SIN AND GOD’S FORGIVENESS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JANUARY 30, 2023.

SUBJECT : SIN AND GOD’S FORGIVENESS!

Memory verse: "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land." (Second Chronicles 7 vs 14.)

READ: Second Chronicles 6 vs 36 - 39:

6:36: When they sin against You, (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them, and deliver them to their enemies, and they take them captives to a land far or near;

6:37: yet  when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’;

6:38: and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captives, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name:

6:39: then hear from the heaven Your dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

INTIMATION:

Sin is a condition we all share, and we all should acknowledge it. The Bible makes it clear that no one is exempt from sin. The Scripture says, “What is man, that he should be clean? and he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!” (Job 15 vs 14 - 16.) 

No one but God is perfect, all of us stand guilty before Him (Romans 3 vs 23) and need His forgiveness. No matter how well we perform or how much we achieve compared to others, none of us can boast of His or her goodness when compared to God’s standard. God not only expects us to obey His laws, but He wants us to love Him with all our heart. No one except Jesus Christ has done that perfectly. Because we all fall short, we must turn to Christ to save us (Romans 10 vs 9 - 11). 

The Scripture says, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7 vs 20.) No one can say I am pure from my sin. As soon as we confess our sin and repent, sinful thoughts and actions begin to creep back into our lives. We all need ongoing cleansing, moment by moment. Thank God for He provides forgiveness by His mercy when we ask for it. Make confession and repentance a regular part of your talks with God. Rely on Him moment by moment for the cleansing you need. 

The four conditions God has given us for forgiveness are: (1) Humble yourself by admitting your sins. Humbling yourself before the Lord is the first condition for seeking God’s forgiveness. God hears and dwells with the humble: “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57 vs 15.) 

(2) Pray to God, ask for forgiveness. Prayer is to make supplication or petition to God. It is a call of love of the Father to come and fellowship with Him. Prayer is our need crying out for help with the voice of faith to the Father. Prayer therefore, is born out of the sense of need, and the assurance that the need will be met. In summary, prayer is God's Will and part of His program for us, to come before Him with our needs. 

(3) Seek God continually. To seek the Lord is to search for Him, and desire to know Him, even the more. It is God’s delight that we seek Him; The Lord said, “Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God.” (Isaiah 58 vs 2). The Scripture says, “Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.” (First Chronicles 16 vs 11.) 

(4) Turn from sinful behavior. True repentance is more than talk—it is changed behavior. Turning from your sinful ways is actually acknowledging that your former ways are unacceptable, and you genuinely desire to change. True repentance also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn’t be genuinely repenting from our sins if we planed to commit them again, and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it. 

God will answer our earnest prayers, and knowing we have a tendency to sin should keep us close to God, seeking His guidance and strength. When we realize we have sinned, we should quickly ask God for forgiveness and restoration. 

All people are sinners by nature and by practice. At conversion all our sins are forgiven—past, present, and future. Yet even after we become Christians, we still sin and still need to confess. This kind of confession is not offered to gain God’s acceptance but to remove the barrier to fellowship that our sin has put between us and Him. Confession is supposed to free us from sin to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It should ease our consciences and lighten our cares. 

When we come to Christ, He forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. Though we have confessed our sins, there is the tendency that we will sin, and even do sin. However, we don’t need to fear that God will reject us if we don’t keep our state perfectly clean. Our relationship with Christ is secure. Of course we should continue to confess our sins, but not because failure to do will make us lose our salvation. Instead, we should confess so that we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with Him.

Someone may ask, “If God has forgiven us of our sins because of Christ’s death, why must we confess our sins?” We need to because in admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are (1) agreeing with God that our sin is truly sin and that we are willing to turn from it, (2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from Him and consequently from ourselves, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on His power to overcome it. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so merciful; forgiving my sins and remembering them no more. I desire to be in fellowship with You always, and for the endowment of Your grace to live a purposeful life in line with Your Will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Prevailing Grace

 

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners.” (Isaiah 57:18)

Learn your doctrine from biblical texts. It stands up better that way, and feeds the soul.

For example, learn the doctrine of irresistible grace from texts. In this way, you will see that it does not mean grace cannot be resisted; it means that when God chooses, he can and will overcome that resistance.

In Isaiah 57:17–19, for instance, God chastises his rebellious people by striking them and hiding his face: “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry” (verse 17).

But they did not respond with repentance. Rather, they kept backsliding. They resisted: “But he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart” (verse 17).

