God-Given Foes and God-Given Faith

 

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ . . . not frightened in anything by your opponents. . . . For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. (Philippians 1:27–29)

Paul told the Philippians that living worthy of the gospel of Christ meant fearlessness before enemies. Then he gave the logic of fearlessness.

The logic is this: God has given you two gifts, not just one — faith and suffering. That’s what verse 29 says. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Granted to you to believe, and granted to you to suffer.

In this context that means: Both your faith in the face of suffering, and your suffering are gifts of God. When Paul says, don’t be frightened by your opponents, he had two reasons in his mind why they don’t need to be frightened:

One reason is that the opponents are in the hand of God. Their opposition is a gift from God. He governs it. That’s the first point of verse 29.

And the other reason not to be afraid is that your fearlessness, that is, your faith, is also in the hand of God. It too is a gift. That is the other point of verse 29.

So the logic of fearlessness in the face of adversity is this double truth: Both your adversity and your faith in the face of adversity are gifts of God.

Why is this called living “worthy of the gospel of Christ”? Because the gospel is the good news that Christ’s blood of the covenant infallibly obtained for all his people the sovereign working of God to give us faith and to govern our enemies — always for our eternal good. That’s what the gospel secured. Therefore, to live that way shows the power and goodness of the gospel.

Therefore, fear not. Your adversaries can do no more than God grants. And he will grant all the faith you need. These promises are blood-bought and sealed. They are gospel promises.

GOD’S WORD MAKES US WISE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 07, 2021. 

SUBJECT: GOD’S WORD MAKES US WISE!

Memory verse: "Every word of God is pure: He is a shield to those that put their trust in Him.” (Proverbs 30 vs 5.)

READ: Luke 4 vs 3 - 12:

4:3: And the devil said to Him, “If You be the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4:4: But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

4:5: Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

4:6: And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

4:7: Therefore, If You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

4:8: And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

4:9: Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

4:10: For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You,’

4:11: and, ‘In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

4:12: And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord thy God.’”

INTIMATION:

God’s Word makes us wise—wiser than our enemies and wiser than any teachers who ignore it. Knowing God’s Word equips us to navigate through life’s circumstances in victory. In this life we walk through a dark forest of evil. But the Bible can be our light to show us the way ahead so we won’t stumble as we walk. It reveals the entangling roots of false values and philosophies. It’s an effective weapon against temptation, and it is the only offensive weapon in the believers’ armor (Ephesians 6 vs 17). The Scripture notes that, “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119 vs 130.) 

True wisdom goes beyond amassing knowledge; it is applying knowledge in a life-changing way. Intelligent or experienced people are not necessarily wise. Wisdom comes from allowing God’s teachings to guide us. We gain wisdom through constant process of growing. First, we must trust and honor God. Second, we must realize that the Bible reveals God’s wisdom to us. His wisdom is infinite. The Scripture notes, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!.” (Romans 11 vs 33.) But God has revealed Himself and wisdom in His Word. Therefore, through constant study and meditation in the Word of God we are enriched in wisdom and understanding. 

People don’t develop all aspects of wisdom at once. For example, some people have more insight than discretion; others have more knowledge than common sense. But we can pray for all aspects of wisdom and take steps to develop them in God’s Word. Resolve to set aside time each day to read and think about God’s Word. Remind yourself of God’s words day and night, applying what you know that God has said in your daily living, and God’s Word will build you up in wisdom and understanding in this life.

Knowing and obeying God’s Word is an effective weapon against temptation, the only offensive weapon provided in the Christian’s armor (See Ephesians 6 vs 17). In the passage we read today, Jesus used Scripture—the Word of God—to counter Satan’s attacks, and so should we. But to use it effectively, we must have faith in God’s promises because Satan also knows Scripture and is adept in twisting it to suit his purposes. Obeying the Scripture is more important than simply having a verse to quote, so read them daily and apply them to your life. Then your “sword” will always be sharp.

The Word of God is not simply a collection of words from God, a vehicle for communicating ideas: it is living, life-changing, and dynamic as it works in us. God’s Word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is within us, both good and bad. The demands of God’s Word require decisions. We must not only listen to the Word; we must also let it shape our lives. Study the Bible so you will be able to see your way clear enough to stay on the right path.

Prayer: Abba Father, You have magnified Your Word above all Your name. Divine wisdom is embedded in Your Word. Give me the grace to study and meditate in Your Word daily that I may be wise, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Present and Powerful Love

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

Notice three things in Romans 8:35.

1. Christ is loving us now.

A wife might say of her deceased husband: Nothing will separate me from his love. She might mean that the memory of his love will be sweet and powerful all her life. But that is not what Paul means here.

