Authentic Faith Is Eager for Christ to Come

 

Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)

What must you do so that you may know that your sins are taken away by the blood of Christ, and that, when he comes, he will shield you from the wrath of God and bring you into eternal life? The answer is this: Trust Christ in a way that makes you eager for him to come.

The text says he is coming to save those who are “eagerly waiting for him.” So how do you get ready? How do you experience the forgiveness of God in Christ and prepare to meet him? By trusting him in a way that makes you eager for him to come.

This eager expectation for Christ is simply a sign that we love him and believe in him — really believe in him, authentically.

There is a phony faith that wants only escape from hell, but has no desire for Christ. That kind of faith does not save. It does not produce an eager expectation for Christ to come. In fact, it would rather that Christ not come for as long as possible, so that it can have as much of this world as possible.

But the faith that really holds on to Christ as Savior and Lord and Treasure and hope and joy is the faith that makes us long for Christ to come. And that is the faith that saves.

So I urge you, turn from the world, and from sin. Turn to Christ. Receive him, welcome him, embrace Christ not just as your fire insurance policy, but as your eagerly awaited Treasure and Friend and Lord.

WHAT WORSHIP TO GOD IS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JANUARY 17, 2022.

SUBJECT : WHAT WORSHIP TO GOD IS! 

Memory verse: ""But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."(John 4 vs 23.)

READ: Psalm 96 vs 1 - 9:

96:1: Oh sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

96:2: Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

96:3: Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people.

96:4: For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

96:5: For all the gods of the peoples are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

96:6: Honour and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

96:7: Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength.

96:8: Give to the LORD the glory due to His name: bring an offering, and come into His courts.

96:9: Oh worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: tremble before him, all the earth.

INTIMATION:

The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture. A consideration of the verbs that precede the object of worship shows that it is not confined to praise. Worship to the Lord is broadly regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God; of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such accomplishment. Worship should occupy the core of our lives and not just a few minutes once a week. 

God alone is worthy of being worshipped because of who He is! We are to sincerely, willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence, not just going through the motions. We can worship at any time if we stay aware of God’s presence and guidance in all situations and if we maintain an attitude of serving Him. To truly develop the attitude of worship to God, you should build your life around the worship of God rather than making worship just another activity in a busy schedule. 

The first step toward meaningful worship is a desire to know God. If we thirst for Him, the Bible promises that He will provide for us and satisfy our needs. Confess your sins that might be hindering your fellowship with God. Then ask God to stir your heart, to instill within you an unquenchable thirst to know Him. Meditate upon how God has revealed Himself in the Bible, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you again. When you see God in a new way, of who really He is, worship will be your only fitting response.

When you follow a worship ritual but maintain a sinful lifestyle, it’s not true worship. It is religion without personal commitment to God. Attending church, taking communion, teaching church school, singing in choir and so forth, all are empty exercises unless we are truly doing them for God. It is good to do these activities, not because we ought to do them for the church, but because we want to do them for God. God's heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment of the worshiper.

When people claim to be close to God, but they are disobedient and merely going through the motions, such people come near to God with their mouth and honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. Their worship is only routine rather than real. It is noteworthy that we are all capable of hypocrisy. Often we slip into routine patterns when we worship and neglect to give God our love and devotion. 

It takes time to worship, and setting aside the time allows us to adjust our attitudes before and reflect afterward. The pressures of everyday life may cause us to focus on the here and now and thus forget God. True worship is so important; it takes our eyes off our current worries, gives us a glimpse of God’s holiness, and allows us to look toward His future kingdom. God desires wholehearted worship. We show our commitment when we give God something of value to Him. God’s presence makes everything glorious, and worship brings us into His presence. 

Worship is not for your benefit, but for the benefit of who you offer it to—the Lord. Whatever anybody does that brings glory, honor, and is pleasurable to God is worship. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, honor, and pleasure of God. You may not like the way I dance in the church, but if I dance to bring glory, honor, and pleasure to God, it is true worship. 

Any act of worship that is intended to please oneself is worshiping for the wrong reason—to please yourself, rather than God. Worship isn't for you. It's for God. Of course, most "worship" services also include elements of fellowship, edification, exhortation, and evangelism, and these are benefits to worship, but we don't worship to please ourselves. Our motive it to bring glory and pleasure to our Creator.

