Is God’s Love Conditional?

[God] gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:6–8)

James teaches us that there is a precious experience of “more grace” and God “drawing near” to us. Surely this is a wonderful experience — more grace and a special nearness of God. But I ask: is this experience of the love of God unconditional? No. It is not. It is conditional on our humbling ourselves and our drawing near to God. God “gives [more] grace to the humble. . . . Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

There are precious experiences of the love of God that require that we fight pride, seek humility, and cherish the nearness of God. Those are the conditions. Of course, the conditions themselves are the work of God in us. But they are no less conditions we fulfill.

If this is true, I fear that the unqualified, biblically careless reassurances today that God’s love is all unconditional may stop people from doing the very things the Bible says they need to do in order to enjoy all the peace that they so desperately crave. In trying to give peace through “unconditionality” we may be cutting people off from the very remedy the Bible prescribes.

To be sure, let us proclaim, loud and clear, that the divine love of election, and the divine love of Christ’s death, and the divine love of our regeneration — our new birth — are all absolutely unconditional.

And let us declare untiringly the good news that our justification is based on the worth of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice, not ours (Romans 5:19, “as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous”).

But let us also declare the biblical truth that the fullest and sweetest experiences of the grace of God and the nearness of God will be enjoyed by those who daily humble themselves and draw near to God.

LOVE GOD SUPREMELY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 07 2021.

SUBJECT: LOVE GOD SUPREMELY!

Memory verse: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14 vs 21.)

READ: John 14 vs 23 - 24:

14:23: Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

14:24: He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me.

INTIMATION:

Love is the characteristic word of Christianity. It describes the attitude of God toward His Son (John 17 vs 26), the human race (John 3 vs 16), and to such as believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14 vs 21). Love also, expresses the essential nature of God (First John 4 vs 8), it conveys His will to His children concerning their attitude one to another (John 13 vs 35), and toward all men (First Thessalonians 3 vs 12; Second Peter 1 vs 7). Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments. Therefore, self-will, that is, self-pleasing is the negation of love to God.

Jesus said that His followers should show their love for Him by obeying Him. Keeping God's commandments is the true demonstration of your love for Him. When you love God, you keep His commandments, and Jesus reciprocates by manifesting Himself in you. An intimate relationship is what God desires from you. It's the most outstanding truth in the universe—that our Creator wants to fellowship with us. 

God is love, and He made us to love us, hence He created us in His own image and after His likeness. He longs for us to love Him back. In Hosea 6 vs 6, God says, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." God says, I don't want you rituals (sacrifice); I want your love. I don't want your offerings; I want you to know Me." God deeply loves us and desires our love in return. He longs for us to know Him and spend time with Him. This is why learning to love God and be loved by Him should be the greatest objective of your life. Nothing else comes close in importance. Jesus called this the greatest commandment (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 38).

Loving God supremely puts us in an enviable position of being in partnership with Him—the Father and the Son making their home with you. I can envisage the triumphant life of such a person; who lives with Him whom nothing is difficult or impossible with, and the Owner of the whole universe and everything in it! Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11 vs 28 - 30). 

Speaking figuratively, Jesus used a yoke, a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person’s heavy burdens may be sin, oppression, persecution, unfavorable life’s circumstances, or even weariness in the search for God. Jesus frees people from all these burdens when you are in partnership with Him. The yoke is shared with Him, with weight falling on His bigger shoulders than yours. He has more pulling power, and is up front helping. Consequently, you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner, and now that frown can turn into smile, and that gripe into a song.

Jesus doesn’t offer a life of luxurious ease—the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But you are assured of His winning power and support at all times in your life’s travails. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

Love is more than lovely words; it is commitment and conduct. If you love Christ, then prove it by obeying what he says in His Word. Jesus never promised that obeying Him would be easy. But the hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love Him. And if the load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of supreme love and complete obedience to You in all things, In Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE RICH ARE RARELY HUMBLE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 06. 2021.

SUBJECT : THE RICH ARE RARELY HUMBLE!