So grace can be resisted. In fact, Stephen said to the Jewish leaders, “You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51).

What then does God do? Is he powerless to bring those who resist to repentance and wholeness? No. He is not powerless. The next verse says, “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners” (Isaiah 57:18).

So, in the face of recalcitrant, grace-resisting backsliding, God says, “I will heal him.” He will “restore.” The word for “restore” is to “make whole or complete.” It is related to the word shalom, “peace.” That wholeness and peace is mentioned in the next verse which explains how God turns around a grace-resisting backslider.

He does it by “‘creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace (shalom, shalom), to the far and to the near,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will heal him’” (Isaiah 57:19). God creates what is not there — peace, wholeness. This is how we are saved. And this is how we are brought back from backsliding — again and again.

The grace of God triumphs over our resistance by creating praise where it did not exist. He brings shalom, shalom to the near and the far. Wholeness, wholeness to the near and the far. He does it by “restoring,” that is, replacing the disease of resistance with the soundness of submission.

The point of irresistible grace is not that we can’t resist. We can, and we do. The point is that when God chooses, he overcomes our resistance and restores a submissive spirit. He creates. He says, “Let there be light!” He heals. He leads. He restores. He comforts.

Therefore, we never boast that we have returned from backsliding. We fall on our faces before the Lord and with trembling joy thank him for his irresistible grace that conquered all our resistance.

Caused to Return

 

Cause us to return, O Lord, that we may return! (Lamentations 5:21, my translation)

There is no hope for God’s people unless God causes them to return from their sliding and leaping into sin and unbelief.

The book of Lamentations is the bleakest book in the Bible. God himself had decimated the apple of his eye: Jersualem.

The Lord gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations. (Lamentations 4:11)He has killed all who were delightful in our eyes. (Lamentations 2:4)The Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions. (Lamentations 1:5)

So how does the book end?

It ends with the only hope there is:

Cause us to return, O Lord, that we may return! (Lamentations 5:21)

That is my only hope — and your only hope!

Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32).

Not if you return. But when you return. I have prayed for you! You will return. And when you do, it will be my sovereign grace that brought you back from the precipice of apostasy.

Christian, this is true for you. This is your only hope of perseverance in faith. Glory in it.

Christ Jesus is the one who . . . is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)

He will cause us to return. Therefore, “to him who is able to keep you from stumbling . . . be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever” (Jude 1:24–25). Amen!

THE WAY OF ESCAPE FROM TEMPTATION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JANUARY 29, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE WAY OF ESCAPE FROM TEMPTATION!

Memory verse: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as 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.) 

READ: Genesis 3 vs 1 - 5:

3:1: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God Indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

3:2: And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

3:3: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

3:4: Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

3:5: For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

INTIMATION:

Temptation is to entice to sin; to put to test; to make a trial of. Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give in to his kind of life, and give up on God’s kind of life. He is busy getting people to sin. In our society filled with moral depravity and sin-inducing pressures, temptation to sin is relatively high. It happen to everyone, and no one can say or feel he or she has been singled out. Temptation will always come, therefore,  we need to be constantly on guard against the devil’s ongoing attacks. The good news is that many others have resisted temptation, and so you can do it. 

We must realize that being tempted is not sin, until we give to the temptation. Temptation comes from evil desires Satan is throwing up inside of us. It begins with an evil thought and becomes sin when we dwell on the thought and allow it to become an action. The best time to stop temptation is before it is too strong or moving too fast to control. However, any temptation can be resisted because God will show you a way out. Then, to resist temptation we must:

(1) Pray for strength to resist. If we attempt to meet life’s challenges with human effort alone, we will find the pressures and temptations around us too great to resist. We must be alert and pray. Being alert means being aware of the possibilities of temptation, sensitive to the subtleties, and spiritually equipped to fight it. Because temptation strikes where we are most vulnerable, we can’t resist it alone. Prayer is essential because God’s strength can shore up our defense and defeat Satan’s tempting power.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Watch and Pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14 vs 38.) He is speaking to all of us. In time of great stress, you are vulnerable to temptation, even if you have a willing spirit. Therefore, to escape temptation we must keep watch—stay awake and be morally vigilant by praying to God, and this is how you maintain you vigilance. 

(2) Run, sometimes literally, from anything you know is wrong. Stay away from people, places, and situations that may tempt you. God will help you recognize those people and situations that give you trouble. Running from a tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory, and often can be the most courageous action to take. Remove yourself physically from any situation that stimulates your desire to sin. Knowing when you run is as important in spiritual battle as knowing when and how to fight. 

