Fear and Hope in God’s Jealousy

 “The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14)

God is infinitely jealous for the honor of his name, and responds with terrible wrath against those whose hearts should belong to him but go after other things, like a spouse running after another lover.

For example, in Ezekiel 16:38–40 he says to faithless Israel,

“I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber. . . . They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.”

I urge you to listen to this warning. The jealousy of God for your undivided love and devotion will always have the last say. Whatever lures your affections away from God with deceptive attraction will come back to strip you bare and cut you in pieces.

It is a horrifying thing to use your God-given life to commit adultery against the Almighty.

But for those of you who have been truly united to Christ and who keep your vows to forsake all others and cleave only to him and live for his honor — for you the jealousy of God is a great comfort and a great hope.

Since God is infinitely jealous for the honor of his name, anything and anybody who threatens the good of his faithful wife will be opposed with divine omnipotence. That’s good news for the faithful wife — the faithful people of God.

God’s jealousy is a great threat to those who play the harlot and sell their heart to the world and make a cuckold out of God (James 4:3–4). But his jealousy is a great comfort to those who keep their covenant vows and become strangers and exiles in the world.

REJOICE ALWAYS IN THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 16, 2021.

SUBJECT : REJOICE ALWAYS IN THE LORD!

Memory verse: "Rejoice always.” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 16.) 

READ: Philippians 3 vs 1; 4 vs 4:

3:1: Finally, My brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice.

INTIMATION:

To rejoice is to delight, be joyful, be happy, or make happy. To rejoice in the Lord is to be joyful, happy, delighted, or gladdened in the Lord for who He is, and what He does, is doing, and can do. Rejoicing is pleasing to God hence His demand on people to be joyful. God encourages joy. God doesn’t intend for religion to be only meditation and introspection. He also wants us to celebrate. 

Serious reflection and immediate confession of sin is essential of course. But this should be balanced by celebrating who God is and what He has done, is doing, and can do for His people. Therefore, worship involves both celebration and confession. In believers meetings, there are times of meditations and celebration—rejoicing in the Lord and demonstration of His goodness. 

One of the feasts that God gave to Moses for the children of Israel is the feast of Tabernacles, also called the feast of ingathering (Leviticus 23 vs 33 - 44). It was a special celebration involving the whole family that lasts for seven whole days. The feast taught family members of all ages about God’s nature and what He had done for them, and it was a time for renewed commitment to God. 

In our societies in the world today, families need rituals of celebration to renew our faith and to pass it on to our children. Among Christians are Christmas and Easter. Also, Churches and Fellowships have other special days to commemorate God’s goodness and nature. 

But the apostle Paul tells us that rejoicing in the Lord should be a constant practice for us. It was so important to him that he emphasized the word ‘rejoice’ twice in a verse of just nine words (Philippians 4 vs 4.) In his letter from the prison in Rome to the church in Philippi, he emphasized the need of rejoicing in the Lord always. Although, it seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice. But his attitude teaches us an important lesson: As believers in Christ, and trusting in God, our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him.

It is in our nature to get easily discouraged about unpleasant circumstances. It’s also easy for us to take unimportant events too seriously. There are times when the last thing we want to do is rejoice. Our mood is down, our situation is out of hand, and our sorrow or guilt is overwhelming. Yes, but this is as a result of your not looking at life from the right perspective: Your focus is on the circumstance you face, instead of on Him who controls all circumstances. 

We can relate to the writers of the psalms in the Bible who often felt the way stated above. But no matter how low the writers felt, they were always honest with God. And as they talked to God, their prayers ended in praise. When you don’t feel like rejoicing, tell God how you truly feel, be attentive, and you will find out that God will give you a reason to rejoice; Even now, God has given you that day, that hour to live and to serve Him, be glad!!

You may not have been joyful because you have a wrong perspective of life. For instance, in the event of someone abusing you, calling you names indicative of the person’s regard of you as useless, such circumstance is mostly unpleasant and discouraging. But such should not be taken serious, and not worry you, knowing that the ultimate assessment that matters is God’s assessment, not fellow human’s assessment. “Let God be true and every man a liar” (Romans 3 vs 4.)

Several occasions necessitate our rejoicing in the Lord always. They include: (1) His Incarnation—the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ, (2) God’s power available to us, (3) His presence with the Father interceding for us, (4) His presence with us, (5) His ultimate triumph, (6) Hearing the gospel, (7) Our salvation, (8) Receiving the Lord, (9) Our enrollment in heaven, (10) Our liberty in Christ, (11) Our hope in Christ, (12) Our prospect of reward, and (13) The obedience and godly conduct of fellow believers. 

