TITHING DEMONSTRATES YOUR FAITH IN AND LOVE FOR GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 01, 2022.

SUBJECT : TITHING DEMONSTRATES YOUR FAITH IN AND LOVE FOR GOD!

Memory verse: "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.” (Deuteronomy 14 vs 22.) 

READ: Malachi 3 vs 10 - 12:

3:10: Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may food in My House, and try Me in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

3:11: “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts.

3:12: And all nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

INTIMATION:

Tithe means a tenth part, and tithing is the act of giving a tenth of your increase (income) back to God. Tithing is a biblical principle that has been practiced long before the law came through Moses. Even in some heathen religions, it was traditional to give a tenth of one's earnings to the gods.

Tithe was first mentioned in the Scripture in Genesis 14 vs 20 when Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God. This incidence happened more than 400 years before Moses gave the Law of tithing to Israel. It is noteworthy that Abraham wasn't living under the Law, yet he tithed.

The Bible makes the purpose of tithing very clear—to teach us to fear the Lord and put  him first in our lives. We are to give God the first place in our lives to show our faith in Him. And we give first part of our earnings to demonstrate our love for Him. For example, what we do first with our money shows what we value most. 

Giving the first part of our paycheck to God immediately focuses our attention on Him. It also reminds us that all we have belongs to Him. A habit of regular tithing can keep God at the top of our priority list and give us a proper perspective on everything else we have.

God really has no needs for our money! All the gold, silver, and riches in the earth already belong to Him. (Haggai 2 vs 8.) He doesn't need our donations. God could have set up church finances differently. He could have made every minister of the Gospel independently wealthy like He made Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, and all the rest. The tithe exists for our benefit, not God's.

It all comes down to faith, and that's why God told us to give. God could establish His kingdom using other principles. He could give every person in ministry creative ideas that would generate incredible wealth. He could have done all sorts of things, but God set up His kingdom around giving because He wants you to remember that even though you have money, you didn't get it by your own power. Remember nothing is either difficult for, or impossible with Him.

Giving to God demonstrates our love for Him and His place in our lives. Giving Him the first place in your life puts Him under obligation to care for you, and always come through to you. He will return to you as the Owner of all things both in heaven and on earth. The blessedness of giving, especially to God, is exceedingly overwhelming. 

For instance, God demanded that Abraham should give Him His only son Isaac. God's intention then was to find out how Abraham loved Him. Abraham was very willing to offer his son in a sacrifice to God as requested without any form of hesitation because of his love and faith in God. When God saw really that Abraham loved Him, He came through for Abraham, spared his son, and gave him the animal for the offering to Him:

"Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son - blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis22 vs 15 - 18.)

God doesn't need your money any more than He needed those Old Testament sacrifices. The point of the tithe is for you to demonstrate your love and faith in God, recognizing Him as the source of all you have. It's one thing to say you believe God is your source, but it's another thing to prove it. The way you prove to yourself, not God, that you believe God is your source is to give a portion of what you make back to Him. 

People who don't really see God as their source are going to balk at giving part of what they have away. They are going to think, I need that money! But giving back some of what God has already given you is nothing when you see God as your source.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You have given to me. Endue me with the spirit of giving that I may never hesitate to return to You a little of all You have given me in demonstration of my love for You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

PUT GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30,2022.

SUBJECT : PUT GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE!

Memory verse: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6 vs 33.)

READ: Psalms 37 vs 4 - 5; 145:19; Isaiah 58 vs 14:

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

37:5: Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to,pass.

145:19: He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him, He will also hear their cry and save them.

Isaiah 58:14: Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

INTIMATION:

Jesus is telling us not to be preoccupied in getting, worrying about our daily essentials and needs that are already known to Him. All we need do first is come to the knowledge of Him—His reality, His initiatives, His provisions, and His faithfulness. When we do, we will realize that He will supply all that we need, and every human concerns of ours will be met. 

Now, let us look at Jesus’ admonition, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6 vs 31 - 33.)

It’s by God’s grace that we exist. We never entered into any agreements to be created by Him. It’s all His doing, and for His purposes. Therefore, if He has done all by Himself, and for His purposes, it’s obvious that to live and do rightly—living according to His preordained purposes—You must know Him and His ways thoroughly. It’s your quest and thirst to know Him and His ways that commits Him into revealing Himself to you. 

He created you and has put in place everything you require to live for Him, and according to His purposes. You can only know and have access to His limitless provisions when you delight in Him—strive to know Him and His ways better. Remember He said do this first—seek to know Him and His purposes for you first, and all other things you need, including your desires, will be added to you without struggle. All you have to do is seek Him first, and other things flows your way as additions!

The Scripture tells us to delight in the Lord and commit everything we have and do to Him. To delight in Him means to experience great pleasure and joy in His presence. This happens only when we know Him well. Thus, to delight in the Lord, we must know Him better. The knowledge of God’s great love for us, that love that drove Him to give His only begotten Son as a propitiation for our sins, will indeed make us delight in Him.

To commit ourselves to the Lord means entrusting everything—our lives, families, jobs, possessions—to His control and guidance. It means to trust in Him, believing that He can care for us better than we can care for ourselves, while we willingly wait patiently for Him to work out what is best for us. Whatever He does is permanent, and His blessings makes rich and adds no sorrow with it.

The Lord gave this insight to Joshua, saying, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in It day and night, that you may observe do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1 vs 8 - 9.)

Before all else, strive after God’s way of doing and being right. Steep your life in God-reality through the wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him, never worrying about missing out. Then you find that all your everyday human concerns will be met.

God Himself taught Joshua the principle and strategy of ensuring a prosperous living, gaining good success, and having the pleasure of God’s companionship at all times. God said that to ensure the aforestated, Joshua must put Him first:  (1) Constantly read and study the Book of the Law—God’s Word, (2) ensuring your obedience to God’s law—doing according to all that is written in it, (3) always being strong and courageous; not being afraid nor dismayed.

Therefore, to be successful, follow God’s words to Joshua. Delight yourself in the Lord, put Him first in all you do—let Him take the driving seat in your life. Resolve to set aside time each day to read and think about God’s Word, reminding yourself of it day and night, and God will be your constant companion, ensuring your success in carrying out His purposes. You may not succeed by the world’s standards, but you will be a success in God’s eyes—and His opinion is most important. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, that the eyes of my understanding being enlightened that will I know the hope of a Your calling, and the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in those that believe, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Triumphant Shame of the Cross

 

Christ did not] offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:25–26)

It is not to be taken for granted that there should be a welcome for sinners in heaven.

God is holy and pure and perfectly just and righteous. Yet the whole story of the Bible is how such a great and holy God can and does welcome dirty, unholy people like you and me into his favor. How can this be?

Hebrews 9:25 says that Christ’s sacrifice for sin was not like the sacrifices of the Jewish high priests. They came into the holy place yearly with animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. But these verses say Christ did not enter heaven to “offer himself repeatedly . . . for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 9:26).

If Christ followed the pattern of the priests, then he would have to die yearly. And since the sins to be covered include the sins of Adam and Eve, he would have had to begin his yearly dying at the foundation of the world. But the writer treats this as unthinkable.

Why is this unthinkable? Because it would make the death of the Son of God look weak and ineffective. If it has to be repeated year after year for centuries, where would be the triumph? Where would we see the infinite value of the sacrifice of the Son of God? It would vanish in the shamefulness of a yearly suffering and death.

There was shame in the cross, but it was triumphant shame. “[Jesus despised] the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

This is the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). I pray that no matter how dirty or unholy with sin you are, you will see the light of this glory and believe.

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!