THE GRACE TO LIVE HOLY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY APRIL 18, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE GRACE TO LIVE HOLY!

Memory verse: "For God did not call us to uncleanness but in holiness.” (First Thessalonians 4 vs 7.) 

READ: First Peter 1 vs 13 - 16:

1:13: Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

1:14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;

1:15: but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 

1:16: because it is written, “Be Holy, For I am holy.”

INTIMATION:

Grace, as undeserved (unmerited) favor, is one aspect of grace, we are probably most accustomed to hearing about, and it is wonderful. But we have also seen that grace is power—the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives—that enables us overcome our problems. It is the power of God available to meet our needs without cost to us. There is nothing more powerful than grace, and it is received by believing rather than through human effort.

What is holiness? Holiness is being "separated to God,"—being consecrated or set aside for sacred use. It is standing apart from sin and evil. It is a separation that should result in "conduct befitting those so separated." It is the characteristics or nature of God, especially the third person of the "Trinity." 

Holiness is a demand on us by God. We are to separate ourselves from the world's sinful values, and be devoted to God's desire rather than our own, and carry His love and mercy into the world. God's plan for us ab-initio, is to be like Him, hence His creating us in His own image and after His likeness (Genesis 1 vs 26). He wanted us to live like Him. Unfortunately, sin separated us from Him. In His love, mercy and grace, He sent His Son, as a propitiation for our sins (First John 4 vs 10), and through His blood reconciled us back to Himself, to live for Him and be like Him. 

But while God wants us to be holy, He realizes our weakness and inability. He knows that without help we can never be what He desires for us to be or wants us to do. That is why He has sent His Spirit to help us to fulfill His design and purpose for us. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to prepare us for that place. That is not a Scripture, but it is scriptural, that is, a truth based on the Word of God. This process through which the Holy Spirit makes us holy, or leads us into holiness is called sanctification. 

Sanctification therefore, refers to the process that God uses to do a work in us by His Holy Spirit to make us more and more holy until finally we become just like His Son Jesus. It is God's grace (the power of the Holy Spirit) we receive that enables us to meet the need of sanctification—the transformation process to holiness.

In Hebrews 10 vs 14, the Bible says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." We have been made perfect, yet we are being sanctified (made holy). Through His death and resurrection, Christ, once for all, made His believers perfect in God's sight. At the same time He is making them holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for His special use) in their daily pilgrimage here on earth through the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of grace). We should not be surprised, ashamed or shocked that we still need to grow. God is not finished with us yet.

Sanctification is a progressive venture. The finality of that process will never occur while we are in these earthly bodies. But we don't need to be concerned about that. The only thing we need to be concerned about is progress. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we making progress toward holiness, are we cooperating with the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to do what He wants to do in our lives?” 

As believers we are not to be anxious about holiness or the process of sanctification ('be anxious for nothing' (Philippians 4 vs 6)), but we are to be serious about it. We are to recognize that it is God's Will for us. We are to desire and thirst for it with all our hearts, and sincerely ask God for it in our fellowship with Him. We are to make every effort to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Who is working to bring it to pass in us day by day.

Prayer: Abba Father, in Your loving kindness, and the riches of Your grace You saved us from the bondage of sin and Satan to live for You, and be like You. I thirst for the endowment of Your Spirit of grace for my sanctification, to lead a holy life as You desire, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Embracing Jesus

This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. (1 John 5:3–4)

Notice: Loving God is not just keeping his commandments. It is having a kind of heart for God that means that commandment-keeping is not burdensome. That’s what John says. But then he puts that truth in terms of new birth and faith, rather than love. He says, without a break, “For” — that is, here’s why God’s commandments are not burdensome: “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. So, the new birth is what overcomes the worldly obstacles to keeping God’s commandments without burdensomeness. 

And finally he adds, “And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.” So, the new birth overcomes the worldly obstacles to burden-free commandment-keeping, because the new birth gives rise to faith. So, the miracle of new birth creates faith, which embraces all that God is for us in Christ as supremely satisfying, which makes obedience to God more desirable than the temptations of the world. And that is what it means to love God. 

