BE A TRUE FRIEND!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 14, 2021.

SUBJECT: BE A TRUE FRIEND!

Memory verse: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17 vs 17.) 

READ: First Samuel 20 vs 11 - 17:

20:11: And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field. So both of them went out into the field.

20:12: Then Jonathan said to David, “The LORD God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and, indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you,

20:13: May the LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the LORD be with you, as He has been with my father.

20:14: And you shall not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, that I may not die;

20:15: but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

20:16: So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the LORD require it at the hand of David's enemies.

20:17: Now Jonathan caused David to vow, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

INTIMATION:

A friend is an intimate associate; an association of familiarity and companionship. It is a close or intimate acquaintance; a favorer, wellwisher, or supporter. A true friend will stick close, listen, care, and offer help where it is needed—in good times and bad. It is better to have one such friend than dozens of superficial acquaintances. Instead of wishing you could find a true friend, seek to become one. There are people who need your friendship. Ask God to reveal them to you, and then take on the challenge of being a true friend.

There is a vast difference between knowing someone well and being a true friend. The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty; being available to help in times of distress or personal struggles. Too many people are fair-weather friends. They stick around when the friendship helps them and leave when they are not getting anything out of the friendship. Think of your friends and assess your loyalty to them. Be the kind of true friend the Bible encourages.

As I said earlier, loyalty is the greatest evidence of true and genuine friendship. Loyalty is one of life’s most costly qualities. It is the most selfless part of love. To be loyal, you cannot live only for yourself. Loyal people do not only stand by their commitments, they are willing to suffer for them.

In the passage we read today, Jonathan is a shining example of loyalty. Sometimes he was forced to deal with conflicting loyalties: to his father, Saul, and to his friend David. His solution to that conflict teaches us both how to be loyal and what must guide loyalty. In Jonathan, truth always guided loyalty. Even the opportunity that Jonathan had to assume the power of his father never affected his loyalty to his friend David, and he refused to think of assuming that position of power. That revealed the godly nature of him. His faith in the work of God through David was greater than any thirst for power. 

True friends are not only honest about themselves, but they are also honest about you. They are able to have difficult conversations in telling you things that sometimes you may not be eager to hear. The key is that they do it in love and with grace. Jonathan said to David that nothing would destroy their bond of friendship, though they would not be in the presence of one another in the future. Regardless of the circumstances or environment, good friends are friends for life. 

Jonathan realized that the source of truth was God, who demanded his ultimate loyalty. It was his relationship with God that gave Jonathan the ability to deal effectively with the complicated solutions in his life. He was loyal to Saul because Saul was his father and the king. He was loyal to David because David was his friend. His loyalty to God guided him through the conflicting demands of his human relationships.

The conflicting demands of our relationships challenge us as well. If we attempt to settle these conflicts only at the human level, we will be constantly dealing with a sense of betrayal. But if we communicate to our friends that our ultimate loyalty to God and His truth, many of our choices will be much clearer. The truth in His Word, the Bible, will bring light to our decisions. Do those closest to you know who has your greatest loyalty? 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of selflessness, love, and loyalty to You and others. Give me the grace to be a true friend, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Making It Real for His People

 

Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, according to Hebrews 8:6. What does that mean? It means that his blood — the blood of the covenant (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 13:20) — finally and decisively purchased and secured the fulfillment of God’s promises for us.

It means that God, according to the new covenant promises, brings about our inner transformation by the Spirit of Christ.

And it means that God works this transformation in us through faith — faith in all that God is for us in Christ.

The new covenant is purchased by the blood of Christ, effected by the Spirit of Christ, and appropriated by faith in Christ.

The best place to see Christ working as the Mediator of the new covenant is in Hebrews 13:20–21:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The words “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight” describe what happens when God writes the law on our hearts in accord with the new covenant. And the words “through Jesus Christ” describe Jesus as the Mediator of this glorious work of sovereign grace.

So, the meaning of Christmas is not only that God replaces shadows with Reality, but also that he takes the Reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation under the tree, so to speak, for you to pick up in your own strength. He picks it up and puts it in your heart and in your mind and gives you the seal of assurance that you are a child of God.

The Final Reality Is Here

 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. . . . They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:1–2, 5)

We’ve seen it before. But there’s more. Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing.

Hebrews 8:1–2, 5 is a kind of summary statement. The point is that the one priest who goes between us and God, and makes us right with God, and prays for us to God is not an ordinary, weak, sinful, dying priest as in the Old Testament days. He is the Son of God — strong, sinless, with an indestructible life.

