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04/24/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
April 24, 2024
Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 11-12 and Luke 18

“Do Not Lose Heart”
(Luke 18:1-8, ESV) “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. (2) He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. (3) And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary. (4) For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, Though I neither fear God nor respect man, (5) yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. (6) And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. (7) And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? (8) I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

In this chapter, Jesus told two parables about prayer. Then mothers brought their children to be prayed for. When the disciples tried to interfere with this, Jesus told the disciples to allow the children to come and be prayer for. Prayer must be an important part of our life. And when people request prayer, we must be ready to pray with them.

In the parable above, Jesus is teaching the necessity of prayer. There are different types of prayer, and here Jesus is speaking about persistent prayers for a specific reason. These prayers, petition prayer is between you and God. It is you asking God for a particular outcome. The two main ingredients are faith and persistence.

The first verse in this lesson starts by saying, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Do not lose heart, tells us to continue believing and continue praying. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (11:24, ESV).

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

04/23/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
April 23, 2024
Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 8-10 and Luke 17

“Increase our Faith”
(Luke 17:5-6, NKJV) “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’
(6) So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you.’”
(Luke 17:11-19, NKJV) “Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. (12) Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. (13) And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ (14) So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. (15) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, (16) and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. (17) So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? (18) Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ (19) And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’”

When the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith, Jesus replied by saying that they do not need a great amount of faith to see miracles. What they need is to utilize the faith that they have. Faith is like a mustard seed, which is one of the smallest of the seeds. The power is not in the size of the seed, but in its persistence in growing and pushing through any obstacle that comes in its path.

In the next few verses Jesus taught about the importance in being faithful. One way to increase our faith is by being faithful.

Then we see a great miracle taking place where ten lepers are completely healed. After the lepers noticed their healing, nine ran with great excitement to show their loved ones of their healing. However, one ran back to Jesus to thank Him for the miracle. Jesus replied by saying, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” Here we see that miracles in our life are increased when we are thankful. Being thankful is a small thing, but it will yield great rewards in our life.

From these verses I see three things that we can apply to our life in order to increase our faith –
#1 – Utilize the faith you have, then your faith will grow.
#2 – Be faithful in your walk with God.
#3 – Be thankful for the blessing that are in our life.

These three steps will increase our faith and we shall witness greater and greater miracles in our life.

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

03/29/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
March 28, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Joshua 3-5 and Luke 6

“What is the Problem with Being Merciful?”
(Luke 6:35) “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

If you have lived through hurt and betrayal, you may feel a sense of defensiveness rise up in you when you hear Jesus’ command to love your enemies. You might even feel that you would be doing harm to yourself if you obey Jesus’ words to do good to those “which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:28). Jesus’ teachings on this subject demand a deeper level of love and commitment for His disciples to follow through.
Why is Jesus’ command to love our enemies, bless those that curse us, and do good to them that hate us so problematic? Because of their wrongdoings toward us. Can we trust them with our kindness? Is it unwise/irresponsible for us to show them any form of love? What would this mean for us?

Jesus responds to all of our wonderings and challenges us to think of His mercy.
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Looking over the pages of our lives, God is not going to judge us according to what people have done to us. Rather, He is going to judge us on how we have responded to them. Will we respond with malice, bitterness, and hate? Or will we respond with mercy? To be truly children of God, we must be kind to those who are not even appreciative of our efforts and those who are unrighteous. This is where our “agape” love truly proves itself. It is merciful.

Unfair, you say? But this sinner writing this devotional is thankful for that unfairness. Is it fair that our perfect Savior Jesus Christ went to the cross to die for all of the sins of humanity? Is it fair that He continually has to show us mercy to save us from our sinful selves? Mercy is unfair, and thank God for it!

Jesus is our Master, and as it says in Luke 6:40: “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” We are to strive daily to be like our Master, Jesus Christ. One simple way to be more like Him is to show mercy like Him. To those “worthy” and “unworthy” of it.