In Romans 8:34 it says plainly, “Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” The reason Paul can say that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ is because Christ is alive and is still loving us right now.

He is at the right hand of God and is therefore ruling for us. And he is interceding for us, which means he is seeing to it that his finished work of redemption does in fact save us hour by hour, and bring us safely to eternal joy. His love is not just a memory. It is a moment-by-moment action by the omnipotent, living Son of God, to bring us to everlasting joy.

2. This love of Christ is effective in protecting us from separation, and therefore is not a universal love for all, but a particular love for his people — that is, those who, according to Romans 8:28, love God and are called according to his purpose.

This is the love of Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” It is Christ’s love for the church, his bride. Christ has a love for all, and he has a special, saving, preserving love for his bride. You know you are part of that bride if you trust Christ. Anyone — no exceptions — anyone who trusts Christ can say, I am part of his bride, his church, his called and chosen ones, the ones who, according to Romans 8:35, are kept and protected forever no matter what.

3. This omnipotent, effective, protecting love does not spare us from calamities in this life, but brings us safely through them to everlasting joy with God.

Death will happen to us, but it will not separate us. So when Paul says in verse 35 that the “sword” will not separate us from the love of Christ, he means: even if we are killed, we are not separated from the love of Christ.

So the sum of the matter in verse 35 is this: Jesus Christ is right now mightily loving his people with omnipotent, moment-by-moment love that does not always rescue us from calamity but preserves us for everlasting joy in his presence even through suffering and death.

OUR DEBT OF CHRISTLIKE LOVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 06, 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 is 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 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 the 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. 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 love me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

FILLING THE VACUUM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 05, 2021.

SUBJECT: FILLING THE VACUUM!

Memory verse: "And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2 vs 10.)

READ: John 6 vs 16 - 21:

6:16: Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

6:17: got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

6:18: Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.

6:19: So when they had rowed about three to four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.

6:20: But He said to them, “It is I; be not afraid.”

6:21: Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

INTIMATION:

Life without its Owner creates a vacuum. This vacuum needs to be appropriately filled. If you look around, you will notice that few people seem content within themselves. But when you get closer, they will tell you of a vacuum in their lives that needs to be filled. Many people are searching for something that will give their lives a boost. A strange and often hard-to-identify inner vacuum gives most people an uneasy sense of incompleteness. Christ fills that vacuum! As Jesus’ person is fully divine, so we, united by faith to Jesus, find personal fulfillment in Him: “You are complete in Him.”

Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all things: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men.” (John 1 vs 3 - 4.) With Him you are something valuable and unique; apart from Him you are nothing, and can do nothing (John 15 vs 5). Christ alone holds the answer to the true meaning of life because He is life. He is the unique source of knowledge and power for the Christian life. No Christian needs anything in addition to what Christ has provided to be saved, and to live; ‘as His divine power has given us all that pertains to life and godliness’ (Second Peter 1 vs 3). 

In our life’s experience and circumstances, some days may not feel like it, but in Jesus, the vacuum is gone; the full power and presence of God have taken up residence in your mind and heart. In Christ you are a new person, equipped for life and satisfied in God. In union with Christ through His empowering Spirit, we are complete. We have all the fullness of God available to us. But we must appropriate that fullness through faith and through prayer as we daily live for Him. You can ask the Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of your life to the fullest. Take some risks—God will guide you. Give more generously—God will supply. Love more freely—God will energize you. Say “can do” more often—God will amaze you.

Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22 vs 13.) Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and it signify the eternity of God. Without Him you have nothing that is eternal, nothing that can change your life, nothing that can save you from sin. When you place your life in Christ’s hands, He restores you now and resurrects you later to an eternal, peaceful relationship with Him. Is the Lord your reason for living? “the Alpha and the Omega” of your life? Honor the One who is the beginning and the end of all existence, wisdom, and power.

In the passage we read today, the apostle John recorded the very significant and unique attribute of Jesus! When you willingly accept the entrance of Jesus into your life, you will immediately arrive at your ultimate life’s destination. Just as His disciples willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going (John 6 vs 21). When you catch this revelation, you will willingly receive Him into your life, trust, and rest in Him, assured of your ultimate arrival to your life’s destination.

Prayer: Abba Father, all to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely and willingly give my life. I will ever love and trust Him, and in His presence I will daily live, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

What’s New About the New Covenant

 “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33)

Jesus shatters any absolute dissociation of commandments and love.

He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. . . . Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father” (John 14:15, 21). “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10).

