THE INEGRITY OF GOD’S WORD!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2019.

SUBJECT: THE INTEGRITY OF GOD’S WORD! 

Memory verse: "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119 vs 89.) 

READ: Isaiah 55 vs 10 - 11: 

55:10: For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return not there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

55:11: So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

INTIMATION:

God embodies all truth, therefore, He cannot lie. Because God is truth, you are secured in His Word; you don’t need to wonder if He will change His mind or plans, and by His nature He cannot change (Malachi 3 vs 6; Hebrews 13 vs 8) hence the Scripture recognizes the immutability of His Word (see Hebrews 6 vs 17 - 18). The integrity of the Word is the basis of faith, hence Paul called it "The Word of faith" (Romans 10 vs 8). The reason for unbelief and a faltering faith is a lack of assurance of the integrity of the promises in the Word. God's Word is an embodiment of His faith. When you understand rightly the integrity of God's Word, you will then appreciate why David said the Word is sweeter than honey to his mouth (Psalm 119 vs 103). 

In Hebrews 11 vs 3 the Bible states: "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." God called the universe into existence out of nothing; He declared that it was to be, and it was. Our faith is in the God who created the entire universe by His Word. God's Word has awesome power.

God is the same with His Word, and linked Himself with His Word hence He named Jesus "the Word." He is back of His Word, and He cannot be separated from His Word (John 1 vs 1). The same Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1 vs 14), and more than 2500 years of the coming of Christ, the Word had the same creative and powerful effects when spoken by Him.

Here are some facts about the Word; (1) The Word is always now; (2) It has been, it is, and it will be, the voice of God; (3) It is never old, it is always fresh and new; (4) To the heart that is in fellowship with the Father, the Word is a present-tense, living voice from heaven; (5) The Word is like the author: Eternal, Unchanging, Living.

Jesus is the guarantor for every word from The New Testament (Matthew 1 vs 1 to Revelation 22 vs 21). All heaven is back of the Word; the very throne of God is back of the Word; and Jesus and the Father are back of the throne. 

Jesus said in John 16 vs 28: "I came from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go unto my Father." The Word came into the world from the Author and has gone to be with the Author, having the same power. When you speak the word, you are speaking God and the Son Jesus into the situation. 

Now that you have known the unchanging nature and efficacy of His Word (Psalm 33 vs 11; Isaiah 14 vs 24; 40 vs 8), as well as the purity and power in the Word (Proverbs 30 vs 5; Psalm 12 vs 6; Psalm 18 vs 30; Hebrews 4 vs 12), and how He hastens to perform His Word (Jeremiah 1 vs 12), search, and locate the desired Word applicable to the situation of concern in your life. Jesus clearly stated that all authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28 vs 18), and He handed us the same authority to the believers in His name. The Word spoken in His name works wonders (Mark 16 vs 15 - 18).

For instance, if you are having any health challenges, see Psalm 107 vs 20, how God sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Speak the Word in Isaiah 53 vs 4 - 5, Matthew 8 vs 17, First Peter 2 vs 24, into your health situation; "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; and by His stripes we are healed; He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses" in His body nailed them on the Cross that we might be free and are freed. Keep saying it, don't stop saying it, and the result is sure to come. Though it may tarry, be patient and wait for it, for it shall surely come. 

There is a Word for every situation in life. Locate the Word for what you are requesting, sow the seed by speaking the Word (Luke 8 vs 11), and when sowed on good soil (the good soil is the qualifying conditions mentioned above), you are certain of bearing good fruit of up to a hundredfold.

While locating the Word don't loose site of the qualifying conditions to bring the power in the Word into action. These are: (1) you must be a believer; (2) you must not hold a grudge against another person (Mark 11 vs 25); (3) you must not pray with selfish motives; (4) your request must be for the good of God's kingdom; (5) you must have faith in God and His Word, not faith in the object of your request.

Prayer: Abba Father, You all given us all things in Your Word. Engrace me to daily search the Scriptures for Your Word that I may lead a triumphant life, overcoming all circumstances by Your Word, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD GIVES US THE GRACE TO LIVE HOLY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2019.

