BE THE LIGHT YOU ARE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 04, 3021.

SUBJECT : BE THE LIGHT YOU ARE!

Memory verse: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5 vs 14.)

READ: Philippians 2 bs 12 - 16: 

2:12: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

2:13: for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

2:14: Do all things without complaining and disputing, 

2:15: that you may be 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,

2:16: holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain.

INTIMATION:

Christians who live after godly principles are a light that brings hope to a world that is lost in darkness. If we walk in the light, we would become ‘sons of light,’ revealing the truth and pointing people to God. As Christians, we are to be Christ’s light bearers, letting His light shine through us. How brightly is your light shining? Can others see Christ in your actions?

Letting your light shine is not an arrogant manner of behavior. One should simply not be ashamed to live the Christian life in the midst of his other community. But living the principles of God in the community, one will give hope to those who desire an escape from the world that is in the bondage of darkness.

If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying the light, (4) letting sin dim our light, (5) not explaining our light to others, (6) ignoring the needs of others. Be a beacon of truth—don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5 vs 16.) 

When one becomes an active member of the organic body of Christ, his light shines forth to those who are in darkness. The demeanor of his life and attitude become evangelistic to those who are seeking a way through this life. Christians must never allow their light to grow dim from the influences of darkness, nor allow the preserving salt of their behavior to be destroyed by worldliness. 

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. Are you shining brightly or are you clouded by complaining and arguing? Don’t let dissensions snuff out your light. Shine out for God. Your role is to shine until Jesus returns and bathes the world in His radiant glory. 

To be like Christ, we must train ourselves to think like Christ. To change our desires to be more like Christ’s, we need the power of the indwelling Spirit, the influence of faithful Christians, obedience to God’s Word (not just exposure to it), and sacrificial service. Often it is in doing God’s will that we gain the desire to do it (see Philippians 4 vs 8 - 9). Do what He wants and trust Him to change your desires.

God has not left us alone in our struggles to do His will. He wants to come alongside us and be within us to help. God gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. The secret to a changed life is to submit to God’s control and let Him work. Next time ask God to help you desire to do His will. God works in us as we have responded to His work for us. He worked for us through the cross. Our sense of gratitude to the work God in reference to our salvation, therefore, should move us into action. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You have made us Your sons and daughters for those who believe in Christ—the light of the world. Give me the grace to shine as Your light in this depraved and dark world and become evangelistic to those who are seeking a way through this life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Faith for the Impossible

 

He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:20–21)

Paul has in mind a special reason why faith glorifies God’s future grace. Simply put, the reason is that this God-glorifying faith is a future-oriented confidence in God’s integrity and power and wisdom to follow through on all his promises.

Paul illustrates this faith with Abraham’s response to the promise of God: that he would be the father of many nations even though he was old and his wife was barren (Romans 4:18). “In hope he believed against hope,” that is, he had faith in the future grace of God’s promise, in spite of all human evidences to the contrary.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:19–21)

The faith of Abraham was a faith in the promise of God to make him the father of many nations. This faith glorified God because it called attention to all the omnipotent, supernatural resources of God that would be required to fulfill it.

Abraham was too old to have children, and Sarah was barren. Not only that: How do you turn a son or two into “many nations,” which God said Abraham would be the father of? It all seemed totally impossible.

Therefore, Abraham’s faith glorified God by being fully assured that he could and would do the humanly impossible. This is the faith we are called to have. That God will do for us what we could never do for ourselves.

KNOW YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 03, 3021.

SUBJECT : KNOW YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST!

Memory verse: "Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10 vs 19.)

READ: Mark 16 vs 15 - 18: 

16:15: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16:16: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

16:17: And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

16:18: they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

INTIMATION:

Knowing Him reveals your authority in Him. Knowing the people He has divinely called us to be sets the precedent for understanding and operating in His authority. For this reason the apostle Paul never seized to pray for the believers in the churches he planted in his missionary journeys for the spiritual insight and wisdom in their knowledge of whom they are in Christ and the authority of the believer in Him:

“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,” (Ephesians 1 vs 15 - 19.)

Unused authority of the believer, creates a spirit of poverty and limitation. How grievous it must be to the Lord when His own people do not understand the authority they possess in Him, and therefore live in apathy and purposelessness!

