LOVE IS THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY AUGUST 20, 2022.

SUBJECT : LOVE IS THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY!

Memory verse: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3 vs 16).

READ: John 13 bs 34 - 35:

13:34: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

13:35: By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

INTIMATION:

Love is the characteristic word of Christianity.

It is the foundation of Christianity. The message of the gospel comes to a focus in love. Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His Commandments. Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love of God. Love is not known unless it is manifested in action. Though the loving kindness of God was manifested through the patient work with the nation of Israel, the climax of the manifestation of His love toward man was in the action of the cross. 

Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered.  Love seeks the welfare of all, and works no ill to any; love seeks opportunity to do good to all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith.

It was not that man was righteous, and thus, deserved the righteous act of God through the sacrifice of the cross. God loved man in his state of being unlovable. The agape (love) of God, therefore, was given without conditions. It was unearned love. In this context, therefore, Jesus is the example of the love about which the Scripture is speaking. It is this nature of love that must be exercised in the brotherhood of believers. 

Jesus says that our Christlike love will show we are His disciples. Love is more than simply warm feelings or lovely words; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action. How can we love others as Jesus loves us? By helping when it’s not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than our own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source.

In Romans 5 vs 5, the Scripture says, “…The love of God has been poured out”: The past tense here emphasizes the fact that God’s love was poured out in Christians’ hearts when they responded to His love that was manifested on the cross. God’s love for man through the cross should generate love in the hearts of men to respond to the cross. It is the work of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the cross to generate a love response in the hearts of men. 

“We love Him because He first loved us” (First John 4 vs 19). Herein is the motivation of Christianity and the identity that separates Christianity from the host of man-made religions of the world. Disciples of Jesus Christ are known by their love of another. One is motivated by love in Christ to serve others. He is compelled by God’s love for him through the cross. 

Christianity, therefore, is different from most religions in reference to good works. Though the adherent of other man-made religions do good works, however, the good works are often meritorious. They are performed on the basis of what the adherent believes he will receive as a result of his works. The good works of man-made religions are often focused first on the benefit to the one who does the good works, and thus, the works are meritorious. 

The Christian is moved to do good works because of what the good works will do to the people for whom he works. Because Christianity is a faith of love, that which Christians do is focused on those they love. They thus do good to all men, especially to those who have come into the household of love—the church. (Galatians 6 vs 10). 

The only way one can understand the love of God is to love. Every man has the emotional capacity and ability to act out of love. However, such love is limited to the extent of the emotional abilities of man. God’s love far exceeds the ability of man to love. But in order to begin understanding the fullness of God’s love, we must manifest love toward others. Only through a strong fellowship of love can we begin to understand the magnitude of the love of Jesus. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (First John 4 vs 8). 

It is impossible to understand the love of God without loving one’s neighbor as himself. It is only through love that we can understand those things that are beyond this world. It is the nature of children to follow the example of their father. As children of God, therefore, Christians seek to follow the nature of their Father. In order to do this, they must walk in love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (First John 4 vs 7 - 8). 

The Sinai law taught that one was to love his neighbor as himself, therefore, it was based on his love for himself (Leviticus 19 vs 18). However, Jesus emphasizes an intensity of love that is different. It is a love that has no conditions. It is a self-sacrificing love that extends beyond any conditions of one’s environment, and thus, simply acts out of a selfless attitude of appreciation for all that God has done in one’s life in reference to salvation. 

In the time of the new covenant, therefore, the new commandment of how Jesus loved the apostles was instituted. The disciples’ unconditional love would be the signal that they were the true disciples of Jesus. The true sign of discipleship is expressed in the action of love for the brotherhood. Jesus meant that love in action would be the identifying characteristic of His disciples that would separate them from the rest of the world. Any faith that cannot be identified by love is not of God, for God is love. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of love for You and for others that I will manifest the true nature of the disciples of Jesus Christ in accordance with Your Will, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Jesus Is Who You’re Looking For

 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

The last chapter of Matthew is a window that opens onto the sunrise glory of the risen Christ. Through it you can see at least three massive peaks in the mountain range of Christ’s character: the peak of his power; the peak of his kindness; and the peak of his purposefulness.

All authority is his — the right and the power to do his will. And he uses this power to pursue his unwavering purpose to make disciples from all the nations. And in the process he is personally kind to us, promising to be with us to the end.

We all know in our hearts that if the risen Christ is going to satisfy our desire to admire greatness, that is the way he has to be. Great in power. Great in kindness. Great in purposefulness.

People who are too weak to accomplish their purposes can’t satisfy our desire to admire greatness. We admire people even less who have no purpose in life. And still less those whose purposes are merely selfish and unkind.

What we long to see and know is a Person whose power is unlimited, whose kindness is tender, and whose purpose is single and unflinching.

Novelists and poets and movie-makers and TV writers now and then create a shadow of this Person. But they can no more fill our longing to worship than this month’s National Geographic can satisfy my longing for the Grand Canyon.

We must have the real thing. We must see the Original of all power and kindness and purposefulness. We must see and worship the risen Christ.