The apostle Paul, gives us three very important commands—be joyful, never stop praying, and be thankful (First Thessalonians 5 vs 16 - 18). Our joy, prayers, and thankfulness should be continuous, and not fluctuating with our circumstances or feelings. However, obeying these commands often go against our natural inclinations. But when we make a conscious decision to do what God says, we will begin to see life and people in the right perspective as God sees it. And when we do God’s Will, we will find it easier to be joyful and thankful.

Prayer: Abba Father, engrace me to rejoice in You always; having the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that I may be called a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that You may be glorified, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Plan for Prayer

 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. . . . These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:7–8, 11)

Prayer pursues joy in fruitful fellowship with Jesus, knowing that God is glorified when we bear fruit in answer to prayer. Why do God’s children so often fail to have consistent habits of happy, fruitful prayer?

Unless I’m badly mistaken, one of the reasons is not so much that we don’t want to, but that we don’t plan to.

If you want to take a four-week vacation, you don’t just get up one summer morning and say, “Hey, let’s go today!” You won’t have anything ready. You won’t know where to go. Nothing has been planned.

But that is how many of us treat prayer. We get up day after day and realize that significant times of prayer should be a part of our life, but nothing is ready.

We don’t know where to go. Nothing has been planned. No time. No place. No procedure. And we all know that the opposite of planning is not a wonderful flow of deep, spontaneous experiences in prayer. The opposite of planning is the same old rut.

If you don’t plan a vacation, you will probably stay home and watch TV. The natural, unplanned flow of spiritual life sinks to the lowest ebb of vitality. There is a race to be run and a fight to be fought. If you want renewal in your life of prayer, you must plan to see it.

Therefore, my simple exhortation is this: Let us take time this very day to rethink our priorities and how prayer fits in. Make some new resolve. Try some new venture with God. Set a time. Set a place. Choose a portion of Scripture to guide you.

Don’t be tyrannized by the press of busy days. We all need midcourse corrections. Make this a day of turning to prayer — for the glory of God and for the fullness of your joy.

BOLDLY COME BEFORE THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 15, 2021.

SUBJECT : BOLDLY COME BEFORE THE LORD!

Memory verse: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4 vs 16.)

READ: Hebrews 10 vs 19 - 22:

10:19: Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

10:20: by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

10:21: and having a High Priest over the house of God,

10:22: let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

INTIMATION:

Prayer is our approach to God, and we are to come boldly. He is our Loving and Faithful Father. And He is also our King. We go to Him with reverence for who He is—our Holy Sovereign, and Awesome God. But also we will come to Him with bold assurance because He is our Father, Friend, Counselor, Compassionate, Faithful, and Loving Father. 

Being bold is being courageous which is a commandment from God Himself. In Joshua 1 vs 9, God said to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord Your God is with you wherever you go.” What else will anybody want than God’s presence wherever you go? Jesus emphasized this when He said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mathew 28 vs 20.) And today, we have the privilege of His being with us through the Holy Spirit indwelling us. 

The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God within all believers, helping us live as God wants, and with the assurance of His help, we can appropriate the Spirit’s power each day in our daily lives. He knows everything about us because He is present with us. Haven known this, therefore, we should come boldly before Him, knowing He already knows everything about us. Some Christians approach God meekly with heads hung low, afraid to ask Him to meet their needs, and often forget what to say and how to say it. Others pray flippantly, giving little thought to what they say. The Bible in Ephesians 3 vs 12 says, "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him." 

It is an awesome privilege to be able to approach God with freedom and confidence, which Jesus Christ has instituted for us in redemption. Christ’s sacrifice transforms our lives and hearts and makes us clean on the inside. Our clean conscience allow us to enter God’s presence with boldness. By faith in Christ we can enter directly into God's presence through prayer. We know we'll be welcomed with open arms because we are God's children through our union with Christ. Don't be afraid of God. Come boldly, talk with Him about everything. He is waiting to hear from you.

Show me a child who is bold before the father, and I will show a believer who approaches our Heavenly Father with boldness. The believer knows He is the Father, and is aware of his or her right before the Father, and therefore, comes with all boldness to access his or her rights. It is a natural inclination that a child is as bold as a lion before the father, assured of his love, and readiness to offer the needed help as may be required. A child believes the father can do anything for him or her, hence the child’s demands with boldness on the father for anything he or she wants. 