(3) Seek support of friends and loved ones who love God and can offer help when you are tempted. This is how you build up your resistance and help others. When one is weak, others might be strong. The devil often tempts us when we are vulnerable—when we are under physical or emotional stress (for example; lonely, tired, weighing big decisions, or faced with uncertainty). Sharing your concerns or opinion with others can help you avoid any temptations by the devil. You may have strong faith, but you also have areas of weakness, and that is where temptation usually strikes. Strengthen and protect yourself where you are weak because a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. 

(4) Be focused on doing God’s Will and not your own. Often we are tempted not through our weaknesses, but through our strengths, where we are most susceptible to pride. We must guard at all times against his attacks. When we give in to the devil and wrongly use our strengths, we become proud and self-reliant. Trusting in our own powers, we feel little need of God. To avoid the trap, we must realize that all our strengths are God’s gifts to us, and we must dedicate those strengths to His service. 

Most decisions about how to face temptation are made with cool heads long before we feel the heat of temptation. Build your defenses now before temptation strikes. When temptation strikes it is too late to ask for advice. When desire is fully activated, people don’t want advice, they want satisfaction. Resistance is easier if the decision has already been made. Don’t wait to see what happens. Prepare for temptation by deciding now how you will act when you face it.

All Christians struggle with temptation. Sometimes it is so subtle that we don’t even realize what is happening to us. Satan wants to destroy believers or at least neutralize them through sin, shame, and guilt. He tries to block God’s purposes for your life or for someone else’s life. God has promised that he won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. Ask God to help you recognize temptation and to give you strength to overcome it and choose God’s way instead. At the root of most temptation is a real need or desire that God can fill, but we must trust in His timing. 

Prayer: Abba Father, help me to be sensitive to temptation, and give me the strength and wisdom to overcome it. Endue me with the spirit of total obedience and commitment to Your laws, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JANUARY 28, 2023.

SUBJECT : GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT!

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: First Kings 17 vs 10 - 16:

17:10: So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, Indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”

17:11: And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

17:12: So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

17:13: And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me, and afterward make some for yourself and for your son.

17:14: For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”

17:15: So she went and did according to the word of Elijah: and she, and he, and her household, ate for many days.

17:16: The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.

INTIMATION:

Priority is the state of being first in time, place, or rank; having a preference; something that ought to be considered or dealt with in the earliest stage of proceedings. And to “get one’s priorities right” is to give things appropriate attention in appropriate order.

Getting our priorities right is the first step and solid foundation for a life of exploits and fulfillment of purpose. In our memory verse, Jesus spoke about priorities. He said that when we put God first, everything we really need will be given to us as well. This means that when we put God first, the wisdom He gives will enable us to have richly rewarding lives. When we have a purpose for living and learn to be content with what we have, we have greater wealth than we could ever imagine. 

To “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything. The pressures of everyday living; people, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly become most important to you if you don’t actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life.

In the passage we read today, the widow of Zarephath put her priorities right by putting God and His kingdom first, even before her life and that of her son. When  she met Elijah, she thought she was preparing her last meal. She recognized him as a prophet of God, and put everything about him first because he was a servant God. She trusted God and His servant Elijah and gave all she had to eat to him first. That simple act of faith produced a miracle. Not only was she fed, the prophet and her son were also fed for many days. Also, that act of faith and obedience, and getting her priorities right further brought about the miracle of raising the dead; Elijah revived the widow’s dead son. (First Kings 17 vs 17 - 22.)

King Solomon also, got his priorities right; he put the need of his people first and asked for wisdom rather than riches. He realized that wisdom would be the most valuable asset he could have as a king. Later he wrote wisdom “is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her” (Proverbs 3 vs 15). In his profound request, he said to God, “Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” (Second Chronicles 1 vs 10).

Then God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, or wealth, or honor, or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people, over whom I have made you king—wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.” (Second Chronicles 1 vs 11 - 12). His priorities he got right did not only get him wisdom but brought along riches, honor, and wealth such that never been seen and will ever be seen with any king!

Again, the people of Judah at one time got their priorities wrong and paid dearly for it. God said to them, “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.” (Haggai 1 vs 9). God called for drought on the land and mountains and all the labor of their hands were ruined. 

