We Wait, He Works

 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

Only a few things have gripped me with greater joy than the truth that God loves to show his God-ness by working for me, and that his working for me is always before and under and in any working I do for him.

At first it may sound arrogant of us, and belittling to God, to say that he works for us. But that’s only because of the connotation that I am an employer and God needs a job. That’s not the connotation when the Bible talks about God’s working for us. That’s not at all in Isaiah’s mind when he says, God “works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

The proper connotation of saying God works for me is that I am bankrupt and need a bailout. I am weak and need someone strong. I am endangered and need a protector. I am foolish and need someone wise. I am lost and need a Rescuer.

God works for me means I can’t do the work. I am utterly in need of help.

And this glorifies God not me. The Giver gets the glory. The Powerful One gets the praise.

Listen to the way the Bible talks about God working for you, and be freed from the burden of bearing your own load. Let him do that work.

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

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).

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

“The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you. . . . Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:12, 15).

“To your old age . . . I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

“I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

“Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11).

“Work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work” (Philippians 2:12–13).

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

DO THE FIRST WORKS —REPENT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 07, 2021.

SUBJECT: DO THE FIRST WORKS —REPENT!

Memory verse: "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place - unless you repent." (Revelation 2 vs 5.)

READ: Matthew 3 vs 1 - 2; 4 vs 17:

3:1: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Jude’s,

3:2: and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

4:17: From that time Jesus began to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

INTIMATION:

Repentance means “to turn,” it is the state of being penitent, implying a change in behavior, turning from sin toward God. It is to be sorry for, or wish to have been otherwise, what one has done or left undone, it is a change of heart, and make a moral U-turn from sin to God in humility.

Jesus started His ministry with the message of repentance, and this underscores the importance of the message, and the relevance of its timing in our relationship with God. The first step in turning to God is to admit your sin. Then be sorry for it, and ask God (only Him forgives sin) to help you. God will receive you and help you live the way He wants. It is the nature of our 'Loving, and Ever Merciful Father' to forgive our sins, hence His call to us to repent.

Consequently, in our memory verse, Jesus tells us to, "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place - unless you repent." And, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (First John 1 vs 9).

Your confessing your sin frees you to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It eases your conscience and lightens your care. God wants to forgive us, hence He allowed His beloved Son to die just so He could offer us pardon. When we come to Christ, He forgives all the sins we have committed. We don’t need to confess the sins of the past repeatedly, thinking that God will hear us by our many words. Confess your sin and believe God for forgiveness; “He that promised is faithful, and will do it.” 

Repentance happens inside with a cleansing that isn't seen right away when confession of the sin is made. True repentance is revealed in changed attitude. It does not end with words of confession, lest it would be mere lip service. It must lead to corrected behavior and changed attitude. When you sin and are truly sorry, confess this to God, ask for His forgiveness, and accept His grace and mercy. 

Then, as an act of thankfulness for your forgiveness, make the needed corrections. No matter how evil you have been, it is never too late to humble yourself, turn to God and ask for forgiveness. God puts no limit on the number of times we can come to Him to obtain mercy, but we must come in order to obtain it, recognizing our need and asking Him to help. Because we have a tendency to sin, repentance is the true measure of our spiritual sensitivity and makes us valuable to God.

Repentance has too sides; turning away from sin, and turning toward God. To be truly repentant, we must do both. We can't just say we believe and then live any way we choose, and neither can we simply lead a morally correct life without a personal relationship with God, because that cannot bring forgiveness of sin.

Our Ever Merciful and Loving Father is at your door knocking, calling you to repent, and do the first works. If you hear His voice do not harden your hearts. In turning to Him remains a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Prayer: My Heavenly Father, ever Merciful and Loving, I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. I repent of my sins, and I come to you now, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my strength and my redeemer. Forgive me my sins. Be my Lord and personal Savior. Cancel my name in the book of death, and write my name in the Book of life. From henceforth I am yours forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen!

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE WORD YOU BELIEVE PERFORMS IN YOUR LIFE !

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 06, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE WORD YOU BELIEVE PERFORMS IN YOUR LIFE !

Memory verse: "And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1 vs 45.)

READ: Romans 4 vs 17 - 24:

4:17: (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations) in the presence of Him whom He believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls things which do not exist as though they did;

4:18: who, contrary to hope, in hope  believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 

4:19: And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body now already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

4:20: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

4:21: And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.

4:22: And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

4:23: Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

4:24: But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.