The eighteenth-century pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards wrestled with this text and concluded, “Saving faith implies . . . love. . . . Our love to God enables us to overcome the difficulties that attend keeping God’s commands — which shows that love is the main thing in saving faith, the life and power of it, by which it produces great effects.”

I think Edwards is right and that numerous texts in the Bible support what he says. 

Another way to say it is that faith in Christ is not just assenting to what God is for us, but also embracing all that he is for us in Christ. “True faith embraces Christ in whatever ways the Scriptures hold him out to poor sinners” — that’s another quote from Edwards. This “embracing” is one kind of love to Christ — that kind that treasures him above all things. 

Therefore, there is no contradiction between 1 John 5:3, on the one hand, which says that our love for God enables us to keep his commandments, and verse 4, on the other hand, which says that our faith overcomes the obstacles of the world that keep us from obeying God’s commandments. Love for God and Christ is implicit in faith. 

John then defines the faith that obeys as “the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5). This faith is “embracing” the present Jesus as the glorious divine person that he is: the Son of God. It is not simply assenting to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, because the demons assent to that. “They cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’” (Matthew 8:29). Believing that Jesus is the Son of God means “embracing” the significance of that truth — the value of the reality. It means being satisfied with Christ as the Son of God and all God is for us in him.

“Son of God” means that Jesus is the greatest person in the universe alongside his Father. Therefore, all he taught is true, and all he promised will stand firm, and all his soul-satisfying greatness will never change. 

Believing that he is the Son of God, therefore, includes banking on all this, and being satisfied with it.

TRUE AND LASTING GREATNESS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY APRIL 17, 2023.

SUBJECT: TRUE AND LASTING GREATNESS!

Memory verse: "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23 vs 11.)

READ: Mark 10 vs 42 - 45:

10:42: But Jesus called them to Himself and saith to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

10:43: Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.

10:44: And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.

10:45: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

INTIMATION:

Our care for others is a measure of our greatness—our position of authority—in God’s eyes. In both our memory verse and the passage we read today, Jesus challenged society’s norms. To Him greatness comes from serving—giving up yourself to God and others. Service keeps us aware of others’ needs, and it stops us from focusing only on ourselves. Jesus came as a servant. The greatest person in God’s kingdom is the servant of all. Authority is given, not for self-importance, ambition, or respect, but for useful service to God and His creation. 

Jesus is great, and a perfect example of lasting greatness in the eyes of God. During His earth walk, He said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10 vs 45). He was the model servant, and He showed is servant attitude to His disciples when He washed their feet (John 13 vs 1 - 17). Washing guests’ feet was a job for a household servant to carry out when guests arrive. But Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, as the lowliest slave will do, and washed and dried His disciples’ feet. If He, God in the flesh, is willing to serve, we His followers must also be willing to serve in any way that glorifies God.

In our contemporary society, businesses, organizations, and institutions measure greatness by personal achievement. In Christ’s kingdom, however, service is the way to get ahead. Jesus said that true greatness comes from serving others. The desire to be on top will hinder, not help. Rather than seeking to have your needs met, look for ways that you can minister to the needs of others.

When a dispute arose among the disciples of Jesus as to which of them was the greatest, Jesus brought a child before Himself, and said to His disciples, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.” (Luke 9 vs 48.) In Jesus’ eyes, whoever welcomes a child welcomes Him. Ministering to the need of a less privileged person is the same as giving an offering to God. By contrast, harming others or failing to care for them is a sin, even if they are unimportant people in the world’s eyes. It is possible for thoughtless, selfish people to gain a measure of worldly greatness, but lasting greatness is measured by God’s standards. What do you use as your measure—personal achievement or unselfish service?

How much we love God can be measured by how well we treat others. Jesus’ example of giving a cup of cold water to a thirsty child is a good model of unselfish service (Matthew 10 vs 42). A child usually can’t or won’t return a favor. God notices every good deed we do or don’t do as if He were the one receiving it. Is there something unselfish you can do for someone also today? Although no one else may see you, God will notice.

