Everyday in God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY OCTOBER 13, 2025.

SUBJECT : RELY NOT ON YOUR OWN STRENGTH!

Memory verse: “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect." (Psalm 18 vs 32.)

READ: : Isaiah 40 vs 29 - 31:

40:29: He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

40:30: Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,

40:31: But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. 

INTIMATION: 

Strength is the capacity for endurance or exertion; it is the power of a person or of God, measured variously in terms of wealth, wisdom, military might, physical prowess. However, we are not called to rely on our own strength. Even the strongest people get tired at times, but God’s power and strength never diminish. He is never too tired or too busy to help and listen. His strength is our source of strength. When you feel all of life crushing you and you cannot go another step, remember that you can call upon God to renew your strength.

Those who are strong, attractive, or talented often find it easier to trust themselves than in God who gave them their gifts. Self-sufficiency is a handicap when it causes us to believe we can do what needs to be done in our own strength. We must recognize the danger of fighting in our own strength. One’s accomplishments are limited to working things out according to the abilities of men. However, we can be confident of victory against life’s challenges and temptations only if we put our confidence in God and not ourselves. 

It is easy to trust God when we see His mighty acts, but after a while, in the routine of our daily lives, His strength may appear to diminish. God doesn’t change, but our view of Him often does. The monotony of day to day living lulls us into forgetting how powerful God is and can be, and His strength is always available. God has unlimited power and control of all the world’s events. We cannot see all that God is, and we cannot see all that God will do. But we can be assured that He is God and will do what is right. Knowing this can give us confidence and hope in a confusing world. 

No matter how big an obstacle in front of us may seem, if we rely on God's power, we can overcome it. In addition, God's strength acts as a shield from feelings of anxiety we may experience. When we fully put our trust in Him, He walks alongside us. God doesn’t promise to eliminate challenges, instead, He promises to give us strength to meet those challenges. If He gave us no rough roads to walk, no mountains to climb, and no battles to fight, we would not grow. He does not leave us alone with our challenges, however, He stands beside us, teaches us, and strengthens us to face them. 

When we feel as though we cannot handle what is to come, we can turn to God. We are not called to rely on our own strength. No matter how big an obstacle in front of us may seem, if we rely on God’s power, we can overcome it. In addition, God’s strength acts as a shield from feelings of anxiety we may experience. 

When we fully put our trust in Him, He walks alongside us. Psalm 55 vs 22 says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” Whatever trials we may be going through, we can take them to the Lord, and He will give us the strength to walk through them. When we fully put our trust in Him rather than ourselves, we will not be shaken.

When it comes to feelings of doubt, we can turn to Hebrews 4:16, which says, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Even when we feel incompetent, we can find confidence in knowing that when we call upon the Lord, He will help us. Rather than being confident in our own abilities, we can be confident in God’s abilities.

Though men may grow weak, God’s sustenance always abounds. Those who will wait on God to work in their lives will not be disappointed. They will be able to accomplish things beyond their dreams, for God is able to work in the lives of those who walk in faith. God is a shield and defense only to those who put their faith in Him to protect them. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You, my shield and buckler, my very present help in trouble. Yours I am and Yours I want to be. By my strength I can do little, but by Your strength I can do all things. O Lord, daily load with Your strength to maneuver the difficult terrains of this world, in Jesus’ Name I Have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Master Servant

 The Master Servant

. . . so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:7)

To me, the Bible’s most astonishing image of Christ’s second coming is in Luke 12:35–37, which pictures the return of a master from a marriage feast like this:

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.”

To be sure, we are called servants — and that no doubt means we are to do exactly as we are told. But the wonder of this picture is that the “master” insists on serving. We may have expected this during Jesus’s ministry on earth, since he said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). But Luke 12:35–37 is a picture of the second coming, when the Son of Man comes in the blinding glory of his Father “with his mighty angels in flaming fire” as 2 Thessalonians 1:7–8 says. Why would Jesus be portrayed as a table waiter at the second coming?

Because the very heart of his glory is the fullness of grace that overflows in kindness to needy people. This is why Ephesians 2:7 says he aims “in the coming ages [to] show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

What is the greatness of our God? What is his uniqueness in the world? Isaiah answers: “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4 RSV). There is no other god like this. He never relinquishes the role of inexhaustible benefactor of his ever-dependent, happy people.

Miracle by Whitney Houston

 

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2025.

SUBJECT: THE WORTH OF BELIEVERS TO GOD! 

Memory verse: "They shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." (Malachi 3 vs 17.)

READ: First Peter 2 vs 9 - 10:

2:9: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

2:10: Who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

INTIMATION:

The love of the Father marked all belivers out for the position of sons and daughters way back before the morning stars sang their first anthem, and they are made unto the praise of His glory. He planned that believers should be holy without blemish before Him. He marked them out for the position of sons and daughters through Jesus Christ unto Himself; and they are the marked ones. Believers have been chosen by God as His very own, and His jewels, a special treasure to Him above all people, and they are to Him a kingdom of priests, as Christ has made them kings and priests to God that they shall reign on the earth. 

He has blessed the believers with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (Ephesians 1 vs 3). They are blessed, rich in Him, and have His fullness. The believers are sufficient in His sufficiency. All that He is, they have. They are what He says they are. God the Father sees the belivers as His own righteousness in Christ Jesus, and they are in the Beloved. The believers are complete in Him, and this completeness is over and above all that they can ask or think or desire. 

