FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY APRIL 3, 2020.

SUBJECT: FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE!

Memory verse:  "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5 vs 6.) 

READ:  James 2 vs 14 - 26:

2:14: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not  have works? Can faith save him?
2:15: If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
2:16: and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body; what doth it profit?
2:17: Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
2:18: But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
2:19: You believe that there is one God; you do well. Even the devils believe—and tremble!
2:20: But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

INTIMATION:

We become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please ourselves. We are saved by faith, not by deeds. But love for others and for God, is the response of those whom God has forgiven. God’s forgiveness is complete, and Jesus said that those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7 vs 47). Because faith expresses itself through love, you can check your love for others as a way to monitor your faith.

The characteristics of an effective Christian in any age is work produced by faith, labor prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope. As Christians, our calling from God is to become like Christ (Romans 8 vs 29). To be worthy of this calling means to want to do what is right and good (as Christ would). Christians have been created anew in Christ by obedience to the gospel (Romans 6 vs 4 - 5). Since they are recreated in Christ, they respond with good works of thanksgiving. They have been so created, not by good works, but for good works. Such actions show that our commitment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ.

Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message, hope is the attitude and focus, Love is the action. Therefore, your faith is put into action through love. Love involves unselfish service to others. When faith and hope are in place, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves. While it is true that our good deeds can never earn salvation, true faith always results in a changed life and good deeds. Love endures forever (First Corinthians 13 vs 13). Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is an attribute of God Himself (First John 4 vs 8). Does your faith fully express itself in loving others? 

Your faith should be carried into action with an obedient response to the grace of God.  (Second Corinthians 4 vs 15). Your faith should move you into action. In your relationship with one another you should be moved into action to care for one another. God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit, but to benefit others in our faith works through love, serve Christ and build up the church. Christians thus work in response to what God has done for them (First Corinthians 15 vs 10). It is their works that manifest their response to the grace of God. 

Though good works are not a qualification of the saving grace of God, rather it is a manifestation of the obedient and faithful response to the free gift of grace. What is required of a Christian is a faith that works through love. This is the obedient faith that responds to the grace of God. One’s recognition of his salvation by the free gift of grace motivates one to work out of love and thanksgiving. When one trusts in God for his or her salvation by grace, he or she will lovingly respond in obedience to God with a better relationship with his or her fellow human. 

The work referred to in this context, is not specifically the keeping the commandments of law. For this reason, one must not confuse the works of faith that James discusses with the works of law about which Paul speaks about in both Romans and Galatians. Reference here is to good deeds toward one’s fellow human. Such deeds are the manifestation of one’s faith. Therefore, one’s faith must be manifested by his or her benevolent actions toward others. If one claims to have faith in God, and yet does not manifest such in the behavior of his or her life, then such faith is of no profit toward salvation. Faith without benevolent actions is self-deception on the part of the one who seeks to please God on his own conditions. 

When someone claims to have faith, what he or she may have is intellectual assent—agreement with a set of Christian teachings—and as such it would be incomplete faith. True faith transforms our conduct as well as our thoughts. If your life remains unchanged, you don’t truly believe the truths you claim to believe. Though works are not meritorious conditions upon which one will be judged, but they are indications of thankful response to God for His grace. However, final judgement by Christ will be based on our deeds because our deeds proclaim what sort of heart is within us.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for your saving grace bestowed on us in Christ. My faith is in You. Engrace me to manifest my faith working through love for You and others, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY APRIL 2, 2020.

SUBJECT: SPIRITUAL ADULTERY!

Memory verse:  "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (First John 2 vs 15.) 

READ:  James 4 vs 4 - 6:

4:4: Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
4:5: Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealousy”?
4:6: But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

INTIMATION:

Idolatry, outward or inward, is spiritual adultery—breaking our commitment to God in order to love something else. Turning from the worship of the true God to worshiping idols is idolatry. This can be either inward or outward. When one is not heartily committed to the worship of God, and is attracted to worldliness, it is spiritual adultery. Jesus described the people of His day as adulterous, even though they were religiously strict because their hearts were far away from total commitment to the worship of the true God. Inwardly and outwardly they had idols they are committed to, and even worshipped other gods. 

