HASTEN AFTER THE GOOD EYE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2022.

SUBJECT : HASTEN AFTER THE GOOD EYE!

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

READ: Proverbs 3 vs 5 - 6; Matthew 6 vs 22 - 23:

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

3:6: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Matthew 6:22: The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 

6:23: But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

INTIMATION:

Your eyes are the windows into your body and the aperture in your life. Your eye is “good” when it is focused on God and His Word (Joshua 1 vs 8; Psalm 1 vs 2). The more we know of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily decisions. When you have a “good” eye—one that is fixed on God, you develop the desired spiritual vision; the capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from His point of view. 

But this spiritual insight can be easily clouded. This happens when your attention is shifted from being completely on God. For instance, self-serving desires, interests, and goals block that vision because it has shifted from focusing on God to bifocal vision of God and self. The quickest way to destroy a person's vision is to give him or her two. And the beclouded spiritual vision can best be restored by serving God with all your heart. 

You can't accomplish your goals when your attention and resources are divided. It is a spiritual bait that if you really want to prosper in God’s standard, then you need to forget everything else and press toward this one goal of putting the kingdom first. 

You can learn how to follow God by meditating on His Word. Meditating means spending time reading and thinking about what you have read. It means asking yourself how you should change so that you're living as God wants. 

The Lord is saying that He wants you to be single in your focus on Him. At first, you might think it is impossible to be totally committed to, and focused upon God in everything you do. Yes, it’s so if we have to rely on human strength. But we don't live the Christian life in our own strength. The Apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 10 vs 4 - 5, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

God has given us weapons so strong that they can bring every thought into obedience to Christ. You can work, raise a family, do all of the things you need in life, and still keep your attention one hundred percent upon God. But you can't be focused on God when you think you're the one who is responsible for producing the blessing in your life! For instance, If you think that supporting your family and earning money is strictly up to you, then you are going to have a divided heart, and divided heart is going to allow darkness to enter your life and hinder you in your relationship with God.

God knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we want than we are! We must trust Him completely in every choice we make. We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason; but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of God’s leading. We must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors. Bring your decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide and then follow God’s leading.

King Solomon thirsted for God’s leading—spiritual vision—and earnestly asked for it from God and he was endowed with it, and he received even more than he asked from God (First Kings 4 vs 9 - 13). Consequently, he became the wisest king in Israel’s history, and the wisest man the world has ever known outside of Jesus Christ. This culminated in his writing most of the Books of wisdom (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) in the Scriptures. He said that to receive God’s guidance, we must acknowledge God in all our ways and in all we do.

About a thousand years later, Jesus emphasized this same truth; seeking first, and above all, God’s kingdom (Matthew 6 vs 33). Look at your values and priorities. What is important to you? Where is God on that list? What is His advice? Make Him a vital part of everything you do; then He will guide you because you will be working to accomplish His purposes.

Jesus warned against divided attention when He said in Luke 16 vs 13, "No servant 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." Have your focus on the kingdom, and adjoining righteousness of God, and all other things shall be added to you.

Prayer: Abba Father, by strength shall no man prevail. Outside of You we can do nothing. Endue me with the spirit of total obedience and commitment to You in all my ways, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Only Conscience-Cleanser

 

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14)

Here we are in the modern age — the age of the Internet, smartphones, space travel, and heart transplants — and our problem is fundamentally the same as always: Our consciences condemn us and make us feel unacceptable to God. We are alienated from God. And our consciences bear witness.

We can cut ourselves, or throw our children in the sacred river, or give a million dollars to charity, or serve in a soup kitchen, or a hundred forms of penance or self-injury, and the result will be the same: The stain remains and death terrifies.

We know that our conscience is defiled — not with external things like touching a corpse, a dirty diaper, or a piece of pork. Jesus said it is what comes out of a man that defiles, not what goes in (Mark 7:15–23). We are defiled by attitudes like pride and self-pity and bitterness and lust and envy and jealousy and covetousness and apathy and fear.

The only answer in this modern age, as in every other age, is the blood of Christ. When your conscience rises up and condemns you, where will you turn? Hebrews 9:14 gives you the answer: “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

The answer is: Turn to the blood of Christ. Turn to the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give you relief in life, and peace in death.

The Root of Ingratitude

 

Although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

When gratitude springs up in the human heart toward God, he is magnified as the wealthy source of our blessing. He is acknowledged as giver and benefactor and therefore as glorious.

But when gratitude does not spring up in our hearts at God’s great goodness to us, it probably means that we don’t want to pay him a compliment; we don’t want to magnify him as our benefactor.

And there is a very good reason that human beings by nature do not want to magnify God with thanksgiving or glorify him as their benefactor. The reason is that it detracts from our own glory, and all people by nature love their own glory more than the glory of God.

