How to Respond When You Falter

 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:19)

Christians do not live only in defeat. But neither do we live only in perfect victory over sin. And in those times when we fail to triumph over sin, Romans 7:13–25 shows us the normal way a healthy Christian should respond. 

We should say:

I love the law of God. (verse 22)I hate what I just did. (verse 15)Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (verse 24)Thanks be to God! The victory will come through Jesus Christ my Lord. (verse 25) 

In other words, no Christian wants to live in defeat. No Christian settles for living in defeat. But if we are defeated for a time, we shouldn’t lie about it. 

No hypocrisy. No posing. No boasted perfectionism. No churchy, pasted smiles or chipper superficiality. 

And even more, God save us from blindness to our own failures and the consequent quickness to judge others. 

God, help us to feel worse about our own shortfalls than the failure of others. 

God, give us the honesty and candor and humility of the apostle Paul in this text! “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24–25).

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH HIM WHO BELIEVES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY APRIL 03, 2023.

SUBJECT:  ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH HIM WHO BELIEVES!

Memory verse:  "Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9 vs 23.)

READ:  Mark 11 vs 22 - 25:

11:22: So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.

11:23: For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

11:24: Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you have then, and you will have them.

11:25: And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you Your trespasses.

INTIMATION:

Who is the believer whom nothing is impossible with, and always possesses the confession of his mouth? This is the believer who has faith in God, and continually “believes” Him without any iota of doubt, and also in right standing with Him. 

Note Jesus’ remark in our memory verse; “...all things are possible to him who believes.” Notice that the word 'believes' is a present-continuous tense. It is not that all things are possible to him who 'believe'. The believing is continuous, and ought to be so, because the Word of God is in the now and living. It is like the author; ‘Eternal, and Unchanging.’

You don't believe today, and tomorrow be filled with doubt. You can't believe now, and later begin to doubt. James called this a wavering faith; "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man, suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1 vs 6 - 8). 

Doubt is the opposite of faith. You have faith when you decide to take God for His Word. You doubt when you decide not to take God for His Word, or you fail to make a decision to take God's Word for the matter in question. Our faith in God and His Word must not waver, and must remain firm, no matter how frightened or unsure we may feel about the outcome of the matter.

It is common amongst us to see and then believe, like doubting Thomas (John 20 vs 25). God's way is to believe and then see. The Bible says that God "calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4 vs 17). And, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20 vs 29). Look at the instructions of Jesus in the passages we read today: First; "Have faith in God." Without faith we can't please Him, knowing that if you come to Him, you must believe He is what He said He is, and that His reward is with those who seek Him diligently (See Hebrews 11 vs 6). 

Second; You have to believe in your heart that what you say will come to pass. It is only what you believe in your heart that you speak out in faith, and it is only with the believer with conc faith in Christ that nothing is impossible with.

Third; You must speak out your believe. It is only in confessing your faith—your believe, that you receive from Him. It is whatever you have spoken in His hearing, that He will do for you (See Numbers 14 vs 26).

Many people think that they need "great faith" in order to have their words work miracles. This is not what Jesus taught in the Scripture. However, He said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17 vs 20). Therefore, put your faith into action by speaking it out, then the grace of God—the power of God (not your faith) will swing into action.

Some people become discouraged when they speak and did not receive immediately. Though, the outcome may or may not be immediate but it is sure to come provided you are in right standing with God, and have asked according to His Will. Take a cue from the following; Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11 vs 14, "Let no man eat fruit from you ever again." It was the following morning that the disciples saw that the fig tree that He cursed the previous day has dried up from the roots (See Mark 11 vs 20). In another scenario, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He called him to come forth, and he who had died came out immediately. (See John 11 vs 43 - 44).

Finally, the other qualifying condition is your having the right motives in prayer. When you do not have the right motives, you receive nothing. It is only with the right motives in prayer that you can bring the power of spoken faith in the Word into action. To have the right motives, you must; (1) not hold a grudge against another person (Mark 11 vs 25); (2) you must not pray with selfish interest; (3) your request must be for the good of God's kingdom; (4) you must have faith in God and His Word, not faith in the object of your request.

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You who made heaven and the earth. I know it is only what I say in faith that You have promised I will have. The Word of faith is in my mouth and in my heart. Give me the grace to continually speak out my conc faith, and Your word, that I may have what I say, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Better Than Everest

 

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

If you live inside this massive promise, your life is more solid and stable than Mount Everest.

Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28. Outside Romans 8:28, all is confusion and anxiety and fear and uncertainty. Outside this promise of God’s all-encompassing future grace, there are straw houses of drugs and pornography and dozens of futile diversions. There are slat walls and tin roofs of fragile investment strategies and fleeting insurance coverage and trivial retirement plans. There are cardboard fortifications of deadbolt locks and alarm systems and antiballistic missiles. Outside are a thousand substitutes for Romans 8:28.

