Relax in His Presence.

Prayer is enjoying an open, honest sincere talk with your best friend, most special lover and wisest teacher. Relax in His presence. Listen and obey what He says to you because He only wants what is best for the child He so deeply loves. Joseph- Anthony: Green

Psalm 23 Explained in Todays Terms

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

In His presence I am supplied with all I need for today.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

In His presence I am quieted from the turmoil in and around me.

He restores my soul.

In His presence I am built up, forgiven, refreshed.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

In His presence I am guided along the right paths for me, paths that will honor His name.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

In His presence I can be fearless in trusting Him even with destruction and death are all around me.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

In His presence I am comforted because I know He is equipped to watch over for me.

You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies.

In His presence I am nourished and protected even when I’m in unfriendly territory.

You anoint my head with oil;

In His presence He anoints me with healing and with love.

My cup overflows.

In His presence I am filled to overflowing regardless of outer circumstances.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
I am pursued by His mercy and His goodness every day.
His presence calls me.

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In His presence I am secure for today and forever.

Take Time to Be

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord; abide in him always, and feed on his word. Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on; spend much time in secret with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be; thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see.

The More Peace You Are

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2 The Holy Bible The New Living Translation

Grace in this context means the free and unmerited favour of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.

Favour means assistance.

So, what this verse means is that the more we know Jehovah, the more help He will bless us with which blesses us with peace.

How are we to obtain knowledge of Jehovah?

Try this: begin your day with prayers of gratitude and for knowledge of Jehovah.

Subscribe to daily devotionals like our daily bread, or https://www.5minutediscipleship.com/podcast.html And read them every morning.

Instead of wasting your time watching the idiot box ( TV ) or watching filthy movies or being on social media why not listen to good Christian preachers like Max Lucado, David Jeremiah or Charles Stanley. .

Why not listen to the fantastic encouraging video’s by Grace for Purpose and Above Inspiration before you go to bed.

Why not read one of Gods promises a day and claim it as your own ( you can read them on biblegateway. com- I prefer the new living translation but there are many more to choose from ).

The more time you spend with Jesus, the more peace you are blessed with . Joseph- Anthony a Son of Jehovah

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Shammah (Ezekiel 48:35 The LORD Is There ) for blessing me with Your cherished loving, Heavenly communion and help. These are the greatest treasures in my life. I exalt You in the name of He with whom I love to walk with and talk with in Your glorious creation, Jesus Christ. Amen

Seleh- stop and think about it.

This article and photo @ Joseph- Anthony a Son of Jehovah 2023

But Enjoying A

Prayer is not about repeating stanza’s like a parrot but enjoying a conversation with your closest friend Joseph a son of Jehovah

You Need to Know That

No matter what storm you face, you need to know that God loves you. He has not abandoned you. Franklin Graham

To be Replaced With

It is when I am in the beauty of His creation that the weight of the world disintegrates to be replaced with Gods amazing peace and love. Joseph- Anthony: Green

Our Hearts are Restless Till

You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in you. Augustine

The Heart is Rich When

“The heart is rich when it is content, and it is always content when its desires are fixed on God.” — Miguel Cordero-Munoz

Backsliding Christians

Have you ever temporarily lapsed into unbelief and sin after you became a Christian? The condition of backsliding results from spiritual apathy or disregard for the truth of God’s Word. It results in a departure from a winsome confession of faith and Biblical ethical standards. Actions are affected by our attitudes toward God and His Word.

Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Backsliding is different from apostasy, which spurns the grace of God by renouncing the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31). When a person renounces his faith in Christ that person was never a true child of God, and never was among the elect of God (John 3:18-21, 36; 5:24-29).

On the other hand, the elect individual, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and redeemed by God has been delivered once-for-all from the bondage of sin. Backsliding is not a “fall from grace” in the sense that a Christian once saved by grace can lose his eternal life in Christ. He is God’s child forever, and He has placed His life in the believing sinner.

There were times when the disciples of Jesus withdrew from fellowship with the Lord (Matt. 26:56), Peter denied Christ (26:69-75), Corinthian believers lived in sin (2 Cor. 12:20-21), the Church in Asia became lukewarm (Rev. 2:4, 14-15, 20), etc.

The people of Israel serve as an example for Christians today. We are exhorted to persevere in righteousness and doing the will of God. Israel forsook her covenant with the LORD God (Jer. 2:19; 8:5; 14:7), and demonstrated her unfaithfulness by disobeying God.

In the New Testament backsliding is viewed as an individual problem, although it is possible for churches to become backslidden, too.

Why do Christians become backslidden? We all still possess the old nature that is “corrupt through deceitful lusts” (Eph. 4:22; Rom. 7:13-24; 1 Cor. 3:1-3). Lack of continuous fellowship by “abiding” in Christ results in a lack of spiritual vitality and ineffective Christian service (Jn. 15:4-8). There is no other way to live the Christian life except by maintaining an intimate fellowship with our Lord. If we do not maintain that vital contact with Him we cannot sustain spiritual growth and effectively minister in His name.

Unbelief (Heb. 3:12), bitterness (12:15), love for the world (2 Tim. 4:10), love for money (1 Tim. 6:10), adherence to worldly philosophy (Col. 2:8), legalism (Gal. 3:1; 1:6; 5:7), indifference and spiritual coldness (Rev. 2:4; 3:16) are other causes for backsliding.

Backsliding grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), and it displeases our Lord (Heb. 10:38). There are natural consequences that follow this sin (Lev. 26:18-25).

How can we prevent backsliding in our spiritual life? It is essential that we “abide” in Christ (Jn. 15:4-7), remain spiritually alert (Eph. 6:18), put on the full armor of God (v. 10), be prayerful (1 Thess. 5:17), etc. Seek to love the Lord God with all your mind, heart and personal being every day.

We can thank God that He patiently perseveres with His saints. Just as we are to persevere in doing His will, we can be thankful that He has made a wonderful covenant with us in the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The grace of perseverance is one of the great benefits of the atoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins. The solution for backsliding is found in the abiding love and mercy of our God of grace who remains faithful to His promises.

Backsliding is serious business. Martin Luther well said, “The offenses given within the church are greater than those given among the heathen because when Christians degenerate, they are more godless than the heathen.”

We have a choice. We can progress or regress in our Christian life. We have a great responsibility in how we choose to live the Christian life. God is able to strengthen and progressively sanctify the Christian if we cooperate with Him (Heb. 3:12; Phil. 3:10-16).

The promise to every backsliding Christian is to, “Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:7). Acknowledge your sin, turn from it, trust in the Lord for forgiveness and ask the Holy Spirit to take control of your mind, heart and daily life. Jesus says, “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:5).

It is reassuring that the Bible clearly teaches that the truly spiritual regenerate can never be lost. We are his forever children. Once his child by the new birth, always his child. However we can lose our fellowship with God and our effectiveness in Christian service. The God of all grace has provided a bar of soap; let’s use it often (1 John 1:6-10; 2:2).

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

SELAH! Pause – reflect- just think of that!