When You Are Immortal

 

When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. (Acts 23:12)

What about those hungry fellows who promised not to eat till they had ambushed Paul?

We read about them in Acts 23:12, “When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” It didn’t work. Why? Because a string of unlikely events happened.

A boy overheard the plot. The boy was the son of Paul’s sister. The boy had the courage to go to the Roman centurion guarding Paul. The centurion took him seriously and brought him to the tribune. The tribune believed him and prepared “two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen” to take Paul to safety.

Every one of those events was highly unlikely. Strange. But that’s what happened.

What had those hungry men lying in ambush overlooked? They failed to reckon with what happened to Paul just before they made their plot. The Lord appeared to Paul in prison and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome” (Acts 23:11).

Christ said Paul was going to Rome. And that was that. No ambush can stand against the promise of Christ. Until he got to Rome, Paul was immortal. There was a final testimony to be given. And Christ would see to it that Paul would give it.

You too have final testimony to give. And you are immortal until you give it.

The Sweet Designs of God

 He set me apart before I was born, and called me by his grace. (Galatians 1:15)

Ponder the conversion of Paul, the sovereignty of Christ, and what Paul’s sins have to do with your salvation.

Paul said that God “set me apart before I was born,” and then, years later, on the Damascus road, “called me by his grace” (Galatians 1:15). This means that between Paul’s birth and his call on the Damascus road he was an already-chosen, but not-yet-called, instrument of God (Acts 9:15; 22:14).

This means that Paul was beating and imprisoning and murdering Christians as a God-chosen, soon-to-be-made-Christian missionary.

As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 22:6–7)

There was no denying or escaping it. God had chosen him for this before he was born. And now he would take him. The word of Christ was sovereign. There was no negotiating.

Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. (Acts 22:10)

Damascus was not Paul’s final, free will yielding to Christ after decades of futile divine effort to save him. No. God had a time for choosing him (before he was born) and a time for calling him (on the Damascus road). God called, and the call produced the yielding.

Therefore, the sins that God permitted between Paul’s birth and his calling were part of the plan, since God could have called him sooner.

Do we have any idea what the plan for those sins might have been? Yes, we do. They were permitted for you and me — for all who fear that they might have sinned themselves out of grace. Here’s the way Paul relates his sins to your hope:

Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. . . . But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:13, 16)

Oh, how sweet are the designs of God in the sovereign salvation of hardened, hopeless sinners!

THE UNIMAGINABLE MERCY OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE UNIMAGINABLE MERCY OF GOD!

Memory verse: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD who has mercy on you." (Isaiah 54 vs 10.)

READ: Zechariah 3 vs 1 - 5:

3:1: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

3:2: And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3:3: Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

3:4: Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

3:5: And I said, “Let them pit a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

INTIMATION: 

Mercy signifies, in general, to feel sympathy with the misery of another, and especially sympathy manifested in act. Therefore, “Mercy” has been defined as “not giving a person what he or she deserves.” This is exactly what God for us. Our disobedience demands judgement! But God shows mercy toward us by providing an escape from sin’s penalty through Jesus Christ, who alone saves us from sin. When we pray for forgiveness, we are asking for what we do not deserve. Yet when we take this step and trust in Christ’s saving work on our behalf, we can experience God’s forgiveness.

In the passage we read today, Zechariah’s vision graphically portrays how we receive God’s mercy. We do nothing ourselves. God removes our filthy garments (sins), then provides us with fine, new clothes (the righteousness and holiness of God—Second Corinthians 5 bs 21; Ephesians 4 bs 24; Revelation 19 vs 8). All we need do is repent and ask God to forgive us. When Satan tries to make you feel dirty and unworthy, remember that the clean clothes of Christ’s righteousness make you worthy to draw near to God. 

Satan accused (“opposed”) Joshua, who here represents the nation of Israel. The accusations were accurate—Joshua stood in filthy garments (sin). Yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. Satan is always accusing people of their sins before God. But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God’s mercy and forgiveness toward those who believe in Him (Regelation 12 vs 10), while everyone who is a believer will be saved (John 3 vs 16). To be prepared, we can ask God to remove our clothing of sin and dress us with His goodness. 

God’s mercy is unbelievable. It goes far beyond what we can imagine. In accordance with His nature of being merciful, God wants to forgive us and bring us back to Himself. Some people will not learn this until their world has crashed in around them. Then the sorrow and pain seem to open their eyes to what God has been saying all along. God is so merciful that many times He holds us back from sinning against Him in ways we cannot even detect. Yes, most of the times, we have no way of knowing. God works just as often in ways we can’t see as in ways we can. 

Countless times throughout the Bible we see God showing His love and patience toward men and women in order to save them. Although He realizes that their hearts are evil, He continues to try to reach them. When we sin or fall away from God, we surely deserve to be destroyed by His judgement. But God has promised never again to destroy everything on earth until the judgement day when Christ returns to destroy evil forever

If God gives us the justice that we deserve, none would be able to stand before Him. But the human nature often makes us cry for justice when we feel abused and unfairly treated. In those moments, we forget the reality of our own sin and the righteous judgement we deserve. How fortunate we are that God gives us mercy and grace rather than only justice. The next time you ask God for fair treatment, pause to think what would happen if God gave you what you really deserve. Plead instead for His mercy. If God treated us as with justice alone and not with mercy, we would be wiped out by God’s wrath. God in His kindness forgives us instead of giving us what we deserve. 

Are you separated from God by sin? No matter how far you have wandered, God promises a fresh beginning if only you will turn to Him. Mercy is the nature and act of God, and peace is the resulting experience in the heart of man. 