SUBJECT: GOD GIVES US THE GRACE TO LIVE HOLY! 

Memory verse: "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Psalm 84 vs 11.)

READ: Second Timothy 1 vs 9; First Peter 1 vs 15 - 16: 

Second Timothy 1:9: Who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

First Peter 1:15: He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 

1:16: because it is written 'Be holy for I am holy'

INTIMATION:

Grace has been defined as undeserved (unmerited) favor. That is one aspect of grace, probably the one that we are most accustomed to hearing about, and it is wonderful. But we have also seen that grace is much more than that. Grace is power—the power of the Holy Spirit to come into our life and overcome our own evil tendencies. It is the power of God available to meet our needs without cost to us. There is nothing more powerful than grace, and it is received by believing rather than through human effort.

God's plan for us ab initio, is to be like Him, hence His creating us in His own image and after His likeness. He wanted us to live like Him. Unfortunately, sin separated us from Him. But in His love, mercy and grace, He sent His Son, as a propitiation for our sins (First John 4 vs 10), and through His blood reconciled us back to Himself, to live for Him and be like Him. God is holy and demands that we be holy. We are to separate ourselves from the world's sinful values, and be devoted to God's desire rather than our own, and carry His love and mercy into the world. 

But while God wants us to be holy, He realizes our weakness and inability. He knows that without help we can never be what He desires for us to be or do what He wants us to do. That is why He has sent His Spirit (the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby, Empower, and Encourager) to help us to fulfill His design and purpose for us.

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to prepare us for that place. That is not a Scripture, but it is scriptural; that is a truth based on the Word of God. This process through which the Holy Spirit makes us holy, or leads us into holiness is called sanctification. Sanctification therefore, refers to the process that God uses to do a work in us by His indwelling Holy Spirit to make us more and more holy until finally we become just like His Son Jesus. It is God's grace (the power of the Holy Spirit) we receive that enables us to meet the need of sanctification—the transformation process to holiness.

Sanctification (being made holy) is a progressive venture. The finality of that process will never occur while we are in these earthly bodies. But you and I don't need to be concerned about that. The only thing we need to be concerned about is progress. The question we must ask ourselves is: ‘are we making progress toward holiness, are we cooperating with the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to do what He wants to do in our lives?’

As believers we are not to be anxious about holiness or the process of sanctification ('be anxious for nothing' (Philippians 4 vs 6)), but we are to be serious about it. We are to recognize that it is God's will for us. We are to desire and thirst for it with all our hearts, and sincerely ask God for it in our fellowship with Him. We are to make every effort to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Who is working to bring it to pass in us day by day. But while we are not to worry about holiness, we are also not to have a light attitude toward sin. Grace is not a license to sin.

Like the believers in Paul's day, our problem is not just a misunderstanding of sin, it is also a misunderstanding of grace. When the Holy Spirit shows us what to do to keep from sinning and walk in holiness, we immediately try to do it our own without His help. We struggle and strive and strain, eventually ending up miserable and frustrated and confused because we don't understand why we keep failing. The ultimate goal to be accomplished in us by grace is to empower us to live a holy life—consecrated and set aside to God for His sacred use and purpose.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to live holy; being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and receiving His empowerment to comply accordingly, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

LIVE LIKE CHRIST: BE SELFLESS!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2019.

SUBJECT: LIVE LIKE CHRIST: BE SELFLESS! 

Memory verse: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6 vs 2.)

READ: Philippians 2 vs 3 - 11:

2:3: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 

2:4: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others.

2:5: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
2:6: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
2:7: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
2:8: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

INTIMATION:

Being selfless is laying aside right. It is putting others first. Selflessness is having no regard to self, being altruistic—living and acting for the interest of others. Selflessness is inconveniencing yourself for the happiness, and benefit of others. Many people, including Christians, live only to make a good impression on others or to please themselves—the 'Me first' attitude. Living like Christ is principally a life built on love. Jesus gave us a new commandment in John 13 vs 34 - 35, He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Living like Christ is living a life built on love. 

