GOOD WORKS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR US!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JANUARY 01, 2023.

SUBJECT: GOOD WORKS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR US!

Memory verse: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2 vs 10.)

READ: Acts 9 vs 36 - 42:

9:36: Now there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.

9:37: But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

9:38: And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.

9:39: Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

9:40: But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

9:41: Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

9:42: And it became known throughout all Joppa; and many believed on the Lord.

INTIMATION:

Good signifies that which is morally honorable, pleasing to God, and beneficial. Good works therefore, are works honorable, pleasing to God, and beneficial to all. God had prepared believers beforehand to walk in those good works. God, by His nature, is an epitome of goodness. For instance, we become believers through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or acts of service on our part. 

However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, not merely to please ourselves. While no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit but to serve Christ and build up His church—the Body of Christ.

To do good is the will of God for all believers, and they are to take thought of things good, prove it by doing them (Romans 12 vs 2), and cleve to it (Romans 12 vs 9). Good works are not only pleasing to God but also to man, and makes you outstanding in your society. The Scripture, in Romans 13 vs 3, says, “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.” 

The good works does not only earn you praise only in the society, but is also rewarded by God. And being conscious of this fact, the Bible says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of God” (Galatians 6 vs 10). Obviously, sometimes your good works are not recognized, and it is discouraging to continue to do good or right and receive no word of thanks or see no tangible results. But keep on doing good knowing that God will come with His reward, and in due time you will reap a harvest of blessing. 

When you do good, you receive the same from God (Ephesians 6 vs 8), and He rewards good works with glory, honor, and peace (Romans 2 vs 10). Therefore, Christians are to take thought for things honorable and do them, and also to follow after them. The Scripture instructs us thus, “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 15), and not to be wary in well doing (Galatians 6 vs 9), and to hold fast that which is good (First Thessalonians 5 vs 21).

We should be zealous of good works for it is for the reason that Christ saved us; “Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2 vs 14). We are redeemed and purified to imitate Him in good works, and maintain them according to the Scripture; “This is the faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” (Titus 3 vs 8.)

Now, knowing all the benefits of doing good, which includes avoidance of harm (First Peter 3 vs 13), and overcoming evil with it (Romans 12 vs 21), Christians must devote themselves to doing good works—faithful service, acts of charity, and involvement in civil affairs, to mention but a few, for this is the will of God for us; to be more like Christ.

While good works cannot save us, or even increase God’s love for us because God had already loved and saved us with or without good works, they are true indications of our faith in, and love for Christ. We should then provoke them among ourselves (Hebrews 10 vs 24),  to bear testimony by them as children of God (First Peter 2 vs 12), knowing that if our actions are good and above reproach, even unbelievers will end up praising God, and consequently turning to Him.

In the passage we read today, Dorcas made an enormous impact on her community by her good works—walking in the will of God; always doing kind things to others and helping the poor by making coats and other garments for them. When she died, the whole community was thrown into mourning. They were very sorrowful that they lost a good woman known for her good works which they will greatly miss on her passing. They were desirous of having her back, and searched for the apostle Peter, believing he can pray to God to bring her back to life.

When Peter came, the room was filled with mourners, very likely many of the people she had helped. He knelt down and prayed, and God restored her life. And when she was brought back to life, the news raced through the town, and obviously, there would have been jubilation all over the town. 

This passage teaches us that we all have our individual gifts God has endowed us with, for His use for building and edification of the Body of Christ. Though, God uses great preachers amongst us to accomplish His will, but we can’t all be preachers, and we are all witnessing for Christ. He also uses those who have gifts of kindness like Dorcas (Tabitha) to accomplish His will. Rather than wishing you had other gifts, make good use of the gifts God has given you.

The pertinent question for us all is, “What are people saying about you now?” And “What will people say about you in your passing?“ “Will you be missed, and wished to come back to life?” Truthful and sincere answers to these questions will be a quick reminder to you, to know if you are walking in the will of God. May you never never walk out of God’s will in Jesus mighty Name!

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of excellence in good works, that I may never relent in using the gifts and talents You bestowed on me for service to you in good works, and to all humanity, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

INTIMACY WITH GOD

 INTIMACY WITH GOD

It begins with your relationship to God in “INTIMACY.”  Daniel says, “They who know their God will be strong and do exploits.”  (Daniel 11:32b) Daniel knew God because he spent many disciplined hours alone with him.

