Time with Abba, Singing Praising 親親爸父，唱詩歌頌 : DAY 306 (2018) - God will answer you, if you ... (Please click here for English podcast)

*If this is your first time to have daily devotion or you have not had daily devotion for a long time, I suggest you to use this link for a 40 days of daily devotion through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, my Break.Build blog/podcast:

40 Days Break.Build daily devotion:

http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

**If you would like to have me to walk with you for three years and three months to read through the whole Bible with one chapter a day, please click my fist blog "Devotion on Fire":

http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-1-i-am-blind.html

Silence

1. Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2. Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1. Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2. Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html)

1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:

“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2. Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

The Word, Time with Abba (Psalm 119:145-152; Ezekiel 20:1-49; Hebrews 9:11-28; Proverbs 27:11)

Bible link:
English(ESV):https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=列+王+紀+下+13&version=ESV

PAUSE HERE!!!

Please read all four passages first before reading my sharing.

To know, learn and practice this method of Time with Abba, please click this link:

http://api.pastoralcareschool.org/twa/

Please see below the passages I copied today:

My Listening

The topic I received from Jesus is: "God will answer you, if you ... "

If you call on God in the midst of your sufferings, calling Him to open a door for you but he does not answer, why? How can you deal with your crisis/

Today's Psalm 119:145-152 records the prayer of King David. He was in deep trouble, he cried to God for His help, eventhough God was with him always but in that time when life and death crisis approached, God did not answer him at all!
Let's listen to the cry of David:

145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,

    and I will obey your decrees.
146 I call out to you; save me
    and I will keep your statutes.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word.
148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promises.
149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.
151 Yet you are near, Lord,
    and all your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your statutes
    that you established them to last forever.

Today's Ezekiel 20:1-49 tells us why God does not answer our prayers even though we are God's children. Why God allows His children to suffer and does not act?

Let me read a few verses from today's Ezekiel to let you understand why so that you won't be like those Israelites to commit the same sins repeatedly and from generations to generations to disobey God's word to force God to use sufferings to push them to return to God:

In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.

2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’

4 “Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors 5 and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lordsays: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, “I am the Lord your God.” 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.7 And I said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

8 “‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt. 9 But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. 10 Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. 12 Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.

13 “‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws—by which the person who obeys them will live—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroythem in the wilderness. 14 But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands— 16 because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols. 17 Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the wilderness. 18 I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 20 Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lordyour God.”

21 “‘But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, “The person who obeys them will live by them,” and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.

45 The word of the Lord came to me: 46 “Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland. 47 Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it. 48 Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’”

As I am writting until now, my heart ached because we as human beings are always commit the same sins really repeated, our stubbornness and self-centred lead us to a dead end, even we cry to God, He would not answer!

Then what can you do so that God answers your prayer?

Today's Hebrews 9:14-15 tells us the only solution and way out:

14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Jesus Christ is your only hope and salvation, no other way!

If you want God to answer your cry and prayers, you need to be under the light of the Holy Spirit, knowing your sins, confessing your sins, repenting and renewing each day so that you experience the daily presence go God. Then, today's Proverbs 27:11 will become God's promise to you to help, free and save. He will surely answer your prayers and He will act and take out your enemies because you bring joy to His heart!

Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;

then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

Today I had a wonderful experience in Mexico City!

I led Jesus, a Mexican souvenir shop salesman to experience the presence of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour!

I experienced what it says in John 4, how the Samaritan met Jesus by Jacob's well in a town in Samaria. Jesus met Jesus in a souvenir in a town in Mexico City.

After Jesus introduced us to some special souvenir, I was led by the Holy Spirit to go near him and ask, "Jesus, do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know we talk to Jesus everyday?" He looked at me and laughed, "Ya!" I said, "You know, I am a bishop and I teach Christians to be able to listen and talk to Jesus each day." He looked at me like seeing a crazy guy, politely smile and walk away.

Then, after about five minutes I went to him and show him this picture:

I said, "See, I am really a bishop. This picture was taken when I was installed as a bishop in 2009." His face changed into a kind of surprise and he chatted with me for a long time about his Catholic faith.

It was very similar to what the Samaritan woman asked Jesus, "Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

He said, "I have been a Catholic all my life and recently I have doubt on being a Catholic because of what happened in the Catholic Church of all kinds of power, money and many bad things happened. I am thinking of going to the Lutheran Church. What do you think is the difference of Catholic Church and Lutheran Church?"

I said, "I think what you need now is not the Catholic Church or the Lutheran Church. It is whether you really know Jesus, experience Jesus and follow Jesus. Let me ask you one question: Are you a religious people or a true Catholic, a true Christian?"

He looked at me and did not answered.

I said, "Would you like me to pray for you so that you can experience the presence of Jesus?"

His face turned to become a very eager facial expression, "Yes, yes, please, please."

Then I laid hand and prayed for him.

After the prayer, he touched his heart and said, "Wow! I experienced something I have never experienced. It is so real!"

I said, "Yes, you just experienced the presence of Jesus!"

I gave him my business card and asked him to go to my blog/podcast each day to establish his relationship with Jesus Christ and encouraged him to connect with me through email.

So, this is my wonderful experience in Mexico City:

To lead Jesus to experience Jesus!

I think this Jesus the Mexican must be praying to God recently about his faith and God answer his prayers using me!!! This is what we are talking about in today's main message "God will answer you, if you ...".

Please pray for this Jesus to start his renewed faith journey to know Jesus and to follow Jesus. Thank you!

I took this picture right after I prayed for him and he experienced the touched of Jesus in his heart:

Then someone took these pictures before we left the shop:

Dear Lord Jesus,

Help me to turn to you and be close to you bringing joy to Your heart and that we can chat with you each day in a simple way so that we can live in your protection and blessing. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.