How can we? Some days we are spiritually weak and are not capable of loving the least of these. Here is the secret: (Luke 6:44) “For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.”
(Galatians 5:22-23) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

How can we show these things when we are being attacked and mistreated? By the power of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the seed of love and all that follows in Galatians 5:22-23. As our God is love Himself, what greater way to show love than to have His Spirit inside of us?
If you are struggling today to show mercy where you have not received it and love where your efforts seem futile, pray for the Lord to fill you up with His Spirit and strengthen you today!

03/25/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
March 25, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Deuteronomy 32 and Luke 3

“Prepare the Way of the Lord”
(Luke 3:2-6, GW) “It was at the time when Annas and Caiaphas were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. (3) John traveled throughout the region around the Jordan River. He told people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (4) As the prophet Isaiah wrote in his book, A voice cries out in the desert: Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight! (5) Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight. The rough roads will be made smooth. (6) All people will see the salvation that God gives.”

John was the man sent by God to prepare the way of the Lord. This was prophesied in the Old Testament: (Malachi 3:1, ESV) “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.”

Everything God does is by design and perfect order. Before the Christ can come into the land and into our hearts, we must first prepare hearts. John preached that the people must repent of their sins and be water baptized for the washing of those sins. When the tax collectors came they asked John what they should do. John replied, “Don't collect more money than you are ordered to collect.” They were told to be honest with their collecting and not to overcharge the people. When the soldiers asked what they should do, John told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.” John preached directly to the people. The only way to be honest with the Lord in repentance, we first must be honest with our self. As the people heard the preaching of John, their hopes were risen. Christ is coming!

Today, we need to preach the way John the Baptist did, directly to the people. We must all prepare our hearts for the Lord to come into our life. And as John preached, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16, ESV). Let us prepare our self for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

03/21/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
March 20, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Deuteronomy 24-26 and Luke 2

“Difficult Roads”
(Luke 2:1-7, ESV) “And it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (2) (This taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) (3) And all went to be registered, each to his own city. (4) And Joseph also went up from Galilee to be taxed (out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David). (5) And he took Mary his betrothed wife, being with child. (6) And while they were there, the days for her deliverance were fulfilled. (7) And she brought forth her son, the First-born, and wrapped Him, and laid Him in a manger— because there was no room for them in the inn.”

The road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph lived in the city of Nazareth, however, the Christ child was to be born in Bethlehem. We know this because of a prophecy in the Old Testament: (Micah 5:2, MKJV) “And you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you being least among the thousands of Judah, out of you He shall come forth to Me, to become Ruler in Israel, He whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.”

When Joseph and Mary delayed their journey to Bethlehem, we see that there was a chain of events that forced them to go. God’s word will always be accomplished. The timing for this journey was very difficult for Mary, because she was in the ninth month of her pregnancy. What a difficult journey to make on foot or riding on the back of a donkey. Yet, the journey had to be made. Mary and Joseph finally arrived in Bethlehem in time for the birth of the Christ child, fulfilling the prophecy. God’s will was done, but the road was difficult.

And to think of the difficult road for Joseph. He was engaged to a woman who was pregnant. This was a great shame in that day. And when Joseph thought to break the marriage agreement secretly, and angel appeared to him to tell him that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and this child to be born is the Christ child. Joseph endured any shame that might have come his way, and took Mary to be his wife. God’s will was done, but the road was difficult.

Sometimes in our life we know what we need to do, but we delay. Sometimes these delays cause great difficulties. And sometimes we are confused and do not know what we should do. What we need to do in all of life’s journeys is to submit to the will of God. Then God will make a way and bring direction to our life.