In our memory verse, the Bible teaches us that when we operate in the supernatural authority He has implanted in us, we trample on the head of the enemy and over all their powers, without being hurt in anyway. We are also equipped to preach the Gospel to the nations, witnessing signs, wonders and miracles, according to the passage we read today.

I believe the most powerful aspect of our authority in Christ, however, is that we share in His rule and reign with Him; “This is a faithful saying: For If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” (Second Timothy 2 vs 11 - 12).

Christ’s work of propitiation for our sins include; redeeming us with His blood, gathering the believers into the kingdom, making us priests, and appointed us to reign upon the earth.; “And have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5 vs 10.) In the future we will reign with Him.

This is even more empowering when we realize “as He is, so we are in this world” (First John 4 vs 17). Although we can never be God Himself, the fact that He has called us to be as He is in this world makes changing it impossible. If we truly believe this, our authority to influence and transform communities, cities, and nations will be a very tangible reality.

Pray for God to give you the courage to utilize the authority He has given you. Remember that faith requires action! Step out in your God-given authority to pray for others, lay hands on the sick and boldly preach the Gospel.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so great, loving, and faithful. Thank You for all You wrought for us in redemption. Engrace me to fully utilize the authority You have given me in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Who Are the Children of Abraham

 

“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

You who hope in Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are Abraham’s descendants and heirs of his covenant promises.

God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:4, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” But Genesis makes plain that Abraham did not father a multitude of nations in a physical or political sense. Therefore, the meaning of God’s promise was probably that a multitude of nations would somehow enjoy the blessings of sonship even though physically unrelated to Abraham.

That’s no doubt what God meant in Genesis 12:3 when he said to Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” From the very beginning, God had in view that Jesus Christ would be the descendant of Abraham and that everyone who trusts in Christ would become an heir of Abraham’s promise. Paul says in Galatians 3:29, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

So, when God said to Abraham 4,000 years ago, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations,” he opened the way for any one of us, no matter what nation we belong to, to become a child of Abraham and an heir of God’s promises. All we have to do is share the faith of Abraham — that is, bank our hope on God’s promises, so much so that, if obedience requires it, we could give up our dearest possession like Abraham gave up Isaac.

We don’t become heirs of Abraham’s promises by working for God, but by being confident that God works for us. “[Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20–21). That’s why Abraham could obey God even when obedience looked like a dead-end street. He trusted God to do the impossible — like raise his son from the dead.

Faith in God’s promises — or today we would say, faith in Christ, who is the confirmation of God’s promises — is the way to become a child of Abraham; obedience is the evidence that faith is genuine (Genesis 22:12–19). Therefore, Jesus says in John 8:39, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.”

Children of Abraham are people from all nations who put their hope in Christ and, like Abraham on Mount Moriah, therefore don’t let the loss of their most precious earthly possession stop their obedience.

You who hope in Jesus Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are the descendants of Abraham and heirs of his covenant promises.

WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT US THAT BELIEVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JUNE 02, 2021.

SUBJECT : WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT US THAT BELIEVE!

Memory verse: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name.” (John 1 vs 12.)

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:

Knowing Him causes you to know what He says about you. If you truly desire to know what the Lord says about your identity, dive into His Word! Take these for instance:

1. He calls us His children; “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name.” (John 1 vs 12.)

2. We are new creations; “Therefore, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (Second Corinthians 5 vs 17.)

3. We are His righteousness; “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21.)

4. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven; “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3 vs 20.)

5. We are forgiven and set free; “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1 vs 7.)

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8 vs 2.)

6. We are royal priests and a chosen generation; “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.” (1 Peter 2 vs 9.)

7. We are special to Him; “His own special people” whom He has given all that pertains to life and godliness.

8. He has made you king and priest to our God to reign on earth; “And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (Romans 5 vs 10.) 

9. We are God’s work of art; “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.)

When we become alive in Christ through salvation, He infuses our spirits with the reality of His DNA and His Kingdom. This is the primary building block of our identity in Him. That infusion makes us complete in Him; “And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Colossians 2 vs 10.)

Haven known the truth of what God says about you, your response is expected. Do a self-evaluation of your own life to identify existing gaps. Are there lies you have believed about yourself that contradict what the Lord has said about you? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where you have negated your self-worth.

Be encouraged to seek Christ more! Allow Him to reveal His character and nature, and form your true identity that will lead to living out the destiny He has prepared for you.

