WALKING IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 25, 2021.

SUBJECT : WALKING IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE!

Memory verse: "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.” (Romans 6 vs 4.) 

READ: Colossians 3 vs 1 - 4:

3:1: If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

3:2: Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

3:3: For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

3:4: When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

INTIMATION:

God planned that Christians should walk in the fullness of the divine life; that we should dare to take our positions as sons and daughters of God; and that hour is coming before the Lord's return in which members of the body will rise and walk before God the Father in newness of the New Creation Life.

In the New Creation life, Christians will be masters of this world, just as Jesus Christ and our Father are the Masters of this world. Any form of hindrance is destroyed. Disease will not be able to lay hold upon them. Ignorance and fear will be banished, because the wisdom that comes from above, that is in Jesus, will lead them into the full dream, ambitions and purposes of our Father. 

Christians have been translated out of the realm of darkness; that is, the kingdom of weakness, darkness, and ignorance. They have been translated into the kingdom of the Son of His Love, which is the realm of wealth, of life, of joy, of light, of peace, and of faith. They are one with Christ and our lives hidden with Christ in God. To walk in the newness of life is expressed thus:

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (Colossians 1 vs 10 - 13.)

The apostle Paul, in the passage above, lists five benefits God gives all believers through Christ: (1) God has enabled us to share in Christ’s inheritance; (2) He has rescued us from Satan’s kingdom of darkness and made us His children; (3) He has brought us into His eternal kingdom; (4) He has purchased our freedom from sin and judgement with His blood; (5) He has forgiven us our sins. 

Sharing in Christ’s inheritance, the Scripture says; “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). As believers, we trust in Christ’s substitutionary work for us, we make an exchange. He takes our sin and makes us right with God. Our sin was laid on Christ at His crucifixion. His righteousness is given to us at our conversion. 

By His Sacrificial death on the cross He rescued us from Satan’s kingdom of darkness, and He has brought us to His eternal kingdom, Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God has brought us into His family. We are God’s children, and joint heirs along with Jesus.

Jesus purchased our freedom from sin and judgement. Our sins are forgiven, It is of God’s grace that we are in Christ Jesus, “Who has become for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (First Corinthians 1 vs 30). Therefore, the limits of our wisdom, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, are the limits of Jesus, Jesus is also our life, and the limits of that life are the limits of the Life of the Son of God. But because He is limitless, we are also limitless.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You immensely for the inheritance you have given us Christ Jesus. Engrace me to walk in the newness of life in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

I Can Be Content in Every Circumstance

 

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13)

God’s provision of day-by-day future grace enables Paul to be filled or to be hungry, to prosper or suffer, to have abundance or go wanting.

“I can do all things” really means “all things,” not just easy things. “All things” means, “Through Christ I can hunger and suffer and be in want.” This puts the stunning promise of Philippians 4:19 in its proper light: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

What does “every need of yours” mean in view of Philippians 4:11–12? It means “all that you need for God-glorifying contentment.” Which may include times of hunger and need. Paul’s love for the Philippians flowed from his contentment in God, and his contentment flowed from his faith in the future grace of God’s infallible provision to be all he needed in times of plenty and want.

It’s obvious then that covetousness is exactly the opposite of faith. It’s the loss of contentment in Christ so that we start to crave other things to satisfy the longings of our hearts which only the presence of God himself can satisfy. And there’s no mistaking that the battle against covetousness is a battle against unbelief in God’s promise to be all we need in every circumstance.

This is so clear in Hebrews 13:5. Watch how the author argues for our freedom from the love of money — freedom from covetousness — the freedom of contentment in God: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Faith in this promise — “I will never leave you” — breaks the power of all God-dishonoring desire — all covetousness.

Whenever we sense the slightest rise of covetousness in our hearts, we must turn on it and fight it with all our might using the weapons of this faith.

PRAYER PROBLEM OF BELIEVERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 24, 2021.

SUBJECT : PRAYER PROBLEM OF BELIEVERS!

Memory verse: "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11 vs 24.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 22 - 23; John 15 vs 7; 16 vs 23 - 24: 

Mark 11:22: So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.

