Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JULY 04, 2026.

SUBJECT: CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!

Memory verse: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude vs 3.)

READ: First Timothy 6 vs 12 - 14:

6:12: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

6:13: I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,

6:14: That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.

INTIMATION:

Christianity is not a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act. We must contend earnestly for the faith we profess; we must have an active faith, training hard, sacrificing, and doing what we know is right. The Bible is the “Mandate” book for all believers, and it requires our careful, persistent, thorough study, and meditation on the word of God, and ensure we do all that is contained therein. 

Hence, God said to Joshua: “This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shalt meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1 vs 8.)

To contend for the faith we profess, we must strive to do all the instructions and commandments written in the Bible as true followers of Christ. The truth of the Bible must not be compromised because it gives us the real facts about Jesus and salvation. When it is compromised, twisted or manipulated, we can become confused over right and wrong and lose sight of the only path that leads to eternal life; the ultimate strive for our faith. We run the race to obtain the crown of glory; eternal life with Him.

Knowing the truth helps us contend effectively for the faith. To know the truth we should take God’s instruction to Joshua quoted above. By studying the Bible, and meditating on it, we receive revelations in the knowledge of God through the Holy Spirit. Without study, we cannot know what to defend regarding our faith. You must understand the basic doctrines of the faith we are contending for so that we can recognize false doctrines and prevent wrong teaching from undermining our faith and hurting others.

While knowledge is important, it cannot substitute personal relationship with Christ. To earnestly contend for the faith, our personal relationship with Christ is very essential. Through that relationship, God has given us the Holy Spirit as a teacher. Unattached to God, we may know everything, but understand nothing. Attached to Christ, we are given spiritual understanding as well as experiences with Christ that underscore our faith. For Christ said clearly, “...For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15 vs 5).

The apostle Paul, in First Corinthians 9 vs 24 - 28, gives an illustration of striving or contending for the faith. He says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

In his illustration, winning a race requires purpose and discipline, and the Christian life is like a race; it takes hard work, self-denial, and exhausting preparation. As Christians, we are running toward our heavenly reward. The essential disciplines of prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditating on the Word, praise, and thanksgiving equip us to run with vigor and stamina.

 A Christian eager to contend or strive for the faith, do not merely observe from the grandstand like spectators; or like an unserious athlete who just turn out to jog a couple of laps each morning. Serious Christians should be diligent in contending for the faith, knowing that their spiritual progress depends upon it.

Thie Christian's striving requires self-discipline. It demands an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses, with emphasis on the later. Consequently, being strong-willed; building the will to say no when a powerful appetite inside you screams yes. For example, when you have self-discipline, you can (1) say no to friends or situations that will lead you away from Christ, (2) say no to casual sex, saving intimacy for marriage, and (3) say no to laziness in favor of “I have the ability,” “I can do it” or “I will do it.” Self-discipline is a long, steady course in learning attitudes that do not come naturally, and then channeling your natural appetites toward God’s purposes. 

Even today, some Christians minimize the sinfulness of sin, believing that how they live has little to do with their faith. But what a person truly believe will show up in how he or she acts. Those who truly have faith will show it by their deep respect for God and their sincere desire to live according to the principles in His Word.

In our fellowship with other believers, we also can contend for the faith by remaining unified on the essentials—the belief that unifies us. While Christians can certainly disagree on many non-essentials (music in worship, methods of worship, methods of outreach), we must always defend the truth of the basics of our faith as found in God’s Word. And then avoiding distractions of enemies of our faith, whose main aim is to sow seeds of discord among believers.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to contend for the faith; doing all that is required of me to demonstrate my faith in You, and building up myself in my most holy faith in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When Will I Be Satisfied?

 When Will I Be Satisfied?

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded and increasing energy and passion forever. 

This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world. 

Nothing in this world has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts. 

We lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth. 

Our enjoyment of things here comes to an end. Nothing lasts.