Once you walk through the door of love into the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28, everything changes. There come into your life stability and depth and freedom. You simply can’t be blown over anymore. The confidence that a sovereign God governs for your good all the pain and all the pleasure that you will ever experience is an incomparable refuge and security and hope and power in your life.

When God’s people really live by the future grace of Romans 8:28 — from measles to the mortuary — they are the freest and strongest and most generous people in the world.

Their light shines and people give glory to their Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY APRIL 02, 2023.

SUBJECT: HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

Memory verse: "Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, For we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13 vs 30.) 

READ: Numbers 13 vs 1 - 2, 25 - 28, 30 - 33:

13:1: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

13:2: “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

13:25: And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

13:26: Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

13:27: Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

13:28: Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.

13:30: Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, For we are well able to overcome it.”

13:31: But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”

13:32: And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.

13:33: There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

INTIMATION:

How do you see yourself, as a grasshopper or as a mighty warrior of God? Is yours an evil report or a good report? Are you in self-doubt, or self-pity of yourself? Do you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by your Creator? (Psalm 139 vs 14.) Do you realize that you are made in His image and after His likeness? (Genesis 1 vs 26.) 

God’s character goes in to the creation of every person. When you feel worthless or even begin to hate yourself, remember that God’s Spirit is ready and willing to work within you. We should have as much respect for ourselves as our Maker has for us.

God can give the courage and confidence you need to be a winner. But you have to be in agreement with His plan for your life. You have to quit seeing yourself as just the opposite of what he says you are. You must learn to change your self-image. Not only must you learn to see yourself differently, but also to carry yourself differently. 

Don't let the devil fill your head with thoughts of unworthiness. Remember: thoughts are seeds. Your spirit can only produce for you what you sow and nurture within your own mind and heart. Every thought you allow to enter and take root in your innermost being will begin to grow and produce fruit after its kind. That is why you need to learn to replace negative thoughts and words with positive ones. You need to stop seeing yourself as an unworthy sinner and begin to see yourself as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (First Corinthians 1 vs 30; Second Corinthians 5 vs 21).

In the passage we read today, we observed that when the Children of Israel drew near to their destination—the Promised Land, the Lord instructed Moses to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, and send them on a scouting expedition into the land of Canaan.

When they returned, all twelve of them agreed that the land was fruitful and productive, that it was ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ But when it came to deciding a course of action, ten of the twelve gave "an evil report," while only two of them, Joshua and Caleb, gave a good report. 

The reason the ten gave an evil report is because they were afraid. The problem was that they were looking at the situation in the natural, through the eyes of the flesh, while Caleb and Joshua were looking at it in the spiritual, through the eyes of the Lord.

The land has already been given to them by the Lord for their possession; “And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.” (Numbers 33 vs 53). Note the word of the Lord “I have given you ,” it already given to them. It is only left for them to go and take it, even if it means a battle, because they are aware the God has already given the land, and the battle is His. The ten said of the inhabitants of the land and of themselves: “There we saw giants, and we were, in our own sight, like grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

 When the Lord sets before you a new opportunity, do you fearfully moan, "I can't overcome the giants in the land," or do you boldly declare, "I'm going up right away, because I'm well able to take it!" Ten of the Israelites saw the giants......two saw God! Keep your eyes on God. You plus God is enough in any situation. Never look at circumstances, but rather look up to the One that controls the circumstances!

Prayer: Abba Father, You skillfully wrought me in the lowest part of the earth. I am made in Your image and after Your likeness, and marvelous are Your works. Blot out of me any thoughts of evil report, and self-doubt, for I can do all things through You that strengthens me, in Jesus’ matchless Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Two of Our Deepest Needs

 

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1)

We as a church are “in” a Father and “in” a Lord. What does that mean?

The word “Father” implies primarily care and sustaining and protection and provision and discipline. So, to be “in” the Father would mean mainly to be in the care and under the protection of God as our heavenly Father.

The other designation is Lord: We are in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “Lord” implies primarily authority and leadership and ownership. So, to be “in” the Lord means mainly to be in the charge, under the authority, and in the possession of Jesus as our supreme Lord.

So, Paul greets the Thessalonian church in such a way as to remind them that they are a family (in the care of a Father) and that they are servants (in the charge of a Lord). These two descriptions of God as Father and Lord, and thus of the church as family and servants, correspond to two of our deepest needs.

Every single one of us has a need for rescue and help, on the one hand, and the need for purpose and meaning, on the other.

We need a heavenly Father to pity us and rescue us from sin and misery. We need his help every step of the way, because we are so weak and vulnerable.

We also need a heavenly Lord to guide us in life and tell us what is wise and give us a great and meaningful charge to fulfill, and reason for existence, some usefulness for the way God made us. We don’t just want to be safe in the care of a Father — as precious and needed as that is. We want a glorious cause to live for.

We want a merciful Father to be our Protector, and we want an omnipotent Lord to be our Champion and our Commander and our Leader in some great cause. So, when Paul says in verse 1, You are the church “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” we can take rest and help from the one — God is our Father! And we can take courage and meaning from the other — Jesus is our Lord!

