SHARE IN CHRIST’S SUFFERING; CRUCIFY THE FLESH!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 24, 2019.

SUBJECT : SHARE IN CHRIST’S SUFFERING; CRUCIFY THE FLESH

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Memory verse: 

"But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when the glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy?" (First Peter 4 vs 13.

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READ: Romans 8

 vs 12 - 17

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8:12: Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba Father."

8:16: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

8:17: And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him; that we may also be glorified together.

8:18: 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

INTIMATION:

When you become "Born-again," that is, when you believe in Christ and His finished work for you on the cross, and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, you are adopted as a child of God. And as a child of God, you have the opportunity of the leading by the Holy Spirit. 

Being the children of God exact the price of being "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." 

Because we are God's children, we share in His great treasures as co-heirs. God has given us His best gifts: His Son, the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, and Eternal life; and He encourages us to ask Him for whatever we need. 

As followers of Christ, we are led by the Spirit, and consequently, are indebted to the Spirit, and not to the flesh. Just like Christ, we have to suffer in the flesh in obedience to the leading of the Spirit. The flesh is the playground of the devil, and the Spirit has nothing to do with the flesh.

 Our flesh is never going to want what the Spirit wants, and even when our spirit wants to follow the Lord, the appetites of our flesh will tempt us to disobey God. 

As a result, w

e will sense a war going on in us as we choose to conform to God's leading.

As long as we're here on earth our flesh and our born-again heart will not be in natural agreement; 

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." (Galatians 5 vs 17.) 

Though the desires of the flesh are not going to disappear and go away, but if we choose to be led by the Spirit, we won't fulfill the desires of the flesh, therefore, devil won't get his way. The 

desires of the flesh leads us away from God's best. T

he apostle Paul said, "I say then; Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5 vs 16).

The bottom line is that our flesh wants to do one thing and the Spirit wants us to do something else, and if we choose to follow the Spirit of God, our flesh is going to suffer. We don't like that, but the Scripture simply says that if we want to share Christ's glory, we have to be willing to share His suffering. 

Christians must face suffering of the flesh, and as Christ's followers we must endure the suffering. 

What kind of suffering are we to endure? Sometimes we get the suffering message out of context and balance. 

True Bible suffering is not poverty, disease, or disaster. Jesus came to heal, deliver, and set us free from that kind of suffering. Satan certainly attacks us with those things, and we may have to take them for a season while we are waiting for God to deliver us. B

ut that's not the kind of suffering that God wants us to endure permanently. What the Lord wants from us is to be long-suffering with each other.

What does "longsuffering" mean? It's the patient endurance of trials or prosecution.

A true sign of maturity is demonstrated in the way we react to situations, especially the way we treat other people. The Bible is a Book about relationships—our relationship with God, our relationship with our self, and our relationship with other people. Most of us will agree that the biggest challenge is getting along with other people. 

For true believers and followers of Christ, striving to be like Him should be our main target. Jesus Christ is forgiveness personified. Even in the most crucial pain on the cross, He was pleading with God for forgiveness on His persecutors. What a strange act! But for us, when people make us mad, the tendency to react madly and give it back to them is very high. But to be Christlike, 

if people make us mad, the Word of God in us should start prompting us to forgive them. It's not easy to do, but we have to choose whether we are going to fulfill the desires of the flesh or whether we're going to be led by the spirit. 

If we walk in the flesh, we won't get along with anybody, because the bottom line is we all like to have our way about everything. The flesh is selfish and self-centered. If we walk in the flesh, we will never act like Jesus Christ. 

To live as Jesus did—serving others, giving up one's rights, resisting pressures to conform to the world—always exacts a price of longsuffering. He crucified the flesh, so that He was completely led by the Spirit. Jesus is our role model. Nothing we suffer, however, can compare to the great price that Jesus paid to save us.

God teaches us what is right through the Spirit indwelling us, and all day long, seven days a week, we have to choose the right thing over the wrong thing. Until the last trumpet sounds, and Jesus comes to get us, we're going to have to say no to self and yes to God. We must realize that in order to follow God, the flesh must be told no, and when that happens the flesh suffers. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank You for the privileges of sonship You have given me. My utmost heart desire is to join in Your suffering, crucifying the flesh and lead by the Spirit, that I may glorified together with You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD SHOWS UP FOR THOSE WHO STAND FIRM FOR HIM!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018.

SUBJECT : GOD SHOWS UP FOR THOSE WHO STAND FIRM FOR HIM!

Memory verse: "For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10 vs 11).

READ: Psalm 27 vs 1 - 5:

27:1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

27:2: When the wicked came against me, to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.

27:3: Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.

