Monday 27 November 2023

Adoration and listening !

Acts 16:14 – Among them was a purple cloth merchant named Lydie, a native of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. She listened, and the Lord opened her heart, so that she listened to what Paul was saying.

Lydie had two qualities : she was a worshiper and she knew how to listen. Even if she did not have all the knowledge, these good dispositions allowed the Lord to open her heart to the Word and for her to receive the Good News of Jesus.

We have a deep need for our hearts to open, and truth be told, we are incapable of doing so. It is a grace emanating from God to be able to perceive and understand his Word. By our intelligence we cannot grasp the inner thought of God, it is so elevated above our way of thinking (Isaiah 55:9). The thought of God expressed in the Word needs to encounter an honest and good heart in order to germinate (Luke 8.15). The key that opens the lock of our heart is in the hands of our Lord. But how will the Lord open my heart ?

It is important that He finds in us the dispositions of Lydie : a heart that loves Him and an ability to listen. Loving God is not difficult, you just need to remember what He did for us : on the cross for our salvation but also in our daily lives. We have so much to be grateful for and yet we don't always see what He does for us.

Being a good listener is a little more difficult and requires discipline. We are so “attacked” by all kinds of voices outside but also inside us : the voice of worry, stress, guilt, ego... Let's learn to be silent in a loving attitude and the Lord will open our hearts wide to his Word. This is how we will be blessed in the depths of our being.

Good reflection.

Pastor Claudy

Source (EZ37M Apostolic Center) https://wp.ez37m.com

Saturday 30 September 2023

Created for a purpose !

Galatians 1:15 – But God in his grace chose me before I was even born and called me to serve him. (BFC)

My beloved, if Paul could say this, if Isaiah could say the same thing (Isaiah 49.1), or even Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1.5) and David (Psalms 139.16)... that means that it is the same for you and me !

The Lord has made everything for a purpose, Proverb 16.4 tells us. You were designed for a specific purpose. It doesn't matter whether you were wanted or not by your biological parents, you were wanted by the Heavenly Father. He already knew what He wanted to do with you before you existed ; Is He not the One who calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17).

The question that arises is : “If this is the case, why all these disappointments ? Why have we come close to death several times ? Why is “life” so hard on us ?".

If the Lord has chosen us for a specific purpose, and this is the case, He wants to train us, and let us recognize that He watches over us as over the apple of His eye ! All these difficulties have only one goal, to make us capable of loving! Loving God and our neighbor. Every suffering, every trial, every failure prepares you to be “the hand” of God in the service of others. Have you experienced rejection ? After having consoled you, the Lord will make you the instrument of his consolation for the rejected. Have you experienced injustice ? God will make you the defender of the oppressed ! Have you experienced divorce, abandonment, illness, "free fall", violence, depression... God will make you the specialist in this area to show his grace to those who are going through the same difficulties than you !

My beloved, we were not born to miss out on our destiny. The devil has lied to us too much with his “you’re worthless”, “you’re useless”, don’t you think ? Even if you are experiencing failure, whatever it may be, now is the right time to get back up ! Let us not let all this training potential be lost, let us return to our Father with all our heart and become his “outstretched hand” for this “poor” humanity !

Good thinking, with all my compassion.

Pastor Claudy

Source (EZ37M Apostolic Center) https://wp.ez37m.com

Wednesday July 5, 2023

The rope to three whits !

Genesis 25.21 (Word of Life) – But Rebekah cannot have children. Then Isaac intercedes with the Lord for his wife. The Lord listens to her prayer, and Rebecca becomes pregnant.

Rebecca was sterile. She and her husband had been expecting a child for 20 years. Is it by revelation or by an awareness, in any case Isaac decided to pray for this subject. And the Lord intervened. If we count correctly, Rebekah and Isaac were now united in prayer and the Lord was doing the third. All the elements were there for the miracle to happen.

We are saddened by the sad observation that we are making : Christian couples, in the majority of cases, do not pray together. If the two spouses belong to the Lord, it is difficult to understand that they do not live together the expression of their faith. And yet, it is a reality.

