GOD OUR SHEPHERD, AND GREAT PROVIDER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 22, 2022.

SUBJECT : GOD OUR SHEPHERD, AND GREAT PROVIDER!

Memory verse: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8 vs 32.)

READ: Psalm 23 vs 1 - 5:

23:1: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

23:2: He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

23:3: He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

23:4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

23:5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.

23:6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

INTIMATION:

God is our provider or supplier of our every need. The apostle Peter says this, "According as His divine power has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that has called to glory and virtue" (Second Peter 1 vs 3). If He could give His life, what else can He not give us to lead a godly life. 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. We receive this empowerment by the Holy Spirit at conversion. 

God knows the things we have need of before you ask Him (Matthew 6 vs 8), and we can trust Him to always meet our needs. Whatever we need on earth He will always supply, even if it is the courage to face death as Apostle Paul did. 

A shepherd takes care of the sheep. Figuratively, Jesus is referred to as the "Shepherd," of God's people - the "sheep." In John 10 vs 11, Jesus called Himself the "Good Shepherd." Who gives His life for the sheep. The sheep are completely dependent on the shepherd for provision, guidance, and protection. Jesus gives life. The life He gives right now is abundantly rich and full, and lived on a higher plane because of His overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance. The life He gives is eternal, yet it begins immediately you embrace Him. In contrast, the thief—the devil—who steals, kills, and destroys. 

In Hebrews 13 vs 20, Jesus is called the "Great Shepherd." "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His Will, working in you what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13 vs 20 - 21.)

The verses detail the great significant results of His death and resurrection. These are; (1) His works in us to make us the kind of people that would please Him, and (2) He equips us to do the kind of work that would please Him. 

Jesus is also, referred to as the "Chief Shepherd" (First Peter 5 vs 4), who, on His return, will judge all people and give rewards of "crown of glory" that is eternal and unchanging to His faithful followers.

The Lord Jesus is the good shepherd, and we are His sheep, His obedient followers, and are wise enough to follow one who will lead us in the right places and in the right ways. When we allow God, our shepherd, to guide us, we have contentment. He knows the "green pastures" and "still waters" that will restore us. We will reach these places only by following Him obediently. When we choose to sin and go our own way, however, we cannot blame God for the environment we create for ourselves. Rebelling against the shepherd's leading is actually rebelling against our own best interests. 

Death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence. We can struggle with other enemies—pains, suffering, disease, injury and so on, but strength and courage cannot overcome death. It has the final word. Only one person can walk with us through death's dark valley and bring us safely to the other side—the God of life, our Shepherd. Because life is uncertain, we should follow this shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.

God offers us the protection of a host even when enemies surround us. The psalmist gave the coloration of the culture of the ancient Near East; At a feast, it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil. Hosts were also expected to protect their guests at all costs. Therefore, when He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, He protects us, and anoints our head with oil. 

In the final scene of this psalm in the passage we read today, we see that believers will dwell with the Lord. God, the perfect shepherd and host, promises to guide and protect us throughout our lives and bring us into His house forever.

We must remember, however, the difference between our wants and needs. Most people want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. But our deepest needs are spiritual. Many Christians, even though they face unbearable poverty and hardship, still have enough spiritual nourishment to live for God. To have God is to have all you really need. God is enough. 

If you feel you don't have everything you need, ask (1) Is this really a need? (2) Is this really good for me? (3) Is this the best time to have what I desire? Even if you answer yes to all three questions, God may allow you to go without it, to help you grow more dependent on Him. He may want you to learn that you need Him more than you need to achieve your immediate desires. We may not get all that we want. By trusting in Christ, our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting anything to accepting His provision and power to live for Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Shepherd and Provider. Lead me in the path of righteousness that I may always dwell in Your presence. Give me the grace to serve You acceptably with  the talents, abilities, and resources You have given me, this is my utmost heart desire, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

That You May Believe

 

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep, and yet who can yawn through the Apostles’ Creed — that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.

You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.

How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to your glory and your story, O God! How often have I had to repent and say, “God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.”

Perhaps the galactic movie thrillers of our day can do at least this good for us: they can humble us and bring us to repentance, by showing us that we really are capable of some of the wonder and awe and amazement that we so seldom feel when we contemplate the eternal God and the cosmic glory of Christ and a real living contact between them and us in Jesus of Nazareth.

When Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37), he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read.

Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God.

One of these days lightning is going to fill the sky from the rising of the sun to its setting, and there is going to appear in the clouds the Son of Man with his mighty angels in flaming fire. And we will see him clearly. And whether from terror or sheer excitement, we will tremble and we will wonder how we ever lived so long with such a domesticated, harmless Christ.

These things are written — the whole Bible is written — that we might believe — that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder — that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world.

The Birth of the Ancient of Days

 

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

This is a great Christmas text even though it comes from the very end of Jesus’s life on earth, not the beginning.

Notice: Jesus says not only that he was born, but that he “came into the world.” The uniqueness of his birth is that he did not originate at his birth. He existed before he was born in a manger. The personhood, the character, the personality of Jesus of Nazareth existed before the man Jesus of Nazareth was born.

