Open the Windows of Your Heart

 

A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. (Isaiah 42:3)

Probably the most encouraging words I have heard in weeks came from a prophecy in Isaiah 42:1–3 about how Jesus will use his spiritual power.

Do you feel like “a bruised reed” — like one of those big top-heavy Easter lilies whose stem has been squashed so that the flower flops to the ground and gets no sap? Do you ever feel like your faith is just a little spark instead of a flame — like that little red dot at the end of the wick after you blow out the birthday candle?

Take heart! The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of encouragement: he will not snap off your flower; he will not snuff out your spark.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). “The sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2). “[He is] gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).

It may be a grief to us that we are only a spark instead of a flaming fire. But listen! And be encouraged: Yes, there is a big difference between a spark and a fire. But there is an infinite difference between a spark and no spark! A mustard seed of faith is infinitely closer to being a mountain of faith than it is to being no faith.

Open the window of God’s promises and let the Spirit blow into every room of your heart. The Holy Wind of God will not break or quench. He will lift up your head and fan your spark into a flame. He is the Spirit of encouragement.

How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit?

 

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? How can we experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our church and ourselves that fills us with indomitable joy and frees us, and empowers us, to love those around us in ways so authentic that they are won to Christ?

Answer: Meditate day and night upon the incomparable, hope-giving promises of God. As Romans 15:4 shows us, that’s the way Paul kept his heart full of hope and joy and love. “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

The full assurance of hope comes from meditating on the promises of God’s word. And this does not contradict the sentence nine verses later that says that the Holy Spirit gives us hope (Romans 15:13). This is because the Holy Spirit is the divine author of Scripture. His word is the means of his work. It is no contradiction that the way he fills us with hope is by filling us with his own word of promise.

Hope is not some vague emotion that comes out of nowhere, like a stomachache. Hope is the confidence that the stupendous future promised to us by the word of the Spirit is going to really come true. Therefore, the way to be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with his word. The way to have the power of the Spirit is to believe the promises of his word.

For it is the word of promise that fills us with hope, and hope fills us with joy, and joy overflows in the power and freedom to love our neighbor. And that is the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

UNDERSTANDING THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MARCH 07, 2023.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION!

Memory verse: "I will stand my watch, and set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected." (Habakkuk 2 vs 1.)

READ: Jeremiah 33 vs 3; Matthew 7 vs 7 - 8:

Jeremiah 33:3: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

7:8: For everyone who asks receives, and He who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

INTIMATION:

Prayer is not just reporting your case to God, it is communicating with Him. Some people will say when they pray, "I cried to God." Prayer is not about crying; it is a two way communication, and you pay attention to hear the other party in the communication. It is like a telephone conversation. If you are crying, you will hardly hear the party at the other end. Every genuine discussion or dialogue is made up of comments. enquiries and responses from the parties involved. But most people do all the talking in prayers, not giving God a chance to speak to them in return, nor pausing to listen to what He has to say. The right attitude in prayer is expressed by prophet Habakkuk in our memory verse, "I will stand my watch, And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say unto me, And what I will answer when I am corrected."

If you are not watchful, you will miss His answer. The watchman and rampart (watchtower), are often used by the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk, to show an attitude of expectation, and our memory verse has Habakkuk's attitude of patiently waiting, and watching out for God's response. To truly win in prayer, it  requires your being alert in the spirit, listening in meditation, and keeping your heart open to receive what God has to say to you.

Watchfulness involves patience and perseverance. You also have to engage in intense worship in order to maintain the communication channel, and be patient to receive your answer. When you ask a question and there seem to be no immediate response, you begin to worship and call God by His names. Then you ask again, "Lord, what are You saying?" You are sure to get an answer, because He assures us: "Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know" (Jeremiah 33 vs 3). And remember the answer may not come immediately but with persistence prayer the answer will come.

God answers us in various ways. His answer may be through a night vision, a tiny voice, an audible voice, a Scripture reference, indirect message through another person, or Angelic intervention. For instance, in Daniel chapter 2, Daniel and his friends, were faced with a decree of death. The king had a dream, which he forgot and wanted Daniel and his colleagues to tell him the dream and its interpretation or they would all be put to death. The king had already ordered the killing of the wise men in Babylon when they couldn't tell the king his dream.

Now, the Scripture said; "Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah), his companions, that they might seek mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” (Daniel 2 vs 17 - 19.) 

According to the passages we read today, God is committed to answering your prayer, and showing us the secret things we don’t know. If you ask we receive, if we seek we find, if we knock it will be opened to us. No matter how many demons are connected to your problem, God's wisdom which is released in prayer of enquiry will give them a knock-out. 

Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened."(Matthew 7 vs 8.) Note that Jesus said "everyone," including you, no exception. He is a just God, He said everyone, and means everyone. Therefore, when you pray, wait for the answer, be sensitive and patient to receive your answer.

People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude they cannot hear from God, or that He cannot be found. But knowing God, and receiving from Him takes faith, focus, patience, and follow-through, and our Messiah, Jesus Christ, assures us that we will be rewarded. Don't give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding, and He will give them to you. Also, note that a ‘no’ from Him can be an answer to a prayer.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are most faithful and compassionate; always mindful of, and watchful over Your children. My absolute trust is in You, to always guide me through Your Spirit indwelling me, and directing on the path to go in when I inquire in prayer. Give me the grace to be committed to You, and never miss your guidance, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

TRUST IN GOD COMPLETELY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 06, 2023.

SUBJECT : TRUST IN GOD COMPLETELY!

Memory verse: "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37 vs 5.)

READ: Psalm 125 vs 1 - 2; Isaiah 26 vs 3 - 4:

Psalm 125:1: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 

125:2: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.

Isaiah 26:3: You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind s stayed on You, because he trusts in You. 

26:4: Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

INTIMATION:

Trusting in God completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life, you expect Him to keep His promises, help you with problems or issues in your life, and do the impossible when necessary. And this pleases the Lord. 

When you put your absolute trust in the Lord, He will surround you as the mountains surround the city of Jerusalem. You will confidently say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress." Those who trust in the Lord completely have the same claim and experience expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 91; the perfect expression of the result of our absolute trust in God. And the Lord said:

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalm 91 vs 14 - 16.)

What can be better than the promises of God to them that trust Him in the above passage? The reason we trust in the Lord is because He is an unchanging God. As the mountain remains unmoved so do the consistency of our God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Malachi 3 vs 6; Hebrews 13 vs 8). And because "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy," (Psalm 147 vs 11), He surrounds His people now and forever. Interestingly, God is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should repent. He does all He says, and ensures that His promises come to pass at His appointed time.

Noah was an outstanding and exemplary personality regarding his trust in God. We noted that even when God asked him to do something that made no sense to him, he trusted God and obeyed. Noah knew nothing about flood, there has been no rain before that time, so he knew nothing about rain. He has never seen an ark or built a ship before, but obeyed the instructions God gave him and adhered strictly to the measurements and materials God told him to use.

The Bible says, in Hebrews 11 vs 7, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Obviously Noah was faced with three problems that could have caused him to doubt. First, Noah had never seen rain, because prior to the flood, God irrigated the earth from the ground up. (See Genesis 2 vs 5 - 6.) Second, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Even if he could learn to build a ship, how would he get it to water? Third, there was the problem of rounding up all the animals and then caring for them. But Noah didn't complain or make excuses. He trusted God completely, and that made God smile at him.

It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. I imagined he faced many discouraging days. With no sign of rain year after year, he was ruthlessly criticized as a "crazy man who thinks God speaks to him." I imagined Noah's children were often embarrassed by the giant ship being built in their front yard. Yet Noah kept trusting God.

In what areas of your life do you need to trust God completely? Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when the children trust in their love and wisdom, your trust and faith makes God happy. And without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) My utmost heart desire is to trust God completely that I will sincerely testify of the Lord, as prophet Habakkuk; “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 4 vs 17 - 18.)

Trusting God completely pleases Him, and consequently He ensures you are kept in perfect peace that surpasses all human understanding. We can never avoid strife around us in this world, but with God we can know perfect peace even in turmoil. When we are devoted to Him, our whole attitude is steady and stable. Supported by God's unchanging love and mighty power, we are not shaken by the surrounding chaos. 

Prayer: Abba Father, forever my whole trust is in You. Even when the earth refuses to yield her increase, and the works of my hands fails to prosper; even when the whole world turn against me that people will ask me where is your God; I will rejoice in You and my whole confidence will rest upon You because I know whom I have trusted, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God Regards the Lowly

 

“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

You may be going through things right now that are painfully preparing you for some precious service to Jesus and to his people. When a person strikes rock bottom with a sense of nothingness or helplessness, he may find that he has struck the Rock of Ages.

I remember a delicious sentence from Psalm 138:6 that our family read at our breakfast devotions: “Though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly.”

You cannot sink so low in despairing of your own resources that God does not see and care. In fact, he is at the bottom waiting to catch you. As Moses says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Yes, he sees you trembling and slipping. He could (and often did) grab you before you hit bottom. But this time he has some new lessons to teach.

The psalmist said in Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” He does not say it was easy or fun or pleasant. In retrospect, he simply says, “It was good for me.”