27:4: One thing I have desired of the LORD, that I will seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.

27:5: For in the time of trouble  He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

INTIMATION:

Standing firm is refusing to abandon one's opinion or belief. And you can only stand firm in what you trust, believe, and is convinced about, without any iota of doubt. When you stand firm for God, you will stand out before men and before God. Sometimes it may be painful, and may not always have a happy end here on earth, but the ultimate victory of eternal life with Him is assured. Your standing firm for God is essentially because you trust and believe in Him: Who He says He is, and what He says He can do. God is unfailing, unchanging, and absolutely faithful, and whoever believes on Him, will not be put to shame; He will always show up for you, and ensure your victory at the end.

No other scenario, perhaps, better buttresses this point than the stories of the three Hebrew young men: Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego, and also Daniel in Daniel chapter 3 and 6. King Nebuchadnezzar had commanded thousands of people (the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces) to gather in Babylon for the dedication of the golden image: Ninety feet high and nine feet wide, the gigantic idol towered over the people. 

The King commanded all the peoples and nations of every language to fall down and worship the image of gold. Whoever did not fall down and worship would immediately be thrown into the furnace. Everyone worshiped the idol except for these three men who defiled the King’s order. They accepted the likely punishment of death gracefully and added, "If you throw us into the blazing flames, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us. But even if He doesn't, we would never serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have built!" 

The King, enraged by the insolence of the men, commanded that they be thrown into the furnace. Despite the fact that the furnace was already hot enough to kill any living thing put inside, the king ordered that the furnace be made seven times hotter than usual!" He ordered his strongest soldiers to tie up the three condemned men standing before him, and throw them into the inferno. The soaring flames licked the air surrounding the furnace, and because it was so blazing hot, the flames incinerated the soldiers who had thrown the three men in.

While in the furnace, God showed up them. Then king got up on his feet! Frantically he asked his advisors, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around, unbound, unharmed, and  the fourth looks like a son of the gods!" All the advisors, shocked with amazement, stared into the fire. Sure enough, not only were the three men walking around in the furnace, but there was a fourth man with them. When the King saw this, he ordered everyone to worship the awesome God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abrdnego.

In the same vein, Daniel refused to give up His convictions about his God and indulged in regular prayer to God as a habit. He put into practice his convictions, even when that meant being thrown into a den of hungry lions. When King Darius signed a law effectively making himself a god for 30days, and that no one should pray to anyone except the king, Daniel made no attempt to hide his daily prayer routine, even when he knew he would be disobeying the new law, and consequently he would be thrown into the lions’ den. When he was eventually thrown into the den, God showed up for him and shut up the lions’ mouth, and he was unhurt.

Are you ready to take a stand for God no matter what? Ordinarily, the young men referenced above, could have given any of the following excuses as reason to bow down to the statue and save their lives: “We will fall down but not actually worship the idol,” or “We won’t become idol worshippers but will worship it this one time, and then ask God for forgiveness,” or “The king has absolute power, and we must obey him, God will understand,” or “The King appointed us—we owe this to him,” or “This is a foreign land, so God will excuse us for following the customs of the land,” or “Our ancestors set up idols in God’s temple! This isn’t half as bad,” or “We’re not hurting anybody,” or “If we get ourselves killed and some pagans take our high positions, they won’t help our people in exile!”

Although all these excuses sound sensible at first, they are dangerous rationalizations. To fall down and worship the image would violate God’s command; “You shall have no other God’s before Me.” (Exodus 20 vs 3.) It will also erase their testimony for God forever. Never again should they talk about the power of their God above all other gods. What excuses do you use for not standing firm for Him? 

Prayer: Abba Father, in all circumstances You remain my only God, and ever will be. I am persuaded that You are ever faithful. Engrace me to stand firm for You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

WHO GOD IS!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2019.

SUBJECT: WHO GOD IS!

Memory verse: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the LORD, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1 vs 8.) 

READ:  Read Isaiah 46 vs 5, 9 - 10:

46:5: “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike?

46:9: Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 

46:10: Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.’

INTIMATION:

The word ‘God,’ is a translation in the polytheism of the Greek word “Theos” denoting a deity. Hence the word was appropriated by Jews and retained by Christians to denote the one true God. He is an infinite Spirit (John 4 vs 24), and no one knows Him or has seen Him. The Bible declared in First John chapter 4 vs 12, “No one has seen God at any time.” Because no one knows Him or has seen Him, He is indescribable. We only exhibit some knowledge of God by understanding His attributes and characteristics as revealed in nature, and His Word.

In our memory verse, God calls Himself the “Alpha and Omega”. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The LORD God is the beginning and the end. He is the Eternal Lord and Ruler of the past, present, and future. He is the First and the Last; besides Him there is no God (Isaiah 44 vs 6). 

