ALL NATIONS CHRISTIAN CHURCH INTERNATIONAL

Devotionals


Jesus, Author And Finisher Of Our Faith
I am going to share with you a story from central Kenya. There was
famine in the land and two men decided to go to a neighboring
community who at that time had enough food. The two had difficult time
trekking because they had not eaten for some time.  One of them had
information on what to expect when they arrive at the neighboring
community. When they were tired and unable to move on he encouraged
the other by telling him; when we get there we shall get corn, yams,
bananas and all other types of food. The exhausted friend was
encouraged and got more strength to move on until they arrived.
We live in a world stricken with famine of spiritual food. Every
moment the enemy of our souls is taking away our spiritual food. We
are encouraged to move on with anticipation that one day we shall be
filled and never be hungry again. This is what Hebrews 12:2 means.
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus came from heaven and was aware of the glory awaiting him. For
that reason he endured the cross. As we go through the trials and
tribulations on this earth, let us be encouraged with these words and
move on looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki

Nature of God
The Westminster catechism gives the following definition of God, “There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him; and withal most just and terrible in his judgments; hating all sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty.”  Of course this is a detailed definition but it does not give us the source of the terms used though believed it is from the scriptures.
The following analysis gives us the source of some definitions though not exhaustive.
Exodus 3:1-15- In this passage, God is represented by the angel of the Lord. What is faceable is a flame in burning bush and a voice equivalent to human voice saying “I am God of your fathers. I am” Besides the flame and the voice Moses did not see any form of a being.
Psalm 103 – This passage describe the nature of God according to His actions. He is a redeemer, merciful and a healer. He is worth of praise.
Isaiah 6 – Isaiah tell us that he saw God seated on a throne. Here though not clearly faceable God takes a form which can be seen with human eyes. The setting is in a temple which was filled with the glory of God and main activity is worship. He has a concern for his creation.
Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel saw a cloud, lightening, shining metal, fire and appearance of a man. He defines this as the glory of God.
John 3:16; 4:1-24 – God loves the world He is spirit.
Acts 17:16-34 – God is creator of heaven and earth.
Romans 1: 18-32 – God has revealed himself to mankind.
Romans 3:1-20 – He is God of all people though he has revealed Himself to the Jews in a special way; He gave them the law.
1 John 3:1, 16-24; 3:7-21 - This passage echoes John 3:16 and demonstrates the extent of his love- Jesus laid down his life for us.
Revelation 4 – John saw God seated on a throne. Again main activity in the temple is worship. This vision resembles Ezekiel and Isaiah vision.
By understanding His nature, we are able to appreciate who He is and we can worship him who is God alone.
As we continue to study the word of God we should be guided by the following verse I  Deuteronomy 29:29 ‘The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Rev. John Mwaniki


STANDING IN THE GAP
Text:   “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.  So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.” (Ezekiel 22:30-31)
Isaiah and his contemporaries had come and gone. In his ministry he warned Judah of the coming judgments if they refuse to repent. He however gave them hope of the coming redeemer and good days ahead.
In 722 BCE Northern kingdom was invaded and taken captive by the Assyrians. It did not occur to the Judah that something similar would occur to them if they continued in sin.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel were contemporaries. They gave warnings that a foreign nation will take Judah into captivity. Our text refers to the last moments before the Babylonian invasion. God in His love was seeking and searching for one of them who could stand in the gap, build a wall and stand between God and them (intercede) so that God in His mercy could spare the city. He found none.
Inhabitants of Judah refused to listen and continued in their sin. Everybody lived below God’s expectations. In chapter 22 Ezekiel narrates God’s complain against the people. Let me analyze the charges.
Princes and officials (civil and political leaders)-roaring like a lion to devour people, take treasures and precious things (enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and make widows (wars).
Priests and prophets (church leaders)-make violence to God’s laws, white wash the wrong deeds by false prophecies, teaching that there is no difference between clean and unclean.
The whole society practice exhortation, they commit robbery; oppress the poor and mistreating aliens.
What is going on in our society today? Same sins are being committed. Even more badly, the name of God is being wiped out from the minds of people. Let us be available and stand in the gap for our nation. God who is being rejected is the king of the universe. ‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’(Daniel 4:17)
EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki


GOD’S ETERNAL LOVE
Do you not know that God is an eternal self-existent Being: that to say He loves now, is , in fact, to say he always did love, since with God there is no past, and can be no future. What we call past, present, and future, He wraps in one eternal now. And if you say He loves you now, you say he loved you yesterday; he loved in the past eternity; and He will love you forever; for now with God is past, present, and future.