11:23: For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

John 15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

16:23: And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 

16:24: Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

INTIMATION: 

Why do many people have a prayer problem? The problem of not being able to pray, not praying in the right words, not receiving answers to their prayers etc. They are always running around looking for who to pray for them. The Prayer Problem is a problem of faith. What is faith then? Faith is believe in God and His Word. It is also loyalty or fidelity of God to His promise. Therefore, faith bothers on the integrity of the Word, and of the ability of God to stand back of His promises or the statement of fact in His Word.

There is another side to the problem: It is the ability of the believer to stand in the Father's presence without the sense of guilt, condemnation or inferiority. The real question here is, "Have I a right to stand in the Father's presence and make my petitions known to Him without condemnation?" Here are few things that every believer should know:

1. Believers are actually New Creations, created in Christ Jesus (Second Corinthians 5 vs 17). We are recreated in Christ as entirely new creations with everything about us spiritually new. One is new in Christ, not only because he or she has been cleansed of sins, but also because of his or her perspective of life after obedience to the gospel. Since Christians have become new creatures in Christ, they consider all things from a new perspective.

2. As a new creation, you have received into your spirit the life and nature of God. The old things have passed away. These old things are spiritual death, your union with Satan, and your old sins—the sins committed while he was spiritually dead, and in union with the Adversary. The new creation is the product of God. It is created in Christ Jesus, it is born from above. It is born of the Holy Spirit, through the Word. And the new thing stands uncondemned and reconciled before the Father.

The moment that we become new creations, we become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21). This is because we have been justified and made righteous as if we have never sinned before. The righteousness of God means the ability to stand in the Father's presence without sense of guilt, condemnation or inferiority. We are from that moment sons and daughters of God.

It would be an abnormal thing if He should recreate us, impart to us His own nature, and leave us under the blighting curse of condemnation, unable to stand in His presence because of being overwhelmed with the  sense of guilt and inferiority. But we know we have the ability to stand in God's presence free from all sense of unworthiness.

3. We know for a fact that we have a legal right in the Father's presence because we are legally born into His family, and He has legally adopted us and accepted us as His children. "The Holy Spirit Himself has born witness with our spirits that we are the children of God." (Romans 8 vs 16).

4. We know another fact, that we have a legal right to the use of Jesus' Name and whatsoever we ask of the Father in that name He'll grant us. (John 15 vs 16; 16 vs 23 & 24). This has cleared up every issue in regard to our ability to stand before Him in the throne room without condemnation.

It is now obvious that fellowshipping with God in prayers is based on legal grounds, based on statement of facts, and not based on promises. All things belong to the believer. It is only a problem of our taking our place, enjoying our rights: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (Ephesians 1 vs 3).

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You so much for all our inheritance of the believers in the finished work of Christ. Engrace me with the enablement to take my place and enjoy my rights, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAIAE THE LORD!

Faith Honors Him Whom It Trusts

 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God. (Romans 4:20)

Oh, how I long for God to be glorified in our pursuit of holiness and love. But God is not glorified unless our pursuit is empowered by faith in his promises.

And the God who revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25), is most glorified when we embrace his promises with joyful firmness because they are bought by the blood of his Son.

God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace. That’s the point of Romans 4:20 where Paul describes Abraham’s faith, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God.”

He grew strong in his faith, thus giving glory to God. Faith in God’s promises glorifies him as supremely wise and strong and good and trustworthy. So, unless we learn how to live by faith in the promises of God’s future grace, we may perform remarkable religious rigors, but not for God’s glory.

He is glorified when the power to be holy comes through humble faith in future grace.

Martin Luther said, “[Faith] honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard, since it considers him truthful and trustworthy.” The trusted Giver gets the glory.

My great desire is that we learn how to live for God’s honor. And that means living by faith in future grace, which, in turn, means battling unbelief in all the ways it rears its head.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God. (Romans 4:20)

Oh, how I long for God to be glorified in our pursuit of holiness and love. But God is not glorified unless our pursuit is empowered by faith in his promises.

And the God who revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25), is most glorified when we embrace his promises with joyful firmness because they are bought by the blood of his Son.

God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace. That’s the point of Romans 4:20 where Paul describes Abraham’s faith, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God.”

