PEACE MAKER

 PEACE MAKER

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9" 

Devotion : When a person becomes born again, Jesus Christ gives the person the ability to be a peacemaker. It is one thing to have the ability to make peace and another to make use of that ability to get the job done. The peacemaker makes peace between God and the unbeliever in Jesus Christ and His gospel. The one who is not born again has no peace with God, therefore, it is the responsibility of the Christian to bring such a person to Christ to reconcile him to the Father. If we do this then we can be called peacemakers hence, the true children of God. Furthermore, the children of God must ensure that there is peace amongst men and wherever they find themselves. Dear beloved, are you are a peacemaker? Share your testimonies here!

HOW GOD SEES YOU!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY AUGUST 11, 2020.

SUBJECT: HOW GOD SEES YOU! 

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: 

First Peter 2 vs 9 - 10:

2:9: 

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

2:10: Who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

INTIMATION:

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

Our salvation is something only God can do. It is His powerful creative work in us. If God considers us His work, we dare not treat ourselves or others with disrespect or have any inferiority complex. So I want you to see yourself as the Father sees you in Christ. As He sees you by faith, He is able to make us by grace. As we walk in love, we are being transformed into His image. One of the most graphic pictures of this transformation is given in John's gospel. John 1 vs 16, the Amplified Version Bible gives a clearer picture of that: "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing  and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift."

The grace (unmerited favor) gives us the gifts of His love life, wisdom, His very being, and substance. We are the branch of the vine; we are partakers of the Divine Nature. His fullness here means His ability, His love, His righteousness, His utter completeness, and we have received them all. All the gifts and favors are now piled on us one after another, and all by His grace. The love of the Father marked us out for the position of sons way back before the morning stars sang their first anthem, and we are made unto the praise of His glory. He planned that we should be holy without blemish before Him. He marked us out for the position of sons through Jesus Christ to Himself; and we are the marked ones.

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

God has given us eternal life in Christ. Our eternal life with Christ is certain because we are united in His powerful victory. God’s incomparable great power is available to help us. Now, look at the conclusion of the whole matter as the apostle Paul says, “....We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor power, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8 vs 37 - 39.)

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

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

GOD YEARNS TO BE YOUR FRIEND!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY AUGUST 10, 2020.

SUBJECT: GOD YEARNS TO BE YOUR FRIEND! 

Memory verse: "No longer do I call you servants; for a servant does not knows what his master is doing; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15 vs 15.)

READ: John 15 vs 13 - 16:

15:13: Greater love has no one  than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
15:14: You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
15:15: No longer do I call you servants; for a servant does not knows what his master is doing; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

15:16: You did not chose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.

INTIMATION:

The realization of the various aspects of your relationship with God makes you get committed to Him. He is your Maker, Lord and Master, Judge, Faithful Companion, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more. But the most shocking truth is this: Almighty God yearns to be your Friend! From creation, God plan is to be in constant fellowship with man. In the garden of Eden we see God's ideal relationship with us: Adam and Eve enjoyed daily visitation of the Lord, due to His quest for an intimate relationship with them. While unhindered by sin, Adam and Eve delighted in God, and He delighted in them. 

God is known in His creation, and He is close to every one of us. There are no rituals, ceremonies, or religion, just a simple loving relationship between God and the people He created. But He is not trapped in His creation; He is supernatural. This means that God is sovereign and in control, while at the same time He is close and personal. Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God's greatest pleasure. 

Only a few people in Old Testament times had the privilege of friendship with God. Moses and Abraham were called "friends of God" (Exodus 33 vs 11 & 17; James 2 vs 23), David was called "a man after [God's] own heart" (Acts 13 vs 22), and Job, Enoch, and Noah had intimate friendship with God (Job 29 vs 4; Genesis 5 vs 22; 6 vs 8). But fear of God, not friendship, was more common in the Old Testament. We were made to live in God's continual presence, but after the “Fall,” that ideal relationship was lost due to sin. 

Then Jesus came as a propitiation for our sins, and changed the situation. When He paid for our sins on the cross, the veil in the temple that symbolized our separation from God was split from top to bottom, indicating that direct access to God was once again available. Unlike the Old Testament priests who had to spend hours preparing to meet God, we can now approach God anytime. Friendship with God is possible only because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. The Bible, in Second Corinthians 5 vs 18 says, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." 

God actually is reconciling us to the Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. He invites us to enjoy friendship and fellowship with all three persons of the Trinity. The Bible, in First John 1 vs 3, says, "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." The apostle Paul, in Second Corinthians 13 vs 14, concludes his letter to the saints in Corinth by reminding them of the communion and fellowship with the Trinity; "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."

