HUMILITY IS PROFITABLE TO ALL THINGS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 28, 2022.

SUBJECT : HUMILITY IS PROFITABLE TO ALL THINGS!

Memory verse: "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life" (Proverbs 22 vs 4).

READ: Luke 14 vs 7 - 11:

14:7: So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them; 

14:8: When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;

14:9: And he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place for this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

14:10: But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

14:11: For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

INTIMATION:

Humility signifies lowliness of mind. It is always used in good sense in the Scripture to denote low-lying; not to think too highly of oneself; to bring low in meekness or gentleness. It is being modest, unpretentious, and having a low opinion of oneself or one's claims. Humility is a character trait dominant in all real servants of the LORD. Christ Himself is humble. Though gentleness, or humility, is a very elusive character trait, yet the Bible regards it as a highly important quality.

The apostle Paul gave the clearest definition of humility in Romans 12 vs 3: "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly…."

Each believer should not think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly. 

Pride is destructive. In Proverbs 16 vs 18, the Scriptures says: "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall." Pride usually makes us self-centered and leads us to wrongly conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch, or imagine. This wrong feeling creates greedy appetites for far more than we need. Only in being humble before God that we can be released from our self-centered desires, realizing that all we really need is God's approval. When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see that this world's seductive attractions are only cheap substitutes for what God has to offer.

God hears the humble, and does not forget his cry (Psalm 9 vs 12). He dwells in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, and revives the spirit of the humble (Isaiah 57 vs 15). He gives grace to the humble (James 4 vs 6; First Peter 5 vs 5), and grace is all we need, and grace (free and unmerited favour of God for sinful humanity) is God’s greatest gift. When you humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt you in due time (First Peter 5 vs 6) and His timing is the best since the end is known to Him from the beginning, and He wants the very best for you.

Abraham was humble and believed God, and ensured he would not offend God in any way. Any instructions given to him by God was strictly obeyed by him because of his believe in Him, and this was counted to him for righteousness. He was one of the few the persons in the Bible called “friend of God.” Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth (Numbers 12 vs 3). 

However, that was before the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus is an epitome of humility. He was humble so much so that He was willing to give up His rights in order to obey God and serve humanity. His obedience in humility was to death, even a shameful death on the cross. Jesus described Himself as "gentle and low in heart" (Matthew 11 vs 29). If we say we follow Christ, we must also say we want to live as He lived. We should develop His attitude of humility as we serve, even when we are not likely to get recognition for our efforts. 

Like Christ, we should have a servant's attitude, serving out of love for God and for others, not out of guilt or fear. Everyone has the right of choice. You can choose your attitude. You can approach life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others. Choose to be humble, and God will exalt you in due time.

Be clothed with humility (First Peter 5 vs 5) both old and young. It is the cure of evil desires in us. Pride often keeps older people from trying to understand young people and keeps young people from listening to those who are older. Both young and old should be humble and serve each other; old people leading the young ones, and the young ones respecting the old. Be humble enough to admit you can learn from each other.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of raw obedience and humility exemplified in Christ Jesus our Messiah, that I may obtain Your greatest gift of grace needed to lead a life pleasing to You, and You will exalt me in due time with riches and honor, in Jesus Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

10 Results of the Resurrection

 

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)

Here are ten amazing things we owe to the resurrection of Jesus:

1) A Savior who can never die again. “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Romans 6:9).

2) Repentance. “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel” (Acts 5:30–31).

3) New birth. “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

4) Forgiveness of sin. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

5) The Holy Spirit. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:32–33).

6) No condemnation for the elect. “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).

7) Jesus’s personal fellowship and protection. “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

8) Proof of coming judgment. “[God] has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

9) Salvation from the future wrath of God. “[We] wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 5:9).

10) Our own resurrection from the dead. “[We know] that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence” (2 Corinthians 4:14; Romans 6:4; 8:11; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:20).

OUR EFFORTS VERSUS REST IN GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 27, 2022.

SUBJECT: OUR EFFORTS VERSUS REST IN GOD! 

Memory verse: "And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Romans 6 vs 13.)

READ: Romans 12 vs 1 - 2:

12:1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect Will of God. 

INTIMATION:

To lead a life pleasing to God requires our own efforts on one part, and relying on the Holy Spirit leading on the other part. The apostle Paul, in the passage we read, states that we are required to dedicate everything about us; our possessions, time, energy, efforts, and our members and faculties (our heads, hands, and tongues, our minds, emotions, and attitudes). We are to dedicate all of them to God as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, and consecrated (sanctified) and pleasing to God, which is our reasonable, rational, intelligent service and spiritual worship.

In our memory verse, the apostle Paul uses the term “instruments of unrighteousness,” and “instruments of righteousness.” The terms figuratively refer to a tool or a weapon. It is indicative that our skills, capacities, and bodies can serve as a tool or weapon for many purposes, good or bad. In sin, every part of our body is vulnerable, and can be used to commit sin. In Christ, every part can also be an instrument for service. It is the one to whom we offer our service that makes the difference. 

