You Were Made for God

 

“For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.” (1 Samuel 12:22)

The name of God often refers to his reputation, his fame, his renown. This is the way we use the word “name” when we say someone is making a name for himself. Or we sometimes say, that’s a “name” brand. We mean a brand with a big reputation. This is what I think Samuel means in 1 Samuel 12:22 when he says that God made Israel a people “for himself” and that he would not cast Israel off “for his great name’s sake.”

This way of thinking about God’s zeal for his name is confirmed in many other passages.

For example, in Jeremiah 13:11 God describes Israel as a waistcloth, or belt, with which God chose to highlight his glory, even though there were times when Israel was temporarily unfit. “For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.” Why was Israel chosen and made the garment of God? That it might be a “name, a praise, and a glory.”

The words “praise” and “glory” in this context tell us that “name” means “fame” or “renown” or “reputation.” God chose Israel so that the people would make a reputation for him. God says in Isaiah 43:21 that Israel is “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

And when the church came to see itself in the New Testament as the true Israel, Peter described God’s purpose for us like this: “You are a chosen race . . . that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

In other words, Israel and the church are chosen by God to make a name for him in the world. This is why we pray first and foremost, “Hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). This is why we pray, “Lead us in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake” (see Psalm 23:3).

When we speak of being a God-centered people, remember, this is because we are joining God in his God-centeredness. And on this side of the cross, that means being a Christ-dependent, Christ-exalting people. “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

REINSTATED TO ABUNDANCE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY APRIL 26, 2022.

SUBJECT : REINSTATED TO ABUNDANCE!

Memory verse: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4 vs 11).

READ: Psalm 50 vs 10 - 12; First Timothy 6 vs 17:

Psalm 50:10: For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

50:11: I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

50:12: If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

First Timothy 6:17: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us all things to enjoy.

INTIMATION:

God created all things, and therefore, owns all things. He created all things for His pleasure, and as well as ours. God is not in want of anything because He is sufficient in all things. God created all things including us. He made us special by creating us in His image and likeness. And we are made sufficient in God's own sufficiency (Second Corinthians 3 vs 5).  

In the beginning God placed everything that man could use and enjoy in the Garden. God saw to it that Adam lacked nothing, as he was created in His own image and after His likeness, leaving nothing to be desired by him. God gave Adam dominion over everything. Adam was the master of the kingdom given to him, and was empowered to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it. God only placed Himself above Adam as his master.

God's Will of abundance for mankind was supreme until that fatal day Adam committed high treason against God by doubting God's integrity, and believing God's permanent enemy. According to the Scriptures, the woman was deceived but the man was not (First Timothy 2 vs 14), meaning that Adam knew what he did, and the implications of what he did. He tried shifting the blame on the woman when God enquired of him concerning his did (Genesis 3 vs 12).

When Adam partook of the deadly tree, he died, not physically but spiritually. Spiritual deadness is the nature of Satan. That nature consequently overtook Adam's once righteous spirit, and he became one with Satan. Every phase of Adam's life came under the curse of his new god, Satan. He was driven from the Garden; abundance was no longer his to enjoy. He had to toil and sweat in order to survive. His beautiful life was overrun by thorns and thistles both in the physical and in the spiritual world.

The Lordship of God provided only good. Poverty and lack came only after Adam changed god and began to operate under Satan's dominion, the author of poverty.

It is obvious that God desired man to live in abundance, but by Adam's own choice, the lordship of Satan engulfed him in a curse that resulted in poverty and lack. 

God's heart yearns for His people to be free, and through His infinite wisdom, He has continually provided deliverance for man and freedom from the curse of poverty. God, in His infinite mercy that endures forever, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, for our sake, to pay the supreme price: "Surely He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace upon Him, And by His stripes we are heeled" (Isaiah 53 vs 4 - 5). 

Through our believe in Christ Jesus, our Sacrificial Savior, He gave us right to become His children (John 1 vs 12). We are reinstated to our original position with Him. His wish is that you shall prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (Third John 2). In accordance with His Will for us, in prosperity and sufficiency, He has given us back all things in Christ Jesus to enjoy, Hallelujah!

Prayer: Abba Father, to You be glory for the great things You have done. My sufficiency is in You who made heaven and the earth. Thank You for my redemption in Christ Jesus, and uphold me by Your generous spirit, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Paul’s Salvation Was for You

 

Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. . . . 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 1:13–14, 16)

Paul’s conversion was for your sake. Did you hear that? Here it is again: “I received mercy for this reason, that Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” That’s us — you and me.

