GOD DESERVES OUR HEARTFELT SERVICE TO HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JUNE 07, 2022.

SUBJECT: GOD DESERVES OUR HEARTFELT SERVICE TO HIM!

Memory verse: "So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10 vs 27.)

READ: Deuteronomy 11 vs 13 - 15:

11:13: And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,

11:14: then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.

11:15: And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.

INTIMATION:

God demands our love and service (total devotion) to Him, in sincerity of heart, not with eye-service, but doing the Will of God from your heart. Doing the Will of God is obeying His commandments passionately, that is from your heart! This is called the “Great Commandment.”

How do you know when you are serving God from your heart? The first telltale sign is enthusiasm—your excitement, and great interest in serving Him. When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you or challenge you or check up on you. You do it for sheer enjoyment. You don't need rewards, or applause or payment, because you love serving in this way. This is exactly what God requires of us. Hallelujah!

The second characteristic of serving God from your heart is effectiveness. Whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you get good at it. Passion drives perfection. If you don't care about a task, it is unlikely that you will excel at it. In contrast, the highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.

God’s interest in the man’s heart is because the heart is the center of the man. Your heart reveals the real you—what you truly are, not what others think you are or what circumstances force you to be. Your heart determines what you say, the things you do, why you feel the way you do, and why you act the way you do. The Bible, in Proverbs 27 vs 19, says, "As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man." 

The Bible uses the term heart to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections you have. Your heart represents the source of all your inspirations—what motivates you, you love to do, and what you care about most. Even today we still use the word in this way when we say, "I love you with all my heart." It’s for this reason that God demands our heart (our passion) in loving and serving Him.

Our heart—our feelings of love and desire—dictates to a great extent how we live because we always find time to do what we enjoy, hence God’s interest in our hearts. In Proverbs 4 vs 23, the Scripture says, "Keep you heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life." It tells us to guard our heart above all else, making sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path—the path of God. When your heart is centered on God, your affections push you in the right direction—the path of God, and consequently, you put boundaries on your desires, and will not do or go after everything you see. 

Another word for heart is passion. There are certain subjects you feel passionate about and others you could care less about. Some experiences turn you on and capture your attention while others turn you off or bore you to tears. These reveal the nature of your heart. Your emotional heartbeat is the second key to understanding your shape for service. God gave each and everyone of us some inborn interests. Don't ignore your interests. Consider how they might be used for God's glory. 

Now, what is your passion for God? God wants you to serve Him passionately, not dutifully. Let the service come from your heart. The Bible repeatedly tells us to "serve the Lord with all your heart."  People rarely excel at tasks they don't enjoy doing or feel passionate about. God wants you to use your natural interests to serve Him and others. The reason you love to do those things you love doing is because you derive great passion in doing them. Listening to inner prompting—signals from your heart, that can point to the ministry God intends for you to have. 

Prayer: Abba Father, Your Will is that I serve You passionately with all my heart, and to serve others likewise. Give me the grace to serve You with heartfelt passion, O Lord, and to serve others likewise, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

All Hostile to God

 

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. (Colossians 1:21–22)

The best news in all the world is that our alienation from God is ended and we are reconciled to the Judge of the universe. God is no longer against us, but for us. Having omnipotent love on our side mightily steels the soul. Life becomes utterly free and daring when the strongest being in the universe is for you.

But Paul’s message of salvation is not good news to those who reject the diagnosis in Colossians 1:21. He says, you “were alienated and hostile in mind.”

How many people do you know who say, “Apart from God’s grace, I am hostile to God in my mind”? People seldom say, “I hate God.” So, what does Paul mean that people are “hostile in mind” to God before they were reconciled by the blood of Christ?

I think he means that the hostility is really there toward the true God, but people do not allow themselves to think about the true God. They imagine God to be the way they would like him to be, which seldom includes any possibility that they might be in really serious trouble with him.

But concerning the God who really exists — a God who is sovereign over all things, including sickness and calamity — we were all hostile to him, Paul says. Deep down, we hated his absolute power and authority.

That any of us is saved is owing to the wonderful truth that the death of Christ obtained the grace by which God conquered our hearts and caused us to love the One we once hated.

Many are still learning not to be hostile to God. It is a good thing that he is gloriously patient.

GOD’S GRACE IN OUR FAITH WALK!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JUNE 06, 2022.

SUBJECT : GOD’S GRACE IN OUR FAITH WALK! 

Memory verse: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." (Galatians 2 vs 16.)

