The Anchor of Joy

 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11)

“Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

Jesus revealed a secret that protects our happiness from the threat of suffering and the threat of success. That secret is this: Great is your reward in heaven. And the sum of that reward is enjoying the fullness of the glory of Jesus Christ (John 17:24).

Jesus protects our happiness from suffering when he says,

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11–12)

Our great reward in heaven rescues our joy from the threat of persecution and reviling.

He also protects our joy from success when he says,

“Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

The disciples were tempted to put their joy in ministry success. “Even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17). But that would have severed their joy from its only sure anchor.

So Jesus protects their joy from the threat of success by promising the far greater reward of heaven. Rejoice in this: that your names are written in heaven. Your inheritance is infinite, eternal, sure.

Our joy is safe. Neither suffering nor success can destroy its anchor. Great is your reward in heaven. Your name is written there. It is secure.

Jesus anchored the happiness of suffering saints in the reward of heaven. And he anchored the happiness of successful saints in the same.

And thus he freed us from the tyranny of worldly pain and pleasure — worldly suffering and worldly success.

The Battle to Remind

 

“This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” (Lamentations 3:21–22)

One of the great enemies of hope is forgetting God’s promises. Reminding is a great ministry. Peter and Paul both said that they wrote letters for this reason (2 Peter 1:13; Romans 15:15).

The main Helper in reminding us what we need to know is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). But that doesn’t mean you should be passive. You are responsible only for your own ministry of reminding. And the first one in need of reminding by you is you.

The mind has this great power: It can talk to itself by way of reminder. The mind can “call to mind,” as the text says: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (Lamentations 3:21–22).

If we don’t “call to mind” what God has said about himself and about us, we languish. Oh, how I know this from painful experience! Don’t wallow in the mire of godless messages in your own head. Messages like: “I can’t . . .” “She won’t . . .” “They never . . .” “It has never worked . . .”

The point is not that these are true or false. Your mind will always find a way to make them true, unless you “call to mind” something greater. God is the God of the impossible. Reasoning your way out of an impossible situation is not as effective as reminding yourself that God does impossible things.

Without reminding ourselves of the greatness and grace and power and wisdom of God, we sink into brutish pessimism. “I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you” (Psalm 73:22).

The great turn from despair to hope in Psalm 77 comes with these words: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11–12).

This is the great battle of my life. I assume yours too. The battle to remind! Myself. Then others.

ALWAYS INQUIRE FROM THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JANUARY 20, 2022.

SUBJECT: ALWAYS INQUIRE FROM THE LORD!

Memory verse: "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33 vs 3.)

READ: Second Samuel 5 vs 17 - 20; 22 - 25:

5:17: Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 

5:18: The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 

5:19: So David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the Lord said to David, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand." 

5:20: So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there, and he said, "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water......"

5:22: Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 

5:23: Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, "You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 

5:24: And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines. 

5:25: And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Gerba as far as Gezer.

INTIMATION:

To inquire is to ask, but it is more formal than asking. It entails showing an eagerness to find out or learn. It is to earnestly ask or investigate and receive information. God is ever willing to offer His assistance to His children who earnestly desire it. He said: “"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds  and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7 vs 7 - 8.) You must make inquiries from Him, if you really desire the way out of your predicament, for all about you is known to Him from the beginning. 

God has instructed us to inquire from Him. Prayers like, "Oh God, come and do it for me" is the prayer of babies in Christ, but, "Lord, what must I do?" Is the prayer of sons. As long as you remain a child in the kingdom, always asking for things to be done for you and crying in the face of every adversity, God’s glory never comes near you. It is sonship that attracts the glory, and responsibility is what makes a son. The Bible in Jeremiah 6 vs 16 says, "Thus says the Lord: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls...." God desires our commitment to His leading us at all times. Nothing is too little to make inquiry on. 

David was a man of inquiries, always showing his trust and confidence in God’s leading, and God stood firm for him that he never suffered any defeat or injuries as a warrior. He had access to divine instructions by prayer of inquiry, and it made a world of difference in his life. One instruction from heaven can deliver you from a lifetime of struggle. You will no longer suffer injuries in your life in Jesus’ name.

There is what you must do to commit God to listen to you. You must show God that you are dependent on His leading, hence your constantly inquiring from Him. In the passage we read today, David never moved into battle against the Philistines—their enemies, without inquiring from God on what to do. God said, "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you" (James 4 vs 8). You have your part to play and God has His; He will never play yours for you. He said, It is your drawing near to Him and making inquiries that provoke His drawing near to you with answers and instructions. 

Don't watch your life drag on endlessly. Determine to see the end of that problem—take responsibility. Make inquiries by getting into God's presence, and with your entire spirit approach Him for an answer. Do not be in a hurry, be set to get an answer and take delivery of His higher ways which will put you above whatever situation you are in. In whatever way you are missing it, He will reveal it to you when you go before Him to inquire in determination for an answer. You worship before Him, speak to Him and wait for His response, celebrating in tongues until the answer comes.