Memory verse: "Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack; Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take the cross and follow Me." (Mark 10 vs 21.)

READ: Mark 10 vs 22 - 25:

10:22: But he was sad at this word, and went away  sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

10:23: Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"

10:24: And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

10:25: It is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

INTIMATION:

To be rich is to be affluent, wealthy, having a large fortune. The rich are people with great financial resources, having an abundant supply of desirable qualities or substances. Such people anchor their trust in their riches because they believe that with their riches they can get all they want; the financial security they have is all they need to be secure in life. Consequently, It is usually hard to find humble people among the rich because they believe they have all it takes to have all their needs met. Obviously, money represents power, authority, and success, hence it is often difficult for rich people to realize their ultimate need in life, and the powerlessness of their riches to save them. The rich in talent or intelligence suffer the same difficulty; they often put their trust in their intellect and abilities. 

A person's wealth usually makes life comfortable, and gives him or her power and prestige, hence they trust in their wealth as the very basis of their security and identity. They have what they want or can easily buy what the want. They are influential, praised, honored, and popular. Therefore, it is rather difficult for them to humble themselves to serve. It is difficult for self-sufficient persons to realize the need of Jesus in their lives. Unless God reaches down into their lives, they will not come back to Him. They do not realize that is God who owns all things—the world and its fullness (Psalm 24 vs 1; 89 vs 11), and "no man receives anything unless is given to him from heaven" (John 3 vs 27). Therefore, it is more secured to put your trust in the Giver, and not the gift. 

Humility signifies low-lying—lowliness of mind; modest, not prideful, submissive, deferential, and meek. These character traits are often lacking in the rich, because riches are mostly the worldly standard of evaluating success and achievement, and eventually cause the rich to think highly or too much about themselves. Evaluating yourself by the worldly standards of success and achievement can cause you to think too much about your worth in the eyes of others and thus miss your true value in God's eyes. The key to an honest and accurate evaluation is knowing the basis of our self-worth—our identity in Christ. Apart from Him, we aren't capable of very much by eternal standards. In Him we are valuable and capable of worthy service. 

Humility will not allow you to be influenced by praise, honor, and popularity. It helps you not to allow popularity to twist your perception of your own importance. It is comparatively easy to be humble when you're not on center stage, but when praised, pride and arrogance usually come in. Consider the incident in our memory verse and the passage in Mark we read today. Jesus is not asking believers to sell all their possessions. Most of His followers did not sell everything, although they used their possessions to serve others. Instead, this incident shows us that we must not let our possessions keep us from following Jesus. We must remove all barriers to serving Him fully, humbling ourselves before the Lord.

Let us not loose sight of the end result of all our humility and self-sacrifice—a joyous banquet with our Lord! God never asks us to suffer for the sake of suffering. He never asks us to give up something good unless He plans to replace it with something even better. Jesus is not calling us to join Him in a labor camp but in feast—the marriage super of the Lamb (Revelation 19 vs 6 - 9), when God and His beloved church will be joined forever.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of humility, that I may humble myself before You at all times, being secured in You, and nothing created by You will take the first place in my life, rather than You, the Creator, in Jesus' Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Love One Another Gladly

 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

No one has ever felt unloved because he was told that the attainment of his joy would make another person happy. I have never been accused of selfishness when justifying a kindness on the basis that it delights me. On the contrary, loving acts are genuine to the degree that they are not done begrudgingly.

And the good alternative to begrudgingly is not neutrally or dutifully, but gladly. The authentic heart of love loves kindness (Micah 6:8); it doesn’t just do kindness. Christian Hedonism forces this truth into consideration.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:2–4)

Read these sentences in reverse order and notice the logic. First, being born of God gives a power that conquers the world. This is given as the ground or basis (notice the word “For”) for the statement that the commandments of God are not burdensome.

So, being born of God gives a power that conquers our worldly aversion to the will of God. Now his commandments are not “burdensome,” but are the desire and delight of our heart. This is the love of God: not just that we do his commandments, but also that they are not burdensome.