Not only that, he is not ministering in an earthly tabernacle with all its limitations of place and size while getting worn out and being moth-eaten and being soaked and burned and torn and stolen. No, Hebrews 8:2 says that Christ is ministering for us in a “true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” This is not the shadow. It’s the real thing in heaven. This is the reality that cast a shadow on Mount Sinai for Moses to copy.

According to Hebrews 8:1, another great thing about the reality which is greater than the shadow is that our High Priest is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. No Old Testament priest could ever say that.

Jesus deals directly with God the Father. He has a place of honor beside God. He is loved and respected infinitely by God. He is constantly with God. This is not shadow-reality like curtains and bowls and tables and candles and robes and tassels and sheep and goats and pigeons. This is final, ultimate reality: God and his Son interacting in love and holiness for our eternal salvation.

Ultimate reality is the persons of the Godhead in relationship, dealing with each other concerning how their majesty and holiness and love and justice and goodness and truth shall be manifest in a redeemed people.

GOD IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE BELIEVER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY DECEMBER 13, 2021.

SUBJECT: GOD IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE BELIEVER!

Memory verse: “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” (Ephesians 3 vs 12.) 

READ: Ephesians 2 vs 14 - 18:

2:14: For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 

2:15: having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 

2:16: and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 

2:17: And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 

2:18: For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father."

INTIMATION:

We were separated from God by our sins which was the consequence of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, at the garden of Eden, and further worsened by our own evil tendencies. God, in His loving kindness, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a propitiation for our sins. His death on the cross was accepted by God as the “Supreme Sacrifice” for our sins. Consequently, He abolished the separation through the gift of salvation by His death on the cross. We who were far off have been brought near in Christ Jesus by the blood of Christ.

Jesus was born of a woman—He was human. He was born as a Jew—He was subject to God’s law and fulfilled it perfectly. Thus, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice because, although He was fully human, He never sinned; He ‘was without spots nor wrinkles.’ He, therefore, became a perfect Lamb for sacrifice for our sins. His death bought freedom for us who were enslaved to sin so that we could be adopted into God’s family.

Christ has destroyed the barrier that formally existed between God and us by that “Supreme Sacrifice” on the cross. Because the wages of sin had been paid for us, our separation from God has been abolished, and we are reconciled to God through Christ. This is true reconciliation. Because of Christ’s death, we are all one; our enmity against each other has been put to death; we can all have access to the Father by the Holy Spirit; we are no longer strangers or foreigners to God; and we are all being built into a holy temple with Christ as our Chief Cornerstone. 

When you read Leviticus 16 vs 1 - 25, in the Bible, you will understand the strict instructions God gave to the high priest regarding the necessary preparations for appearing before the Lord in the Holiest of all in the tabernacle. Aaron had to spend hours preparing himself to meet God. Now, the way to God has been opened to us by Christ. We can approach God anytime. What a privilege! We are offered easier access to God than the high priests of Old Testament times! Still, we must never forget that God is holy nor let this privilege cause us to approach God carelessly. Easy access to God does not eliminate our need to prepare our hearts as we draw near in prayer.

It is an awesome privilege to be able to approach God with freedom and confidence. Most of us would be apprehensive in the presence of a powerful ruler such as the president of your country. But thanks to Christ, by faith we can enter directly into God’s presence through prayer. We know we will be welcomed with open arms because we are God’s children through our union with Christ. Don’t be afraid of God. Talk with Him about everything. He is waiting to hear from you. 

God’s loving concern does not begin on the day we are born and conclude on the day we die. It reaches back to those days before we were born and reaches ahead along the unending path of eternity. Our only sure help comes from a God whose concern for us reaches beyond our eternal existence. God is in His creation and close to every one of us. But He is not trapped in His creation—He is transcendent. God is the Creator, not the creation. This means that God is sovereign and in control, while at the same time He is close and personal. Let the Creator of the universe rule your life. 

Prayer is our approach to God, and we are to come “boldly.” Some Christians approach God meekly with heads hung low, afraid to ask Him to meet their needs. Others pray flippantly, giving little thought to what they say. Come with reverence, because He is your King. But also come with bold assurance because He is your Friend and Counselor .