Selfishness is ambitious and conceit (arrogance, excessive pride, haughtiness) is seen among Christians, abounding in churches (the Body of Christ). Christians compete amongst themselves with the motive to undo the other; backbiting, gossiping, witch hunting, working against the interest of others, and so on. 

Always think of yourself the way Jesus thought of Himself. Though He is God, and equal with God in status, but didn't think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, to serve selflessly. He made the greatest sacrifice of dying for others' sins when He had no sin, paying the penalty of death for the whole world, which aught to be paid by all of us sinners (Romans 3 vs 23; 6 vs 23).

As humans born into this world, we’re all selfish by nature. We’re born with a sinful nature that daily bows before the deity called ‘self,’ and until we crucify the “Adamic nature,” we’ll continue to struggle with selfishness. A selfless Christian does not seek to be known, praised or rewarded for the good he does because he doesn’t glory in the flesh. All he or she wishes is for Christ to be seen and glorified in his or her attitude and actions which when faithfully executed, will draw all people to Christ.

Though it is difficult to lead a selfless lifestyle but we need to start from somewhere and let the Holy Spirt help us accomplish the rest. For instance, Christians should not struggle in traffic jam, in fuel queues, in difficult circumstances, to take the first turn. When you do such, where is selflessness? Let the love and mind of Christ be in you always! Christlike selflessness is the mark of a true Christian. It was for this reason that the apostle Paul, in his letter to the believers in Philippi, said, "Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus." The entire Christian experience should be one of continued acts of selflessness, to 'deny self daily while following the Lord’ (Luke 9 vs 23).

We must act differently from the world around us if we are to actually show ourselves as children of the heavenly kingdom. Selflessness must be the watchword in our dealings with everybody—Christians and non Christians alike. Selflessness will make us willingly give up comforts so our neighbor can have little of what God has blessed us with. It will make us think twice before abusing a position of responsibility entrusted to us in the Church of God, public service or business. Selflessness will make church leaders promote the gospel more than they promote themselves and their denominations. It will make us allocate church resources more to places where it will benefit the church rather than projects which massage our ego and buttress our vanity. 

Let us not be moved by the promise of instant gratification of self to destroy the good work God has called us to do. We’ll be more effective carriers of the good news of the gospel if our individual lives become examples of selflessness.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the excellent spirit of selflessness, that the mind of Christ will be in me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

RECOGNIZE GOD AS YOUR SOURCE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2019.

SUBJECT: RECOGNIZE GOD AS YOUR SOURCE! 

Memory verse: "That I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’." (Genesis 14 vs 23.)

READ: Genesis 13 vs 8 - 11:

"So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife, between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left." 

And lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.......Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other." 

INTIMATION:

Abraham was not wealthy because he was a shrewd business man or because God rewarded his great integrity. Abraham was prosperous because God promised to bless him and make his name great. The blessing was independent of Abraham's performance or what he deserved. It is purely the favor of God that made him rich. In the same way, your efforts are not the source of prosperity in your life. 

The blessing of God made Abraham so rich that he and his nephew, Lot, couldn't dwell together because their flocks and herds were too big. They had so many animals that one location couldn't feed them all, so their servants began fighting with each other over the grazing land, and they were forced to separate. Abraham took Lot up to a hilltop so they could look out over the whole land. One part of the land was a well-watered plain lush with grass; the other part was dry. Keep in mind that the survival of the herds depended on there being plenty of natural grass to graze on. Fields of grass were the only source of food they had. So it wasn't surprising that Lot chose the well-watered land for himself.

The story revealed how confident Abraham was in God as his source. Anyone who was relying on natural circumstances and his own efforts for prosperity would never give up a well-watered plain for his animals. Looking at the natural facts, the decision whether to choose a grassy plain or the desert was a no-brainer. But Abraham knew God was his source, no matter what things looked like to the naked eye. Abraham was saying, "It doesn't matter where I go, the Lord is going to bless me."

