REFUSE THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2022.

SUBJECT : REFUSE THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY!

Memory verse: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful." (Psalm 1 vs 1.)

READ: Psalm 1 vs 1 - 6:

1:1: Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

1:2: But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law he meditate day and night.

1:3: He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

1:4: The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

1:5: Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

1:6: For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

INTIMATION:

Ungodliness is total lack of reverence for God, characterized by depravation, wickedness, sinfulness and so on. Therefore, the ungodly are those who do not honor God, who act in contravention of God’s demand. They are depraved (corrupt), wicked, sinful, outrageous, irreligious, unconscionable (immoral, not in accordance with conscience) persons. 

The Bible admonishes us not to seek counsel from the ungodly; those who refuse to honor God—those who discredit or ridicule Him. Such attitude is the same as mocking God; they ridicule those things God consider as important. Following them or taking their advice will obviously lead one to becoming indifferent to God’s will. 

God judges people on the basis of their faith in Him and their response to His revealed will. Those who diligently try to obey God’s will are blessed. In contrast, those who don’t trust and obey God have meaningless lives that blow away like dust. Only two paths of life lie before us—God’s way of obedience, or the way of rebellion and destruction. Be sure to choose God’s path because the path you choose determines how you will spend eternity.

The ungodly are unbelievers, who do not share the same faith with believers. They can be your relatives, colleagues, friends and acquaintances, and this makes it easy for them to find a common ground to counsel you on issues, and may lure you to do wrong and sin against God. Friends, relatives, colleagues can make you fall. It is difficult for people to accept the fact that friends and acquaintances may lure them to do wrong. 

Many people who want to be accepted would never confront or criticize a relative or friend for wrong plans or actions. Many other people can’t even see how their friends’ actions could lead to trouble. The most effective way of avoiding the counsel of your ungodly relatives, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances is to stay away from them—separating from them.

However, separation involves more than keeping a distance from sinful people and practices; it means staying close to God. It involves more than avoiding worldly people and entertainment; it extends to how we spend our time and money. There is no way to separate ourselves totally from all sinful influences. Nevertheless, we are to resist the sin around us, without either giving up or giving in. When you know what God wants you to do, make a clean break with sinful practices. Happy is the one who does not have a life-style of sin. Happiness comes from doing the the will of the Lord. 

While we should be accepting others, we need a healthy skepticism about human behavior. When you feel yourself being heavily influenced, proceed with caution. Don’t let anybody cause you to fall into sin. Instead be a heavy influence on them, and cause them to.turn to Christ. We should not make staying away from unbelievers a lifestyle, but rather a consequence of their behavior. Although Christians should avoid some places, but wherever they find themselves, they should let the light of God’s Word coming from them  illuminate the hearts of all the people around them.

Jesus demonstrated that we must go among unbelievers to help them. There is a difference, however, between being with unbelievers and being one of them. Acting like unbelievers—tagging along with them—harms your witnessing for God. Ask yourself about the people you enjoy: If you are with them often, will you become less obedient to God in outlook or action? If the answer is yes, carefully monitor how you spend your time with these people and their effect on you. Do your friends build up your faith or do they tear it down? True friends should help you to draw closer to God, not hinder your relationship with Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace never to take or seek the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. But let my delight be in Your law; and in it I will meditate day and night. In You alone do I put my trust forever. Help me, O Lord, to be a light to the unbelievers around me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Piercing Power of the Word

 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

The word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies.

Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the word of God.

The word of God’s promise is like throwing open a great window of bright morning sunlight on the roaches of sin masquerading as satisfying pleasures in our hearts. God has given you his good news, his promises, his word to protect you from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden your heart and lure it away from God and lead it to destruction.

Be of good cheer in your battle to believe. Because the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, it will penetrate deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving.

GODLINESS IS PROFITABLE FOR ALL THINGS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2022.

SUBJECT : GODLINESS IS PROFITABLE FOR ALL THINGS!

