God Is Not an Idolater

 When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)

Paul says that Christ is coming precisely to be glorified and to be marveled at. That is why he is coming.

People stumble over the teaching that God exalts his own glory and seeks to be praised by his people because the Bible teaches us not to be like that. For example, the Bible says that love “does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5, NASB).

How can God be loving and yet be utterly devoted to “seeking his own” glory and praise and joy? How can God be for us if he is so utterly for himself?

The answer I propose is this: Because God is unique as an all-glorious, totally self-sufficient Being, he must be for himself if he is to be for us. The rules of humility that belong to a creature cannot apply in the same way to its Creator.

If God should turn away from himself as the Source of infinite joy, he would cease to be God. He would deny the infinite worth of his own glory. He would imply that there is something more valuable outside himself. He would commit idolatry.

This would be no gain for us. For where can we go when our God has become unrighteous? Where will we find a Rock of integrity in the universe when the heart of God has ceased to value supremely the supremely valuable? Where shall we turn with our adoration when God himself has forsaken the claims of infinite worth and beauty?

No, we do not turn God’s self-exaltation into love by demanding that God cease to be God.

Instead, we must come to see that God is love precisely because he relentlessly pursues the praises of his name in the hearts of his people. Our praise for his greatness is the capstone of our joy and his greatness.

OUR DEBT OF CHRISTLIKE LOVE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY AUGUST 23, 2021.

SUBJECT: OUR DEBT OF CHRISTLIKE LOVE!

Memory verse: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15 vs 12.) 

READ: Romans 13 vs 8 - 10:

13:8: Owe no one anything except to love one another: for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

13:9: For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

13:10: Love does no harm to a neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

INTIMATION:

The extent to which Jesus went to give Himself for us—His life of inestimable value for our lives of sin that are completely worthless, manifests the extent of the love that Christ demonstrated toward us, and is commanding us to have the same for one another. The greatest expression of love that can be made is that one lay down his or her life for another. This is what Jesus did for us, and wants us to do for one another: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13 vs 34; 15 vs 12) This is called the “royal Law, and was given by our great King Jesus Christ.

Christlike love is a debt that we owe. We are permanently in debt to Christ for His love He lavishly poured out on us. The only way we can even begin to repay this debt is by fulfilling our obligation to love others in turn. Because Christ’s love will always be infinitely greater than ours, we will always have the obligation to love our neighbors. Jesus, our role model, asked God to forgive the people who were putting Him to death (Luke 23 vs 34). Jesus was suffering the most horrible, painful death ever devised by sinful man, and He looked at the people responsible for His suffering and prayed for their forgiveness. And because we are all sinners, we all played a part in putting Jesus to death. 

Love is more than simply warm feelings; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action. How can we love others as Jesus loved us? By helping when it’s not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than our own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source. The apostle Paul, in First Corinthians 13, enumerated another beautiful description of love that believers have to show for one another.

Let us be imitators of God as dear children (Ephesians 5 vs 1). Just as children imitate their parents, we should imitate Christ. Our love for others should be of the same kind—a love that goes beyond affection to self-sacrificing service. Christlikeness (Christianity) is based on love. All human relationships that are true and enduring find their bond in the action of love. Jesus says we should love everyone, including our enemies and treat them well. Doing this shows that Jesus is truly the Lord of your life. This is possible only for those who give themselves fully to God, because only Him, through the help of the Holy Spirit, can deliver people from natural selfishness, and help us show love to those for whom we may not feel love. 

Jesus said that if we truly love God and our neighbor, we will naturally keep all of God’s commandments. When you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of the “Ten Commandments.” Let this rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrate love for God and love for others. Rather than worrying about all we should not do, we should concentrate on all we can do to show love for God and others. Therefore, God’s laws can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. 

When we fail to love, we are actually breaking God’s law. Examine your attitude and actions toward others. Do you build people or tear them down? When you’re ready to criticize someone, remember God’s law of love and say something good instead. Saying something beneficial to others will cure you of finding fault and increase your ability to obey God’s law of love. It is easy to excuse our indifference to others merely because we have no legal obligation to help them and even to justify harming them if our actions are technically legal! But Jesus does not leave loopholes in the law of love. Whenever love demands it, we are to go beyond human legal requirements and imitate the God of love. 

When we believers lose the motivation of love, we become critical of others. We stop looking for good in them and see only their faults. Soon we lose our unity. Have you talked behind someone’s back? Have you focused on others’ shortcomings instead of their strength? Remind yourself of Jesus’ command to love others as you love yourself. When you begin to feel critical of someone, make a list of that person’s positive qualities. When problems need to be addressed, confront in love rather than gossip. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You manifested Your unparalleled love for us by given Your only begotten Son as a propitiation for our sins. Endue me with the spirit of love that I may imitate You as Your child, and love You and others as You loved me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Pleased to Praise

 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3, 5)

Why does God demand we must praise God?

C.S. Lewis:

Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?”

The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

There is the answer — the solution to the apparent egomania of God in demanding us to praise him! It is a demand for our greatest happiness. We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy would not be full.

So, if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts — not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all beings.