The Bible makes it clear that your own body is God’s temple. Your spirit needs, and wants closeness with God. You want to know the living God personally, not as an idea or concept, not as a distant monarch. You can draw near to God through worship—prayer, praise, Bible study, and meditation. You need not live a monk, but you probably need more prayer in your life. The habit of worship should be imbibed by us, not as a convenience to be wedged between sports and recreations. Instead, make worship your top priority. The Scripture says, “Pray without ceasing” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17). Bible meditation may include verse memory, songs, and quiet personal reading. The Bible is the Word of God for you. Use it every day and you will draw nearer and nearer to God.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the privilege of easy access given to us in Christ Jesus. O God, I do not take for granted this privilege. I pray for the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to be with me always, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

OUT NUMBERED BY BISHOP TD JAKES

 

Replacing the Shadows

 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. (Hebrews 8:1–2)

The point of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has not just come to fit into the earthly system of priestly ministry as the best and final human priest, but he has come to fulfill and put an end to that system, and to orient all our attention on himself, ministering for us first on Calvary as our final Sacrifice and then in heaven as our final Priest.

The Old Testament tabernacle and priests and sacrifices were shadows. Now the reality has come, and the shadows pass away.

Here’s an Advent illustration for kids — and those of us who used to be kids and remember what it was like. Suppose you and your mom get separated in the grocery store, and you start to get scared and panic and don’t know which way to go, and you run to the end of an aisle, and just before you start to cry, you see a shadow on the floor at the end of the aisle that looks just like your mom. It makes you really hopeful. But which is better? The hopefulness of seeing the shadow, or having your mom step around the corner and it’s really her?

That’s the way it is when Jesus comes to be our High Priest. That’s what Christmas is. Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing: Mom stepping around the corner of the aisle, and all the relief and joy that gives to a little child.

CONFESSING OUR SIN RESTORES FELLOWSHIP!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 12, 2021.

SUBJECT: CONFESSING OUR SIN RESTORES FELLOWSHIP!

Memory verse: "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.)

READ: Psalm 32 vs 1 - 5:

32:1: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

32:2: Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

32:3: When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.

32:4: For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

32:5: I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

INTIMATION:

To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that He is right to declare what we have done as sinful and that we are wrong to desire or to do it. It means affirming our intention of forsaking that sin in order to follow Him more faithfully. God wants to forgive sinners. Forgiveness has always been part of His loving nature, and He dramatically showed it to the world through the offering of His only Son, Jesus Christ, for our sins. The instant you confess your sin, He is faithful, just, and righteous to forgive, and restore fellowship with you. 

Confession is supposed to free us to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It should ease our consciences and lighten our cares. But some Christians do not understand how it works. They feel so guilty that they confess the same sin over and over; then they wonder if they might have forgotten something. These Christians do not understand that God wants to forgive us. He allowed His beloved Son to die so He could offer us pardon. God forgives disobedience, puts sin out of sight, and cleans our record of guilt. Now you are to forgive yourself and forget your sins and go on in love with Him. For you to continually remind yourself of your past errors and sins is to deny the efficacy of His forgiveness and the value of His Word.

When we come to Christ, He forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit provided we confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness. We don’t need to confess the sins of the past all over again, and we don’t need to fear that God will reject us if we don’t keep our state perfectly clean. Of course we should continue to confess the sins we commit thereafter, not because failure to do so will make us lose our salvation since our relationship with Christ is secure. Instead, we should confess so that we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with Him. Joy cannot be made full without fellowship. 

In admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are (1) agreeing with God that our sin truly is sin and that we are willing to turn from it, (2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from Him and consequently from ourselves, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on His power to overcome it.  For the aforementioned reasons we need to continually confess our sins.

There is no need walking in broken fellowship a minute after you have committed sin. The devil is the author of that sin. Then to walk in broken fellowship, grieving over your blunder, is only adding joy and glory to the devil. The instant you have done wrong and your fellowship is impaired, ask for the Father's forgiveness and go on in fellowship with Him. 

In First John 2 vs 1, the Scripture says, 

"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Jesus Christ is the righteous Advocate. He can go into the Father's presence when we are under condemnation and shrink from meeting Him. He is always righteous, and can always plead our case. The instant we ask the Father's forgiveness, Jesus takes up our case before the Father and our fellowship is restored.

However, true confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn’t be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it. For the sin(s) that easily beset you, seek the power of the Holy Spirit to help you overcome it; humbly go to God in prayer for His help through the Holy Spirit indwelling you.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are our sacrificial Savior, our faithful Companion, and ever Merciful Father. In Your loving nature, You gave us Your only begotten Son to die for our sins, and He paid the price of sin we owed. Forever I remain deeply grateful to You for the free gift of salvation. Engrace me with the spirit of delightsome obedience to You in all areas of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!