THE DRIVING FORCE OF LOVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE DRIVING FORCE OF LOVE!

Memory verse: "If you love me keep My commandments." (John 14 vs 15.)

READ: First John 4 vs 7 - 14:

4:7: Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

4:8: He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

4:9: In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 

4:10: In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

4:11: Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. 

INTIMATION:

The major driving force in sharing the “Good News” is the love for God and our neighbors. Learning to love how God loves is the most important aspect of our mission. God has never made a person He didn't love. Everybody matters to Him: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..” (John 3 vs 16). Therefore, everybody should matter to us, especially the unsaved souls, and we must reach out to them.

Whenever you feel indifferent about others, especially the unsaved souls, and about your mission in this world, spend some time thinking about what Jesus did for you on the cross. What else can you offer in return to Him than obey and serve Him with all your heart, caring about what He cares for, and loving all He loves. Christ's love should compel your actions as it did for the believers in Paul's days: "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." (Second Corinthians 5 vs 14.)

The love of Christ constrained the believers to certain courses of action. They took certain difficult, and delicate steps in the spreading of the Good News. And so shall it be to us this day. They knew that Jesus, out of His great love, had given up His life for their sakes. He had not acted out of His own self-interest, selfishly holding on to the glory of heaven that He already possessed. Instead, Jesus had willingly "died for all." 

We should no longer live to please ourselves; we should spend our lives pleasing Christ. Therefore, you must learn to love other people the way God does. God has never made a person He didn't love. Everybody matters to Him. Therefore, everybody should matter to us, especially the unsaved souls, and we must reach out to them. If you have been indifferent or afraid to share the Good News with those around you, ask God to fill your heart with His love for them.

Jesus gave us the “Great Commission” to go into the world and preach the Good News. And our memory verse gives us Christ’s yardstick of measuring our love for Him—keeping His commandments. How else do we demonstrate our love for Him who loved us first and gave His life up for us than to keep His commandment of preaching the Good News to the world.

However, we need wisdom in reaching out to unbelievers, making the most of our opportunities to tell them the Good News of salvation: "Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." (Colossians 4 vs 5 - 6.)

When we tell others about Christ, it is important always to be gracious in what we say. No matter how much sense the message makes, we lose our effectiveness if we are not courteous. Just as we like to be respected, we must respect others if we want them to listen to what we have to say.

Prayer: Abba Father, You poured out Your love in my heart through the Holy Spirit indwelling me. Engrace me to respond to Your love by obeying and keeping Your commandments, especially in preaching Your saving grace through Christ to the unbelievers, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

WE HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH!

 We Have More Than Enough 

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

The children of God have more than enough: they have received the fullness of God bodily. The greatest miracle and gift for mankind is the birth of Christ Jesus. Mankind could not save itself from the sin of Adam and Eve. It took the holy blood of Jesus Christ to atone for their sin and to open a new chapter for mankind. When you receive Jesus as Lord and Personal Savior, you become part of His government and you are raised above all odds and placed on the pedestal of success (Romans 5:17). Whatever belonged to Jesus Christ becomes yours because you are joint heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). Jesus Christ is Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace: all of these five attributes of Jesus becomes yours. The question is, are you living these attributes in your life? This is a personal question we must answer. If all of us as children of God are living these personal attributes, the world will be a better place for many to live in. Beloved, God is counting on you to learn from Jesus Christ and be a wonderful person in giving good counsel, ensuring that peace reigns in your sphere of contact, and being mighty in good deeds. Remember that God is always looking for a vessel to use, therefore, make yourself available for Him to use. Hallelujah! Glory to God!

Prayer Point: Dear heavenly Father, I’m really blessed by Your Word today. I make myself available to You. Please fill me and use me to bring peace, joy, and lasting change in the lives of people in my sphere of contact in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you. 

THE SPIRIT-LED LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2021.

SUBJECT:  THE SPIRIT-LED LIFE!

Memory verse:  "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8 vs 6.) 