WE ARE STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY AUGUST 19, 2022.

SUBJECT : WE ARE STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE!

Memory verse: "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (First Corinthians 4 vs 7).

READ: Deuteronomy 8 vs 17 - 18; First Peter 4 vs 10 - 11:

Deuteronomy 8:17: Then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.

8:18: And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your father's, as it is this day.

First Peter 4:10: As each one has received a gift, minister to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

4:11: If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracle of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

INTIMATION:

A steward is one who oversees the resources or affairs of another. Effective stewardship is the proper management of another's resources, or resources committed into one’s care. The world, and the fullness thereof is the LORD'S (Psalm 50 vs 12). Therefore, if God owns all things, we are only privileged to be partakers, and managers of God’s belongings; all things are His, and entrusted to our care and management for Him. God expects us to be good and faithful stewards. The Scripture notes, "Moreover it is required of a steward that one be found faithful" (First Corinthians 4 vs 2). 

God, in His benevolence, has given us all those resources, gifts, and abilities we have for our management on His behalf, and for the achievements of His predetermined purposes and set objectives. Consequently, we should dedicate our all to serving God wholeheartedly, and not holding back anything, realizing that nothing is of our personal success. Though we are differently gifted in nature, power, and effectiveness, according to God's wisdom and graciousness, our role is to be faithful and to seek ways to serve God and others with what He has given us.

The reason people are so stressed out about possessions, such as money, is that they think they are in control of their possessions. People tend to think they are responsible for all of the factors that lead to prosperity and all they needed to survive. They are worried about such things as losing their jobs, or a downturn in the economy because they see themselves as the source of their provision.

Seeing yourself as the source of blessing in your life puts a lot of pressure on you in trying to control circumstances that are really beyond your control. One of the benefits of seeing yourself as a steward is peace of mind and a sense of security. When you know God is your source, you aren't worried about the natural circumstances. If God can prosper Abraham and feed his flocks and herds in a desert, then He can bless and prosper you in any economic situation. It doesn't matter what is going on around you. 

In our Bible reading today, First Peter 4 vs 10, the Scripture says, "As each one has received a gift, minister to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Obviously, it is by the grace of God you are what you are. Therefore, be a good steward of what is entrusted to your care and management. 

Realizing that our possessions are entrusted to our care and management by God, we should then ask ourselves what God wants us to do with it. Knowing that your possessions are really God's, makes you approach life with a totally different attitude; your attitude toward them is more important than what you do with them.

The Bible, in Luke 16 vs 1 - 13, tells us the parable of Jesus about the shrewd steward. In verse 8, Jesus said, "The master commended the unjust steward because he has dealt shrewdly." This steward was unjust (cheating on the master)—a son of this world, but was commended by his master as wise. Why? The answer is in verse 9; because he utilized the resources available to him to make friends for himself, so that when he fails, they may receive him into their homes. 

Jesus stated that the attitude of giving to others is lacking among the believers—the sons of light—the attitude of being a blessing to others when the opportunity calls, especially when blessed by God. The key to using our resources wisely is to see how much we can use them for God's purposes, and that is real stewardship, not how much we can accumulate for ourselves. Real stewardship is reflected in the way you use your resources in order to influence kingdom values more appropriately. This kind of attitude allows nothing to come between us and God, and keeps us from using our God-given possessions selfishly. 

How mush of a blessing have been to others? How much of your possessions have you given out to others, especially the less privileged who may not be able to give back to you? How much have you been supportive with your possessions for the sake of the kingdom? The answers are with you, and reflect your manner of stewardship.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of real stewardship, that I will manage the resources entrusted in my care appropriately, and in accordance with Your Will, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

SIX LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES TO LEARN FROM AN EAGLE. 🦅

 SIX LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES TO LEARN FROM AN EAGLE. 🦅

1. Eagles fly Alone and at High Altitudes - They don't fly with sparrows, ravens, and other small birds.

MEANING - Stay away from narrow-minded people, those that bring you down. Eagle flies with Eagles. Keep good company.

2. Eagles have an Accurate Vision - They have the ability to focus on something as far as 5km away. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

MEANING - Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacles and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not Eat Dead things - They Feed only on Fresh Prey.

MEANING - Do not rely on your past success, keep looking for new frontiers to conquer. Leave your past where it belongs, in the past.

4. Eagles Love the Storm - When clouds gather, the eagle gets excited, the eagle uses the storm's wind to lift itself higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift itself above the clouds. This gives the eagle an Opportunity.

What the Resurrection Means for Us

 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

What does it mean to “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”? Satan believes that God raised Jesus from the dead. He saw it happen. To answer this question, we need to ponder what the resurrection means for God’s people.

The meaning of the resurrection is that God is for us. He aims to close ranks with us. He aims to overcome all our sense of abandonment and alienation.

The resurrection of Jesus is God’s declaration to Israel and to the world that we cannot work our way to glory, but that he intends to do the impossible to get us there.

The resurrection is the promise of God that all who trust Jesus will be the beneficiaries of God’s power to lead us in paths of righteousness and through the valley of death.

