Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 09, 2025.

SUBJECT: ENGAGING THE SPIRIT OF FAITH!

Memory verse: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;” (Second Corinthians 4 vs 13.)

READ: Romans 4 vs 17 - 24:

4:17: (As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

4:18: who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, “So shall your descendants seed be.”

4:19: And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead, (since he was about an hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

4:20: He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

4:21: and being fully convinced that, what he had promised, He was also able to perform.

4:22: And therefore, “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

4:23: Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him,

4:24: but also for us, it shall be imputed to us who believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

INTIMATION:

The Bible based faith is reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God and His Word. The Word of God is spirit and life (John 6 vs 63); It is God in the Spirit available to the believer that gives life in the affairs of the believer. The Bible based faith is the spirit of faith (Special faith), and It is the principal weapon of war for a child of God; the victory that overcomes the world: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith" (First John 5 vs 14). The spirit of faith sees the invisible God in any challenges of life. 

Special faith is something other than general faith or saving faith. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby a believer is empowered with faith beyond simple saving faith. This is the kind of faith you need to be able to move the obstructions or obstacles in your way. Sickness, financial strife, abuse, pride, unemployment, bondages, and strongholds of all kinds will not be able to stay in your life when you pray with this kind of (wonder-working) faith. They must go! All you have to do is believe, and nothing will be impossible for you (Mark 9 vs 23). 

The spirit of faith (Special faith—the gift of the Holy Spirit) is the predominant faith for exploits. This spirit is encountered through the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It is a spiritual force; a living force, drawn from the living Word of God, to produce living proves. It is the miracle-working faith that Jesus had during His ministry on the earth, and He said that we would walk in even greater power and perform greater things than He did. Prayer with such faith is real, and dismantles pride and vengeance, filling the holes with love. 

Therefore, if you want to receive the promises of God in His Word you must have faith in God Himself, and the Spirit of God—the spirit of faith—must be operational in you. The Scripture says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) God promises that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess, will be rewarded. Faith makes us share responsibility of our lives with God through His Spirit indwelling us, and in the light of His Word. With our faith in God, His Word, and our obedience, we commit God's integrity to perform His Word—His promises (Jeremiah 1 vs 12).

The Spirit of faith is one of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It is a potent force, with power to quench the fiery darts of the devil; "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Ephesians 6 vs 16.) Those fiery darts include; fear, doubt, unbelief, anger etc. When he throws such darts on you, and you are weak in faith to resist it, you succumb to his lies, and miss the provision in God's promise. Therefore, be fully persuaded of the truth in the Word of God, give yourself to raw and strict obedience to it, and you will behold the manifestation of the fulfillment of the promises of God in your life.

The main elements of faith in its relation to the invisible God, are: (1) A firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation or truth. (2) A personal surrender to Him, and (3) A conduct inspired by such surrender. For instance, the Scripture, in Isaiah 53 vs 5, says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” 

How then do you obtain by faith the healing virtue enshrined in the verse above? Now, the three elements of faith must be at work; (1) a firm conviction, of truth that by Christ’s stripes we are healed of any illness or disease, (2) a personal surrender to Christ, accepting His works for you in redemption, and (3) to conduct yourself in a manner inspired by such surrender—the Scripture says you are healed, and you exercise your faith in the healing so obtained. 

In the passage we read today, the object of Abraham’s faith was not God’s promise of a child to an aged and weak man—a hundred years old, with a wife with dead womb—90years of age, which is remotely impossible in reality. Instead, his faith rested on God Himself, knowing that He who promised is faithful, and will do it. Many of us would have acted otherwise if we were in Abraham’s position, thinking it is impossible for a man of 100years and a wife of 90years to give birth. But Abraham held tightly to his faith in God—the spirit of faith was alive in Him—he never wavered on the promise, and fully persuaded that He had promised, He was also able to perform.

Many will pray for healing, using relevant Scriptures of God’s promise of healing, but will still not be persuaded they have received their healing according to the Word of God. The devil will throw the dart of doubt their way, they are hit, and their spirit of faith is dampened. With such wavering in faith, it is obvious they will not receive anything (James 1 vs 6 - 7).

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You, Endue me with the spirit of faith in You, and Your Word, that I may have strong conviction of the truth in Your Word, surrendering completely to Christ, and conducting myself in accordance to my convictions and surrender, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Two Kinds of Opposition to Jesus

 Two Kinds of Opposition to Jesus

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:3)

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he arouses opposition against those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is an inescapable implication as the story goes on.

In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus.

The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented at the beginning of Jesus’s life by the chief priests and scribes. Matthew 2:4 says, “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” So they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening.

And notice, Matthew 2:3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of the chief priests is staggering: why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They are not passionate about finding the Son of God and worshiping him. 

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who are deeply threatened by him. That’s Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

So today, these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. I surely hope that you are not in one of those groups.

And if you are a Christian, let this Christmas be the time when you ponder what it means — what it costs — to worship and follow this Messiah.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY DECEMBER 08, 2025.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM!

Memory verse: "He answered and said to them, because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” (Matthew 13 vs 11.) 

READ: First Corinthians 2 vs 6 - 16 :

2:6: However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

2:7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

2:8: which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

2:9: But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

2:10: But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

2:11: For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

2:12: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

INTIMATION:

The mysteries of the kingdom are the knowledge that is outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, and can be made known only by Divine revelation, and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit. In the ordinary sense a mystery implies knowledge withheld; its Scriptural significance is truth revealed. Hence the terms especially associated with the subject are “made known,” “manifested,” “revealed,” “preached,” “understand,” “dispensation.” 

The definition given above may be best illustrated by the following passage; “the mystery which has been hidden from all ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints” (Colossians 1 vs 26). The mystery is used of: (a) spiritual truth generally, as revealed in the gospel. (b) Christ, who is God Himself revealed under the conditions of human life, and submitting even to death, but subsequently raised from among the dead, that the Will of God to co-ordinate the universe in Him, and subject it to Him, might in due time be accomplished, as declared in the gospel.

(c) the Church, which is Christ’s Body, that is, the union of redeemed men with God in Christ. (d) the rapture into the presence of Christ of those members of the Church which is His Body who shall be alive in the earth at His Parousia—His second coming. (e) the operation of those hidden forces that either retard or accelerate the kingdom of God. (f) the cause of the present condition of Israel. (g) the spirit of disobedience to God. (h) the ways of God in grace.

These mysteries; the secret or hidden truths of the kingdom reign of God were being revealed to those who were willing to listen and learn. However, for those who would not listen to Jesus, the truth concerning the kingdom reign would not be revealed simply because they would not listen to Jesus. 