At the root of all ingratitude is the love of one’s own greatness. For genuine gratitude admits that we are beneficiaries of an unearned bequest. We are cripples leaning on the cross-shaped crutch of Jesus Christ. We are paralytics living minute by minute in the iron lung of God’s mercy. We are children asleep in heaven’s stroller.

The natural person, apart from saving grace, hates to think of himself in these images: unworthy beneficiary, cripple, paralytic, child. They rob him of his glory by giving it all to God.

Therefore, while a man loves his own glory, and prizes his self-sufficiency, and hates to think of himself as sin-sick and helpless, he will never feel genuine gratitude to the true God and so will never magnify God as he ought, but only himself.

Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

Jesus did not come to minister to those who insist they are well. He demands something great: that we admit we are not great. This is bad news to the arrogant, but words of honey to those who have given up their charade of self-sufficiency and are seeking God.

GOD NEVER TEMPTS, BUT DELIVERER US!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2022.

SUBJECT : GOD NEVER TEMPTS, BUT DELIVERER US!

Memory verse: "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." (James 1 vs 13.)

READ: James 1 vs 12 - 15:

1:12: Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love Him.

1:13: Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

1:14: But each one is tempted when He is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 1:15: Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

INTIMATION:

God is our leader, He doesn't lead us into temptations, but sometimes allows us to be tested by them. God tests people, but He does not tempt them by trying to seduce them into sin. As His children, we should pray to be delivered from the trying temptations of Satan ("the evil one") and his deceitful advances toward us.

People who live for God often wonder why they still have temptations. It is the work of the "evil one" to steer them from the faith. God allows Satan to tempt people, so that He may use the temptation to refine their faith and to help them grow in their dependence on Christ. We can resist the temptation to sin by turning to God for strength and choosing to obey His Word.

God's tests are not to trip us and watch us fall, but to deepen our capacity to obey Him, and help us develop His character. Just as fire refines ore to extract precious metals, God refines us through difficult circumstances. When we are tested we can complain, or we can try to see how God is stretching us to develop our character. It takes intense heat to purify gold and silver. Similarly, it often takes the heat of trials for the Christian to be purified. Through trials, God shows us what is in us and clears out anything that gets in the way of complete trust in Him.

The apostle Peter, in First Peter 1 vs 7, says, "That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." As gold is heated, impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off. Steel is tempered or strengthened by heating it in fire. Likewise, our trials, struggles, and persecutions refine and strengthen out faith, making us useful to God. Therefore, when tough times come your way, realize that God wants to use them to refine your faith and purify your heart.

 All Christians struggle with temptation. Sometimes it is so subtle that we don't even realize what is happening to us. God helps us to recognize temptation and gives us the strength to overcome it when we ask, and helps us choose God's way instead. God has promised that He won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear: "No temptation has overtaken you except such that is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (First Corinthians 10 vs 13.)

In our world filled with moral decadence, depravity, and sin-inducing pressures; wrong desires and temptation happen to everyone. Nobody should think him or her is alone in this situation, knowing that many others are in it, and many also have resisted temptation through God's leading. God knows our weaknesses and strength, and any temptation can be resisted because God will help you resist it. 

God helps resist temptation by helping you recognize those people and situations that give you trouble, and those things that tempt you. The immediate solution is to run from anything you know is wrong, and choose to do only what is right. This you can achieve when you pray to God for help. Also acquaint yourself with friends who love God and can offer help when you are tempted.

Running from a tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory. Second Timothy 2 vs 22 advises thus, "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Running away is sometimes considered cowardly, but wise people realize that removing themselves physically from temptation often can be the most courageous action to take. It is advisable to remove yourself physically from any situation that stimulates your desire to sin. In so doing, you can handle any recurring temptation that is difficult for you to resist.

Some people think that Christianity is a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act. But the use of active and forceful verbs: flee, pursue, run, shows we must have an active faith, obeying God with courage and doing what we know is right.

Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17 vs 15, saying, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." This request made by Jesus our Messiah, to God, our Father in heaven, shows that only Him can keep us from Satan, the evil one. He does that through His leading us by His Word, and the revelations He gives in fellowship with Him. God doesn't come down to physically hold you by the hand to lead you. Therefore, acquaint yourself with Him through His Word, and ceaselessly fellowship with Him in prayers.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to live according to Your word, O most merciful Father, and endue me with the power to overcome temptations. For I know that by my strength I cannot prevail over the tempter. Only You can strengthen me to overcome the wiles of the devil. My eyes are completely fixed on You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE ATTITUDE OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE ATTITUDE OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS!

Memory verse: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (First John 1 vs 9.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 25 - 26:

11:25: And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 

11:26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.

