OBEY GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2019.

SUBJECT: OBEY GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY

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Memory verse: "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.”

 (Romans 6 vs 17.)

READ: Joshua 22 vs 5:

22:5: But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

INTIMATION:

To obey is to comply, to listen to, being submissive to authority. Obeying God is adhering strictly to His commands and instructions. Your act of obedience should be from a willing heart, done wholeheartedly without grudges or complain. To obey from the heart means to give yourself fully to God, to love Him “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind” (Matthew 22 vs 37). It is doing whatever God asks without reservation or hesitation, and  with joy, enthusiasm, and gladness. You do it without delay. Delayed obedience is really disobedience. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. You are eager to know what God requires of you to do, and do it gladly and joyfully. The Bible says in Psalm 100 vs 2, "Serve the Lord with gladness.." 

Often we try to offer God partial obedience, that is “halfhearted” obedience. We want to pick and choose the commands we obey. We make a list of the commands we like and obey them while ignoring the ones we think are unreasonable, difficult, expensive, unpopular, or not beneficial to us in our own understanding. For instance you will attend church but you will not want to pay tithe or give offering. You pray to God for forgiveness, but will not forgive the person who offended you. You will hate people but wants God's love in your life. Note that partial obedience is complete disobedience. However, God wants to give you the power to obey Him with all your heart. 

The apostle James in James 2 vs 24 says, "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." What this means is that a man"s true faith in God always results to his good works, but the works do not justify him. Faith brings him salvation, active obedience demonstrates that his faith is genuine, and his knowledge and understanding of God.

Let us look at the instance of Abraham, he obeyed God wholeheartedly when God asked him to go and sacrifice his son: "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." (Genesis 22 vs 2.)

Abraham demonstrated one of the greatest acts of obedience in recorded history. He traveled fifty (50) miles to Mount Moriah. He took his son, whom he waited for a hundred years to get, for a burnt offering. He didn't contemplate the possibility of any replacement, since he was old, as well as the wife who was past the age of bearing, for it was impossible for them to have another child. God knew that fact hence His emphasis, "your only son, whom you love." It’s noteworthy that his obedience was prompt and complete. 

It is difficult to let go of what we deeply love. Yet when we wholeheartedly obey God, give Him what He asks, He returns to us far more than we could dream. The spiritual benefits of His blessings far outweigh our sacrifices. The Bible, in Genesis 22 vs 17 - 18, recorded how God blessed Abraham in return for his obedience;  "Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

God doesn't owe us any explanations for whatever He requires us to do. We just obey Him and lean not on your own understanding. Understanding can wait, but obedience can't. In fact you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding. Remember He created you for His purpose, not your own purpose, and instructs you on what to do to achieve His purpose.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of wholehearted obedience to You in all areas of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

TRUST GOD COMPLETELY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2019.

SUBJECT: TRUST GOD COMPLETELY

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Memory verse: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind s stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

 (Isaiah 26 vs 3.)

READ: Psalm 125 vs 1 - 2:

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 I Me forth and forever.

INTIMATION:

Trusting 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, and do the impossible when necessary. 

Trusting God completely pleases Him. 

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. Recite Psalm 91 daily in assurance of your trust in Him.

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. You are continually in His presence. And "In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16 vs 11.)

Noah, we noted was one of the people that trusted God. 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. 

Obviously Noah was faced with three problems that could have caused him to doubt. First, he 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 he 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.

Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when the children trust their love and wisdom, your faith makes God happy. And without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) 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. Do you want peace? Keep your thoughts and your trust in God. 

The secret of stability is to trust in God, because He never changes. 

He cannot be shaken by the changes in our world, and He endures forever. The fads and ideas of our world, and our world itself will not.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You I put my whole trust. Whatever You can’t do for me, let it remain undone, whatever You can’t give me, may I never have it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

LOVE GOD SUPREMELY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2019.

SUBJECT: LOVE GOD SUPREMELY!

