DO NOT BE PUFFED UP!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 8, 2020.

SUBJECT: DO NOT BE PUFFED UP! 

Memory verse: "John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." (John 3 vs 27.)

READ: First Corinthians 4 vs 7; James 1 vs 17:

First Corinthians 4:7: For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 

James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation, or shadow of turning.

INTIMATION:

We have nothing that God hasn’t given us. All we have—physical and spiritual—are all blessings from the Lord, they never originated from ourselves. Therefore, all such things were gift of God, and no one should claim any credit for that which had been given to him or her through the grace of God. Therefore, let no one be puffed up or boast as if he or she had not received them from God. Gifts are given for the purpose of ministry to others, and not exclusively for one’s own profit. And since gifts originated from God, whether miraculous or not, they must be used according to the will of God, that is, to the benefit of others as good stewards of the gifts of God. 

Perhaps no story in the Scriptures best exhibit this fact of receiving all from God better than the story of Abraham. He 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. And God commanded him to be a blessing to others (Genesis 12 vs 2). 

Abraham was so confident in God as his source that he never relied on natural circumstances and his own efforts for prosperity. Consequently, he gave up a well-watered plain for his animals, and allowed his nephew to take the plain lush with grass while he took the other part that was dry. Keep in mind that the survival of the herds was depended on there being plenty of natural grass to graze on. 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 how things looked like to the naked eye. Abraham was saying, "It doesn't matter where I go, the Lord is going to bless me." 

In the same way, your efforts are not the source of prosperity in your life. Therefore, do not be puffed up or boast of what you possess or have achieved for it is God’s grace that had enabled you to achieve. The Scripture in Deuteronomy 8 vs 17 - 18 says, “Then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand has gained me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the LORD your God: for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

For instance, 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.

If you are to boast do so in the Lord who has made you what you are, and has given you all you have. Nothing but simple faith in God do get a person into God’s kingdom. No one can boast that personal achievements helped him or her secure God’s gifts. Salvation is totally from God through Jesus’ death. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, we need only to accept what Jesus has already done for us. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are reason I live, and in You I move and have my being.  All I have are Yours. Yours I am, and Yours I want to be. Give me the grace to manage Your gifts to me appropriately, to earn my acceptance as a worthy servant by You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!