Right after Abraham allowed Lot to take the better land, God appeared to him and promised even more prosperity than Abraham had already experienced: "And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.’” (Genesis 13 vs 14 - 17.)

In the natural, it is impossible for a man who grazes his flocks and herds in the desert to prosper as much as a man whose cattle graze in lush pastures, but nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1 vs 37.) The blessing of God made Abraham rich, and he prospered much more than Lot did.

Not long after Lot and Abraham separated, foreign kings raided the city of Sodom, where Lot lived, and took everyone captive. When Abraham heard that his nephew had been seized, he armed his servants that were trained for war and pursued the foreign kings. His private army consisted of 318 men, which gives you an idea of how rich he was and how many servants he had at that time in history. He was so rich that he had a private army. Abraham's men defeated the foreign kings and brought back all of the spoil and people who had been taken captive.

The king of Sodom was grateful, so he offered to let Abraham keep the spoil: "The king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the good to yourself" (Genesis 14 vs 21). The king recognized that if it hadn't been Abraham,  his entire kingdom would have been lost. We don't know how much spoil the king was offering Abraham, but it isn't unreasonable to think it would have been the equivalent of millions of dollars today. 

Abraham had recovered all the goods, food, valuables of five cities, so the spoil certainly worth a lot of money. But Abraham didn't accept the king's offer because he didn't want anyone to have a reason to claim they had made him rich. He knew he was rich because of the blessing of God. His confidence in God as the source of his wealth was so strong that he gave away millions of dollars worth of spoil, which he had rightfully earned by conquest. (Genesis 14 vs 22 - 24.)

God is our source and the resources we have are giftsa from Him. Yes, you may have worked so hard at your job, but God is the source! God gave you life, health, and abilities, and God is the One who opens doors of opportunity. Until you recognize God as your source, nothing else the Bible say about finances is going to work for you. As long as you hold unto your money with a clenched fist and hoarding possessions, God's method of prosperity won't work in your life. You have to see yourself as a steward managing the financial blessings that God has given you.

Seeing God as your source doesn't mean you sit at home and do nothing. You are supposed to work, but you need to recognize that even though you work, it is God who gives the increase. (First Corinthians 3 vs 7.) A farmer has to prepare the soil and plant seeds in order to get a crop, but God created the natural laws that govern sowing and reaping, God sends the rain and sun that makes the plant to grow, God gave the land to farm on, and God is the source of the farmer's health. Likewise, it is the blessing of God that makes it possible for you to prosper, and the foundation of prosperity is seeing yourself as a steward.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are reason I live, and in You I move and have my being.  All I have is Yours. Yours I am, and Yours I want to be. Endue me with the spirit of servanthood, to manage Your resources appropriately, and earn your acceptance as a worthy servant, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GUILT FEELING SHOULD NOT KEEP YOU FROM PRAYING!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2019.

SUBJECT : GUILT FEELING SHOULD NOT KEEP YOU FROM PRAYING.

Memory verse: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1 vs 18).

READ: Isaiah 1 vs 18 - 20:

18: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

20: But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword", for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

 

INTIMATION:

Never let guilt feelings of sin keep you from praying (seeking the face of God), which is your only means of restoration, because only God forgives sin. Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin, except the sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12 vs 31 - 32). One of the effects of sin in our lives is keeping us away from praying, but it is noteworthy that perfect moral behavior is not a condition for prayer. Though the stain of sin seems permanent, but only God can remove such stain of sin from our lives. We don't have to go through life permanently soiled. God's Word assures that if we are willing and obedient in turning to Him, Christ will forgive and remove our most indelible stains of sin.

Christ came for sinners like you and I (Matthew 9 vs 12 - 13), and He expects us, the sinners, to come to Him for mercy. We can only go to God in prayer, acknowledging our need and admitting that we don't have all the answers, and God will come to our help. He desires to show mercy and His mercy endures forever. No matter how long you have been away from God, He is ready to hear from you and restore you to a right relationship with Him. Every situation can be salvaged if you are willing to turn to God. In Judges 16 vs 28 - 30,  we would observe that in spite of Samson's past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the philistines' heathen temple and worshipers. He killed more people at his death than he did in life because of the mercy of God when he turned to Him in prayer.