Memory verse: "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” (First Timothy 4 vs 8.)

READ: Mark 10 vs 29 - 30:

10:29: So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, and the gospel's,

10:30: who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

INTIMATION:

Godliness is to be god-fearing; it’s that piety which is characterized by a Godward attitude. It’s doing that which is well-pleasing to God. The power to lead a godly life comes from God. God allows us to be partakers of the divine nature (Second Peter 1 vs 3) in order to keep us from sin and help us live for Him. When we are born again, God by His Spirit empowers us with His own goodness. 

The heart of the gospel is the “mystery of godliness” (the secret of how we become godly). Godliness cannot be possible in the life of a believer without the help of Christ. The obedient faith that is based on the knowledge of Jesus is what is necessary on their part for the godly life. We can’t please God on our own; we must depend on Christ, and His divine nature. As a man, Jesus lived a perfect life, and so He is a perfect example of how to live. As God, Jesus gives us the power to do what is right. It is possible to live godly life through following Christ. 

God has supplied us with everything in this life that is necessary for living according to His directions and for developing a nature that prepares us for eternal dwelling. One of these things is certainly the word of God. It is through the word of God that we learn how to conduct our lives according to the will of God. The word of God is certainly the guide that we must follow in order to be certain concerning the conduct of our lives in behavior and godly living. 

The Christian has escaped the temptations of the world by directing his attention to the One who died on the cross for his sins. It is not that he is no longer tempted. What the Christian has is another focus or direction of life. Before the conversion, he could look only to the world for direction in life. But after knowing Christ, he has a new focus. It is a focus that directs his attention away from the values and behavior of this world. 

The Bible says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (Second Peter 1 vs 3 - 4.) The power to lead a godly life comes from God. Because we don’t have the resources to be truly godly. God allows us to be partakers of His divine nature in order to keep us from sin and help us live for Him. When we are born again, God by His Spirit empowers us with His own goodness.

Godliness must be expressed in our behavior, not just in appearance. A pious or godly look can be deceitful. The appearance of godliness includes; going to church, knowing Christian doctrine, using Christian cliches, and following a community’s Christian traditions. Such practices can make a person look good, but if the inner attitudes of belief, love, and worship are lacking, the outer appearance is meaningless. The apostle Paul warned us not to be deceived by people who only appear to be Christians at first, but their daily behavior will give them away. 

In following God there is great reward. The apostle Paul, in his letter to Timothy—his true son in faith—noted that godliness is profitable for all things both here, and in eternity. The benefits of loving God is here now, and in the future. However, you can’t follow God if you don’t love Him, and Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14 vs 23.) imagine where you have God the Father and the Son make their home with you! Life definitely will be at its best.

Jesus told the disciples that no follower of His will ever lose anything at the end. For whatever loss we has suffered in following Him, we will undoubtedly recover several times over at the end. Knowing all these, what will ever stop anybody from following Him. Godliness is key to spiritual growth and personal fulfillment. We should honor God and center our desires on Him, and we should be content with what God is doing in our lives.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to follow You to the end, endue with Your excellent Spirit to be godly in conduct and appearance, relying at all times, on the leading of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

DESIRE THE TEACHING AND GUIDANCE OF THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2022.

SUBJECT : DESIRE THE TEACHING AND GUIDANCE OF THE LORD!

Memory verse: "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go." (Isaiah 48 vs 17.)

READ: Psalm 25 vs 4 - 5 & 8 - 10:

25:4: Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

25:5: Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

25:8: Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

25:9: The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.

25:10: All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth. To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

 

INTIMATION:

God instructs us on how to live. He sent His only Son to be a Model for this, and it was one of the main aspects of Christ’s ministry. Teaching shows God's concern for understanding. The other aspects of Christ's ministry were preaching, and healing. Preaching shows His concern for commitment. His miracles of healing authenticated His teaching and preaching, proving that He truly was from God. The Bible says of Jesus: "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people" (Matthew 9 vs 35).