Greatness is measured not by what you have but by your faith in God. Are you willing to follow Christ’s example of serving? Whom can you serve today? There is a special blessing for those who not only agree that humble service is Christ’s way, but who also follow through in doing it.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of selfless service to You and others, just as Christ thought us during His earth walk, that I may achieve greatness through service to You and humanity, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Mercy for Today

 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)

God’s mercies are new every morning because each day only has enough mercy in it for that day. God appoints every day’s troubles. And God appoints every day’s mercies. In the life of his children, they are perfectly appointed. Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). Every day has its own trouble. Every day has its own mercies. Each is new every morning.

But we often tend to despair when we think that we may have to bear tomorrow’s load on today’s resources. God wants us to know: We won’t. Today’s mercies are for today’s troubles. Tomorrow’s mercies are for tomorrow’s troubles.

Sometimes we wonder if we will have the mercy to stand in terrible testing. Yes, we will. Peter says, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14). When the reviling comes, the Spirit of glory comes. It happened for Stephen as he was being stoned. It will happen for you. When the Spirit and the glory are needed, they will come.

The manna in the wilderness was given one day at a time. There was no storing up. That is the way we must depend on God’s mercy. You do not receive today the strength to bear tomorrow’s burdens. You are given mercies today for today’s troubles.

Tomorrow the mercies will be new. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

THE EVERLASTING LOVE OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY APRIL 16, 2023.

SUBJECT : THE EVERLASTING LOVE OF GOD!

Memory verse: "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Romans 8 vs 35).

READ: Romans 8 vs 31 - 39:

8:31: What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

8:32: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

8:33: Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

8:34: Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes Intercession for us.

8:35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

8:36: As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

8:37: Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

8:38: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor Angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 

8:39: nor height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

INTIMATION:

Have you ever imagined a separation of you from God? Your answer might be yes, because you have considered yourself not good enough for God. You will then say, "God will not save me." Your thought is that your sinful life will be a hindrance for you to receive salvation from Him. But it is not true!

Christ had already chosen you, not you chosen Him, and gave His life for you because of His love for you, and quest for you to have life, and have it more abundantly. Have you ever imagined this show of love for us by God? And have you ever heard of any parallel, or equal show of love in history, and now?

Christ was spotless, perfect and rich. For His love for you and I, He became poor, chose to be a propitiation for our sins, took all our sins, past, present, and future, on Himself, and paid the wages of our sin, which is death (Romans 6 vs 23; Ezekiel 18 vs 4). His death was even a shameful death on the cross, just for you and I. 

By His death for our sins, He justified us, legally setting us free from sin after haven paid the price for us. He did not stop at that. He descended to hell and met with our accuser, and greatest enemy, Satan. He engaged him there, defeated him, and stripped him of all powers. He took back His life and ascended into heaven where He sits at His position of authority—the right hand of God, and making intercession for us continually, as our advocate before the Father. He is our High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, and ever ready to help us through the journey of life.

God loved us so much so that He exchanged His Son's life of inestimable value with our worthless sinful lives. Whenever I imagine this act of God, I feel a chill run through my spines, with goose-pimples all over my skin. It is awesome!

No matter what happens to us, no matter where we are, we can never be separated from His love. Though believers may have to face hardships in many forms: persecution, illness, imprisonment, and even death. These sometimes cause us to think that Christ has abandoned us. But far be it from the truth, it is impossible to be separated from Christ. His death for us is proof of His unconquerable love, which is an overwhelming assurance of our being totally secure in Him. Nothing can separate us from His presence.

Consequently, in Christ we are super-conquerors, and His love will protect us from any forces in the universe: principalities and powers: unseen evil forces like Satan and his fallen angels—demons. We are completely secured in Him.