READ:  Romans 8 verse 5 - 8:

8:5: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

8:6: For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

INTIMATION:

We observe from our memory verse that we relate with two minds in us. These are the mind of the flesh, and the mind of the spirit. That does not mean you and I have two brains, it simply means that we receive information from our natural mind (which operates without the Holy Spirit), and we get information from our spirit (through which the Holy Spirit communicates directly to us).

According to the Scriptures, to be a child of God, we are not to be led by our carnal mind, but by the Holy Spirit: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8 vs 14). The evidence of our sonship is being led by the Spirit of God. The Spirit-led life is a life of victory, and conquest of the devil, because it manifests the fruit of the Spirit that has no law against it, therefore, the accuser of brethren has nothing to accuse you of: “For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5 vs 22 - 23.)

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit is the only One who knows the mind of God, and is the revealer of the truth. (John 16 vs 13). Therefore, the Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ control—we cannot obtain by trying to get them without His help. This Scripture tells us that “we have the mind of Christ.” This is because the Spirit of Christ—Holy Spirit lives in us. The problem is that although we have the mind of Christ and know the Word of God, we don't listen to our spirit which is being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Instead, we listen to our natural mind, which relies strictly on sense and reason without the Holy Spirit. And this mind “is in enmity against God, hence cannot please Him.”

In every situation of life, our head will be trying to give us information. It will be yelling at us so loudly, and if we don't turn our attention to our spirit we will never hear what the Lord is saying to us in that situation, nor know that which is pleasing to Him. That is why we must learn to live out of our spirit and not of our head—being led by the Spirit. Incidentally, evil spirits constantly bombard us with negative thoughts. If we receive them and dwell on them, they become ours because, according to the Scripture, as we think in our heart, so are we. (Proverbs 23 vs 7.) If we accept the lies of the devil as reality, then they will become reality to us because of our "faith," that is, our believe in them.

That is why in moments of worry, stress and turmoil we have to simply take the time to turn to our inner man, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and say, "Lord, what do You have to say about this?" If we listen in faith, He will speak to us and reveal to us the truth of that situation, and what we will do to please Him. You and I have two huge vats of information within us. One is carnal information that comes off the top of our head. The other is spiritual information which wells up out of our heart. One is muddy. polluted water, and the other is clean drinking water. It is up to us to decide which source we are going to drink from.

Some people try to drink from both sources. That's what the Bible calls being double-minded. (James 1 vs 8.) Do you know what it means to be double-minded? It means that your mind is trying to tell you one thing, and the your spirit is trying to tell you just the opposite. Instead of saying, "I'm not going to believe that of the mind because it's a lie," you get in a cross-fire, going back and forth between the two thoughts.

If you are ever going to live the happy, victorious and successful Christian life the Lord wills for us, you are going to have to decide which fountain of information you are going to drink from. You are going to have to learn to live out of our spirit and not out of our head—you must be led by the Spirit.

Prayer: Abba Father, You have adopted me as Your son, and has graciously given me Your Spirit. Help me to always listen, and take counsel from Your Holy Spirit indwelling me that I may lead a victorious and conqueror’s life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD’S PLAN CARRIES HIS GRACE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2021.

SUBJECT:  GOD’S PLAN CARRIES HIS GRACE!

Memory verse:  "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2 vs 40.) 

READ:  Ephesians 1 vs 7 - 8:

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,

1:9: having made known to us the mystery of His Will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

INTIMATION:

God is so rich in grace—His voluntary, loving and unmerited favor given to those He saves. All of God’s plan carries His grace. Our redemption and forgiveness of sins are in accordance with God’s Will, and backed up by the riches of His grace. The same grace was upon Christ Jesus, backing Him up in His earth walk, and the sacrifice He made for the sins of the world.

It is hard for us to enjoy life if we don't have assurance about today, peace about yesterday and confidence about tomorrow. Why is it so? It is because as long as we live we will always have to face situations for which we don't have all the answers. If we don't have something going on in our lives that we can't handle, we wouldn't need God, therefore, we wouldn't need faith, we wouldn't have to trust God. However, our peace, assurance, and confidence are because of the revelation to us of the mystery of His Will, inherent in His rich grace toward us.