As believers and members of the body of Christ—the church—we are the ‘wife’ (or bride) of Christ (Revelation 19 vs 7), and by faith, we can be clothed in His righteousness. Anything outside the total commitment to Him is spiritual adultery. The materialist is an adulterer in that he or she has wedded himself or herself as a member of the body of Christ to that which is of this world. Such person has broken the covenant made with Christ in order to give himself or herself to the world. Friendship with the world is enmity with God: If one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in his heart (First John 2 vs 15). Those who love activities and possessions of this world do not love the Father, for they are obsessed with the things of this world. 

Some people think that worldliness is limited to external behavior—the people we associate with, the places we go, the activities we enjoy. Worldliness is also internal because it begins in the heart and is characterized by three attitudes: (1) lust of the flesh—preoccupation with gratifying physical desires; (2) lust of the eyes—covering and accumulating things, bowing to Godon materialism; (3) pride of life—obsession with one’s status or importance. When the serpent tempted Eve (Genesis3 vs 6), he tempted her in these areas. Also, when the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, these were his three areas of attack.

It is unnatural for one to live a spiritually adulterous life. God created us to seek Him, not the world (Genesis 1 vs 26). Therefore, the spirit that lusts after the things of this world in order to ignore God had degenerated to the point of allowing Satan to control his desires. It is obvious that one cannot love God with the love with which God seeks to be loved, and at the same time, engage himself or herself in the pleasures of this world. However, those who have been consumed with the things of the world have taken their minds off that which is to come. And that which is to come is the destruction of all that for which one had worked in this world (Second Peter 3 vs 10).

God has blessed some believers with money and other possessions. They are wealthy because God has given them power to get it, and they should not allow their wealth to take the first place in their lives other than God. Avoiding spiritual adultery does not mean that the rich must forsake their riches, for many rich people have the gift of making money for the benefit of the work of the church. Though the rich are not obligated to give themselves into poverty, but they must not be obsessed by their wealth, and should be willing to share with others in need. 

Believers are not to attach themselves to the thinking of the world in a way that they are diverted from keeping their minds on those things that above. They must not be directed in their lives by the evil values and morals that are maintained by those deceived by Satan. It is impossible for one to love God with the intensity of love by which God demands that we serve Him, and at the same time, compromise his values and morals by living after the world. 

God extends His grace toward those that have humbly submitted to Him (See Romans 5 vs 20). 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. God values self-control, a spirit of generosity, and commitment to humble service. It is possible to give the impression of avoiding worldly pleasures while still harboring worldly attitudes at one’s heart. It is also possible, like Jesus, to love sinners and spend time with them while maintaining a commitment to the values of God’s kingdom. Let nothing take away the first place of God in your life.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You I live, move and have my being. Nothing will ever take the first place in my life other than You. O Lord, give me the grace to forever keep my total commitment and obedience to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

BREAKFAST BY THE SEASIDE
Life's Punchlines... (Volume 3).
❤🇳🇬🇳🇬 Year 2020🇳🇬🇳🇬❤.

Preacher: Priest Godsknight O.J

Topic: No Space In Prison!

Text: Luke 4v18 " The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To preach deliverance to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed."

Good day & welcome to Month April 🤓. God is set to keep it more real with mankind this month, may His divine supplies never elude you in Jesus Name🙏.

Regardless of the global pandemonium, great things are bound to happen. People are getting married🤵🏽👰🏽, earning big 💰, celebrating newly born babies 🤱🏻 etc.

No space in the devil's 😈 prison for you, don't give him a reason to track you down (James 4v7). Trust God too much to give up & you'll testify (Gen 41v14-40).

Those that want police👮 cases for you, won't cross your path. Those already in your life to steal your joy (John 10v10), will be ashamed 😝(Is 41v10-14).

Know the Kingdom of Jesus rules, to enjoy maximum freedom (John 8v32 & 36). You belong to the best Kingdom, hence, shouldn't be relegated👍.