This intimacy begins with the simple discipline of "being still" and grows from there. We start with learning to be quiet in God’s presence and so, to hear His whispers. It is about intimacy, not getting things from God. It is about relationship, not about telling God all the world’s needs.  Begin small by learning the first step. It will take you awhile. It took me a good year to learn to be still. I still struggle with it. We are not used to being still or listening to God’s whisper. It takes time. It takes patience, but you can learn it.

Begin with one step, the first step. Learn it well until you can discipline yourself to spend three minutes on it without distraction. A three-minute egg timer will become your best friend as you seek to discipline your mind and heart in prayer.

It is extremely important to spend adequate time in preparation for intercession since that is the discipline most often neglected or missing altogether in our times of intercession. It is important because God says it is.

Happy 2023 a year of double honour and grace!

Death Rehearsal

 

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

For me, the end of a year is like the end of my life. And 11:59 pm on December 31 is like the moment of my death.

The 365 days of the year are like a miniature lifetime. And these final hours are like the last days in the hospital after the doctor has told me that the end is very near. And in these last hours, the lifetime of this year passes before my eyes, and I face the inevitable question: Did I live it well? Will Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, say “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)?

I feel very fortunate that this is the way my year ends. And I pray that the year’s end might have the same significance for you.

The reason I feel fortunate is that it is a great advantage to have a trial run at my own dying. It is a great benefit to rehearse once a year in preparation for the last scene of your life. It is a great benefit because the morning of January 1 will find most of us still alive, at the brink of a whole new lifetime, able to start fresh all over again.

The great thing about rehearsals is that they show you where your weaknesses are, where your preparation was faulty; and they leave you time to change before the real play in front of a real audience.

I suppose for some of you the thought of dying is so morbid, so gloomy, so fraught with grief and pain that you do your best to keep it out of your minds, especially during holidays. I think that is unwise and that you do yourself a great disservice. I have found that there are few things more revolutionizing for my life than a periodic pondering of my own death.

How do you get a heart of wisdom so as to know how best to live? The psalmist answers:

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

Numbering your days simply means remembering that your life is short and your dying will be soon. Great wisdom — great, life-revolutionizing wisdom — comes from periodically pondering these things.

The criterion of success, that Paul used to measure his life, was whether he had kept the faith. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). Let this be our test at year’s end.

And if we discover that we did not keep the faith this past year, then we can be glad, as I am, that this year-end death is (probably) only a rehearsal, and a whole life of potential faith-keeping lies before us in the next year.

WALK NOT IN THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 31, 2022.

SUBJECT: WALK NOT IN 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 - 3:

1:1: 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;

1:2: But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates 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 proper.

INTIMATION:

Ungodliness is general impiety; lack of reverence for God or religious matters. The ungodly has disregard for, or defiance of God’s laws. They act without reverence for God, not merely irreligious but acting in contravention of God’s demands. Taking counsel from—walking in the counsel of ungodly people is a no-no for all believers. 

The Scripture does not forbid us to have contacts with unbelievers. Any contacts between believers and unbelievers should be aimed at converting them to Christ. We are encouraged by Christ to befriend sinners and lead them to Him: “Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5 vs 29 - 32).

Unbelievers, in their lifestyle, tolerate and make excuses for bad behavior, and obviously will recommend its practice to others. When a believer takes counsel from such people, they will definitely lure him or her to their side. Such people easily pollute the life of the believer and lead him or her astray. We must befriend unbelievers for the simple good reason of leading them to Christ, but we must be wary of those of them who are viciously evil, immoral, or opposed to all that Christianity stands for. Such people are more likely to influence believers for evil than the believers are to influence them for good. But on no account should counsel be taken from unbelievers by believers.

In the passage we read today, the psalmist was extolling the joys of obeying God and refusing to listen to those who discredit or ridicule Him. Our friends and associates can have a profound influence on us, often in very subtle ways. If we insist on friendships with those who mock what God considers important, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God’s will. 

Those who diligently try to obey God’s will shall be blessed. They are like healthy, fruit-bearing trees planted along a riverbank with strong roots, and God promises to watch over them. God’s wisdom guides their lives. In contrast, those who don’t trust and obey God have meaningless lives that blow away like dust.

