Authority of the Kingdom of Heaven over the power of hell

       

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

3.   Sing a song to praise God (you are welcome to use "Father, I adore you" which I have been singing every morning for the past 20 years or your own choice to praise God)

          Father, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Jesus, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Spirit, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

      

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

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “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 and having Jesus as my Lord. 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 sins 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 gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

    

    The link to today's Time with Abba passages:   http://api.pastoralcareschool.org/twa/

    Time with Abba passages: (Psalm 26:1-12, Leviticus 1:1-3:17; Mark 1:29-2:12; Proverbs  9:13-18)

    Today's key passages:

     35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

  Mark 1:35-39

Folly is an unruly woman;
    she is simple and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
    on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out to those who pass by,
    who go straight on their way,
16     “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
17     “Stolen water is sweet;
    food eaten in secret is delicious!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
    that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

  Proverbs 9:13-18

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to him. 

   

     My Listening

    The topic I received from Jesus is: Authority of the Kingdom of Heaven over the power of hell 

    Today's Mark 1:35-39 tells us the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven is beyond our imagination! How Jesus exercised this authority in the beginning of His ministry to preach, heal and driving out demons.

    But, today's Proverbs 9:13-18 also tells us how horrible is the power of hell, to tempt us to fall into all kinds of sexual traps, prostitution ...leading people to be fools, just as Proverbs 9:17-19 says:

            “Stolen water is sweet;
                                 food eaten in secret is delicious!”

            But little do they know that the dead are there,

                                  that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

    

     The most important revelation today is how can we not to be tempted and suffered from the power of hell but to receive the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven to heal, free and save.

     The secret is what Jesus demonstrated to us in today's Mark's passage, Mark 1:35:

         Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

           

     What do you usually do early in the morning?

     

    Dear Lord Jesus, 

   Help us to follow your secret to receive the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven to pray early in the morning in the place you call us and prepare us to be so that we too can receive the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven to overcome the power of hell.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.  

      Reflect on these questions:

     1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch and what have you heard from Jesus now?

      

      2.  What is your next step to be more closer to Jesus?

    

      Family Corner:

     Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message. 

     

Please click this link for the video version of this blog: 

 https://youtu.be/hsvKJqWJYc8   

     To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link: https://www.pastoralcareschool.org