My Soul Thirsts for God

 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1–2)

What makes this so beautiful and so crucial for us is that he is not thirsting mainly for relief from his threatening circumstances. He is not thirsting mainly for escape from his enemies or for their destruction.

It’s not wrong to want relief, and to pray for it. It is sometimes right to pray for the defeat of enemies. But more important than any of that is God himself.

When we think and feel with God in the Psalms, this is the main result: We come to love God, and we want to see God and be with God and be satisfied in admiring and exulting in God.

A likely translation of the end of verse 2 is, “When will I come and see the face of God?” The final answer to that question was given in John 14:9 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” And Paul said that when we are converted to Christ we see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

When we see the face of Christ, we see the face of God. And we see the glory of the face of Christ, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 and 6, when we hear the story of the gospel of his death and resurrection. He calls it “the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Or (verse 6): “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

May the Lord increase your hunger and your thirst to see the face of God. And may he grant your desire, even today, through the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

TRUST IN GOD AND HIS GRACE!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022.

SUBJECT: TRUST  IN GOD AND HIS GRACE!

Memory verse: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3 vs 5.)

READ: First Samuel 2 vs 9; Jeremiah 17 vs 7 - 8: 

First Samuel 2:9: He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail.

Jeremiah 17:7: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.

17:8: For He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

INTIMATION:

“Trust” is described as; worthiness of being relied on; a resting on the integrity, friendship, etc of another; faith; hope; confidence in the truth of anything. Here we are talking of trust in God and His power available to us through the Holy Spirit. We should not trust in ourselves but in God (Second Corinthians 1 vs 9). The Bible speaks of "Trust in God" more than 45 times, therefore, there is no gainsaying the fact that trust in God is key. 

As believers, we should make efforts in achieving our desires objectives through the grace of God at work in us. In other words, we don't attempt anything without asking for God's help. We lean on Him the whole way through each project. We maintain an attitude that says, "Apart from Him I can do nothing." (John 15 vs 5)

God has determined man’s destiny, and no man could change it. Therefore, it’s reasonable and the right thing to do to rely and trust in Him who has designed your destiny. For instance, in Psalm 18 vs 2, King David spoke to the Lord in the words of his song indicating his absolute trust and confidence in the Lord, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." 

We are not to be involved in natural, carnal efforts because the result is only fatigue and frustration, disappointment and destruction. But completely lean on the grace of God to accomplish all our lives challenges. We can never prevail appropriately by our own strength. As a believer, learn to rely and trust completely in the grace of God—the power of God available to us through Holy Spirit to meet our needs.

Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15 vs 5). Many people try to be good, honest people who do what is right. Even when they can record some progress, at some points they are overwhelmed by the pressures of life’s circumstances, and will fail, disappointing themselves. 

But Jesus said the only way to live a truly good life is to stay close to Him, like a branch attached to the vine, to draw on the power of God (the grace of God) to prevail over all life’s circumstances appropriately. There is grace for everything; grace for every tasks and circumstances that requires our attention or action. Therefore, seek the grace of God in all things that you do. 

The apostle Paul, in reminding us of this need, will always start or end his letters to the saints with such benedictions as; “Grace to you and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” or “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” or “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 

God is a purposeful God, and created all things, including you and I, according to His predetermined purposes. To achieve that purpose for which we are created, we must seek His guidance. We are frustrated, and doomed to failure when we rely on our human efforts to achieve the purpose predetermined by God. Therefore, we need the power of God (the grace of God) to achieve our purposes in life. And only in relying on Him, are we sure of accomplishing our purposes in life.

Prayer: Abba Father, by my strength I can do nothing, but by Your strength I can do all things. May Your grace to accomplish all tasks be available to me all the times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Different Tenses of Grace

 

We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

Grace is not only God’s disposition to do good for us when we don’t deserve it — we call this “undeserved favor”; God’s grace is also a power from God that acts in our lives and makes good things happen in us and for us — which we also don’t deserve.

Paul said that we fulfill our resolves for good “by his power” (verse 11). And then he adds at the end of verse 12, “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The power that actually works in our lives to make Christ-exalting obedience possible is an exertion of the grace of God.

You can see this also in 1 Corinthians 15:10:

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

So, grace is an active, present, transformative, obedience-enabling power.

Therefore, this grace, which moves in power from God to you at a point in time, is both past and future. It has already done something for you or in you and therefore is past. And it is about to do something in you and for you, and so it is future — both five seconds from now and five million years from now.

God’s grace is ever cascading over the waterfall of the present from the inexhaustible river of grace coming to us from the future into the ever-increasing reservoir of grace in the past. In the next five minutes, you will receive sustaining grace flowing to you from the future — in this you trust; and you will accumulate another five minutes’ worth of grace in the reservoir of the past — for this you give thanks.

LEADING THE LIFE OF GRACE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY AUGUST 11, 2022.

SUBJECT:  LEADING THE LIFE OF GRACE!

Memory verse:  "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1 vs 6.) 

READ:  Matthew 11 vs 28 - 30:

11:28: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

11:29: Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

11:30: For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

INTIMATION:

God began a good work in us by His grace. God’s work began when Christ died on the cross in our place. His work in us began when we first believed, and continues throughout our lifetime and will finish when we meet Christ face to face on His return. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, enabling us to be more like Christ everyday. 

When God starts a project, He completes it! He will help you grow in grace until He has completed His work in your life. When you are discouraged, remember that God won’t give up on you. He promises to finish the work He has started. In your shortcomings always remember God’s promise and provision. Don’t let your present condition rob you of the joy of knowing Christ or keep you from growing closer to Him.

Do you sometimes feel as though you aren’t making progress in your spiritual life? 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. 