He grew strong in his faith, thus giving glory to God. Faith in God’s promises glorifies him as supremely wise and strong and good and trustworthy. So, unless we learn how to live by faith in the promises of God’s future grace, we may perform remarkable religious rigors, but not for God’s glory.

He is glorified when the power to be holy comes through humble faith in future grace.

Martin Luther said, “[Faith] honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard, since it considers him truthful and trustworthy.” The trusted Giver gets the glory.

My great desire is that we learn how to live for God’s honor. And that means living by faith in future grace, which, in turn, means battling unbelief in all the ways it rears its head.

GOD DESIRES THAT BELIEVERS PRAY ALWAYS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JUNE 23, 2021.

SUBJECT : GOD DESIRES THAT BELIEVERS PRAY ALWAYS!

Memory verse: "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart," (Luke 18 vs 1.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 1 - 8:

18:1: Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 

18:2: saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

18:3: Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary,’

18:4: And He would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,

18:5: yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

18:6: Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.

18:7: And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?

18:8: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

INTIMATION:

Prayer is a call to the Father to visit with Him. It is the call of Love of the Father to come and fellowship with Him. It is the voice of faith to the Father. Prayer is our need crying out for help. It is for this reason that the Lord wants us to always pray; always be in His presence.  Prayer, then, is facing God with man's needs, with His promise to meet those needs. It is born out of the sense of need, and the assurance that the need will be met. The Lord taught us to pray, He is one with us in this prayer life. Prayer is part of God's program for us.

Most Christians have realized the fact that the Father's heart is hungry for the companionship of His children. His heart hunger is the reason for man and his redemption. God wants a constant fellowship with His children. It was His plan from the beginning hence He visited Adam everyday in the Garden. He loves us and that love impels Him to call us to pray always—constantly being in His presence.

It is God's Will that His children will come to His Throne Room, to stand in His presence  without reproof or condemnation. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ, while teaching His disciples how to pray, said, "When you pray" (Matthew 6 vs 5), and not "If you pray." It is God's intention that His children will visit their Father, the children coming joyously into the presence of their Loving Parent, and are welcome.

The apostle Paul, in consonance with the Lord’s demand, says we should persist in prayer and not give up; “praying without ceasing” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17); continuing steadfastly, and earnestly in it, and being vigilant in it with thanksgiving (Romans 12 vs 12; Colossians 4 vs 2). To persist in prayer and not give up, does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays have good reasons. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope. 

When we pray, we are in constant communication with the Father and it enriches us spiritually. We touch the Father through our prayers, and there cannot be any touching of the Master without the Master knowing it. When our need touches Him, it makes a demand upon his ability to meet that need. 

For instance, one day when the crowd was pressing around the Master, Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" And they said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You,  and You say, "Who touched Me?" But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." (Luke 8 vs 45 - 47.) touching the Master is making a demand from Him. The woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, touched Him, making a demand upon His ability to meet her need, and the Master knew it, and she got her need met - she was healed of the disease (See Luke 8 vs 40 - 48). 

Persisting in prayer ought to be a Christian behavior, and an expression of our faith that God answers our prayers. Faith shouldn’t die if the answers come slowly, for the delay may be God’s way of working His Will in our life. He is ever present—Omnipresent—, always listening, always answering, may be not in ways you had hoped, but in ways that He knows are best as the All-knowing—Omniscient God.

If the unjust judge responds to constant pressure, how much more will a great and loving God respond to us? If we know He loves us, we can believe He will hear our cries for help.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Loving Father, and Faithful Companion. Give me the spirit of constant prayer and supplication to You, making my requests known to You, with thanksgiving, knowing that You will come through to me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How We Must Fight for Holiness

 

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

There is a practical holiness without which we will not see the Lord. Many live as if this were not so.

There are professing Christians who live such unholy lives that they will hear Jesus’s dreadful words, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). Paul says to professing believers, “If you live according to the flesh you will die” (Romans 8:13).

So, there is a holiness without which no one will see the Lord. And learning to fight for holiness by faith in future grace is supremely important.