INTIMATION:

To believe is to be persuaded of, to place confidence, to trust in; it is to put our reliance upon, not mere credence. Therefore, when you believe the word of God, you are persuaded of its efficacy, and truthfulness. And because it is s God’s word, you are certain of its performance if you believe.

God is the same with His word—immutable or unchangeable, and remains forever. God’s Word has the backing of His Throne, hence the Scripture says, “..For you have magnified  Your  word above all Your name” (Psalm 138 vs 2). And consequently, He says, “...For I will hasten my word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1 vs 12). In Numbers 23 vs 19, the Scripture says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent: has He said, and will He not do? or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” God’s Word is forever settled in heaven.

Performance of God’s word in our lives is hinged upon our faith or believe in the word. Therefore, knowing the certainty in God’s word, our responsibility for having His word performed in our lives is hinged on our faith or believe.

In the passage we read today, Abraham had great faith in God and His word, and that was credited to him as righteousness. He never doubted that God would fulfill His promise made to him; that he will be the father of many nations, even when he had no child, and had grown old. Abraham had to his credit that he consistently trusted God, His imperfections in his life not withstanding. His life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures as well as by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God. 

He was strengthened in faith by the obstacles he faced, and his life was an example of faith in action. For instance, if he had looked only at his own resources for subduing Canaan and founding a nation, he would have given up in despair. But Abraham looked up to God, obeyed Him, and waited for God to fulfill His word. And God did! Or if he had considered his age of about a hundred years—his own body now already dead, and the age of his wife Sarah—her womb also already dead, he would never believed they can bear a child. 

However, the word of God never fails. God says, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth, it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55 vs 10 - 12.)

Nonetheless, to ensure the performance of God’s word in our lives, we must do the following; (1) Receive the word (2) Believe the word in your heart, (3) Confess your believe with your mouth, (4) Walk the talk, that is, walk in the consciousness of that word you believed, (5) Be expectant to reap the promise in the word, (6) Continually walk in that consciousness and expectancy, (7) Give thanks to God for the expected provisions.

In case of Abraham, he received the word; “I have made you a father of many nations” and believed the word in his heart; “in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, he confessed the word with his mouth; “So shall your descendants be,” he walk in the consciousness of that word he  believed; “so that he became the father of many nations,” he was expectant; “he did not waver at the promise through unbelief, he continually walked in the consciousness of his believe; “but was strengthened in faith,” and was giving thanks; “giving glory to God. And there was a performance of those things that the Lord said to him. Hallelujah!!

Abraham’s believe or faith was imputed to him as righteousness, and the Scripture says, “For You, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour will You compass him as with a shield” (Psalm 5 vs 12). God Blessed him in all things (Genesis 24 vs 1). 

The Scripture says, “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Romans 4 vs 22 - 24.) If you believe just as he did, it will be counted for you as righteousness, and will be blessed by God, and there will also be a performance of the word of the Lord in your life!

Prayer: Abba Father, You said it, I believed it, and that settles it. Give me the grace never to waver at Your promise through unbelief, and strengthen me in faith and confidence in You and Your Word, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

The Happy God

 Sound doctrine [is] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed [that is, happy] God. (1 Timothy 1:10–11)

A great part of God’s glory is his happiness.

It was inconceivable to the apostle Paul that God could be denied infinite joy and still be all-glorious. To be infinitely glorious was to be infinitely happy. He used the phrase, “the glory of the happy God,” because it is a glorious thing for God to be as happy as he is — infinitely happy.

God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination.

This is the gospel: “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” That’s a quote from the Bible! It is good news that God is gloriously happy.

No one would want to spend eternity with an unhappy God. If God is unhappy, then the goal of the gospel is not a happy goal, and that means it would be no gospel at all.

But, in fact, Jesus invites us to spend eternity with a happy God when he says, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). Jesus lived and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full (John 15:11; 17:13). Therefore, the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.”

The happiness of God is first and foremost a happiness in his Son. Thus when we share in the happiness of God, we share in the very pleasure that the Father has in the Son.

This is why Jesus made the Father known to us. At the end of his great prayer in John 17, he said to his Father, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). He made God known so that God’s pleasure in his Son might be in us and become our pleasure in him.

Justice Will Be Done

 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.

And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt and bitterness is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone.

That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it.

So we hold on to anger, and play the events or the words over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he (or she) be so happy when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong! We can’t let it go. And our bitterness starts to poison everything.

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to us by God to lift that burden from us.

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you?

Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. There was.

But it also does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No they didn’t.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the One to whom it belongs. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You lay it down. I will pick it up. Justice will be done.