How else can we reciprocate such love but to follow Him, and be in complete obedience to His commands, knowing that His thought for us is forever of good. If he has given His life for us, what else can He not give to us to ensure we live for Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank You for all You wrought for me in redemption out of Your unparalleled love for me. It is my desire to reciprocate this love You showcased for me. Give me the grace, O Lord, for raw obedience to You in everything in my journey in life, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S GRACE ELIMINATES WORRY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY APRIL 15, 2023.

SUBJECT: UNDERSTANDING GOD’S GRACE ELIMINATES WORRY!

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

READ: Matthew 6 vs 31 - 33: 

6:31: Therefore do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 

6:32: For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 

6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

INTIMATION:

Understanding the concept of God’s grace eliminates worry in the life of every believer. It helps us comprehend God’s love nature—His willingness to give us everything we need to live for Him. God created the world—you and I and everything therein—for His predetermined purposes. His love nature makes Him give grace (unmerited favor, blessing) to the humble; those who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him, not relying on their own ability, schemes and devises, or even on their own great wisdom, knowledge and faith to achieve His purposes. 

It is by God’s grace that we live, and even become believers (Ephesians 2 vs 8). He owns the universe, and created it for His purposes. His plan and counsel stand forever (Isaiah 46 vs 10). He graciously gives us anything we have (John 3 vs 27), we can only receive what He pleases according to His purposes for us in this world. And He will not withhold anything that you need to live for Him—according to His predetermined purposes for you. All inconsistencies we experience in this life are due to our being outside the plan of God. He is in control of all things and very circumstances in this world. Such knowledge of Him eliminates worry, knowing that we can do nothing outside of Him to achieve His predetermined purposes for our lives.

It is noteworthy that all our needs are already known to God (Matthew 6 vs 32), hence His counsel to us not to worry. The same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life, and that He will graciously and delightfully give you all things you need to live for Him according to His predetermined purpose for you. And you can have all you need when you delight in Him. It’s only in trusting and delighting in the Lord that the desires of your heart is granted to you (Psalm 37 vs 4). The Scripture notes, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84 vs 11). 

To delight yourself in the Lord starts with humbling yourself under His mighty hands. When you humble yourself before God, you will never worry about anything, but rather ask the Lord for what you need and then wait humbly on Him to provide it as He sees fit, knowing that His timing is always perfect. It means to be still and know that He is God, and that He knows what is best for you in every situation of life. It means to stop trying to make things happen yourself and allow the Lord to show you what you need to do to co-operate with His plan and purpose for you. It means casting all your worries upon Him because He cares for you (First Peter 5 vs 7).

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully with your life, and this is being prideful. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit your need and lay them at the feet of our Messiah. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, He will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, not passivity. We display lack of knowledge of God when we think of everything we did wrong and figure that it automatically disqualifies us for any of God's blessings. 

If God could bless only perfect people, then He could never bless anyone, because we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3 vs 23.) Consequently, none of us supposedly deserves any good thing from the Lord. But while we are yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5 vs 8), And since the fact that we are sinners did not keep us from receiving His glorious salvation, why then should it keep us from receiving His manifold blessings?; ‘If He didn't spare or withhold even His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all other things?’ (Romans 8 vs 32).

The person who really understands the grace of God will not worry. Why? Because worry is a work of the flesh. It is trying to figure out what to do relying on oneself, rather than trusting in God in all circumstances. The individual who is living in constant worry is not receiving the fullness of God's grace, because just as perfect love casts out fear (First John 4 vs 18), so God's grace expels all traces of worry and anxiety. Walk in the grace of the Lord and you will not fulfill the work of the flesh.

Prayer: Abba Father, my desire is to walk in Your grace all the days of my life, that I may eliminate any form of worry in my life, and trust completely in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2023. 

SUBJECT : THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS!

Memory verse: "But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him." (Mark 16 vs 6.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 31 - 34:

18:31: Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man will be accomplished.

18:32: For He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, and insulted, and spit upon.

18:33: They will scourge Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.

18:34: But they understood none of these things; and this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. 