There is another way to pursue holiness that backfires and leads to death. Paul warns us against serving God any other way than by faith in his enabling grace. God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). Any effort to serve God that does not, in that very act, depend on him as the reward of our hearts and the power of our service, will dishonor him as a needy pagan god.

Peter describes the alternative to such self-reliant service of God, “Whoever serves, [let him do so] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). And Paul says, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me” (Romans 15:18; see also 1 Corinthians 15:10).

Moment by moment, grace arrives to enable us to do “every good work” that God appoints for us. “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

The fight for good works is a fight to believe the promises of future grace.

CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JUNE 22, 2021.

SUBJECT : CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN!

Memory verse: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." (First Timothy 6 vs 6.)

READ: Philippians 4 vs 10 - 14:

4:10: But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.

4:11: Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content;

4:12: I know how to be abased. And I know to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

4:14: Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.

INTIMATION:

To be content is to be satisfied, quietly happy with oneself. And it is in satisfaction that thanksgiving evolves. True contentment—satisfaction—lies in our perspective, our priorities, and our source of power. For instance, the apostle Paul was able to be content (get along happily) in any circumstances he faced because of his perspective of life, his priorities in life, and the source of his power. He knew how to be content whether he had plenty or whether he was in need. The secret was drawing on Christ’s power for strength. 

Paul was content because he could see life from God’s point of view. He focused on what he was supposed to do, not what he felt he should have. Paul had his priorities right, and he was grateful for everything God had given him. Paul had detached himself from the nonessentials so that he could concentrate on the eternal. 

Discontentment comes when your attention shifts from what you have to what you don't have. When this happens you begin to forget what God has done for you, and is wrapped up in what God hasn't done for you. For instance, in the wilderness the Israelites murmured, and were dissatisfied with what God has done for them. At the instance of this they forgot to give thanks to God for all He has done for them, and is still doing for them: “...So the children of Israel also wept again and said: "who will give us meet to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" (Numbers 11 vs 4 - 6.)

The people of Israel didn't seem to notice what God was doing for them—setting them free, making them a new nation, giving them a new land, because they were so wrapped in what God wasn't doing for them. They could think of nothing except the delicious Egyptian food they have left behind. Somehow they forgot that the brutal whip of the Egyptian slavery was the cost of eating that food.

Before we judge the Israelites too harshly, it is helpful to think of what occupies our attention most of the time. Are we grateful for what God has given us or are we always thinking about what we would like to have? We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget God's gift of life, food, health, work, friends etc.

Like our first parents—Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden where they lived, Satan approached Eve and questioned her contentment. How could she be happy when she was not allowed to eat from one of the fruit trees? Satan helped her shift her focus from all that God had done and given to the one thing He had withheld. And she was willing to accept Satan’s viewpoint without checking with God.

Like Eve, how often is our attention drawn from the much that is ours to the little that isn’t? We get that “I’ve got to have it” feeling. Eve was typical of us all, and we consistently show we are her descendants by repeating her mistakes. Our desires, like Eve’s, can be quite easily manipulated. They are not the best basis for actions. We need to keep God in our decision-making process always. His Word, the Bible, is our guidebook in decision-making.

Most people want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. We may not get all that we want. By trusting in Christ, our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting to accepting His provision and power to live for Him. The power we receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do His Will and to face the challenges that arise from our commitment to doing it. This engenders contentment, and the attitude of being thankful to Him for whatever you have that He has provided. 

Do you have great needs, or are you discontented because you don’t have what you want? Learn to rely on God’s promise and Christ’s power to help you be content. If you always want more, ask God to remove that desire and teach you contentment in every circumstance. He will supply all your needs, but in a way that He knows is best for you. 

Our quest should be to honor God and center our desires on Him, and He will add to you all other things that is your need (Matthew 6 vs 33). 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of contentment and trust in You, that I may live for You; to obey and serve You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

ENGENDERS AN ATTITUDE OF THANKSGIVING

We can trust that God will always meet our needs. Whatever we need on earth He will always supply, even if it is the courage to face death as Paul did. Whatever we need in heaven He will supply. We must remember, however, the difference between our wants and our needs. Christ does not grant us superhuman ability to accomplish anything we want or can imagine without regard to His interests. We are created for His purpose, and He provides all our needs to accomplish His purpose.