Now, let us consider what the apostle Paul told the believers in Galatia, "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? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 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” (Galatians 3 vs 2 - 5.)

The apostle Paul asked the Galatian believers, "Did you receive the Spirit of the Lord through your own works and efforts, or by hearing the gospel message and saying, 'I believe that?'" "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?"

They 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 Him. God has begun His good work in us. and He is going to finish it. He is working within us right now, developing, perfecting and bringing to completion the good work which He initiated. Since He is the only One Who can do that, you and I can relax. The pressure is off us, because the work is the Lord's, not ours. While we relax, we must do our part, and our part is to believe in Him, and love Him. And if we love Him, we will obey His commands (John 14 vs 31). 

Jesus frees us from our heavy burdens of sin, oppression of the devil, persecution, and weariness in the search for God. He promises us rest, and the rest He promises is love, healing, and peace with God. He brings us into a relationship with God that changes our meaningless, worrisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose. Jesus has said His yoke is easy. The yoke emphasizes the challenges, work, and difficulties of partnering with Christ in life. Though responsibilities weigh us down, even our effort of staying true to God, but Jesus’ partnership remains the best and easy way out, compared to the crushing alternatives of our personal struggles.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your faithfulness never seizes, even in our unfaithfulness. You have promised to be with us till the end of age. I crave for Your leading in every step and area of my life. Endue me with the spirit of complete trust and obedience to You, and may Your grace abound with me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD’S PLAN CARRIES HIS GRACE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2022.

SUBJECT:  GOD’S PLAN CARRIES HIS GRACE!

Memory verse:  "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2 vs 40.) 

READ:  Ephesians 1 vs 7 - 8:

1:7: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

1:8: which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

1:9: having made known to us the mystery of His Will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

INTIMATION:

God is so rich in grace—His voluntary, loving and unmerited favor given to those He saves. All of God’s plan carries His grace. Our redemption and forgiveness of sins are in accordance with God’s Will, and backed up by the riches of His grace. The same grace was upon Jesus Christ, backing Him up in His earth walk, and the sacrifice He made for the sins of the world.

It is hard for us to enjoy life if we don't have assurance about today, peace about yesterday and confidence about tomorrow. Why is it so? It is because as long as we live we will always have to face situations for which we don't have all the answers. If we don't have something going on in our lives that we can't handle, we wouldn't need God, therefore, we wouldn't need faith, we wouldn't have to trust God. However, our peace, assurance, and confidence are because of the revelation to us of the mystery of His Will, inherent in His rich grace toward us.

The Lord will see to it that we are always dependent upon Him. And He does that by leading us into situations that are over our head. That is why although we may get worried, God never gets worried because He already knows exactly what He's going to do (John 6 vs 6), for His grace is sufficient for us, for His strength is made perfect in weakness (See Second Corinthians 12 vs 9). The fact that God’s power is displayed in our weakness should give us courage and hope. He has got a plan, a path, and a work all ready for us. 

But although the Lord already has a plan for us to follow, a path for us to walk in, and a work for us to do, He won't give us all the answers today that we will need tomorrow. With each new day comes the grace that we need to live that day and meet the challenges of it. As we recognize our limitations, we depend more on God for our effectiveness rather than on our own energy, effort, or talent. Our limitations not only help develop Christian character, but also deepen our worship, because in admitting them, we affirm God’s strength—His grace.

You may have heard the story about the young man who was in prison and about to be burned at the stake the next day for his faith in Christ. In the same cell there was an older, more experienced believer who knew more about the way of the Lord. As it began to get dark, the younger man struck a match to light a candle and, as he did so, he burned his finger. Letting out a cry of anguish and pain, he said to his companion, "How can I stand to be burned at the stake tomorrow if I can't stand to be burned on the finger tonight?" The older man calmly replied, "Son, God didn't ask you to burn your finger, so there is no grace for that. But He is asking you to die for your faith, so when the time comes the grace will be there."

No matter what happens, God is still in control. He has a plan to handle everything that we will encounter in this life. And His grace is sufficient to meet all our needs. And He makes His rich and abundant grace available to us that ensures our adequately meeting all our needs: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (Second Corinthians 9 vs 8.)

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my faithful Companion. I am not sufficient of myself to think anything as being from myself, but my sufficiency is in You. Endue me with the excellent spirit to live for You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

Have Mercy on Me, O God

 

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. (Psalm 51:1)

Three times: “Have mercy,” “according to your steadfast love,” and “according to your abundant mercy.”

This is what God had promised in Exodus 34:6–7:

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.”

David knew that there were guilty who would not be forgiven. And there were guilty who by some mysterious work of redemption would not be counted as guilty, but would be forgiven. Psalm 51 is his way of laying hold on that mystery of mercy.

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” We know more of the mystery of this redemption than David did. We know Christ. But we lay hold of the mercy in the same way he did.

The decisive thing he does is turn, helpless, to the mercy and love of God. Today that means turning, helpless, to Christ, whose blood secures all the mercy we need.

The End of the Gospel

 

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:9–11)

What do we need to be saved from? Verse 9 states it clearly: the wrath of God. “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” But is that the highest, best, fullest, most satisfying prize of the gospel?

No. Verse 10 says “much more . . . shall we be saved by his life.” Then verse 11 takes it all the way up to the ultimate end and goal of the gospel: “more than that, we also rejoice in God.”

That is the final and highest good of the good news. There is not another “more than that” after that. There is only Paul’s saying how we got there, “through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

The end of the gospel is “we rejoice in God.” The highest, fullest, deepest, sweetest good of the gospel is God himself, enjoyed by his redeemed people.

God in Christ became the price (Romans 5:6–8), and God in Christ became the prize (Romans 5:11).

The gospel is the good news that God bought for us the everlasting enjoyment of God.