Like a loving parent, God teaches and directs us. The Bible, in Psalm 48 vs 14, says:- "For this is God, Our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death." We need both God's guidance and His guide—a map that gives us landmarks and directions and a constant companion who has an intimate knowledge of the way and will make sure we interpret the map correctly. The Bible is the map and the Holy Spirit is the constant companion and guide. As a loving parent, God teaches and guides us. We should listen to Him because peace and righteousness come to us as we obey His Word. Refusing to pay attention to God's commands invites punishment and threatens that peace and righteousness.

We receive God's primary guidance system in His Word—the Bible. By reading it and constantly learning from it, we will gain the wisdom to perceive God's direction for our lives. When we are willing to seek God, learn from His Word, and obey His commands, then we will receive His specific guidance. As you make your way through life, use both  the map and your Guide—the Holy Spirit..

Unfortunately, we are bombarded today with relentless appeals to go in various directions, neglecting our specific Guide and Guardian. Television advertising alone places hundreds of options before us, in addition to appeals made by cults, false religions, political parties, and dozens of other groups. Numerous organizations, including Christian organizations, seek to motivate us to support various causes of their choice respectively. Added to that, are the decisions we must make concerning our job, our family, our money, our society. All these decisions pull us in several directions, and we become desperate for someone to show us the right way. If you find yourself pulled in several directions, remember that God teaches the humble and guides him to the right way.

Now, how do we receive God's guidance? The first step is to want to be guided or taught by God, and to realize that God's primary guidance system is in His Word—the Bible. Psalm 119 tells us the endless knowledge found in God's Word. Above all, those who are guided by God—who are meek and taught by the Lord—has the earth as their inheritance. The Scripture says, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5 vs 5.) Take the bold step of reading Psalm 119 everyday until it becomes a part of you, and then take responsibility to live according to its dictate. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I love You Lord. Yours I am, and Yours I want to be. Show me the path of life I will walk in, and endue me with the teachable and humble spirit that I may learn from You, earn Your approval, inherit the earth, and receive Your crown of glory—eternal life with You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Change Is Possible

 

Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)

Christianity means change is possible. Deep, fundamental change. It is possible to become tenderhearted when once you were callous and insensitive. It is possible to stop being dominated by bitterness and anger. It is possible to become a loving person, no matter what your background has been.

The Bible assumes that God is the decisive factor in making us what we should be. With wonderful bluntness, the Bible says, “Put away . . . all malice” and be “tenderhearted” (Ephesians 4:31–32). It does not say, “If you can . . . ” Or, “If your parents were tenderhearted . . . ” Or, “If you have not been terribly abused . . . ” It says, “Be . . . tenderhearted.”

This is wonderfully freeing. It frees us from the terrible fatalism that says change is impossible for me. It frees me from mechanistic views that make my background my destiny.

And God’s commands always come with freeing, life-changing truth to believe. For example,

God adopted us as his children. We have a new Father and a new family. This breaks the fatalistic forces of our “family-of-origin.” “Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).

God loves us as his children. We are “loved children” (Ephesians 5:1). The command to imitate the love of God does not hang in the air, it comes with power: “Be imitators of God, as loved children.” “Love!” is the command and being loved by God is the power.

God has forgiven us in Christ. Be tenderhearted and forgiving just as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). What God did in Christ is powerful. It makes change possible. The command to be tenderhearted has more to do with what God did for you than what your mother or your father did to you. This kind of command means you can change.

Christ loved you and gave himself up for you. “Walk in love, as Christ loved [you]” (Ephesians 5:2). The command comes with life-changing truth. “Christ loved you.” At the moment when there is a chance to love, and some voice says, “You are not a loving person,” you can say, “Christ’s love for me makes me a new kind of person. His command to love is just as surely possible for me as his promise of love is true for me.”

Don’t be a fatalist. Be a Christian. Change is possible. God is alive. Christ is risen. The promises are true.

