DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MAY 18, 2021.

SUBJECT : DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD!

Memory verse: “Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:14.)

READ: Psalms 37 vs 4 - 5; 145:19:

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

37:5: Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

145:19: He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him, He will also hear their cry and save them.

INTIMATION:

The Scripture tells us to delight in the Lord and commit everything we have and do to Him. To delight in Him means to experience great pleasure and joy in His presence. This happens only when we know Him well. Thus, to delight in the Lord, we must know Him better than normal. The knowledge of God’s great love for us, that love that drove Him to give His only begotten Son as a propitiation for our sins, will indeed make us delight in Him.

He created you and has put in place everything you require to live for Him, according to His purposes. You can only know and have access to His limitless provisions when you delight in Him—strive to know Him and His ways better. Remember He said we should do this first—seek to know Him and His purposes for us first, and all other things you need, including your desires, will be added to you without struggle: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6 vs 31 - 33.)

Steep your life in God’s reality of living through the wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him, never worrying about missing out. Then you will find that all your everyday human concerns will be met. Before all else, strive after God’s way of doing and being right. It’s by God’s grace that we exist. We never entered into any agreements to be created by Him. It’s all His doing, and for His purposes. Therefore, if He has done all by Himself, and for His purposes, it’s obvious that to live and do rightly—living according to His preordained purposes—You must know Him and His ways thoroughly. It’s your quest and thirst to know Him and His ways, that commits Him into revealing Himself to you. 

Therefore, delight yourself in the Lord, put Him first in all you do—let Him take the driving seat in your life. Resolve to set aside time each day to read and think about God’s Word, reminding yourself of it day and night, and God will be your constant companion, ensuring your success in carrying out His purposes. You may not succeed by the world’s standards, but you will be a success in God’s eyes—and His opinion is most important. 

The Lord gave this insight to Joshua, when He said to him, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in It day and night, that you may observe do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1 vs 8 - 9.)

God Himself taught Joshua the principle and strategy of ensuring a prosperous living, gaining good success, and having the pleasure of God’s companionship at all times. God said that to ensure the aforestated, Joshua must put Him first:  (1) Constantly read and study the Book of the Law—God’s Word, (2) ensuring his obedience to God’s law—doing according to all that is written in it, (3) always being strong and courageous; not being afraid nor dismayed.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, that the eyes of my understanding being enlightened that I know the hope of Your calling, and the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in those that believe, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Five Digital Dangers

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

Christians do not just coast through life like jellyfish floating in the current of contemporary culture. We live by the power of the Spirit and find our course by the word of God. We swim. Like dolphins, not jellyfish. Part of that course setting and power is expressed in thoughtful engagement with the digital realities of our day. Dangers included. Here are five.

1) The hook of constant curiosity

Digital devices offer a never-ending possibility for discovery. Even the basic operating systems can consume hours of curious punching and experimenting. Then there are the endless apps consuming weeks of your time as they lure you into their intricacies. 

All this is very deceptive, giving the illusion of power and effectiveness, but leaving you with a feeling of emptiness and nervousness at the end of the day. 

Resolution: I will strictly limit my experimental time on the device and devote myself more to truth than to technique.

2) The empty world of virtual (un)reality

How sad to see brilliant, creative people pouring hours and days of their lives into creating cities and armies and adventures that have no connection with reality. We have one life to live. All our powers are given to us by the real God for the real world leading to a real heaven and real hell. 

Resolution: I will spend my constructive, creative energy not in the unreality of “virtual reality” but in the reality of the real world.

3) “Personal” relations with a machine

Like no other invention, a computer comes closest to being like a person. You can play games with it. It will talk to you. It will always be there for you. The great danger here is that we really become comfortable with this manageable electronic “person,” and gradually drift away from the unpredictable, frustrating, sometimes painful dealings with real human persons. 

Resolution: I will not replace the risk of personal relationships with impersonal electronic safety.

4) The risk of tryst

“Tryst ’trist noun: An agreement (as between lovers) to meet.” Sexual affairs begin in private time together, extended conversation, and the sharing of soul, which can now be done in absolute seclusion through digital devices. You can think that “it’s just nothing” — until she (or he) shows up in town. 