God revealed the eternal plan of salvation to all men through Jesus. Through the grace of the gospel that was revealed on the cross (Titus 2 vs 11), God is able to establish our hearts in Christ Jesus. Therefore, it is upon the foundation of the event of the death of Jesus for our sins and His resurrection for our hope that we spiritually stand justified before God (see First Corinthians 15 vs 1 - 5). Upon the foundation of the fact of the gospel event we are emotionally assured that we will be raised in the end to walk with Jesus in a heavenly environment. 

Before the world was created, God had planned the events of the cross and resurrection. The mystery of the gospel (mystery of the kingdom), however, was not revealed to man until the coming of Jesus. Neither was it revealed to Satan. If the gospel event had been revealed to Satan, then he surely would not have moved the people against Jesus to have Him crucified. The fact that Jesus was crucified is evidence that Satan had no idea that the cross was indeed the plan of God to make Jesus the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. 

The mystery (also known as the mystery of Christ) was the eternal plan of redemption that God has now revealed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. It was not revealed in times before the coming of Jesus. It has been revealed in these times in order that men might understand God’s plan that all men be reconciled to Him through Jesus (See First Corinthians 2 vs 10 - 13). The mystery of Christ (God) is God’s plan of grace that was revealed on the cross for the salvation of all men. It was unknown until it’s revelation to the apostles by the Holy Spirit. 

The humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ in order to accomplish His mission on earth reveals the heart of the gospel “the mystery of godliness” (the secret of how we become godly). Jesus incarnation (manifested in the flesh—Jesus was a man) is the basis of our being right with God. His resurrection showed that the Holy Spirit’s power was in Him. We can’t please God on our own; we must depend on Christ. As a man Jesus lived a perfect life, and so He is a perfect example of how to live. As God, Jesus gives us the power to do what is right. It is possible to live a godly life through following Christ. 

God’s “hidden wisdom” was His offer of salvation to all people. Originally unknown to humanity, this plan became crystal clear when Jesus rose from the dead. His resurrection proved that He had power over sin and death and could offer us this power as well. God’s plan, however, is still hidden to unbelievers because they either refuse to accept it, choose to ignore it, or simply haven’t heard about it. 

All Christians ought to open their mouths for Jesus. It is the obligation of those who have been washed with the blood of the Lamb to proclaim to all as the answer to their problem of sin and death. The fact that one has been saved out of his spiritual death in sin by the grace of God obligates him to proclaim the mystery of Christ to others. With the knowledge of the grace of God comes the responsibility of sharing God’s grace. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You have revealed Your eternal plan for our redemption through Jesus Christ Your Son who came as a propitiation for our sins. Endue me with the revelational knowledge; my eyes of understanding being enlightened to know the reason and hope of Your calling, and the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Bethlehem’s Supernatural Star

 Bethlehem’s Supernatural Star

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2)

Over and over the Bible baffles our curiosity about just how certain things happened. How did this “star” get the magi from the east to Jerusalem?

It does not say that it led them or went before them on the way to Jerusalem. It only says they saw a star in the east (Matthew 2:2) and came to Jerusalem. And how did that star go before them in the little five-mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem as Matthew 2:9 says it did? And how did a star “rest over the place where the child was”?

The answer is: We do not know. There are numerous efforts to explain it in terms of conjunctions of planets or comets or supernovas or miraculous lights. We just don’t know. And I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied — not to become fixated — on theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance.

I risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things, as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood, are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal.

You do not see in them a deep cherishing of the great central things of the gospel: the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return, and the final judgment. They always seem to be taking you down a sidetrack with some new article or book that they’re all excited about dealing with something marginal. There is little rejoicing over the great, central realities.

But what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: It is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him.

There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars: God himself.

So, the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global — probably even universal — influence and power to get it done.

Luke shows God influencing the entire Roman Empire so that the census comes at the exact time to get an insignificant virgin to Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy with her delivery. Matthew shows God influencing the stars in the sky to get a little handful of foreigners to Bethlehem so that they can worship the Son.

This is God’s design. He did it then. He is still doing it now. His aim is that the nations — all the nations (Matthew 24:14) — worship his Son.

This is God’s will for everybody in your office at work, and in your classroom, and in your neighborhood, and in your home. As John 4:23 says, “The Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

At the beginning of Matthew we still have a “come-see” pattern. But at the end the pattern is “go-tell.” The magi came and saw. We are to go and tell.

But what is not different is the purpose and power of God in the ingathering of the nations to worship his Son. The magnifying of Christ in the white-hot worship of all nations is the reason the world exists.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 07, 2025.

SUBJECT : DIVINE GUIDANCE!

Memory verse: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go: I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32 vs 8.) 

READ: Psalm 25 vs 9 - 15: 

25:9: The Humble He guides in justice: and the humble He teaches His way.

2:10: All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

25:11: For Your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.

25:12: Who is the man that fears the LORD? him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

25:13: He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.

25:14: The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.

25:15: My eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

INTIMATION:

The greatest guide of any human being is divine guidance; the special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings; the ability to be guided by or hear God and be lead by Him. This is because you are guided by One who knows the road you are traveling on and all of the problems that lay ahead; the end is already known to Him from the beginning, therefore, He can give you dependable advice. He is able to help you be all that you can be, and can enable you either to avoid or overcome every obstacle or problem in your life. 

Events do not occur by luck or coincidence. We should have faith that God is directing our lives for His purposes. What you call ‘coincidence,’ somebody calls it ‘Godincidence.’ Stop now and think about the events in your life leading up to where you are now. Obviously, as a child of God, He has led you to the point you are right now. He never promised us a trouble-free life, but rather He promised to be with us even in our troubles. As you grow older, you will look back and see God’s involvement more clearly than you do now. He will make all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

When you follow God’s guidance, you know you are where He wants you, whether you’re moving or staying in one place, and you are sure of achieving the purpose for which you are created because the Creator and determinant of the purpose is guiding you. As you go about your daily tasks, God is working in your life in ways you may not even notice. You are physically somewhere now. He has a purpose in placing you where you are right now. Begin to understand God’s purpose for your life by discovering what He wants you to do now where you are. We must not close the door on what God can do. 

How do we receive God’s guidance? The first step is that you must be spiritual, and desire to be guided. You must realize that God’s primary guiding system is in His Word—the Bible. Psalm 119 tells of the endless knowledge found in God’s Word. By reading the Bible and constantly learning from it, we will gain the wisdom to perceive God’s direction for our lives. 

When we are willing to seek God, learn from His Word, and obey His commands, then we will receive His specific guidance. We need both a map that gives us directions and a constant companion who has an intimate knowledge of the way and will make sure we interpret the map correctly. The Bible is such a map, and the Holy Spirit is our constant companion and guide. As you make your way through life, use both the map and your Guide.