We are full of prayers of petition, calling on God to intervene and do something about our situation. But we have, more often than not, ignored the place of inquiries, and taking responsibility which is what gives us access to God's ways; the access to the secret and hidden things of life. The end of all matters are known to Him for the beginning. When you are faced with a dilemma of not knowing what next to do in life or which way to turn—you are at the cross-roads of life—you need to inquire from God in prayers what next to do. God will show up for you, and your responsibility is to put to work what He has revealed to you. 

It is a common practice by many to pray; pouring their hearts out before God, and never conscious of listening and waiting to hear from God. The communication is one way, while it ought to be two ways. When you rush out after laboring in prayers without hearing from God, how do you intend to receive divine instructions or guidance? In your quiet time after prayers, God may speak to you in His usual still small voice.

Prayer: Abba Father, lead me in all my ways, and answer me when I inquire from You; that I may walk in divine guidance, and wisdom, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

TAKE NO OFFENSE AT GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19, 2022.

SUBJECT: TAKE NO OFFENSE AT GOD!

Memory verse: "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (Matthew 11 vs 6.)

READ: Matthew 13 vs 54 - 58:

13:54: When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?

13:55: Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? and His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

13:56: And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”

13:57: So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.

13:58: Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

INTIMATION:

Our memory verse in Amplified Version Bible states thus; “And blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is he who takes no offense at Me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through Me and is not hindered from seeing the Truth." Therefore, it is unacceptable to God, and very costly for anybody, to be emotionally hurt by God—being offended at God. Any relationship that counts emotional hurts is devoid of joy and love.  Consequently, the best is never gotten in such relationship. 

Invariably, it is a blessing to love God, and put all your trust in Him, no matter the situation one faces. This can only be possible when you see life from God’s perspective; as the Creator and Owner of all things, who does His pleasure, His thoughts for you being of good only, He cares for you, and all things ultimately work together for your good for those that love Him. Any form of taking offense against God is tantamount to unbelief—not being convinced that He can take care of you adequately no matter the circumstances you face. 

Not taking offense against God is a major prerequisite in a lovely relationship with Him. Your fellowship with Him is most fruitful if you devoid of any form of unbelief. While preparing your heart to approach God in prayer, one of the things you must guard against is offenses. So many are offended in God and all they do in prayer is nothing but complain, and murmur. When you are offended in God, you turn Him against yourself; and if God is against you, who will save you? If you despise Him, who will lift you?

Our memory verse was Jesus’ admonition to the disciples John the Baptist that sat in prison and sent his disciples to Jesus to inquire from Him if He is the Christ they have longed for. John was a forerunner of Christ, sent to announce His coming to the world. He felt very strongly that as a forerunner, he ought not to be in prison, but should be out of the prison still abounding in his duty, announcing Christ. Eventually, he began to have some doubts about whether Jesus really was the Messiah. 

John expected that the coming Messiah should be able to save him from prison. When his disciples came and put John's question before Jesus; "Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11 vs 3.) Jesus knew that he was already offended in Him. He asked the disciples to go back to him with the good news of His exploits—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Obviously this will offend John the more because he already had heard all those, and wondered why He didn't want to save Him from prison. 

The wise and right thing to do when you are in doubt, because of happenings around you, is turn to Him, and not turn away from Him. Remember it was in the same prison and the same Jailer that held Paul and Silas. They were doing the work of the Messiah when they were arrested and jailed. But they didn't get offended, but instead sang and praised God while in there, and God came in His Might and Power, and saved them. But forJohn, he was eventually beheaded when the king's daughter, on the advice of the mother, asked for his head in a platter.

Many are stranded because of offenses. When they stand in prayer, they justify themselves against God. They say, "Lord, I've paid my tithe, I have done everything that You commanded. Only You haven't done your part." In other words, they count themselves faithful and God unfaithful. But the Bible says, "..Let God be true but every man a liar…”  (Romans 3 vs 4.) Anything that makes you to murmur against God is moving you against your destiny. You can't expect Him to answer your prayers when your heart is full of complains and offenses against Him. Have you not heard, "Woe to him who strives with his Maker." (Isaiah 45 vs 9.)

If He withdraws His breath from you for one second, you will be dead. If you have lost anything, God is the reason you didn't loose everything. May be the enemy's intention was to take your life, but God stepped in and you only lost your car. But here you are, offended and complaining against Him in prayer. If He withdraws His hand from your life, can you imagine what will become of you?

The Scripture in Romans 8 vs 28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." So, set your heart right before Him. Count Him faithful in all things. Refuse to complain, but rather let God know that you have no alternative beside Him, and that you anchor your whole trust in Him. Any attempt to step away from God, is stepping into doom for you.

The Bible says in Job 9 vs 4, "God is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against Him, and prospered?" Everything that moves you to question the integrity of God, or His love for you must be destroyed, so that the altar of your heart can be prepared for the fire from heaven. Paul said, "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men." Give your destiny motion by clearing off every offense from your heart, to establish a thoroughfare to heaven in prayers. This is the way to maintain a good communication line with God.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the reason I live. Destroy any form of unbelief in me, and engrace me to anchor my whole trust and confidence in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Serve a Bad Boss

 Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:7–8)

Consider these five things from Ephesians 6:7–8 in connection to your job.