The believers have been called to represent Him to others. They are united with Christ as members of His body, and they join in His priestly work of reconciling God and people. God has given them eternal life in Christ. Their eternal life with Christ is certain because they are united in His powerful victory. God’s incomparable great power is available to help all believers. 

Now, look at the conclusion of the whole matter as the apostle Paul says: “....We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor power, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8 vs 37 - 39.)

These verses contain one of the most comforting promises in all Scriptures. Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms: hardship, persecution, illness, imprisonment, and even death. These sometimes cause them to fear that they have been abandoned by Christ. But the apostle Paul exclaims that it is impossible to be separated from Christ. His death for us is proof of His unconquerable love. Nothing can separate us from Christ’s presence. God tells us how great His love is so that we will feel totally secure in Him. If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will not be afraid.

Now you know your worth to God in Christ as a believer. You see your vast responsibility. You can pray appropriately for you now know how. Take your place in Christ. Dare to act your part. Dare to let God use you. Dare to let love reign in your life. Dare to be in your daily life what He says you are. Dare to do what He says you can do. Dare to confess that you are what He says you are. All is yours. Use them. As you act on the Word, the Word reacts in you; it builds up in you, and so you grow in Christ. Believersare partakers of His Nature, of His very substance and Being.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are awesome, merciful, and compassionate. In all the world there’s none like You. Your love for me is unparalleled and unfathomable. You have blessed me with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, and made me partaker of Your divine nature. Forever You are my God and Father. I am persuaded that nothing will ever take away Your love for me, in the mighty Name of Jesus’ I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Beware of Serving God

 Beware of Serving God

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24–25)

We do not glorify God by providing his needs, but by praying that he would provide ours — and trusting him to answer, and living in the joy of that all-providing care as we lay down our lives in love for other people.

Here we are at the heart of the good news of Christian Hedonism. God’s insistence that we ask him to give us help so that he gets glory. “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15). This forces on us the startling fact that we must beware of thinking he needs us. We must beware of serving God, and we must take special care to let him serve us, lest we rob him of his glory. “God is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25). 

This sounds very strange. Most of us think serving God is a totally positive thing. We have not considered that serving God may be an insult to him. But meditation on the very meaning of prayer makes this plain. 

In the novel, Robinson Crusoe, the hero, took Psalm 50:12–15 as his favorite text to hope in as he’s stranded on the island: God says, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. . . . Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” 

Which means: there is a way to serve God that would belittle him as needy of our service. Oh, how careful we must be not to preempt the mighty grace of God in Christ. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He aims to be the servant. He aims to get the glory as the Giver.

Everyday in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 11, 2025.

SUBJECT : ESCHEW SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS! 

Memory verse: "Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips." (Proverbs 27 vs 2.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 10 - 14:

18:10: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.

18:11: The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You, that I am not as other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

18:12: I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

18:13: And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.’

18:14: I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

INTIMATION:

Self-righteousness is being overly confident that one acts properly (especially in comparison with others). It’s being overly virtuous. Self-righteousness is dangerous. It leads to pride, causes a person to despise others, and prevents him or her from learning anything from God. One should not glory in order to emphasize his own abilities to perform. He should glory in the basis that he or she is in the Lord and thus, it is the Lord working through him or her. When we boast in order to bring glory to Jesus, then we know that our lives are about Jesus, not ourselves. Jesus said, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.” (John 8 vs 54.) One should live a godly life that manifests praise to God, and not give praise to himself. 

The Scripture says, “But He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he ‘whom the Lord commends.” (Second Corinthians 10 vs 17 - 18). God cannot be placed in debt to either save or glorify on the basis of human performance. Those who glorify themselves before God on the basis of their performance are establishing their own standards, and thus, they are arrogantly asking God to accept their standards as payment for their salvation. 

In comparison to the righteousness of God, there is no righteous person. No man can stand righteous before God on the merit of his own works of law or good deeds. Therefore, we cannot establish our own standards of performance, and then, measure ourselves righteous or good before God on the basis of our standards. One can boast only insofar as the grace of God has worked in his or her life to move him or her to respond to the Will of God.

In the passage we read today, the Pharisee boasted concerning his obedience to his self-imposed religious codes and traditions. He checked off his list of righteous deeds that he did and evil deeds that he did not do. He thus trusted in himself, feeling self-confident that his performance of law should satisfy God, and thus, put God in debt to save him. The Pharisee did not go to the temple to pray to God but to announce to all within earshot how good he was. 

The tax collector went recognizing his sin and begging for mercy. I guessed he stood far from the Pharisee because he was judged unrighteous by the Pharisee. However, he stood close to God because he approached God on the basis of his spiritual inadequacies. Because he recognized his spiritual poverty, he trusted in God’s grace for his salvation. He was justified by his faith in God’s grace, not by his perfect law-keeping or performance of good deeds. Those who have self-righteously exalted themselves will be brought down. 

Self-righteous people pride themselves in their self-acclaimed quality of being right or just. Pride is an inordinate self-esteem or conceit. It’s the inner voice that whispers, “My way is best.” Whenever you find yourself looking down on other people, you are being pulled by pride. Pride indicates that a person is self-centered, and thus he will fall over himself as he deals with people. Only when you eliminate pride can God help you become all He meant you to be. God cuts off the proud from His grace. Pride cripples us in our quest for a proper relationship with God. Only God must be exalted is the first step toward developing that relationship with Him. 