If he is truly for us, he must be for himself! God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimately loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When he does all things “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12, 14), he preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world that can satisfy our longings.

God is for us! And the foundation of this love is that God has been, is now, and always will be for himself.

THE CHRISTIAN RACE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY AUGUST 21, 2021.

SUBJECT : THE CHRISTIAN RACE!

Memory verse: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12 vs 1.)

READ: First Corinthians 9 vs 24 - 27; Philippians 3 vs 12 - 14:

First Corinthians 9:24: Do you not know that those who run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

9:25: And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown; but we for an imperishable crown.

9:26: Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainly. Thus I fight: not as one who  beats the air.

9:27: But I discipline my body, and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Philippians 3:12: Not that I had already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

3:13: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended: but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.

3:14: I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

INTIMATION:

Christian life is a race; we are running toward our heavenly reward with our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. It takes hard work, self-denial, and grueling preparation. Winning the race requires purpose and discipline. The essential discipline of prayer, Bible study, and worship equip us to run with vigor and stamina.  Therefore, train yourself diligently in these aforementioned exercises—your spiritual progress depends upon them. God has set before the Christian the mark of a final rest—eternity with Him—for which all of us were created. The goal is the new heavens and earth wherein dwells righteousness. When one’s hope for heaven is strong, then he or she will submit his or her life to the narrow way of Christian living.

To run the race that God had set before us, we must also strip off the excess weight that slows us down. How can we do that? (1) Choose friends who are also committed to the race. Wrong friends will have values and activities that may deter you from the course. Much of your own weight may result from the crowd you run with, therefore, make wise choices. (2) Drop certain activities for you, at this time, that may be weight. Try dropping them for a while, then check the results in your life. (3) Get help for addictions that disable you. If you have a secret “weight” such as pornography, gambling, or alcohol, admit your need and get help today. 

The Christian life involves hard work. It requires us to give up whatever endangers our relationship with God, to run with endurance, and to struggle against sin with the power of the Holy Spirit. All sin hinders one’s faithfulness in running the Christian race. The apostle Paul said, “And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” (Second Timothy 2 vs 5.) To live effectively, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We will stumble if we look away from Him to stare at ourselves or at the circumstances surrounding us. We should be running for Christ, not ourselves, and we must always keep Him in sight.

The goal of every Christian is to know Christ, and we should not let anything take our eyes off the goal. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians. If one takes his mind off Jesus, he or she will be diverted to other things, and thus, discontinue his or her participation in the race. It is essential, therefore, that every Christian focus his or her attention on Jesus who has gone before us, and is waiting for us in the heavenly realm.

In one of the passages we read today, the apostle Paul said, “But I discipline my body, and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (First Corinthians 9 vs 27.) The Christian must not allow the lust of the flesh to detour him from the race. He must exercise self-discipline in order to train his or her character to be fit for eternal dwelling. The disciple who preaches to others without bringing his or her own lusts under control, will lose his or her reward. Therefore, one’s good works in preaching are not enough to save one from an unholy life. You must exercise discipline and self-control in order to be qualified. However, you put yourself under excessive pressure if you want to lead this life by yourself without involving and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit—our Helper.

Also, the sin of doubts concerning God’s faithfulness to keep His promises, hinders Christians from zealously doing what God requires of an active faith. One must persevere in the race of faith. One’s run must be consistent and enduring. If one is not actively engaged in the race, then He or she is in a state of falling away. Indifference and stalemate are only stages of digression. If one continues in indifference as a stagnant Christian, he will digress to an inactive faith that would lead to creating an inactive religiosity after his or her own laziness. It is this type of religion that leads one to destruction. 

The apostle Paul remarked, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race, I have kept the faith: Finally there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who loved His appearing.” (Second Timothy 4 vs 7 - 8.) He was certain concerning his reward and eagerly awaited it. This should be the target of all believers, and we should strive to fight and finish the race as he did, and obviously our rewards await us.

Prayer: Abba Father, my complete trust is in You. Give me the grace to constantly focus on Jesus in my Christian race that I may be worthy of Your calling, and receive the crown of life—eternal life with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

An Unshakably Happy God

 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

God is absolutely sovereign.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

Therefore, he is not frustrated. He rejoices in all his works when he contemplates them as colors of the magnificent mosaic of redemptive history. He is an unshakably happy God.

His happiness is foundationally the delight he has in himself. Before creation, he rejoiced in the image of his glory in the person of his Son — his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then the joy of God “went public” in the works of creation and redemption.

These works delight the heart of God because they reflect his glory. The heavens are telling the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works” (Psalm 104:31) He does everything he does to preserve and display that glory, for in this his soul rejoices.

All the works of God culminate in the praises of his redeemed people. “Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2). The climax of his happiness is the delight he takes in the echoes of his excellence in the praises of the saints. “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:10–11).

But our praise is not only God’s delight, as an echo of his excellence; it is also the apex of our joy. Praise is the consummation of the joy we have in seeing and savoring the greatness of God.

Therefore, God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in him are the same pursuit. This is the great outcome of the gospel of the glory of the grace of God in Christ!

THE MERCIFUL GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY AUGUST 20, 2021.