1) A call to radically Lord-centered living.

This is astonishing compared to the way we usually live. Paul says that all our work should be done as work for Christ, not for any human supervisor. With good will render service “as to the Lord and not to man.”

This means that we will think of the Lord in what we are doing at work. We will ask, Why would the Lord like this done? How would the Lord like this done? When would the Lord like this done? Will the Lord help me to do this? What effect will this have for the Lord’s honor? In other words, being a Christian means radically Lord-centered living and working.

2) A call to be a good person.

Lord-centered living means being a good person and doing good things. Paul says, “With a good will [render service] . . . whatever good anyone does.” Jesus said that when we let our light shine, men will see our “good works” and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

3) Power to do a good job for inconsiderate earthly employers.

Paul’s aim is to empower Christians, with Lord-centered motives, to go on doing good for supervisors who are not considerate. How do you keep on doing good in a job when your boss ignores you or even criticizes you? Paul’s answer is: stop thinking about your boss as your main supervisor, and start working for the Lord. Do this in the very duties given to you by your earthly supervisor.

4) Encouragement that nothing good is done in vain.

Perhaps the most amazing sentence of all is this: “Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” This is amazing. Everything! “Whatever good anyone does.” Every little thing you do that is good is seen and valued and rewarded by the Lord.

And he will pay you back for it. Not in the sense that you have earned anything — as if you could put him in your debt. He owns you, and everything in the universe. He owes us nothing. But he freely, graciously chooses to reward us for all the good things done in faith.

5) Encouragement that insignificant status on earth is no hindrance to great reward in heaven.

The Lord will reward every good thing you do — “whether he is a bondservant or is free.” Your supervisor may think you are a nobody — a mere bondservant, so to speak. Or he may not even know you exist. That doesn’t matter. The Lord knows you exist. And in the end no faithful service will be in vain.

The Remedy for Pride

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)

James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.

This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you” (Mere Christianity).

But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.

One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.

Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!

James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.

The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).

In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.

ASK FOR YOUR DAILY NEED!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 18, 02, 2022.

SUBJECT: ASK FOR YOUR DAILY NEED!

Memory verse: "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6 vs 11.)

READ: Exodus 16 vs 11 - 21:

16:11: And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

16:12: “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’’

16:13: So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all round the camp.

16:14: And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

16:15: So when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?” For they do not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

16:16: This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, “Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; ‘let every man take for those who are in his tent.’”

16:17: Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.

16:18: So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.

16:19: And Moses said, “Let no man leave any of it till morning.”

16:20: Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

INTIMATION:

God relates with us on a "day by day" basis, hence His telling us to ask for our daily needs. In the Scriptures, God speaks on 'our days,' not 'our years.' "Our days" is used in the Bible over 85 times, but "our years" is only used or referred to about 5 times. “The years” is often used in reference to God. For instance, the psalmist in Psalm 102 vs 24 says, "I said, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations."

God's provisioning is daily, not all at once. The reason God wants us to ask for our daily needs is because of our tendency to relegate God to the background if He allows us to have all our needs in one go. He is always testing us on a daily basis. This daily testing is necessarily because of His love and care for us; that we don't fall away from faith and trust in Him if He overloads us. By daily provisioning God is only helping us to remain focused on Him, not that He is miserly or that His hands are shortened that He cannot bless us exceedingly. 

Asking for your daily need puts you in the will of God, and He will oblige you with the need because He has already promised to meet our needs already known to Him. There is the likelihood that if we are allowed to store up His blessings, we might cut off communication with God. Therefore, we ought not to be self-satisfied. God is our “Source,” and we must remain connected to the “Source.” God wants us to completely depend on Him in everything. Depending on the provisions God has given us is idolatry, and He forbids that amongst His children.

In the passage we read today, the children of Israel in the wilderness had their daily supply of their needs: "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." (Exodus 16 vs 4 - 5.) God never allowed them to be self-satisfied and forget their source.

Even when Jesus thought His disciples how to pray, He said they should ask for their daily need, as stated in our memory verse. When we ask in prayer for our daily need, we are acknowledging that God is our Sustainer and Provider. It is a misconception to think that we provide for our needs ourselves. We must trust God for our daily needs. 

The Scripture in Proverbs 30 vs 8 - 9 says, "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." Solomon recognizes the attributes of man; in plenty man is likely to deny God, 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—dealing with us on a day-by-day basis.

There is the likelihood that our possessions will take our concentration and dependence on God because we are not in need of anything hence will remember less of God. It was for this reason that Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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." (Matthew 19 vs 23 - 24.) Our life is more likely to be effective if we have neither poverty nor riches, hence God's wisdom to deal with us day-by-day, so that we can rely on Him for the strength in all things.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Source of all things. Cause me not to put my trust on the gifts, instead of putting my trust on the Giver, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!