But if the aim of Jesus in John 17:26 comes true, all this will change. He prays to his Father about us, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” God does not love the Son the way he loves sinners. He loves the Son because the Son is infinitely worthy of love. That is, he loves the Son because the Son is infinitely lovely. Which means that this love is totally pleasure. Jesus prays that this pleasure that God has in his Son will be the same pleasure we have in the Son.

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure, then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating. No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God. 

But add to this what Jesus prays for; namely, that our ability — our energy, our passion — to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses. We will enjoy the Son of God with the very enjoyment of his omnipotent Father. 

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours. And this will never end, because neither the Father nor the Son ever ends. Their love for each other will be our love for them, and therefore our loving them will never die.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JULY 03, 2026.

SUBJECT : GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT!

Memory verse: "But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6 vs 33.)

READ: First Kings 17 vs 10 - 16:

17:10: So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, Indeed a widow was there gathering of sticks. And he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”

17:11: And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

17:12: So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

17:13: And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me, and afterward make some for yourself and for your son.

17:14: For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”

17:15: So she went and did according to the word of Elijah: and she, and he, and her household, ate for many days.

17:16: The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.

INTIMATION:

Priority is the state of being first in time, place, or rank; having a preference; something that ought to be considered or dealt with in the earliest stage of proceedings. And to “get one’s priorities right” is to give things appropriate attention in appropriate order.

Getting our priorities right is the first step and solid foundation for a life of exploits and fulfillment of purpose in our journey of life. In our memory verse, Jesus spoke about priorities. He said that when we put God first, everything we really need will be given to us as well. This means that when we put God first, the wisdom He gives will enable us to have richly rewarding lives. When we have a purpose for living and learn to be content with what we have, we have greater wealth than we could ever imagine. 

To “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything. The pressures of everyday living; people, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly become most important to you if you don’t actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life.

In the passage we read today, the widow of Zarephath put her priorities right by putting God and His kingdom first, even before her life and that of her son. When she met Elijah, she thought she was preparing her last meal. She recognized him as a prophet of God, and put everything about him first because he was a servant of God. She trusted God and His servant Elijah and gave all she had to eat to him first. 

That simple act of faith produced a miracle. Not only was she fed, the prophet and her son were also fed for many days. Also, that act of faith and obedience, and getting her priorities right further brought about the miracle of raising the dead; Elijah revived the widow’s dead son. (First Kings 17 vs 17 - 22.)

King Solomon also, got his priorities right; he put the need of his people first and asked for wisdom rather than riches. He realized that wisdom would be the most valuable asset he could have as a king. Later he wrote; "wisdom is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her” (Proverbs 3 vs 15). In his profound request, he said to God, “Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” (Second Chronicles 1 vs 10).

Then God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, or wealth, or honor, or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people, over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.” (Second Chronicles 1 vs 11 - 12). His priorities he got right did not only got him wisdom but brought along riches, honor, and wealth such that never been seen and will ever be seen with any king!

Again, the people of Judah at one time got their priorities wrong and paid dearly for it. God said to them, “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to your own house.” (Haggai 1 vs 9). God called for drought on the land and mountains and all the labor of their hands were ruined. 

Judah’s problem was confused priorities. They left what should be first in their lives, neglecting God by not caring for His house, and God was angry with them. Like Judah, our priorities involving occupation, family, and God’s work are often confused. Jobs, homes, vacations, and leisure activities may rank higher on our list of importance than God hence our poor attitude towards His work and His kingdom. 

Are you getting your priorities right? What is first in your life? Can God say to you, “My child come into My rest, you have done well.” My prayer is that none of us should miss getting our priorities right, in Jesus’ name.

Many people claim to know God. We will not know for certain in this life, but a glance at their lifestyles will quickly tell us if they are getting their priorities right; what they value and whether they have ordered their lives around kingdom priorities. Our conduct speaks volume about what we believe (See First John 2 vs 4 - 6) What do people know about God and about your faith by watching your life?