We are like lasers (beam of concentrated light having immense energy) that can burn destructive holes in steel places (used for destructive service) or do delicate cataract surgery (used for good service to save life). We are required to give yourself completely to God, asking Him to put us to good use for His glory. God wants us to daily laying aside our own desires to follow Him, putting all our energy and resources at His disposal and trusting Him to guide us. We are to do this out of gratitude that our sins are forgiven.

God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for His children. He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds; transformed into a new person by changing the way we think, live to honor and obey Him. Because He wants only what is best for us, and because He gave His Son to make our new life possible, we should joyfully give ourselves (everything about us) as living sacrifice for His service. It is possible to avoid most worldly customs and still be proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn, and arrogant. Only when the Holy Spirit renews, re-educates, and redirects our minds are we truly transformed. 

Christians are warned not to copy the behavior and customs of this world that are usually selfish and often corrupting. Wise Christians decide that much worldly behavior is off-limits for them. Our refusal to conform to this world’s values, however, must go even deeper than just behavior and customs; it must be firmly planted in our mind. God made it clear that obedience from the heart is much more important. We are to serve and worship God totally with our body, mind, and spirit. We are not just to be physically and emotionally dedicated to the Lord, we are to be rationally and intellectually dedicated to Him as well. 

Our part in working with God is when we give this reasonable service of dedicating everything about us to God; making the conscious choice to follow holiness, giving Him our mind and will. God's part then, is to give us His grace and Spirit to help us offer this reasonable service. The grace of God doesn't just fall upon us, we must choose it, and His grace cannot be wasted.

There is a delicate balance to be maintained between rest and effort, just as there is between casting our care upon God and casting our responsibility upon Him. Casting your care on God is good for God desires you do so. However, it should be backed up by prayer and faith, which is our responsibility, not God's. If you and I want to stay in balance, then we are going to have to stay in close fellowship with the Spirit of Truth. 

True holiness is a combined effort between us and the Holy Spirit. It requires a clear understanding of His part and our part, and a delicate balance between the two. Many believers keep the care and cast the responsibility. This is wrong! Cast the care, and enter God's rest, but be ever ready to fulfill your responsibilities empowered by the Spirit of grace.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to avoid carnality, helping not to live according to the dictates of the flesh, but according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Endue with the spirit of grace to live forever for You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Delight in God’s Word

 

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

Never reduce Christianity to a matter of demands and resolutions and willpower. It is a matter of what we love, what we delight in, what tastes good to us.

When Jesus came into the world, humanity was split according to what they loved. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19). The righteous and the wicked are separated by what they delight in — the revelation of God in Jesus, or the way of the world.

So someone may ask: How can I come to delight in the word of God? My answer is twofold:

1) pray for new tastebuds on the tongue of your heart;
2) meditate on the staggering promises of God to his people.

The same psalmist who said, “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103), said earlier, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). He prayed this, because to have spiritual eyes to see glory, or to have holy tastebuds on the tongue of the heart, is a gift of God. No one naturally hungers for, and delights in, God and his wisdom.

But when you have prayed, indeed while you pray, meditate on the benefits God promises to his people and on the joy of having Almighty God as your helper now and forever. Psalm 1:3–4 says that the person who meditates on God’s word “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Who would not delight to read a book, the reading of which would change one from useless chaff to a mighty cedar of Lebanon, from a Texas dust bowl to a Hawaiian orchard? Nobody deep down wants to be chaff — rootless, weightless, useless. All of us want to draw strength from some deep river of reality and become fruitful, useful people.

That river of reality is the word of God, and all the great saints have been made great by it.

TITHE AND OFFERING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MARCH 26, 2022. 

SUBJECT: TITHE AND OFFERING!

Memory verse: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3 vs 10.)

READ: Deuteronomy 14 vs 22 - 23:

14:22: You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.

14:23: And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 

INTIMATION:

Tithe and offering are practices that have been with God from the beginning. Tithing (giving one-tenth of your increase) is a commandment from God, and not a choice. 

Giving (offering) is inherent in God's Nature. After creating man, God, in His Nature, gave to man: "And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. (Genesis 1 vs 29 - 30.)

Many ancient peoples observed the practice of tithing—that is, giving a tenth of their earnings (or produce, harvest etc,) back to a leader or a god. The first instance of tithing in the Bible is Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek. The Israelites were required to tithe of their crops, fruit, and herds. The tithe was received by the Levites to support them. The Levites in turn, gave “a tithe of the tithe” to support the priests. 