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

03/06/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
March 6, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Numbers 27-28 and Mark 14:37-72

“Be Strong and Pray”
(Mark 14:32-38, GW) “Then they came to a place called Gethsemane. He said to his disciples, Stay here while I pray. (33) He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to feel distressed and anguished. (34) He said to them, My anguish is so great that I feel as if I'm dying. Wait here, and stay awake. (35) After walking a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible he might not have to suffer what was ahead of him. (36) He said, Abba! Father! You can do anything. Take this cup of suffering away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine. (37) He went back and found them asleep. He said to Peter, Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn't you stay awake for one hour? (38) Stay awake, and pray that you won't be tempted. You want to do what's right, but you're weak.”

Jesus and His disciples had finished eating their Passover meal, praying together, and singing psalms. Jesus had told the disciples that He will be betrayed that night. Now they are in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is waiting for Judas to come with the Roman soldiers and arrest Him. Jesus had told eight of the disciples to wait in one area, and then asked Peter, James, and John to go with Him and pray. Knowing what was going to happen to Him, Jesus prayed in great agony. After a while He noticed that the three disciples were sleeping. Again, asking them to pray with Him for He was in great distress.

What we witness here, is that there are times when we pray together with our friends and family. Then there are special times when we need to pray together with a few trusted friends. During those time we may be in great agony as we are in prayer. But we will be comforted in knowing that these special people with us are trusted to see us in our most vulnerable times.

We all need special friends in our life who know the power of prayer and the sanctity of friendship. And when it is time to pray, we need to be strong, not only for the one that we are praying for, but for our self also.

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

02/29/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
February 29, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Numbers 16-18 and Mark 12

“The Widow's Offering”
(Mark 12:41-44, ESV) “And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. (42) And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. (43) And he called his disciples to him and said to them, Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. (44) For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

This treasure was a public fund for charity – monies to be distributed to the needy. Jesus was there observing the people. We need to understand that all our actions are before eyes of the Lord, what we do in public and what we do in private are equally known unto Him. Jesus observes the wealthy placing great amounts into this treasure. As others watched, there were probably praising the wealthy for their great generosity. Then Jesus sees this widow giving her offering. The rest of the people probably did not even notice her. She was elderly and poor, invisible to most. If some did see her, they might have laughed at her. But Jesus, who knows all praised her for her great sacrifice.

The lesson for us is to always give our best. Others may not appreciate what we do, but Jesus does. Others may mock or criticize us for what we do, judging our giving and motives. But Jesus who knows everything knows when we give our best. Let us give our best to the Lord, our families, our church, and our communities. As Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, “Each one, as he purposes in his heart, let him give; not of grief, or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7, MKJV).

God knows and loves a cheerful giver. And He is the one who will reward us for our giving. Jesus said, “I'm coming soon! I will bring my reward with me to pay all people based on what they have done” (Revelation 22:12, MKJV).

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

02/27/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
February 27, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Numbers 12-13 and Mark 10.

“Trusting in God and not in Riches”
(Mark 10:23-27, ESV) “And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ (24) And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! (25) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ (26) And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ (27) Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’”

Jesus taught that it is not easy to enter into the Kingdom of God. There is a price that must be paid, and few people are willing to pay that price. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus tells us that if we want to go to heaven, then we must be converted like a little child. It is easy for little children to repent and humble themselves. This is what we are to do, humble ourself before the Lord. Jesus also told a religious leader that if you want to see the Kingdom of God, then you must be born of water and the Spirit, John 3:5. As we read in the teachings of Jesus, if we want to see the Kingdom of God, then we must humble ourself, repent, be water baptized, and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

With man, this is difficult, that is why we must place our trust in the Lord. With God, nothing is impossible. Riches will not buy us a place in heaven, but placing our trust in the Lord and obeying His holy word will reserve for us a place in heaven. We cannot buy our way to heaven. But a price has been paid for our salvation, the blood of Jesus: (Ephesians 1:7) “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” If we are to trust in riches, then let it be in the riches of the Grace of God.