What a glorious relief. I do not have to carry this burden. It is like taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love.

CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY OCTOBER 05, 2021.

SUBJECT: CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!

Memory verse: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude vs 3.)

READ: First Timothy 6 vs 12 - 14:

6:12: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

6:13: I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,

6:14: That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.

INTIMATION:

Christianity is not a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act. We must contend earnestly for the faith we profess; we must have an active faith, training hard, sacrificing, and doing what we know is right. The Bible is the “Mandate” book for all believers, and it requires our careful, persistent, thorough study, and meditation on the word of God to ensure we do all that is contained therein. Hence, God said to Joshua:

“This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shalt meditate in it day and night, that you may .observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1 vs 8.)

To contend for the faith we profess, we must strive to do all the instructions and commandments written in the Bible as true followers of Christ. The truth of the Bible must not be compromised because it gives us the real facts about Jesus and salvation. When it is compromised, twisted or manipulated, we can become confused over right and wrong and lose sight of the only path that leads to eternal life; the ultimate strive for our faith. We run the race to obtain the crown of glory; eternal life with Him.

Knowing the truth helps us contend effectively for our faith. To know the truth we should take God’s instruction to Joshua quoted above. By studying the Bible, and meditating on it, we receive revelations in the knowledge of God through the Holy Spirit. Without study, we cannot know what to defend regarding our faith. You must understand the basic doctrines of the faith we are contending for so that you can recognize false doctrines and prevent wrong teaching from undermining your faith and hurting others.

While knowledge is important, it cannot substitute personal relationship with Christ. To earnestly contend for the faith, your personal relationship with Christ is very essential. Through that relationship, God has given us the Holy Spirit as a teacher. Unattached to God, we may know everything, but understand nothing. Attached to Christ, we are given spiritual understanding as well as experiences with Christ that underscore our faith. For Christ said clearly, “...For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15 vs 5).

The apostle Paul, in First Corinthians 9 vs 24 - 28, gives an illustration of striving or contending for the faith. He says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 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. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

In his illustration, winning a race requires purpose and discipline, and the Christian life is like a race; it takes hard work, self-denial, and exhausting preparation. As Christians, we are running toward our heavenly reward. The essential disciplines of prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditating on the Word, praise, and thanksgiving equip us to run with vigor and stamina. A Christian eager to contend or strive for the faith, do not merely observe from the grandstand like spectators; or like an unserious athlete who just turn out to jog a couple of laps each morning. Serious Christians should be diligent in contending for the faith, knowing that their spiritual progress depends upon it.

This striving requires self-discipline. It demands an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses, with emphasis on the later. Consequently, being strong-willed; building the will to say no when a powerful appetite inside you screams yes. For example, when you have self-discipline, you can (1) say no to friends or situations that will lead you away from Christ, (2) say no to casual sex, saving intimacy for marriage, and (3) say no to laziness in favor of “I have the ability,” “I can do it” or “I will do it.” Self-discipline is a long, steady course in learning attitudes that do not come naturally, and channeling natural appetites toward God’s purposes. 

Even today, some Christians minimize the sinfulness of sin, believing that how they live has little to do with their faith. But what a person truly believe will show up in how he or she acts. Those who truly have faith will show it by their deep respect for God and their sincere desire to live according to the principles in His Word.

In our fellowship with other believers, we also can contend for the faith by remaining unified on the essentials—the belief that unifies us. While Christians can certainly disagree on many non-essentials (music in worship, methods of worship, methods of outreach), we must always defend the truth of the basics of our faith as found in God’s Word. Avoiding distractions of enemies of our faith, whose main aim is to sow seeds of discord among believers.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to contend for the faith, doing all that is required of me to demonstrate my faith in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Joy Unbound

 “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

That’s what Jesus prayed the night before he died. Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world.

One is that nothing in this created world has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts.

Another is that we lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth.

And a third obstacle standing in the way of complete satisfaction is that our joys here come to an end. Nothing lasts. But if the aim and the prayer of Jesus in John 17:26 come true, all this will change. He prayed “that the love with which you, Father, have loved me may be in them.” God’s infinitely well-pleased love for his Son in us!

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure in the Son, then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating.

No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God.

Moreover, our ability to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses. We will enjoy the Son of God with the very enjoyment of his Father. That’s what Jesus prayed for!

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours — our delight in the Son. And this will never end, because neither the Father nor the Son ever ends.

Their love for each other will be our love for them and therefore our loving them will never die, nor ever diminish.