The more we delight in obeying God, the more fruitful we are. On the other hand, the more we allow those who ridicule God affect our thoughts and attitudes, the more we separate ourselves from our source of nourishment. We must have contact with unbelievers if we are to witness to them, but we must not join in or imitate their sinful behaviors. If you want to despair, spend time with mocking sinners, but if you want God’s blessing, make friends with those who love God and His Word.

The apostle Paul urges believers in the same manner, saying, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer with an unbeliever?” (Second Corinthians 6 vs 14 - 16).

The apostle Paul urges believers not to form partnerships with unbelievers because such partnership might result in weakening their Christian faith or commitment, integrity, or standards, especially for those who are not strong in faith. He wanted believers to be active in witnessing for Christ to unbelievers, and should not lock themselves into personal or business relationships that could cause them to compromise their faith. Believers should do everything in their power to avoid situations that could force them to divide their loyalties.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace never to walk in the counsel of ungodly nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, no matter how wise they seem to be. 

Endue me with the spirit of delight in Your law, and empower me to always meditate on it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE BELIEVER’S STRENGTH IS IN HIS ONENESS WITH CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 30, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE BELIEVER’S STRENGTH IS IN HIS ONENESS WITH CHRIST!

Memory verse: "But If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8 vs 11.)

READ: Romans 6 vs 4 - 6:

6:4: Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ were raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

6:5: For if we have been untied together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 

6:6: knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

INTIMATION:

The Believer’s oneness with Christ is the source of his or her ultimate strength. The believer is recreated in Him, and have a perfect union with Him. That new man has taken the place of the old man. There is a vital, and absolute union between the believer’s spirit and the Spirit of Christ. It is as vital as the branch of the vine is vital in its union with the vine. The believers bear Him, and He bears them.

The believer can enjoy his or her new life in Christ because he or she is united with Him in His death and resurrection. The believer’s evil desires, that is, his bondage to sin, and the love of sin died with Jesus. Now, united by faith with Him in His resurrection, he or she has unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin's hold on him or her.

Many don't understand this freedom from sin. The power and penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross, where He nailed it, disarmed all principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2 vs 14 - 15).  The "old man," the sinful nature, died once and for all, so the believer is freed from its power. The "body of sin" is not the human body, but our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. 

Though our body willingly cooperates with our sinful nature, we must not regard the body as evil. It is the sin nature in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in the believer’s body that is defeated. He is now conscious of sin, and try to avoid it. And even when they fall into sin, they regret it. 

God does not take the believers out of the world or make them robots; they will still feel like sinning, and sometimes they fall into sin. The difference is that before the recreation, the believers were slaves to their sinful nature, but now they can choose to live for Christ. Their conscience prick them when they desire to sin, or when they sin, and consequently they desire to confess, and incidentally ask for forgiveness.

God has made the believer what he or she is through Christ, and they recognize what they are and give place to the new thing. That way they glorify Him. The believer should demean himself in negative confession. When he does that, he rob Christ of the glory in His finished work in him, and ht give place to the adversary's dominance. The believer must never do it. But rather must get used to being what he is in Christ. 

Though it is hard for many Christians, who are used to magnifying weakness and failure, instead of magnifying their union with Christ, and their utter oneness with Him. They are used to glorifying the devil when confronted with negative circumstances by attributing it to him—the defeated foe. Instead of commanding the circumstance, in the Name of Jesus, to succumb to their inherent authority in their union with Christ, and their dominion over Satan and his cohorts.

Remember Psalm 23 that is transposed thus; "The Lord is my Shepherd (that is Jesus); I shall not want." In personalizing it now the prophesy is turned into reality. I boldly say, "I do not want. He kept me to live in the midst of fullness instead of in the desert place. I am drinking deeply of the water of life, the drink that satisfies. I am walking in the green pastures of His fellowship. I am enjoying the fruitage of His wonderful love life. I am one with Him, His ability is my ability. I am with Him, and thrive in His strength. With Him I can do all things."

The believer should always visualize himself in Christ. It is always a struggle to get away from the old pictures that he had before in his mind, that is, the old sin nature that has dominated his mind prior to his conversion, especially stemming out of the early teachings of sin and the consequences or it. Break away from such thoughts by waging a battle day by day against such thoughts. Now enter into the victory of the battle that is won in Christ. 