God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess. He has clearly revealed His purposes for our lives in the Bible. It tells us why we are alive, how life works, how the owner of life governs it, what to do, what to avoid, and what to expect now, and in the future. And it is only in Him, and His Manual you can find these answers. If that is the case, it makes no sense to center your life on yourself, but rather on the Owner of that life, and the determinant of how best to lead that life of yours.

God describes some people as being like horses or mules that have to be controlled by bits and bridles (Psalm 32 vs 9). Rather than letting God guide them step by step, they stubbornly leave God with only one option—chastisement. If God wants to keep them useful for Him, He must use discipline and punishment. God longs to guide us with love and wisdom rather than punishment. He offers to teach us the best way to go. Accept the advice written in God’s Word and don’t let your stubbornness keep you from obeying Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, I desire my help to come from You who created the heaven and the earth; Who has all knowledge, and knows the end from the beginning. My absolute trust is on You. Guide me, O Lord, that I may remain in the path You fashioned for me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Messiah for the Magi

 Messiah for the Magi

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1–2)

Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners — Gentiles, non-Jews — coming from the east to worship Jesus.

So, Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for all the nations, not just for Jews.

Here the first worshipers are court magicians, or astrologers, or wise men not from Israel but from the East — perhaps from Babylon. They were Gentiles. Unclean, according to the Old Testament ceremonial laws.

And at the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18–19).

This not only opened the door for us Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah; it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world. For example, Isaiah 60:3, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” 

So, Matthew adds proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah — a King, and Promise-Fulfiller — for all the nations, not just Israel.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 06, 2025.

SUBJECT: THE GRACE TO LIVE HOLY!

Memory verse: "For God did not call us to uncleanness but in holiness.” (First Thessalonians 4 vs 7.) 

READ: First Peter 1 vs 13 - 16:

1:13: Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

1:14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;

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

1:16: because it is written, “Be Holy, For I am holy.”

INTIMATION:

Grace, as undeserved (unmerited) favor, is one aspect of grace, we are probably most accustomed to hearing about, and it is wonderful. But we have also seen that grace is power—the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives—that enables us overcome our problems. It is the power of God available to meet our needs without cost to us. There is nothing more powerful than grace, and it is received by believing rather than through human effort.

What is holiness? Holiness is being "separated to God,"—being consecrated or set aside for sacred use. It is standing apart from sin and evil. It is a separation that should result in "conduct befitting those so separated." It is the characteristics or nature of God, especially the third person of the "Trinity." 

Holiness is a demand on us by God. We are to separate ourselves from the world's sinful values, and be devoted to God's desire rather than our own, and carry His love and mercy into the world. God's plan for us ab-initio, is to be like Him, hence His creating us in His own image and after His likeness (Genesis 1 vs 26). He wanted us to live like Him. Unfortunately, sin separated us from Him. In His love, mercy and grace, He sent His Son, as a propitiation for our sins (First John 4 vs 10), and through His blood reconciled us back to Himself, to live for Him and be like Him. 

But while God wants us to be holy, He realizes our weakness and inability. He knows that without help we can never be what He desires for us to be or wants us to do. That is why He has sent His Spirit to help us to fulfill His design and purpose for us. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to prepare us for that place. That is not a Scripture, but it is scriptural, that is, a truth based on the Word of God. This process through which the Holy Spirit makes us holy, or leads us into holiness is called sanctification. 

Sanctification therefore, refers to the process that God uses to do a work in us by His Holy Spirit to make us more and more holy until finally we become just like His Son Jesus. It is God's grace (the power of the Holy Spirit) we receive that enables us to meet the need of sanctification—the transformation process to holiness.

In Hebrews 10 vs 14, the Bible says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." We have been made perfect, yet we are being sanctified (made holy). Through His death and resurrection, Christ, once for all, made His believers perfect in God's sight. At the same time He is making them holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for His special use) in their daily pilgrimage here on earth through the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of grace). We should not be surprised, ashamed or shocked that we still need to grow. God is not finished with us yet.

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

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

Prayer: Abba Father, in Your loving kindness, and the riches of Your grace You saved us from the bondage of sin and Satan to live for You, and be like You. I thirst for the endowment of Your Spirit of grace for my sanctification, to lead a holy life as You desire, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Peace to Those with Whom He Is Pleased

 Peace to Those with Whom He Is Pleased

“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:12–14)

Peace for whom? There is a somber note sounded in the angels’ praise. Peace among those on whom his favor rests. Peace among those with whom he is pleased. But without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). So, Christmas does not bring peace to all.

“This is the judgment,” Jesus said, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Or as the aged Simeon said when he saw the child Jesus, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed . . . so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34–35). Oh, how many there are who look out on a bleak and chilly Christmas day and see no more than that — a sign to be opposed.

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11–12). It was only to his disciples that Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

The people who enjoy the peace of God that surpasses all understanding are those who in everything by prayer and supplication let their requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6–7).

The key that unlocks the treasure chest of God’s peace is faith in the promises of God. So, Paul prays, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13). And when we do trust the promises of God and have joy and peace and love, then God is glorified.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! Everyone — from every people, tongue, tribe, and nation — who would believe.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 05, 2025.

SUBJECT : GOD’S GRACE! PART 2.

Memory verse: “But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. (Second Corinthians 8 vs 7.) 

READ: Romans 3 vs 23 - 24; Second Corinthians 9 vs 8; Galatians 1 vs 15 - 16; Second Peter 3 vs 18:

Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:24: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus 

Second Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Galatians 1:15: But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,

Galatians 1:1:6 to reveal His Son to me, that I might preach Him among the Gentles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,

Second Peter 3:18: But grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and for ever. Amen.

INTIMATION:

We are justified by grace. All humanity has fallen short of that which is required for one to dwell in the presence of God. The result of law is that all are made sinners. The result of sin is separation from God. And the result of separation from God is spiritual death which will eventually lead to a second death. Since all men sin, then apart from the grace of God, no man can stand justified before God on the basis of law alone. We are justified before God, not on the basis of meritorious obedience to law or good works. 

We are justified on the basis that God saved us regardless of our inability to keep the law perfectly in order to save ourselves. This grace was freely given regardless of the spiritual condition of all humanity. It has to be freely given because men could not work in order to earn grace. Therefore, grace was given to take care of the sin problem of man. Once justified from sin by grace, we are then reconciled again to His presence and glory. All these were made possible by the sacrificial cross of Jesus where God’s grace was manifested. 