The only unforgivable sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit. What then is the sin against the Holy Spirit? The unforgivable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God, and His power in Christ, expressed through the Holy Spirit. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. It reveals a heart attitude of unbelief and unrepentance that attributes to Satan the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes. Such people have turned their backs on God and rejected all faith, and are unwilling to ask for forgiveness. Even when they receive the prompting of the Holy Spirit, convicting them of sin, they reject it. And the deliberate rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy, because it is rejecting God Himself. Such person removes himself or herself from the only force that can lead him or her to repentance and restoration to God.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the only God, there is no other. Before You there is no God, with You there is no other God, and there will be no other God after You. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, in Jesus name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GRACE VERSUS WORKS!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2019.

SUBJECT:  GRACE VERSUS WORKS!

Memory verse:  “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work?” (Romans 11 vs 6.) 

READ:  Romans 6 vs 15 - 16:

6:15: What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Certainly not! 

6:16: Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

INTIMATION:

Grace and works are diametrically opposed to one another. They cannot fellowship or have anything to do with each other. In other words, grace and works are mutually exclusive. Where one exists, the other cannot exist. Every single activity in our lives has the required grace to empower us for its accomplishment. As your faith grows, and you put all our trust upon God; “casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you,” He will make all grace abound toward you, that you will always have all sufficiency in all things, and have abundance for every good work (Second Corinthians 9 vs 8). 

If you and I wants to accomplish the tasks by our own efforts, that is, being into works, then we are out of grace. If we are in grace, then we are out of works. Any time we get into works, the grace of God ceases to operate on our behalf. God has no choice but to back off and wait until we have finished trying to handle things ourselves. As long as we continue to try to figure out our own problems, we will only get more and more frustrated and confused. The reason is because we are trying to operate without grace of God, and that is never going to be successful. 

Now, the apostle Paul stated this clearly about himself and his exploits; “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 

We must know that discernment (insight, perception, understanding) does not come out of the head, but out of the heart, "out of the inner man", where the Holy Spirit dwells—the Spirit of grace. The Scripture in Ephesians 3 vs 16 says, "that He will grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through the Spirit in the inner man.” Discernment or understanding is simply God's wisdom for any situation of life. It is a "spiritual knowing" about how to handle things. The understanding is by His grace (the power of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of grace) indwelling your innermost being. Your own thoughts are from the head, out of the work of your head. That leads to frustration and confusion. 

If we have a problem, we don't need to try to figure it out, we need discernment (insight). We need to hear from God. We need God's word on our situation. We need for Him to show us what to do. And we are only going to have insight when we give up reasoning. If you are frustrated and confused, it is a sure sign that you are depending on works rather than on grace.

Confusion is not from God. The Bible says that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (First Corinthians 14 vs 33.)  As soon as you begin to feel frustrated and confused, as soon as you start to lose your sense of inner peace, you need to say to yourself, "Oh I have gone too far." You have to realize that you are out of grace and into works. You must give up your efforts and entrust yourself totally to the Lord, leaving your situation entirely in His hands.

Once you turn from your reasoning to the grace of God, you open a channel of faith through which He can begin to reveal to you what you need to know in order to handle that problem or situation. Enter God's rest, and seize from your own works; “For He who has entered His rest has Himself also ceased from His works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4 vs 10,) And when you have done that, you will begin to hear His answers.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my loving Father and faithful Companion. I put all my trust in You, casting all my cares upon You. O Lord make all grace abound toward me that I may be sufficient in all things and have abundance in every good work, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

SHARE IN CHRIST’S SUFFERING; CRUCIFY THE FLESH!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 24, 2019.

SUBJECT : SHARE IN CHRIST’S SUFFERING; CRUCIFY THE FLESH

! 

Memory verse: 

"But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when the glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy?" (First Peter 4 vs 13.