Memory verse: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

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 (John 14 vs 21.)

READ: John 14 vs 23 - 24:

14:23: Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
14:24: He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me.

INTIMATION:

Love is the characteristic word of Christianity. It describes the attitude of God toward His Son (John 17 vs 26), the human race (John 3 vs 16), and to such as believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14 vs 21). Love also, expresses the essential nature of God (First John 4 vs 8), it conveys His will to His children concerning their attitude one to another (John 13 vs 35), and toward all men (First Thessalonians 3 vs 12; Second Peter 1 vs 7). Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments. Therefore, self-will, that is, self-pleasing is the negation of love to God.

Jesus said that His followers show their love for Him by obeying Him. Keeping God's commandments is the true demonstration of your love for Him. When you love God, you keep His commandments, and Jesus reciprocates by manifesting Himself in you. An intimate relationship is what God desires from you. It's the most outstanding truth in the universe—that our Creator wants to fellowship with us. 

God is love, and He made us to love us, hence He created us in His own image and after His likeness. He longs for us to love Him back. In Hosea 6 vs 6, God says, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

God says, I don't want you rituals (sacrifice); I want your love. I don't want your offerings; I want you to know Me." God deeply loves us and desires our love in return. He longs for us to know Him and spend time with Him. This is why learning to love God and be loved by Him should be the greatest objective of your life. Nothing else comes close in importance. Jesus called this the greatest commandment (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 38).

Loving God supremely puts us in an enviable position of being in partnership with Him—the Father and the Son making their home with you. I can envisage the triumphant life of such a person; who lives with Him whom nothing is difficult or impossible with, and the Owner of the whole universe and everything in it! Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11 vs 28 - 30). 

Speaking figuratively, Jesus used a yoke, a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person’s heavy burdens may be sin, oppression, persecution, unfavorable life’s circumstances, or even weariness in the search for God. Jesus frees people from all these burdens when you are in partnership with Him. The yoke is shared with Him, with weight falling on His bigger shoulders than yours. He has more pulling power, and is up front helping. Consequently, you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner, and now that frown can turn into smile, and that gripe into a song.

Jesus doesn’t offer a life of luxurious ease—the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But you are assured of His winning power and support at all times in your life’s travails. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

Love is more than lovely words; it is commitment and conduct. If you love Christ, then prove it by obeying what he says in His Word. Jesus never promised that obeying Him would be easy. But the hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love Him. And if the load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of love and obedience to you, I. Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

PLEASING GOD IS OUR FIRST PURPOSE IN LIFE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2019.

SUBJECT: PLEASING GOD IS OUR FIRST PURPOSE IN LIFE!

Memory verse: "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more , just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God."

 (First Thessalonians 4 vs 1.)

READ: John 15 vs 5 - 10:

15:5: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, Bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
15:6: If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
15:8: By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
15:9: As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you: abide in My love.

15:10: If You Keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

INTIMATION:

Pleasing God is the first purpose of our lives. Therefore, our most important task is to discover how to do that. There are clear examples in the Bible of those who pleased God. One of them was Enoch. The Scripture, in Hebrews 11 vs 5 says, "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him" for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."  

Another man was Noah. In his days the entire world had become morally bankrupt. Everyone lived for their own pleasure, not God's. God couldn't find anyone on earth interested in pleasing Him, so He was grieved and regretted making man. God became so disgusted with the human race that He considered wiping it out. But there was one man who God spared because he pleased Him, although he was far from perfect. In Genesis 6 vs 8, the Bible says, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Though the Bible recorded that "Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations.." (Genesis 6 vs 9), but that does not mean he never sinned, rather it means that he walked with God, wholeheartedly loved and obeyed God.

Above all, the life and times of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, during His earth walk is a testimony of a life that pleased God. The Bible in Second Peter 1 vs 17 says, "For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Jesus is more than just a great leader, a good example, a good influence, or a great prophet. He is the Son of God. God testified of Him when He said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matthew 17 vs 5.) Jesus obeyed the Father to the letters. He never did anything outside of His Father. He said, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me." (John 5 vs 30.) 