Is 8v16  "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples".

We've been furnished with enough rules from the stable of the Mighty One of Israel to govern Nations (Matt 7v12, Exod 20v1-17)👩🏼‍⚖👨🏼‍⚖.

Let's break them down, & put them  to use. Strict adherence means total safety, no ridiculous behavior. The world will have no choice than to emulate (Ps 22v28).

May God reveal your enemy's next line of action to you in Jesus Name. Their set-up is your step up, don't forget to stay on top (Ps 22v30)

Finally, a lockdown is not a lockout 🤣, don't allow pressure get your brain shut down😱. Happy New Month, zoom ✈.

Let's Pray:

1) LORD Jesus, I activate the freedom Calvary offered me in its full fledge in Jesus Name ( Col 2v14-15).

God bless you🤝.
Instagram: @PriestGodsknight.

THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020.

SUBJECT:  THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE!

Memory verse:  "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2 vs 7.) 

READ:  Ephesians 1 verse 3 - 8:

1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
1:4: just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
1:5: having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

1:6: to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

1:7: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace,

1:8: which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

INTIMATION:

The common definition of grace known to us is "God’s free and unmerited or undeserved favor for sinful humanity." God showered His kindness (His grace) on us. This is the voluntary and loving favor given to those He saves through faith in the substitutionary work of Christ. God voluntarily became man—the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The man Jesus was subject to human limitations by setting aside His glory and His rights, in response to His Father’s Will to limit His power and knowledge. Christ became “poor” when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us “rich” because by His “grace,” we are redeemed—we received salvation and eternal life. 

Therefore, the grace of God can be defined as His voluntarily setting aside His Deity—His glory, rights, power, and knowledge, for the love of sinful humanity, and bestowing on us unmerited or undeserved favor by redeeming us from sin and Satan, and handing us the gift of salvation and eternal life. In Christ we have all the benefits of knowing God—being chosen for salvation, being adopted as His children, forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the Spirit, power to do God’s will, the hope of living forever with Christ. Because we have an intimate relationship with Christ, we can enjoy these blessings now, and thereafter in the heavenly places because these blessings are eternal, not temporal. 

The mystery of salvation originated in the timeless mind of God long before we existed. It is hard to understand how God could accept us. But because of Christ, we are holy and blameless in His sight. God chose us, and when we belong to Him through Christ, He looks at us as if we had never sinned. All we can do is express our thanks for the wonderful love. Salvation is God’s work and not our own doing. In His infinite love, God has adopted us as His own children. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, He has brought us into His family and made us heirs along with Jesus (Romans 8 vs 17). 

Now, we can appreciate how rich is the grace of God toward us that believe: Salvation brought the whole of God—Triune God—at work; Based upon the redemption work of His Son, the Father forgives us and sends the Holy Spirit to wash away our sins and continually renew us. When Christ became human, He set aside His Deity—His glory and His rights, His power and knowledge—and became subject to human limitations just for the atonement for our sins. Though Jesus was on an equality with God, He sacrificed Himself in order to offer Himself for the salvation of the whole of mankind. 

In redemption, Christ bought us out of that from which we could not deliver ourselves. We have thus been purchased by the blood of Jesus out of the slavery of sin from which we could not deliver ourselves by works of law or meritorious deeds. While we are still neck deep in sin He loved us, He planned and executed our redemption without any contributions from us. Consequently, bestowed on us the believe in His work for us on the cross. all the benefits of knowing God—being chosen for salvation, being adopted as His children, forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the Spirit, power to do God’s will, the hope of living forever with Christ. How great, rich, awesome is God’s grace toward us! 

Therefore, our response to the exceeding greatness of His love and grace toward us is to love Him back out of gratitude for all He has done for us, by our raw obedience to His will for us. And if we love Him we should keep His commandments (John 14 vs 15 & 23).

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your grace lavished on me out of Your love for me. Endue me with the spirit of complete trust, and obedience to You, and live according to Your will, that I may fully harness the benefits of Your grace upon me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

CREATED FOR GOOD WORKS!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MARCH 31, 2020.