We grow in grace. It is the responsibility of each Christian to grow spiritually. The realm for growth is within the grace and knowledge of Jesus. One’s realization of God’s grace and knowledge that Jesus is the manifestation of the sacrificial Lamb who took away our sins, should stimulate us to spiritually grow. God has provided the motivation for spiritual growth through the revelation of His grace on the cross. It is the responsibility of Christians to grow in response to God’s grace and the knowledge that God poured out His love for mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation.

We hope through grace. The Scriptures in Second Thessalonians 2 vs 16 - 17 says, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” Jesus was God manifested in the flesh, while the Father remained in the Spirit. God has given us comfort through the gospel. The result of our comfort will carry on throughout heavenly glory. It has been through the grace of God that we are saved. 

We abound through grace. Adam’s sin affected posterity. All men die as Adam spiritually died because all men sin. Spiritual death, therefore, ruled in the lives of men until the cross. When Jesus came, the opportunity was presented to men to reign over death in life through Jesus. One’s reign in life, therefore, is inseparably connected with the abundance of God’s grace through which comes the gift of justification. There is no reign in life outside Christ. 

We are called by grace. Our call to Christ and to do God’s work is according to the work of God, not of man. We are called by grace, not by any work of ours. Before our birth God has foreordained us on the work or purpose we are to serve on this earth. We are called by the grace that was manifested on the cross. We are called by rendering ourselves to the appeal of God’s atoning sacrifice for our sins, which we could not atone through good works. 

We continue in grace. We continue as Christians only in the favor of God by being receptive to His Word. The Scripture, in Acts 13 vs 43 says, “Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God."

God’s grace is for the humble. Therefore, the humble receive grace. The Scripture, in James 4 vs 6, says, “But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says:” God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” God’s grace is extended toward those who have humbly submitted to Him. Those who are arrogant will not submit their lives to the Will of God. They resist submission, and thus, God resists giving His grace to them in order that they might be saved.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You Merciful and Loving Lord for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, as a propitiation for our sins. Never had their been any show of love and mercy such as this. My utmost heart desire is to serve You acceptably all the days of my life, and only You can empower me to do so by Your grace, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

No Detour from Calvary

 No Detour from Calvary

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6–7)

You would think that if God so rules the world as to use an empire-wide census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, he surely could have seen to it that a room was available in the inn.

Yes, he could have. He absolutely could have! And Jesus could have been born into a wealthy family. He could have turned stone into bread in the wilderness. He could have called 10,000 angels to his aid in Gethsemane. He could have come down from the cross and saved himself. The question is not what God could do, but what he willed to do.

God’s will was that though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor. The “No Vacancy” signs over all the motels in Bethlehem were for your sake. “For your sake he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

God rules all things — even hotel capacities and available Airbnbs — for the sake of his children. The Calvary road begins with a “No Vacancy” sign in Bethlehem and ends with the spitting and scoffing of the cross in Jerusalem.

And we must not forget that he said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross” (Luke 9:23).

We join him on the Calvary road and hear him say, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).

To the one who calls out enthusiastically, “I will follow you wherever you go!” Jesus responds, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of M

an has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:57–58).

Yes, God could have seen to it that Jesus have a room at his birth. But that would have been a detour off the Calvary road.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 04, 2025.

SUBJECT : GOD’S GRACE! PART 1.

Memory verse: “Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved.) Ephesians 2 vs 5.) 

READ: Romans 5 vs 1 - 2, 6 - 10:

5:1: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

5:2: through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

5:6: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

5:7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

5:8: But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

5:9: Much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

5:10: For if, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

INTIMATION:

The “Grace of God” is defined as God’s free and unmerited favor for sinful humanity. It’s the unmerited favor of God toward man that was made possible by the sacrificial offering of Jesus on the cross. Grace is thus the free gift of God because we cannot, through meritorious works or perfect keeping of law, earn God’s favor and justification. God saves by grace because of our obedient response to Him by faith.

God’s grace is Divine. In this respect there is stress on its freeness and universality, its spontaneous character, as in the case of God’s redemptive mercy, and pleasure or joy He designs for the recipient. It bestows on the part of the receiver a sense of favor bestowed, a feeling of gratitude, and sometimes the desire to be thankful. 

We are saved by grace. It is noteworthy that the provision that was necessary to revive man from his death in sin was totally based on the initiative of God. The Scripture states thus, “But God manifests His love toward us, in that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5 vs 8.) No man can righteously live in a manner to earn the mercy of God. We have been made alive with Christ because of God’s grace, not because we have legally earned or deserved God’s love, grace, and thus, His mercy.

God’s grace, therefore, was undeserved and unmerited because no man lived flawlessly in reference to God’s law in order to demand grace and mercy. Therefore, when one thinks of the plan of salvation that has been extended to man, he must understand that such was made possible by God without any obligation on the part of God to do such.

There is no other way to be saved except by the grace of God. Salvation comes to man as an unearned gift of God who has loved man. This favor of God did not come because we lived in a manner to earn or deserve the cross of Jesus. Men could never do enough good works to merit the reward of eternal life. It is only by the grace of God that salvation and eternal life are offered. 

This does not mean, however, that there are no conditions. Therefore, without the condition of obedience, grace would profit no one in reference to eternal life. It is by obedience to the gospel in response to God’s grace we have been saved. The gospel teaches us that we must acknowledge what Christ wrought for us on the cross, confess Him as our Lord and Savior (Be born again) and surrender our lives to Him. And these conditions of salvation are given in order that one step into the realm of God’s continued grace through the cross.

When we realize that our salvation has been made possible by the grace of God, and that we need not trust in the merit of perfect obedience, then our hope is made sure. Therefore, the hope of a Christian does not rest on his ability to perfectly perform law or accumulate meritorious good works. We can have hope because we have faith in the grace of God.

We cannot earn grace. Jesus did not die on the cross because men had meritoriously earned His sacrificial death. He died even though we were in sin. The loving grace of God was thus manifested though we were in sin. The loving grace of God was thus manifested through the cross because Jesus died for the unloving and undeserving. 

We stand in grace. We gain entry into the realm of God’s grace through Jesus in whom we must have faith. It is grace that brings assurance, for upon it we base our spiritual and emotional stability. Upon it we base our salvation. We do not stand on our ability to perfectly keep law, nor on our good works. Christians stand because of and on the grace of God. Their salvation is dependent on God’s grace since they are unable to keep law perfectly or do good works in order to atone for their own sin.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You Everlasting and Merciful Lord for Your unmerited favor bestowed upon us through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our salvation. Never had their been any show of love and mercy such as this. My utmost heart desire is to serve You acceptably all the days of my life, and I trust that only You can empower me to do so by Your grace, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

For God’s Little People

 For God’s Little People

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. (Luke 2:1–5)

Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5:2 shows); and that he so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah’s mother and legal father were living not in Bethlehem but in Nazareth; and that in order to fulfill his word and bring two unheard-of, insignificant, little people to Bethlehem that first Christmas, God put it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town? A decree for the entire world in order to move two people seventy miles!

Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of seven billion people, where all the news is about big political and economic and social movements and outstanding people with global significance and lots of power and prestige?

If you have, don’t let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant industrial complexes, without their even knowing it, are being guided by God, not for their own sake, but for the sake of God’s little people — the little Mary and the little Joseph who have to be got from Nazareth to Bethlehem. God wields an empire to fulfill his word and bless his children.

Do not think, because you experience adversity in your little world of experience, that the hand of the Lord is shortened. It is not our prosperity or our fame but our holiness that he seeks with all his heart. And to that end, he rules the whole world. As Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” And he is always turning it for his saving and sanctifying and eternal purposes among his people.

He is a big God for little people, and we have great cause to rejoice that, unbeknownst to them, all the kings and presidents and premiers and chancellors and chiefs of the world follow the sovereign decrees of our Father in heaven, that we, the children, might be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ — and then enter his eternal glory.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 03, 2025.

SUBJECT : THE NEED FOR CONFESSION OF SIN!

Memory verse: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (First John 1 vs 9.)

READ: Psalm 32 vs 5 - 6; Proverbs 28 vs 13::

Psalm 32:5: I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden.

32:6: I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Proverbs 28:13: He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

INTIMATION:

To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that He is right to declare what we have done as sinful and that we are wrong to desire or do it. It means affirming our intention of forsaking that sin in order to follow God more faithfully. 

The feeling of guilt cannot be disregarded by those who seek to be godly. Such people cannot continue to be living in the knowledge that they have deliberately sinned against God. Relief can only come when you acknowledge your sin, and ask for forgiveness from the Lord who only can forgive sin.

Honest confession should precede worship to the Lord because we cannot have a right relationship with God if we hold on to certain sins. And anything you do to honor God is an act of worship. However, reading and studying God’s Word should precede confession because God can show us where we are sinning. 

The psalmist said in Psalm 66 vs 18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." When we refuse to repent or when we harbor and cherish certain sins, we place a wall between us and God. We may not be able to remember every sin we have ever committed, but our attitude should be one of confession and obedience. 

As imperfect being we are, we are always sinning; knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, we need to continually be confessing our sins so as to receive forgiveness of our sins from the Lord, and to ensure continued fellowship with the Lord. As enumerated in our memory verse, God is so faithful that if we confess our sins, we are assured of His forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness, and our fellowship with Him is restored.

Most believers are plagued by guilt; they may have committed a sin unknowingly; done something good with selfish intentions, failed to put their whole heart into a task, or neglected what they should have done. With an attitude of confession, we will always present ourselves to God as sinners that needs forgiveness. God fully and completely forgives us—even for those sins we do unknowingly.

We must take full responsibility, admit our wrong, and ask God for forgiveness. Many people want to add God and the benefits of Christianity to their lives without acknowledging their personal sin and guilt. But confession and repentance must come before receiving forgiveness. We must take full responsibility for our actions and confess them to God before we can expect Him to forgive us and continue His work in us.

God cannot be found by those who refuse to repent. It is not that God has hidden Himself from the sinner, but that the sinner with unrepentant heart seek to hide from God. God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure, and thus one can always come to Him through repentance. (First Corinthians 10 vs 13.) When our sins are forgiven, we can stand boldly in His presence and make our petition. Therefore, it is to our own advantage that we ask for forgiveness of sins, so that our Heavenly Father can hear our prayers.

David confessed his sin and prayed, "Cleans me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19 vs 12 - 13.) Presumptuous sins are the sins we commit unknowingly, or when we take certain things for granted; when we believe that something is true without proof. Most times we end up apologizing for the wrong done unwittingly.

Christ has made it possible for us to go directly to God for forgiveness. But confessing our sins to each other still has an important place in the life of the church—the Body of Christ. (1) If we have sinned against an individual, we must ask him or her to forgive us. (2) If our sin has affected the church, we must confess it publicly. (3) if we need loving support as we struggle with a sin, we should confess that sin to those who are able to provide that support. (4) If we doubt God’s forgiveness, after confessing a sin to Him, we may wish to confess that sin to a fellow believer for assurance of God’s pardon. In Christ’s kingdom, every believer is a priest to other believers (First Peter 2 vs 9.)

Prayer: Abba Father, I will stop at nothing to confess my sins to You, knowing that You are so faithful to forgive my sins and cleanse from all unrighteousness, that my fellowship with You is restored. Endue me with the spirit of humility and total obedience to You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Long-Awaited Visitation

 The Long-Awaited Visitation

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” (Luke 1:68–71)

Notice two remarkable things from these words of Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, in Luke 1.

First, nine months earlier, Zechariah could not believe his wife would have a child. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is so confident of God’s redeeming work in the coming Messiah that he puts it in the past tense: “he has visited and redeemed his people.” For the mind of faith, a promised act of God is as good as done. Zechariah has learned to take God at his word and so has a remarkable assurance: God “has visited and redeemed!” (Luke 1:68).

Second, the coming of Jesus the Messiah is a visitation of God to our world: The God of Israel has visited and redeemed. For centuries, the Jewish people had languished under the conviction that God had withdrawn: the spirit of prophecy had ceased; Israel had fallen into the hands of Rome. And all the godly in Israel were awaiting the visitation of God. Luke tells us that another old man, the devout Simeon, was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Likewise, the prayerful Anna was “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

These were days of great expectation. Now the long-awaited visitation of God was about to happen — indeed, he was about to come in a way no one expected.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 02, 2025.

SUBJECT: ASPIRE TO ATTAIN PERFECTION! 

Memory verse: "Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5 vs 48.)

READ: Second Corinthians 3 vs 18; First John 3 vs 2 - 3:

Second Corinthians 3:18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

First John 3:2: Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 

3:3: And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

INTIMATION:

“Perfect” comes from the Greek word “Teleios” which signifies having reached its end, finished, or complete. It’s used primarily for a person’s physical development, then with ethical imports; fully grown, mature. It also, conveys the idea of goodness without necessary reference to maturity, but rather completeness in deeds.

For Christ, being perfect is bringing to an end by completing or accomplishing His earthly course in the accomplishment of His Father’s Will. This involves the successive stages culminating to His Death on the cross that made Him perfect legally and officially, for all that He would be to His people on the ground of His sacrifice.

Through His death on the cross, Jesus laid the foundation for our perfection in His Supreme sacrifice for us. The Bible, in Hebrews 10 vs 14, says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” We have been made perfect before the Father by His death for our sins, yet we are “being sanctified” (made holy). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ, once for all, made His believers perfect (complete) in God’s sight—holy and without blemish as planned by God from the beginning for His people. 

