Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY AUGUST 17, 2026.

SUBJECT: THE COMMUNION!

Memory verse: "For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.” (First Corinthians 11 vs 26.)

READ: Luke 22 vs 17 - 22:

22:17: Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves:”

22:18: for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

22:19: And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of Me.

22:20: Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 

INTIMATION: 

The Communion is a Christian sacrament commemorating the Lord’s Supper by consecrating bread and wine. It is a religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it. Whatever name your church uses for this event (Communion, Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist) and on whatever schedule you celebrate it, the importance is that through celebrating ‘Communion’ together believers experience the presence of Christ. 

The celebration of Communion: (1) humbles us before God. We confess our sin and restate our need for Christ to guide us. (2) reminds us that we are forgiven. We remember that His shed blood paid the price. (3) expresses our oneness in Christ. We are unified in our faith. (4) encourages us to recommit. We are reminded to pledge ourselves to serve Him who died for us. 

Each name we use for this sacrament brings not a different dimension to it. It is the ‘Lord’s Supper’ because it commemorates the Passover meal Jesus ate with His disciples. It is the ‘Eucharist’ (thanksgiving) because in it we thank God for Christ’s work for us. It is ‘Communion’ because through it we commune with God and with other believers. As we eat the bread and drink the wine, we should be quietly reflective as we recall Jesus’ death and His promise to come again, grateful for God’s wonderful gift to us—the gift of salvation, and joyful as we meet with Christ and the body of believers. 

Christians differ in their interpretation of the meaning of the commemoration of the sacrament (Lord’s Supper, Communion or Eucharist). There are three main views: (1) The bread and wine actually become Christ’s body and blood; (2) the bread and wine remain unchanged, yet Christ is spiritually present by faith in and through them; (3) the bread and wine, which remain unchanged, are lasting memorials of Christ’s sacrifice. 

No matter which view they favor, all Christians agree that the sacrament (Lord’s Supper, Communion or Eucharist) commemorates Christ’s death on the cross for our sins and points to the coming of His kingdom in glory. When we partake of it, we show our deep gratitude for Christ’s work of this on our behalf, and our faith is strengthened. 

Christians participate in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice at the Lord’s table when they eat the bread and drink the blood from the cup, symbolizing His body and blood. Jesus asked His disciples to always partake of the sacrament (Communion, Lord’s Supper or Eucharist) to remember Him. He wanted them to remember His sacrifice, the basis for forgiveness of sins, and also His friendship, which they could continue to enjoy through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus death for us on the cross seals a new covenant between God and us. The old covenant involved forgiveness of sins through the blood of an animal sacrifice (Exodus 24 vs 6 - 8). But instead of a spotless lamb on the altar, Jesus offered Himself, the spotless Lamb of God, as a sacrifice that would forgive sin once and for all. Jesus was the final Sacrifice for sins, and His sacrifice sealed the new covenant between God and all believers. Now all of us can come to God through Jesus, in full confidence that God will hear and save us from our sins.

Although the exact meaning of Communion has been strongly debated throughout church history, Christians still take bread and wine in order to remember their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Do not neglect participating in the Lord’s Supper. Let it remind you of what Christ did for you. However, the sacrament is not to be taken lightly; this new covenant cost Jesus His life. It is not a meaningless ritual, but a sacrament given by Christ to help strengthen believers faith. 

The apostle Paul gives specific instructions on how the sacrament should be observed. (1) We should take it thoughtfully because we are proclaiming that Christ died for our sins. (First Corinthians 11 vs 26). (2) We should take it worthily, with due reverence and respect (First Corinthians 11 vs 27). (3) We should examine ourselves for any unconfessed sin or resentful attitude and be properly prepared (First Corinthians 11 vs 26). (4) We should be considerate of others, waiting until everyone is there and then eating in an orderly and unified manner (First Corinthians 11 vs 33).

