All Hostile to God

 

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. (Colossians 1:21–22)

The best news in all the world is that our alienation from God is ended and we are reconciled to the Judge of the universe. God is no longer against us, but for us. Having omnipotent love on our side mightily steels the soul. Life becomes utterly free and daring when the strongest being in the universe is for you.

But Paul’s message of salvation is not good news to those who reject the diagnosis in Colossians 1:21. He says, you “were alienated and hostile in mind.”

How many people do you know who say, “Apart from God’s grace, I am hostile to God in my mind”? People seldom say, “I hate God.” So, what does Paul mean that people are “hostile in mind” to God before they were reconciled by the blood of Christ?

I think he means that the hostility is really there toward the true God, but people do not allow themselves to think about the true God. They imagine God to be the way they would like him to be, which seldom includes any possibility that they might be in really serious trouble with him.

But concerning the God who really exists — a God who is sovereign over all things, including sickness and calamity — we were all hostile to him, Paul says. Deep down, we hated his absolute power and authority.

That any of us is saved is owing to the wonderful truth that the death of Christ obtained the grace by which God conquered our hearts and caused us to love the One we once hated.

Many are still learning not to be hostile to God. It is a good thing that he is gloriously patient.

YOU ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JUNE 6, 2021.

SUBJECT : YOU ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

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

READ: First Chronicles 29 vs 10 - 12; 16 - 17:

29:10: Therefore David blessed the Lord before the assembly; and David said: 'Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 

29:11: Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. 

29:12: Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

29:16: O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 

29:17: I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.

INTIMATION:

God supplies most people with the personal and financial abilities to respond to the needs of others. Regrettably, many of the people have wrongly arrogated these abilities as their efforts. Rather than use God’s gifts to them to actualize His purposes and will, they put their trust in their possessions and God is pushed away on the sideline of their lives. If we all realized how God has blessed us, and if we all use our resources to do God’s will, hunger and poverty would be wiped out. Wealth is a blessing only if we use it in the way God intended.

Many people are afraid to loosen the death grip they have on their possessions because they have the wrong perception that the accumulation of possessions is an indication of prosperity and good success, in accordance with societal norm of assessment. Ironically, this is far away from God’s idea of prosperity and good success. Prosperity and good success, in the assessment of God, is in your relationship with Him—doing His will; being obedient to, and trusting Him in all things. (Joshua 1 vs 8).

The people with death grip on their possessions, always think that their grip will ensure it’s not taken away. Actually, God is El shadai, not El cheapo; a giver, not a taker. God will treat you better than you treat yourself. Though, He might make different choices than you would, but He will certainly treat you better.

When you open up your hands to give out willingly; serving God and others with the resources He put in your possession, and putting your trust in Him, you'll see that God is not a taker—He's a multiplier. He has not come into your life to take from you. Rather He is there to give to you ‘exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think’ (Ephesians 3 vs 20), according to His mighty power at work in you who believes and puts your trust in Him.

The Bible is full of stories of men and women whom God blessed and prospered, and they all had the attitude of a steward. They all recognized God as their source. David was a good example of a steward. He wanted to build the Lord a temple, but God told him he couldn't. God wanted his son Solomon to build the temple instead. David obeyed God, but he started set aside the money and materials Solomon would need one day in order to build the temple. David set aside the equivalent of $36 billion in gold and $14 billion in silver while Solomon was growing up. 

Then right before he handed over the throne to Solomon, he made one last gift. For that one gift, David gave 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of silver. By current prices, he gave the equivalent of $6 billion in gold and $300 million in silver. After giving this huge gift, David encouraged other people to give. All the leaders of the tribes caught the spirit of giving and began to donate large sums of money. The leaders gave more than David: 190 tons of gold and 375 tons of silver. All together, they gave $17 billion in gold and silver in one day.

Now, the passage we read today, enumerated part of David's remark in First Chronicles 29 vs 10 - 19. David saw himself as a steward. He knew that all of his assets had been given to him by God. David gave God the credit for being the source of all his riches. Notice how David said that they had only given what God first gave to them; all they had done was give back to God what was rightfully His anyway. 

David had the kind of heart that pleased God. He was a man after God’s heart (Acts 13 vs 22). David was kind, benevolent, forgiving, and courageous. He, more than anything else, had an unchangeable belief in the faithful and forgiving nature of God. He was a man who lived with great zest for God, and was listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. David had his rest in God, and was the ruler in Israel who never lost a battle. Eventually, David’s kingship was eternal through Jesus Christ (Second Samuel 7 vs 29). 

Truly, godly prosperity is different from coveting riches. Yes, God wants you to have nice things, but you shouldn't get them by hoarding your possessions and spending it all on yourself. When you give and handle your assets like a steward of God's resources, then God will bless you, and ‘His blessing makes you rich and adds no sorrow with it.’ (Proverbs 10 vs 22.) You will have nice things, but you won't be in hock up to your eyeballs or working yourself sick.

God wants to bless His children, and wants His children to depend upon Him as their source. It is true that you can look at everything you have and say, "I did this; this is all the result of my effort," but in so doing, you haven't tapped into God's supernatural limitless abilities—you're just depending on your limited capabilities.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your hand has made me, and given me all I have. Engrace me to responsibly and effectively use Your blessings to serve your purpose and will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Dependable in the Mundane

 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

One of the most powerful testimonies to the all-sufficiency of God’s future grace is the “faith principle” that has governed the lives of so many missionaries, notably those of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF).