Thinking in terms of commandments and obedience did not stop Jesus from enjoying the love of his Father. And he expects that our thinking of him as one who commands will not jeopardize our love relationship with him either.

This is crucial to realize because the new covenant relationship that we have with God through Jesus Christ is not a covenant without commandments. The basic difference between the old covenant offered by God through the Mosaic law and the new covenant offered by God through Christ is not that one had commandments and the other doesn’t.

The key differences are that (1) the Messiah, Jesus, has come and shed the blood of the new covenant (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 10:29) so that henceforth he is the Mediator of a new covenant, so that all saving, covenant-keeping faith is conscious faith in him; (2) the old covenant has therefore become “obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13) and does not govern the new-covenant people of God (2 Corinthians 3:7–18; Romans 7:4, 6; Galatians 3:19); and (3) the promised new heart and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit have been given through faith.

In the old covenant, the gracious enabling power to obey God was not poured out as fully as it is since Jesus. “To this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear” (Deuteronomy 29:4). What’s new about the new covenant is not that there are no commandments, but that God’s promise has come true! “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27).

WORRY NOT! GOD IS IN CONTROL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 04, 2021.

SUBJECT: WORRY NOT! GOD IS IN CONTROL!

Memory verse: "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15 vs 3.)

READ: First Samuel 2 vs 4 - 9: 

2:4: The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

2:5: Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread; and the hungry has ceased to hunger. Even the barren has born seven; and she who has many children has become feeble.

2:6: The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.

2:7: The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

2:8: He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he has set the world upon them.”

2:9: He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail.”

INTIMATION:

God is sovereign, He is in charge, and in control of the affairs of the world. God is not only the Creator of the world but He is also the Sustainer. In Him, everything is held together, protected, and prevented from disintegrating into chaos. At times it seems that God has let evil run rampant in the world, and we wonder if He even notices it. But God sees everything clearly—both the evil actions and the evil intentions lying behind them. God is All-knowing, and He will judge all sin. He will weigh everyone’s deeds and will reward all deeds accordingly: “...For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” (First Samuel 2 vs 3.) 

Neither the righteous nor the wicked can escape His presence. God is not an indifferent observer. He cares and is active in our world. Right now His work may be unseen and unfelt, but don’t give up. One day He will wipe out evil and perish the evildoers, just as He will establish the good and reward those who do His will. God does not lie, forget, change, or leave His promises unfulfilled. God’s plan stands forever! Remembering God’s sovereign control helps us put both world and personal events in perspective. 

Because we live in a world where evil abounds and where war and terrorism always threaten, we may forget that God is in control: He is solid as a rock, the One who knows what we do, sovereign over all the affairs of people, and He is the Supreme Judge who administers perfect justice. The Lord said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways.” For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55 vs 8 - 9.) God’s wisdom and knowledge are far greater than any human’s. 

Many of us, observing the evils in our world, want God to act now. God will act when He is ready. We are like children who have difficulty grasping the concept of time. “It’s not time yet” is not a reason children easily understand because they only comprehend the present. As limited human beings, we can’t understand God’s perspective about time. We want everything now, unaware that God’s timing is better. When God is ready, He will do what needs to be done, not what we would like Him to do. We may be impatient as children, but we must not doubt the wisdom of God’s timing. 

When God planned and executed the redemption of the world through His Son, Jesus Christ, the world didn’t understand His plans. Satan thought that, as the ruler of the world then, the killing of Jesus, through his wicked agents, will accomplish his victory and establish his continued rulership over the world. But he didn’t know God’s plan: “Which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (First Corinthians 2 vs 8.) Jesus was misunderstood and rejected by those whom the world considered wise and good. He was put to death by the rulers in Palestine—the high priest, King Herod, Pilate, and the Pharisees and Sadducees. And through their wicked deeds, God’s plan was accomplished. 

Let us not worry about the evils and misrule in the world today. The earth and its fullness are His. God will even work out His plans and purposes in the midst of them all. However, there is no ironclad guarantee that all believers will be delivered from difficulties and death in this cruel world. However, God can (and often does) miraculously deliver His followers from pain and death; although sometimes, for purposes known only to Him, He chooses not to. Thousands of Christian saints have been beaten to death, whipped, fed to lions, or executed (Romans 8 vs 35 - 36; Hebrews 11 vs 32 - 40). When faced with harsh realities, we must focus on the wise judgements of God. In times of crisis we can place our hope in God because He is in control.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are All-wise, All-knowing, and rules in the affairs of men. I staunchly trust in Your inconceivable wisdom, and I rest assured Your All-seeing eyes run over the earth, to reward everyone according to their deeds, and Your Throne to be established forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!