The theological word to describe this mystery is not creation, but incarnation. The person, not the body, but the essential personhood of Jesus existed before he was born as man. His birth was not a coming into being of a new person, but a coming into the world of an infinitely old person.

Micah 5:2 puts it like this, 700 years before Jesus was born:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one; namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed “from of old, from ancient days.”

And, therefore, his birth was purposeful. Before he was born he thought about being born. Together with his Father there was a plan. And part of that great plan he spoke in the last hours of his life on earth: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

He was the eternal Truth. He spoke only the truth. He acted out the greatest truth of love. And he is gathering into his eternal family all those who are born of the truth. This was the plan from ancient days

ALWAYS CONFESS OUR VICTORY IN CHRIST AS STATED IN THE BIBLE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 21, 2022.

SUBJECT: ALWAYS CONFESS OUR VICTORY IN CHRIST AS STATED IN THE BIBLE!

Memory verse:  "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." (Second Corinthians 2 vs 14.) 

READ: Psalm 46 vs 1 -3, 7 & 11:

46:1: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 

46:2: Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

46:3: Though it’s waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.

46:7: The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. 

INTIMATION:

The confession of our victory in Christ over Satan has remained a monumental punch on the evil one. The critical blow to Satan came when the Lamb, Jesus Christ, shed His blood for our sins. The victory is won by sacrifice—Christ’s death in our place to pay the penalty for our sin, and the sacrifices we make because of our faith in Him: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony....” (Revelation 12 vs 11.)

The “word of our testimony,”—of this victory for us in Christ Jesus, has remained an overcoming influence on the devil. Therefore, In the school of Christ you learn to say, "Thanks be to God Who always leads me in triumph in Christ!" In the school of Satan you learn to have a negative or neutral confession. And the neutral confession will bring you down to Satan's dominion and keep you there. Your life will be a failure. You will become a preacher of unbelief and of doubt and of fear.

God is our eternal refuge and can provide strength in any circumstance. Haven known what He wrought for us through Christ in redemption, we learn to say with fearlessness, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” God leads us by His Word. There are several Scriptures that announce our victory, strength, and might in God. For instance, in Isaiah 41 vs 10, the Scripture says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness." 

Jesus, speaking in John 16 vs 33, said, “These things have I spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In these assuring Scriptures in the Bible lie our victory over Satan. That is the conqueror. That is a positive testimony that shakes the foundations of hell. That brings glory to the Father; that brings joy to Jesus; that brings victory to our own spirit.

As you maintain your posture in these Scriptures as your "solid front," your testimony becomes richer and more helpful. The living Word becomes a part of your very being. Now you are acting and speaking the word that lives in you, that is becoming a part of you. You are now bearing the fruit of righteousness. It was these Scriptures that Jesus, when tested by the devil, quoted and disarmed Satan completely. After Jesus stated thus, “It is written…..” quoting three Scriptures in response to Satan’s temptations, the Bible recorded thus; “Then the devil left Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” (Matthew 4 vs 11.)

Do not seize in making victorious confessions enumerated in the Scriptures; it is your victory over, and conqueror of the devil. For whatever God says is sure—His Word is already settled in heaven (Psalm 119 vs 89): "So shall the word that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55 vs 11.) 

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24 vs 35.) In the word of God is sure victory. None of His Words come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work He sent them to do, and completes the assignment He gave them. Therefore, when the word of God dwells in you richly in all wisdom, you will go out in joy, and be lead into a whole and complete life of victory.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. The entrance of Your words gives light and understanding to me. My utmost heart desire is that Your Word will dwell richly in me that I may have bold declaration of Your Word and assurance of victory over the devil, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD'S PASSION FOR US!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2022.

SUBJECT : GOD'S PASSION FOR US!

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: Romans 5 vs 6 - 11:

5:6: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

5:7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

5:9: Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

5:10: For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

5:11: And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

INTIMATION:

God is filled with compassion and wants us to realize we are loved and cared for. This is one of God's most outstanding and obvious characteristics. The message of the Gospel comes to a focus in His passion for us as is stated, and demonstrated in our memory verse. Here God sets the pattern of true love or passion for others, setting the pattern for all true love relationships. 

When you love someone dearly, you are ready and willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. For His passion, God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay, and unheard of in history. Jesus accepted wholeheartedly, His propitiation for our sins, accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins on the cross (Ezekiel 18 vs 4 & Romans 6 vs 23). He, in exchange, offered us the new life that He had bought for us. Something of inestimable value with something completely worthless.

The apostle Paul, in the passage we read, expounded the passion of God for us. He explained that when we were weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves, Christ had to come to rescue us. He came at exactly the right time in history in accordance with God's plan and schedule. It is God that controls all history, and He controlled the timing, method, and events surrounding Jesus' death. God sent Jesus to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because He loved us and is passionate about our well being.

The apostle Paul explained that the love that caused God to create the world for an extension of His kingdom, and caused Christ to die in our place, is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us daily. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that saved us and is available to us in our daily lives. 