Jesus gave us the summary of living our lives with our priorities right. He said that if we truly love God and our neighbor, we will naturally keep the commandments (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 40). This is looking at God’s law positively and putting it first in our lives. Rather than worrying about all we should not do, we should concentrate on all we can do to show our love for God and others. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of wisdom and understanding that I will get my priorities right, putting You and Your kingdom first in my life, and consequently, lead a life of exploits in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Good News: God Is Happy

 Good News: God Is Happy

. . . the gospel of the glory of the blessed God . . . (1 Timothy 1:11)

This is a beautiful phrase in 1 Timothy, buried beneath the too-familiar surface of Bible buzzwords. But after you dig it up, it sounds like this: “the good news of the glory of the happy God.” The word “blessed” is not the one that means “praised,” but the one that means “happy.”

A great part of God’s glory is his happiness. 

It was inconceivable to the apostle Paul that God could be denied infinite joy and still be all-glorious. To be infinitely glorious was to be infinitely happy. He used the phrase, “the glory of the happy God,” because it is a glorious thing for God to be happy the way he is. 

God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination. As the great eighteenth-century preacher, Jonathan Edwards, said, “Part of God’s fullness which he communicates is his happiness. This happiness consists in enjoying and rejoicing in himself; so does also the creature’s happiness.” 

And this is a key part of the gospel, Paul says: “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” It is good news that God is gloriously happy. No one would want to spend eternity with a gloomy, unhappy God. 

If God is unhappy, then the goal of the gospel — to be with God forever — is not a happy goal, and that means it would be no gospel at all. But, in fact, Jesus invites us to spend eternity with a happy God when he says, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). 

Jesus said in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Jesus spoke, and lived, and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full. Therefore, the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.”

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JULY 01, 2026.

SUBJECT: THE HOLY SPIRIT—OUR HELPER!

Memory verse: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of Me.” (John 15 vs 26.) 

READ: John 16 vs 12 - 15:

16:12: I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

16:13: However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak: and He will tell you things to come.

16:14: He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine, and declare it to you.

16:15: All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you.

INTIMATION:

The Holy Spirit is a distinct Personality in the Godhead, the Third Person in the Godhead—God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. The Three Personalities are united as One, and they work together. When you become a Christian, you gain all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. One of these outstanding privileges is being led by the Spirit (See Galatians 4 vs 4 - 6). We may not always feel as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness. His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love (Romans 5 vs 5). He is a very gentle Person, and allows us to take our choices in all things. However, a leading of the Spirit if demanddd by one engenders perfection in walking in consonance with God’s commandments, and one are assured of exploits in your life’s endeavors.

The Holy Spirit is very active in His operations in the world. He is in the church, haven been sent at Pentecost by the Father and by Jesus Christ (Acts 2). He is the Enabler of the personalities involved in the production of Holy Scriptures. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would tell His disciples “things to come”; the nature of their mission, the opposition they would face, and the final outcome of their efforts. They did not fully understand these promises until the Holy Spirit came after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then the Holy Spirit revealed the truths to the disciples which they wrote down in the books that now form the New Testament.

To the believer, the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth.” The truth into which the Spirit guides us is the truth about Jesus Christ and His mission on earth. The Spirit also helps us through patient practice to discern right from wrong. The Holy Spirit is the agent of change in people when they believe the gospel. When we tell others about Christ, we must depend on the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and convince them that they need salvation. God’s power—not our cleverness or persuasion—changes people. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, our words are meaningless. The Holy Spirit not only convicts people of sin but also assures them of the truth of the gospel. 

The Holy Spirit is a powerful person on our side, working for, and with us. He will never leave us. Though the world at large cannot receive Him, but He lives with, and in the believers. He teaches us; reminds us of Jesus’ words (John 14 vs 26; 15 vs 26), convinces us of sin, shows us God’s righteousness, and announces God’s judgement on evil (John 16 vs 8); He guides us into truth and gives insight into future events (John 16 vs 13); He brings glory to Christ (John 16 vs 14). The Holy Spirit has been active among people from the beginning of time, but after Pentecost (Acts 2) He came to live in all believers. Many people are unaware of the Holy Spirit’s activities, but to those who hear Christ’s words and understand the Spirit’s power, the Spirit gives a whole new way to look at life.