WORDS ALSO WORK BLUNDERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY APRIL 01, 2023.

SUBJECT: WORDS ALSO WORK BLUNDERS!

Memory verse:  "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles"

(Proverbs 21 vs 23).

READ: Proverbs 6 vs 2; 13 vs 3; 18 vs 21; Matthew 12 vs 37; James 3 vs 2:

Proverbs 6:2: You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. 

13:3: He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Matthew 12:37: For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

James 3:2: For we stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, He is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

INTIMATION:

Words can work wonders, but they can also work blunders! Do you realize that multitude of people fail in life because they speak failure? They fear failure and allow their fear to overcome their faith. What you say locates you. You will not, and you cannot, rise above your own words. If you speak defeat, failure, anxiety, sickness, and unbelief, you will live on that level. Neither you nor anyone else, no matter how clever, or anointed, will ever live above the standard of their conversation/confession. This spiritual principle is unalterable.

If your conversation/confession is foolish, trifling, unpractical, or disorganized, your life invariably will be the same way. With your words, you constantly paint a picture of your inner self. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12 vs 34). What we say reveals what is in our hearts. Words can cut and destroy. You are either condemned or justified by your words. 

The apostle James recognized this truth when he stated, “The tongue is a little member and boasts great things” (James 3 vs 5). What you say and what you don’t say are both important. What we say probably affects more people than any other action we take. Therefore, learn self-control by controlling your tongue. If you can control this small but powerful member, you can control the rest of your body.

If you think back on your life, you will probably agree that most of your troubles have been tongue troubles. Numerous troubles are caused by an unruly tongue! Words spoken in the heat of the moment; words of anger, words of harshness, words of retaliation, words of bitterness, words of unkindness, these words produce trouble for us. 

The uncontrolled tongue can do terrible damage. The apostle James compares the damage the tongue can do to a raging fire. The tongue’s wickedness has its source in hell itself. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. 

We dare not be careless with what we say, thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak, remember that words are like fire—you can neither control nor reverse the damages they can do. 

Avoid careless speech because it is a vicious habit. When one realizes that his words are the coin of his kingdom and that his words can be either a cursing influence or a blessing, he will learn to value the gift of speech. The word is a seed (Luke 8 vs 11), and if spoken from a poisoned mind, it is a disaster. An idle word spoken aloud may fall into the soil of someone's heart and poison his entire life. Learn to control your tongue.

It's really important that we let God help us overcome our unruly speech habits, for our words can work blunders and get us into trouble. Confession is made with the mouth, not only for the good things God has promised us, but also for sickness, defeat, bondage, lack, and failure. 

Refuse to have a bad confession. A negative confession can produce negative results. Refuse to have a negative confession. Repudiate a dual confession, when you are saying at one moment, "with His stripes I am healed," and at the next moment, "But the pain is still there." 

Go to a higher level of living in the kingdom of God. Believe that you are who God says you are. Think that way. Talk that way. Act that way. Train yourself to live on the level of what is written about you in God's Word. Do not permit your thoughts, your words, or your actions to contradict what God says about you.

Although you may  not master positive confession in a day or even a week, or a month, you will learn it as you continue to walk in it faithfully. Because God has said it, we should boldly say the same thing! 

Prayer: Abba Father, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let the Holy Spirit give me increasing power to monitor and control what I say, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Binds the Hands of Love?

 

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3–5)

The problem with the church today is not that there are too many people who are passionately in love with heaven. The problem is not that professing Christians are retreating from the world, spending half their days reading Scripture and the other half singing about their pleasures in God all the while indifferent to the needs of the world. That’s not happening! The people of God are not so full of love to God that they spend half their days in his word.

The problem is that professing Christians are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half their day making money and the other half loving and repairing what they spend it on.

It’s not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love for the lost and hurting of this world. It is worldly-mindedness that hinders love, even when it is disguised by a religious routine on the weekend.

Where is the person whose heart is so passionately in love with the promised glory of heaven that he feels like an exile and a sojourner on the earth? Where is the person who has so tasted the beauty of the age to come that the diamonds of the world look like marbles from the dollar store, and the entertainment of the world feels empty, and the moral causes of the world are too small because they have no view to eternity? Where is this person?

To be sure, he is not in bondage to the Internet or eating or sleeping or drinking or partying or fishing or sailing or putzing around. He is a free man in a foreign land. And his one question is this: How can I maximize my enjoyment of God for all eternity while I am an exile on this earth? And his answer is always the same: by doing the labors of love. By expanding my joy in God, no matter the cost, if by any means possible I might include others in it.

Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love!

It is not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love and make them ineffective. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort and praise — these are the cords of selfishness that bind the hands of love. And the power to sever these cords is Christian hope. “We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:4–5).

I say it again with all the conviction that lies within me: it is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love on this earth. It is worldly-mindedness. And therefore the great fountain of love is the powerful, freeing confidence of Christian hope.