For many people, worship is just synonymous with music, especially slow style of music. They say such things as, "In our church we have worship first, then teaching." Or, "First we sing hymns, then praise and worship songs." Or, "I like the fast praise songs but enjoy the slow worship songs the most." All these are misconceptions. Every act of bringing glory to God or every part of a church service, is an act of worship; praying, Scripture reading, singing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving offering, baptism, communion, signing a commitment card, and even greeting other worshipers.

Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. God loves all kinds of music because He invented it all; the fast, and slow, the loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship. There are no styles nor music notes in the Bible. 

Frankly, the music style you like best says more about you—your background and personality—than it does about God. One ethnic group's music can sound like noise to another. But God likes variety and enjoys it all. There are no such thing as Christian music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of true worship to You, that I may worship You acceptably, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Love the Giver More Than The Gifts

 

Today : Love the Giver More Than The Gifts

 

TODAY’S VERSE

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. – At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, ‘Are you also going to leave?’” Matthew 6: 66-67 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S THOUGHT

Sometimes we don’t get it. Our priorities get all mixed up. Like many of Jesus’ disciples, we follow Him for the food and miracles. We want His blessings. We have the offer of a deep relationship with God and yet we would rather have the blessings than the blesser. After all the time they spent together, Jesus still had to ask His disciples, “Are you also going to leave?” In his book, “The Pressures Off”, Dr. Larry Crabb writes, “Until we develop a taste for God, we prefer a better life of blessings from God over a better hope of intimacy with Him.” But what happens when blessings don’t come? What happens when the job we wanted doesn’t pan out, when sickness interrupts our plans, our children don’t act the way we think they should? When our eyes are on our circumstances and not our creator, it is easy to get discouraged. We can lose hope and become bitter. Why, because we have worshipped the gifts and not the giver, the blessings and not the blesser. Today, we need to renew our love for God. Knowing Him is the real blessing. We need to love God, who alone is our source of our joy. No matter what circumstances come our way, as we develop a relationship with God and truly love Him, we will find true peace and joy in life. 

 

TODAY’S PRAYER

Father, help me love You today more than ever. Help me seek You more than Your blessings. Help me understand Your love for me and the incredible joy that is mine as I follow You.

AMEN

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION

I desire to know God more

It’s about trust and knowing that His love for us is real. Today meditate on His unconditional love for you. Let the thought of His love overtake your senses. Ask Him to open the, “eyes of your heart” that you may truly know how great His love is for you. Go from a “head” knowing to a “heart” knowing. Feel His love. See God Almighty looking at you, holding you and touching you with His love. Ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His love. More than blessings, more than fame, more than success, more than honor today desire Him.  

HOW TO ENSURE THE FULFILLMENT OF A PROPHECY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JANUARY 16, 2022.

SUBJECT : HOW TO ENSURE THE FULFILLMENT OF A PROPHECY!

Memory verse: "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare." (First Timothy 1 vs 18.) 

READ: Second Peter 1 vs 19 - 21:

1:19: And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 

1:20: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 

1:21: for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

INTIMATION:

In the Scriptures, prophecy signifies the speaking forth of the mind and counsel of God. Every prophecy is God's plan unfolded through a human vessel. It is the forth-telling of the will of God, whether with reference to the past, the present, or the future, through the spoken or written word of God. It is also a prophetic prediction of the future. Though much of the Old Testament prophecy was purely predictive, it is not necessarily, nor even primarily fire-telling. It is a declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means; it is the knowledge of the future (usually said to be obtained from a divine source), and uttered under divine inspiration.

In the passage we read today, the apostle Peter stated that, "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." What this means is that the Scriptures did not come from the creative work of the prophets' own invention or interpretation. God inspired the writers, so their message is authentic and reliable. God used the talents, education, and cultural background of each writer; and God cooperated with the writers in such a way to ensure that the message He intended was faithfully communicated in the very words they wrote.

So whatever God says to you through the Scriptures or through a human vessel (in prophecy) is His plan for you, and as far as He is concerned, it is settled. But what many Christians don't understand is that most prophecies don't get fulfilled without the application of certain kingdom forces.

You don't watch prophecies, you war with them, until they come into reality. In fact, a prophecy may look like falsehood or mockery, if you don't know what it takes to make it happen. There are oppositions that have set themselves to block your access into your promise land, so you must do something to make that prophecy a reality. 

To ensure the fulfillment of prophecy, you war with it, by going to God in prayers with the spoken word (the prophecy), reminding Him of His commitment to perform what He has spoken. Then you turn to the enemy and declare what is written concerning you, and that his  activities are forbidden around you. 