INTIMATION:

Resurrection is the state of rising from the dead with new life. The bodily resurrection of Christ is the center of the Christian faith. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the central fact of Christian history. On it, the church is built; without it, there would be no Christian church today. Jesus’ resurrection is unique. Only Christianity has a God who became human, literally died for His people, and was raised again in power and glory to rule His church forever. 

Jesus’ resurrection is the key to the Christian faith. The Resurrection is vitally important for many reasons. (1) Jesus kept His promise to rise from the dead, so we can be confident, therefore, that He will accomplish all He has promised. And because Christ was raised from the dead, we know that the kingdom of heaven has broken into the earth’s history. Our world is now headed for redemption, not disaster. God’s mighty power is at work destroying sin, creating new lives, and preparing us for Jesus’ second coming. 

(2) The Resurrection ensures that the ruler of God’s eternal kingdom will be the living Christ, not just an idea, hope, or dream. Jesus’ bodily resurrection shows us that the living Christ is ruler of God’s eternal kingdom, not a false prophet or impostor. We are assured that Christ is alive and ruling His kingdom. He is not a legend; He is alive and real. (3) Christ’s resurrection gives us the assurance that we also will be resurrected. We can be certain of our resurrection because He was resurrected. Death is not the end—there is a future life. Because of the Resurrection, we know that death has been conquered and we, too, will be raised from the dead to live forever with Christ.  

(4) The power of God that brought Christ’s body back from the dead is available to us to bring our morally and spiritually dead selves back to life so that we can change and grow (First Corinthians 15 vs 12 - 15). We can now live for Him in an evil world. Death is no longer a source of dread or fear. Christ overcame it, and one day we will also since Christ has defeated it, and we have hope beyond the grave. The law will no longer make sinners out of us just because we cannot keep it.

 (5) The Resurrection is the basis and authority for the church’s witness to the world. Jesus is more than just a human leader; He is the Son of God. We do not merely tell lessons from the life of a great teacher; we proclaim that reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look at the early evangelistic sermons in the book of Acts: The apostles’ most important message was the proclamation that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead. 

(6) The Resurrection gives meaning to the church’s sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Like Jesus’ followers on the Emmaus Road, we break bread with our risen Lord, who comes in power to save us. (7) The Resurrection helps us find meaning even in great tragedy. No matter what happens to us as we walk with the Lord, the Resurrection gives us hope for the future. (8) God’s power that brought Jesus back from the dead is available to us so that we can live for Him in an evil world.

Christians can look very different from one another, and they can hold widely varying beliefs about politics, lifestyle, and even theology. But one central belief unites and inspires all true Christians: Jesus Christ rose from the dead! 

People who hear about the Resurrection for the first time may need time before they can comprehend this amazing story. Like the disciples, they may pass through four stages of belief: (1) At first, they may think it is a fairly tale, impossible to believe. (2) Like Peter, they may check out the facts but still be puzzled about what happened. (3) Only when they encounter Jesus personally will they be able to accept the fact of the Resurrection. (4) Then, as they commit themselves to Jesus and devote their lives to serving Him, they will begin fully to understand the reality of His presence with them. 

Because Christ rose from the dead, as He promised, we know that what He said is true and that He is God. The Resurrection affirms the truthfulness of Jesus’ life and words. The Resurrection confirms Jesus’ unique authority to say, I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11 vs 25). Because He rose, we have certainty that our sins are forgiven. Because He rose, He lives and represents us before God. Because He rose and defeated death, we know we also will be raised. Christ’s resurrection guaranteed both His promise to us and His authority to make that promise. We must take Him at His word and believe. 

His resurrection proved His lordship over the material world. All who trust in Christ will also defeat death and rise again to live eternally with Him. Because Christ is spiritually supreme in the universe, surely we should give Him first place in all our thoughts and activities. And the driving power that carries missionaries around the world and sets Christ’s church in motion is the faith that comes from the Resurrection.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the power of Resurrection available to me to bring my morally and spiritually dead self back to life so that I can change and grow and live for You in this evil world. You have defeated death and has assured me of eternity with You, and I know that You who promised is faithful and will do it, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!