Christ’s love is the sun and our love is the moon-light, which we are able to give forth because the sun hath looked upon us.

Charles H. Spurgeon

Patriarch John

MADE FOR HEAVEN
My Kingdom does not belong to this world.
John 18:36
Unhappiness on earth cultivates a hunger for heaven. By gracing us with a deep dissatisfaction, God holds our attention. The only tragedy then is to be satisfied prematurely, to settle for earth. To contended with a strange land….
We are not happy here because we are not at home here. We are not happy here because we are not supposed to be happy here. We are “like foreigners and strangers in this world.”(Pet.2:11).
And we will never be completely happy on earth simply because we were not made for earth. Oh, we will have a moment of joy. You will catch glimpses of light. You will know the moments or even days of peace. But they will simply not compare with happiness that lies ahead.
Adapted from “When God whispers your Name”.
Patriarch John

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
1 Peter 2:21-23
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
Does any society anywhere, anytime, acknowledge the fact that “we are a pagan society”? Every society has a form of religiosity; that is they acknowledge some form of deity. Try to identify any society with paganism; you are asking for trouble. Is your neighbor pagan or Christian?  It is admittedly so, that this nation was built on Christian principles, but those principles are on rapid decline.  Our society seems to be determined to destroy any trace of Christianity in our system. The precious name of Jesus and worship of God has been kicked out of our education system. What is being recognized today is materialism as the only form of civilization. I live it to you to decide whether our society is Christian or pagan. However, I can state that there are pockets of righteousness in our society: Those who cannot worship Baal as God said in 1 Kings 19:18. “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” Peter wrote his epistle to believers surrounded by pagan neighbors. Today we have a lot to learn from his epistles given the fact that our society is moving towards that direction. This is what a man God (John W. Ritenbaugh) says concerning this situation: “The world will not submit to God, which is why the world is in the state that it is! Rather than submit to God, men seek to gratify—or satisfy—their desires. The pattern began early, when Lucifer did it, resulting in war with God! Then came Adam and Eve, who also did not submit to God. God said, "You may eat of all of the trees in the Garden"—there may have been hundreds of them—"but there is that one there of which I do not want you to eat." Instead, they followed their own desire, taking from the very tree God said not to eat. This, of course, brought them into conflict with God! The Christian is called to suppress his lusts. It is not wrong to have desire, but it is wrong not to suppress the lust that can lead a person to exceed his own authority and therefore bring himself into a
state of disobedience or non-submission to the authority that God permits in this world. So to this we were called. We are to be among the first harvest, which will include all of those people, beginning with righteous Abel, who submitted to God rather than man. They did what they did for the same reason that we will do what we will do—we all see God ruling His creation and know that our first priority in life is to submit to Him! Jesus Christ, Peter says, committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Jesus knew that Pilate was wrong. He knew that Ananias was wrong and that all the Sanhedrin was wrong. But He submitted to death and to the authority that was constituted by God in those men. He knew there would be a judgment. Those men will be judged for what they did by the very God that Christ, by faith, submitted to. He let God make the decision as to whether He was doing what was right or whether Ananias and Pilate were doing what was right. He did not resist the government, but allowed them to take His life. The resurrection proves that Jesus was right. The resurrection shows God's judgment because He vindicated His Son. I hope we get the point: God will vindicate us by a resurrection because we submit to Him and to His way even though we may be caught in the evil of abusive people in positions of power—whether husband, employer, local police, or national government”. It is our Christian duty to try to leave in peace with everyone at the same time honoring our creator.
EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki

CONCERN FOR MY BROTHER
During my schooling years, I heard one of my classmates ask; how does it feel to have a headache? I was surprised because I had gone through the experience so many times.
Some years ago I was working one-on-one in a hospital. The patient was asleep when I arrived. When he woke up and noticing that I am African he bust with a question about the children who are dying of hunger in Africa. He asked me why they were born in the first place.
The first experience with the classmate was genuine. The young boy spoke the truth. The second experience is dismaying because the man was not sympathetic but passed the blame to the parents who brought these children to this world. Inside his mind, he must have been cursing them and doing nothing about the situation.
In the book of Obadiah we read the following prophesy against Edom.
“See, I will make you small among the nations; 
you will be utterly despised (verse2). All your allies will force you to the border; 
your friends will deceive and overpower you; 
those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.
“In that day,” declares the LORD, 
“will I not destroy the wise men of Edom, 
those of understanding in the mountains of Esau? 
Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified, 
and everyone in Esau’s mountains 
will be cut down in the slaughter” (verse 7-9). 
Edom’s demise will begin with collapse of national intelligence and thereafter disaster will come upon the inhabitants of Mount Seir...
We would all ask why such calamity on Edom?  We get the answer from the following verses;
“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, 
you will be covered with shame; 
you will be destroyed forever. 
On the day you stood aloof 
while strangers carried off his wealth 
and foreigners entered his gates 
and cast lots for Jerusalem, 
you were like one of them” (verse 10 and 11). 
When Nebuchadnezzar troops invaded Jerusalem, Edom did nothing about it. They joined the enemy.
“You should not gloat over your brother 
in the day of his misfortune, 
nor rejoice over the people of Judah 
in the day of their destruction, 
nor boast so much 
in the day of their trouble. 
You should not march through the gates of my people 
in the day of their disaster, 
nor gloat over them in their calamity 
in the day of their disaster, 
nor seize their wealth 
in the day of their disaster. 
You should not wait at the crossroads 
to cut down their fugitives, 
nor hand over their survivors 
in the day of their trouble” (12-14).
Edom has to pay for their behavior.
What about us? Many times we have laughed at our neighbors when they are in trouble. It may be military invasion or economic disaster or job loss, just to mention a few.  We close our gates so that they may not take refuge in our homes and in our country we call them illegal immigrants.
Let us learn from Job. “I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger” (Job 29:16). “but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler” Job 31:32)
Listen to what God said about strangers and the poor: “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you” Leviticus 25:35).
And Finally
“As you have done, it will be done to you; 
your deeds will return upon your own head” (15b).
Rev. John Mwaniki Gathogo

 

Return to God
Amos 4:6-11
(6) " Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities.
And lack of bread in all your places;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
(7) " I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
(8) So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
(9) " I blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
(10) " I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
(11) " I overthrew some of you,
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
 
God's people were very busy making money, accumulating things, and
practicing their religion. But God was also very busy—sending famines,
droughts, blights, locusts, epidemics, warfare, and possibly
earthquakes in judgment for their unrighteousness (Amos 4:6-11). He
hoped that they would heed these "minor" warnings before He sent the
rod of His anger against them (Isaiah 10:5).
 
Rain fell on one part of the country and not on another. When it
rained, it rained too much, causing floods. In other places just
enough rain fell to deceive the people into feeling a sense of
hope—that it was not so bad after all.
 
We see this in the United States. Natural disasters—insurance
companies call them "acts of God"—are growing more frequent and more
intense, killing many and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Floods ravaged the Midwest in 1993, while drought killed crops in
other areas. After a year or so of good rainfall, California fell back
into drought conditions—only to suffer from floods a year later! Fires
rage over thousands of acres after periods of drought, destroying
forests and homes. Sudden earthquakes, storms, tornadoes, and extreme
temperatures destroy homes, businesses, and lives.
 
It never seems to get quite bad enough to send the nation into a real
tailspin, but it is just enough that, like the Egyptian Pharaoh of the
Exodus (Exodus 7:13-14), we continue to harden our hearts. We fail to
repent. If the unrepentant attitude continues, the "natural" disasters
will intensify, bankrupting the nation economically. Since money seems
to be the nation's foremost god, the true God will hit where it hurts most.
 
The vast majority of Americans have become so far removed from God
that they lack the eyes to see and the ears to hear the warnings He
sends. Educated in a system that fundamentally denies God, they lack
understanding. They interpret God's warnings as natural events—just
nature running her course. An earthquake or flood or drought is viewed
as "nature doing her thing."
 
Rather than heed the warning and repent, Americans turn to their other
false gods—science and technology—to bail them out. "Design better
levies to protect us from floods," they cry. "Seed the clouds to
produce more rain." "Engineer stronger buildings to withstand more
powerful earthquakes." "Science will someday give us the ability to
predict—even stop—earthquakes." Americans have eyes that do not see,
ears that do not hear (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-15).
 
In these disasters, God is saying something quite different—something
vitally important. He is warning the people that they have a
responsibility, and if they fail to live under their covenant with
Him, He has the power to correct them so that they will repent. So, in
fairness and mercy, God lays a simple choice before them: "Therefore
thus will I do to you, O Israel; and because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (Amos 4:12). Their choice is
either to face their sins and repent, or face the wrath of a just God.
 