The passage we read today makes the purpose of tithing very clear—to teach us the fear of the Lord, and put Him first in our lives. We are to give God the first and best of what we earn. For example, what we do first with our money shows what we value most. Giving the first part of our paycheck to God immediately focuses our attention on Him. It also reminds us that all we have belongs to Him. A habit of regular tithing can keep God at the top of our priority list and give us a proper perspective on everything else we have. 

No one is exempt from returning to God a portion of what is received. The tithing principle is still relevant, God expects all His followers to supply the material needs of those who devote themselves to meeting the spiritual needs of the community of faith. Ask God for direction on what you should give and to help you give generously.

Paying of your tithes and offerings may seem like a hard thing to do at first, because most people will think they are giving out their hard earned resources. But who gave you what you have? Or who gave you the power to get them? It is the same God (Deuteronomy 8 vs 17 - 18). Until you realize God's reason for asking you to do it, you will struggle with obedience to that commandment.

As it is now, It is difficult and expensive to offer God our best (that is, the first part of what we earn). It is always tempting to shortchange God because we think we won’t get caught. But our giving shows our real priorities. When we give God the leftovers, it is obvious that He is not at the center of our lives. Give God the honor of having first claim on your money, time, and talents. 

It has been observed as a hard step of faith for many Christians especially those new in the faith. But it is a step in which God commands us to prove Him, "Try Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts." And when you try Him in tithes and offerings, He will prove Himself by opening for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

His reason for asking you to give to Him is testing of your faith and trust in Him, because He will still return it to you. God has bound Himself to give to people as they give to Him. If they give liberally, He will return to them liberally, if they are stingy with Him, He will be stingy with them. But God will give back whatever is given to Him. 

God is so faithful and committed to your welfare if you obey His commandment. He has even promised to ensure that all He has given you will remain with you and you will enjoy them hence His rebuking the devourer for your sake, and also, He will ensure you prosper in your endeavors, "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 3 vs 11.)

Prayer: Abba Father, all I have comes from You, and without You I can do nothing! Engrace me with the spirit of raw obedience in returning to You in tithes and offerings, which is absolutely for my own good, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What is the definition of theology?

The word “theology” comes from two Greek words that combined mean “the study of God.” Christian theology is simply an attempt to understand God as He is revealed in the Bible. No theology will ever fully explain God and His ways because God is infinitely and eternally higher than we are. Therefore, any attempt to describe Him will fall short (Romans 11:33-36). However, God does want us to know Him insofar as we are able, and theology is the art and science of knowing what we can know and understand about God in an organized and understandable manner. Some people try to avoid theology because they believe it is divisive. Properly understood, though, theology is uniting. Proper, biblical theology is a good thing; it is the teaching of God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The study of theology, then, is nothing more than digging into God’s Word to discover what He has revealed about Himself. When we do this, we come to know Him as Creator of all things, Sustainer of all things, and Judge of all things. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all things. When Moses asked who was sending him to Pharaoh, God replied “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The name I AM indicates personality. God has a name, even as He has given names to others. The name I AM stands for a free, purposeful, self-sufficient personality. God is not an ethereal force or a cosmic energy. He is the almighty, self-existing, self-determining Being with a mind and a will—the “personal” God who has revealed Himself to humanity through His Word, and through His Son, Jesus Christ.

To study theology is to get to know God in order that we may glorify Him through our love and obedience. Notice the progression here: we must get to know Him before we can love Him, and we must love Him before we can desire to obey Him. As a byproduct, our lives are immeasurably enriched by the comfort and hope He imparts to those who know, love, and obey Him. Poor theology and a superficial, inaccurate understanding of God will only make our lives worse instead of bringing the comfort and hope we long for. Knowing about God is crucially important. We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about God. The world is a painful place, and life in it is disappointing and unpleasant. Reject theology and you doom yourself to life with no sense of direction. Without theology, we waste our lives and lose our souls.

All Christians should be consumed with theology—the intense, personal study of God—in order to know, love, and obey the One with whom we will joyfully spend eternity.

Forever Satisfied

 

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

This text points to the fact that believing in Jesus is a feeding and drinking from all that Jesus is. It goes so far as to say that our soul-thirst is satisfied with Jesus, so that we don’t thirst anymore.

He is the end of our quest for satisfaction. There is nothing beyond, and nothing better.

When we trust Jesus the way John intends for us to, the presence and promise of Jesus is so satisfying that we are not dominated by the alluring pleasures of sin (see Romans 6:14). This accounts for why such faith in Jesus nullifies the power of sin and enables obedience.

John 4:14 points in the same direction: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In accord with John 6:35, saving faith is spoken of here as a drinking of water that satisfies the deepest longings of the soul. And the satisfaction becomes productive, like a well overflowing.

It’s the same in John 7:37–38: “Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”’”

Through faith, Christ becomes in us an inexhaustible fountain of satisfying life that lasts forever and leads us to heaven, and on the way sets us free from the sinful illusions of other satisfactions. This he does by sending us his Spirit (John 7:38–39).