READ: Galatians 3 vs 2 - 7:

3:2: This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 

3:3: Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

3:4: Have you suffered so many things in vain - if indeed it was in vain?

3:5: Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 

3:6: Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness."

3:7: Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

INTIMATION:

The Holy Spirit (the Spirit of grace) gives Christians great power to live for God. People still feel insecure in their faith because faith alone seems too easy. Some Christians want more than that. They want to live in a state of perpetual excitement. They still try to get closer to God by following rules. While certain Christian disciplines may help us grow, they must not take the place of the Holy Spirit in us or become ends in themselves. 

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul is asking the Galatian believers, "Did you receive the Lord through your own works and efforts or by hearing the Gospel message and saying, 'I believe that?'" He further asked them, "Are you really so foolish and senseless and silly as to begin your new life by the Spirit and then try to reach perfection by depending on your own weak human flesh?"

Then finally he concluded by asking them, "Does God supply your every need and work miracles among you because you keep the law perfectly or because you put your entire faith and trust in the message you heard?" The believers in Galatia received the Lord by faith, but were trying to perfect themselves by depending on their own flesh, trying to change themselves and their lives by human effort rather than by trusting in God, and His grace to live a changed life.

Now, effort has a place in the Christian life. It does have a part to play. But even then, anything done outside the grace of God will have no real lasting effect. The law is not bad in itself. Even the Scripture says, "The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 7 vs 12). The law can make us acceptable to God. 

Yes, the law still has an important role to play in the life of a Christian. The law (1) guards us from sin by giving us standards for behavior; (2) convicts us of sin, leaving us the opportunity to ask for God's forgiveness; and (3) drives us to trust the sufficiency of Christ, because we can never keep the Ten Commandments perfectly. The law cannot possibly save us. But after we become Christians, it can guide us to live as God requires.

Are you struggling with changes that need to be made in your personality? Do you ever get frustrated and confused, trying to believe and have faith and confess and do all the right things to bring about change in yourself and your life, yet it never seems to happen? You wanted to change everything you saw wrong about yourself and life, but for some reason you just couldn't do it. 

Most believers will blame the devil. They will spend better part of their time binding and casting the devil away, instead of turning to the Lord for help. I have learned that the Lord constantly requires us to turn to Him. Why? Because when we do anything apart from Him, we take the credit and glory that rightfully belongs to Him. For this reason He will frustrate any of our own efforts to do things outside of Him. Jesus said, ".........For without Me, you can do nothing." (John 15 vs 5).

The Scripture says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9.) The plan of salvation was initiated by God without any meritoriously devised good works of man or perfect law keeping. Because men could not live in a manner to save themselves, salvation had to be by grace in conjunction with man’s faith response. God extended grace to man regardless of the sin of man. The condition upon which the grace of God is made effective for the salvation of man is that one must receive or accept the free gift. 

For this reason, the effect of God’s grace in reference to the salvation of man must be conditioned on the response of man. If grace is without conditions toward all men, then all men would be saved without having to respond. All humanity would thus be saved while living after the course of this world. Therefore, the application of grace in one’s life must be based on some condition. The condition is obedient faith, and thus, we are saved by grace through obedience of faith. Our Obedient faith is our response to the grace of God. 

We are saved by grace (unmerited favor) from God, and only the grace we receive that empowers us to meet specific situations in life. Our duty then is to ask for the grace from God that we can receive. (See Matthew 7 vs 7 - 8). We are to do the asking and God Himself does the work. Therefore, turn to God in prayer, because only God can bring about changes that you desire in your life. But our duty is to ask in faith. Get your face before the Lord on a regular basis and say,

Prayer: Abba Father, I can't help myself. I am coming to You like a little child. I am totally helpless. I lay this whole situation before You, asking for Your grace. I don't deserve Your help, Father, but You are my only hope. Please do for me what I can't do for myself, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Dependable in the Mundane

 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

One of the most powerful testimonies to the all-sufficiency of God’s future grace is the “faith principle” that has governed the lives of so many missionaries, notably those of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF).

Without condemning those who follow a different pattern, it has been the practice of those who follow in the steps of Hudson Taylor and George Mueller to move the hearts of supporters to give by directing their requests to God and not to people.

James H. Taylor, the great-grandson of the founder of OMF, explains how this faith in future grace, rooted in demonstrations of bygone grace, honors God.

