JOYOUS MINISTRY
Devotions, Ministration, Inspiration,Prayer, Motivation
Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Every day in the God's Word
When God’s Love Is Sweetest
When God’s Love Is Sweetest
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. (Ephesians 5:25–26)
If you only hope for unconditional love from God, your hope is great, but too small.
Unconditional love from God is not the sweetest experience of his love. The sweetest experience is when his love says, “I have made you so much like my Son that I delight to see you and be with you. You are a pleasure to me, because you are so radiant with my glory.”
This sweetest experience is conditional on our transformation into the kind of people whose emotions and choices and actions please God.
Unconditional love is the source and foundation of the human transformation that makes the sweetness of conditional love possible. If God did not love us unconditionally, he would not penetrate our unattractive lives, bring us to faith, unite us to Christ, give us his Spirit, and make us progressively like Jesus.
But when he unconditionally chooses us, and sends Christ to die for us, and regenerates us, he puts in motion an unstoppable process of transformation that makes us glorious. He gives us a splendor to match his favorite kind: his own.
We see this in Ephesians 5:25–27. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her [unconditional love], that he might sanctify her . . . and present the church to himself in splendor” — the condition in which he delights.
It is unspeakably wonderful that God would unconditionally set his favor on us while we are still unbelieving sinners. The ultimate reason this is wonderful is that this unconditional love brings us into the everlasting enjoyment of his glorious presence.
But the apex of that enjoyment is that we not only see his glory, but also reflect it. “The name of our Lord Jesus [will] be glorified in you, and you in him” (2 Thessalonians 1:12).
Monday, 24 August 2026
Every day in the God's Word
EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
MONDAY AUGUST 24, 2026.
SUBJECT: FREE INDEED IN CHRIST!
Memory verse: "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36.)
READ: John 8 vs 31 - 33:
8:31: Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed;
8:32: And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
8:33: They answered Him, “We be Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You shall be made free’?”
INTIMATION:
People often think they will be free if they can get away from God. Just as a fish is not free when it leaves the water and a tree is not free when it leaves the soil, we are not free when we leave the Lord. Jesus Himself is the truth that sets us free. He is the source of truth, the perfect standard of what is right. He frees us from continued slavery to sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. He shows us clearly the way to everlasting life with God. Thus Jesus does not give us freedom to do what we want, but freedom to follow God. As we seek to serve God, Jesus perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be.
Sometimes we have the illusion that freedom is doing anything we want. But God says that true freedom comes from obedience and knowing what not to do. The restrictions He gives us are for our good, helping us avoid evil. Much as we have the freedom to walk in front of a speeding car, but we don’t need to be hit to realize it would be foolish to do so. Don’t listen to Satan’s temptations. You don’t have to do evil to gain more experience and learn more about life.
Sin has a way of enslaving us, controlling us, dominating us, and dictating our actions. Jesus can free you from this slavery that keeps you from becoming the person God created you to be. If sin is restraining, mastering, or enslaving you, Jesus can break its power over your life. God sets His people free and crushes His enemies. Salvation is freedom from sin and death. Those who refuse to turn to God will be crushed by sin and death. They will be trapped by the sin they loved and destroyed by the death they feared. How mush better it will be for those who love God and fear the consequences of sin.
As a sinner, separated from God, you see His law from below, as a ladder to be climbed to get to God. Perhaps you have repeatedly tried climbing it, only to fall to the ground every time you have advanced one or two rungs. Or perhaps the sheer height of the ladder seems so overwhelming that you never even started up. In either case, what relief you should feel to see Jesus offering with open arms to lift you above the ladder of the law, to take you directly to God! Once Jesus lifts you into the presence of God, you are free to obey—out of love, freeout of necessity, and it is through God’s power, not your own. You know that if you stumble, you will not fall back to the ground. Instead, you will be caught and held in Christ’s loving arms.
When one comes to God through Jesus, he is free from the necessity of perfect law-keeping in order to be justified. He is truly free, therefore, because he trusts in God for justification, and not his own performance of law and good works. Only when one comes to God through Jesus is he truly free from the curse of law, sin and death. But there is more to this freedom than simply freedom from the necessity of perfect law-keeping. When one comes to Jesus he is free from the religious laws that he would bind on himself in order to be pleasing to God. Whether written laws of God or man-made traditional laws, the freedom is applicable to both.
If we refuse to follow God, we will follow our own sinful desires and become enslaved by what our bodies want. If we submit our lives to Christ, He will free us from slavery to sin. Christ frees us to serve Him, a freedom that results in our ultimate good.
Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for the free gift of Your only Son, Jesus Christ, who came to set us free from the slavery of sin and death, and whoever he sets free is free indeed. Endue me with the spirit of raw obedience to You that I may be a partaker of the huge inheritance You have given us in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
The Message of Creation
The Message of Creation
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:22–23)
It would be a great folly and a great tragedy if a man loved his wedding ring more than he loved his bride. But that is what this passage says has happened.