Jesus uses two names for the Holy Spirit—“Helper” and “Spirit of truth.” The Word “Helper” conveys the helping, encouraging, and strengthening work of the Spirit. “Spirit of truth” points to the teaching, illuminating, and reminding work of the Holy Spirit. He ministers to both the head and the heart, and both dimensions are important. Jesus promised the disciples that the Spirit would help them remember what He had been teaching them. This promise ensures the validity of the New Testament. The disciples were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life and teachings, and the Spirit helped them remember without taking away their individual perspectives. We can be confident that the Gospels are accurate records of what Jesus taught and did. And the Spirit helps all believers in the same manner. As we study the Bible, we can trust Him to plant truth in our minds, convince us of God’s Will, and remind us when we stray from it. 

In witnessing for Christ, the Holy Spirit would give us the appropriate words in our time of need. As His followers, our testimony might not make us look impressive, but it would still point out God’s work in the world through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We need to pray for opportunities to witness for Christ, and then trust Him to help us with our words. This promise of Spirit’s help, however, does not compensate for lack of preparation. Scripture teaches that we are to make careful preparations, and thoughtful statements (Colossians 4 vs 6). We need to study God’s Word, then the Holy Spirit will bring the truths to mind when we most need them, and help us present them in the most effective way. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You very much for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I call Him my ‘Senior Partner’ because He is my Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Comforter, Counselor, Standby, Strengthener, Encourager, and Empowerer. O Lord, give me the grace never to miss, or quench the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How Well Do You Know God?

How Well Do You Know God?

“Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.” (Job 36:26)

It is impossible to know God too well. 

He is the most important person who exists. And this is because he made all others, and any importance they have is owing to him. 

Any strength or intelligence or skill or beauty that other beings have comes from him. On every scale of excellence, he is infinitely greater than the best person you ever knew or ever heard of. 

Being infinite, he is inexhaustibly interesting. It is impossible, therefore, that God be boring. His continual demonstration of the most intelligent and interesting actions is volcanic. 

As the source of every good pleasure, he himself pleases fully and finally. If that’s not how we experience him, we are either dead, or blind, or sleepwalking. 

It is therefore astonishing how little effort in this world is put into knowing God. 

It’s as though the President of the United States came to live with you for a month, and you only said hello in passing every day or so. Or as if you were flown at the speed of light for a couple of hours around the sun and the solar system, and instead of looking out the window, you played a computer game. Or as if you were invited to watch the best actors, singers, athletes, inventors, and scholars perform their best, but you declined to go, so you could watch the TV season’s final soap.

Let us pray together that our infinitely great God would incline our hearts, and open our eyes to see him as fully as we can and seek to know him more.

God’s Pleasure to Do You Good

 God’s Pleasure to Do You Good

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

Jesus will not sit by and let us disbelieve without a fight. He takes up the weapon of the word and speaks it with power for all who struggle to believe.

His aim is to defeat the fear that God is not the kind of God who really wants to be good to us — that he is not really generous and helpful and kind and tender, but is basically irked with us — ill-disposed and angry. 

Sometimes, even if we believe in our heads that God is good to us, we may feel in our hearts that his goodness is somehow forced or constrained, perhaps like a judge who has been maneuvered by a clever attorney into a corner on some technicality of court proceeding, so he has to dismiss the charges against the prisoner whom he really would rather send to jail. 

But Jesus is at pains to help us not feel that way about God. He is striving in Luke 12:32 to describe for us the indescribable worth and excellency of God’s soul by showing the unbridled pleasure he takes in giving us the kingdom. 

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Every little word of this stunning sentence is intended to help take away the fear that Jesus knows we struggle with; namely, that God begrudges his benefits; that he is constrained and out of character when he does nice things; that at bottom he is angry and loves to vent his anger. 

Luke 12:32 is a sentence about the nature of God. It’s about the kind of heart God has. It’s a verse about what makes God glad — not merely about what God will do or what he has to do, but what he delights to do, what he loves to do and takes pleasure in doing. Every word counts. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”