We . . . begin from a position of faith. We believe God does exist. We have become convinced of this in a variety of ways, but all of us have experienced the grace of God in bringing us to know Himself through Jesus Christ and through rebirth by His Spirit. We believe we have good grounds for believing in Him through the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: we believe that someone who said He would die and rise again, and did it, is credible in every other way. Therefore we are prepared to trust Him, not only for the eternal salvation of our souls, but also for the practical provision of our daily bread and financial support.

OMF publishes testimonies of God’s amazing faithfulness to demonstrate the glory of his all-supplying future grace. “We want to demonstrate that God can be trusted to do all that He says He will do, by sharing how He has provided for such mundane needs as plane tickets, meals, medical expenses, and the regular support of a whole group of Christian people for well over a hundred years.”

What OMF is devoted to is glorifying the dependability of God — in their message and in their method. Hudson Taylor put it this way: “There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.”

Lives of faith are the great mirror of the dependability of God.

TRUST NOT IN YOUR RICHES AND POSITION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JUNE 05, 2022.

SUBJECT: TRUST NOT IN YOUR RICHES AND POSITION!

Memory verse: "Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10 vs 23.)

READ: Mark 10 vs 17 - 27: 

10:17: Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

10:18: So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

10:19: You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

10:20: And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I kept from my youth.”

10:21: Then Jesus, looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

10:22: But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

10:23: Then Jesus looked around, and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God!”

10:24: And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again, and said to  them, “Children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

10:25: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

10:26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

10:27: Then looking at them Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible.” 

INTIMATION:

The problem facing man is how can a sinful man approach an all-good God. Jesus answers, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14 vs 6). The gate that leads to eternal life is called “narrow.” This does not mean that it is difficult to become a Christian but that there is only one way to eternal life with God and that only a few decide to walk that road. Believing in Jesus is the only way to heaven, because He alone died for our sins and made us right before God. Living His way may not be popular, but it is true and right. 

Jesus said it was very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God because the rich, having their basic physical needs met, often become self-reliant—trusting in their riches. When they feel empty, they buy something new to try to fill the void that only God can fill. Their abundance and self-sufficiency become their deficiency. The person who has everything on earth can still lack what is most important—eternal life.

In the passage we read today, the disciples were astonished at the teaching of Jesus concerning the rich young ruler. Their beliefs were based on the erroneous concept that riches were in some way evidence of God’s favor, especially if such was combined with obedience to the law, as was the case with the young ruler. Whatever position he had as a ruler, the disciples evidently thought that such gave him an advantage in reference to salvation. If this young ruler could not be saved, then they reasoned that no one could. 

The disciples were wrong in their assumptions because their thinking was based on a wrong premise. Their believe that one’s wealth is a sign that God is working in one’s life is wrong. The conclusion that righteousness was based on perfect keeping of the law of God was also wrong. No man can justify himself before God by keeping law, for all sin (Galatians 2 vs 18).

The problem with the rich young ruler, therefore, was not with his outward manifestation of religiosity, but with his heart. In order to come into a right relationship with God, this particular rich person had to relieve himself of that which emotionally kept him from dependence on God. He was self-sufficient in his riches and self-confident in his performance of law from youth. He, therefore, felt that he did not need to trust in the grace of God. 

The second thing Jesus asked him to do was to follow Him. In order to do this he would have to give up whatever position he had as a ruler. For those who are in power, this is a difficult thing to do. In this case, it was too difficult for the young ruler. The rich young ruler was sad at Jesus’ saying; he realized that his problem was within his heart. He was not angry with Jesus for making the statement. He realized that his performance of the law from youth was not sufficient to establish a correct relationship with God. He had to deal with the problem of possessions and position that was a problem in his heart. He went away grieved in his spirit because at this time in his life he could not make this sacrifice to be a disciple.

The young man checked off all the right points of obedience. At least in reference to the commands Jesus stated, he said that he had observed the law. When one believes he has met all the requirements for justification before the Good God by keeping law, there is always something lacking. And it is this lack that will bring condemnation. In this particular case, it was the materialism and position of the rich young ruler that stood between him and God. 

Herein is the key concept of what the encounter with the rich young ruler brought to light: It is impossible for one to perform either law or good deeds in order to justify himself before God. The apostle Paul said that there is none righteous (Romans 3 vs 10). There is no one who can keep law perfectly in order to save himself. It is thus necessary that man’s impossibility to be holy be made possible by the grace of God. Therefore, rely not on your riches or position in life to earn you a the desired relationship with God that culminates into eternal life with Him. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my all. My absolute trust is in You. All I have You have given me, and all I am You have made me. You have the first place in my life, and so shall be all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

MAKE WISE CHOICES IN YOUR LIFE’S PURSUIT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 04, 2022.