God asks you to "Present your case, ...Bring forth your strong reasons." (Isaiah 41 vs 21.) Therefore, come before Him in prayers, reminding Him of what He said. He compels you to come and contend together with Him on what He said; stating your case appropriately before Him, that you may be acquitted, (See Isaiah 43 vs 26). Take His Word back to Him. God is faithful and He cannot deny Himself. He is committed to do anything He has said. 

For instance, in Deuteronomy 2 vs 24, God said to the children of Israel, "Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look , I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it and engage him in battle." God had given the children of Israel the land, but the devil somewhere is saying, "No, you can't have it." God's instruction to them was, "Rise up! Don't sit there expecting it to drop into your laps! Begin to possess what is yours; challenge and fight any opposition to your possessing what is given to you. And because God has spoken and given to you, the battle is already won if you obey because the battle is of the Lord’s. This tells you that you don't wait for things to happen, you make them happen. 

God says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29 vs 11.) God has good thoughts and plans of a glorious future for us all. And He shows us how to bring them to pass: "Then you will call upon Me, and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”  (Jeremiah 29 vs 12 - 13.)

That means, "When you wait and you don't see the things I told you of, come and ask Me of them in prayers." It takes intercession and seeking the face of God to see the fulfillment of the great plans and visions He had told you about. God has set an expected end before you, but you must call upon Him and seek Him with all your heart if you want to enjoy it. Your seeking Him is an indication that you have faith in Him, and believes He can do what He has said.

The Scripture says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) God assures us that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess—will be rewarded.

Any Word of God or prophecy that you have received and believed will surely bring forth when you apply the relevant force or power of prayer to it. The Word is a seed (Luke 8 vs 11); but no matter how precious any seed may be, without planting the seed, it will never germinate, and without watering it when it is planted, it will die in the ground. Planting the seed of the Word is tantamount to believing the Word and exercising your faith in Him. Watering the planted seed is tantamount to applying the relevant prayer force or manure, as instructed by God, for effective reaping of the harvest resulting from the yield of the planted and nurtured seed.

Maybe you have sat down with that word too long. You can't keep on saying, "It will come to pass one day." Or keep saying, "Let the Will of God be done," nothing will happen without proper work. Rise up now and do what it takes to make it come to pass. Pray it down! May you never fail to obtain your promise from God in prophecy, in Jesus’ name. 

Prayer: Abba Father, forever Your Word is settled in heaven. Give me the grace to contend with You in prayers, that I may receive from You according to Your Word which You hasten to perform, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

Surrender

 

Today : Surrender

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God.” Romans 6:12-13 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Sometimes we emphasize the wrong thing. We try to stop the darkness instead of turning on the light. We punish negative behavior and never reward what is done right. We save our money so tightly that we don’t spend money on great opportunities that come our way. It seems that Paul was going to do the same thing. He writes, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.” Now how hard is that? How joyful will that experience be? Don’t get me wrong, Paul is completely right! We must watch sin in our life. We dare not get loose with our life and live out sinful whims. But there is a better way. Paul finishes his thoughts by saying, “Instead, give yourselves completely to God.” How much better is that? There is real wisdom here, a real balance. If we give our self completely to God, will He not help us with the sin issue? Won’t the Holy Spirit guide us and direct us toward a righteous life? It is like the old saying, “Love God and do as you please.” If we truly love God we will only do what honors Him. So today, let’s combat sin in our life in a different way. Let’s resist sin by giving our self and everything we do and think today, completely to God.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I come to You today and completely surrender to Your control. Guide me, direct me, help me live the way You want me to. I give myself completely to You.
AMEN

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION
I give myself completely to God
Quiet yourself for a moment and consider how much do you really surrender yourself to God? Visualize God coming to you and saying, “Give your life completely to me.” What is your first feeling? Is it apprehension? Is it fear? Is it anger or mistrust? Be honest. God already knows. Tell Him about it. Tell Him how you feel and ask for His help. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in such a way that you better understand Him and yourself. Spend a quiet moment with Him and when you are ready, by faith affirm, “I give myself completely to God.”

THE NEED FOR NIGHT PRAYERS!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JANUARY 15, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE NEED FOR NIGHT PRAYERS! 

Memory verse: "Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the face of the LORD. Lift up your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” (Lamentations 2 vs 19.)

READ: Matthew 13 vs 24 - 25:

13:24: Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 

13:25: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away.