Then in verse 2 the evidence of the genuineness of our love for the children of God is said to be the love of God. What does this teach us about our love for the children of God?

Since love for God is doing his will gladly rather than with a sense of burden, and since love for God is the measure of the genuineness of our love for the children of God, therefore our love for the children of God must also be done gladly rather than begrudgingly.

Christian Hedonism stands squarely in the service of love, for it presses us on to glad obedience, not just begrudging obedience.

Do You Neglect Your Salvation?

 How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:3)

Is there a sense of greatness in your mind about your salvation? Or do you neglect it?

Do you respond to the greatness of your salvation? Or do you treat it the way you treat your last will and testament, or the title to your car, or the deed on your house? You signed it once and it is in a file drawer somewhere, but it is not a really great thing in your mind. You rarely think about it. It has no daily effect on you. Basically, you neglect it.

But when you neglect your great salvation, what are you really neglecting? Here’s what he is saying when he says, “Don’t neglect your great salvation!”

Don’t neglect being loved by God. Don’t neglect being forgiven and accepted and protected and strengthened and guided by almighty God. Don’t neglect the sacrifice of Christ’s life on the cross. Don’t neglect the free gift of righteousness imputed by faith. Don’t neglect the removal of God’s wrath and the reconciled smile of God. Don’t neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ. Don’t neglect the radiance of God’s glory in the face of Jesus. Don’t neglect the free access to the throne of grace. Don’t neglect the inexhaustible treasure of God’s promises.

This is indeed a great salvation. Neglecting it is very evil. Don’t neglect so great a salvation. Because if you do, will there be an escape from judgment? That’s what the writer asks: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

So, being a Christian is a very serious business — not a sour business, but a serious business. We should be blood-earnest about being happy in our great salvation.

We will not be deflected by this world into the fleeting and suicidal pleasures of sin. We will not neglect our eternal joy in God — which is what the goal of this salvation is. We will gouge out our eyes rather than be lured away from such a great salvation.

STRIVE TO HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 05, 2021.

SUBJECT : STRIVE TO HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!

Memory verse: "Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2 vs 5.)

READ: Philippians 2 vs 6 - 8: 

2:6: Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

2:7: but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

2:8: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross.

INTIMATION:

The mind of Christ is humble. Jesus Christ was humble, willing to give up His rights in order to obey God, and of service to God and people. Humility is the state of being humble, not to think too highly of oneself. It means being meek or gentle. It is not self-depreciation, but rather proper respect for God.

The mind of Christ is the mind of complete obedience. Christ said of Himself: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son does in like manner."  "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." (John 5 vs 19, 30).

That you are humble does not take away anything from you. If you are a President of a country, or a Chief Executive Officer of a big corporation, and is humble, it does not change your status. Instead you are esteemed highly, and consequently receives grace—unmerited favour of God. A humble person is more secure than a proud person because humility gives a more accurate perspective of oneself, and of the world.

Truly, humble people compare themselves only with Christ, realizing their sinfulness, and understanding their limitations. On the other hand, they also recognize their gifts and strengths and are willing to use them as Christ directs, being also, realistic in their assessment, and commitment to serve. 

To humble ourselves before God, we must respect His Majesty by comparing ourselves to His greatness. When we look at creation, we realize our smallness by comparison, and to feel small is a healthy way to get back to reality, and humble ourselves before God to get His lifting (James 4 vs 10 & First Peter 5 vs 6). The psalmist in Psalm 8 vs 3 - 4 says; "When I consider Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him." 

As we look at the vast expanse of creation,  aren't you marveled at God's concern for you, who is always disappointing Him? Out of His love and care He made us in His own image, after His likeness, and only a little lower than the angels! We have great worth because we bear the stamp of the Creator. 

Jesus lived as God wanted Him to live. He never sought His own, but was completely in obedience to the Father. Now, because of our identification with Jesus, we must honor Him and live as He wants us to live. If we always ask ourselves the question in any circumstance, "What would Jesus do?" may help us make the rights choices and decisions.

