Author: Dave

PASSIONAustralia.blog is my personal ministry website. I am also web servant for several church websites.

Gracious and compassionate

July 12, 2021

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6).

In Roman and Greek mythology the gods were easily angered. It is the same with most ancient religions. Often the people lived in fear and had to offer daily sacrifices to appease their gods.

But our God, the God of the Bible and the Creator of the Universe, is slow to anger and abounding in love. He is also compassionate, faithful and gracious. We are told this time and time again in the Bible.

We are also told that we become His adopted children when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. This means He is for us, He is on our side and we don’t have to live in fear any more. We are completely accepted.

Prayer

Thank You God that as Your adpoted children we do not have to live in fear. Help us to remember that You are compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and always abounding in love towards us. Amen

The end of suffering

July 11, 2021

1 Peter 5:10 NLT – In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

When we are suffering, we often feel as though our pain will never end. In this verse the Apostle Peter gave these faithful Christians a more eternal perspective. When we compare our current suffering with eternity, our suffering lasts “a little while.” Some of Peter’s original readers would be strengthened and delivered in their own lifetimes. Others would be released from their suffering when they died. All of God’s faithful followers are assured of an eternal life with Christ, where there will be no suffering. Revelation 21:4 echoes this when it says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Prayer

Dear God, I thank You that suffering does not last forever. I thank You for the promise that those who suffer will be strengthen and delivered. I also thank You that there will be a time when there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. Amen

Believed and accepted

July 9, 2021

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” ‭‭John‬ ‭1:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Believed and accepted. Two key words for salvation. We need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross to pay the price for our sin and He rose to life again. Then we need to accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. This means He is our King and Ruler and we follow Him. When we do these two things, we have the right to become God’s children. We are adopted into His eternal family. We live our lives now for Christ and when we die we spend eternity with God.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I want to believe and accept You now. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You died on the cross to pay the price for my sin. Right now I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Please help me to live for you from this day forward. Amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer, I would encouraged you to visit my Discipleship page above where you can download our free discipleship booklet.

Close to the broken hearted

July 8, 2021

Psalm 34:17-18 NLT – The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. [18] The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

I really love these two verses and what they say. Firstly, it says God hears us when we call out for help. That gives me great comfort knowing God is always there when I need help. Next it says that God rescues us from our troubles and when our spirits are crushed. Not only does He hear us, but He rescues us when we desperately need Him. Lastly, it says He is close to the brokenhearted. Again that gives me great comfort in knowing this.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You that You are close to the brokenhearted and when our spirits are crushed. I am thankful that I can call out to You wherever I am and You will hear me and answer. Thank You that You are always there to rescue me from my troubles. Amen

My very first memory verse

July 6, 2021

I became a Christian back in July of 1989. One of the first things I was taught in a discipleship book was to memorise Bible verses.

My very first memory verse was Psalm 119:11. From memory it says, “I keep Your Word hidden in my heart, so I won’t sin against You”.

Memorising Scripture changed my life and helped to renew my mind. I have lost track of the times when I have been able to share a verse from memory with someone who was in need.

The way I learned to do it was to write the verse reference on one side of a card and then write the verse text on the other. That way I could see the reference and try to quote the verse from memory. Then I could turn over the card and see if I got it correct.

I can remember having about 50 cards in a pile and being able to do them all in my first year as a Christian. Looking back I am so glad I took the time and effort to do it.

Seeing this verse as the verse of the day reminded me afresh of the importance of memorising Scripture. Maybe you could give it a go? It will change your life!