GUILT FEELING SHOULD NOT KEEP YOU FROM PRAYING!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2019.

SUBJECT : GUILT FEELING SHOULD NOT KEEP YOU FROM PRAYING.

Memory verse: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1 vs 18).

READ: Isaiah 1 vs 18 - 20:

18: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

20: But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword", for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

 

INTIMATION:

Never let guilt feelings of sin keep you from praying (seeking the face of God), which is your only means of restoration, because only God forgives sin. Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin, except the sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12 vs 31 - 32). One of the effects of sin in our lives is keeping us away from praying, but it is noteworthy that perfect moral behavior is not a condition for prayer. Though the stain of sin seems permanent, but only God can remove such stain of sin from our lives. We don't have to go through life permanently soiled. God's Word assures that if we are willing and obedient in turning to Him, Christ will forgive and remove our most indelible stains of sin.

Christ came for sinners like you and I (Matthew 9 vs 12 - 13), and He expects us, the sinners, to come to Him for mercy. We can only go to God in prayer, acknowledging our need and admitting that we don't have all the answers, and God will come to our help. He desires to show mercy and His mercy endures forever. No matter how long you have been away from God, He is ready to hear from you and restore you to a right relationship with Him. Every situation can be salvaged if you are willing to turn to God. In Judges 16 vs 28 - 30,  we would observe that in spite of Samson's past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the philistines' heathen temple and worshipers. He killed more people at his death than he did in life because of the mercy of God when he turned to Him in prayer.

The only unforgivable sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit. What then is the sin against the Holy Spirit? The unforgivable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God, and His power in Christ, expressed through the Holy Spirit. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. It reveals a heart attitude of unbelief and unrepentance that attributes to Satan the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes. Such people have turned their backs on God and rejected all faith, and are unwilling to ask for forgiveness. Even when they receive the prompting of the Holy Spirit, convicting them of sin, they reject it. And the deliberate rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy, because it is rejecting God Himself. Such person removes himself or herself from the only force that can lead him or her to repentance and restoration to God.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the only God, there is no other. Before You there is no God, with You there is no other God, and there will be no other God after You. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, in Jesus name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GRACE VERSUS WORKS!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2019.

SUBJECT:  GRACE VERSUS WORKS!

Memory verse:  “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work?” (Romans 11 vs 6.) 

READ:  Romans 6 vs 15 - 16:

6:15: What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Certainly not! 

6:16: Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

INTIMATION:

Grace and works are diametrically opposed to one another. They cannot fellowship or have anything to do with each other. In other words, grace and works are mutually exclusive. Where one exists, the other cannot exist. Every single activity in our lives has the required grace to empower us for its accomplishment. As your faith grows, and you put all our trust upon God; “casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you,” He will make all grace abound toward you, that you will always have all sufficiency in all things, and have abundance for every good work (Second Corinthians 9 vs 8). 

If you and I wants to accomplish the tasks by our own efforts, that is, being into works, then we are out of grace. If we are in grace, then we are out of works. Any time we get into works, the grace of God ceases to operate on our behalf. God has no choice but to back off and wait until we have finished trying to handle things ourselves. As long as we continue to try to figure out our own problems, we will only get more and more frustrated and confused. The reason is because we are trying to operate without grace of God, and that is never going to be successful. 

Now, the apostle Paul stated this clearly about himself and his exploits; “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 

We must know that discernment (insight, perception, understanding) does not come out of the head, but out of the heart, "out of the inner man", where the Holy Spirit dwells—the Spirit of grace. The Scripture in Ephesians 3 vs 16 says, "that He will grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through the Spirit in the inner man.” Discernment or understanding is simply God's wisdom for any situation of life. It is a "spiritual knowing" about how to handle things. The understanding is by His grace (the power of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of grace) indwelling your innermost being. Your own thoughts are from the head, out of the work of your head. That leads to frustration and confusion. 

If we have a problem, we don't need to try to figure it out, we need discernment (insight). We need to hear from God. We need God's word on our situation. We need for Him to show us what to do. And we are only going to have insight when we give up reasoning. If you are frustrated and confused, it is a sure sign that you are depending on works rather than on grace.

Confusion is not from God. The Bible says that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (First Corinthians 14 vs 33.)  As soon as you begin to feel frustrated and confused, as soon as you start to lose your sense of inner peace, you need to say to yourself, "Oh I have gone too far." You have to realize that you are out of grace and into works. You must give up your efforts and entrust yourself totally to the Lord, leaving your situation entirely in His hands.

Once you turn from your reasoning to the grace of God, you open a channel of faith through which He can begin to reveal to you what you need to know in order to handle that problem or situation. Enter God's rest, and seize from your own works; “For He who has entered His rest has Himself also ceased from His works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4 vs 10,) And when you have done that, you will begin to hear His answers.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my loving Father and faithful Companion. I put all my trust in You, casting all my cares upon You. O Lord make all grace abound toward me that I may be sufficient in all things and have abundance in every good work, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

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

! 

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.

)

READ: Romans 8

 vs 12 - 17

:

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!