We must humble ourselves before God to be able to hear His words, receive His instructions, direction, and help. In times of trouble, or when our lives fall apart, or when we sin against God, we should go before Him in deep humility and sorrow to obtain His promised help, mercy, and forgiveness of sin.  

Humility and obedience are intertwined. Obedience to God begins with humility. We must believe that His ways are better than ours, though we may not always understand His ways of working, but by humbly obeying, we will receive His blessings. Remember that God's ways are best. He wants our obedience and humility more than anything else because in these are we engraced, and exalted. 

Prayer: Abba Father, let the mind of Jesus Christ be in me that I may obey You at all times. I can of myself do nothing, but in obedience and lowliness of mind, I can do all things through You that strengthens me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 04, 2021.

SUBJECT : CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN!

Memory verse: "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. ” (Hebrews 13 vs 5.)

READ: First Timothy 6 vs 6 vs 10:

6:6: Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

6:7: For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

6:8: And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

6:9: But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

6:10: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

INTIMATION:

Contentment is being satisfied or pleased with what you have. It primarily signifies to be sufficient or satisfied. It’s not being obsessed with getting more material things, and being relaxed with what you have. The Scripture recognizes that there is great gain in being content with what we have. This signifies your trust and reliance on God which greatly helps us in spiritual growth and personal fulfillment. Contentment helps us to honor God and center our desires on Him, and be content with what He is doing in our lives.

God recognizes the attributes of man. In plenty man is likely to deny Him, and in lack man will do anything to survive, including stealing, which will eventually profane God's name. Hence the reason God wants to daily provide for us. King Solomon, in recognition of the dangers inherent in discontentment, says to God, "Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches - Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You. And say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God." (Proverbs 30 vs 8 - 9.) 

Having too much money can be dangerous; but so can having little. Being poor can, in fact, be hazardous to spiritual as well as physical health. It is for this reason that God prefers to provide for us, but on a day-by-day basis. There is every likelihood that our possessions can take away our concentration and dependence on God because we are not in need of anything hence will remember less of God.

Christian should learn how to live whether we have plenty, or whether we have need. We should take a cue from the apostle Paul who said, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content; I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need." (Philippians 4 vs 11 - 12.) 

As a Christian, are you able to be content (get along happily) in any circumstances you face? Like the apostle Paul, we should see life from God’s point of view, relying on God’s promises to provide all our needs. We should focus on what we are supposed to do, not what we feel we should have. Christians should have their priorities straight, and be grateful for everything God had given us, detaching ourselves from the nonessentials so that we could concentrate on the eternal. 

How can we learn to be content with what we have? It’s by striving to live with with less rather than desiring more; giving away out of our abundance rather than accumulating more; relishing what we have rather than resenting what we are missing. We become satisfied when we realize God’s sufficiency for our needs. 

Christians who become materialistic are saying by their actions that God can’t take care of them, or at least, He won’t take care of them the way they want. Insecurity can lead to the love of money, whether we are rich or poor. The only antidote is to trust God to meet our needs. See God’s love expressed in what He has provided, and remember that money and possessions will all pass away. Knowing that this evil world will end can give you the courage to deny yourself temporary pleasures in this world in order to enjoy what God has promised for eternity.

Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people still believe that money brings happiness. Rich people craving greater riches can be caught in an endless cycle that only ends in ruin and destruction. How can you keep away from the love of money? Apostle Paul gives some guidelines: (1) Realize that one day riches will be gone; (2) be content with what you have; (3) monitor what you are willing to do to get more money; (4) love people more than money; (5) love God’s work more than money; (6) freely share what you have with others.

There is a difference between what we need and what we want. We may have all that we need (that is, we have enough), but we let ourselves become anxious and discontent over what we merely want. Like the apostle Paul, we can choose to be content without having all that we want. The only alternative to getting our wants is to “fall into temptation and a snare” that will ultimately lead only to “destruction and perdition.”

Prayer: Abba Father, teach me contentment in every circumstance, knowing that You have promised to supply all your needs, and in a way that You know is best for me. May I never desire  nor have what You cannot give me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!