In reality, no one is worthy to take the Lord’s Supper. We are all sinners saved by grace. This is why we should prepare ourselves for Communion through healthy introspection, confession of sin, and resolution of differences with others. These actions remove the barriers that affect our relationship with Christ and with other believers. Awareness of your sin should not keep you away from Communion but drive you to participate in it. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus offered to us in commemoration of Your Supreme Sacrifice on the cross to pay the debt we owed as sinners in need of a Savior. My desire is to partake of sacrament worthily at all times, and that the blessings wrought in the body and blood of Jesus will find full fulfillment in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What It Means to Bless the Lord

 What It Means to Bless the Lord

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! (Psalm 103:1)

The psalm begins and ends with the psalmist preaching to his soul to bless the Lord — “Bless the Lord, O my soul” — and preaching to the angels and the hosts of heaven and the works of God’s hands that they should do the same. 

Bless the Lord, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

Bless the Lord, all his hosts,

his ministers, who do his will!

Bless the Lord, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

(Psalm 103:20–22) 

The psalm is overwhelmingly focused on blessing the Lord. What does it mean to bless the Lord? 

It means to speak well of his greatness and goodness — and really mean it from the depths of your soul.

What David is doing in the first and last verses of this psalm, when he says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” is saying that authentic speaking about God’s goodness and greatness must come from the soul. 

Blessing God with the mouth without the soul would be hypocrisy. Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). David knows that danger, and he is preaching to himself. He is telling his soul not to let this happen. 

“Come, soul, look at the greatness and goodness of God. Join my mouth, and let us bless the Lord with our whole being. Soul, we are not going to be a hypocrite!”

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2026.

SUBJECT : GOD IS OUR FAITHFUL COMPANION!

Memory verse: "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing." (Deuteronomy 2 vs 7.)

READ: Deuteronomy 29 vs 2 - 6:

29:2: Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land-

29:3: The great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.

29:4: Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.

29:5: And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.

29:6: You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.

 

INTIMATION:

A companion is one who assists or accompanies. Companions come in all sizes and shapes and for various reasons. A dog can be your companion, an elderly person can hire a companion to accompany him or her. You can even pick up a hitchhiker and have him be your companion for a long stretch of driving. 

God is our very faithful companion. The "rules of engagement" in God's companionship with us has always been in form of His covenant with us. He has ever remained committed and faithful to His covenants, while all disappointments, failures, and breaking of the rules have always come from us. God is ever committed to His promises. He said, "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." (Psalm 89 vs 34.)

Our kind of companionship with God is a very specific kind of companioh; the teacher-mentor kind of companionship. God tells us In Micah 6 vs 8 the manner in which we are to walk with Him; "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God." 

God is ready to teach us, to let us be with Him, to be a true and faithful companion, if we will seek such a relationship. Four areas are major ingredient for a relationship that would be described as a companionship. These areas are: (1) Agreement (2) Experience (3) Conversation (4) Learning. These are major requirements in our companionship with God.

God defines the first one: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3 vs 3) So agreement is the first requirement. You have to want to spend time together with Him; we know this is the desire of His heart. He tells us in many different ways in the Word that He desires to be with us.

The second is that you would share experiences together because you are together by definition. One of the special privileges we have as believers is sharing our heart with God and in turn learning more about His heart toward us and others. We get to learn of His overwhelming goodness, infinite patience, unchanging love, and unending mercies as we read the Bible that contains all the rules of engagement. The Holy Spirit makes the Word come alive to our hearts and points things out from it that are specifically for us and our situation. 

The third ingredient is conversation. There should be conversation between us and God. Not just one way, but rather an exchange of ideas from both parties. Think of your own experience. When you have been with someone who monopolizes the conversation, or who does not let you talk but only wants you to listen, you feel uneasy, dominated, and useless in the conversation. You may feel you are only a listening board, and your opinion matters little since it is rarely sought.

Sometimes we are guilty of doing this to God. We rush into His presence with our "want list" and then, in essence, after presenting our requests and/or complaints, we close the time with, "In Jesus' name, Amen." No time to hear His input, no time to seek His advice. Only a time to "dump" on Him. Yes, the apostle Peter advised us to give the Lord all our burdens and cares (First Peter 5 vs 7), but we are to wait for His response after presenting our anxieties to Him. This is the commonest mistake on our prayer altar.

The fourth ingredient is learning. A relationship that culminates into companionship entails learning from superior partner. As we spend time with God, our relationship allows us to learn about Him, about ourselves, and about others. We come to appreciate Him more as we get to know Him better. We become more relaxed in His presence as we now are His companion.