BE SLOW TO ANGER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2022.

SUBJECT : BE SLOW TO ANGER!

Memory verse: "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city." (Proverbs 16 vs 32.)

READ: Matthew 5 vs 21 - 24:

5:21: You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment:

5:22: But I say to you, That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council:. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

5:23: Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

5:24: leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

 INTIMATION:

Anger is a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance. It’s a belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong (personified as one of the deadly sins). Anger is a powerful emotion. Often it may drive people to hurt others with words or physical violence. It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress, and spiritual damage. Anger can be like a fire out of control. It can burn everything and us in its path. Anger divides people. It pushes us into hasty decisions that only cause bitterness and guilt. 

Yet anger, in itself, is not wrong, especially when directed at sin and the mistreatment of others. It can be a legitimate reaction to injustice and sin. When you feel yourself getting angry, look for the cause. Are you reacting to an evil situation that you are going to set right? Or are you responding selfishly to a personal insult? Pray that God will help you control your anger, and channel legitimate anger into affective action for needed changes, and to conquer selfish anger through humility and repentance.

The Bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t feel angry, but it points out that it is important to handle our anger properly. If vented thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. The Bible says we should deal with our anger immediately in a way that builds relationships rather than destroys them. If we nurse our anger, we will give the devil an opportunity to divide us. 

For instance, in First Samuel 11 vs 1 - 11, the Ammonites planned to humiliate the Israelites (the men of Jabesh) when they asked for a covenant with them to serve them. They accepted a covenant with the Israelites on the condition of putting out all the right eyes of the Israelites in order to bring reproach on all Israel. Saul was enraged and greatly angered by such demand from the Ammonites. His anger culminated in his organizing the Israelites for a war against the Ammonites and he conquered them. The Holy Spirit used Saul’s anger to bring justice and freedom. When injustice or sin makes you angry, ask God how you can channel that anger in constructive ways to help bring about a positive change.

The Scripture says, “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.” (Proverbs 19 vs 11.) It’s glorious to control your emotions of anger. Self-control is superior to conquest. Success in business, school, or home life can be ruined by one who has lost control of his or her temper. So it is a great personal victory to control your temper. When you feel yourself ready to explode, remember that losing control may cause you to forfeit what you want the most.

Again, The apostle James says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of a man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1 vs 19 - 20.) His counsel is on anger that erupts when our ego is bruised. In such situations we hear such things as, “I am hurt;” “My opinions are not being heard.” However, when injustice and sin occur, we should become angry because others are being hurt. But we should not become angry when we fail to win an argument or when we feel offended or neglected. 

In the passage we read today, Jesus gave the similitude in the terrible sin of killing and anger. Both violate God’s command to love. Anger in this case refers to a seething, brooding bitterness against someone. Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to God. Have you ever been proud that you didn’t strike out and say what was really on your mind? Self-control is good, but Christ wants us to practice thought-control as well. Jesus said that we will be held accountable even for our attitudes.

It’s noteworthy that when you lose something of great value, or if others conspire against you and succeed, anger is the first and most natural reaction. But you can control your feelings by (1) recognizing your reaction for what it is, (2) praying for strength, and (3) asking God for help to see the opportunities that even your bad situation may provide. Jealous anger blinds us from seeing the benefits we have and makes us dwell on what we don’t have. 

Selfish anger never helps anybody. The Scripture says, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7 vs 9.) Are you angry with someone right now? What can you do to resolve your differences? Don’t let the day end before you begin to work on mending your relationship. 

Prayer: Abba Father, engrace me with unction to function in the fruit of the Spirit at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When I Am Anxious

 

. . casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

There is a promise suited to every sin you are tempted to commit and every form of unbelief that takes you off guard and makes you anxious. For example:

When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). And I take the promise with trembling, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3–5).

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise: “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

So, let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. It is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins.

So, let us fix our eyes on the precious and very great promises of God. Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.