)

READ: Romans 8

 vs 12 - 17

:

8:12: Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba Father."

8:16: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

8:17: And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him; that we may also be glorified together.

8:18: 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

INTIMATION:

When you become "Born-again," that is, when you believe in Christ and His finished work for you on the cross, and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, you are adopted as a child of God. And as a child of God, you have the opportunity of the leading by the Holy Spirit. 

Being the children of God exact the price of being "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." 

Because we are God's children, we share in His great treasures as co-heirs. God has given us His best gifts: His Son, the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, and Eternal life; and He encourages us to ask Him for whatever we need. 

As followers of Christ, we are led by the Spirit, and consequently, are indebted to the Spirit, and not to the flesh. Just like Christ, we have to suffer in the flesh in obedience to the leading of the Spirit. The flesh is the playground of the devil, and the Spirit has nothing to do with the flesh.

 Our flesh is never going to want what the Spirit wants, and even when our spirit wants to follow the Lord, the appetites of our flesh will tempt us to disobey God. 

As a result, w

e will sense a war going on in us as we choose to conform to God's leading.

As long as we're here on earth our flesh and our born-again heart will not be in natural agreement; 

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." (Galatians 5 vs 17.) 

Though the desires of the flesh are not going to disappear and go away, but if we choose to be led by the Spirit, we won't fulfill the desires of the flesh, therefore, devil won't get his way. The 

desires of the flesh leads us away from God's best. T

he apostle Paul said, "I say then; Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5 vs 16).

The bottom line is that our flesh wants to do one thing and the Spirit wants us to do something else, and if we choose to follow the Spirit of God, our flesh is going to suffer. We don't like that, but the Scripture simply says that if we want to share Christ's glory, we have to be willing to share His suffering. 

Christians must face suffering of the flesh, and as Christ's followers we must endure the suffering. 

What kind of suffering are we to endure? Sometimes we get the suffering message out of context and balance. 

True Bible suffering is not poverty, disease, or disaster. Jesus came to heal, deliver, and set us free from that kind of suffering. Satan certainly attacks us with those things, and we may have to take them for a season while we are waiting for God to deliver us. B

ut that's not the kind of suffering that God wants us to endure permanently. What the Lord wants from us is to be long-suffering with each other.

What does "longsuffering" mean? It's the patient endurance of trials or prosecution.

A true sign of maturity is demonstrated in the way we react to situations, especially the way we treat other people. The Bible is a Book about relationships—our relationship with God, our relationship with our self, and our relationship with other people. Most of us will agree that the biggest challenge is getting along with other people. 

For true believers and followers of Christ, striving to be like Him should be our main target. Jesus Christ is forgiveness personified. Even in the most crucial pain on the cross, He was pleading with God for forgiveness on His persecutors. What a strange act! But for us, when people make us mad, the tendency to react madly and give it back to them is very high. But to be Christlike, 

if people make us mad, the Word of God in us should start prompting us to forgive them. It's not easy to do, but we have to choose whether we are going to fulfill the desires of the flesh or whether we're going to be led by the spirit. 

If we walk in the flesh, we won't get along with anybody, because the bottom line is we all like to have our way about everything. The flesh is selfish and self-centered. If we walk in the flesh, we will never act like Jesus Christ. 

To live as Jesus did—serving others, giving up one's rights, resisting pressures to conform to the world—always exacts a price of longsuffering. He crucified the flesh, so that He was completely led by the Spirit. Jesus is our role model. Nothing we suffer, however, can compare to the great price that Jesus paid to save us.

God teaches us what is right through the Spirit indwelling us, and all day long, seven days a week, we have to choose the right thing over the wrong thing. Until the last trumpet sounds, and Jesus comes to get us, we're going to have to say no to self and yes to God. We must realize that in order to follow God, the flesh must be told no, and when that happens the flesh suffers. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank You for the privileges of sonship You have given me. My utmost heart desire is to join in Your suffering, crucifying the flesh and lead by the Spirit, that I may glorified together with You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!