Dear ones in Christ,
God will do great things in our lives this year. He will increase our missionary work and enable us to plant churches in many villages. He will increase the children in our Sunday Schools. He will increase the number of members in our churches. He will increase the boundaries of our ministry and cause us to grow. He will cause our mission fields to expand and see many souls getting saved.
Let us keep a goal in God’s presence and pray with faith and go ahead. This year is a year of good works. God says in Joel 2:26, “My people shall never be ashamed”. Moreover in Philippians 1:20 we read, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death”. Apostle Paul says that he is not ashamed about the bondage or imprisonment.
In 2 Timothy 1:8 he says, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God”. He exhorts Timothy not be ashamed of the afflictions, but to bear the afflictions like him for the sake of the gospel. In Romans 1:16, he says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ”. In Isaiah 50:9 we read, “Behold, the Lord God will help me; therefore I am not ashamed, who is he that shall condemn me?”
Let us see the ways if we do not want to be ashamed.
1. Psalms 34:5 They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces were
not ashamed:
When you lift up your face towards heaven and pray you will never be ashamed. For example, when Elijah looked unto heaven and prayed, the fire came down from heaven. 450 Baal prophets were slain by Elijah. The 450 Baal prophets were not able stand before Elijah and they were ashamed. (1 Kings 18:22-40)
2. Isaiah 49:23 I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me:
In Isaiah 49:23 God says, “And thou shall know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” In Luke 2:25 we read, it was revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he shall not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was not ashamed. Moreover in Isaiah 40:31 we read, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength”.
3. Psalms 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy
commandments:
When we respect God’s commandments and walk according to that we will never be ashamed. God look upon the man who trembles before His word. When we read Psalms 119:98-100 we can see, when we observe God’s commandments and meditate on them, God gives us more wisdom than our enemies, more understanding than our teachers and more knowledge than our elders. Those who honour God’s Word and walk according to that shall never be ashamed.
4. Psalms 119:80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed:
If we follow the statutes of God whole heartedly we will never be ashamed. For example, King Hezekiah got healed from his dreadful disease. (Isaiah 38:1-5) In Song of Solomon 4:7, God looks at the bride, the church and says, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in you”. If the bride lives righteously, there is no need to be ashamed at the day of coming.
5. Romans 9:33 He who believes in Him shall not be ashamed:
In Romans 9:33, God says, “Whosoever believes in him shall not be ashamed.” When we look unto Him in faith for all our needs we won’t be ashamed. Abraham believed God. And it was counted as righteous unto him. Moreover in Romans 10:11, we read, “For the scripture says, whosoever believes in him shall not be ashamed”. If you believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead, you will be saved. The just shall live by faith. He who believes shall not be condemned. And he who believes in Him shall not be ashamed.
6. 2Timothy 1:12 for this cause I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed:
In 2 Timothy 2:12, Apostle Paul says “If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us”. Even after facing lot of sufferings Paul says that he is not ashamed of the sufferings. In 2 Timothy 1:12, he says, “For this cause I also suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed. I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have entrusted to him until that day”. So only he says that whatever the sufferings and troubles I face for God, I am not ashamed.
7. 1 John 2:28 if we remain in Him, we shall not be ashamed:
In 2 Timothy 2:5, we read, “… he is not crowned unless he competes by the rules.” If we do not wage war by rules, we will be ashamed. But he who does the will of God shall not be ashamed. In 1 John 2:28 we see that if we remain in him we shall not be ashamed. Moreover in John 15: 1,2, 4 God syas that He is the true vine, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. If the branch does not remain in the vine, it shall not bear fruit. And likewise if we also do not remain in him we shall not bring fruit.
In Joel 2:26, Prophet Joel says, “You will eat plentifully and be full, and praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has done wonders among you, and I will never again bring shame on my people”.
In Joel 2:25, God promises, “I will restore to you the years of crops that the swarming locusts has eaten – the great locusts, the devouring locust, and the destroying locust…” in Exodus 10:5 we read, “They will cover the surface of the ground so that no one will be able to see the earth. they will eat the remains of whatever escaped from the hail. They will also eat every tree that grows for you in the field”. And God will restore all that which we lost due to the locust and the hail and will make us rejoice in him. May the Lord restore us the goodness and joy in this year for all the troublesome days we saw. His people will never be ashamed. Amen! Hallelujah!