Therefore, believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is much more than accepting a fact. It means being confident that God is for you, that he has closed ranks with you, that he is transforming your life, and that he will save you for eternal joy.

Believing in the resurrection means trusting in all the promises of life and hope and righteousness for which it stands.

It means being so confident of God’s power and love that no fear of worldly loss or greed for worldly gain will lure us to disobey his will.

That’s the difference between Satan and the saints. Oh, might God circumcise our hearts to love him (Deuteronomy 30:6) and to rest in the resurrection of his Son.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AS OUR HELPER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AS OUR HELPER! 

Memory verse: "This is word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4 vs 6.)

READ: Ezra 4 vs 1 - 5: 

4:1: Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,

4:2: they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon King of Assyria, who brought us here."

4:3: But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."

4:4: Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 

4:5: and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius King of Persia. 

INTIMATION:

The Spirit of grace—the Holy Spirit—is our enabler for extraordinary tasks. It usually causes a temporary and spontaneous increase of physical, spiritual, or mental strength. The empowering of the Spirit can be an extraordinary and supernatural occurrence to prepare a person for a special task. This power of God is available to us to accomplish our tasks. We should ask the Holy Spirit’s help as we face our daily problems as well as life’s major challenges. The Holy Spirit is a personality promised and made available to all believers in Christ, as our Helper in our new life as Christians. He enables us to accomplish those tasks we ordinarily will not be able to handle.

To understand His helping power, we will look at the passage we read today from the Book of Ezra. The adversaries of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin were people who had been relocated in the northern kingdom when Assyria conquered Israel. In an attempt to infiltrate and disrupt the project these people offered to help in the rebuilding project. Their real motive was to disrupt the temple project because they don't want Jerusalem to be strong again on their return from exile. 

Although it is true they were worshipping the God of Israel, but they also worshipped many other gods. To these foreigners God was just another 'idol' to be added to their collection. In God's eyes, this was not worship—it was sin and rebellion. True worship involves devotion to God alone. The Jews however, knew this, they saw through their ploy and refused their assistance. Since the Israelites (Jews) were well aware of that fact, they told the Samaritans, their long-time enemies, that they had no part in building a temple to the Lord. And this angered the Samaritans that they began to do everything in their power to harass and cause trouble for the Israelites, to frustrate their purpose and plans. 

Now, in Zechariah 4 vs 1 - 3, the Bible says, "And the angel who talked with me came again and awakened me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And said to me, What do you see? So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand all of solid gold with its bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other upon the left." 

In Zechariah’s vision the lampstand, the seven lamps upon it, the seven pipes to the lamps, are connected to the two olive trees that fed the lamps continuously with oil. Students of the Word of God know that oil represents the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the power of Almighty God. And the grace of God is the power of the Holy Spirit available to us to meet our needs and solve our problems. Now, the seven lamps on the lampstand can only give light and glow if they have oil supplied to it, and they had constant supply of oil from the olive trees. 

The angel explained the vision to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4 vs 4 - 6 thus; "So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord. So he answered and said to me; This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." Here the Lord is speaking to the same people who were trying to build the temple with Zerubbabel. He showed them how they should react to their frustrating situation, that their response to troubles should be to depend not upon their own abilities or efforts, but upon the limitless power of the Holy Spirit to meet the issues and resolve the crises they face. 

The vision given to Zechariah, shows the limitless power of God's grace in meeting our needs being made manifest. Remember, it is not by your power or might but by the Spirit (the grace) of God that we overcome all our lives' challenges. Many people believe that to survive in this world a person must be tough, strong, unbending and harsh. But God says, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." It is only through God's Spirit (God's grace) that anything of lasting value is accomplished.

Prayer: Abba Father, by my strength I cannot do much to prevail, but by Your strength available to me through the Holy Spirit of grace, I can do all things. Therefore, I earnestly seek the enduement of Spirit of grace to help me accomplish tasks of before me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Hope to Obey Hard Commands

 

“Whoever desires to love life and see good days . . . let him turn away from evil and do good.” (1 Peter 3:10–11)

There is only one basic reason why we disobey the commands of Jesus: it’s because we don’t have heartfelt confidence that obeying will bring more blessing than disobeying. We do not hope fully in God’s promise.

What did he promise? Peter passes on the teachings of Jesus like this:

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days . . . let him turn away from evil and do good.” (1 Peter 3:9–11)

Peter, following Jesus, is not ashamed to motivate obedience to hard commands — like not returning evil for evil — with the promise of greater joy. “Bless those who revile you . . . that you may obtain a blessing!” Do you want to enjoy everlasting life? Turn away from evil! Joy for all eternity awaits you! Is that not reward enough to avoid the pleasures of vengeance now?

You will always be better off to obey than to disobey Jesus, even if that obedience costs you your life. Jesus said,

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time . . . with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29–30)

The only way to have the power to follow Christ in the costly way of love is to be filled with hope, with strong confidence that, if we lose our life doing his will, we will find it again and be richly rewarded forever.