Judah’s problem was confused priorities. They left what should be first in their lives—neglecting God by not caring for His house, and God was angry with them. Like Judah, our priorities involving occupation, family, and God’s work are often confused. Jobs, homes, vacations, and leisure activities may rank higher on our list of importance than God hence our poor attitude towards His work and His kingdom. Are you getting your priorities right? What is first in your life? Can God say to you, “My child come into My rest, you have done well.” My prayer is that none of us would miss getting our priorities right, in Jesus’ name.

Many people claim to know God. We will not know for certain in this life, but a glance on their lifestyles will quickly tell us if they are getting their priorities right; what they value and whether they have ordered their lives around kingdom priorities. Our conduct speaks volume about what we believe (See First John 2 vs 4 - 6) What do people know about God and about your faith by watching your life?

Jesus gave us the summary of living our lives with our priorities right. He said that if we truly love God and our neighbor, we will naturally keep the commandments (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 40). This is looking at God’s law positively and putting it first in our lives. Rather than worrying about all we should not do, we should concentrate on all we can do to show our love for God and others. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of wisdom and understanding that I will get my priorities right, to live a life of exploits in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Repent?

 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

A vague, bad feeling that you are a crummy person is not the same as conviction for sin. Feeling rotten is not the same as repentance.

This morning I began to pray, and felt unworthy to be talking to the Creator of the universe. It was a vague sense of unworthiness. So I told him so. Now what?

Nothing changed until I began to get specific about my sins. Crummy feelings can be useful if they lead to conviction for specific sins. But vague feelings of being a bad person are not usually very helpful.

The fog of unworthiness needs to take shape into clear dark pillars of disobedience. Then you can point to them and repent and ask for forgiveness and take aim with your gospel bazooka to blow them up.

So I began to call to mind the commands I frequently break. These are the ones that came to mind.

Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Not 95%, but 100%. (Matthew 22:37)Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be as eager for things to go well for him as you are for things to go well for you. (Matthew 22:39)Do all things without grumbling. No grumbling — inside or outside. (Philippians 2:14)Cast all your anxieties on him — so you are not being weighed down by them anymore. (1 Peter 5:7)Only say things that give grace to others — especially those closest to you. (Ephesians 4:29)Redeem the time. Don’t fritter away the minutes, or dawdle. (Ephesians 5:16)

So much for any pretensions to great holiness! I’m undone.

This is much worse than vague, crummy feelings. Ah, but now the enemy is visible. The sins are specific. They’ve come out of hiding. I look them in the eye. I’m not whining about feeling crummy. I’m apologizing to Christ for not doing specific things that he commanded.

I’m broken, and I’m angry at my sin. I want to kill it, not me. I’m not suicidal. I’m a sin-hater and a sin-murderer. (“Put to death what is earthly in you,” Colossians 3:5; “Put to death the deeds of the body,” Romans 8:13.) I want to live. That’s why I’m a killer — of my sin!

In this conflict, I hear the promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Peace rises.

Now, prayer feels possible and right and powerful again.

He Knows Your Need

 

Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:31–32)

Jesus wants his followers to be free from worry. In Matthew 6:25–34, he gives at least seven arguments designed to take away our anxiety. One of them lists food and drink and clothing, and then says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:32).

Jesus must mean that God’s knowing is accompanied by his desiring to meet our need. He is emphasizing we have a Father. And this Father is better than any earthly father.

I have five children. I love to meet their needs. But my knowing falls short of God’s knowing in at least three ways.

First, right now I don’t know where any of my children are. I could guess. They’re in their homes or at work or school, healthy and safe. But they might be lying on a sidewalk with a heart attack.

Second, I don’t know what is in their heart at any given moment. I can guess from time to time. But they may be feeling some fear or hurt or anger or lust or greed or joy or hope. I can’t see their hearts. They don’t even know their own hearts perfectly.

Third, I don’t know their future. Right now they may seem well and steady. But tomorrow some great sorrow may befall them.

This means I can’t be for them a very strong reason not to worry. There are things that may be happening to them now, or may happen tomorrow, that I do not even know about. But it is totally different with their Father in heaven. Our Father in heaven! He knows everything about us, where we are, now and tomorrow, inside and out. He sees every need.

Add to that, his huge eagerness to meet our needs. Remember the “much more” of Matthew 6:30, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?”

Add to that his complete ability to do what he is eager to do (he feeds billions of birds hourly, around the world, Matthew 6:26).

So join me in trusting the promise of Jesus to meet our needs. That’s what Jesus is calling for when he says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”