HIS BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT

1 Corinthians 11:25 (NKJV) In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

When Jesus shed His blood on the cross of Calvary, it was for the remission of sin.  Now the word remission is so much greater than atonement.  In the atonement, sins were covered by the sacrifice of the bulls and goats, but in remission, our sins are not covered, but washed away!  God does not remember our sins once we ask Jesus into our hearts.

It says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  God does not want anything to hinder our fellowship with Him, and He does not want condemnation to hold us back in our lives, so He took the blood of Jesus and accepted it as the sacrifice, once and for all, for the sins of mankind.

When we receive communion and we drink that little grape juice, remember and start thanking God for all that Jesus did for you.  Thank Him that you are under a New Covenant that has so many better promises than the Old.  Thank the Lord Jesus that we are not under law anymore, but that we are under grace.   Grace, God’s undeserved favor, is so much better!

The Bible tells us over and over of all that the blood of the spotless Lamb of God has done for us.   All the promises of God are now for us today.   God wants us to live victoriously in Christ Jesus.   God is for us, and His wrath has passed over us because of what the Son has done.

So from now on, do not receive communion as just a traditional thing that we do.  Receive it because of all that Jesus has done for you.  Read your New Covenant, and see what God has provided for you.  See that God wants you well and blessed, spiritually, mentally, physically, socially and financially.  God loves you as any dear father loves their children, and He has made communion available to us so that we can be blessed to be a blessing.

CONFESSION: I will never receive communion as just a tradition again.  Every time I receive it, I will let the power of God flow through me.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 15 - 16
Acts 19:13-41
Psalms 147
Proverbs 18:4-5

HIS BODY IS FOR OUR HEALING

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (NKJV) For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

Our Jesus not only went to the cross for our sins, the Bible also tells us that other parts of His suffering were for us.  Look with me at Isaiah 53:4-5 (YLT): “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, and our pains--he hath carried them, and we--we have esteemed him plagued, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 And he is pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace is on him, and by his bruise there is healing to us.”

You see, every stripe that came on Jesus’ body was for our healing.  When they put the crown of thorns on His head, we were then able to receive peace in our minds.  God does not do things just for a show.  Everything that He does is for a purpose, and every wicked act that they put on the body of Jesus had a purpose.  If you are like me, I want all that Jesus did for me!

When you receive Communion and you have that piece of bread in your hand, remember all that He did for you at the cross.  Remember His sacrifice.  Speak to your Heavenly Father, and thank Him that by the stripes of Jesus, you are healed.  Thank Him that your family has healing in their bodies.

The devil wants us to be weak and sick, but it is God’s will that we live good, healthy lives.  Now this is not going to come without a fight, because the devil does not like it when you start confessing who you are in Christ Jesus and what God has provided for you.  You need to put your foot down, lean on the power of God (which is so much stronger than anything that the devil might bring against you) and watch the victories come into your life and your family’s lives!

CONFESSION: Jesus already paid the price for my healing, so I receive it today.  Communion is my declaration of God’s provision for me!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 13 - 14
Acts 18:23 - 19:12
Psalms 146
Proverbs 18:2-3

HE WILL SATISFY US

1 Corinthians 11:27-30 (NKJV) Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

Many of us receive communion once a month, kind of like a tradition.  But looking at these Scriptures that follow the verses that we use for communion, we can see that there is more to it than just receiving a little bread and grape juice.

Here it says, “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”  So we see that if we do not understand what Jesus did on the cross for us, we can miss out on the benefits of this covenant promise from God our Father.  It even says that many people are sick and die before their time, for not understanding what Jesus did on the cross.

Yes, Jesus took my sins on the cross, and yes, His blood washes me white as snow.  There is no greater gift given to the world then the gift of eternal life, which means that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  But next to receiving salvation, God wants us to have a good long life here on the earth.  It says in Psalm 91:16, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

So we see that Jesus came to bring us eternal life, and He also came to give us provision for our life on the earth.  In the next two days, let us look at what the bread, or body of Jesus, did for us, and then let us look at what the grape juice, or His blood, did for us.  After we are done with this, go ahead and receive communion, and remember the great covenant promise God has for you.

CONFESSION:  Jesus died on the cross for me so that I can have all the benefits written in the Bible.  Today, I choose life for myself, and my family.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 10:32 - 2 Kings 12
Acts 18:1-22
Psalms 145
Proverbs 18:1

WAIT AND GO

Matthew 28:18-19 (NKJV) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:4-5 (NKJV) And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

Many people tell us that the last words that Jesus spoke to His followers before His ascension was to “Go,” but by looking at these two verses, He told them to wait, and then go.  You see, Jesus knew how important it was for His followers not to go in their own strength, but to go in the power of the Holy Spirit.  He wanted them filled with His Spirit, and then to go into all the world and help many come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Too many times, we go before we get instructions from headquarters.  We rush out the door and never take time to ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything that we need to watch out for today, or if there is someone that He wants us to speak to.  It says in His Word that the Holy Spirit will bring things to our attention. 