SUBJECT: CREATED FOR GOOD WORKS!

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 8 - 10:

2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2:9: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

2:10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

INTIMATION:

We become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please ourselves. Christians have been created anew in Christ by obedience to the gospel (Romans 6 vs 4 - 5). Since they are recreated in Christ p, they respond with good works of thanksgiving. They have been so created, not by good works, but for good works. The Christian is not saved by works of merit that he or she has devised according to his or her own desires. They are saved for the reason that God might work through them. 

While no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit, but to serve Christ and build up the church. Christians thus work in response to what God has done for them (First Corinthians 15 vs 10). It is their works that manifest their response to the grace of God. While good works cannot save believers, they are true indications of our faith and love for Christ. Their works are not meritorious conditions upon which they will be judged. They are indications of their thankful response to God for His grace. Final judgement will be based on our deeds because our deeds proclaim what sort of heart is within us. 

The Christian owes all that he is to God who gave him a reason for transforming his thinking and life (Romans 12 vs 1 - 2). Through the manifestation of God’s grace, Christians have been driven by faith to conform their lives to the will of God (See Romans 3 vs 31). They do good works in thanksgiving of the grace of God (Second Corinthians 4 vs 15). Credit of the transformed life, therefore, must go to God for His grace that gives reason for hope by focusing our lives on God. We are God’s masterpiece. Our salvation is something only God can do. It is His powerful creative work in us. 

Good works are faithful service, acts of charity, and involvement in civil affairs. They are actions that are above reproach; gracious, godly, and winsome behavior that shows Christ in your life, who in His earth walk was full of good works (John 10 vs 32; Acts 10 vs 38). When Christians engage in good works, they effectively become the light of the world that people will see and glorify the Lord (Matthew 5 vs 16). Good works are winsome. If you want someone to act a certain way, be sure that you live that way yourself. Then you will earn the right to be heard, and your life will reinforce what you teach.

When Christ saves us, we move from a life full of sin to one where we are led by God’s Holy Spirit. All our sins, not merely some, are washed away. In becoming a Christian, the believer acknowledges Christ as Lord and recognizes His saving work. We gain eternal life with all its treasures. We have a new life through the Holy Spirit, and He continually renews our hearts. None of this occurs because we earned or deserved it; it is all God’s gift. This was so important that the Triune God participated fully in the work of salvation: Based upon the redemption work of His Son, the Father forgives us and sends the Holy Spirit to wash away our sins and continually renew us. Therefore, our gratitude to God for all His gifts, is demonstrated in our good works.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to continually engage in good works, as Your masterpiece and ambassador here on earth, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD’S STANDARDS OF LIVING!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 30, 2020.

SUBJECT: GOD’S STANDARDS OF LIVING!

Memory verse: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6 vs 8.)

READ: Psalm 15 vs 1 - 5:

15:1: LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

15:2: He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

15:3: He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against a friend;

15:4: In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 

15:5: He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

INTIMATION:

God demands that His people will be morally upright, Though we live in a morally bankrupt society, a world whose standards and morals are eroding, our standard of living should not come from our evil society but from God. The standards of living prescribed by God is His will for His people. As we grow in our relationship with our Redeemer, we develop a desire to live by His standards. The depth of our eternal relationship with Him can often be measured by the way we reflect His standards in our daily activities. 

Whoever lives by God’s standard is qualified to stand in His presence. In the passage we read today, the psalmist gives us the standards to serve as a measuring scale to determine how we are doing. It defines the character of those who could stand in the presence of God. These include those who walks uprightly; those with righteous behavior of life. The righteous commit themselves to the fear of the Lord, their defense is the Lord. Their sustenance is guaranteed because they live under the protection of the Lord. Those who are truly righteous deal justly with others. They are mindful of their integrity, and deal honestly with God and others. 