We understand ourselves better. Our strengths, our weaknesses, and how to overcome them, why we do things the way we do, how to change our negatives responses, and the like. We also learn much about others and how better to interact with them, showing forth all the fruit of the Spirit.

When all the aforementioned rules of engagement are accomplished, we enjoy the most fruitful and rewarding companionship with the Lord. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my most faithful companion. I desire to follow you in complete obedience and trust. You know my frame, and is aware of my weaknesses. Give me the grace to overcome my temptations, and forever be committed to You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Why You Give In to Sexual Sin

 Why You Give In to Sexual Sin

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. . . . Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:8, 12)

Why isn’t David crying out for sexual restraint? Why isn’t he praying for men to hold him accountable? Why isn’t he praying for protected eyes and sex-free thoughts? In this psalm of confession and repentance after essentially raping Bathsheba, you would expect David to ask for something like that.

The reason is that he knows that sexual sin is a symptom, not the disease. 

People give way to sexual sin because they don’t have fullness of joy and gladness in Christ. Their spirits are not steadfast and firm and established. They waver. They are enticed, and they give way because God does not have the supreme place in their feelings and thoughts that he should.

David knew this about himself. It’s true about us too. David is showing us, by the way he prays, what the real need is for those who sin sexually: God! Joy in God.

This is profound wisdom for us.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY AUGUST 15, 2026.

SUBJECT: BENEFITS GOD GIVES BELIEVERS THROUGH CHRIST!

Memory verse: "And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (First John 5 vs 11.)

READ: Ephesians 1 vs 17 - 19; Colossians 1 vs 12 - 14:

1:17: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

1:18: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

1:19: and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,

Colossians 1:12: Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

1:13: He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

1:14: in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

INTIMATION:

The benefits that God gives all believers through Christ include: (1) He has enabled us to share in His inheritance; (2) He has rescued us from Satan’s kingdom of darkness and made us His children; (3) He has brought us into His eternal kingdom; (4) He has purchased our freedom from sin and judgement with His blood; and (5) He has forgiven all our sins.

Before we believed in Christ, our nature was evil. We disobeyed, rebelled, and ignored God (even at our best, we did not love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind). The Christian, however, has a new nature. God has crucified the old rebellious nature (Romans 6 vs 6) and replaced it with a new loving nature (Colossians 3 vs 9 - 10). The penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. 

God declared us not guilty, and we need no longer live under sin’s power. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots—we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved, we were slaves to our sinful nature; but we are free to live for Christ (see Galatians 2 vs 20).

Through our believe in Christ we have been adopted as children of God: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1 vs 12.) Those who “received Him” and “believed in His name” were given the privilege of becoming the sons of God. 

Receiving and believing did not constitute one as a son of God, it only gives one the privilege. Receiving and believing we’re only conditions upon which one must move into doing that which God requires to become a son of God, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3 vs 26 - 27).

Now, as children of God we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ in His inheritance: “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8 vs 17.) The obedient son of God inherits what the Father has promised for His sons. When we put on Christ in baptism, we belong to Him and are Abraham’s seed. We are heirs “heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3 vs 29).

True believers have been translated from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, from guilt to forgiveness, and from the power of Satan to the power of God. We have been rescued from a rebellious kingdom to serve the rightful King. And we are to live eternally with Him. Our conduct should reflect our new allegiance.

The Scripture says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” (Ephesians 1 vs 7.) Redemption means Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin and Satan, and revealing of the righteousness of God that comes to man through faith in Jesus Christ. This belongs to all those who acknowledge Christ as Savior and confess him as their Lord. 

The death of Jesus points to two wonderful scriptural truths—redemption and forgiveness. Through His death, Jesus paid the price to release us from slavery to sin. Forgiveness of our sins was granted on the basis of the shedding of Jesus’ blood—He died as a perfect and final sacrifice.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You wrought for us in Christ. Guide me appropriately, O Lord, that I may be in complete obedience to You as to earn all the benefits of the believer in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What We Were Made For

 What We Were Made For

Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18)

The greatest good of the good news — the gospel — is the enjoyment of fellowship with God himself. This is made explicit here in 1 Peter 3:18 in the phrase “that he might bring us to God.” That’s why Jesus died.

