SCRIPTURE:
And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." (Mark 9:1, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself in what 5 ways can Jesus' promise be broken down into?
1. 'I tell you the truth'
2. 'some who are standing here'
3. 'will not taste death'
4. 'before they see the kingdom of God'
5. 'come with power'

I decided to look at point 1 today:

Interpretation:
I asked myself the significance of Jesus stating, 'some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power?"
Jesus is giving the disciples and the crowds a promise that the Kingdom of God will come with power and that some of them will experience it before they taste death. This lets me know that no matter what is happening around them in Jerusalem or Rome, they have the promise of Jesus to experience 'the kingdom of God come with power'

Interpretation:
I asked myself what does 'the kingdom of God come with power' refer to and it's significance?
It reminded me of what took place at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was bestowed upon the believers in Christ and the power they received to speak in different languages that they never heard or spoke, the miracles some of them did, and the strength and joy they had to preach the Word of God with boldness so others could see and experience the 'kingdom of God' right here on earth. Jesus had promised the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will guide and lead to all Truth. This began at Pentecost where the believers received the power to preach in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Jesus keeps His promises no matter what is happening. Even Jesus' crucifixion did not stop His promises from coming true. From the disciples viewpoint, if they had forgotten what Jesus had shared with them in Mark 9:1, then they would have been so down as to forget the promise of God regarding 'the Kingdom of God come with power'

Implications:
I asked myself the implications to my own life?
No matter what is happening around me when Jesus gives a promise, I need to believe that Jesus will keep it. Jesus kept the promise of letting some of them experience the 'kingdom of God come with great power' when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Jesus will keep His promises to me too.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S:
Yesterday, I shared with you about how I claimed God's promise and the result was me becoming a follower of Christ and also being healed of my asthma. This is only one example. God's promises have sustained me through out my life and especially during the time when my dad went into cardiac arrest two years ago. At the time, my dad did not know Jesus as his Lord and Personal Savior but I prayed, 'Lord Jesus, please don't let Satan take my daddy. Please save him'.  My dad could have died that day. During those days one of my favorite promises to claim was from John 11: "The purpose of his illness is not death, but for the glory of the Lord" I kept claiming this promise and other promises from the Word of God. Through the next 70 days, my dad was exposed to prayer and reading of the Psalms and the entire New Testament almost everyday for the last 47 days of his life. On the 70th day, after my dad gave his life to Jesus, his body died but his spirit is alive with Jesus. I knew as I looked back that this promise of God was assuring me that my dad would not face eternal death. Thank you so much Jesus!

Still seeing my daddy face death in the body was very sorrowful for me and my family. It still is unbelievable at times that my daddy is gone but I need to hold on to the promises of God and rest in Jesus Name for in His Name, our family can move ahead as He will strengthen us and God will be the Father of the fatherless.

So many promises of God have been my armor against the attacks of the enemy because God's promises have power to change lives as the spoken Word of God that can be read in the Bible. The promises of God can be your armor too. Praise the Lord!

I ask you now dear friend, whose promises do you follow in life?
Dear friend, the world promises us a lot of things and many times it promises us fame, fun, and fortune but all these as King Solomon realized too,  as written in the Book of Ecclesiastes, will become futile too.

 But the Good News is, there is One whose promises you and I can follow everyday of our lives and have joy, humility, and courage as Pastor Ed reminds our congregation that only comes through the transforming grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who bestows it upon our lives as He works in us and through us to experience the Kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is exciting to know friend. I know it is for me. I hope it is for you too.

Whatever you are going through in your life, I want you to know that you are not alone and there is a Savior, a wonderful Savior who reaches the broken hearted, who reaches those who have been clinging on waiting for hope, who have been marred in sin, etc. Jesus is His Name and for you and me He came. He will carry you friend. You can hold on to so many things but when you hold on to Jesus, you will be holding on to hope. Yes, friend you will. I know you will.

Jesus promises to take all your sin no matter where you have been or what you have done because He loves you so much and wants to give you a new start and beginning. Jesus loves you so much that Jesus went to the cross and shed His precious blood to ransom your life from the captivity and bondage to sin and Satan. Yes, friend, Jesus wants you to come to Him as you are and allow Him to work in you and through you by His power. He will my friend and you too will experience the Kingdom of God with power! Praise the Lord!

May you experience the promises of God knowing  powerfully Redeemer offers mighty inspirational Scriptures emancipating souls!

"Powerfully Redeemer Offers Mighty Inspirational Scriptures Emancipating Souls!" (P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S)/"Whose P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S do you follow in life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to thank you so much that you powerfully offer mighty inspirational Scriptures emancipating souls. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that gives us power and we can experience the Kingdom of God. Thank you how your promises work in our own lives. Please Oh Lord take our fears and help us to apply what you teach us in Your Word for your honor and glory! Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you for hearing and answering our prayers. Thank you for Pentecost and your promises we see come true in our own lives. I love you Jesus. Thank you for dying for my sin and coming back to life to save me by Your power. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

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.

^"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!

PRAYER:
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!