INTIMATION:

As imperfect being we are, we are always sinning; knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, we need to continually be confessing our sins so as to receive forgiveness of our sins from the Lord, occasioning continued fellowship with the Lord. As enumerated in our memory verse, God is so faithful that if we confess our sins, we are assured of His forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness, and our fellowship with Him is restored.

David confessed his sin and prayed, "Cleans me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19 vs 12 - 13.) Presumptuous sins are the sins we commit unknowingly, or when we take certain things for granted; when we believe that something is true without proof. Most times we end up apologizing for the wrong done unwittingly.

Most believers are plagued by guilt; they may have committed a sin unknowingly, done something good with selfish intentions, failed to put their whole heart into a task, or neglected what they should have done. With an attitude of confession, we will always present ourselves to God as sinners that needs forgiveness. God fully and completely forgives us—even for those sins we do unknowingly.

When our sins are forgiven, we can stand boldly in His presence and make our petition. Therefore, it is to our own advantage that we ask for forgiveness of sins, so that our Heavenly Father can hear our prayers.

The psalmist said in Psalm 66 vs 18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." When we refuse to repent or when we harbor and cherish certain sins, we place a wall between us and God. We may not be able to remember every sin we have ever committed, but our attitude should be one of confession and obedience. 

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, He made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. God has forgiven our sins; we must now forgive those who have wronged us. This is for our own interest because it is upon doing so that God may hear our prayers. 

In the passage we read today, Jesus warned us that whenever we stand to prayer, we must come to Him with a clean heart; loving and iniquity free. Therefore, we should check ourselves to ensure that we don’t have anything against anyone, forgiving and setting everyone who have wronged us free in our heart. In so doing, we would have set a platform for our own forgiveness by God. Jesus gave the  startling warning about forgiveness because when we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. 

God's forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but rather it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means. It is noteworthy that Christ said; "that your Father in heaven 'may' forgive you, not 'must' forgive you. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us our sins, we should ask ourselves, "Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?"

The apostle Paul admonished us on forgiveness in Ephesians 4 vs 32, saying, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." He re-emphasized this In Colossians 3 vs 12 - 13, "Therefore, as elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you must do." 

The key to forgiveness is remembering how much God has forgiven you. For most people it is difficult for them to forgive someone who has wronged them a little when God has forgiven them so much. Realizing God's infinite love and forgiveness can help you love and forgive others. God forgives us solely because of His great mercy. As we come to understand His mercy, however, we will want to be like Him. Having received forgiveness, we will pass it to others. Those who are unwilling to forgive has not become one with Christ, who was willing to forgive even those who crucified Him (Luke 23 vs 34). 

To remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven. Because God has forgiven us our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. Realizing how completely Christ has forgiven us should produce a free and generous attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don't forgive others, we are setting ourselves outside and above Christ's law of love—"Love your neighbor as yourself."

Prayer: Abba Father, Your love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit indwelling us, enabling us to live by His power. May I serve You in complete obedience, trust, true love for You and my neighbor, that I may be at peace with everyone, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Magnify God

 

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:30)

There are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.

When David says, “I will magnify God with thanksgiving,” he does not mean, “I will make a small God look bigger than he is.” He means, “I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is.”

We are not called to be microscopes. We are called to be telescopes. Christians are not called to be con-men who magnify their product out of all proportion to reality, when they know the competitor’s product is far superior. There is nothing and nobody superior to God. And so the calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is.

That’s why we exist, why we were saved, as Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in this: feel, think, and act in a way that will make God look as great as he really is. Be a telescope for the world of the infinite starry wealth of the glory of God.

This is what it means for a Christian to magnify God. But you can’t magnify what you haven’t seen or what you quickly forget.

Therefore, our first task is to see and to remember the greatness and goodness of God. So we pray to God, “Open the eyes of my heart!” (Ephesians 1:18), and we preach to our souls, “Soul, forget not all his benefits!” (Psalm 103:2).

Jesus Prays for Us

 

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)

It says that Christ is able to save to the uttermost — forever — since he always lives to make intercession for us. In other words, he would not be able to save us forever if he did not go on interceding for us forever.

This means our salvation is as secure as Christ’s priesthood is indestructible. This is why we needed a priest so much greater than any human priest. Christ’s deity and his resurrection from the dead secure his indestructible priesthood for us.

This means we should not talk about our salvation in static terms the way we often do — as if I did something once in an act of decision, and Christ did something once when he died and rose again, and that’s all there is to it. That’s not all there is to it.

This very day I am being saved by the eternal intercession of Jesus in heaven. Jesus is praying for us and that is essential to our salvation.

We are saved eternally by the eternal prayers (Romans 8:34) and advocacy (1 John 2:1) of Jesus in heaven as our High Priest. He prays for us and his prayers are answered because he prays perfectly on the basis of his perfect sacrifice.