Human beings have fallen in love with the echo of God’s excellence in creation, and lost the ability to hear the incomparable, original shout of love and power and glory.
The message of creation is this:
There is a great God of glory and power and generosity behind all this awesome universe; you belong to him because he made you. He is patient with you in sustaining your rebellious life. Turn and bank your hope on him and delight yourself in him, not merely his handiwork.
According to Psalm 19:1–2, day pours forth the “speech” of that message to all who will listen in the day, speaking with blindingly bright sun and blue sky and clouds and untold shapes and colors and beautiful designs of all things visible. Night pours forth the “knowledge” of the same message to all who will listen at night, speaking with great dark voids and summer moons and countless stars and strange sounds and cool breezes and northern lights.
Day and night are saying one thing: God is glorious! God is glorious! God is glorious! Turn away from the creation as your supreme satisfaction, and delight yourself in the Lord of glory.
Sunday, 23 August 2026
Every day in the God's Word
EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
SUNDAY AUGUST 23, 2026.
SUBJECT : DEPENDING ON YOUR POSSESSIONS IS IDOLATRY!
Memory verse: "Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10 vs 23.)
READ: Job 31 vs 24 vs 28:
31:24: If I have made gold my hope. Or said to fine gold, 'You are my confidence';
31:25: If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gained much;
31:26: If I have observed the sun when it shines, or the moon moving in brightness,
31:27: So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;
31:28: This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgement, for I would have denied God who is above.
INTIMATION:
Idolatry is the worshipping of undeserving objects created by God, instead of God—the Creator of those things. In idol worship, people form statues of wood and stone, regard them as gods and worship them. Sometimes we think of idols as statues of wood and stone, but in reality an idol is anything natural that is given sacred value and power. The statues of object were not evil in themselves, but people gave them credit for what only God could do, such as provide good weather, crops, children, happiness etc.
Idolatry is still a serious problem today, but it takes a different form. We don’t put our trust in statues of wood and stone but in paper money and plastic cards. Putting our trust in anything but God is idolatry. Our modern idols are those symbols of power, pleasure, or prestige that we so highly regard. Putting our trust in anything rather than God violates the very first commandment of God—“You shall no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20 vs 3). And Jesus reemphasized this Commandment in Matthew 4 vs 10, “Worship the LORD your God, and only Him shall you serve.”
In the passage we read today, Job affirmed that depending on wealth for happiness is idolatry and denies our Father in heaven. Jesus’ authority is established over all of creation so we dare not treat any created object or earthly resource as more important than He is. When we spend more time on ourselves than on serving Christ, we treat ourselves (His creation) as being more important than our Creator. When we regard our finances, rather than our faith in Christ, as the basis for security, we give higher status to an earthly resource than we do to God.
Our dependence on what God has given us, like money and possessions, is an acceptance of our society's obsession with such things as a necessary evil or "the way it works" in the modern world. Although, every society in every age has valued the power and prestige that money brings, but true believers must purge themselves of the deep-seated desire for such things as more power, prestige, and possessions. They must also put their absolute trust in God, and use the resources given to them for service unto Him and humanity.
Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to Him as Creator and Sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. They soon invent “gods” that are convenient projections of their own selfish ideas. These God’s may be wooden figures, or they may also be goals or things we pursue, such as money, power, or possessions. They may even be misrepresentations of God Himself— making God in our image, instead of the reverse.
The common denominator is this: Idolaters worship the things God made rather than God Himself. Is there anything you feel you cannot live without? Is there any priority greater than God? Do you have a dream you would sacrifice everything to realize? Does God take first place in your life? Do you worship God or idols of your own making?
The answers to the above listed questions, and also the following questions will be of immense help to discern the ideal life expected of a believer: Who created Me? Whom do I ultimately trust? Whom do I look to for ultimate truth? Whom do I look to for security and happiness? Who is in charge of my future?
Idolatry is the greatest sin against God because it’s rejection of God Himself. When you have any other gods, rather than the only God, you cannot be His own, and no matter how faithfully you keep other nine commandments you can’t please Him, hence He made this the first commandment. Today we can allow many things to become gods to us. Money, fame, work, or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security.
No normal person sets out with the intention of worshiping these things. But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts, emotions, and energies. Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods.
Prayer: Abba Father, You are God, the only God I know and serve. In You I live, and move and have my being. Whatever will come between You and I let me not have it. Whatever will take my attention and trust away from You let me not live to see it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
God Is Not an Idolater
God Is Not an Idolater
When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)
Paul says that Christ is coming precisely to be glorified and to be marveled at. That is why he is coming.