Why often leave it to the wife alone to pray for the needs of the family ; to pray for the children ? There is such a dynamic of power when the couple is united and welded in intercessory prayer. I see only one answer : the devil strongly fears the spiritual union of couples because he knows that there is enormous potential for blessings behind this union. Thus, it distracts, it divides, it blinds, it diminishes the importance of this common prayer.

My beloved, pray together. My brother, be the first to intercede for your wife. If there are areas of sterility in his existence, join his prayers so that life springs up. My sister, share with your husband ! Take the time to experience a three-pronged relationship. Do not pray only for him, but also with him.

If you are single, feel concerned ! In the search for a spouse, put this spiritual osmosis in priority in your criteria of choice.

Good reflection.

Pastor Claude

Source (Apostolic Center EZ37M) https://wp.ez37m.com

Tuesday, 4 July 2023

All against Him !

Hosea 11.4 (TOB) – I led them with human attachments, with bonds of love, I was for them like those who lift an infant to their cheek and I handed them food.

When we read the Old Testament, we have the impression of being before a severe and demanding God. This text from Hosea, which explains the relationship of the Lord with his people, shows us just the opposite. God does not hesitate to convey through the mouth of his prophet this analogy with the tenderness that unites a parent with his little child. This is what the Lord was for this people yet so rebellious and stubborn, He took great care of them with incomparable gentleness and attention.

My reflection is : how do we see God ? Unfortunately for many, the image of God is distorted by the bad experiences they have had with their own parents. Parents absent, authoritarian, violent, even abusive... So many wounds that reflect on their relationship with the Father of love.

The Lord Jesus came to introduce him to this Father of love. Everything in Him was only compassion and mercy until he gave the marvelous gift of his life so that we might be saved ! He encouraged us to approach God in prayer by calling him “Abba,” a very affectionate term for Father. This close, warm relationship, imbued with love and tenderness, God seeks it ardently with us. He not only desires to be venerated as God but He has the deep desire to make us taste his love, his Love with a capital A.

My beloved ones, let us not remain an orphan. Let us be enveloped by the loving arms of the Father and let Him lift us up against His cheek. Let us receive from Him a kiss full of affection and kindness. He is the God in whom I believe, a being of extreme goodness, do you want to experience it too ?

Good reflection.

Pastor Claude

Source (Apostolic Center EZ37M) https://wp.ez37m.com

Thursday 11 May 2023

In due time !

Galatians 6.9 – Do not weary of doing good ; for we will reap in due time if we do not slack off.

There is a promise in this verse, but also something disturbing : it is the words “in due time”. It is already not easy, in our human nature, to do good. When we see all the injustice, the mockery, the semblance of success of those who dishonor the Word of God, we are much more likely to “hold on” and behave as the world would have us do !

Not only are we asked to do good, to swim constantly against the tide in the end, but also not to get tired, not to be discouraged in this process. We do it, we persevere in this attitude with the hope that finally our efforts will be taken into account ! That they will be rewarded with a promotion, a gratitude, an elevation, a simple thank you perhaps, but we must note that not only these fruits do not arrive, but that in addition we are "treated" as weak, manipulated, "rugs"... making our lives very difficult and sometimes bitter. Even the testimonies of children of God who have experienced a miracle because of their honesty ultimately leave us perplexed and disillusioned.

The Word of God is immutably the truth. One day, all these efforts will be rewarded, if we respect the condition of holding on to the end. This reward will come at the right time, the one that God will decide, but it will come, and if it is not in this life, it will be in eternity.

Our purpose in writing this is that we remain convinced that it is best to do good, to do good. The first of the rewards is the satisfaction of having acted as God asks of us. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks of us, what matters is what God thinks of me ! The knowledge of smiling because He takes pleasure in my attitude should be enough for me even if my “humanity” takes a hit.

My beloved ones, do not give in to the temptation to no longer do good. Keep your eyes on the Rewarder. God has no debt and He will lift us up in due time (1 Peter 5:6). Courage !

Good reflection.

Pastor Claude

Source (Apostolic Center EZ37M) https://ez37m.com