Month: January 2021

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Thought of the Day 8/16/2020

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a Might One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

If you have accepted the free gift of salvation through a repentance of your sins and a belief in the life, death, resurrection, and deity of Jesus Christ, then God Himself dwells within you. “Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23 ESV)

God makes the following promises to us in today’s verse:

  1. He will save us. “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”” (John 10:29-30 ESV)
  2. He will rejoice over us with gladness. “For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5 ESV)
  3. He will quiet us with His love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:18-19 ESV)
  4. He will exult over us with loud singing. When translated from Hebrew, this portion of the verse could read: “He rejoices over you with a shout of joy.” The Israelites begin this portion of scripture in verse 14 by singing praises to God and shouting for joy in His honor, so it is fitting that God would join His people in being filled with joy as they sing praises to Him. Consider the reaction the angels in Heaven have when a lost soul is saved: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”” (Luke 15:10 ESV)

Hold fast to these promises today and rejoice in our God who is faithful to keep His promises! “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23 ESV)

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

ALIVE Ministries USA

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Thought of the Day 8/17/2020

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3

I am sure you have heard the saying: “In this world nothing can be certain, except death and taxes,” I would like to add a third to that list of certainties: Trials. Show me a person who has lived on this earth and not faced trials. Even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lived without sin (“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.” 1 Peter 2:22 ESV), faced numerous trials during His life on earth. He even assured His followers that they, too, would be persecuted for preaching in His name. “”Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16, 22 ESV)

So, we should just accept our fate that life is full of trials and curl up in a ball and wait for death then, right? No! James, the earthly brother of Jesus, who had been skeptical of His claim of being the Messiah until James saw Him resurrected from the grave, here writes to us that we should count our trials as JOY! Wait, what? When I lose my job, a loved one, or my life falls apart around me because of my profession of faith in Jesus Christ I should be joyful? Yes! In each instance where we face a trial, God is at work allowing that trial to produce steadfastness should we hold to our faith throughout the trial. Need a good example? Read Joseph’s story in Genesis 37-50. Trial after trial besieged Joseph, but he remained faithful to God and it produced a steadfastness in Joseph and worked to save many lives during a devastating famine.

So, if you are facing a trial of your own today, do not give up or lose faith! “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 ESV)

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

ALIVE Ministries USA

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Thought of the Day 8/18/2020

(Photo: Zachary P. Cain)

“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 (ESV)

“This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5 ESV) Most light — be it a lamp covered by a shade, a flashlight beam obstructed by an object, the sun’s imperfect surface, or a ray being distorted through glass or water — has imperfection to it. The Light here referred to by the Apostle John is Jesus Christ, the Light of the World (John 8:12). Jesus had no darkness in Him on earth as He is the perfect God-Man. John implores the readers of his epistle (this includes us) to walk in the same light that Jesus walked in while on earth. Meaning, we cannot go around claiming Christianity while living sinful, carnally focused lives. If our life is focused on Christ then we increase our fellowship with other believers and in doing so walk closer with God and are cleansed of our past sins (if we acknowledge them and repent before the Throne of Grace) by the blood of Jesus Christ. So are you walking in the Light?

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

Alive Ministries USA

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Thought of the Day 8/19/2020

“whoever Says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” 1 John 2:6 (ESV)

If we claim to abide in Christ Jesus, we are claiming that we are unwavering in our faith and walk with Him. If that is true, then we had better be walking (living) in the same way in which Jesus walked (lived) here on earth. If not, are we really abiding in Him or are we just offering lip service? “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.” 1Peter 2:21 (ESV) Our actions should be uniform with our claims.

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

Alive Ministries USA

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Thought of the Day 1/3/2021

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John‬ ‭15:5‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

As a branch derives its life-sustaining nutrients from the vine, so the born-again Christian derives their life-sustaining strength and support for the trials of this present life from the “Vine”. The “Vine”, Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, implores His children to be prosperous in being fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control [Galatians 5:22-23]) and knows that on our own we cannot achieve these. It is when we stay connected to Him, the “Vine” that we stay nourished in His Word, His love, His joy, His peace, His patience, His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness, His gentleness, and His self-control. As the branches of a vine need pruning, so must those Christians who remain unfruitful be pruned from God’s everlasting garden. Make it your goal today to abide in Him and seek His will and direction for how you might begin to be fruitful for His Kingdom.