INTIMATION:

Prayer is the greatest privilege and ministry available to all Christians. Indeed everyone who seeks to take his or her place in the kingdom of God should seek or learn how to pray effectively. Because prayer is, in itself, our fellowship with the Father, He awaits us to come to him in prayers, and consequently welcomes us into fellowship with Him. Prayer is very essential for every Christian. It is noteworthy that our Master. Jesus, never taught His disciples how to preach but rather taught them how to pray. He said to His disciples "When you pray" and not "If you pray," therefore, He requires us to be in fellowship with the Father always.

Prayer is the key to constant maintenance of God’s grace in our lives. A disciplined prayer life entails going to God in prayers often, preferably three times a day; morning, afternoon and night. The psalmist in Psalm 55 vs 17 says: “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice" 

Praying in the night hours is considered the best timing as our prayers are usually interrupted during the day by the pressures of our daily schedule. In the night our concentration is highest, and our fellowship most effective. Night prayers arm us most effectively to overcome the overwhelming evils in the world. The evil doers usually perpetrate their evils in the night hours when most Christians are resting in their beds. 

In the passage we read today, Jesus told His followers a parable saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away......" (Matthew 13 vs 24 - 25.) "While men slept" the evil doers—men of the underworld—are up in their covens, in their shrines, to perpetrate evil under the cover of darkness. 

When you fellowship with the Lord in prayers in the night hours, you are in His presence; the place of maximum protection, and the glory of God expels any form of darkness around you. The prince of this world and his cohorts cannot operate in His presence; for ‘He disappoints their devices so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.’ (Job 5 vs 12.)

Jesus Christ, in His ministry on earth, has always gone up to the mountains in the night hours to pray—communing with the Father, and obtaining all the powers required for His exploits; charged up fully in the night hours of prayers in readiness for daily exploits. Then, in the day time, He only gives thanks to the Father who always hears Him in their communion in the night: "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6 vs 12.)

Jesus has always chosen the night to isolate Himself to pray to the Father. His concentration in His fellowship with the Father in the night hours is at its max. No distractions of any sorts. This practice of fellowshipping with the Father and our Messiah Jesus, in the night hours, is very essential for every Christian to win our battles against the devil and his cohorts. Our battles with them is not physical, but spiritual; "For though we walk in the flesh! we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds," (Second Corinthians 10 vs 3 - 4.) 

Praying at the end of the day (at night) is an opportunity to thank the Lord for the blessings He gives and protection He provided us to live another day. Finishing your day with prayer is a powerful way to let go of anxiety and find peace before falling asleep. Regardless of what you suffered in the day, talking to God through a night prayer will revive your faith and assist you to sleep in peace. 

Night prayers also help you review all the experiences during your day and the ways that God has been present with you. Bedtime is the perfect time of day to look back on your day and count your blessings. By praying at bedtime allows you to stop and think about all the things that happened to you during the day, and take those moments to feel the gratitude and appreciation for all the little moments.

To effectively war with the devil and his cohorts we are required to arm ourselves with the whole armor of God; “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6 vs 11 - 12.) It’s noteworthy that the whole armor of God is centered on prayer. And engaging in the spiritual warfare in prayers with the whole armor is most effective in the night hours when your concentration is at its pick.

Prayer: Abba Father, in the night hours I will come to You in prayer with my whole heart and being. I am persuaded that my petitions will receive Your attention, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

Your Spiritual Gifts

Today : Your Spiritual Gifts

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Are you aware that God has given you certain passions and abilities to use for His glory? God has given every believer at least one spiritual gift for doing His will in this world. And then His Holy Spirit nudges you to use it through a strong desire to serve Him in a way that seems to make sense for you. Paul gives examples like serving, teaching, giving and leadership. So if different people all see a need, like helping the homeless in the community, He could motivate one to serve food at a shelter, another to teach at a job readiness class, another to give of their income to provide for the needed shelter and yet another to lead a church to get involved. Each person reacted to the same problem through the way God motivated them, using the gifts he blessed them with. Today, ask God to reveal to you the different ways you could
serve Him. He has given you spiritual gifts and will show you when and where to use them.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You that You have given me spiritual gifts. Help me learn everything I can about them and help me use them for your glory.
AMEN

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION
I seek to use the Spiritual Gifts God has given me
Today try to discern what your spiritual gift is. Be your own observer. Ask God to give you wisdom and then begin to scan your own passions. Look at your life, as if you are looking down from above. Observe what kinds of situations burdens you? What passions do you seem to have? When you move to correct a situation how do you do it? What actions have you taken that seem as if they God directed? As God reveals to you your Spiritual Gifts, as Him to help you use them