God is a Passionate Father. In Psalms 103 vs 13 the psalmist reminds us: "As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him." Jesus demonstrated this the day the disciples found themselves on the Sea of Galilee, and a storm was brewing, which is typical of the Sea of Galilee even today. The boat containing these disciples started to take in water because of the turbulence. With the boat beginning to sink, these terrified disciples asked the ultimate question, "Lord, don't You care?" Of course He cares!

Many of us have at one time or the other felt like that, "Lord where are You when I really need You?" "God, I'm going under. Don't You care?" But a believer and a child of God will remember the promise found in First Peter 5 vs 7, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you." Does God care about your health? Yes! Does He care about your finances? Yes! What about that relationship that has never become what you hoped it would? Yes, He does care! He cares about the minutest details of your life that even the very hairs of your head is counted. (Matthew 10 vs 30). Though you may not know He cares, rest assured He does.

Be assured that, haven begun a life with Christ, you have a reserve power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trial. Too often, in our spiritual life, although we may need to love God more, there is a much higher need to recognize just how much He loves us. When our relationship is such that we feel God's love and His passion for His children, we naturally begin to love Him more. You can pray for His power and love as you need it.

In Psalms 145 vs 18 the psalmist tells us, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth." What this means is that He is never too busy for you. When you pray, you will never get busy signal. He hears you and ready to meet your real need. Jesus had a very special term He used to describe the personal and passionate nature of God. He called Him, "Abba." The word Abba is an Aramaic word used to describe the most intimate, personal nature of a father. He is never too busy for you. He is never more concerned about a crisis in one individual than another. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for Your passion for me. You have daily loaded me with Your benefits, always forgiving me my iniquities, healing me all my diseases, redeeming my life from distractions, satisfying my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's, and crowning me with loving kindness and tender mercies. May I not miss my path in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Christmas Solidarity

 

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

The assembly line of Satan turns out millions of sins every day. He packs them into huge cargo planes and flies them to heaven and spreads them out before God and laughs and laughs and laughs.

Some people work full-time on the assembly line. Others have quit their jobs there and only now and then return.

Every minute of work on the assembly line makes God the laughingstock of Satan. Sin is Satan’s business because he hates the light and beauty and purity and glory of God. Nothing pleases him more than when creatures distrust and disobey their Maker.

Therefore, Christmas is good news for man and good news for God.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). That’s good news for us.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). That is also good news for God.

Christmas is good news for God because Jesus has come to lead a strike at Satan’s assembly plant. He has walked right into the plant, called for the Solidarity of the faithful, and begun a massive walkout.

Christmas is a call to go on strike at the assembly plant of sin. No negotiations with the management. No bargaining. Just single-minded, unswerving opposition to the product. We won’t be a part of making it anymore.

Christmas Solidarity aims to ground the cargo planes. It will not use force or violence, but with relentless devotion to Truth it will expose the life-destroying conditions of the devil’s industry.

Christmas Solidarity will not give up until a complete shutdown has been achieved.

When sin has been destroyed, God’s name will be wholly exonerated. No one will be laughing anymore.

If you want to give a gift to God this Christmas, walk off the assembly line of sin and don’t go back. Take up your place in the picket line of love. Join Christmas Solidarity until the majestic name of God is cleared, and he stands glorious amid the accolades of the righteous.

Christmas Is for Freedom

 

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

Jesus became man because what was needed was the death of a man who was more than man. The incarnation was God’s locking himself into death row.

Christ did not risk death. He chose death. He embraced it. That is precisely why he came: “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

No wonder Satan tried to turn Jesus from the cross — in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11) and in the mouth of Peter (Matthew 16:21–23)! The cross was Satan’s destruction. How did Jesus destroy him?

Hebrews 2:14 says that Satan has “the power of death.” That means Satan has the ability to make death fearful. “The power of death” is the power that holds men in bondage through fear of death. It is the power to keep men in sin so that death comes as a dreadful thing.

But Jesus stripped Satan of this power. He disarmed him. He molded a breastplate of righteousness for us that makes us immune to the devil’s condemnation. How did he do this?

By his death, Jesus wiped away all our sins. And a person without sin cannot be condemned by Satan. Forgiven, we are finally indestructible. Satan’s plan was to destroy God’s rule by condemning God’s followers in God’s own courtroom. But now, in Christ, there is no condemnation. Satan’s treason is aborted. His cosmic treachery is foiled. “His rage we can endure, for, lo, his doom is sure.” The cross has run him through. And he will gasp his last before long.

Christmas is for freedom. Freedom from the fear of death.

Jesus took our nature in Bethlehem, to die our death in Jerusalem — all that we might be fearless in our city today. Yes, fearless. Because if the biggest threat to my joy is gone, then why should I fret over the little ones? How can you say (really!), “Well, I’m not afraid to die but I’m afraid to lose my job”? No. No. Think!

If death (I said, death! — no pulse, cold, gone!) if death is no longer a fear, we’re free, really free. Free to take any risk under the sun for Christ and for love. No more enslavement to anxiety.

If the Son has set you free, you shall be free, indeed!