Resolution: I will not cultivate a one-on-one relationship with a person of the opposite sex other than my spouse. If I am single, I will not cultivate such a relationship with another person’s spouse.

5) Porn

More insidious that X-rated videos, we can now not only watch but join the perversity in the privacy of our own den. Interactive porn will allow you to “do it” or make them “do it” virtually. 

I have never seen it. Nor do I ever intend to. It kills the spirit. It drives God away. It depersonalizes women. It quenches prayer. It blanks out the Bible. It cheapens the soul. It destroys spiritual power. It defiles everything. 

Resolution: I will never open any app or website for sexual stimulation, nor purchase or download anything pornographic.

GOD’S KIND OF PROSPERITY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MAY 17, 2021.

SUBJECT : GOD’S KIND OF PROSPERITY!

Memory verse: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12 vs 2.)

READ: Second Corinthians 9 vs 8; Ephesians 4 vs 28:

Second Corinthians 9:8: 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.

Ephesians 4:28: Let him that stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

INTIMATION:

God's kind of prosperity comes when you shift your focus from getting and maintaining stuff, to living to give. Most people think, "as soon as they meet their needs, they will toss a tip God's way, or other people’s way." As long as their needs get met first, then God and others can have the leftovers; that isn't seeking first the kingdom of God. The Lord says we should work so we will have money to bless other people—being blessed to be a blessing.

Many might be thinking, 'We're living in the world of constant struggles.' Out in the real world, you have to work to pay bills, life is all about working to get ahead. But God's plan for our financial freedom doesn't rely on the natural results of hard work. The Word of God teaches that when you put the kingdom of God first, then all your needs, including financial, will be taken care of. (Matthew 6 vs 33.) 

God's kind of prosperity results from faith—faith in God and His Word. It's a mind-set and a heart condition, not a get-rich-quick scheme. You ensure that you are obedient to God’s Word, especially those kingdom principles of prosperity. When you work so that you can get money to give—being blessed to be a blessing, the God takes care of you. However, prosperity is a by-product of seeking God; it shouldn't be the goal.

God wants you to have nice things, but your heart attitude should be that prosperity isn't about you—it's really about how much is flowing through you. God gave us two hands: one hand to receive, and one hand to give. If God can get the money through you to other people, then He will get it to you, and as the money flows through, there will be plenty left over for you. You are not supposed to live in poverty; it's just that your first priority should be helping, rather than trying to grab everything you can for yourself.

The reason God makes all financial blessings abound toward you is so that you'll have the resources to do good things for others, because true prosperity isn't defined by how nice your house is, or by what kind of car you drive. God evaluates prosperity by how much of a blessing you are to others. Though it is easy it is to say, but it's a lot harder to live. Many people hesitate to give generously, even to God, because they worry about having enough money left over to meet their own needs.

Of course, you have needs too, and God knows that. The natural inclination is to think, If I start taking care of everybody else, then who is going to take care of me? God will take care of you, and He'll do a better job than you will ever do yourself. He will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. It is noteworthy that every unit of money, in any currency, you have has the potential to influence a person's life for the better. 

The highest form of giving is to help share the Gospel. When you start helping the “Good News” to be shared, demonstrating the love of God in word and deed, there is a divine flow that takes place. God starts supernaturally supplying your needs. This is why Scripture tells us to give God the first fruits, not the leftover fruit. The first thing you should do when you get  money is give back to God. When you do that, God takes care of you incidentally than you have ever done through striving and grasping at your resources.

In one of the the passages we read today, the apostle Paul encouraged the Ephesians to think differently about the goal of work. He didn't tell them to labor so they could pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads. Nor did he tell them to labor so they could feed and clothe their children. He said, "work so you'll have money to give to those in need." He was echoing Jesus' teaching that the most important use of money is not satisfying your needs, but by satisfying other people's temporal needs, and touch people's lives as a demonstration of your love for God.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of being a blessing to others with the blessings You bestow upon me, and with the wisdom of putting my cares upon You because You care for me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Freest Love

“Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.” (Deuteronomy 10:14–15)

God’s electing love — the love by which he chooses a people for himself — is absolutely free. It is the gracious overflow of his boundless happiness guided by his infinite wisdom. 