Without condemning those who follow a different pattern, it has been the practice of those who follow in the steps of Hudson Taylor and George Mueller to move the hearts of supporters to give by directing their requests to God and not to people.

James H. Taylor, the great-grandson of the founder of OMF, explains how this faith in future grace, rooted in demonstrations of bygone grace, honors God.

We . . . begin from a position of faith. We believe God does exist. We have become convinced of this in a variety of ways, but all of us have experienced the grace of God in bringing us to know Himself through Jesus Christ and through rebirth by His Spirit. We believe we have good grounds for believing in Him through the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: we believe that someone who said He would die and rise again, and did it, is credible in every other way. Therefore we are prepared to trust Him, not only for the eternal salvation of our souls, but also for the practical provision of our daily bread and financial support.

OMF publishes testimonies of God’s amazing faithfulness to demonstrate the glory of his all-supplying future grace. “We want to demonstrate that God can be trusted to do all that He says He will do, by sharing how He has provided for such mundane needs as plane tickets, meals, medical expenses, and the regular support of a whole group of Christian people for well over a hundred years.”

What OMF is devoted to is glorifying the dependability of God — in their message and in their method. Hudson Taylor put it this way: “There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.”

Lives of faith are the great mirror of the dependability of God.

FINDING THE KEY TO THE DOOR OF OUR DESTINY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 05, 2021.

SUBJECT : FINDING THE KEY TO THE DOOR OF OUR DESTINY!

Memory verse: "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.” (First Peter 2 vs 9.)

READ: Ephesians 1 vs 17 - 19: 

1:17: That God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

1:18: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

1:19: and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

INTIMATION:

A person’s life is like a large house, full of stories and experiences. There are various levels and rooms reserved for certain seasons of life, each one unique in style, complex in design and purpose. Within each house are many doors that open and close throughout the course of its existence. Some are easier to open than others. Some require a little prying. Some are best left closed forever. Others, however, require a key.

The believer’s true life is embodied in our relationship and fellowship with God, and His begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Although, people often base the reality of their life on their self-conceptualized accomplishments, but our relationship with Him is far more important than our jobs, successes, wealth, or knowledge. 

We have been chosen by God Himself as His very own. The undeniable truth is that our value comes from being God’s children—sons and daughters of God, heirs of the kingdom, and joint heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8 vs 29). The door to our destiny is one that requires a key, and one that can seem very difficult to find. It cannot be created instantly or reproduced in any way. It cannot be bought with money, although it does come at a price. This is the key of identity. 

Many Christ-followers wander through their houses—their lives—never able to open the door to their destiny because they simply do not know their true identity in Christ, and consequently are not being able to find the key to the door of their destiny. Although people ask themselves what their purpose in this world is, they rarely live out the answer. 

To find the key to the door of the house of your identity, and knowing your identity in Christ requires first and foremost that you know Him—the Key Molder, and Possessor personally. As cliché as it sounds, it is the truth! How can one really know himself without first intimately knowing the One who created him or her? He created you for a purpose which only Him can determine. The manufacturer of any product has a purpose in mind, and only the manufacturer can give the facts of its purpose.

Our journey to knowing ourselves begins with knowing God’s nature and character. He is the One who carefully molds the key of destiny by revealing Himself in our lives as we pursue Him. As we grow in our knowledge of Him, three significant things begin to take place:

1. Knowing Him causes you to know what He says about you. If you truly desire to know what the Lord says about your destiny and identity, dive into His Word! 

2. Knowing Him reveals your authority in Him. Knowing the person He has divinely called you to be sets the precedent for understanding and operating in His authority.

3. Knowing Him gives you eternal perspective, especially when you wholeheartedly understand the fact that you will spend eternity with Him!

The wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of these three things will cause you to obtain the ever-desired key to the door of your destiny. I truly believe that in this time of history—in a season of worldly chaos and profound self-anonymity—the Lord is calling His bride to know her true identity and to live out her purpose, effectively advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.

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

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Makes God Proud

 

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)

I want very much for God to say to me what he said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “I am not ashamed to be called your God.”

As risky as it sounds, does this not really mean that God might actually be “proud” to be called my God? Fortunately this wonderful possibility is surrounded (in Hebrews 11:16) by reasons: one before and one after.

Take the one after, first: “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

The first reason he gives why he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has done something for them. He made them a city — the heavenly city “whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). So, the first reason he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has worked for them. Not the other way around.

Now, consider the reason he gives in the front. It goes like this: “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”

“Therefore” signals that a reason has just been given for why God is not ashamed to be called our God. The reason is their desire. They desire a better country — that is, a better country than the earthly one they live in; namely, a heavenly one where God is.

When we desire this heavenly city — this dwelling place of God — more than we desire all that this world can give, God is not ashamed to be called our God. When we make much of all that he promises to be for us, he is proud to be our God. This is good news.

So, open your eyes to the better country, the city of God that he has prepared for us, and let yourself desire it with all your heart. God will not be ashamed to be called your God.

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.