Jesus Christ, through the indwelling Holy Spirit in the believers, is making us holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for His special use) in our daily pilgrimage here on earth. Daily we are being transformed into the image of God from one stage to another—“from glory to glory,” by the Holy Spirit. We should not be surprised, ashamed, or shocked that we have not attained perfection, and still need to grow. 

God is not finished with us. We can encourage this growth process by deliberately applying Scripture in all areas of our lives, by accepting the discipline and guidance Christ provides, and by giving Him control of our desires and goals. Perfection or completeness will be attained at the second coming of Christ—“we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.”

All parts of our lives and characters should be in the process of becoming conformed, both inwardly and outwardly, to God's standards. We should be like our Heavenly Father—holy in everything we do. After people commit their lives to Christ, they sometimes still feel a pull back to their old ways, nonetheless, we should aspire to be perfect just as He is.

Holiness means being totally devoted or dedicated to God, set aside for His special use and set apart from sin and its influence. We're to be set apart and different, not blending in with the crowd, yet not being different just for the sake of being different. God's quality in our lives make us different. Our focus and priorities must be His. All these are in direct contrast to our old ways, we cannot become holy on our own, but God gives us His Holy Spirit to help us obey and to give us power to overcome sin. 

How can we aspire to attain perfection? We do the following: 1. In character, we aspire to be like Christ. However, in this life we cannot be flawless, but we can aspire to be as much like Christ as possible; 2. In holiness, we are to separate ourselves from the world's sinful values just like the Pharisees. But unlike the Pharisees we are to be devoted to God's desires rather our own and carry His love and mercy into the world; 3. In maturity, we must grow toward maturity and wholeness. Just as we expect different behavior from a baby, a child, a teenager, and an adult, so God expects different behavior from us, depending on our stage of spiritual development. We can't achieve Christlike character and holy living all at once; 4. In love, we seek to love others as completely as God loves us. We can be perfect if our behavior is appropriate for our maturity level—perfect yet with much room to grow. It’s noteworthy that our tendency to sin must never deter us from striving to be more like Christ.

Christ calls all of His disciples to excel, to rise above mediocrity, and to mature in every area, becoming like Him. Those who try to be perfect will one day be perfect even as Christ is perfect. By gazing at the nature of God with unveiled minds, we can be more like Him. 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 Christlike is a progressive experience, the more we follow Christ, the more we will be like Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the Holy Sovereign God, and created me in Your own image and after Your likeness. Give me the grace to aspire to be like You in Christ—perfect, and without faults, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Mary’s Magnificent God

 Mary’s Magnificent God

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46–55)

Mary sees clearly a most remarkable thing about God: He is about to change the course of all human history; the most important three decades in all of time are about to begin. 

And where is God? Occupying himself with two obscure, humble women — one old and barren (Elizabeth), one young and a virgin (Mary). And Mary is so moved by this vision of God, the lover of the lowly, that she breaks out in song — a song that has come to be known as “The Magnificat.”

Mary and Elizabeth are wonderful heroines in Luke’s account. He loves the faith of these women. The thing that impresses him most, it appears, and the thing he wants to impress on Theophilus, his noble reader of his Gospel, is the lowliness and cheerful humility of Elizabeth and Mary as they submit to their magnificent God.

Elizabeth says (Luke 1:43), “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” And Mary says (Luke 1:48), “He has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”

The only people whose soul can truly magnify the Lord are people like Elizabeth and Mary — people who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY DECEMBER 01, 2025.

SUBJECT: MAKE YOUR CHOICE!

Memory verse: "And if it seem evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24 vs 15.)

READ: First King 18 vs 20 - 24:

18:20: So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on mount Carmel.

18:21: And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow Him: but if Baal, follow him. But the people answered him not a word.

18:22: Then said Elijah to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

18:23: Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it: and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it.

18:24: Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God who answers by fire, He is God. And all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

INTIMATION:

God always leaves us with a choice. God doesn’t force His Will on anyone. He lets us decide whether to follow Him or reject Him. This decision, however, is a blessing-or-curse; a life-or-death matter. God wants us to realize this, for He would like us to choose blessing rather than curse, life rather than death. We are daily confronted with this decision in circumstances of life we face. And daily, in each new situation, we must affirm and reinforce this commitment.

At a time in the history of the Israelites, Moses placed this choice before them; “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His status, and His judgements, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30 vs 15 - 16 & 19.) 

Moses challenged Israel to choose life; to obey God, and therefore to continue to experience His blessings. God has called us to keep His commands, while reminding us that His laws are not hidden from us or beyond our reach (Deuteronomy 30 vs 11 - 14). God has detailed His laws in the Bible for our information and study, therefore, no one would say, “I will obey God if I know what He wants.” 

Obeying God is reasonable, sensible, and beneficial. Some people have complained that obedience to God’s laws is too difficult for a mere human. But God, in His infinite mercy, love, and benevolence, has given us an Helper in the person of the Holy Spirit, to abide with us forever, and help us in our inadequacies, and infirmities. Therefore, if you have ever given such complains above, know that they are unacceptable excuses. The most difficult part of obeying God’s laws is simply deciding to start now. 

In our memory verse, Joshua also reminded the Israelites of their privilege of choice. The people had to decide whether they would obey the Lord, who had proven His trustworthiness in their lives, or obey the local gods in their new lands they inhabited, which were only man-made idols. Joshua took a stand with his household to serve God. In taking a definite stand for the Lord, he displayed his spiritual leadership, and encouraged others to follow him. He made a commitment to God, and was determined to set an example of living by that decision.

It is easy to slip into a quiet rebellion—going about life in your own way. Some of us are controlled by our own limited personality, or the world’s standard of success—power, possessions, status, wealth etc. Power, status, appearance, or material possessions can become our gods if we devote our lives to them. Any substitute to God’s control is completely imperfect and deceitful. 

Once you have chosen to be controlled by God’s Spirit, reaffirm your choice every day. The way we live shows others the strength of our commitment to serving God. It is important to take a stand for the Lord. If we just drift along with whatever is pleasant and easy, we will someday discover that we have been worshiping a false God—ourselves. May you never worship a false god, in the mighty name of Jesus. 

In the passage we read today, Elijah challenged the people to take a stand—make a choice to follow whoever is the true God. Although the prophets of Baal raved all afternoon, no one answered them. Their god was silent because it was not real. In times of need when they desperately call out to these gods, there will only be silence. These false gods can offer no true answers, no guidance, no real protection, and no wisdom.