I hope you will hear this very personally. God had you in view when he chose Paul and saved him by sovereign grace just the way he did.

If you believe on Jesus for eternal life — or if you may yet believe on him for eternal life — Paul’s conversion is for your sake. The point of his conversion happening the way it did is to make Christ’s incredible patience vivid for you.

Remember that Paul’s pre-conversion life was a long, long trial to Jesus. “Why are you persecuting me?” Jesus asked on the Damascus road (Acts 9:4). “Your life of unbelief and rebellion is a persecution of me!” And yet Paul tells us in Galatians 1:15 that he had been set apart by God for his apostleship since before he was born. That’s amazing. It means that all his life up to the point of his conversion was one long abuse of God, and one long rejection and mockery of Jesus — who had chosen him to be an apostle before he was born.

That is why Paul says his conversion is a brilliant demonstration of Jesus’s patience. And that is what he offers us today.

It was for our sake that Jesus saved Paul when and how he did. To “display his perfect patience” to us (1 Timothy 1:16). Lest we lose heart. Lest we think he could not really save us. Lest we think he is prone to anger. Lest we think we have gone too far away. Lest we think our dearest one cannot be converted — suddenly, unexpectedly, by the sovereign, overflowing grace of Jesus.

SATAN IS UNDER OUR FEET!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY APRIL 25, 2022. 

SUBJECT : SATAN IS UNDER OUR FEET!

Memory verse: "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8 vs 11).

READ: Ephesians 1 vs 17 - 23:

1:17: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

1:18: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints,

1:19: and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

1:20: which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

1:21: far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

1:22: And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church,

1:23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

INTIMATION:

In the first three chapters of the apostle Paul's epistle to the church in Ephesus, he enumerated the consummation of Christ's substitutionary work regarding Satan and his cohorts—the demons. His heart intent is that we will come to the full knowledge of what we are in Christ.

From the passage we read today, we observed that he prayed that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation of insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of our heart flooded with light, so that we can know and understand the hope to which He has called us, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the believers.

He clearly stated that, it is the working of God's spiritual might which He wrought in the Christ when He raised Him up from the among dead, and that same Spirit is still at work within us. The heart can hardly take it in that the same Might, the same Resurrection Power that wrought in the dead body of Jesus is ours today. That same Spirit that embodied the power is indwelling us today, and with the same power.

In Ephesians 2 vs 4 - 6, the Scripture says:- 

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." You must always keep in mind that we were raised together with Him, and He made us to sit with Him in the heavenly places; so representatively, we are seated on the throne with Christ.

He has been given all authority, that authority belongs to His body—the church, for its benefit. He conquered all the forces of darkness and left them paralyzed and broken before He arose from the dead. It is as though we had accomplished the mighty work, because It is reckoned to our credit.

Notice carefully the twenty-second and twenty-third verses: "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." We are the fullness of Him (John 1 vs 16). We are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2 vs 10). He is not only our fullness, but we are His fullness also. The word, "fullness" comes from a Greek word that is almost untranslatable: "pleroma," which means "completeness," "perfectness," or any other synonym that suggests fullness. 

Adam had sold us out in his sin of high treason. Jesus redeemed us, defeated our enemy and put him beneath our feet—the church (His body), and we are the church. Consequently, all these malignant, wicked influences are beneath our feet. We have been made masters of them all. He did not defeat them for Himself, but for us. He did not fight that battle for His glory, but for our good. 

That knowledge should become as common to us, and as usable as the multiplication table. And when this is done Believers will spend less or no time glorying the devil, instead of using the time time to glorify Jesus Christ for His triumph over Satan and his cohorts. It was for this reason that the apostle Paul thanked God in Second Corinthians 2 vs 14, for His triumph over Satan for us; "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ...."

When our hearts take it in, and our minds become fruitful with this mighty unveiling of what we are in Christ today, we hardly will give the devil any room to minister his usual lies to us because, by God's grace, we have embraced the truth of what we are in Christ.

That is the Hallelujah chorus of the new creation, and it never becomes real until we begin to confess it, begin to tell to the world what we are in Christ.

