The Relational Gospel

THE THRONE OF GRACE Scripture: "Unto Him that sitteth on the Throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever."—REV. v. 13. In chapters four and five of The Revelation we are shown the difference between the Throne of God the Creator, and the Throne of Grace. In chapter four John saw, "a Throne set in heaven, and One sitting upon the Throne; and He that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sarditis." There was no definite form, but the shining light of precious stones. Round about the Throne were four beasts, "and they rest not night and day, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." The four-and-twenty elders fall down before Him, saying, "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they were, and were created." Here we have the Throne of God, the Almighty Creator! In chapter five we read: "I saw in the midst of the Throne a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, and the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, and they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art Thou, for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people." Then thousands and thousands of angels cried: "Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every created thing, which is in the heaven and on the earth, heard I saying, Unto Him that sitteth on the Throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever." There we have the Throne of Grace, the Throne of God and of the Lamb. And the threefold song which we heard, is the heavenly chorus which was sung at the dedication of the Throne of Grace, to the glory of God, and of the Lamb. O my soul, bow down and worship and adore. When you draw near to the Throne of Grace, think of what it cost Christ to found that Throne, and what assurance it gives that you will find grace to help in time of need. I pray you take time this day to come under the deep conviction that the Lamb as it had been slain is on the Throne, and will make you and your prayers acceptable to the Father. In deepest humility and with all your heart, worship the Lamb on the Throne of Grace.

SURRENDERING TO GOD IS A PROCESS Being fully surrendered to God takes time, it is an ongoing process for all who have received Jesus into their hearts, it is not just a one time occurrence at salvation. Just when we think we have finally surrendered all to Him, He graciously reveals another area of our life that has not yet been submitted, it is only by the enabling power of God, can we then surrender that area to Him too. Holy Spirit is that power, He ministers to our hearts which increases our trust and confidence in God. In order to keep surrendering to God, we need to trust Him. We cannot surrender the control of an area of our lives if we do not entrust Him with that control. To surrender to God is to 'Let go and let God'. It sounds so simple but to those who have always been in control of their lives, it can be scary and challenging. For those who have lived a largely self seeking life, releasing that control over to Him can be something that must be learnt over time with His help. But all can surrender their lives to God, no matter what kind of life that was once lived! All it takes is a decision within one's heart to choose to surrender. This then gives Holy Spirit the permission to start ministering to our hearts and eventually lead us to fully surrender every area of our lives to God! He never goes against the freewill God has given us, thus waits until we make a decision to surrender before He can do the work that is needed within our hearts so change comes. Whatever area of our lives we have submitted to God, we can successfully resist the devil in those areas when he comes with his taunts, temptations, negative thoughts, fear, worry etc.. and he will flee from us! James 4:7 says to submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee! In order to make the devil flee from us, we must first submit to God. The devil won't flee otherwise but will keep attacking that particular area until he can wear us down so we give in. Its important to ensure that area has been submitted to God and then when you resist the devil, he has no choice but to flee! Amen! Today, right this minute, make a decision within your heart to fully surrender every area of your life to God. If you do, Holy Spirit will start bringing to your mind any areas that has not been submitted yet and as you choose within your heart to give God the control in those areas, Holy Spirit will enable you to lay it down to Him! As we keep giving the control to God, trusting and resting in Him, knowing He will work all things together for our good, we receive His peace and a quiet assurance that all will be well! Surrendering to God is a beautiful life, it is an ongoing relationship built on trust that grows over time. He becomes the Rock on which we stand, our sure foundation and no matter what happens in our lives, we will not be moved! Amen!  "Father, I make a heart decision to surrender every area of my life to You. I need Your help, I can't do this on my own. I understand this is an ongoing process throughout my life and I have Holy Spirit with me who will help me keep surrendering all to You. And as I keep doing this, when I resist the devil, he will flee from me! I trust You Father. As I keep surrendering every area of my life to You, I thank You for the peace and assurance that will come to my heart! In Jesus name I pray. Amen." Angie Maris <3 oxo Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Gg fellow

To move in the spirit and abide in Him is life and peace! To move in the flesh is clunky, slow and takes tremendous effort of the flesh. If our eyes were opened to this perhaps more Christians would learn what it is to move, breathe and have their being in God.

“ብልቶቻችሁንም የዓመፃ የጦር ዕቃ አድርጋችሁ ለኃጢአት አታቅርቡ፥ ነገር ግን ከሙታን ተለይታችሁ በሕይወት እንደምትኖሩ ራሳችሁን ለእግዚአብሔር አቅርቡ፥ ብልቶቻችሁንም የጽድቅ የጦር ዕቃ አድርጋችሁ ለእግዚአብሔር አቅርቡ።” — ሮሜ 6፥13

#GOD'S WORD BEFORE YOU SLEEP: Most people gave up their faith easily just because they couldn't handle the suffering that comes before triumph. God has the character of keeping quiet most times when we are asking Him to tell us something about our situation. God always speak at the right time, not at your own convenience because you will not value His word and power when you get His attention whenever you need Him. He will make everything beautiful at His own time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Why not trust Him then? #HAVE_A_GOODNIGHT

በእነዚህ ሁሉ ላይ ሁሉን በፍጹም አንድነት የሚያስተሳስረውን ፍቅርን ልበሱት። እንደ አንድ አካል ሆናችሁ የተጠራችሁበት የክርስቶስ ሰላም በልባችሁ ይንገሥ፤ የምታመሰግኑም ሁኑ። ቈላስይስ 3:14-15