To bring about His purpose, God is active in His creation, especially
among His people, whether physical or spiritual Israel. "If there is
calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?" (Amos 3:6). Is
God involved in our lives? Do things happen by chance to the people of
God? This world would have you believe that God really is not aware,
that He does not care or even exist! But He says, "I form the light
and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do
all these things" (Isaiah 45:7).
 
Is God involved? "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not
one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the
very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:29-30). Do we
see God working in our lives? Events do not happen accidentally to
God's people, of whom God is very aware. He is very concerned and thus
very involved. (John W. Ritenbaugh.)
 
Posted by Rev. John Mwaniki Gathogo
ezradevotionalministries.com

 

OUR POSITION DETERMINED BY JESUS

"and he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would:
and they came unto him."
Mark 3:13
 
Here was sovereignty. Impatient spirits may fret and fume, because
they are not called to the highest places in the ministry; but reader
be it thine to rejoice that Jesus calleth whom he wills. If he shall
leave me to be a doorkeeper in his house, I will cheerfully bless him
for his grace in permitting me to do anything in his service. The call
of Christ's servants comes from above. Jesus stands on the mountain,
evermore above the world in holiness, earnestness, love and power.
Those whom he calls must go up the mountain to him; they must seek to
rise to his level by living in constant communion with him. They may
not be able to mount to classic honors, or attain scholastic
eminence, but they must like Moses go up into the mount of God and
have familiar dialogue with the unseen God, or they will never be
fitted to proclaim the gospel of peace. Jesus went apart to hold high
fellowship with the Father, and we must enter into the same divine
companionship if we would bless our fellowmen. No wonder that the
apostles were clothed with power when they came down fresh from the
mountain where Jesus was. This morning we must endeavor to ascend the
mount of communion, that there we may be ordained to the lifework for
which we are set apart. Let us not see the face of man today till we
have seen Jesus. Time spent with him is laid out at blessed interest.
We too shall cast out devils and work wonders if we go down into the
world girded with that divine energy which Christ alone can give. It
is of no use going to the Lord's battle till we are armed with
heavenly weapons. We must see Jesus, this is essential. At the
mercy-seat we will linger till he shall manifest himself unto us as he
doth not unto the world, and until we can truthfully say, "We were
with him in the Holy Mount."(SPURGEON)
 
Ezradevotionalministries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki Gathogo

 

Blessed are the pure in heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8)
 According to the dictionary, pure means;
“Free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminatingkind; free from extraneous matter”
H.A. Ironside defines purity as “singleness of purpose” He says “The pure in heart are those who put God’s glory above all else. To such He reveals Himself. They see His face when others discern His providential dealings”.
“Purity is one of the six standards of the kingdom in character and experience”.

Others are:

those poor inspirit,
those who mourn,
those who are meek,
those who thirst after righteousness,
those who are merciful and peacemakers.

It is therefore important for all of us to strife to ensure that we achieve these standards. But why struggle?

I append below four reasons why we are to live pure lives:

1. Immorality defrauds and cheats a brother. Fornication or adultery is stealing from the spouse. Every individual has a right of a wife or a husband. If a man is engaged into a relationship with young woman with intention of only having her; this is stealing from her future husband.

2. Immorality will be revenged by God. This is what the scripture says; “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” ;( Romans 1:18).

3. Immorality is not God’s call; holiness is. We should not lose sight of our goal. When God calls us to salvation, He does not call us to live unclean lives. It is his desire that we live holy and righteous lives. “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

4. Immorality is a sin against God. David knew this truth when he said “ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.”(Psalms 51:4).

By
Rev. John Mwaniki
Ezradevotionalministries.com

 

Dear fellow fathers
As we celebrate father’s day today, let’s look behind and assess the
mess in our families and communities. We have failed to provide
leadership and authority given to us by our heavenly Father. A well
balanced (Christ centered) responsibility will save our families and
entire society from collapse. Take courage fathers; we are not late.
Let us kneel before our heavenly father and confess “mea culpa Mea
maxima culpa”.
May the Lord bless you fellow fathers as we repossess our responsibility.
 
EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki
1003 Westford St
Lowell, MA 01851

 

The greatest need in Christianity-Love
While English has only one word for love, Greek has four namely; eros (passionate love), storge (affectionate love), phileo (endearing love) and agape (selfless and sacrificial love).
The kind of love which the believer is to have is agape love, the great love of God Himself. Agape love is the love of the mind, of the reason, of the will. It is the love that goes so far…
-that it loves a person even if he does not deserve to be loved.
-that it actually loves the person who is utterly unworthy of being loved.
Agape love is the love of God, the very love possessed by God Himself. This is what is meant when we say “God is love”. It is the love of God for the ungodly, unworthy sinners and undeserving enemies.  This statement can be supported by the following scriptures.
Romans 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly”.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:10 “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
We cannot give what we do not have. Agape love is a gift from God and it can only be experienced if we know God personally. After knowing God personally, the Holy Spirit will pour the agape love into our heart. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5).
According to our savior Jesus Christ, agape love is the greatest thing in our life. “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31).

EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki
1003 Westford St
Lowell, MA 01851


STRONG FAITH OR PRESUMPTION

The following is a fictional story. I do not know who the author was but this story will deliver spiritual truth in our hearts.
While waiting at the gates of heaven, three men who had just died had a few minutes to chat as they waited to enter heaven’s gates.
The man in the front spoke with a lot of confidence. “They’ve just got to let me into heaven. I’ve served on all the important committees in my church. My religion is very important to me. I’m sure that my attendance records for going to church have been sent up here.”
The man in the middle was not as quite sure as the first man. “I hope they let me in. I have tried to be good enough. Hopefully, that will count for something.”

The third man was very confident that he would have no trouble entering heaven’s gates. “I have placed my trust in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross… I am doing what the Holy Bible says: trusting God to take my faith in Jesus Christ and count it as righteousness, as the righteousness of Christ. I have done nothing good enough to pass me through.”

The first two men scoffed at the third man’s narrow mindedness. “We will just see who’s right, won’t we?” said the first man.
Let us all join the conversation of these three men. Whom will you agree with? Who has faith or presumption? I believe the first two presumed that works can make them enter heaven; but the third one had faith in Christ. Surely he will make it.

We are counted righteous when we believe in Christ’s work on the cross. This alone will make the gates of heaven open for us.
This is the one thing needed by Christian believers: strong faith. A faith that honestly knows Christ and knows what it is to walk with Him day by day, trusting Him, His care, comfort and strength. A strong faith in Christ enables us to triumph over the trials and temptations of life and to fulfill our purpose in life; and finally heaven gates will be open for us.

EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki
1003 Westford St
Lowell, MA 01851

STRONG AND TRUE MINISTER

When we visit doctors’ office, there is one thing which is common to
all of us. Is the doctor qualified to diagnose my ailments? Does
he/she have a degree in his/her profession? That is why doctors hang
their degrees in the reception office for you to see and be convinced
that you are in the right place and your needs will be taken care of.
In a world sick with sin, there is great shortage of qualified
spiritual doctors. Pastors are the spiritual doctors in our
communities. To be one you need to pass a spiritual examination.
Let me give you an example of Paul. He was a spiritual doctor in
Philippi and Thessalonica. In these two cities Paul was violently
forced out by persecution and vigorous attacks on his personality. His
attackers came from within and without. There were the Jewish
religionists who were determined to destroy the church and Paul
himself. They enlisted all the gentile citizens they could to join
their attack. They convinced the people that the preaching of Christ
would destroy their freedom and affect their jobs and business. One
form which the persecution took was to destroy the reputation of Paul.
Accusation after accusation was leveled against Paul, and rumor after
rumor was spread about him. Believers in Thessalonica heard the rumors
which were meant to destroy the minister and eventually destroy the
church.

I thank God Paul was a strong and a true minister. He wrote to the
church exonerating him from the accusations at the same time
strengthening the church. (Please read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12). This
passage gives us the picture of a strong minister- the kind of
minister and servant of Christ that every believer should really be.

Paul itemized eleven points:
-He has a full and fruitful ministry (v.1)
-He preaches boldly (v.2)
-He preaches a pure gospel, lives a clean life, and does not deceive
people (v.3)
-He preaches to please God, not men (v.4)
-He does not preach for what he can get out of it (v.5)
-He does not preach for glory, prestige, authority or position (v.6)
-He preaches gently and lovingly (v.7-8)
-He preaches, laboring day and night (v.9)
-He preaches with a clean life, an impeccable life (v.10)
-He preaches as a father- tenderly giving direction (v.11)
-He preaches with one objective- edification (v.12)

These are the qualities of a true minister. If you lack one
brother/sister, go back to His (Jesus Christ) school of ministry.
Obtain the right qualification to practice as a spiritual doctor in
this world sick with sin.

For more detailed article visit teaching articles on the web
ezradevotionalministries.com

EzraDevotionalMinistries.com
Rev. John Mwaniki
1003 Westford St
Lowell, MA 01851

 

 

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