Prayer: Abba Father, You made me what I am; marvelously and fearfully made. Forever Your praise will be in my mouth. O Lord, impart me with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Faith That Magnifies Grace

 

I do not nullify the grace of God. (Galatians 2:21)

When I lost my footing as a little boy in the undertow at the beach, I felt as if I were going to be dragged to the middle of the ocean in an instant.

It was a terrifying thing. I tried to get my bearings and figure out which way was up. But I couldn’t get my feet on the ground, and the current was too strong to swim. I wasn’t a good swimmer anyway.

In my panic I thought of only one thing: Could someone help me? But I couldn’t even call out from under the water.

When I felt my father’s hand take hold of my upper arm like a mighty vice grip, it was the sweetest feeling in the world. I yielded entirely to being overpowered by his strength. I reveled in being picked up at his will. I did not resist.

The thought did not enter my mind that I should try to show that things aren’t so bad; or that I should add my strength to my dad’s arm. All I thought was, Yes! I need you! I thank you! I love your strength! I love your initiative! I love your grip! You are great!

In that spirit of yielded affection, one cannot boast. I call that yielded affection “faith.” And my father was the embodiment of the future grace of God that I desperately needed and craved under the water. This is the faith that magnifies grace.

As we ponder how to live the Christian life, the uppermost thought should be: How can I magnify rather than nullify the grace of God? Paul answers this question in Galatians 2:20–21, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God.”

Why does his life not nullify the grace of God? Because he lives by faith in the Son of God. Faith calls all attention to grace and magnifies it, rather than nullifying it.

THE BLOOD COVENANT WITH JESUS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JUNE 1, 2021.

SUBJECT : THE BLOOD COVENANT WITH JESUS!

Memory verse: "To Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12 vs 24.)

READ: Hebrews 13 vs 20 - 21: 

13:20: Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of everlasting covenant,

13:21: make you complete in every good work to do His Will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.

INTIMATION:

Jesus came as a propitiation for our sins, and His death on the cross ushered in the new covenant or agreement between God and us. Jesus said, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26 vs 28). Jesus Himself was the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. Rather than a lamb without blemish slain on the altar in the pre-Christ era, the perfect Lamb of God was slain on the cross, a sinless sacrifice, so that our sins are forgiven once and for all. 

All those who believe in Christ receive that forgiveness. Our new covenant is sealed with the Blood of Jesus Christ. Deity and humanity united in the incarnation. How much better is the Blood of Jesus Christ than the blood of an animal! How much better is the life of the Son of God than the life of a mere animal! We are bound to Him by an indissoluble covenant. He is bound to us as Jehovah was bound to Abraham in the old covenant. Now all people can personally approach God and communicate with Him. 

The significance of the new covenant include: (1) Christ died for us—self-sacrifice by the guiltless Christ. (2) God is directly involved in our lives; it focuses on the reign of Christ in the heart of the believers, and we have unlimited access to God. (3) It’s not temporal, but eternal and a reality. (4) Believers have access to limitless promises of God, and can trust God on them. (5) It’s a conclusive sacrifice—Christ’s sacrifice is complete and final. 

Participating in this new covenant has its price. You have to leave the world behind, follow Christ accepting Him as your Lord and Savior, obeying His commandments. When you do that, His sacrifice applies to you. You are now under His protection and benefit from His perfect relationship with God. This blood covenant with Christ is not to be entered into lightly. The penalty for not doing your part is separation from Him, and the consequences are overwhelming.

In the passage we read today, the verses include two significant results of Christ’s death and resurrection. God works in us to make us the kind of people that would please Him, and He equips us to do the kind of work that would please Him. The Scripture in Philippians 2 vs 13 says, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” This is consummated in us through the power of the indwelling Spirit. 

God, knowing our weaknesses and imperfections, offers to work in us; to change us to what we should be that will be pleasing to Him. We are now called to the supreme privilege of fellowshipping with the Father and the Son. That is what our Christ wrought for us in redemption. How proud we should be of Him. How we should brag about Him before men. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. We are partakers of His nature. Remember He is the vine and we are the branches. We are one with Him, and should rejoice in the fact we have such oneness.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so merciful and loving. You gave Your all to save me, even the ultimate sacrifice of the life of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Messiah, who shedded His blood on the cross to save us. Empower me with the grace to give my all to follow You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!