02/25/2024

“The Value of One Soul”
(Mark 5:1-8, ESV) “They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. (2) And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. (3) He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, (4) for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. (5) Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. (6) And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. (7) And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me. (8) For he was saying to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

Jesus who knows all things knew that this demon possessed man was living in those tombs. So then, why did Jesus decide to land the boat in that area? Because Jesus cares about everyone. We see in the Scriptures that Jesus would go to a place with the purpose of ministering to one person. Many of the people that Jesus healed and delivered were outcasts. These were the people that no one else wanted. These are the people that felt like there was no hope for them, that no one loved them. But they were wrong – Jesus loved them and came to their village just to reach out to them. The love of Jesus has no boundaries, boarders, and no prejudices. Jesus gives hope to the hopeless. And comfort to those in need: (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, (4) who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

02/22/2024

our Phone
February 22, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Numbers 5-6 and Mark 8

“Follow and Expect”
(Mark 8:1-9, ESV) “In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, (2) ‘I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. (3) And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.’ (4) And his disciples answered him, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?’ (5) And he asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ (6) And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. (7) And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. (8) And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces leftover, seven baskets full. (9) And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.”

There was a great crowd of people that was following Jesus. They were following because of the teachings that they heard: (Mark 1:22) “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.”

The world is looking for true teachings. Not the teachings and philosophies of man, but the pure word of God. Jesus said, “The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:33). And as the people gathered to listen to Jesus teach, they received more than they were expecting. This is the second time that Christ had compassion on the people and fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. As we read this, we see that the Lord cares about every aspect of our lives. Not only the spiritual, but the physical also. When we follow the Lord in faith and sincerity, He sees our needs and ministers to those needs. There is no need too big or too small for the Lord.

And only the Lord can take what we have and multiply it. Knowing this let us follow the Lord in faith and expect miracles to happen.

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

02/16/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
February 16, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Psalms 22-24
Saturday’s Bible reading: Leviticus 21-23
Sunday’s Bible reading: Leviticus 24-25

“Psalm 23”
(Psalm 23:1-6) “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (2) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. (3) He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

As we read this psalm, we know that it is speaking about Jesus. (Hebrews 13:20, GW) “The God of peace brought the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, back to life through the blood of an eternal promise.” Jesus is the great shepherd who leads our soul to a place of peace and abundance of blessings.

Let us pray and personalize this psalm.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, you are my shepherd; you give me what I need. You lead my soul to a place where there is peace and tranquility. You renew my soul. You guide me along the paths of righteousness for the sake of your name. Even when we walk through dangerous territory, you give us peace. Lord, you prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Certainly, goodness and mercy will stay close to me all the days of my life, and I will remain in your house for days without end. Amen.

Read this personalized prayer as often as you need to. Not just today, but whenever you need it. My favorite verse in this psalm is 6.

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

02/15/2024

Blessings on Your Phone
February 15, 2024
Daily Bible reading: Leviticus 18-20 and Mark 4.

“The Seed and the Soil”
(Mark 4:2-9, ESV) “And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: (3) Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. (4) And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. (5) Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. (6) And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. (7) Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. (8) And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. (9) And he said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

After Jesus taught this parable, then the disciples privately asked Jesus for the interpretation of it.
• The seed is the Word of God and the sower is the preacher. As the preacher speaks the Word of God, some people hear it and they are like the seed along the road. When they hear the word, Satan comes at once and takes away the word that was planted in them.
• Some people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. But they don't develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall from the faith.
• Some people are like seeds planted among thorn bushes. They hear the word, but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can't produce anything.
• Others are like seeds planted on good ground. They hear the Word, accept it, and produce crops-thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.

The growth of the seed does not depend on the seed or the one planting the seed, for all the seed is good. The productivity depends on the soil. The different soils are different people. Now, we must ask our self the question. What type of soil do we want to be? Let us pray that we become the Christian that Christ wants us to be.

By Mark Starin
Facebook: Pentecostals of Lebanon

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