People waver between the two choices of who to follow, or deliberately be looking the other way because of the sinful pleasures and other temporary benefits that come with turning a blind eye to obeying God’s laws. It’s easy to be deceived by the temporary benefits of wealth, popularity, status, pleasures, and achievement, and to be blind to the long-range benefits of God’s kingdom. It only takes faith to look beyond the world’s value system to see the eternal values of God’s kingdom. Therefore, start today if you have not; make your choice.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my all in all. Whatever You cannot do for me, let it remain undone. Whatever You cannot give me, may I never have it. I rather die than put my trust in anything but You. Endue me with the spirit of raw obedience to You at all times and in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Prepare the Way

 Prepare the Way

“He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:16–17)

What John the Baptist did for Israel, Advent can do for us. Don’t let Christmas find you unprepared. I mean spiritually unprepared. Its joy and impact will be so much greater if you are ready!

So, that you might be prepared . . . 

First, meditate on the fact that we need a Savior. Christmas is an indictment before it becomes a delight. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). If you don’t need a Savior, you don’t need Christmas. Christmas will not have its intended effect until we feel desperately the need for a Savior. Let these short Advent meditations help awaken in you a bittersweet sense of need for the Savior.

Second, engage in sober self-examination. Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24). Let every heart prepare him room . . . by cleaning house.

Third, build God-centered anticipation and expectancy and excitement into your home — especially for the children. If you are excited about Christ, they will be too. If you can only make Christmas exciting with material things, how will the children get a thirst for God? Bend the efforts of your imagination to make the wonder of the King’s arrival visible for the children.

Fourth, be much in the Scriptures, and memorize the great passages! “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:29)! Gather ’round that fire this Advent season. It is warm. It is sparkling with colors of grace. It is healing for a thousand hurts. It is light for dark nights.

Happy New Month  Blessed of  December 2025

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2025.

SUBJECT: YOU ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP! 

Memory verse: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2 vs 10.)

READ: Ephesians 2 vs 4 - 10:

2:4: But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

2:5: even when we are dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

2:6: and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

2:7: that in ages to come He might show His exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

2:8: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

2:9: not of works, lest anyone should boast.

2:10: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

INTIMATION:

What assurances it gives to the heart when we come to know that the Father loves us even as He loved Jesus, that He is vitally interested in us as He was in His Son when He walked the earth. Consequently, He made us one with Christ—we are the body of Christ—the church. The body starts with the head, consequently, the Church is headed by Jesus. In Colossians 1 vs 18, the Scripture says, "And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."

Jesus was the first person ever born again. He was born twice. He was born of the Virgin Mary; then on the cross He was made sin with our sin, as our substitute. He was crucified on the cross. God, in accordance with His plan of redemption, accepted His death as a propitiation for mankind. Consequently, He satisfied the claims of justice, He was justified in spirit, made righteous in spirit, and made alive in spirit. This was the new birth. 

It was for this reason God said "....You are My Son, Today I have begotten You," (Acts 13 vs 33). God was speaking of the resurrected Jesus Christ. And when we confessed Jesus, and accepted His substitutionary work for us in redemption, we were recreated—made New Creation, and adopted as sons and daughters of God.

In the substitutionary work of Jesus, He was actually made sin with our sins, was forsaken of God, a curse because He had hung upon the tree. After meeting every demand of justice, in accordance with God's law, He was born again out of death, recreated and becomes a partaker of Eternal Life. Now He is called the firstborn out of death, the Head of the New Creation. It was that morning when Jesus was recreated that the whole church by faith came into being. In reality it began on the Day of Pentecost and it has continued until now. Our salvation is something only God can do. It is His powerful creative work in us. 

One of the most graphic pictures of what Jesus wrought for the believers is given in John's gospel, John 1 vs 16. The Amplified Version Bible gives a clearer picture of the verse: "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift."

The grace (unmerited favor) gives us the gifts of His love life, wisdom, His very being, and substance. We are the branch of the vine; we are partakers of the Divine Nature. His fullness here means His ability, His love, His righteousness, His utter completeness, and we have received them all. All the gifts and favors are now piled on us one after another, and all by His grace. We have been chosen by God as His very own, and His jewels, a special treasure to Him above all people, and we are to Him a kingdom of priests, as Christ has made us kings and priests to our God that we shall reign on the earth. 

He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (Ephesians 1 vs 3). We are blessed. We are rich in Him. We have His fullness. We are sufficient in His sufficiency. All that He is, we have. We are what He says we are. And the Father has told us that we are in the Beloved. The Father sees us as His own righteousness in Christ Jesus. "And you are complete in Him," and this completeness is over and above all that we can ask or think or desire. We have been called to represent Him to others. We are united with Christ as members of His body, and we join in His priestly work of reconciling God and people.

Prayer: Abba Father, I am complete in You, and have Your fullness in Christ. You have blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. I am in You, and You in me. Strengthen me with might according to Your glorious power that I may be fruitful in every good work, worthy of Your calling and fully pleasing You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Triumphant Shame of the Cross

 

The Triumphant Shame of the Cross

[Christ did not] offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:25–26)

It is not to be taken for granted that there should be a welcome for sinners in heaven. 

God is holy and pure and perfectly just and righteous. Yet the whole story of the Bible is how such a great and holy God can and does welcome dirty, unholy people like you and me into his favor. How can this be?

Hebrews 9:25 says that Christ’s sacrifice for sin was not like the sacrifices of the Jewish high priests. They came into the holy place yearly with animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. But these verses say Christ did not enter heaven to “offer himself repeatedly . . . for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 9:26). 

If Christ followed the pattern of the priests, then he would have to die yearly. And since the sins to be covered include the sins of Adam and Eve, he would have had to begin his yearly dying at the foundation of the world. But the writer treats this as unthinkable. 

Why is this unthinkable? Because it would make the death of the Son of God look weak and ineffective. If it has to be repeated year after year for centuries, where would be the triumph? Where would we see the infinite value of the sacrifice of the Son of God? It would vanish in the shamefulness of a yearly suffering and death. 

There was shame in the cross, but it was triumphant shame. “[Jesus despised] the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

This is the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). I pray that no matter how dirty or unholy with sin you are, you will see the light of this glory and believe.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2025.

SUBJECT : TRUST IN GOD COMPLETELY!

Memory verse: "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37 vs 5.)

READ: Psalm 125 vs 1 - 2; Isaiah 26 vs 3 - 4:

Psalm 125:1: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 

125:2: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.

Isaiah 26:3: You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. 

26:4: Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

INTIMATION:

Trusting in God completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life, you expect Him to keep His promises, help you with problems or issues in your life, and do the impossible when necessary. And this pleases the Lord. 