Prayer: Abba Father, there is nothing I can do to thank you enough for Your mercy that has never failed me. I will stop at nothing to declare at all times Your goodness and mercy in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

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SATAN IS MADE INEFFECTIVE WITH THE WORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2022. 

SUBJECT : SATAN IS MADE INEFFECTIVE WITH THE WORD!

Memory verse: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12 vs 11.)

READ: Matthew 4 vs 1 - 11:

4:1: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

4:2: And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was an hungry.

4:3: Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

4:4: But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

4:5: Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

4:6: and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

4:7: Jesus said to him, It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

4:8: Again, the devil took Him up on an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.

4:9: And said to him, “All these things I will give You, if You wilt fall down and worship me.”

4:10: Then Jesus said to him, “Away with You Satan! For it is written, “You shalt worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”

4:11: Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

INTIMATION:

Our testimony of the reality of the Word is greatly feared by Satan, and he is totally disarmed and made ineffective by that. That was the weapon of Jesus against Satan's temptations in the wilderness. When the tempter, Satan, came with his temptations, Jesus simply reminded him of what the Word says, "It is written," and the tempter has no reply to it. The devil and his cohorts know the Scripture and tremble at the mention of God, but refuse to obey Him.

Jesus was able to resist all of the devil’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture, but He also obeyed it. Ephesians 6 vs 17 says that God’s Word is a sword to use in spiritual combat. Knowing Bible verses is an important step in helping us resist the devil’s attacks, but we must also obey the Bible. Note that Satan had memorized Scriptures, but he failed to obey it. Knowing and obeying the Bible helps us follow God’s desires rather than the devil’s.

The devil used Scripture to try to convince Jesus to sin! Sometimes friends or associates will present attractive and convincing reasons why you should try something you know is wrong. They may even find Bible verses that seem to support their viewpoint. Study the Bible carefully, especially the broader contexts of specific verses, so that you understand God’s principles for living and what He wants for your life. Only if you really understand what the whole Bible says will you be able to recognize errors of interpretation when people take verses out of context and twist them to say what they want them to say.

The devil offered the whole world to Jesus if Jesus would only kneel down and worship him. Today the devil offers us the world by trying to entice us with materialism and power. We can resist temptations the same way Jesus did. If you find yourself craving something that the world offers, quote Jesus’ words to the devil: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” Satan is a fallen angel. He is real, not symbolic, and is constantly fighting against those who follow and obey God. Satan’s temptations are real, and he is always trying to get us to live his way or our way rather than God’s way. 

The excellent knowledge of the Word of God makes for a profitable and triumphant living. Your life is staunched on your believe in the Word. Believing builds up your faith, and faith comes from hearing the Word of God. To believe in the Word is accepting its existence, recognizing its value or advantage, and to have faith in its ability. The Word is the same as God (John 1 vs 1), therefore, believe in the Word is believe in God. All God's attributes are also associated with His Word. God assures us that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God (the Word) that they possess (putting into practice or action the Word they believe) will be rewarded (Hebrews 11 vs 6).

Obedience to the engagement of the Word as well as observance of the declaration, is doing the Will of God, that is obeying the Word of God. Consequently obeying God; living the life of obedience and observance, guarantees a partnership with God in living your life, and ensures an ever profitable and classic living.

Prayer: Abba Father, forever, Your Word is settled in heaven. Endue me with Your excellent spirit in the knowledge and faith in Your Word that I may speak Your Word in season and out of season, to the glory and honor of Your name and to my profiting, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When Obedience Feels Impossible

 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. (Hebrews 11:17)

For many of you right now — and for others of you the time is coming — obedience feels like the end of a dream. You feel that if you do what the word of God or the Spirit of God is calling you to do, it will make you miserable and that there is no way that God could turn it all for good.

Perhaps the command or call of God you hear just now is to stay married or stay single, to stay in that job or leave that job, to get baptized, to speak up at work about Christ, to refuse to compromise your standards of honesty, to confront a person in sin, to venture a new vocation, to be a missionary. And as you see it in your limited mind, the prospect of doing this is terrible — it’s like the loss of Isaac, the only son who can be an heir.

You have considered every human angle, and it is impossible that it could turn out well.

Now you know what it was like for Abraham. This story is in the Bible for you.

Do you desire God and his way and his promises more than anything, and do you believe that he can and will honor your faith and obedience by being unashamed to call himself your God, and to use all his wisdom and power and love to turn the path of obedience into the path of life and joy?

That is the crisis you face now: Do you desire him? Will you trust him? The word of God to you is: God is worthy and God is able.

Every Calvary Step Was Love

 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. (1 John 3:16)

The love of Christ for us in his dying was as conscious as his suffering was intentional. If he was intentional in laying down his life, it was for us. It was love.

“When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

Every step on the Calvary road meant, “I love you.”

Therefore, to feel the love of Christ in the laying down of his life, it helps to see how utterly intentional it was.

Look at what Jesus said just after that violent moment when Peter tried to cleave the skull of the servant, but only cut off his ear.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” (Matthew 26:52–54)

It is one thing to say that the details of Jesus’s death were predicted in the Old Testament. But it is much more to say that Jesus himself was making his choices precisely to see to it that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.

That is what Jesus said he was doing in Matthew 26:54. “I could escape this misery, but how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

In other words, I am not choosing to take the way out that I could take, because I know the Scriptures. I know what must take place for my people to be saved. It is my choice to fulfill all that is predicted of me in the word of God. It is my choice — every step of the way — to love my people to the uttermost. And I want them to feel this. And be utterly secure and free and radically different from the world.