Deuteronomy 10:14–15 describes the delight God had in choosing Israel from all the peoples of the earth. Notice two things. 

First, notice the contrast between verses 14 and 15. Why does Moses describe the election of Israel against the backdrop of God’s ownership of the whole universe? Why does he say in verse 14, “To God belongs everything in heaven and on earth” and then say in verse 15, “Yet he chose you for his people”? 

The reason seems to be to get rid of any notion that God was somehow boxed in to choose this people — that there were some limits to his choosing and he was somehow forced to choose them. The point is to explode the pagan idea that a god may have the right and authority to have his own people but no more. 

The truth is that Yahweh is the only true God. He owns everything in the universe and has the right and authority to take any people he wants for his own special possession. 

Thus the unspeakably wonderful truth for Israel is that he chose them. He did not have to. He had rights and privileges to choose absolutely any people on the face of the earth for his redeeming purposes. Or all of them. Or none of them.

Therefore, when he calls himself “their God” he does not mean that he is on a par with the gods of Egypt or the gods of Canaan. He owns those gods and their peoples. If it had pleased him, he could have chosen a totally different people to accomplish his purposes.

The point of putting verses 14 and 15 together in this way is to stress the freedom and the universal rights and authority of God.

The second thing to notice (in verse 15) is the way God exercises his sovereign freedom to “set his heart in love on your fathers.” “He delighted in your fathers to love them.” He freely chose to take pleasure in loving the fathers. 

God’s love for the fathers of Israel was free and merciful and wasn’t constrained by anything that the fathers were in their Jewishness or in their virtue.

This is a lesson for us. For us who are believers in Christ, God has chosen us just as freely. Not because of anything in us, but because God simply delighted to do it.

The Freest Love

“Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.” (Deuteronomy 10:14–15)

God’s electing love — the love by which he chooses a people for himself — is absolutely free. It is the gracious overflow of his boundless happiness guided by his infinite wisdom. 

Deuteronomy 10:14–15 describes the delight God had in choosing Israel from all the peoples of the earth. Notice two things. 

First, notice the contrast between verses 14 and 15. Why does Moses describe the election of Israel against the backdrop of God’s ownership of the whole universe? Why does he say in verse 14, “To God belongs everything in heaven and on earth” and then say in verse 15, “Yet he chose you for his people”? 

The reason seems to be to get rid of any notion that God was somehow boxed in to choose this people — that there were some limits to his choosing and he was somehow forced to choose them. The point is to explode the pagan idea that a god may have the right and authority to have his own people but no more. 

The truth is that Yahweh is the only true God. He owns everything in the universe and has the right and authority to take any people he wants for his own special possession. 

Thus the unspeakably wonderful truth for Israel is that he chose them. He did not have to. He had rights and privileges to choose absolutely any people on the face of the earth for his redeeming purposes. Or all of them. Or none of them.

Therefore, when he calls himself “their God” he does not mean that he is on a par with the gods of Egypt or the gods of Canaan. He owns those gods and their peoples. If it had pleased him, he could have chosen a totally different people to accomplish his purposes.

The point of putting verses 14 and 15 together in this way is to stress the freedom and the universal rights and authority of God.

The second thing to notice (in verse 15) is the way God exercises his sovereign freedom to “set his heart in love on your fathers.” “He delighted in your fathers to love them.” He freely chose to take pleasure in loving the fathers. 

God’s love for the fathers of Israel was free and merciful and wasn’t constrained by anything that the fathers were in their Jewishness or in their virtue.

This is a lesson for us. For us who are believers in Christ, God has chosen us just as freely. Not because of anything in us, but because God simply delighted to do it.

LET YOUR EYES BE SINGLY FOCUSED ON GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MAY 16, 2021.

SUBJECT : LET YOUR EYES BE SINGLY FOCUSED ON GOD!

Memory verse: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3 vs 5.)