The Scripture says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5 vs 3.) Happy are those who are not proud, conceited or arrogant, especially concerning their spiritual relationship with God. One must empty himself of self-reliance and learn to humble himself before God. Those with such an attitude of mind will submit to the kingdom reign of God, therefore, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The tax collector’s prayer should be our prayer because we all need God’s mercy everyday. Don’t let pride in your achievements cut you off from God. 

Prayer: Abba Father, take away any spirit of pride and self-righteousness in me. My sincere desire is to humble myself before You as a sinner that needs your mercy everyday of my life. O Lord, let Your humble Spirit dwell in me richly, leading me aright all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

We Can Do Nothing

 We Can Do Nothing

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Suppose you are totally paralyzed and can do nothing for yourself but talk. And suppose a strong and reliable friend promised to live with you and do whatever you needed done. How could you glorify this friend if a stranger came to see you? 

Would you glorify his generosity and strength by trying to get out of bed and carry him? No! You would say, “Friend, please come lift me up, and would you put a pillow behind me so I can look at my guest? And would you please put my glasses on for me?” 

And so your visitor would learn from your requests that you are helpless and that your friend is strong and kind. You glorify your friend by needing him, and by asking him for help, and counting on him.

In John 15:5, Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” So we really are paralyzed. Without Christ, we are capable of no Christ-exalting good. As Paul says in Romans 7:18, “Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” 

But John 15:5 also says that God does intend for us to do much Christ-exalting good, namely bear fruit: “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” So as our strong and reliable friend — “I have called you friends” (John 15:15) — he promises to do for us, and through us, what we can’t do for ourselves.

How then do we glorify him? Jesus gives the answer in John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” We pray! We ask God to do for us through Christ what we can’t do for ourselves — bear fruit. 

John 15:8 gives the result: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.” 

So how is God glorified by prayer? Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need.

Inspiring Gospel song

 

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 10, 2025.

SUBJECT : HOW TO BRING GLORY TO GOD! 

Memory verse: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your Name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth." (Psalm 115 vs 1.)

READ: First Corinthians 10 vs 31; First Peter 4 vs 11:

First Corinthians 10:31: Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

First Peter 4:11: If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone minister, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

INTIMATION:

Glory means fame, honor, praise, splendor, beauty. We are created to bring glory to God—bestow honor, fame, praise, splendor, and beauty to Him (Isaiah 43 vs 7). Living for God's glory is purposeful, and in accordance with the Will of God. It is the greatest achievement anyone can accomplish with his or her life. God made you to be you, and for a purpose. When the purpose for which He created you is met by you, you give glory to Him. God, in His nature of love and mercy, in return, glorifies those you glorify Him. Jesus said in John 17 vs 5, "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." 

How then can we bring glory to Him? There are many ways to bring glory to God, but they can be summarized in God's five purposes for our lives. These purposes are:-

(1) We bring God glory by worshipping Him. Worship is the appropriate response to God's self-revelation. It is our first responsibility to God. We worship God for who He is. God wants our worship to be motivated by love, thanksgiving, and delight, not duty. We worship God by enjoying Him. Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God, though they are all acts of worship. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to be used for His purposes. When we use our lives for God's glory, everything we do can become an act of worship. 

(2) We bring glory to God by loving other believers. When you were born again, you became a part of God's family. Following Christ is not only a matter of believing; it also includes belonging and learning to love the family of God. The apostle Paul said, "Therefore, receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God" (Romans 15 vs 7). Accept each other just as Christ accepted you; then God will be glorified. It is your responsibility to learn how to love as God does, because God is love, and it honors Him.  

(3) We bring God glory by becoming like Christ. Once we are born into the family of God, He wants us to grow to spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. The more you develop Christlike character, the more you will bring glory to God. In the Gospel, we see the truth about Christ, and it transforms us morally as we understand and apply it. Through learning about Christ's life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what He is really like. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change. Becoming like Christ is a progressive experience. God gave you new life and a new nature when you accepted Christ. Now, for the rest of your life on earth, God wants to continue the process of changing your character to eventually conform to Christ’s.

(4) We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. Each of us was uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. The way you're "wired" is not an accident. God didn't give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit. Some people, well aware of their abilities, believe that they have the right to use their abilities as they please. Others feel they have no special talents at all. Everyone has some gifts; find yours and use them. All our abilities should be used in serving others; none are for our own exclusive enjoyment. 

(5) We bring God glory by telling others about Him. God doesn't want His love and purposes kept a secret. Once we know the truth, He expects us to share it with others. It is for this reason He gave us the great commission to preach the Good News (Mark 16 vs 15). This is a great privilege, introducing others to Jesus, helping them discover their purpose, and preparing them for their eternal destiny. God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, and as this is done God will receive more and more glory. Second Corinthians 4 vs 15 says, " ... That grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God." God is glorified when people come into a right relationship with Him and begin to bear fruit in their lives.

When the combination of allowing Jesus to permeate our behavior, and subsequently allowing our behavior to affect the lives of others, then truly God is glorified on earth among men. Our actions must be motivated by God’s love so that all we do will be for His glory. Keep this as a guiding principle by asking, “Is this action glorifying God?” or “How can I honor God through this action?” 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to continually do things to glorify You. My utmost heart desire is for an intimate relationship with You, and that I may serve You and others acceptably, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Best Passage Ever

 Best Passage Ever

God put [Jesus] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25–26)

Romans 3:25–26 may be the most important verses in the Bible.

God is wholly just! And he justifies the ungodly! Really? A just judge acquitting the guilty!

Not either/or! Both! He acquits the guilty, but is not guilty in doing so. This is the greatest news in the world!

“[God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He takes our sin. We take his righteousness.

“By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). Whose flesh? Christ’s. Whose sin condemned in that flesh? Ours. For us then? No condemnation! 

“[Christ] bore our sins in his body on the tree.” (1 Peter 2:24)

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

“If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:5)

If the most terrifying news in the world is that we have fallen under the condemnation of our Creator and that he is bound by his own righteous character to preserve the worth of his glory by pouring out his wrath on our sin . . .

. . . Then the best news in all the world (the gospel!) is that God has decreed and enacted a way of salvation that also upholds the worth of his glory, the honor of his Son, and the eternal salvation of his elect. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 09, 2025.

SUBJECT : BLESS AND DO NOT CURSE!

Memory verse: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." (Romans 12 vs 14.)

READ: James 3 vs 8 - 12:

3:8: But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

3:9: With it we bless our God and Father; and with it we curse men, who has been qqmade in t her similitude of God.

3:10: Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

3:11: Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

3:12: Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

INTIMATION:

Christians should always remember God’s law of love; love for God and our neighbor. Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is an attitude of God Himself (First John 4 vs 8). Love should make a Christian to always bless others rather than curse them because it sees good at the end of everything. Therefore, any Christian practicing God’s law of love is never hypocritical. It is hypocritical for a Christian to speak good of God and evil of his brother or sister in Christ at the same time. Hypocrisy is revealed in the one who speaks both blessings and cursing. Hypocrite seeks to worship God, while at the same time, he or she harbors animosity toward his or her brother or sister in Christ. 

Springs do not bring forth fresh and bitter water from the same source. Fig trees do not bear olives, and grapevines do not yield figs. In the same manner, a sincere Christian does not speak blessings and cursing. As it is unnatural for trees and vines to bear fruits that are not of their kind. Praises to God and curses on men should not come forth from the same mouth of the child of God. One cannot propose to giving praise to God, while at the same time cursing those who are made after the image of God. Criticizing what God has made in His image and likeness, and the same time praising God for all His goodness is duplicitous, and two-faced because on one hand one is saying that God is good, and on the other hand that what He created is not good. 

Our contradictory speech often puzzles us. At times our words are right and pleasing to God, but at other times they are violent and destructive. We were made in God’s image, but the tongue gives us a picture of our basic sinful nature. When our speech is motivated by Satan, it is full of bitter envy, selfish ambition, earthly concerns and desires, unspiritual thoughts and ideas, confusion, and evil. But when motivated by God and His wisdom, it is full of mercy, love for others, peace, consideration for others, submission, sincerity, impartiality, and righteousness. God works to change us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit purifies a heart, He gives self-control so that the person will speak words that please God. 

It is for this reason that the apostle Paul, in Philippians 4 vs 8 says to us, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” 

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our speeches and actions. The apostle Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. If one will only meditate on these things, then his or her thought will be optimistic about life and others. Do not criticize or curse others, but rather think and speak of those good things you know about others. There is no room in the Christian mentality for pessimistic thinking. When one understands that all things are under the control of God who can do all things, then he or she sees the best things of life. His or her focus is on that which is good and after the nature of God who is working all things together for our good. 

A true heart is not one of malice or hate. Hearts of malice and hate identify those individuals who are of the world. Jesus said we should love our enemies and treat them well. If you love your enemies and treat them well, you will truly show that Jesus is Lord of your life. This is only possible for those who give themselves fully to God, because only Him can deliver people from natural selfishness. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us show love to those for whom we may not feel love. By telling us not to retaliate, Jesus keeps us from taking the law into our own hands. By loving and praying for our enemies, we can overcome evil with good. 

Remember that we are not fighting the tongue’s fire in our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say, so that when we are offended, the Spirit will remind us of God’s love, and we won’t react in a hateful manner. When we are criticized, the Spirit will heal the hurt and help us to not lash out.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of self-control, especially of my tongue that my words will bless and not curse, and love will rule in my life's association with others, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God’s Wise Mercy

 God’s Wise Mercy

We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23–24)

Over against the terrifying news that we have fallen under the condemnation of our Creator and that he is bound by his own righteous character to preserve the worth of his glory by pouring out eternal wrath on our sin, there is the wonderful news of the gospel.

This is a truth no one can ever learn from nature. The truth of the gospel has to be told to neighbors and preached in churches and carried by missionaries.

The good news is that God himself has decreed a way to satisfy the demands of his justice without condemning the whole human race. 

Hell is one way to settle accounts with sinners and uphold his justice. But there is another way. God provided another way. This is the gospel.

The wisdom of God has ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the justice of God. There it is. The gospel. Let me say it again slowly: The wisdom of God has ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the justice of God. 

And what is this wisdom? The death of the Son of God for sinners! “We preach Christ crucified . . . the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23–24).

The death of Christ is the wisdom of God by which the love of God saves sinners from the wrath of God, all the while upholding and demonstrating the righteousness of God in Christ.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 08, 2025.

SUBJECT : GRACE GIVES US FREEDOM TO OBEY!

Memory verse: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." (Hebrews 12 vs 28.) 

READ: Romans 6 vs 15 - 19: 

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 slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

6:17: But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which you were delivered.

6:18: And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

6:19: I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

INTIMATION:

God’s grace gives freedom to obey. It does not liberate one to sin. It does not become the license to ignore the Will of the One who offered grace, but rather freedom to obey Him. Those who would not respond to the grace of God are those who do not understand that God meant that grace should stir up love and thanksgiving (Second Corinthians 4 vs 15). Those who understand grace work from a heart of appreciation for the salvation he had received as a result of God’s grace. 

Christians have freedom in Christ, but the definition of freedom in the context of Christianity is more narrow than the normal use of the word in common language. Christians use freedom as a tool for a life of exuberant service. It’s the foundation that God gives to us to reach our highest potential. Because God gives us freedom from religious rules and eternal guilt, we must not seek to indulge our own desires, instead, we should reach for the best God has for us. And our freedom should sing of power, joy, and love, accountable to God, and devoted to others.

We are to love because He first loved us (First John 4 vs 19). We are to have mercy because He first extended mercy to us (James 2 vs 13). We are to work more abundantly because He worked abundantly toward us (First Corinthians 15 vs 10). If there is no love, mercy, and abundant work on the part of one who has been the recipient of the grace, then he or she has misunderstood grace. God’s grace is in vain in the life of the one who manifests no response to God.

Christians have been rescued by God out of the bondage of legal justification and are now free from the necessity of justification by law-keeping and meritorious deeds. Though the Christian may be set free from justification by law-keeping, he or she is not free from the law of Christ as a standard of moral behavior. Therefore, grace establishes law of Christ in the life of the one who walks in gratitude for the grace of God. Law is established because the obedient son cries out “Abba Father” in his realization that he cannot direct his own paths. He thus cries out for the guidance of the Father. The Father responds with direction, and thus, law is brought into the life of the one who responds by faith in the grace of God.

Those who lose their thanksgiving and gratitude for their salvation, often claim that God’s grace covers all sin regardless of the moral behavior of the believer. Such is a gross misunderstanding of grace. We cannot sin so that grace may abound (Romans 6 vs 1). Though the Christian may be set free from justification by law-keeping, he or she is not free from the law of Christ as a standard of moral behavior. Under grace, one’s love of God, not law, is the motivating factor that stimulates us to be subservient to the Will of God. If one is not motivated to work and serve, he or she has no appreciation for the grace of God. 

Some would seek to use their liberty from law as an occasion for sin. Some would sin in order to supposedly increase the grace of God in their lives. 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 believes 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.

Prayer: Abba Father, make all grace abound toward me, that I will always have all sufficiency in all things, and have an abundance for every good work in doing Your Will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Our Good Is God’s Delight

 Our Good Is God’s Delight

“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.” (Jeremiah 32:40–41)

God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in him are one and the same pursuit. God’s quest to be glorified and our quest to be satisfied reach their goal in this one experience: our delight in God, which overflows in praise.

For God, praise is the sweet echo of his own excellence in the hearts of his people.

For us, praise is the summit of satisfaction that comes from living in fellowship with God.

The stunning implication of this discovery is that all the omnipotent energy that drives the heart of God to pursue his own glory also drives him to satisfy the hearts of those who seek their joy in him.

The good news of the Bible is that God is not at all disinclined to satisfy the hearts of those who hope in him. Just the opposite: The very thing that can make us happiest is what God delights in with all his heart and with all his soul. These are amazing words: “I will rejoice in doing them good . . . with all my heart and all my soul” (Jeremiah 32:41).

With all his heart and with all his soul, God joins us in the pursuit of our everlasting joy because the consummation of that joy in him redounds to the glory of his own infinite worth.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY OCTOBER 07, 2025.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING GOD’S CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE!

Memory verse: "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (First Peter 5 vs 7.) 

READ: Psalm 103 vs 8 - 14 & 17:

103:8: The Lord is merciful and gracious. Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 

103:9: He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. 

103:10: He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. 

103:11: For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 

103:12: As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 

103:13: As s father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 

103:14: For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 

103:17: But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him. And His righteousness to children's children.

INTIMATION:

God is concerned about every human being He has created, and He is not willing that any should perish. God is concerned and interested in you personally and in every detail of your life. Too often we focus on God as Judge and Lawgiver, ignoring His compassion and concern for us. When God examines our lives He remembers are human condition. His mercy takes everything into account. God will deal with us compassionately. We are fragile but God's care is eternal. God is so caring that when He forgives us our sin, He separates it from us and doesn't even remember it anymore. East and west can never meet and this is a symbolic portrait of God's forgiveness of our forgiven sin. We need never wallow in the past, for God forgives and forgets.

Subjects of the Kingdom are the objects of God’s care. He will take care of those who seek Him first. Therefore, we attract God’s care when we put Him first in our lives. Putting Him first means to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, to serve and obey Him in everything, and to turn to God first for help. Subjects of the kingdom desire that the Will of the Father be done on earth in their hearts as it is done in heaven. God’s righteousness comes through one’s submission to His Will. Seeking the kingdom of God, therefore, must always be first. 

If you desire to attract God’s care, He should be first in all things. You must desire to commit yourself to the Lord and delight in Him. To commit yourself to the Lord means entrusting everything—your life, family, job, possessions—to His control and guidance. It’s to trust in Him, believing that He can care for you better than you can yourself. We should be willing to wait patiently for Him to work out what is best for us. To delight in the Lord is to experience great pleasure and joy in His presence. This happens only when we know Him well. Thus, we must know Him better. Knowledge of God’s great love for us will indeed give us delight. 

One must take the initiative to keep oneself in the love of God. Those who have made their hands dirty by becoming a friend of the world, must repent. If one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in his heart. Those who love activities and possessions of this world do not love the Father, for they are obsessed with the things of this world. God wants us to yield completely to Him; being totally devoted to Him. He desires that we daily lay aside our own desires to follow Him, putting all our energy and resources at His disposal and trusting Him to guide us. This is because He has good, pleasing, perfect, and best plans for us. Therefore, devoting yourself to Him is reasonable, and the most proper thing to do. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is for an intimate relationship with You, with total commitment to Your Will, and putting You first in everything in my life. Give me the grace to serve and obey You in everything, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 We Wait, He Works

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

Only a few things have gripped me with greater joy than the truth that God loves to show his God-ness by working for me, and that his working for me is always before and under and in any working I do for him.

At first it may sound arrogant of us, and belittling to God, to say that he works for us. But that’s only because of the connotation that I am an employer and God needs a job. That’s not the connotation when the Bible talks about God’s working for us. That’s not at all in Isaiah’s mind when he says, God “works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

The proper connotation of saying God works for me is that I am bankrupt and need a bailout. I am weak and need someone strong. I am endangered and need a protector. I am foolish and need someone wise. I am lost and need a Rescuer.

God works for me means I can’t do the work. I am utterly in need of help.

And this glorifies God not me. The Giver gets the glory. The Powerful One gets the praise.

Listen to the way the Bible talks about God working for you, and be freed from the burden of bearing your own load. Let him do that work.

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

“The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you. . . . Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:12, 15).

“To your old age . . . I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

“I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

“Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11).

“Work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work” (Philippians 2:12–13).

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY OCTOBER 06, 2025.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR THANKSGIVING IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 18.)

READ: Psalm 103 vs 1 - 5:

103:1: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name!

103:2: Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:  

103:3: Who forgives our iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 

103:4: Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 

105:2: Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

INTIMATION:

God is responsible, and the performer of every good thing we have seen in our lives. He is the doer of all the invisible happenings in our lives in accordance with His goodness and mercy. He is responsible for all the benefits, especially intangible benefits, accruing to us in life, and giving Him thanks always help us avoid taking God's provisions for granted. 

Thanksgiving is an integral part of our relationship with, and praise to God. Giving Him thanks is His Will for us in Jesus Christ, realizing all He wrought for us in Christ. The Bible, in Revelation 7 vs 11 - 12 says, "All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

All we have are gifts from God—life, faith, salvation, possessions and and so on. (John 3 vs 27; Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9; James 1 vs 17.) When someone gives you a gift, the appropriate response is 'thank you.' Thanksgiving, therefore, is also a proper response to God at all times, and in everything. The psalmist says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night." (Psalm 92 vs 1 - 2.)

The bases of praise, and thanksgiving is declaring God's character and attributes. When we recognize and affirm His goodness we are holding up His perfect moral nature for all to see. With genuine praise and thanksgiving we ascribe to God all the glory due to Him. We cannot thank Him enough for His great and wondrous acts in our lives. 

In the passage we read today, David tried listing some of the benefits accruing to us daily from God for which we should always give Him thanks and praise: He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, satisfies our desires, and gives righteousness and justice. We receive all of these without deserving any of them. No matter how difficult your life’s journey, you can always count your blessings—past, present, and future. And the praise we offer to Him benefits us because it takes our minds off our problems and needs, and focuses on God's power, mercy, majesty, and love. 

God has graciously adopted us as His children who are born of His Will, therefore, we should rest assured of His presence in our lives at all times. Consequently, in everything that happens to us, we should be thankful for God's presence, and for the good that He will accomplish through the happenings, knowing that, "All things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8 vs 28). 

It’s noteworthy that God works in 'all things,’ not just in isolated incidents, and for our good. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. The psalmist in Psalm 95 vs 2 says, "Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving....." Therefore, we should always acknowledge God's goodness, and His presence with thanksgiving. God is pleased when we give Him thanks. He uses our responsiveness to teach us more about Himself, revealing Himself more to us for our benefits.  

Your offer of thanksgiving will not be in words only. Just as we naturally show appreciation for what others have done to us both in words and material offering, we should do the same to our Father in heaven. Your material offering in thanksgiving is an application to God for more. God will ever reciprocate all your offerings to Him, and in greater dimension. 

Thanksgiving should be in all areas of life, and If you are truly thankful, your life will show it. As an integral part of our praise to God, it is what we do ourselves. This is the instruction of the Lord. (See Leviticus 7 vs 28 - 30). God told the people of Israel to bring their offering personally with their own hands. They were to take time and effort to express thanks to God. It’s quite obvious that you are the only person who will express adequately your thankfulness to God and to others who have blessed, or helped you.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your praise will be in my lips always, and I will thank You, O Lord, for Your presence, doings, and the good that You will accomplish through any circumstances of life that I face. Endue me with the spirit of praise and thanksgiving to You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Happy God

 The Happy God

Sound doctrine [is] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed [that is, happy] God. (1 Timothy 1:10–11)

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 as happy as he is — infinitely happy.

God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination.

This is the gospel: “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” That’s a quote from the Bible! It is good news that God is gloriously happy.

No one would want to spend eternity with an unhappy God. If God is unhappy, then the goal of the gospel 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 lived and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full (John 15:11; 17:13). Therefore, the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.”

The happiness of God is first and foremost a happiness in his Son. Thus when we share in the happiness of God, we share in the very pleasure that the Father has in the Son.

This is why Jesus made the Father known to us. At the end of his great prayer in John 17, he said to his Father, “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). He made God known so that God’s pleasure in his Son might be in us and become our pleasure in him.