It’s the same with our Heavenly Father. We should come boldly, and with full assurance of His love for us His children, and place our demands before Him, knowing His commitment to us as His children. Jesus said something remarkable about the father and child relationship: “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?. If you then, being evil, knows how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7 vs 9 - 11.) As earthly fathers, and fallible human beings, they are mindful of their child’s comfort and cares, how much more our Loving Father, Holy and perfect, who is love Himself. With all full assurance of His care for His children, we should approach Him with courage, knowing He is always there for us.

I remember when my children were growing up, when I am set to leave the house in the morning, they will come boldly to me with their requests, demanding that their request be met immediately or they extract a commitment from me on those request. And honestly I do my best to meet their needs in order not to diminish their natural inbuilt confidence in me as their father. How much more our Heavenly Father, the Creator and Owner of the entire ‘world and all its fullness,’ (Psalm 50 vs 12), He is always there for us, and encourages us to come boldly with our requests.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your lovingkindness is beyond description. Endue me with the spirit of boldness to approach Your throne with full assurance of Your unending love for me, that I may obtain mercy and find grace to face all circumstances of life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

WORDS WORK WONDERS AS WELL AS BLUNDERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 14, 2021.

SUBJECT: WORDS WORK WONDERS AS WELL AS BLUNDERS!

Memory verse: "You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth" (Proverbs 6 vs 2).

READ:  Psalm 19 vs 14; 141 vs 3:

19:14: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer

141:3: Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.

INTIMATION:

Words can work wonders, but they can also work blunders! Do you realize that multitude of people fail in life because they speak failure? They fear failure and allow their fear to overcome their faith. What you say locates you. You will not and cannot rise above your own words. If you speak defeat, failure, anxiety, sickness, and unbelief, you will live on that level. Neither you nor anyone else, no matter how clever, will ever live above the standard of their words (conversation/confession). This spiritual principle is unalterable. If your word (conversation/confession) is foolish, trifling, unpractical, or disorganized, your life invariably will be the same way. With your words, you constantly paint a picture of your inner self. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the. Heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12 vs 34).

As believers, what we say is what we usually get. The confession of our mouth is our possession. The affirmations of the truth, as contained in the Word of God, should ring from our lips constantly. We are told to hold fast to the truth without wavering. The penalty of wavering in our confession is that we deny ourselves God's promises and the performance of them (James 1 vs 6 - 7).  Christianity is called the 'Great Confession.' All things we are identified with in Christ—salvation, healing, deliverance—are dependent upon our confessing the Lordship of Jesus with our lips from a believing heart (Romans 10 vs 8 -10). 

If you think back on your life, you will probably agree that most of your troubles have been tongue troubles. The Bible says, "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles" (Proverbs 21 vs 23). Numerous troubles are caused by an unruly tongue! Words spoken in the heat of the moment; words of anger, words of harshness, words of retaliation, words of bitterness, words of unkindness. These words produce trouble for us. 

Beloved let make these our prayers now: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19 vs 14). "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141 vs 3). It's really important that we let God help us overcome our unruly speech habits, for our words can work blunders and get us into trouble. A negative confession can produce negative results. 

Confession is made with the mouth, not only for the good things God has promised us, but also for sickness, defeat, bondage, lack, and failure. Refuse to have a bad confession. Refuse to have a negative confession. Repudiate a dual confession, when you are saying at one moment, "with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53 vs 5) and at the next moment, "But the pain is still there." 

Go to higher level of living in the kingdom of God. Believe that you are who God says you are. Think that way. Talk that way. Act that way. Train yourself to live on the level of what is written about you in God's Word. Do not permit your thoughts, your words, or your actions to contradict what God says about you. Although you may  not master positive confession in a day or even a week, you will learn it as you continue to walk in it faithfully. Because God has said it, we may boldly say the same thing! 

Avoid careless speech because it is a vicious habit. When one realizes that his words are the coin of his kingdom and that his words can be either a cursing influence or a blessing, he will learn to value the gift of speech. The word is a seed (Luke 8 vs 11), and if spoken from a poisoned mind, it is a disaster. An idle word spoken aloud may fall into the soil of someone's heart and poison his entire life. Learn to control your tongue.