The Bible in Hebrews 9 vs 12, says, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Yes He obtained Eternal Redemption for us. Not just a redemption for the hour in which it was done, but that Satan is as much defeated now as he was when Christ arose from the dead; that he is as much a subject to the Name of Jesus as he was when Jesus conquered him.

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank You for what You wrought for me in redemption in Christ Jesus. Thank You for the triumph You have given me in Christ over Satan. Help me to comprehend fully the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ's love for me, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Liberating Power of Forgiveness

 

“Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48)

A woman comes to Jesus in a Pharisee’s house weeping and washing his feet. No doubt she felt shame as the eyes of Simon communicated to everyone present that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus had no business letting her touch him.

Indeed, she was a sinner. There was a place for true shame. But not for too long.

Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48). And when the guests murmured about this, he strengthened her faith by saying, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

How did Jesus help her battle the crippling effects of shame? He gave her a promise: “Your sins have been forgiven! Your faith has saved you. Your future will be one of peace.” He declared that past pardon would now yield future peace.

So, the issue for her was faith in God’s future grace, rooted in the authority of Jesus’s forgiving work and freeing word. That is the way every one of us must battle the effects of well-placed shame — not false shame, but shame that we really should feel, but shame that threatens to linger too long and cripple us.

We must battle the unbelief of crippling shame by taking hold of the promises of future grace and peace that come through the forgiveness of our shameful acts.

“With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Psalm 130:4)

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6–7)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)

All of us need forgiveness. And we will need it tomorrow. Jesus died to provide it today and tomorrow. Today or tomorrow the reality is this: God’s forgiveness liberates us for our future. It frees us from crippling shame. Forgiveness is full of future grace.

When we live by faith in future grace, rooted in God’s forgiveness, we are freed from the lingering, paralyzing effects even of the shame we deserve to feel. That’s what forgiveness means.

THE CERTAINTY IN GOD’S WORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY APRIL 24, 2022. 

SUBJECT: THE CERTAINTY IN GOD’S WORD! 

Memory verse: "God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should repent, has He said, and will He not do it?” (Numbers 23 vs 19.)

READ: Isaiah 55 vs 11; Matthew 24 vs 35:

Isaiah 55:11: So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Matthew 24:35: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 

INTIMATION:

No word from God can ever be defaulted. There never can be any denying of His own Word. Every Word of God is pure (Proverbs 30 vs 5), and forever God’s Word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119 vs 89). We did not ask Him to write the Word, nor to see that it was perceived for us. The Word of God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40 vs 8), and you are trusting in that Word. His Word is eternal, constant, and unfailing. And only on God’s eternal Word will we find lasting solutions to our problems and needs. Your confidence is in that Word that cannot be broken. God’s word will produce fruit as sure as rain from the heavens.

The emphasis in God’s Word is enunciated in His calling His Son—Jesus Christ—the Word, and His Word being the agent of creation. (See John 1 vs 1 - 3). God and Jesus (the Word) are inseparable. Forever God and Jesus live and abide, hence Word of God abides, and lives on through the ages. The Word of God is incorruptible, The apostle Peter captures it this way, “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever” (First Peter I vs 23).  

Therefore, when you get tied up with God, that is, when you identify with God in the new creation, His nature is imparted on you. You can no longer be a failure, because you know you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you. You feel like David must have felt when he said, "For by You I can run against a troop: by my God have I can leap over a wall." (Second Samuel 22 vs 30; Psalm 18 vs 29). You become a master of circumstances.

The Scripture, Jeremiah 1 vs 12, says, “Then said the LORD to me, you have well seen, for I will hasten My word to perform it.” Impassable gulfs will become level roads to us when we realize that God hastens His Word to perform it. We take His Word and carry it into His presence and repeat it and say, "Father, this is what you said." You just look up and say, “Father I thank you, for this is Your Word."

Now, in Hebrews 6 vs 18, the Scripture says, "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." The two immutable things are God's nature and His promise—His Word. God embodies all truth, you can be secure in His promises; you don't need to wonder if He will change His plans because by His nature He will never change for He said "I am the Lord, I change not." (Malachi 3 vs 6). Our hope is secure and immovable; anchored in God and His Word, just as a ship anchor holds firmly to the seabed. 

We are dealing with Him who cannot lie. The Bible says in Second Timothy 2 vs 13, "He abide faithful; He cannot deny Himself." When this gets into your blood. It gives you a warrior spirit, and makes you confident of your place in Christ. It makes you know that you are what He says you are, and that you can do what He says you can do. God was not created after the imagination of men. For this reason, He cannot tell a lie as men do. Neither could the destiny of anybody be changed, as men change their minds according to their own desires. 