Your opinion of God makes it difficult for many to understand why He would want us to be close friends. But the Bible, in Exodus 34 vs 14 says, "For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)." God is jealous of sharing your fellowship with any other, indicating how you are valued and wanted by Him. He deeply desires that we know Him intimately. God puts a higher priority on knowing Him personally and living a life that reflects His justice and righteousness, over and above every other things we do. If any wants to boast, they should boast that they know and understand Him. These are the things that please the Lord. 

Prayer: Abba Father, what a friend I have in You, the Triune God—my loving Father, Jesus Christ my sacrificial Savior, and Holy Spirit my Senior Partner! I cannot find a friend so faithful; all my sins and griefs You bear, and has given me the great privilege to carry everything to You in prayer. How needless it is for me to bear any pains, or forfeit my peace in You. Engrace me to commit everything in prayer to You at all times. In Jesus’ most precious Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

FEAR OF GOD

  FEAR OF GOD

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7" 

Devotion : The fear of the LORD is the foundation of knowledge. What is this fear of the LORD? The fear of God is to hate evil: pride and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth (Proverbs 8:13). Hence, anyone who fears God is humble and gentle, walks in the way of righteousness, and speaks to edify others. When humility, gentleness, righteousness, and seasoned words are part and parcel of your life, the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom and long life to work for Him. He also adds riches, wealth, good health and fame. Hallelujah! Choose to fear God today and be a partaker of these divine blessings. Dear beloved, what did you learn from this gospel? Share your thoughts here!

INVEST WISELY FOR ETERNAL BENEFITS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY AUGUST 9, 2020.

SUBJECT: INVEST WISELY FOR ETERNAL BENEFITS! 

Memory verse: "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home." (Luke 16 vs 9.)

READ: Matthew 6 vs 19 - 21:

6:19: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
6:20: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
6:21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

INTIMATION:

Kingdom investment have remained the most enduring investment anybody could make: It’s working in the will of God, and laying treasures for oneself in heaven. If your investments are heavenly bound, obviously your heart and desires will be geared toward eternity, and doing the will of God. One will develop a spiritual vision to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from His point of view. Jesus made it clear that having wrong treasures leads to our hearts being in such wrong place. What we treasure the most controls us, whether we admit it or not. If possessions or money become too important to us, we must reestablish control or get rid of items. 

Jesus does not condemn material things, the possessions themselves are not wrong. What is wrong is how they were acquired and idolized. He condemns such only when the material things possess the individual, and thus, direct one’s mind away from that which is more important than the material. One must keep in mind that ambitions to acquire worldly treasures do not profit toward the edification and growth of the soul that must be spiritually prepared for eternal dwelling. There is no spiritual profit in spending one’s life in the acquisition of the things of the world, when in the end, the things of this world will be destroyed and one is left with a life that has been wasted on acquiring material things.

Treasures we possess on earth can easily be consumed or taken from us. Because we know they can easily be taken from us, we worry about them. By concentrating on those things that are above this earth, one places earthly things in the right perspective. The crown of righteousness in heaven awaits those who have forsaken the treasures of the world. Jesus contrasts the physical and temporary things of this world with the eternal, spiritual things that will endure the destruction of the physical. If one has many things of this world, one’s mind will be earth bound. If one’s mind is on those things that are above, then his or her thoughts, desires, and ambitions are on spiritual things.

In our memory verse, Jesus made one of his most misunderstood statements in the Bible when He said, "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home." Jesus did not mean for you to "buy" friends with money. What He means that we shall make wise use of the financial opportunities we have to help people find Christ. He thought that we should be wise about taking care of our spiritual life as the shrewd steward took care for his material life. If we use our money to help those in need or to help others find Christ, our earthly investment will bring eternal benefit. It is the best financial investment you'll ever make. 

When you obey God's Will, the unselfish use of possessions will follow. That is what Jesus meant by asking us to "store up your treasures in heaven." Our correct use of material things will determine our right to eternal life. A man’ faithfulness is measured by what he does with what he has. Jesus calls for a decision that allows us to live contentedly with whatever we have because we have chosen eternal values over temporary, earthly treasures.

Prayer: Abba Father, let the zeal of Your kingdom eat me up, that I will invest my whole being in doing Your will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

YOU CAN BE ON THE FENCE

 YOU CAN BE ON THE FENCE

"For he that is not against us is on our part. Mark 9:40" 

Devotion : In Christ Jesus, your position for Jesus Christ must be clear and emphatic. It is either you are for Christ or you are against Him; there is no middle ground. If you claim you are born again, then give yourself wholly to Jesus Christ and His gospel. Let whatever Jesus stands for be what you stand for; let whatever Jesus likes and loves be what you like and love; let whatever Jesus hates be what you hate (Ephesians 5:1-2). If you claim you love Jesus Christ and stand for Him, yet you don't do what He loves, you are a liar, you are against Him. Dear beloved, does your conduct differ from that of Christ? If your answer is no, then you are for Christ; if it is yes, then you are against Christ. By their fruit you will know them (Matthew 7:20). Share your comments here!

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