When you put your absolute trust in the Lord, He will surround you as the mountains surround the city of Jerusalem. You will confidently say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress." Those who trust in the Lord completely have the same claim and experience expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 91; the perfect expression of the result of our absolute trust in God. 

And the Lord said: “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalm 91 vs 14 - 16.)

What can be better than the promises of God to them that trust Him in the above passage? The reason we trust in the Lord is because He is an unchanging God. As the mountain remains unmoved so do the consistency of our God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Malachi 3 vs 6; Hebrews 13 vs 8). And because "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy," (Psalm 147 vs 11), He surrounds His people now and forever. Interestingly, God is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should repent. He does all He says, and ensures that His promises come to pass at His appointed time.

Noah was an outstanding and exemplary personality regarding his trust in God. We noted that even when God asked him to do something that made no sense to him, he trusted God and obeyed. Noah knew nothing about flood, there has been no rain before that time, so he knew nothing about rain. He has never seen an ark or built a ship before, but obeyed the instructions God gave him and adhered strictly to the measurements and materials God told him to use.

The Bible says, in Hebrews 11 vs 7, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Obviously Noah was faced with three problems that could have caused him to doubt. First, Noah had never seen rain, because prior to the flood, God irrigated the earth from the ground up. (See Genesis 2 vs 5 - 6.) Second, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Even if he could learn to build a ship, how would he get it to water? Third, there was the problem of rounding up all the animals and then caring for them. But Noah didn't complain or make excuses. He trusted God completely, and that made God smile at him.

It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. I imagined he faced many discouraging days. With no sign of rain year after year, he was ruthlessly criticized as a "crazy man who thinks God speaks to him." I imagined Noah's children were often embarrassed by the giant ship being built in their front yard. Yet Noah kept trusting God.

In what areas of your life do you need to trust God completely? Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when the children trust in their love and wisdom, your trust and faith makes God happy. And without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) 

My utmost heart desire is to trust God completely that I will sincerely testify of the Lord, as prophet Habakkuk; “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 4 vs 17 - 18.)

Trusting God completely pleases Him, and consequently He ensures you are kept in perfect peace that surpasses all human understanding. We can never avoid strife around us in this world, but with God we can know perfect peace even in turmoil. When we are devoted to Him, our whole attitude is steady and stable. Supported by God's unchanging love and mighty power, we are not shaken by the surrounding chaos. 

Prayer: Abba Father, forever my whole trust is in You. Even when the earth refuses to yield her increase, and the works of my hands fails to prosper; even when the whole world turn against me that people will ask me where is my God; I will rejoice in You and my whole confidence will rest upon You because I know whom I have trusted, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Only Conscience-Cleanser

 The Only Conscience-Cleanser

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14)

Here we are in the modern age — the age of the Internet, smartphones, space travel, and heart transplants — and our problem is fundamentally the same as always: Our consciences condemn us and make us feel unacceptable to God. We are alienated from God. And our consciences bear witness.

We can cut ourselves, or throw our children in the sacred river, or give a million dollars to charity, or serve in a soup kitchen, or a hundred forms of penance or self-injury, and the result will be the same: The stain remains and death terrifies. 

We know that our conscience is defiled — not with external things like touching a corpse, a dirty diaper, or a piece of pork. Jesus said it is what comes out of a man that defiles, not what goes in (Mark 7:15–23). We are defiled by attitudes like pride and self-pity and bitterness and lust and envy and jealousy and covetousness and apathy and fear. 

The only answer in this modern age, as in every other age, is the blood of Christ. When your conscience rises up and condemns you, where will you turn? Hebrews 9:14 gives you the answer: “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” 

The answer is: Turn to the blood of Christ. Turn to the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give you relief in life, and peace in death.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2025.

SUBJECT: PRAISE AND THANK GOD CONTINUALLY! 

Memory verse: "So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations." (Psalm 79 vs 13.)

READ: Psalm 69 vs 30 - 31; 92 vs 1 - 4:

69:30: I will praise the name of God with song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 

69:31: This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull, which have horns and hooves.

92:1: It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. 

92:2: To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night,

92:3: On an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with harmonious sound.

92:4: For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

INTIMATION:

Praise is an act of worship, commending or given honor to; when you express yourself in such manner, it is praise. Thanksgiving is acknowledging a goodness. We can count the few things that make us feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it too. He is pleased when we express our adoration and gratitude to Him. 

We praise God for who He is, and thank Him for what he has done. We acknowledge God when we shout our praises, appreciate His status as our Creator, accept His authority in every detail of life, enthusiastically agree with the guidance He gives us, and express our thanks for His unfailing love.

Praise and thanksgiving are forms of sacrifice to God. The Bible in Hebrews 13 vs 15 says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." These sacrifices are ever pleasing to God. Our lips should confess God’s name in praise. It is a sacrifice that can be offered anywhere and anytime. 

A “sacrifice of our lips” today would include thanking Christ for His sacrifice on the cross and telling others about it. Offering Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise and thanking Him for His kindness and wondrous acts are particularly pleasing to God, even when they go unnoticed by others. 

The psalmist, in Psalm 30 vs 12, says, "To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God. I will give thanks to You forever." "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34 vs 1.) In the Bible, praise and thanksgiving to God are emphasized over 350 times, indicating their usefulness in our relationship with our Maker.

The Lord inhabits the praises of His children (Psalm 22 vs 3). God comes in His might to answer to our prayers when we worship Him in praise and thanksgiving. For instance, the apostle Paul and Silas suffered persecution, and were imprisoned in Philippi. The Bible recorded in Acts 16 vs 25 - 26: "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed." 

The praises of Paul and Silas brought God to the scene in His might and power. The earth quaked at His presence, and the foundation of the prison was greatly shaken. The prison doors were opened. Can anything resist the Almighty? Certainly not. Amazing things happen when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy! 

Thanks should be on our lips every day. We can never say thank you enough to our parents, friends, leaders, and especially to God. When thanksgiving becomes an integral part of your life, you will find that your attitude toward life will change. You will become more positive, gracious, loving, and humble. 

Those you praise God always are assured of enjoying His presence at all times, and consequently the fullness of joy! We enjoy what God has done for us, and when we express that enjoyment to God, it brings Him joy and also increases our joy. 

Yet, in your typical day, how many times do you hear God’s name used profanely? Christians should turn the frequency of the use of His name toward praise! Praise God early in the day before the rush, then again in the hurried middle, and at the end as business winds down. It is pleasing to Him.

Have you worshipped God in all other forms and nothing seem to happen? Praise Him, and He will personally come in His might and power to attend to your prayers. No matter our circumstances, we should praise God. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of joy forevermore. Give me the grace to continually offer the sacrifice of my lips to You, and thank You for Your ever unchanging faithfulness in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!