Words are powerful, and how we use them reflect our relationship with God. Perhaps nothing identifies Christians as their ability to control their speech, to speak the truth at all times, and do not speak hypocritically. Making up or spreading false reports is strictly forbidden by God. Gossip, slander, and false witnessing would undermine families, strain relationship, neighborhood cooperation, and make chaos of the justice system. Destructive gossip still causes problems. Even if you do not initiate a lie, you become responsible if you pass it along. Don’t circulate rumors, squelch them.refusing to slander another person. 

A committed Christian does not backbite; does not speak behind the back of someone in order to destroy his or her reputation. He or she does that which is good in response to faith, and does not take pleasure in looking on evil or committing evil. Love for God and others should rule their lives. In loving their neighbors as themselves they should not work against them nor slander them. They should be disgusted with those who do wickedly, and align themselves with those who do good. They should be committed to their words even when it may be to their own detriment. They should strive to always do that which is right and fair to their neighbors. 

A committed Christian should not take or give bribe, despises extortion, and should not listen to violence. It is obvious that what corrupts justice most is the act of persuading the judges’s favor through a gift. A bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. When a society has resorted to bribes in its justice system, it has become a corrupt society in which there is no real integrity.. Christians should hold their heads high in integrity.

God demands the the poor and powerless amongst us should be well treated and given the chance to restore their fortunes. Christians should reflect God’s concern for the poor by giving and by helping those less fortunate than ourselves, helping them  by lending money without interest, and thus not taking advantage of them when they have fallen into hard times. God is not against charging interests on loans for business purposes, as long as it isn’t exorbitant (Proverbs 28 vs 8). He is against charging interests on friendly loans to the needy, especially among the community of believers (Leviticus 25 vs 35 - 37). 

Some people are so obsessed with money that they will change their God-given standards and lifestyle to get it. If money is a controlling force in your life, it must be curbed, or it will harm others and destroy your relationship with God. It is impossible to focus one’s life on service to the Master in heaven, and at the same time make material things the master of our lives. If one’s focus is on the things of this world, then he cannot give himself or herself to God in a way that God demands of His children. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to live by Your standards; to love you and others with all my heart, and doing good works, that I may earn Your approval for eternity with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

BREAKFAST BY THE SEASIDE
Life's Punchlines... (Volume 3).
❤🇳🇬🇳🇬 Year 2020🇳🇬🇳🇬❤.

Preacher: Priest Godsknight O.J

Topic: Worth His Sacrifice!

Text: Acts 17v30" Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent."

Life will appear simple to you, if you've mastered its complexities. However, you can know so much, yet, know nothing.

For millenniums, the worth of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on tree 🌲 Calvary✝, is yet to be fully grasped because of the complexities in its analysis.

Today is a blank cheque, hopefully you'll grab this opportunity to wine 🍷 & dine 🍞 with the lover of your soul forever (Jer 3v15 & 22-23).

Everyone came from heaven through Jesus' carefully designed procreation mandate 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, but not everyone stays connected. Reason being that, some claim to be "Breakout Kings"💀.

Their offsprings hardly understood the worth of Calvary for them. They claim that their ancestors were fallen angels, hence, rebellious cultures🙃 should be preserved ( Gal 1v13-17).

Jesus Christ created your ancestors (Col 1v16), He stretched forth His hands on Calvary tree to identify with His winged-humans that fell. He didn't give up on them, despite Lucifer's mess up🤷🏾‍♂.

Do yourself a greater good by finding your divine track🏃‍♂ in Jesus, you don't have to live like one who's dead while alive (Luke 16v11-13).

Drinking human blood only puts you in chains 🤮, real power is devoid of madness! Jesus can heal you like those ten lepers, it's your gratitude that shall make you whole ( Luke 17v11-19).

Those Angels are not getting the full benefits of Calvary sacrifice because, they chose to rebel still, rather than value the Price that redeemed them 🙇🏻‍♂(Col 1v13-14, Rom 10v14-17).

Regardless of your ancestor's background, you're not doomed 🤓(Rom 10v10). C.O.F.F.E.E says, "Christ Offers Forgiveness For Everyone Everywhere". Visit the Mercy Seat today (Heb 4v14-16).

God bless you🤝.
Instagram: @PriestGodsknight.