DAILY MEDITATIONS AND AFFIRMATIONS - 268

[Albert Finch]

Acts 8:12 - "But when they believed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ as Philip preached it, they were baptized, both men and women."

A popular belief among Christians is that God wants to use us to help people see their sins and give them the choice of whether or not to receive Jesus. If we look more closely at what the Bible really declares as Jesus' message, we will have a plumb line to see just how off track we have veered with this sort of thinking.

Jesus states clearly in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit will come and convict the world of guilt in regard to sin. God's task is to convict people of sin, and ours is to love people. "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). And when we do love people, and also love one another, they will know that we are true followers of Jesus (John 13:35).

When we use guilt-inducing methods to communicate Jesus' message, people usually respond by erecting walls and closing their minds to what we are saying. On the contrary, if we treat people in a kind and loving way, they generally tend to be very open and their walls recede. It is not for us to bring them to repentance; that's the Holy Spirits domain, and He accomplishes it much better than we ever could!

Affirmations:

IN MINISTERING TO NON-BELIEVERS I SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THEIR VALUES AND PERCEIVED NEEDS, AND AS MUCH OF THEIR BACKGROUND AND FRAME OF REFERENCE AS I CAN; THEN I WILL KNOW BETTER HOW TO RELATE TO THEM AND LEAD THEM TO CHRIST WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT.

I REALIZE THAT EVERY HUMAN BEING NOT ONLY WANTS BUT NEEDS TO BE IN THE ABUNDANT LIFE HERE AND NOW.

Isaiah 53:3 - "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."

Affirmation:

I OVERCOME REJECTION BECAUSE MY VISION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN APPROVAL.

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." - 1 Corinthians 2:12

God is ready to bring you new understanding of the knowledge -- His Spirit desires that you would call out, you would decree His awesomeness, you would claim, and then revelation will come – with knowledge.

By meditating and declaring how awesome He is in your place, and know that wherever you go so does He. Wherever He leads you, He goes before you, and He goes behind you.
Know that you cannot escape His presence but you carry His presence.

He wants you not only transformed, but wants you to be performing the fruit bearing good works that He has set before you (your CALLING in Christ), and it will be through the power of the Gospel coming through you. And as you let the power of the Gospel come through you, then you will be the Gospel spilling out, good news spilled, for it will come spilling out of you; for it has been placed in you, not only for yourself but for others.

Ask for revelation -- give Him a platform for manifestation, for He chooses to declare His own glory through you. And in this, a hungry, dying world will come to the revelation that not only is He alive and well, but that they are His, and He longs to be theirs.

"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:" - 1 Corinthians 2:4

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/