Touching Hearts Ministries » Prayer of Salvation

NO Compromise – Part 1

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:13:00 +0000

Integrity always takes root as a mental attitude that says “ nothing will move me from my faith. I am determined to stand firm. I am not worried if no one else stands with me. I have made up my mind and no amount of pressure will change my decision”. It is much better to maintain one’s integrity than to compromise and act against one’s faith.

Let us look at the temptation that faced some young exiles in the day of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He had ordered his chief court official “ to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- young men without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that, they were to enter the king’s service”. Daniel 1:3-5.

You can see that there was a lot of temptation for these young Israelites. They were promised that they would enter the king’s service if they obeyed and did all the king had instructed his chief court official. Among these Israelites were some from Judah: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. (Daniel 1:6)

The Bible tells us: “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel “ I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you”. – Daniel 1:8-10.

Now, the food and drink offered by the king to these young exiles was not just any food or wine; this was “royal food” from the kitchens of the king. They were ordered to eat the same food the king ate and I believe it was tasty and posh food. Yet, it was contaminated food in the eyes of the young Jews, for the first portion of the food would have been offered to idols. Furthermore, ceremonially unclean animals were used, and therefore, the food was not suitable for the Jews to eat.

The pressure was there and Daniel and his friends were undoubtedly tempted to eat the food as the court official was hovering around. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. He asked the guard to “please test your servants for ten days: give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see”
Daniel 1:11-13.

It is very important to take a stand and do the right thing in accordance with your faith. Daniel did just that; and “ at the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men, who ate the royal food”. – Daniel 1:15

Child of God, when you do the right thing and you do not compromise, God will always stand by you and prove your critics wrong. Wisdom comes privately from God, as a by-product of right decisions and godly reactions to situations around us.

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. God bless you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

No Compromise – Part 2

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:04:14 +0000

Whatever situation you find yourself, never bow down to the enemy. It is very dangerous to do that. Have faith in God and He will see you through, when you do what is right. Remain a person of integrity; some people may misunderstand you, but it does not matter.

The Bible tells us “But there are some Jews, whom you, (king Nebuchadnezzar) have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego- who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up” – Daniel 3:12. The king told the three Hebrew men that they would be thrown into the blazing furnace if they did not serve his gods. They refused to succumb to the demands of the king because they knew the God they were serving.

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king “ O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” – Daniel 3:16-18. These three men were great men of faith. They believed and trusted the Almighty God they served and they refused to compromise their God.

The Bible tells us that Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and his attitude towards them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up the three Hebrew men and throw them into the blazing furnace.

When you totally believe and trust in the Almighty God; and you do not compromise your faith, He will always show up. He showed up in the blazing furnace as the three men’s FOURTH MAN, Alleluia. They came out of the fire, smelling of roses and not smelling of smoke!

“Then Nebuchadnezzar said “ Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His Angel and rescued His servants! They trusted in Him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God”. “ Daniel 3:28

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. What a testimony! Even the king, who was an idol worshipper, was amazed at the works of the Most High God. If you find yourself in the furnace of life, just trust in God as Daniel and the three men did; and He will not put you to shame. He will not let you burn in the furnace and promotion will be your portion in the end, in Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen

HOLD ON ! DO NOT COMPROMISE ! NEVER BOW DOWN TO THE ENEMY !

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:19:10 +0000

After Saul was anointed the king of the Israelites, he was required to carry out God’s plan, but sadly, he did not. The Almighty God spoke and there was to be an absolute obedience by King Saul, but there wasn’t.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says, “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys”. 1 Samuel 15:2-3. But Saul turned a deaf ear to what the Lord had commanded him and this led to his downfall.

“Then Saul attacked the Amalekites, all the way from Havilah to Shur to the east of Egypt. He took Agag, king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people, he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spare Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak, they totally destroyed”. 1 Samuel 15:7-9. You can see that what Saul did was not in accordance with the commands of the Lord. He was totally disobedient and this made the Lord to regret that He made him king in the first place.

“The Word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions”. Samuel was troubled and he cried out to the Lord all that night”. 1 Samuel 15:10-11. Saul did things in his own way by taking the best of the plunder and sacrificing it to the Lord. This was not part of the Lord’s command; HE demanded obedience and not sacrifice!

Samuel told Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king” 1 Samuel 15: 22-23. This was a great disaster for Saul and he brought it upon himself through his disobedience. He must have regretted his actions but it was too late to make amends. He had to pay a very high price for his wrong actions.

Child of God, please note that leadership requires accountability in order to sharpen you. Saul was not prepared to be accountable to anyone; hence he brought his downfall with his own hands.

To this end, I encourage you to obey God 100%, as He is not interested in sacrifices. He is only interested in your full obedience and nothing else. May the Lord grant you grace as you determine to obey Him always, in Jesus’ matchless Name. Amen

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer, please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)