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

Alive Ministries USA

Join our “Alive-Stream” Monday – Friday at 8:00EST (9:30 on Wednesday) on FB (Facebook.com/aliveministriesusa) or YouTube (Christopher B. Cain if Alive Ministries USA) for a time of prayer requests and study of the Word.

Contact us by messaging us using the Facebook page ‘send message’ button, at aliveministriesusa@gmail.com, on Twitter (@alive_usa) or on Instagram (@aliveministriesusa).

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Thought of the Day 1/2/2021

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”” Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:6‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

The Israelites, in their 40 years in the desert awaiting the appointed time to enter the Promised Land, faced many enemies. Some were mighty armies that had utterly destroyed other nations. Of course it would be a natural reaction for them to fear each new foe; however, they are reminded here that God is with them each step of the way. They are admonished to “be strong and courageous” in their trust and faith in their God who has delivered them in the past from slavery in Egypt and from Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea. God is always faithful. This applies not only to those Israelites wandering in the desert but to each and every one of us who has called on the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As children of God, we can rest assured that the very God who created us goes with us each and every day and through every trial and suffering. He will never leave us or forsake us! Praise God! Are you “strong and courageous” in your faith and trusting God?

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

Alive Ministries USA

Join our “Alive-Stream” Monday – Friday at 9:00EST (9:30 on Wednesday) on FB (Facebook.com/aliveministriesusa) or YouTube (Christopher B. Cain if Alive Ministries USA) for a time of prayer requests and study of the Word.

Contact us by messaging us using the Facebook page ‘send message’ button, at aliveministriesusa@gmail.com, on Twitter (@alive_usa) or on Instagram (@aliveministriesusa).

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Thought of the Day 1/1/2021

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:17‬ (‭ESV‬‬)

What a beautiful verse to start off a new year! With everything that had you weighed down over the past year, let Paul’s words to the Church in Corinth be your anthem today. If you are in Christ — that is, have accepted His free gift of salvation, and entered into a relationship with Jesus and followed Him into the baptism of water symbolic of His death, burial, and resurrection — you have been made new. A clean slate, just like today as we begin a new year. When you become a new creation in Christ through true repentance of your sins and faith in Him as the Son of God, you will begin to see the “old things” passing away. The closer you walk with Him in this coming year, the further from the old creation and sinful nature you will be removed. I pray you have made this decision already and are boldly proclaiming to live this year out as a new creation in Christ Jesus. If not, I urge you to reach out to us so we can show you why it is so important not to wait, and how you can easily make that decision today!

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

Alive Ministries USA

Join our “Alive-Stream” Monday – Friday at 9:00EST (9:30 on Wednesday) on FB (Facebook.com/aliveministriesusa) or YouTube (Christopher B. Cain if Alive Ministries USA) for a time of prayer requests and study of the Word.

Contact us by messaging us using the Facebook page ‘send message’ button, at aliveministriesusa@gmail.com, on Twitter (@alive_usa) or on Instagram (@aliveministriesusa).

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Thought of the Day 12/31/2020

“Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm‬ ‭143:8‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

It is possible David pled this to God in the literal nighttime, or perhaps meant it figuratively as he was experiencing a spiritual darkness. Either way, he is pleading for God to show David His steadfast love “in the morning”. Whether literal or figurative morning, David desires it quickly and expediently for it is in the steadfast love of God that David has put his trust. It is my earnest prayer that each of you could say the same. David trusted in God for his salvation and hope even in the darkness. He also sought direction from the Lord in “the way [he] should go”. David wanted to know the Lord’s will for his life so that he could walk in the safety of righteousness and solid ground. When we walk in this way we can avoid the ever present dangers of the enemy, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬) Seek out the Lord and His direction for your life that you may keep yourself from the enemy.

Jessica Ford

Communications Director

Alive Ministries USA

Join our “Alive-Stream” Monday – Friday at 9:00EST (9:30 on Wednesday) on FB (Facebook.com/aliveministriesusa) or YouTube (Christopher B. Cain if Alive Ministries USA) for a time of prayer requests and study of the Word.

Contact us by messaging us using the Facebook page ‘send message’ button, at aliveministriesusa@gmail.com, on Twitter (@alive_usa) or on Instagram (@aliveministriesusa).