Last week I was reading a book by a Scottish minister named James Stewart. He said, “In love’s service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.” That’s why I believe some of you are being prepared right now for some precious service of love. Because you are being wounded.

Do not think that your wound has come to you apart from God’s gracious design. Remember his word: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me . . . I wound and I heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39).

May God grant a special grace to you who are groaning under some burden. Look eagerly for the new tenderness of love that God is imparting to you even now.

RECEIVE GOD’S PROMISES WITH FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 05, 2023.

SUBJECT : RECEIVE GOD’S PROMISES WITH FAITH!

Memory verse: "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." (Hebrews 4 vs 2.)

READ: Hebrews 4 vs 1 - 7:

4:1: Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 

4:2: For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

4:3: For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest'" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4:4: For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works";

4:5: And again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest."

4:6: Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,

4:7: Again He designates a certain day, saying to David, "Today," after such a long time, as it had been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

INTIMATION:

The Bible says that, when people heard God's Word but didn’t believe it or had faith in them, ‘the word preached did will profit them, since it is not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.’ Unbelief results in disobedience. One cannot claim to believe in God if he or she does not obey the will of God—the Word of God. If the Christian’s faith does not move him or her to continue to obey the will of God, he or she will not enter into God’s final rest of heaven. 

Many of the Christians filling our churches today know a great deal about Christ, but they do not know Christ personally—they do not combine their knowledge with faith. They do not believe completely in Him and do not act on what they know. Consequently, they turn back on the promises of God, and doubt that God would fulfill His promises. Especially when a problem shows up in their life, they will be overwhelmed by the difficulties of the present moment, and allow that to overshadow the reality of God's promise. They are tempted to trust in their abilities to handle their problems. Never trust in your efforts that are never adequate, but rather on Christ’s unfailing power, or else you can be in danger of turning back.

The under-listed conditions keep us from God's ultimate blessings ("entering His rest"). (1) Not worshipping or submitting to Him. 

(2) Hardening our hearts, especially to sin. 

(3) Trying God's patience because of stubborn doubts. 

(4) Ungrateful hearts—not being thankful. 

In the passage we read today, the Bible warns us not to harden our hearts, but to reject the glamour of sin and anything else that would lead us away from God. 

Although the works of the promised rest were finished from the foundation of the world, only those who believe do enter that rest (do obtain His promised blessings). God even swore in His anger that the unbelieving hearts would not enter His rest (Psalm 95 vs 11). 

For the Christians that believes, the apostle Paul has a word for you in First Thessalonians 2 vs 13, "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe." The Word only works in the life of those who believe.

God wants us to enter His rest; to be at peace with Him now, and rest eternally with Him later. He offers the opportunity to enter His ultimate place of rest, that is, invites us to come to Christ. To enter His rest, you must believe that God has this relationship in mind for you (Jeremiah 29 vs 11). It is not subject to your creating it; it is already in place, and you must trust in Christ for it; and you must determine to obey Him. 

We do not need to wait to for the next life to enjoy God's rest and peace; we may have it daily now! Our daily rest in the Lord will not end with death, but will become an eternal rest in the place that Christ is preparing for us.

Prayer: Abba Father, You have said it, I believe it, and that settles it. In Jesus Christ I have rest round about, and in Him I live, and move, and have my being. Give me the grace never to shift my focus on Christ at anytime. Blessed be Your name forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Look to Jesus for Your Joy

 

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others. . . . They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” (Matthew 23:5–7)

The itch of self-regard craves the scratch of self-approval. If we are getting our pleasure from feeling self-sufficient, we will not be satisfied without others seeing and applauding our self-sufficiency.

Hence Jesus’s description of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:5, “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”

This is ironic. Wouldn’t you think that self-sufficiency should free the proud person from the need to be made much of by others? That’s what “sufficient” means. But evidently there is an emptiness in this so-called self-sufficiency.

The self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It never can be self-sufficient. We are not God. We are in the image of God. And what makes us “like” God is not our self-sufficiency. We are shadows and echoes. So, there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self.

This empty craving for the praise of others signals the failure of pride and the absence of faith in God’s ongoing grace. Jesus saw the terrible effect of this itch for human glory. He named it in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” The answer is, you can’t. Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why?

Because faith looks away from self to God. Faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus. And if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of others’ praise, you will turn away from Jesus. That is not what he is like. He lives for the glory of his Father. And calls us to do the same.

But if you would turn from self as the source of satisfaction (repentance), and come to Jesus for the enjoyment of all that God is for us in him (faith), then the itch of emptiness would be replaced by a fullness — what Jesus calls “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).