The Lord will see to it that we are always dependent upon Him. And He does that by leading us into situations that are over our head. That is why although we may get worried, God never gets worried because He already knows exactly what He's going to do (John 6 vs 6), for His grace is sufficient for us, for His strength is made perfect in weakness (See Second Corinthians 12 vs 9). The fact that God’s power is displayed in our weakness should give us courage and hope. He has got a plan, a path and a work all ready for us. 

But although the Lord already has a plan for us to follow, a path for us to walk in and a work for us to do, He won't give us all the answers today that we will need tomorrow. With each new day comes the grace that we need to live that day and meet the challenges of it. As we recognize our limitations, we depend more on God for our effectiveness rather than on our own energy, effort, or talent. Our limitations not only help develop Christian character, but also deepen our worship, because in admitting them, we affirm God’s strength—His grace.

You may have heard the story about the young man who was in prison and about to be burned at the stake the next day for his faith in Christ. In the same cell there was an older, more experienced believer who knew more about the way of the Lord. As it began to get dark, the younger man struck a match to light a candle and, as he did so, he burned his finger. Letting out a cry of anguish and pain, he said to his companion, "How can I stand to be burned at the stake tomorrow if I can't stand to be burned on the finger tonight?" The older man calmly replied, "Son, God didn't ask you to burn your finger, so there is no grace for that. But He is asking you to die for your faith, so when the time comes the grace will be there."

No matter what happens, God is still in control. He has a plan to handle everything that we will encounter in this life. And His grace is sufficient to meet all our needs. And He makes His rich and abundant grace available to us that ensures our adequately meeting all our needs: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (Second Corinthians 9 vs 8.)

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my faithful Companion. I am not sufficient of myself to think anything as being from myself, but my sufficiency is in You. Endue me with the excellent spirit to live for You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

ARE YOU USEFULTO SOCIETY?

 Are You Useful to Society? 

“Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.” Isaiah 54:16 (KJV)

Knowing that God created you to be useful to society begins your journey of being responsible. God has not stopped creating: He continues to create things in the world without our knowledge. He didn’t need anybody’s permission when He was creating heaven and earth and everything therein (Genesis 1:1). Thus, He doesn’t need anybody’s authorization or approval to create anything even now. Beloved, the opening scripture reveals that God has created useful professions in society. As a child of God, you need to get a profession that is useful to society. If you are in a dilemma as to what profession you are to go into, look at your God-given talent and gift and build upon them. When you have gotten yourself a profession, you become useful to God and society. Through your profession, God will use you to bless lives and make a better society. On the other hand, if you don’t get a profession for yourself, you will be training yourself to be idle. This will lead you to be a waster or destroyer because the devil will find a job for the idle hand (Proverbs 18:9). Dear beloved, get yourself a profession and become useful to God and humanity, just like the disciples of Jesus Christ who used their skills in their profession to win souls for the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:18–22). Praise the Lord! Be resourceful!

Prayer Point: Dear heavenly Father, thank You for giving me talents and gifts. Please lead me to identify them, develop them into a career, and be useful to You and my fellow human beings. I also bear my brethren in prayer that they may also identify their talents and gifts, develop them, and become useful to society in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you.

YOU DON'T BELONG TO YOURSELF!

 You Don’t Belong to Yourself! 

“And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” Leviticus 20:26 (KJV)

Knowing that you belong to God prompts you to please Him. The children of Israel were set apart by God for Himself. The primary reason was to raise a Savior to redeem mankind from the Adamic sin (Genesis 22:18). He had to remind them from time to time to remain holy unto Him because He is holy, and they are His precious possession. Today, Jesus Christ has already redeemed mankind from the Adamic sin, and the door has been opened for everyone to be saved and become part of God’s family; this is no longer the children of Israel who are the descendants of Abraham, but spiritual Israelites because they believed in Jesus Christ and made Him Lord and personal Savior of their lives (Romans 9:6–8). Born again Christians are the spiritual Israelites and the same command of remaining holy unto the LORD also applies to them. He said our bodies are His temple and we are to keep our bodies holy (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). He also reminded us that our bodies don’t belong to us but to Him, and we must glorify Him with our bodies. Dear beloved, you now know that you belong to God so your spirit, soul, and body belong to Him. Thus, let the world know that you are now a child of God and a light of the world. Never allow the world to influence you to sin but rather influence the world with the gospel of Christ and your Christlike lifestyle and you will be saving many people from the destruction of the enemy. Hallelujah! Be the true light!