Now look at this, "What would you do if sin had never been?" As a believer, your focus should be on this question. Why? Because this is the picture you ought to see. The Father acts toward the believer as though he or she had never sinned. The Father acts as though sin had never been as far as the believer is concerned. When He recreated the believer He forgot all about his or her past. Why? The new creation has no past. It is a "now creation." This is the victory. There are no theories here that cast a dark shadow over the past life, but they are all wiped out. Now he is in the Beloved.

Beloved, now the believers are the sons of God, (First John 3 vs 2). He is the believers’ Father, and He cares absolutely for them. First Corinthians 1 vs 9 states, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord." Let the believer personalize it: "My Father is faithful to me. He has called me to come and walk with His Son, to live with Him, to carry on the Son's work in His absence. He has called me to fellowship with Him." 

Fellowship means eating together, bearing up under pressure together, drinking from the same cup. He has called me to drink with Jesus, to live with Jesus, to share with Jesus in the saving of lost men and the building up of the Body of Christ through the Word.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for what You wrought for me in redemption, and the privilege of sonship through Your gift of salvation. You made me one with Christ. Therefore, give me the grace to live like Him, and for You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Outfitted and Empowered

 

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21)

Christ shed the blood of the eternal covenant. By this successful redemption, he obtained the blessing of his own resurrection from the dead. That is even clearer in Greek than it is in English, and here it’s clear enough: “God . . . brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus . . . by the blood of the eternal covenant.” This Jesus — raised by the blood of the covenant — is now our living Lord and Shepherd.

And because of all that, God does two things:

he equips us with everything good that we may do his will, and he works in us that which is pleasing in his sight.

The “eternal covenant,” secured by the blood of Christ, is the new covenant. And the new covenant promise is this: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). Therefore, the blood of this covenant not only secures God’s equipping us to do his will, but also secures God working in us to make that equipping successful.

The will of God is not just written on stone or paper as a means of grace. It is worked in us. And the effect is: We feel and think and act in ways more pleasing to God.

We are still commanded to use the equipment he gives: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But more importantly we are told why: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13).

If we are able to please God — if we do his good pleasure — it is because the blood-bought grace of God has moved from mere equipping to omnipotent transforming.

A Horrible Destiny

 

Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Do you remember the time you were lost as a child, or slipping over a precipice, or about to drown? Then suddenly you were rescued. You held on for “dear life.” You trembled for what you almost lost. You were happy. Oh, so happy, and thankful. And you trembled with joy.

That’s the way I feel at the end of the year about my rescue from God’s wrath. All day Christmas we had a fire in the fireplace. Sometimes the coals were so hot that when I stoked it my hand hurt. I pulled back and shuddered at the horrendous thought of the wrath of God against sin in hell. Oh, how unspeakably horrible that will be!

Christmas afternoon I visited a woman who had been burned over 87 percent of her body. She has been in the hospital since August. My heart broke for her. How wonderful it was to hold out hope to her from God’s word for a new body in the age to come! But I came away not only thinking about her pain in this life, but also about the everlasting pain I have been saved from through Jesus.

Test my experience with me. Is this trembling joy a fitting way to end the year? Paul was glad that “Jesus . . . delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). He warned that “for those who . . . do not obey the truth . . . there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:8). And “because of [sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness] the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6).

Here at the end of the year, I am finishing my trek through the Bible and reading the last book, Revelation. It is a glorious prophecy of the triumph of God, and the everlasting joy of all who “take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17). No more tears, no more pain, no more depression, no more sorrow, no more death, no more sin (Revelation 21:4).

But oh, the horror of not repenting and not holding fast to the testimony of Jesus! The description of the wrath of God by the “apostle of love” (John) is terrifying. Those who spurn God’s love will “drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:10–11).

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Jesus will “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). And blood will flow “from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 184 miles” (Revelation 14:20). Whatever that vision signifies, it is meant to communicate something unspeakably terrible.

I tremble with joy that I am saved! But oh, the holy wrath of God is a horrible destiny. Flee this, brothers and sisters. Flee this with all your might. And let us save as many as we can! No wonder there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous (Luke 15:7)!