SUBJECT: MAKE WISE CHOICES IN YOUR LIFE’S PURSUIT!

Memory verse: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the world that are in it will be burned up." (Second Peter 3 vs 10.)

READ: Luke 12 vs 16 - 21:

12:16: Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

12:17: And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 

12:18: So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

12:19: And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”

12:20: But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you, then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

12:21: “So is he who lays up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

INTIMATION:

Every choice you make has eternal consequences, so you had better choose wisely. In our memory verse, the apostle Peter warns us about the futility of earthly possessions. Then he continued in the next verse (v 20), asking the pertinent question to us all, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?"

Realizing that the earth will be burned up, we should put our confidence in what is lasting and eternal and not be bound to earth and its treasures or pursuits. What are you obligated to? Do you spend more of your time piling up possessions, or striving to develop Christlike character? Now that we have been warned about the impending end, the choice is yours to make. Be morally clean and spiritually alert because you don’t know the hour of His coming!

Earthly possessions are not bad or evil in themselves, but the manner of your pursuit of them is where the problem lies. The Bible, in Ecclesiastes 7 vs 12 says, "For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense: but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it." How wisely then do you pursue these earthly things? Do you pursue them with the excellent knowledge which comes from wisdom; knowing that at the end they are all vanity? 

Even life is a vapor, stripped of the life-giving spirit breathed into us by God, our bodies return to dust. Stripped of God’s purpose, our work is in vain. Stripped of God’s love, our service is futile. Therefore, we must put God first over all we do and in all we do because without Him we have nothing. Knowing that life is futile without God motivates the wise person to seek Him first.

Wealth, possessions, and money are all good, and the blessing of God to mankind, but we are deceived by the notion that they provide answers to every problem, hence we throw them at our problems. Though these material things are good in themselves because God has given them to mankind for our enjoyment (First Timothy 6 vs 17), but being obligated to them is sinful. The apostle Paul, in First Timothy 6 vs 10, says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through many sorrows."

These earthly possessions, are dangerous because they deceive us into thinking that they make life easy, and help us get everything we want. Consequently, we put our trust in them rather than God, who controls all circumstances. Those who pursue the empty promises of earthly possessions, rather than seeking God, will one day discover that they have nothing because they are spiritually bankrupt.

Your life is shaped mostly by what you are obligated to. They can develop you or mar you, but either way, they will define you. If you tell me what you are obligated to, I'll tell you what you will be in the years to come. We become whatever we are obligated to.

Usually many people miss God's purpose for their lives at the point of committing themselves, or being obligated to their choice in life. Many are also afraid of getting committed or obligated to anything, and prefer to just drift through life. Many others

make half-hearted commitments to competing values, which leads to frustration and mediocrity. And many more make a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter. Your total obligation should be to God who owns and controls all circumstances.

Guard against wrongful pursuit of these material things so as not to be a servant to them. They are created by God to serve you, and not you serve them, while you are created to serve God. When you loose your mark, you will serve them instead of God which is an error, and sinful. Jesus said in Matthew 6 vs 24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Can you honestly say that God, not money, possessions, and wealth, is your master? One test is to ask which one occupies more of your thoughts, time, and efforts.

Prayer: Abba Father, all things are Yours, and by You all things consist. Endue me with the excellent spirit to put You first in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Makes God Proud

 

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)

I want very much for God to say to me what he said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “I am not ashamed to be called your God.”

As risky as it sounds, does this not really mean that God might actually be “proud” to be called my God? Fortunately this wonderful possibility is surrounded (in Hebrews 11:16) by reasons: one before and one after.

Take the one after, first: “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

The first reason he gives why he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has done something for them. He made them a city — the heavenly city “whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). So, the first reason he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has worked for them. Not the other way around.

Now, consider the reason he gives in the front. It goes like this: “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”

“Therefore” signals that a reason has just been given for why God is not ashamed to be called our God. The reason is their desire. They desire a better country — that is, a better country than the earthly one they live in; namely, a heavenly one where God is.

When we desire this heavenly city — this dwelling place of God — more than we desire all that this world can give, God is not ashamed to be called our God. When we make much of all that he promises to be for us, he is proud to be our God. This is good news.

So, open your eyes to the better country, the city of God that he has prepared for us, and let yourself desire it with all your heart. God will not be ashamed to be called your God.