People stumble over the teaching that God exalts his own glory and seeks to be praised by his people because the Bible teaches us not to be like that. For example, the Bible says that love “does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5, NASB).
How can God be loving and yet be utterly devoted to “seeking his own” glory and praise and joy? How can God be for us if he is so utterly for himself?
The answer I propose is this: Because God is unique as an all-glorious, totally self-sufficient Being, he must be for himself if he is to be for us. The rules of humility that belong to a creature cannot apply in the same way to its Creator.
If God should turn away from himself as the Source of infinite joy, he would cease to be God. He would deny the infinite worth of his own glory. He would imply that there is something more valuable outside himself. He would commit idolatry.
This would be no gain for us. For where can we go when our God has become unrighteous? Where will we find a Rock of integrity in the universe when the heart of God has ceased to value supremely the supremely valuable? Where shall we turn with our adoration when God himself has forsaken the claims of infinite worth and beauty?
No, we do not turn God’s self-exaltation into love by demanding that God cease to be God.
Instead, we must come to see that God is love precisely because he relentlessly pursues the praises of his name in the hearts of his people. Our praise for his greatness is the capstone of our joy and his greatness.
Saturday, 22 August 2026
Every day in the God's Word
EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 2026.
SUBJECT: BE NOTHING AND LET GOD BE ALL!
Memory verse: "Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11 vs 29.)
READ: John 5 vs 19, 30; 6 vs 38; 7 vs 16; 8 vs 28, 50; 14 vs 10, 24,
5:19: The Son can do nothing of Himself.
5:30: I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the Will of the Father who sent Me.
6:38: For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the Will of Him who sent Me.
7:16: Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but who sent Me.
8:28: Then Jesus said to them, “......I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
8:50: And I do not seek My own glory, there is One who seeks and judges.
14:10: “...The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.”
14:24: “.....The word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”
INTIMATION:
The Gospel of John, the apostle closest to Jesus, has the inner life of our Lord laid open to us. Jesus speaks frequently of His relation to the Father, of the motives by which He is guided, of His consciousness of the power and spirit in which He acts. The words He spoke clearly showed wherein His humility consisted. In His humility, He simply consented to let God be all, and He surrendered Himself to God's working alone.
The passages we read today revealed the words in which Jesus spoke of His relation of the Father, and showed how unceasingly He used the words 'not,' and 'nothing,' of Himself. "Not I," is the very spirit with which Christ relates with the Father. These words open to us the deepest roots of Christ's life and work. They tell us how it was that the Almighty God was able to work His mighty redemption work through Him. They show Christ's state of heart which makes Him the Son of the Father. They teach us the essential nature, and life of that redemption which Christ accomplished and now communicates, and It is this; “He was nothing, that God might be all.”
He entirely laid aside His Will and His powers for the Father to work in Him of His own power, His own Will, and His own glory. Jesus, of His whole mission, with all His works, and His teaching, and of all this He said; "It is not I,” "I am nothing,” "I have given Myself to the Father to work,” "the Father is all." What a humble heart! It is in this life of entire self-denial—of absolute submission and dependence upon the Father's Will—that Christ found perfect peace and joy, and calls us to do the same. And this should be first and the chief of the marks of the Christ within us, and that which Jesus must give us if we are to have any part with Him.
He lost nothing by giving all to God. God honored His trust, and did all for Him, and then exalted Him to His own right hand in glory. And because Christ had thus humbled Himself, God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all. His humility was simply the surrender of Himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, not minding whatever men around might say of Him, or do to Him. It is in this state of mind, in this spirit and disposition, that the redemption of Christ has its virtue and efficacy. And It is to bring us to this disposition that we are made partakers of Christ.
It is to this self-denial that our Savior calls us, to acknowledgment that self has nothing good in it, except as an empty vessel which God must fill, and therefore, its claim to be or do anything may not for a moment be allowed. And this, above and before everything, is in which the conformity to Jesus consists—the being and doing nothing of ourselves, that God may be all. We must learn of Jesus, how He is meek and lowly of heart. He teaches us that true humility takes its rise, and finds its strength in the knowledge that it is God who works all in all, and that our place is to yield to Him in perfect resignation and dependence, in full consent to do nothing of ourselves.
Until Christians understand the humility of Jesus as the very essence of His redemption, the very blessedness of the life of the Son of God, and the only true relation to the Father, our thirst and aspiration to manifest heavenly bound humility will become a burden, and a far cry.
Prayer: Abba Father, in You all things consist. Endue me with the spirit of self-denial, heavenly bound humility, and total commitment to Your Will, that I may be a partaker of Christ’s nature, and You be all in all in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
Featured post
Every day in the God's Word
EVERYDAY IN THE WORD! TUESDAY AUGUST 25, 2026. SUBJECT : WHEN GOD IS WITH YOU! Memory verse: "But as for you, you meant evil against me...
-
Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin ...