GOD CAN USE YOU TO ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JULY 01, 2025.

SUBJECT: GOD CAN USE YOU TO ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSE!

Memory verse: "Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out of two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.” (Joshua 2 vs 1.)

READ: Acts 23 vs 16 - 22:

23:16: So when Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

23:17: Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.”

23:18: So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.

23:19: Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that that you have to tell me?”

23:20: And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to enquirer more fully about him.

23:21: But do not yield to them: for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now they are ready, waiting for a promise from you.

23:22: So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

INTIMATION:

God has no favorites; none preferred above others, liked or loved above others. We are all created in His own image and after His likeness. We are equally loved by Him; “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” (John 3 vs 16). God’s work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and He works through ordinary people. He can use anyone, of any age, and any background, who is willing to yield to Him. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring His Son into the world, He uses all kinds today to accomplish His Will. And God can use you and is willing to use you. Nobody is excluded from God’s love, but we appropriate it to ourselves by believing in His Son—Jesus Christ—He sent to us. 

Several heroes in the Bible were common people: Jacob was known as a deceiver but God used him to “father” the Israelite nation (Genesis 27 - 28). Joseph was a slave in Egypt, but God used him to save his family, and the birth of Israelite nation (Genesis 39). Moses was a shepherd in exile and a murderer, but God used him to lead Israel out of bondage to the Promised Land (Exodus 3). Gideon was a farmer but God used him to deliver Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6 vs 11 - 14).Jephthah was the son of a harlot, but God used him to deliver Israel from the Ammonites (Judges 11). 

David was a shepherd boy and last-born of the family, but God used him exceedingly to defeat the enemies of the Israelites, and he became Israel’s greatest king. Esther was a slave girl, but God used her to save her people from massacre (Esther). Mary was a peasant girl, but God made her the mother of Jesus (Luke 1 vs 27 - 28). Matthew was a tax collector, but God used him as one of the apostles and Gospel writers (Matthew 9 vs 9). Paul a persecutor of Christians, but God converted him to be the most influential of the apostles (First Corinthians 15 vs 9 - 10).

Our memory verse relates to the use of a prostitute by God to accomplish His plan. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. As a prostitute, she lived on the edge of society, one stop short of rejection. Her house, built right into the city wall, provided both lodging and favors to travelers. God used her and gave her the courage to hide the spies and lie to the authorities. God works through people like Rahab whom we are inclined to reject. God remembered her because of her faith, not her profession.  If at times you feel like a failure, remember that Rahab rose above her situation through her trust in God. You can do the same.

In the passage we read today, God used a child to accomplish His plan to save the apostle Paul’s life. It is easy to overlook children, assuming that they aren’t old enough to do much for the Lord. But this young man played an important part in protecting the apostle Paul’s life. Even Jesus made it clear that children are important (Matthew 18 vs 2 - 6).

The encounter of Jesus with the woman of Samaria in John 4 vs 7 - 42 clearly emphasizes God’s character of not being particular about your background, and loves us equally. The woman: (1) was a Samaritan, a member of the hated mixed race, (2) was known to be living in sin, and (3) was in a public place. No responsible Jewish man would talk to a woman under such circumstances. But Jesus did, her social status, sins, and her race notwithstanding. The same woman was used to convert a whole city—the city of Samaria. Jesus selected “ordinary” men with a mixture of backgrounds and personalities to be His disciples. He can use you!

Prayer: Abba Father, I love You, all I have is Yours, Yours I am, Yours I want to be, use me as it pleases You. My utmost desire is to serve Your designed on this earth. Here I am, use me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Heaven’s Relief in the Coming Wrath

 Heaven’s Relief in the Coming Wrath

God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted . . . when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:6–8)

There will come a time when the patience of God is over. When God has seen his people suffer for the allotted time, and the appointed number of martyrs is complete (Revelation 6:11), then a just and holy vengeance will come from heaven. 

Notice that God’s vengeance on those who have afflicted his people is experienced by us as “relief.” “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted.” In other words, the judgment on “those who afflict” us is a form of grace toward us.

Perhaps the most remarkable picture of judgment as grace is the picture of Babylon’s destruction in Revelation 18. At her destruction, a great voice from heaven cries, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” (Revelation 18:20). Then a great multitude is heard saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants” (Revelation 19:1–2). 

When God’s patience has run its long-suffering course, and this age is over, and judgment comes on the enemies of God’s people, the saints will not disapprove of God’s justice.

This means that the final destruction of the unrepentant will not be experienced as a misery for God’s people. 

The unwillingness of others to repent will not hold the affections of the saints hostage. Hell will not be able to blackmail heaven into misery. God’s judgment will be approved, and the saints will experience the vindication of truth as a great grace.

OUR MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION.

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JUNE 30, 2025.

SUBJECT: OUR MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION.

Memory verse: "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." (Second Corinthians 5 vs 18).

READ: Second Corinthians 5 vs 17 - 21:

5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation, Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.

5:18: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

5:19: that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

5:20: Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

5:21: For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

INTIMATION:

With regard to the relationship between God and man, reconciliation is primarily what God Himself accomplishes, exercising His grace towards sinful man on the ground of the death of Christ in propitiatory sacrifice under the judgement due to sin. Men in their sinful condition and alienation from God are invited to be reconciled to Him, that is to say, to change their attitude, and accept the provision God has made, whereby their sins can be remitted and they themselves be justified in His sight in Christ.

God is present, and at work in Christ reconciling the whole world to Himself, canceling out their trespasses, not counting them no more against them. For the believers in Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself by the mediation of Jesus Christ. All three members of the Trinity are involved in salvation. The Father loved us so much that He sent His Son to bridge the gap between us (John 3 vs 16). The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our life with love and to enable us to live by His power (Acts 1 vs 8). 

In like manner, God has appointed those who believed and accepted Christ and what He wrought for us in redemption as His representatives (ambassadors of Christ), and has commissioned us to do the same thing He is doing—reconciling the world to Himself; beseeching men to be reconciled to God on the ground of what God has wrought in Christ. He has also, given us the word (message) of reconciliation, to preach to the world as Christ's personal representatives in the world.

What then do we preach? And what are we to preach regarding reconciliation to God? In most of the preaching, we have reckoned unto men their trespasses. We have kept them "trespass-minded." We have kept them conscious of their weaknesses and failings, constantly preaching sin, and judgement to them. That is not wrong in itself, but God has not given us such ministry. He has instead given us the ministry of reconciliation; to preach “eternal life” in Christ.

It is proper to remind us of where we are coming from, but it is much more proper to recount to us what God has wrought for us in Christ Jesus, and where we, as believers in Christ and His work in redemption, are heading to. For believers in Christ, the remission of sin is a reality, God has blotted out our past records, and made them nonexistent. Where we are coming from has seized to exist in God's memory, haven given us His righteousness in Christ (vs 21). It was for this reason He commissioned us as Christ's ambassadors with the message of reconciliation. We have that word, and we have the message, It is therefore, ours to give to the world. 

As Christ's representatives, a new commandment has given to us in John 13 vs 34 - 35: "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 that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

That is the pivot on which the life of the "New Creation" man revolves. God, by His Nature, is love, and He showcased His love nature when He gave to the world His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a propitiation for our sins (John 3 vs 16). He came and paid the debt we owed, and ought to have paid for our sins, and He legally set us free from the debt.  When we were set free, He blotted out the records of our past, and made them nonexistent. He recreated us to be now in conformity to His love nature that was lacking before now, hence His pouring out His love out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us (Romans 5 vs 5). 

It is after the impartation of His 'Love Nature' in the new creation, that He gave us the new commandment. Out of love for one another, we are to joyfully and freely let others know about Jesus, and the immeasurable worth of what He wrought for us in redemption, that they may come to partake of it.

As ambassadors of Christ, reconciled to God, we have the privilege of encouraging others to be reconciled to God in accordance with the ministry given to us. As ambassadors of reconciliation, we have very important responsibility, that is, the message of entreating the world to be reconciled to God. We dare not take this responsibility lightly. 

The question then is, 'How well are you fulfilling your commission as Christ's ambassador?’ This calls for self-assessment in accordance with His “Great Commission” in Mark 16 vs 15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” May you never miss your mark in this assignment, in Jesus’ name!

Prayer: Abba Father, let the zeal of “Your Great Commission” eat me up that I will be an ambassador of Christ worthy of my calling, and that I may obtain the crown of rejoicing, and righteousness, which the Lord will give to me at the day of His coming, in Jesus Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Powerful Root of Practical Love

 The Powerful Root of Practical Love

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. (1 John 3:14)

So, love is the evidence that we are born again — that we are Christians, that we are saved.

Sometimes the Bible makes our holiness and our love for people the condition of our final salvation. In other words, if we are not holy and not loving, we will not be saved at the judgment day (e.g., Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:10). This doesn’t mean that acts of love are how we get right with God. No, the Bible is clear again and again as Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.” No, when the Bible says that we are saved by faith but that we must love people in order to finally be saved, it means that faith in God’s promises must be so real that the love it produces proves the reality of the faith. 

So, love for others is a condition of future grace in the sense that it confirms that the primary condition, faith, is genuine. We could call love for others a secondary condition, which confirms the authenticity of the primary and essential condition of faith which alone unites us to Christ, and receives his power.

Faith perceives the glory of God in the promises of future grace and embraces all that the promises reveal of what God is for us in Jesus. That spiritual sight of God’s glory, and our delight in it, is the self-authenticating evidence that God has called us to be a beneficiary of his grace. This evidence frees us to bank on God’s promise as our own. And this banking on the promise empowers us to love. Which in turn confirms that our faith is real. 

The world is desperate for a faith that combines two things: awestruck sight of unshakable divine Truth, and utterly practical, round-the-clock power to make a liberating difference in life. That’s what I want too. Which is why I am a Christian. 

There is a great God of grace who magnifies his own infinite beauty and self-sufficiency by fulfilling promises to helpless people who trust him. And there is a power that comes from prizing this God that leaves no nook or cranny of life untouched. It empowers us to love in the most practical ways.

BE HOSPITABLE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JUNE 29, 2025.

SUBJECT : BE HOSPITABLE!

Memory verse: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13 vs 2.)

READ: Genesis 18 vs 1 - 5:

18.1: Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.  

18:2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,  

 18:3: and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, do not pass on by your servant.  

 18:4: Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.  

18:5: And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.” 

 

INTIMATION:

Hospitality is an act of reception and entertainment of strangers or guests without reward or with kind or generous liberality. Speaking biblically, hospitality is treating strangers and friends alike. It is welcoming one another into our homes and lives. Hospitality is a sacred duty. It is a constant and consistent theme throughout the Bible. God commanded the Hebrews to remember their exile and oppression in Egypt and allow it to motivate hospitality to foreigners: “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19 vs 34.)

Jesus’ advice that you should do to others as you would have them do to you is a command of hospitality. (See Matthew 7 vs 12.) The Scripture in First Peter 4 vs 9 is specifically about Christians allowing Christian workers, traveling ministers and fellow followers of Jesus to stay in their homes as they traveled. “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” It also highlights a general biblical principle to love one another sacrificially, as serving one another is akin to serving Christ. (Matthew 24 vs 34 - 46.) Therefore, being hospitable is tantamount to serving Christ.

In the passage we read today, Abraham was eager to show hospitality to these three visitors. In Abraham’s day, and even this day, 

a person’s reputation is largely connected to his hospitality—the sharing of home and food. Even strangers were to be treated as highly honored guests. Meeting another’s need of food or shelter still is one of the most immediate and practical ways to obey God. It is also a time-honored relationship builder. We like Abraham, might actually entertain angels. This thought should be on our minds the next time we have the opportunity to meet stranger’s needs.

Christian hospitality focuses on the quests’ needs, such as a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or just acceptance. A Christian has no excuses for not being hospitable. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together. Don’t hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy, or not wealthy enough to entertain.

Some people say they cannot be hospitable because their homes are not large enough or nice enough. But even if you have no more than a table and two chairs in a rented room, there are people who would be grateful to spend time in your home. Are there visitors to your Church with whom you could share a meal? Do you know single people who would enjoy an evening of conversation? Is there any way your home could meet the needs of traveling missionaries? Hospitality simply means making other people feel comfortable and at home.

Hospitality is a lost art amongst many people today. We should do well invite more people for meals—fellow church members, young people, traveling missionaries, those in need, visitors. This is an active and much-appreciated way to show your love.In fact, it is probably more important today because of our individualistic, self-centered society where many lonely people wonder if anymore cares whether they live or die. If you find such a lonely person, show him or her that you care! 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to be hospitable to strangers, guests, and neighbors. I know that in doing this, I am serving You, and serving others for my exaltation, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD’S WILL IS BEYOND THE SCHEMES OF MAN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2025.

SUBJECT: GOD’S WILL IS BEYOND THE SCHEMES OF MAN!

Memory verse: "Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded."  (Second Chronicles 18 vs 33.)

READ: Second Chronicles 18 vs 12 - 17:

18:12: And the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.

18:13: And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.

18:14: Then he come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth gilead, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!”

18:15: So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

18:16: Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, “These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’”

18:17: And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

INTIMATION:

No plan of man can thwart God’s plan and purpose in the life of a child of God. Though man can scheme to stop the Will of God in your life, but rest assured that only the Will of God will prevail at last. God works His Will in all situations, with any persons, by any means, on any account, at anytime, and through any media. Therefore, child of God rest assured that God’s purpose in your life is as sure as day and night.

In the passage we read today, Ahab was Israel’s king who surrounded himself with prophets who gave him good news. Since these prophets were on the payroll of the government of Ahab, we could expect them to make pronouncements that were favorable to the king because their livelihood is dependent on their pay. It is expected that the hirelings usually never speak against the wishes of those who sign their paychecks. 

For this reason, Jehoshaphat was skeptical of the pronouncements of the hired preachers of Ahab. He wanted a second opinion. He did not consider Ahab’s paid prophets to be prophets of God, for he asked for a true prophet of God. Micaiah, a true man of God is expected to speak the truth regardless of his source of support. And since Ahab was living in wickedness, the prophet of God in this case could speak only that which was contrary to the wicked wishes of Ahab.

Four hundred paid preachers had preached a united message. The messenger that was sent to Micaiah wanted to intimidate him into conforming to the opinion of the four hundred prophets. Though Micaiah initially asked the king to go up against Ramoth gilead, but the truth was that the united army of Israel would be defeated in the battle and Ahab would be killed. Micaiah prophesied death for Ahab. Consequently, Ahab schemed to disguise himself to fool the enemy. 

Apparently the disguise worked, but that didn’t change the prophesy. A random Syrian arrow found a crack in his armor and killed him. God fulfills His will despite the defenses people try to erect. God can use anything, even an error, to bring His Will to pass. This is good news for God’s followers because we can trust Him to work out His plans and keep His promises no matter how desperate our circumstances are.

Just like Balak, who wanted Balaam to curse the children of Israel (Numbers 23), and took him to several places to try to entice him to curse the Israelites. He thought a change of scenery might help change Balaam’s mind. But changing locations or schemes won’t change God’s Will. Even Satan, with his accusations against the children of God, is unable to persuade God to go against His character. 

God is completely and eternally good. God may allow some unfavorable circumstances in our lives, but He usually uses any situations or schemes of man to achieve His Will in our lives. Evil and injustice seem to have upper hand in the world. Christians often feel angry and discouraged as they see what goes on. Even when God allows Satan to go along with his plan, He knows eventual outcome will work for our good.

God’s Will for us is supreme and prevails over man’s schemes. And when we communicate with God, we don’t demand what we want, rather we discuss with Him what He wants for us. If we align our prayers to His Will, He will listen, and we can be certain that if He listens, He will give us a definite answer—an answer of peace. 

Prayers: Abba Father, Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come from You and You reign over all; and in Your hand is power and might; and in Your hand it is to make great, and to give strength to all. I will forever put all my trust in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Enduring When Obeying Hurts

 Enduring When Obeying Hurts

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)

What faith performs is sometimes unspeakably hard. 

In his book Miracle on the River Kwai, Ernest Gordon tells the true story of a group of POWs working on the Burma Railway during World War II. 

At the end of each day the tools were collected from the work party. On one occasion a Japanese guard shouted that a shovel was missing and demanded to know which man had taken it. He began to rant and rave, working himself up into a paranoid fury and ordered whoever was guilty to step forward. No one moved. “All die! All die!” he shrieked, cocking and aiming his rifle at the prisoners. At that moment one man stepped forward and the guard clubbed him to death with his rifle while he stood silently to attention. When they returned to the camp, the tools were counted again and no shovel was missing.

What can sustain the will to die for others, when you are innocent? Jesus was carried and sustained in his love for us by “the joy that was set before him.” He banked on a glorious future blessing and joy, and that carried and sustained him in love through his suffering. 

Woe to us if we think we should or can be motivated and strengthened for radical, costly obedience by some higher motive than the joy that is set before us. When Jesus called for costly obedience that would require sacrifice in this life, he said in Luke 14:14, “You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” In other words, be strengthened now in all your losses for Christ’s sake, because of the joy set before you.

Peter said that, when Jesus suffered without retaliating, he was leaving us an example to follow — and that includes Jesus’s confidence in the joy set before him. He handed his cause over to God (1 Peter 2:21) and did not try to settle accounts with retaliation. He banked his hope on the resurrection and all the joys of reunion with his Father and the redemption of his people. So should we.

A Hiding Place for the Helpless

 A Hiding Place for the Helpless

How abundant is your goodness, which you have . . . worked for those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 31:19) 

The experience of future grace often hangs on whether we will take refuge in God, or whether we doubt his care and run for cover to other shelters. 

For those who take refuge in God, the promises of future grace are many and rich. 

None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22) 

He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:31) 

Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12) 

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1:7) 

We do not earn or merit anything by taking refuge in God. Hiding, because we are weak and need protection, is not a work to commend our self-sufficiency. All it does is show that we regard ourselves as helpless and the hiding place as a place of rescue. 

In all those promises I just quoted, the condition of great blessing from God is that we take refuge in him. That condition is not a meritorious one; it is the condition of desperation and acknowledged weakness and need and trust. 

Desperation does not demand or deserve; it pleads for mercy and looks for grace.