READ: Proverbs 3 vs 5 - 6; Matthew 6 vs 22 - 23:

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

3:6: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Matthew 6:22: The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 

6:23: But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

INTIMATION:

Your eyes are the windows into your body and the aperture in your life. Your eye is “good” when it is focused on God and His Word (Joshua 1 vs 8; Psalm 1 vs 2). The more we know of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily decisions. When you have a “good” eye—one that is fixed on God, you develop the desired spiritual vision; the capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from His point of view. 

But this spiritual insight can be easily clouded. This happens when your attention is shifted from being completely on God. For instance, self-serving desires, interests, and goals block that vision because it has shifted from focusing on God to bifocal vision of God and self. The quickest way to destroy a person's vision is to give him or her two. And the beclouded spiritual vision can best be restored by serving God with all your heart. 

You can't accomplish your goals when your attention and resources are divided. Have ever tried to one of your eyes looking down and the other looking up? It is impossible, and that is how having your eyes focused on two things at the same one time is impossible. If you really want to prosper, then you need to forget everything else and press toward this one goal of putting the kingdom first. The Lord is saying that He wants you to be single in your focus on Him. At first, you might think it is impossible to be totally committed to, and focused upon God in everything you do. Yes, it’s so if you have to rely on human strength. But we don't live the Christian life in our own strength. 

For instance, If you think that supporting your family and earning money is strictly up to you, then you are going to have a divided heart, and divided heart is going to allow darkness to enter your life and hinder you in your relationship with God. The Lord knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we want than we are! We must trust Him completely in every choice we make. 

However, we should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason, but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of God’s leading. We must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors. Bring your decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide and then follow God’s leading.

King Solomon thirsted for God’s leading; spiritual vision, and earnestly asked for it from God and he was endowed with it, and he received even more than he asked from God (First Kings 4 vs 9 - 13). Consequently, he became the wisest king in Israel’s history, and the wisest man the world has ever known outside of Jesus Christ. This culminated in his writing most of the Books of wisdom (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) in the Scriptures. He said that to receive God’s guidance, we must acknowledge God in all our ways and in all we do.

About a thousand years later, Jesus emphasized this same truth; seeking first and above all God’s kingdom (Matthew 6 vs 33). Look at your values and priorities. What is important to you? Where is God on that list? What is His advice? Make Him a vital part of everything you do; then He will guide you because you will be working to accomplish His purposes.

Jesus warned against divided attention when He said in Luke 16 vs 13, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Have your focus on the kingdom, and adjoining righteousness of God, and all other things shall be added unto you.

Prayer: Abba Father, by strength shall no man prevail. Outside of You we can do nothing. Endue me with the spirit of total obedience and commitment to You in all my ways, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Is Meekness?

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness begins when we put our trust in God. Then, because we trust him, we commit our way to him. We roll onto him our anxieties, our frustrations, our plans, our relationships, our jobs, our health. 

And then we wait patiently for the Lord. We trust his timing and his power and his grace to work things out in the best way for his glory and for our good.

The result of trusting God, and the rolling of our anxieties onto God, and waiting patiently for him is that we don’t give way to quick and fretful anger. But instead, we give place to wrath and hand our cause over to God and let him vindicate us if he chooses. 

And then, as James says, in this quiet confidence we are slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19). We become reasonable and open to correction (James 3:17). James calls this “the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13).

Meekness loves to learn. And it counts the corrective blows of a friend as precious (Proverbs 27:6). And when it must say a critical word to a person caught in sin or error, it speaks from the deep conviction of its own fallibility and its own susceptibility to sin and its utter dependence on the grace of God (Galatians 6:1).

The quietness and openness and vulnerability of meekness is very beautiful and very painful. It goes against all that we are by our sinful nature. It requires supernatural help.

If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ — if you trust him and commit your way to him and wait patiently for him — God has already begun to help you and will help you even more. 

And the primary way that he will help you is to assure your heart that you are a fellow heir of Jesus Christ and that the world and everything in it is yours (1 Corinthians 3:21–23). The meek inherit the earth.