John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

The Holy Spirit wants to be an active part of our lives to help us each and every day.  He wants to warn us when trouble is up ahead.  He wants to give us wisdom in our dealings in life, and so many times we are just too busy to listen.  You know, sometimes I think that we are just TOO BUSY, and we miss out on His direction and leading. 

Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would be just like Him, and that He would live in us.  So let us take some time today to listen to what He has to say.

CONFESSION: I am going to take some time today to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit Who lives within me.  He is my Helper in life!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 9:14 - 10:31
Acts 17
Psalms 144
Proverbs 17:27-28

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (PART 2)

Luke 11:13 (NKJV) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

Let us continue looking at the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:18 (NKJV) I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.

If the great Apostle Paul thought it was important to pray in tongues, so do I.

1 Corinthians 14:37-39 (NKJV) If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. 39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

Paul shows us here that the things that he taught were from God Himself, and that we should not hinder a person from speaking in tongues.

As I study the book of Acts and the Epistles, I see that tongues is an amazing gift that I should earnestly desire, seek, receive, and use in my personal times with God.  Do not let anyone take this beautiful gift that God your Father has given to you. 

If you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, use it daily!  Pray in your known tongue, and then take some time to pray in other tongues.  You will not understand what you are saying unless the Spirit gives you an interpretation, but God knows what you are saying, and to me, there is nothing greater then fellowshipping with my Heavenly Father.

So today, desire this gift from God.  Ask Him for it, and then be still and quiet, and as you hear the words from your spirit, speak them out and let the rivers flow.  Look how Jesus said it would be in your life:

John 7:38-39 (NKJV) “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

CONFESSION:  Today, I am going to let rivers flow from me; rivers of tongues.  Jesus promised this to me, and I am going to let it flow!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 8 - 9:13
Acts 16:16-40
Psalms 143
Proverbs 17:26

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (PART 1)

Luke 11:13 (NKJV) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful gift given to every person that has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  But the Bible talks about another gift from the Holy Spirit, and that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.

Tongues is a gifts from the Father to help and assist us in our daily lives.  On the day of Pentecost, they were all together and were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues.  Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church taught on this great gift that God has given to the body of Christ. Let us take the next few days and look at the Scriptures that show us the benefits of receiving this overflow of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:2 (NKJV) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

We see here that tongues is a private “hot line” between you and Almighty God.

1 Corinthians 14:4 (NKJV) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

Speaking in tongues is for personal edification.

1 Corinthians 14:14 (NKJV) For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

Praying in tongues lets our spirit man pray and our mind does not understand what we are saying.  Again, it is the Holy Spirit praying through us. Wow!

1 Corinthians 14:15 (NKJV) What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

In this verse, Paul shows us that we make the decision when to pray in our known language, and when to pray in tongues.

We will continue this tomorrow, but if you have not received this gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, then go ahead and ask God, your Father, to fill you as He said He would.

CONFESSION: Today, I believe that I have the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that when I ask God, my Father, He will fill me up and I will speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives me the utterance.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 6 - 7
Acts 15:36 - 16:15
Psalm 142
Proverbs 17:24-25

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NKJV) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Yesterday we saw how the Holy Spirit gives us great fruit.  Today, I want you to see how the Holy Spirit gives us gifts.  That is right, gifts!  Gifts to be a blessing to people.  These nine gifts are given as the Spirit wills, and the reason for that is that the Holy Spirit knows what is going on in people lives.

I can remember once talking to a person and him telling me that his dad was going through stuff.  I heard the voice of the Spirit tell me that his dad was afraid to die.  All night I struggled with telling this person that word because he was not a Christian.  Finally I said to God that I would tell him, and when I did, he said, “That’s it!  My dad is always talking about getting older, and what is going to happen when he dies!”  You see, the Holy Spirit spoke a word of knowledge to my heart and I was able to be a blessing to someone else.

Do not expect fireworks to go off when God speaks to you.  Most of the time it is just a still, small voice on the inside that might give you a prophecy or a tongue and interpretation.  What you need to do is be obedient to that witness and obey what He tells you.  Then He can trust you more and more.  You might be concerned about missing it, but we all do at times.  We are all learning, and we are all still looking through a foggy glass, but as we take small steps, the Holy Spirit will teach us His voice so we will know when it is Him and when it is not.

CONFESSION: I make a decision today to listen and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.  When He wants me to use one of these gifts, I will obey Him.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

2 Kings 4:18 - 2 Kings 5
Acts 15:1-35
psalms 141
Proverbs 17:23