Recover Your Authority by Paula Whyte

 

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 05, 2025.

SUBJECT: THOSE WHO CONSIDER THE POOR ARE BLESSED!

Memory verse: "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.” (Proverbs 19 vs 17.)

READ: Psalm 41 vs 1 - 3:

41:1: Blessed is he who considers the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

41:2: The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

41:3: The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness: You will sustain him on his sickbed.

INTIMATION:

The Bible often speaks of God’s care for the weak, poor, and needy, and of his blessing on those who share this concern. Providing for the poor is not just a suggestion in the Bible. The need for believers to care for the poor is a constant theme in the Scriptures. But often we do nothing, rather we are caught up in meeting our needs and desires. Perhaps we don’t see enough poverty to remember the needs of the poor. God said neglecting the poor is a sin. Helping the poor is a command that may require a change of attitude on your part. 

God wants our generosity to reflect His own giving. Helping the poor is also an active part of religious life. As He has blessed you, then you should bless others. God has a special concern for the poor. He insists that those who have material goods should be generous with those who are in need. He who gives to the poor is assured of deliverance, blessing, strength, and mercy from the Lord because he had shown the same to the poor. 

When you show mercy to others, the Lord will show you mercy as well: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5 vs 7.) We should reflect God’s concern for the poor by giving and by helping those less fortunate than ourselves. God counts on believers to provide for the poor, and we should use what God had given us to aid those less fortunate. Look beyond your regular giving and think of ways to help the needy. This will help you show your regard for God (as Creator of all people), and His creation. When you share God’s goodness to you with others, you draw them to Him. It is a practical and essential way to make faith work in everyday life.

Many times we do nothing, not because we lack compassion, but because we are overwhelmed by the size of the problem and don’t know where to begin. God doesn’t expect you to eliminate poverty, nor does He expect you to neglect your family while providing for others. He does, however, expect that when you see an individual in need, you will reach out with whatever help you can offer. 

Many people conclude that people are poor through some fault of their own. This kind of reasoning makes it easy to close their hearts and hands to the needy. But we are not to invent reasons for ignoring the poor. We are to respond to their needs no matter who or what was responsible for their condition. There is no excuse for ignoring the poor and needy within our reach.

It is everyone’s responsibility to care for those less fortunate. Families should help other family members, and towns are to help their community. One will not only seek out the poor to help them, one will ensure to make it easy in society for the poor to survive. 

Helping and caring for the poor and less privileged amongst us is a demand placed on us by God, and it is strictly for our own benefit because God has promised to reward us with deliverance, blessing, strength, and mercy. And God is not a man that He can lie and the son of man that He can repent or change His promise. What He says He will do is as sure as day and night.

Prayer: Abba Father, I know Your word is yes and amen. Endue me with the spirit of generosity, especially to the poor and needy in our society, that I may obey You in giving and showing mercy to others and quality for Your rewards, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Justice Will Be Done

 Justice Will Be Done

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.

And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt and bitterness is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone.

That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it.

So we hold on to anger, and play the events or the words over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he (or she) be so happy when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong! We can’t let it go. And our bitterness starts to poison everything.

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to us by God to lift that burden from us.

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you?

Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. There was.

But it also does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No they didn’t.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the One to whom it belongs. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You lay it down. I will pick it up. Justice will be done. 

What a glorious relief. I do not have to carry this burden. It is like taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 04, 2025.

SUBJECT : ATTRACTING GOD’S COMPANIONSHIP!

Memory verse: "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 walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6 vs 8.)

READ: Psalm 101 vs 3 - 7:

101:3: I will not set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

101:4: A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.

101:5: Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.

101:6: My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

101:7: He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

INTIMATION:

God desires to be our companion. Companions come in different sizes and shapes and for various reasons. But we will examine a very specific kind of companion: the teacher-mentor, which is God's kind of companionship.

In our memory verse, God tells us the manner in which we are to walk with Him. 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 with Him. God’s kind of companionship is the teacher-mentor, the Superior Being with ordinary man, a privileged association of the Creator with the created.

There are four areas that constitute the major ingredients for a relationship that would be described as a companionship. These areas are: (1) Agreement (2) Experience (3) Conversation (4) Learning. These ingredients are required 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 God 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 see His overwhelming goodness, infinite patience, unchanging love, and unending mercies as we read the Bible—His "Code of Conduct," and "Owner's Manual" to us. The Holy Spirit makes the Word come alive in 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 you and God. Not just one way, but rather an exchange of ideas from both parties. Think of your own experience where 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 in First Peter 5 vs 7 to give the Lord all our burdens and cares. Surely, we are to present our anxieties to Him, but then, we are to wait for His response.

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

Somebody will quickly ask, 'How do we hear from God or learn from Him?' A classical illustration is made with a product you bought from the store. The manufacturer is in Germany, but has included a manual in the package to enable you study and know more about the product and how to use and/or operate it. The same is true of our relationship with God. He has given us His 'Code of Conduct," and owner's Manual' -the "Bible" for our study. In it God speaks and you hear from, and learn about Him. As the spiritual relationship develops, God can speak to you in a vision, an audible voice or even through others in such relationship with Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my faithful companion, and has promised to be with me till the end of age. Thank You Lord for fighting my unseen battles, and giving me victory. Help me to walk humbly with You at all times, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Joy Unbound

 Joy Unbound

“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)

That’s what Jesus prayed the night before he died. Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world.

One is that nothing in this created world has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts.

Another is that we lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth.