Believers have been given the right to become children of God. And do like our Messiah, Jesus Christ. What do we do to be pleased with God? God is pleased when we put Him first in our entire lives. To put God first we must do the following: (1) Love Him supremely. (2) Trust Him completely. (3) Obey Him wholeheartedly. (4) Praise and thank Him continually. (5) Use our abilities to benefit His course.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of raw obedience to You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

DO NOT AVENGE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2019.

SUBJECT: DO NOT AVENGE!

Memory verse: "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.” (Romans 12 vs 17.)

READ: Matthew 5 vs 38 - 42:

5:38: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
5:39: But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
5:40: If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tonic, let him have your cloak also.
5:41: And whoever compels you to go a mile, go with him two.
5:42: Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants borrow from you do not turn away.

INTIMATION:

To avenge is to take an action in return for an injury or offense; to retaliate or get even for a perceived wrong. In our fallen world, it is often deemed acceptable by some to tear people down verbally or to get back at them if we feel hurt. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His teaching, admonished us not to avenge or get even with our offenders. In God’s kingdom, revenge is unacceptable behavior, as is insulting a person, no matter how indirectly it is done. Rise above getting back at those who hurt you. Instead of reacting angrily to these people, pray for them. Jesus encourages us to pay back wrongs with a blessing, such as praying for the offenders. 

In this day of lawsuits and incessant demands for legal rights, Jesus teaching or command sounds almost impossible. When someone hurts you deeply, instead of giving him or her what he or she deserves, Jesus says do good to them and never avenge. Instead return good for evil. Why do we need to forgive our enemies or do good to those who hurt us? (1) Forgiveness may break a cycle of retaliation and lead to mutual reconciliation. (2) It may make the enemy feel ashamed and change his or her ways. (3) By contrast, repaying evil for evil hurts you just so much as it hurts your enemy. Even if your enemy never repents, forgiving him or her will free you of a heavy load of bitterness. 

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the believers in Rome, recounted and reemphasized Christ’s teaching, he says, “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12 vs 17 - 21.)

These verses summarize the core of Christian living. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on to others. And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds. We’re recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins—just as Christ did for us.

Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. If you find it difficult to feel forgiving toward someone who has hurts you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell this person that you would like to heal your relationship. Lend a helping hand. Send him or her a gift. Smile at him or her. Many times you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings.

Again, in the course of our lives’ travails, we can never know God’s intentions for any happenings or circumstances we face in life. All things are known to Him, even the end is known to Him from the beginning. And only the council of God stands as He does His pleasure: “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” (Isaiah 46 vs 10.) The circumstances of life we face can be God’s design to cause His plans and purposes in our lives to be accomplished. God has ordained our pathways from the beginning 

for a His predetermined purposes, and these include the  circumstances and trials we face in life. 

The story of Joseph in the Bible is a clear example of God’s use of our travails in life for the fulfillment of His ultimate plan (Genesis 37, 39 -  

50). 

Although Joseph’s brothers had wanted to get rid of him, God used even their evil actions for His purpose. 

He had sent Joseph ahead to preserve their lives, save Egypt, and prepare the way for the beginning of the nation of Israel. God is sovereign. His plans are not dictated by human actions. When others intend evil toward you, remember that they are only God’s tools. As Joseph said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50 vs 20.) It’s for this reason we should not avenge for man’s cruelty can be God ordained pathway for your lifting.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of love that I may love as Christ loved us and gave His life of inestimable value for my life that is completely worthless as a sinner. Engrace me to overcome evil with good, and never avenge or get even with another, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

YOU ARE USEFUL TO GOD!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 31, 2019.

SUBJECT: YOU ARE USEFUL TO GOD!

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 wants 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 writer (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 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 remembers 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 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, past sin, 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, without You I am nothing. In You I live, and move and have my being. Here I am, use me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!