you give Him a call
now?
Call Him
where you are right now. Don't wait for some other time. Yes, friend now
is the time to call. Jesus waits to hear
from you. Oh yes, even as I write this, He waits to hear from you. He
waits to hear from us all. There is no hassle with phone cards,
telephone bills, quarters, etc. You can make a direct call to Heaven and
it will reach our Savior. You have a direct line to God and you can
access that line 24 hrs a day, seven days a week.
The number you have to
dial is JESUS. You can talk to the Lord as long as you want. Speak to
the Lord about all of your concerns. Lay them before our Father in
Heaven who waits in anticipation that we do talk to Him about requests
or life in general. He created you and everything around you. He loves
you so much. Later on, Paul gives the same Philippians a promise to
claim which is for you too to claim:
"Do not
be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:6-7, NIV)
"And how happy I was with what he created---his
wide world and all his family of mankind!" (Proverbs 8:31)
"Christ Awaits Listening Lovingly! (C.A.L.L)"/"Who
do you C.A.L.L often in life?"
PRAYER:
To get you started, make this your prayer:
"Hear my cry, Oh God; listen to my prayer. From
the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and
take refuge in the shelter of your wings." (Psalm 61:1-4)
Dear Jesus, I want to thank you so much that we
can talk to you anytime and any place. You are always there for us. It
means a lot to me Jesus that you don't hang up on us or say that you are
too busy. But, you actually actively listen to whatever we tell you.
Even if we keep talking, you listen. Oh Lord, you listened to the
Psalmist in Psalm 119 and that is a pretty long prayer. Thank you
whether our talking to you is considered short or long, you are there.
You know the things we are going through Lord and we ask you for your
deliverance. I pray for the one right now Lord who is so confused about
how things are going. You know Lord the situation that person is faced
with. You know the wishes they make. You know the pain they are in. Come Lord Jesus and please bring
your deliverance and healing in that person's life. Hear us Oh Lord and
please answer us for the glory and honor of your Name. Thank you for
being our refuge and a strong tower against the foe. I love you Jesus.
Thank you for answering our prayers and deliverance only comes from you. Help me to show my love to you the way I live my life. I thank you
Savior. Thank you for dying for my sins and coming back to life to save
me. I give myself to you and ask you to use me and lead me for your
glory. Whatever your will is Oh Lord give us the willingness and
strength to bear it. Thank you so much Jesus. In Your Name I Pray Jesus!
Amen! Thank you hearing my prayer and answering me being my Lord and
Personal Savior! Amen!
May the Lord Jesus guide you in
His love leading you! 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 turniLOVINGg 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 by His
grace alone!
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 412-641-9426
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)
Express Your
View
|
2012 DEVOTIONALS:
Philippians
1:19:
"What reason do you have to R.E.J.O.I.C.E in
life?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 22, 12, 8:21 a.m.)
Philippians
1:15-18:
"How are your M.O.T.I.V.E.S in life?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 22, 12, 8:21 a.m.)
Philippians
1:13-14:"What
have your C.H.A.I.N.S done to others in your life?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 21, 12, 9:04 a.m.)
Philippians 1:12: "How
can you feel so S.P.E.C.I.A.L when things are going so wrong in your
life?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 18, 12, 8:20 a.m.)
Philippians 1:9-11:
"What is your L.O.V.I.N.G response in life
based on?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 18, 12, 8:20 a.m.)
Philippians
1:8:
"How can your A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N grow towards
others in life?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 17, 12, 6:32 a.m.)
Philippians 1:7:
"Why cannot you be saved by G.R.A.C.E. alone?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 16, 12, 9:55 a.m.)
Philippians 1:6:
"Where are you C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T in?"By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 15, 12, 10:54 a.m.)
Philippians 1:3-6:
"How can you attain a P.A.R.T.N.E.R.S.H.I.P in
the Gospel?"
By
Ramesh C. Reddy
(May 14, 12, 08:38 a.m.)
Philippians 1:3:
"How will others R.E.A.C.T towards God when
they remember you?"
(May 11, 12, 09:53 a.m.)
By Ramesh C. Reddy
Philippians
1:1-2:
"When do you
B.L.E.S.S others in life?"
(May 09, 12, 7:30 a.m.)
By Ramesh C. Reddy
Philippians
1:1:
"Why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when
you are already a leader?"
(May 10, 12, 9:01 a.m.)
By Ramesh C. Reddy
Philippians
1:1:
"Why should you believe you are H.O.L.Y
instead of being a sinner?"
(May 08, 12, 8:05 a.m.)
By Ramesh C. Reddy
Philippians
1:1:
Who will you be a S.L.A.V.E to in life?
(May 07, 12, 7:06 a.m.)
By Ramesh C. Reddy |
