THE SEEING IS BELIEVING “BELIEVERS”!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 25, 2021. 

SUBJECT: THE SEEING IS BELIEVING “BELIEVERS”! 

Memory verse: "The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (John 20 vs 25.)

READ: John 20 vs 24 - 29:

20:24: Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 

20:25: The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.

20:26: And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 20:27: Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

20:28: And Thomas answered and said to Him. "My Lord and my God!" 

20:29: Jesus said to him, "Thomas because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

INTIMATION:

So many people in the world today will hardly believe anything until they see the proof of that thing. Even in the Christendom many are in this category - “The seeing is believing believers.” These are the believers ruled by their sense knowledge. Until they see signs and wonders and miracles, they will not believe. Such people hardly have divine encounters because of their unbelief. 

Have you ever wished you could actually see Jesus, touch Him and Hear Him speak to you or hear His words? Are there times you want to sit down with Him and get His advice or get clarification or confirmation of what He said in the Scripture? That is to say you want His physical presence. But God’s plan is wiser. He has not limited Himself to one physical body; He wants to be present with you at all times. Even now He is with you in the form of the Holy Spirit. You can talk to Him, and you can find His words to you in the pages of the Bible. If you believe, He can be as real as He was to Thomas.

Thomas was a sense knowledge believer. He had to see in order to believe. His senses had to be satisfied. He could not take the Word of God independent of his senses. We are confronted continually with that type of believers as majority of Christians are in that category. But remember the word of Jesus to Thomas; “Do not be unbelieving, but believing," and “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The seeing is believing “believers” will want the symptoms of the ailment disappear completely before they believe their divine healing. They hardly believe in the finished work of Christ in their lives as stated in Isaiah 53 vs 4 - 5; “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows....and by His stripes we are healed.” 

Some people think they would believe in Jesus if they could see a definite sign or miracle. But Jesus says we are blessed if we can believe without seeing. We have all the proof we need in the words of the Bible and the testimony of believers. A physical appearance would not make Jesus any more real to us than He is now.

God our Creator knows how humans are ruled by their senses, and in His infinite and great grace came down into the realm of the senses in the person of Christ to associate with us. Christ was offered as a sacrifice in the full glare of the people, therefore, they saw Him die on the cross, buried, and on the third day rose from the dead, and appeared among the disciples, let them see Him, hear Him, and feel Him, to satisfy their sense knowledge.

The beloved apostle John declares in First John 1 vs 1 - 3: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life - the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us - that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also will have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ."

Now take note of the statement, "that which we have seen and heard we are telling you," is sense knowledge evidence. That was all right in the early church. During the first fifteen years, the early church lived very largely in the realm of sense knowledge faith. We have many today that cannot believe beyond what their senses register. However, God allowed the early believers to see signs and wonders on the day of Pentecost because they were babes, just newborn in the Christendom. They new nothing of the finished work of Christ. None of them believed or knew about His substitutionary work. That was to come later through the revelation Christ gave to the apostle Paul.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not be unbelieving, but believing. If God has said it, believe it, and it will surely manifest in your life as said.  Remember, "all things are possible to him who believes." ( Mark 9 vs 23.)

Prayer: Abba Father, engrace me with the spirit of exceeding faith in You and Your Word, for all things will be possible to me for Your Word is truth, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Message of Creation

 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:22–23)

It would be a great folly and a great tragedy if a man loved his wedding ring more than he loved his bride. But that is what this passage says has happened.

Human beings have fallen in love with the echo of God’s excellence in creation, and lost the ability to hear the incomparable, original shout of love and power and glory.

The message of creation is this:

There is a great God of glory and power and generosity behind all this awesome universe; you belong to him because he made you. He is patient with you in sustaining your rebellious life. Turn and bank your hope on him and delight yourself in him, not merely his handiwork.

According to Psalm 19:1–2, day pours forth the “speech” of that message to all who will listen in the day, speaking with blindingly bright sun and blue sky and clouds and untold shapes and colors and beautiful designs of all things visible. Night pours forth the “knowledge” of the same message to all who will listen at night, speaking with great dark voids and summer moons and countless stars and strange sounds and cool breezes and northern lights.

Day and night are saying one thing: God is glorious! God is glorious! God is glorious! Turn away from the creation as your supreme satisfaction, and delight yourself in the Lord of glory.

GOD HAS TIMED EVERYTHING IN OUR JOURNEY OF LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2021.

SUBJECT: GOD HAS TIMED EVERYTHING IN OUR JOURNEY OF LIFE! 

Memory verse: "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”. (Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1.)

READ: Ecclesiastes 3 vs 2 - 8:

3:2: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;

3:3: A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up;

3:4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time dance;

3:5: A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

3:6: A time to gain, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

3:7: A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

3:8: A time to love, and a time to hate; A time to war, and a time of peace.

INTIMATION:

God has a plan and purpose for all people, and for all things. He provides circles of life, each with its work for us to do. Times for the good, and times for the bad. All these are from God and are purposed by Him in His perfect plan and timing. Although we may face many problems that seem to contradict God's plan, these should not be barriers to believing Him, but rather opportunities to discover that without God, life's problems have no lasting solutions! 

Timing is of essence in the journey of life. All the experiences listed in those verses in the passage we read today are appropriate at certain times. These verses express a divine order of things into which one must plug his or her life in order to enjoy the contentment that comes from knowing that God has all things under control. The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God's perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent God's timing. This can lead to despair, rebellion, or moving ahead without His advice.

In life you never arrive; you are always on the road toward your destiny. The process of becoming the you God sees is hard work in the vineyard of God. It is the end result of hard work, many trials and tribulations, and, of course, triumph and victories. Though omnipresent and omniscient, God is mindful of every individual of His creation. We might be concerned that our understanding of the awesomeness of God might lead us to believe that He is indifferent to the details of His creation, and thus might overlook individuals. But God even knew each of us while we were still in our mother’s womb, before we were even taking form. 

God’s timing is inherent in your becoming the person God ordained you to be. You are forever in the process of becoming the person you will be. The word “becoming” implies the direction you are taking in your personal spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual growth and development. Life is a journey: it's not a destination. Every ending is a new beginning to your future, and every beginning is an ending to your past. Endeavor to continuously be taking the bold steps forward in your journey of “becoming,” and toward your glorious destiny. A step out of the way is costly and requires greater efforts to step back on the way.

It's obvious this is unachievable without Christ. By our own abilities, we will always crash. The Bible notes it in First Samuel 2 vs 9, "For by strength no man shall prevail." It's only God that makes all things possible with us. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4 vs 13). It is the power we receive in union with Christ that sufficiently helps us to do God's Will and to face the challenges that arise from our commitment to doing it. 

Prayer: Abba Father, show me the path of life that I may work in it. In Your leading and timing I am assured of the lines fallen to me in pleasant places, and my arriving at my destiny, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

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!