And a third obstacle standing in the way of complete satisfaction is that our joys here come to an end. Nothing lasts. But if the aim and the prayer of Jesus in John 17:26 come true, all this will change. He prayed “that the love with which you, Father, have loved me may be in them.” God’s infinitely well-pleased love for his Son in us!

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure in the Son, 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.

Moreover, our ability 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 Father. That’s what Jesus prayed for!

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours — our delight in the Son. 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, nor ever diminish.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 03, 2025.

SUBJECT: DO NOT FEAR CHRIST!

Memory verse: "Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all districts, from two years old and under, according to the time he had determined from the wise men.” (Matthew 2 vs 16.)

READ: John 3 vs 14 - 21:

3:14: And as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

3:15: that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

3:17: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

3:18: He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

3:19: And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

3:20: For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

3:21: But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

INTIMATION:

The problem of mankind is that from the beginning we have all done things that are wrong, and have failed to obey God’s laws. This, however, caused our separation from God our Creator. The consequence of that separation from God is death; condemnation by our Creator that we have no solution by ourselves; we can do nothing to become united with God. He is a fair and just God who will not break His own laws. His law says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6 vs 23), “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18 vs 4 & 20). Bud God, in His infinite mercy and love nature, provided a remedy by the gift of His only begotten Son—Jesus Christ—as a propitiation for our sins.

Therefore, Jesus came to save us. He could help us because He was not only a man; He was God’s unique Son. Because Jesus never disobeyed God and never sinned, only Him can bridge the gap between the sinless God and sinful people. Jesus freely offered His life for us, dying on the cross in our place, taking all our wrongdoing upon Himself, and saving us from the consequences of sin, including God’s judgement and death. 

Jesus said, “...I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10 vs 10.) Jesus gives life. The life He gives right now is abundantly rich and full. It is eternal, yet it begins immediately. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane because of His overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance. Don’t be afraid of Christ, take His offer of life. 

Many people don’t want their lives exposed in God’s light because they are afraid of what will be revealed. They don’t want to be changed because they feel that the evil in their lives if exposed or revealed will earn them condemnation from God. But know sin is beyond God’s forgiveness except the sin of denying the power of God in Christ for the forgiveness of sin. 

The Scripture says; “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12 vs 31 - 32.)

The unpardonable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God’s power in Christ. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. Those who have turned their backs on God and rejected all faith can’t be forgiven, not because their sin is worse than any other, but because they will never ask for forgiveness. Whoever rejects the prompting of the Holy Spirit removes himself or herself from the only force that can lead him or her to repentance and restoration to God.

In our memory verse, Herod was afraid of Jesus, he thought that the newborn king would one day take his throne. He completely misunderstood the reason for Christ’s coming. Jesus didn’t want Herod’s throne; He wanted to be king of Herod’s life. Jesus wanted to give Herod eternal life, not take away his present life. Today people are often afraid that Christ wants to take things away from them, in reality, He wants to give them real freedom, peace, and joy. Don’t fear Christ—give Him the throne of your life.

The truth is that Jesus took our past, present, and future sins upon Himself so that we could have new life. Because all our wrongdoing is forgiven, we are reconciled to God. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the proof that His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God, and His resurrection has become the source of new life for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. All who believe in Him may have this new life and live it in union with Him.

Some people are repulsed by the idea of eternal life because their lives are miserable. But eternal life is not an extension of a person’s miserable, mortal life. Eternal life is God’s life embedded in Christ given to all believers now as a guarantee that they will live forever. In eternal life there is no death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin. When we don’t know Christ, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality, this life is just the introduction to eternity. Receive this new life by faith and begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective. 

Put your trust and confidence in Jesus, He alone can save you. Put Him in charge of your present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting His words as reliable, and relying on Him for the power to change. If you have never trusted Christ, let this promise of everlasting life be yours, and believe. 

We believe in God by recognizing the insufficiency of our own efforts to find salvation and by asking Him to do His work in us. When Jesus talks about unbelievers, He means those who reject or ignore Him completely, not those who have momentary doubts.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, as a propitiation for our sins. In Him I live, and move, and have my being. I confess Christ as my Lord and Savior, and submit to His rulership over my life now and forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Absolute, Sovereign, Almighty Love

 Absolute, Sovereign, Almighty Love

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6)

God abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness. 

Two images come to my mind:

The heart of God is like an inexhaustible spring of water that bubbles up love and faithfulness at the top of the mountain. Century after century the spring keeps on flowing.

Or the heart of God is like a volcano that burns so hot with love that it blasts the top off the mountain and flows year after year with the lava of love and faithfulness.

When God uses the word “abounding” — “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” — he wants us to understand and feel that the resources of his love are not limited. You can drink at this mountain spring all day, year after year, generation after generation, and it never runs dry. 

You might even risk saying that God is like a government that simply prints more money when there’s a need. Inexhaustible, right? Well, there’s a difference. God has an infinite treasury of golden love to cover all the currency he prints. The government is in a dream world. God banks very realistically on the infinite resources of his deity.

The absolute existence, the sovereign freedom, and the omnipotence of God are the volcanic fullness that explodes in an overflow of love. The sheer magnificence of God means that he does not need us to fill up any deficiency in himself. Instead his infinite self-sufficiency spills over in love to us — to sinners — who need him, and the gift of himself in Jesus.

We can bank on his love precisely because we believe in the absoluteness of his existence, the sovereignty of his freedom, and the limitlessness of his power.