All the other gifts of the gospel exist to make this one possible. 

We are forgiven so that our guilt does not keep us away from God. 

We are justified so that our condemnation does not keep us away from God. 

God is propitiated so that his wrath doesn’t stand between us and God as our Father.

We are given eternal life now, with new bodies in the resurrection, so that we have the capacities for being with God forever and enjoying God to the fullest. 

Test your heart. Why do you want forgiveness? Why do you want to be justified? Why do you want the wrath of God to be propitiated? Why do you want eternal life? Is the decisive answer, “Because I want to enjoy God now and forever”?

The gospel-love that God gives is ultimately the gift of himself. This is what we were made for. This is what we lost because of our sin. This is what Christ came to restore. 

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY AUGUST 14, 2026.

SUBJECT : THE NEED FOR CONFESSION OF SIN!

Memory verse: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (First John 1 vs 9.)

READ: Psalm 32 vs 5 - 6; Proverbs 28 vs 13::

Psalm 32:5: I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden.

32:6: I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Proverbs 28:13: He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

INTIMATION:

To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that He is right to declare what we have done as sinful and that we are wrong to desire or do it. It means affirming our intention of forsaking that sin in order to follow God more faithfully. The feeling of guilt cannot be disregarded by those who seek to be godly. Such people cannot continue to be living in the knowledge that they have deliberately sinned against God. Relief can only come when you acknowledge your sin, and ask for forgiveness from the Lord who only can forgive sin.

Honest confession should precede worship to the Lord because we cannot have a right relationship with God if we hold on to certain sins. And anything you do to honor God is an act of worship. However, reading and studying God’s Word should precede confession because God can show us where we are sinning. The psalmist said in Psalm 66 vs 18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." When we refuse to repent or when we harbor and cherish certain sins, we place a wall between us and God. We may not be able to remember every sin we have ever committed, but our attitude should be one of confession and obedience. 

As imperfect beings we are, we are always sinning; knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, we need to continually be confessing our sins so as to receive forgiveness of our sins from the Lord, and to ensure continued fellowship with the Lord. As enumerated in our memory verse, God is so faithful that if we confess our sins, we are assured of His forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness, and our fellowship with Him is restored.

Most believers are plagued by guilt; they may have committed a sin unknowingly; done something good with selfish intentions, failed to put their whole heart into a task, or neglected what they should have done. With an attitude of confession, we will always present ourselves to God as sinners that needs forgiveness. God fully and completely forgives us—even for those sins we do unknowingly.

We must take full responsibility, admit our wrong, and ask God for forgiveness. Many people want to add God and the benefits of Christianity to their lives without acknowledging their personal sin and guilt. But confession and repentance must come before receiving forgiveness. We must take full responsibility for our actions and confess them to God before we can expect Him to forgive us and continue His work in us.

God cannot be found by those who refuse to repent. It is not that God has hidden Himself from the sinner, but that the sinner with unrepentant heart seek to hide from God. God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure, and thus one can always come to Him through repentance. (First Corinthians 10 vs 13.) When our sins are forgiven, we can stand boldly in His presence and make our petition. Therefore, it is to our own advantage that we ask for forgiveness of sins, so that our Heavenly Father can hear our prayers.

David confessed his sin and prayed, "Cleans me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19 vs 12 - 13.) Presumptuous sins are the sins we commit unknowingly, or when we take certain things for granted; when we believe that something is true without prove. Most times we end up apologizing for the wrong done unwittingly.

Christ has made it possible for us to go directly to God for forgiveness. But confessing our sins to each other still has an important place in the life of the church—the Body of Christ. (1) If we have sinned against an individual, we must ask him or her to forgive us. (2) If our sin has affected the church, we must confess it publicly. (3) if we need loving support as we struggle with a sin, we should confess that sin to those who are able to provide that support. (4) If we doubt God’s forgiveness, after confessing a sin to Him, we may wish to confess that sin to a fellow believer for assurance of God’s pardon. In Christ’s kingdom, every believer is a priest to other believers (First Peter 2 vs 9.)

Prayer: Abba Father, I will stop at nothing to confess my sins to You, knowing that You are so faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse from all unrighteousness, that my fellowship with You is intact always. Endue me with the spirit of humility and total obedience to You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!