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By Grace

March 2, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

 1You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

 2This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

 3Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

 4Did you suffer so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?

 5So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Galatians 3:1-5

Paul admonished the Galatians for trying to maintain their salvation through the observance of the law after they had received salvation by grace through faith.  Instead of relying on the faith that saved them they were now trying to observe the law in such a way to maintain their salvation.  Instead of relying on the Holy Spirit they were no relying on human effort.

Are you guilty of this?  Many Christians try to walk in works and in their own effort to either please God or do the things God has called them to do.  They do not rely on the Holy Spirit.  We are no longer under the Old Testament covenant we are under the New Testament covenant of God’s grace and love.  Jesus paid it all for us.  His righteousness has been given to us and we have the Holy Spirit given to us also.  God never intended for us to conform ourselves into the image of Christ but we are being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is by grace through faith that we are saved, not by works or observing the law.  This way no man can boast.  The same grace that saved us is the same grace that will enable us to live according to God’s plan and purpose.

Posted in The Holy Spirit | Leave a Comment »

God’s Glory Revealed

March 1, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  Romans 8:18

We live in a fallen world and will experience sufferings in our lifetime.  A Christian life does not guarantee an easy life with no troubles.  We will face hardships, disappointments, trails, tribulations, sorrow, death, and various sufferings.  Even Jesus faced these things and we suffer even as He suffered while on earth.

However, Paul tells us in this scripture that whatever suffering we endure cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed to us.  Because whenever we go through a difficulty God is glorified and when God is glorified, His glory will eclipse our present suffering.  We will not remember the trial but we will remember how God stood with us, and how He glorified Himself.

We may not always understand the trials we face in life but we can be assured that God will get the glory and His glory cannot be compared to what we have endured.  God’s goodness always trumps the evil that we face and the sufferings we may endure.  May God be glorified in all of our situations and may that glory shine for the world to see.

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Righteousness Exalts a Nation

February 24, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:34

The United States is in a recession.  Our government is in gridlock.  Other countries do not admire the US like they once did.  Many are looking for answers.  Do we change our elected officials?  Do we need another political party?  What are the answers?  How does the US become a great nation again?

The answer lies with us – those who believe and fear God.  For righteousness exalts a nation.  When we live according to the Holiness God has called us to our nation will be great.  God will give us the answers to our problems and wisdom in governing the land.  God will give us the nation if we ask.  So let’s stop complaining and decree our nation will be great.  Let our righteous acts declare that we will prosper and our nation will be exalted.

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Dishonor leads to Unbelief

February 23, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

 2When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

 3″Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.  Mark 6: 2-3

When Jesus went to His hometown Nazareth He was unable to do many miracles because of their unbelief.  The people there had recognized him as Joseph and Mary’s son but not the Son of God.  They also did not recognize the Holy Spirit that was at work in Him, because Jesus said that He only did what He saw His Father in heaven doing.  So the people in Nazareth did not honor Jesus and their dishonor led to unbelief and for this reason Jesus was unable to do many miracles.

The same is true today.  The same Holy Spirit that was in Jesus has been given to us.  It is the Holy Spirit that enables a person to perform the miracles that Jesus did.  Jesus did what He saw the Father doing and we should do what we see Jesus doing.  But many dishonor the gifts of miracles like healing and the raising of the dead because they see the person but not the Holy Spirit at work.   Many take offense at the men and women of God who operate in the gift of healing and prophesy.

It is really sad that many in the church doubt the testimonies of healings that take place at revivals or at the hands of well known ministers who operate in these miraculous gifts.  When we doubt the testimony and we dishonor the people who God uses to perform the miracles we are actually dishonoring the Holy Spirit, and are in danger of actually attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to that of Satan.  The same thing happened in Jesus’ day.

As Christians we have to understand that our gifts and abilities are not dependent upon whom we are, but it is the Holy Spirit at work in us.  We don’t heal the sick or raise the dead but the Holy Spirit does and we must honor the men and women God uses to demonstrate His power and Spirit.  Our dishonor leads to unbelief and the lack of miracles taking place in the church.

Posted in Healing, Jesus, The Holy Spirit | 5 Comments »

God is Good

February 17, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

God is good.  No one is good except God.  The good that we do is because of God.  Everything from God is good.  Every good thing we get is from God.  No matter who you are every good thing is from God.  That is why we even see the wicked prosper.  God is worthy of the praise and honor.  We are to acknowledge God in everything.  We have been created to do good works through Jesus.

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God is Faithful

February 16, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving-kindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;” Deuteronomy 7:9

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13

God is faithful and will keep His promises.  We see this in the Old Testament when God made a covenant with Abraham.  God remained faithful to Israel, despite the unfaithfulness of Israel at times.  Whenever Israel sinned God remembered the covenant with Abraham and the generations that followed.

After Adam had sinned and man had fallen, God was faithful in sending His own son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.  God’s faithfulness does not depend on us but God’s faithfulness is who He is.  God remains faithful even when we are faithless.  So whatever God says He will do, He will do.  He will not go back on His word.  We can depend on what God says and He will always be faithful to us.

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Joy of God

February 15, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

Our strength comes from the joy of the Lord.  The Thessalonian church was going through trials and tribulations but the joy of the Holy Spirit strengthened them and they were able to receive the word and become imitators of Christ.

We to face many trials and tribulations but the joy of the Lord will strengthen us in our hour of need.  The joy from the Lord is supernatural, it is beyond human comprehension.  It’s the joy that can fill us even after we have mourned through the night.  God is the one that can turn our sorrow into joy.  God is full of joy and will fill us with that same joy.

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God is Kind

February 14, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4

It really is upsetting when Christians portray God as an angry God ready to pass judgment on unbelievers.  God is not sitting on this throne with a lightning bolt in hand ready to strike the world.  Instead God shows kindness to bring people to repentance.

God desires that all should come to repentance.  It is also our responsibility to show kindness to all people, just as God does.  Don’t you know that kindness will silence your enemies?  That is why Jesus told us to love our enemies and bless those that curse us.  So let us not think lightly of the kindness of God but thank Him for His many blessings.

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Qualities of God

February 13, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  John 5:15

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

Jesus tells us that if we abide in Him, He will abide in us and we will bear much fruit.  Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians.  The fruits of the Spirit are actually the qualities of God.  God is loving, joyful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, self-controlled and full of peace.  When we bear the fruit of the Spirit we reflect the image of God, and people will experience the nature of God.  We can know God more by understanding and bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

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The Trinity

February 12, 2010 by Anna Mangeni

 10“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

 11“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.  John 14:10-11

13“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will  guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

 14“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

 15“All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.  John 16:13-15

God is triune – The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  You cannot claim to know Jehovah God and deny the deity of Jesus.  You cannot claim to know Jesus and deny the work of the Holy Spirit, because to know One is to know all three.  Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing.  The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own initiative but what He hears God speak He will disclose.

Our human mind cannot fully comprehend the idea of the Trinity.  But we know that they exist as one and yet exist as three.  God spoke to the prophets in the old testament and gave them the law.  Jesus came to show us God the Father in the flesh.  After Jesus’ death and resurrection the Holy Spirit came to show us the truth and reveal the mind of God. 

To know God is to know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Posted in Jesus, Knowing God, The Father, The Holy Spirit | Leave a Comment »

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