Prayer Point: My eternal Father, thank You for saving me and making me a candidate of heaven. Please empower me by Your Spirit to always live a holy life; use me to win many souls and to influence the world unto godliness in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you. 

GRACE INHIBITORS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2021.

SUBJECT:  GRACE INHIBITORS!

Memory verse:  "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11 vs 6.) 

READ:  Psalm 37 vs 8 - 9; 39 vs 1 - 2; Philippians 2 vs 14 - 15:

Psalm 37:8: Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

37:9: For evil doers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

39:1: I said, “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.”

39:2: I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; and my sorrow was stirred up.

Philippians 2:14: Do all things without complaining or disputing,

2:15: that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

INTIMATION:

There are several things that can keep us from receiving the grace of God. One of these is ignorance, not knowing enough to call on the Lord, asking Him to pour out His grace in time of need. The prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...” (Hosea 4 vs 6.) Others are our attitudinal problems—worrying, complaining, murmuring, anger etc. They can never mix with grace. Many times the mistake we make is griping and fussing from daylight to dark, at the same time we are trying to activate the power of God in our life to help us solve our problems.

Many times the reason we are not able to tap into the grace of God is simply because our attitude is all wrong. We cannot expect God to intervene on our behalf in a situation if we are constantly grumbling, angry with ourselves, or with others, fault-finding, complaining, murmuring, nit-picking and being jealous and envious. All these bad attitudes are very destructive emotions. They reveal a lack of faith in God—that God loves us and is in control. We should not do all that. Instead, we should trust in God, giving ourselves to Him for His use and safekeeping. When you dwell on your problems, you will become anxious and angry. But if you concentrate on God and His goodness, you will find peace and inner strength to tarry.

Like King David, resolve to always keep your tongue from sin; not complaining about anything to anybody, even when you have reasons to complain. Instead take your complaints directly to God. We all have complaints about our job, finances, and other unfavorable situations in our lives, but complaining to others may make them think that God cannot take care of us. It may also look as if we blame God for our troubles, and it may result into our turning away from Him. Take your complaints directly to God, turn to Him in times of troubles, for only Him can take it and provide an answer.

There is no way to receive God's grace while seeking sympathy from others or fellowshipping with self-pity. God will heal our wound if we don't seek others to nurse them. Many times we want the power of God to come upon us and solve some problem for us, but at the same time we want all our friends to feel sorry for us. For instance, if we are having financial problems, we may go into our prayer closet and cry out to the Lord, "O Father, please help me. I'm in over my head financially, and I need Your help so bad. I'm trusting You to help me, because without You I have no hope. Lord, You are the only One who can save me!"

Then, as soon as prayer time is over, you get on the phone telling your friends, co-workers, and relations, how tight it is for you and family, how hard you have worked and nothing is happening, how your husband or wife has not been helping and is idle, how underprivileged you are, how nobody is helping you, on and on. You want God to help you, but you also want everybody else to feel sorry for you. If we want to receive God's grace, we have got to learn to depend upon Him totally and not upon others' sympathy or our own self-pity. 

It is not wrong to share your burdens in a balanced way and with right motives. But beware of seeking pity. God never leads us where He cannot keep us. His grace is always sufficient for us in any and every circumstances of life. There is no sense in our griping and complaining, worrying and finagling, constantly trying to figure out things, working ourselves up into a stew and getting all frustrated and confused. If we do, that shows that we have no faith at all in God's abiding grace.

Our lives should be characterized by moral purity, patience, and peacefulness, so that we will “shine as lights” in a dark and depraved world. A transformed life is an effective witness to the power of God’s Word, and a magnet for His grace. Don’t let dissensions snuff out your light. Shine out for God. 

Prayer: Abba Father, the earth is Yours and all its fullness. My needs are known to You from the very beginning because You are my Maker. My sufficiency is in You. Engrace me with the right attitude of total dependence on You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!