In Isaiah 45 vs 23, God said, "By myself have I sworn." This is repeating what He said to Abraham (Genesis 22 vs 16). God has made even His Throne back of His Word. I wonder how much some of our hearts can take it. It is like God throwing a cable about the Throne, dropping the cable over for us to grasp. Think of it this way; He said, "Do you see, I am putting my Throne as surety for My Word. My very Self is enwrapped in this." This is awesome!

Now, let us look at Hebrews 7 vs 22: "By so much more Jesus has become the surety of a better covenant." The better covenant is also called the new covenant or testament. It is new and better because now we have the Father, Jesus, and the Throne back of every word. This Is tremendous. If the Word should fail, it will dethrone the Triune God. It cannot fail even when the heaven and earth pass away. 

The Scripture, in Hebrews 4 vs 12, says: "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Word of God is living, life-changing and dynamic as it works in us. God's Word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is within us, both good and evil. 

Prayer: Abba Father, Your Word is proven, and is a shield to all trust in You. Your Word is a lamp to the feet and a light to the path of those who find it. I pray that the eyes of my understanding be opened by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in Your Word, and the entrance of Your Word enthrones Your light in me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF US FOR RIGHT LIVING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY APRIL 23, 2022.

SUBJECT : WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF US FOR RIGHT LIVING!

Memory verse: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6 vs 8.)

READ: Psalm 101 vs 1 - 7:

101:1: I will sing of mercy and judgment: to You, O LORD, will I sing.

101:2: I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

101:3: I will not set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

101:4: A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.

101:5: Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.

101:6: My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

101:7: He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

INTIMATION:

People have tried all kinds of ways to please God, but God has made His wishes clear; He has already made it plain how to live, and what to do. What God is looking for in men and women is quite simple: He wants His people to do what is fair and just to their neighbor; free themselves from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception, and conforming with established standards or rules. 

We should love mercy; have great affection or liking for leniency and compassion toward offenders, forbear to inflict harm under circumstances of provocation, especially when one has the power to inflict it. We should be compassionate in treating an defender or adversary. We are to be compassionate and loyal in our love. God requires of us to do good works. That which is good does not come from outward performances of law. In one’s relationship with his fellow man, he is required to be just and have mercy.

We are to walk humbly with Him. We are not to take ourselves too seriously, rather we should take God seriously. We should think lowly of oneself; claiming little for one’s self, not arrogant, proud, or assuming. We should think one’s self ill-deserving or unworthy, when judged by the demands of God—thinking one’s self lowly, weak, and modest. Walking humbly with God involves being led by the Will of God, not one’s own inventions of religiosity. Heartless obedience to ceremonial law is rejected by God.

Since God is merciful and just with us, we ought to be merciful and just with others. We should be righteous examples before our families. We should not set before us that which is wicked, and will not watch that which glorify sin. We should not allow our loyalty to God compromised by friends who fell away from God. We should not associate with apostates. We should maintain companions with those who are righteous and stay away from evil companions. We should reject those who maliciously speak to us about others. Our relationships with others will be quickly destroyed by allowing such people to exist, and thus be committed to God that we will not allow slanderous people to exist within and around us. 

We should associate with humble people, not those who played politics in order to gain our favor with our positions in society. We should focus on the righteous, and thus encourage them to be our friends. We should reject from around us those who deceive in order to gain favor or promote their agenda. We should first destroy the wicked in order that their influence will not pollute the people. This would include purging our society of those who worked evil.

We should choose as models those who are godly and truthful. Our friends and associates can have a profound influence on us. Make sure to choose as your closest companies those who are faithful to God and His Word.

To lead a blameless life we will need God’s help. While doing the things enumerated above, we must also let God’s Word show us the standards by which to live.

In your efforts to please God, examine the areas to avoid enumerated above on a regular basis. Always examine yourself as follows: Are you fair in your dealings with people? Do you show mercy to those who wrong you? Are you learning humility? Do you put God first in all you do? If your answer is “yes” to all these questions, then you are leading a blameless life that God requires of us!

PRAYER: Abba Father, You are merciful, just, and upright. Endue me with the spirit of excellence regarding Your requirements for a right living, that I may lead a blameless life and pleasing You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!