God reveals His divine Nature and Personal Qualities through nature (His creation). Nature shows us, in general revelation, a God of might, intelligence, and intricate detail; a God of order and beauty; a God who controls powerful forces. Through special revelation from the Bible and the coming of Jesus Christ, we learn about God’s love and forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. God has graciously given us many sources that we might know Him and come to believe in Him. 

It is interesting to note that the Bible did not start out trying to prove the existence of God. Instead, it states as a fact in the very first verse, the existence of God: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1 vs 1). This clearly shows that the existence of God is a foregone conclusion and require no proves. He exists and is responsible for all creation and is not created. 

God didn't try to convince us He exists, because in nature, God has revealed and made plain what may be known about Him. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that  we are without excuse (Romans 1 vs 20). Look at yourself, and around you and appreciate nature—the whole of God's creation. Therefore, God has given us both an internal and external witness that He exists. And He holds us responsible for rightly responding to that knowledge, and desiring to know Him better.

God says that He is the Creator of everything that exists, He is Eternal, has all powers, is present everywhere, and has all knowledge which He uses with wisdom. In addition, the Bible declares Him to be Holy and Just, Majestic, and King of all, and Sovereign. "Holiness" expresses the sum total of all God is. "Sovereign" expresses the absolute rulership of God above everything and everyone else. He is under no external constraints.

God can only be known through His attributes and characteristics. Some of these attributes and characteristics are captured under the following broad heading; Holy Sovereign; Sacrificial Savior; Loving Father; Faithful Companion; Good Friend; and Intimate Friend. Understanding these attributes and characteristics help our knowledge of God and appreciating Him for who He is. 

Prayer: Abba Father, though no one has seen You and can see You, but You are revealed in Your nature, and creation. I adore You for Your ways are past finding out. You do great wonders without number. Great is Your faithfulness. What You cannot give me, let me never have it, and what You cannot do for me, let it remain undone forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2019.

SUBJECT : FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST!

Memory verse: "That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." (First John 1 vs 3.) 

READ: First John 1 vs 5 - 9: 

1:5: This is the message which we have heard from Him and declared to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 

1:6: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 

1:7: But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1:8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

INTIMATION: 

Our fellowship in Jesus Christ is our bait to remain beneficiaries of God's divine nature. Our fellowship with Jesus is God's ordained plan; "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (Corinthians 1 vs 9.) We were called into fellowship with His Son. This is a heavenly calling. We are living under grace (unmerited favor) of God. 

Committing sin breaks our fellowship with Christ and broken fellowship is one of the the saddest facts of human experience. Though broken fellowship does not break the relationship, but it mars it and robs that relationship of its richest blessings and benefits. The Holy Spirit has given us the way to restore broken fellowship in the epistle of John. This short epistle was written to tell us how to maintain our fellowship and how to restore it when it is broken.

God is light, and as long as you are in fellowship with Him, you are in light. But the instant your fellowship is broken, you go into the dark. As long as we walk in the light—as long as we are in fellowship with Him—the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses all the blunders and mistakes that we make. But if we sin, we are out of fellowship with Him and we are walking in darkness. 

The instant we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleans us from all unrighteousness. The broken fellowship is restored. Now we are to forgive ourselves and forget our sins and go on in love with Him. For you to continually remind yourself of your past errors and sins is to deny the efficacy of His forgiveness and the value of His Word.

In First John 2 vs 1 - 2, the Scriptures say, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the whole world." 

Jesus Christ is the righteous Advocate. He can go into the Father's presence when we are under condemnation, and shrink from meeting Him. He is always righteous, and can always plead our case. He has paid the ‘Supreme Price’ for our sins with His blood.  The instant we confess our sin, and ask the Father's forgiveness, Jesus takes up our case before the Father, reminding Him of the price He has already paid, and that moment our fellowship is restored.

There is no need walking in broken fellowship a minute after you have committed sin. The devil is the author of that sin. Then to walk on in broken fellowship, grieving over your blunder, is only adding joy and glory to the devil, giving him room to continue his accusation of you before the Father, and he might succeed in  inciting the Father against you.

The instant you have done wrong, and your fellowship is impaired, confess your sin to the Father and Jesus Christ, ask the Father's forgiveness. Jesus will save you from sin, and restore your fellowship with Him; “...He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7 vs 25).

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for our predestination as sons and daughters, and the privilege of our adoption as Your children in our Messiah Jesus Christ, Whose advocacy has always made us right with You. Endue me with the right spirit to always confess my sins, ask for Your forgiveness, and restore my fellowship with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!