January 2008 'A Warrior's Daily Journal' The Agape Letters Ministry

January 2008 'A Warrior's Daily Journal'

Tuesday January 1, 2008       "Pray with Purpose and Power!" Ephesians 3:20 (Amplified Bible) Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] In reading a highly recommended book that I recently received from a close and trusted friend, combined with the heaviness of self-examination and the anticipation which accompanies having great expectations about the upcoming new year of 2008, I am driven back to these Holy Spirit inspired WORDs of Paul, an Apostle and servant of Jesus Christ, Lord, Savior and King of heaven, earth and every created thing.

Wednesday January 2, 2008       "Assembly Required!" Acts 11:26 (Amplified Bible) And when he had found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year they assembled together with and were guests of the church and instructed a large number of people; and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. As the 'comings and goings' of family gatherings begin to subside, I look to God's WORD for a return to 'normalcy' in my life, and reading these scriptures of where the early Disciples were so dedicated to 'Gathering' together to be taught and encouraged, I am reminded of my own spiritual need to fellowship and commune with other Christians.

Thursday January 3, 2008       "Never Forsaken!" Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible) Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you... The writer of Hebrews reminds me that as I strive each day to be more like the Believer God desires to shape me into, and where I have HIS unfailing Promise to never leave nor forsake me, I am able to fulfill the Plan and Purpose HE has chosen me to follow.

Friday January 4, 2008       "LOVE River!" Revelation 3:14-19 (NIV) "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ... Sometimes my life seems as varied as the many stages of a river, from shallow and stagnant, sometimes adequate and constantly moving and at other times overly full resembling the stage regarded as a flood.

Monday January 7, 2008       "Reports of LIFE and Victory!" Acts 4:31 (Amplified Bible) And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage. Searching through the many articles written recently on the effectiveness of the Church in reaching the lost, I find much of this information regarding Believers in Christ sharing the Good News of the Gospel around the world, both a disappointment and an encouragement.

Tuesday January 8, 2008       "When Faith WORKs!" Titus 3:5 (Amplified Bible) He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit,.... There are many things which portay themselves as Righteous WORKs, yet they are not what saves me, as the Apostle Paul writes in this letter.

Wednesday January 9, 2008       "Pray Believing!" Matthew 21:22 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive. If Christ Jesus was so adamant and concerned that HE would say these WORDs, them I must realize that God hears me when I pray, and HE WILL even ANSWER me when I am OBEDIENT to ask HIM.

Thursday January 10, 2008       "Before HIS Throne!" Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified Bible) Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy.... I am fully persuaded from this scripture written in Book of Hebrews, confirms that Confidence and Boldness are spiritual Gifts of Holy Spirit, given to dispell any fear as I go Before HIS Throne with my prayers and intercessions.

Friday January 11, 2008       "Prayer of Christ!" John 17:20-22 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching, That they all may be one, .... I would be hard pressed to find any more POWERful WORDs spoken by Christ Jesus in prayer, and recorded in scripture, than these which define the complete and unending LOVE of God for those who seek to be Restored in Fellowship with HIM through Holy Spirit.

Monday January 14, 2008       "A Gripping Truth!" Hebrews 6:18 (Amplified Bible) This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us]. Gaining the knowledge of good and evil was somehow supposed to fulfill man, but even the very thought that man was an incomplete creation of God, is the first lie which man was deceived into thinking much less in believing.

Tuesday January 15, 2008       "Prepared Heart!" Luke 6:45 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks. Seeking to produce that which is upright and honorable in God's sight, as Jesus says, comes from the hearts of men and women who have prepared their minds with an increasing knowledge of HIS WORD.

Wednesday January 16, 2008       "Before and After!" Romans 8:27-28 (Amplified Bible) And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will..... The Apostle Paul uses an analogy in these Spirit inspired WORDs, one which depicts the 'Before and After' of a Believer's prayer, where merely speaking intelligible words cannot express my heart's pleadings and supplications in such a way that is sufficient in times of my weakness.