SUBJECT : THE MERCIFUL GOD!

Memory verse: "But go and learn what that means: 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9 vs 13.)

READ: Zechariah 3 vs 1 - 5:

3:1: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

3:2: And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3:3: Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

3:4: The He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from Him.” And to him He said, “See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

3:5: And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

INTIMATION:

Mercy is kindness or forbearance towards someone in one's power: a good thing regarded as derived from God. Mercy is God's nature, and is one of His profound ways of helping His people. God's mercy is forgiving, compassionate, withholding of the punishment or judgement our sins deserve. And because we can't do without help from God, His mercy endures forever.

King David, one of the very few people God called His friends, extensively utilized that nature of God. For instance, God was angry with David when he counted the people of Israel and sent a plaque among the people, such that seventy thousand men died in one day. But David cried out for God's mercy, which he knew would always answer for him and God was intreated. David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man."         I(Second Samuel 24 vs 14.)

The passage we read today, the prophet Zechariah, had a vision of how merciful God is. In the vision, he saw the activities or accusations of Satan against the children of Israel represented by Joshua the high priest (He was Israel’s high priest when the remnant returned to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the walls). Satan accused (“opposed”) Joshua. Though the accusations were accurate because the children of Israel had sinned against God (the reason Joshua stood in filthy garments (sins), but yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. 

Satan is always accusing people of their sins before God (Job 1 vs 6). But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God’s mercy and forgiveness toward those who believe in Him. God punished Judah through the fire of great trials, but He rescued the nation before it was completely destroyed, like “a brand plucked from the fire.”

Zechariah’s vision graphically portrays how we receive God’s mercy. We do nothing ourselves. God removes our filthy garments (sins), then provides us with fine, new clothes—the righteousness and holiness of God (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21; Ephesians 4 vs 24; Revelation 19 vs 8). All we need to do is repent and ask God to forgive us. When Satan tries to make you feel dirty and unworthy, remember that the clean clothes of Christ’s righteousness make you worthy to draw near to God.

There is a need to understand the place of God's mercy in our affairs. It’s important also to note that what you are fighting against may not be the devil, or witches and wizards as you have thought; it could be something you have done, like David, that has angered God. He can be intreated when you call for His mercy. Also, certain things may be responsible for where we find ourselves and we may not know what they are. You may know all that you are doing, but will not know all that is doing you. But the mercy of God will always answer for us when we cry to Him in prayers.

Maybe a curse was placed upon one of your forefathers, which you inherited without knowing. For instance, some people have so much money but can't account for how it is spent. They have no land, house, or anything to show for all the money that passes through their hands, yet they are heavily indebted. Some don't even know what next to do with their lives. They just keep wandering about. They invest in all manner of businesses and never realize anything out of them. 

For some people, the things or habits plaguing them are like ancestral curses. They discover that things such as poverty, failure, marriage spell, immorality, drunkenness, lying, etc run through all their family tree.

If you find yourself in any of such predicament, you can cry for the mercy of God to severe you from them. You can say to God, "Lord, I don't know the cause of this thing, but You know all things. Whatever I may have dabbled into through carelessness or ignorance and which has brought this affliction in my life, Lord have mercy! Whatever may have come on me through the negative side of my natural background, let Your mercy prevail for me!" Plead the mercy of God against that mysterious affliction in your life and it will give up, and you will be free. 

It is God's Will to show mercy, therefore, His desire is to have mercy on us out of His love nature, and not out of our ability to appease Him with our sacrifice. Hence God's instruction in Psalm 50 vs 15, "And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."

God willingly responds with help when we ask. Perhaps there is some sin in your life that you thought God would not forgive. God's steadfast love and mercy are greater than any sin, and He promises forgiveness: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is Your faithfulness."(Lamentations 3 vs 22 -  23.)

Prayer: Abba Father, You are Loving, and ever merciful. Like David, I prefer to fall into Your hands because I know Your mercy endures forever. Great is Your faithfulness, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Jesus Is Who You’re Looking For

 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

The last chapter of Matthew is a window that opens onto the sunrise glory of the risen Christ. Through it you can see at least three massive peaks in the mountain range of Christ’s character: the peak of his power; the peak of his kindness; and the peak of his purposefulness.

All authority is his — the right and the power to do his will. And he uses this power to pursue his unwavering purpose to make disciples from all the nations. And in the process he is personally kind to us, promising to be with us to the end.

We all know in our hearts that if the risen Christ is going to satisfy our desire to admire greatness, that is the way he has to be. Great in power. Great in kindness. Great in purposefulness.

People who are too weak to accomplish their purposes can’t satisfy our desire to admire greatness. We admire people even less who have no purpose in life. And still less those whose purposes are merely selfish and unkind.

What we long to see and know is a Person whose power is unlimited, whose kindness is tender, and whose purpose is single and unflinching.

Novelists and poets and movie-makers and TV writers now and then create a shadow of this Person. But they can no more fill our longing to worship than this month’s National Geographic can satisfy my longing for the Grand Canyon.

We must have the real thing. We must see the Original of all power and kindness and purposefulness. We must see and worship the risen Christ.