James wrote that the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! (James 3 vs 5). On the average, a person opens his or her mouth approximately 700 times a day to speak. Like David, we should wisely asked God to keep us from speaking evil—even when undergoing persecution. Jesus Himself was silent before His accusers (Matthew 26 vs 63). Knowing the power of the tongue, we would do well to ask God to guard what we say so that our words will bring honor to His name. 

Every word and thought of ours would be examined by God first, and we will give account of them in the day of judgement (Matthew 12 vs 36). Ask God to approve your words and reflections as though they were offerings brought to the altar. As you begin each day, determine that God’s love will guide what you say and how you think.

Prayer: Abba Father, let the light of Your word so shine in my heart that I may, at all times, speak Your love that is poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit. Let my speech be salted with lovely and caring words that I may earn Your approval, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God Heals by Humbling

 “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.” (Isaiah 57:18–19)

In spite of the severity of man’s disease of rebellion and willfulness, God will heal. How will he heal? Isaiah 57:15 says that God dwells with the crushed and humble. Yet the people of Isaiah 57:17 are not humble. They are brazenly pursuing their own proud way. So, what will a healing be?

It can only be one thing. God will heal them by humbling them. He will cure the patient by crushing his pride. If only the crushed and humble enjoy God’s fellowship (Isaiah 57:15), and if Israel’s sickness is a proud and willful rebellion (Isaiah 57:17), and if God promises to heal them (Isaiah 57:18), then his healing must be humbling and his cure must be a crushed spirit.

Isn’t this Isaiah’s way of prophesying what Jeremiah called the new covenant and the gift of a new heart? He said, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. . . . 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 31:31, 33).

Isaiah and Jeremiah both see a time coming when a sick, disobedient, hard-hearted people will be supernaturally changed. Isaiah speaks of healing. Jeremiah speaks of writing the law on their hearts. And Ezekiel puts it like this: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26)

So the healing of Isaiah 57:18 is a major heart transplant — the old hardened, proud, willful heart of stone is taken out, and a new soft, tender heart is put in, which is easily humbled and crushed by the memory of sin and the sin that remains.

This is a heart that the lofty One whose name is Holy will dwell with forever.

BE MINDFUL OF THE WORDS YOU SPEAK!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 13, 2021.

SUBJECT: BE MINDFUL OF THE WORDS YOU SPEAK!

Memory verse: "But I say to you that every idle word men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement."(Matthew 12 vs 36.)

READ: Ephesians 4 vs 29; 5 vs 4; Colossians 3 vs 8:

Ephesians 4:29: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impact grace to the hearers.

5:4: neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving thanks. 

Colossians 3:8: But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

INTIMATION:

Words are powerful. Because they can lead to great sin, we should use them with great care. What you say and what you don’t say are both important. We should be very careful to choose our words, knowing that we are accountable to God for every idle word we speak. All believers should remain true to their confession of faith. 

There are three classes of words. The first is neutral, colorless, empty, soulless words. These constitute the general conversation of most people. They are just empty words of the monotone, there is no power, no soul, no color, and no life in such words, just sounds thrown out in the air. For instance when you ask somebody 'how are you,' and the person replies, 'well I am there.' You feel the emptiness, hopelessness, soulless, life-lacking nature in the words spoken by the person. 

The second class of words comprises constructive words, strength-building words, healing words, and inspirational words. These are thrilling, mighty, and dominant words, and they are pregnant with hope, love, and victory. For instance, when you are asked the same question, 'how are you,' no matter the situation you may be in, you boldly answer; I am doing real good, "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against this day" (Second Timothy 1 vs 12); "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me" (Ephesians 3 vs 20); "He supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4 vs 19); "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4 vs 13); and "God is for me, and nobody can be against me" (Romans 8 vs 31).

The third class is composed of destructive, hate-filled words full of scandal, jealousy, and deadly virus, they come from a heart full bitterness, and are sent out to wound, blight, and curse. When asked the same question as above, the reply might be 'Can't you see how this wicked world has kept me'; 'I never knew I will see today'; 'life is hopeless.' Improper language should have no place in the Christian’s conversation because it does not reflect God’s gracious presence in us. Also, obscene stories and coarse jokes are common that we begin to take them for granted. How can we praise God and remind others of His goodness when we are speaking coarsely? 

Be careful, what you say is what you get. Choose to speak constructive words, say what God said boldly, with faith, and obtain His promises attached, because He is faithful who had promised (Hebrews 11 vs 11). 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to always speak constructively, confessing Your Word in faith, that I may obtain the promises according to Your Word, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!