Thursday January 17, 2008       "One of my Favorite Scriptures!" Romans 15:14 (Amplified Bible) Personally I am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are rich in goodness, amply filled with all [spiritual] knowledge and competent to admonish and counsel and instruct one another also. Praying for others to receive 'Spiritual' Knowledge as riches of both goodness and Wisdom, the Apostle Paul encourages me to earnestly seek being found competent in my personal study and teaching of God's WORD.

Friday January 18, 2008       "The Heavens Declare HIS Glory!" Matthew 24:30 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor]..... Knowing that Christ is giving HIS disciples a preview of the sign which will be seen at HIS Glorious and Splendorous coming at the end of the age, there is no doubt among Believers that the heavens will be participate in this Great Day of Hope and Joy.

Monday January 21, 2008       "Calling HIM Lord!" John 13:13 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) You call Me the Teacher (Master) and the Lord, and you are right in doing so, for that is what I am. The Apostle John writes of the hours before Christ Jesus was betrayed by Judas, knowing that HE was soon to be delivered into the hands of those men who would crucify HIM, and it is in these WORDs of Jesus that I now begin to see why HIS Name is so important.

Tuesday January 22, 2008       "Proof of HIS Love!" Romans 5:8 (Amplified Bible) But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us. The Apostle Paul confirms that God has proven HIS Love for each of us, explaining this compassion in such a way that many would embrace the Cross and the LIFE that it represents, being eternally set free from the chains and bondage which once held them prisoners in their own bodies.

Wednesday January 23, 2008       "These Prophetic Days!" Luke 21:24 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) They will fall by the mouth and the edge of the sword and will be led away as captives to and among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (completed). The Apostle Luke records these Prophetic WORDs of Christ as HE explains to HIS disciples of the past and present occupation and domination of the city of Jerusalem, and gives them a glimpse of what God's Plan is concerning their future, especially for those who remain steadfast in HOPE until those days which the Old Testament Prophets foretold are completely fulfilled.

Thursday January 24, 2008       "Righteous and Redeemed!" 1 Corinthians 1:30 (Amplified Bible) But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness .... Wisdom carries with it responsibilities, this is the Apostle Paul's declaration of the revealed knowledge of Christ Jesus as Savior, and all who seek God's Truth in earnest must also proclaim HIS Provision as our Redemption.

Friday January 25, 2008       "HIS Fullness UnMeasured!" Ephesians 3:19(Amplified Bible) [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! As the Apostle Paul writes to the Ephesian Believers about their Love of Christ, and the abundance and richness of a life transformed by God's Spirit, I desire to know the weight of Paul's WORDs, 'Fullness of God' and how to identify this in my own life.

Monday January 28, 2008       "Aroma of VICTORY!" 2 Corinthians 2:14-16(Amplified Bible) But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ's victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere, For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:... What are my responsibilities towards God's WORD as a Believer in Christ, is it only to lavish in HIS Excellent Goodness, reaping abundantly those benefits of Blessing and Favor, being merely a recepient of Salvation?

Tuesday January 29, 2008       "Continuous ReNEWing of POWER!" Ephesians 4:23-25(Amplified Bible) And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.... In this letter to the Believers in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul gives invaluable instructions for daily living, as to how critical it is to be continually striving towards Righteousness and Holiness, a 'NEW' nature, regenerated spiritually in God's image and likeness by Holy Spirit.

Wednesday January 30, 2008       "Walking Worthily!" Colossians 1:10 (Amplified Bible) That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work .... To bear that fruit which is pleasing to God, I must desire to grow and increase in my knowledge of HIM as HIS Spirit guides me, and as the Apostle Paul says, walk worthily in life so that I excel in every good WORK of the Kingdom.

Thursday January 31, 2008       "Voice of LIFE!" John 5:25 (Amplified Bible) (Jesus speaking) Believe Me when I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the time is coming and is here now when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear it shall live. What does Christ mean when HE speaks of those who are dead, yet upon hearing HIS Voice shall live?

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