God Demonstrates His Love

 

God shows [demonstrates] his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Notice that “demonstrates” is present tense and “died” is past tense. “God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The present tense implies that this demonstrating is an ongoing act that keeps happening today. And will keep happening tomorrow.

The past tense “died” implies that the death of Christ happened once for all and will not be repeated. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Why did Paul use the present tense (“God demonstrates”)? I would have expected Paul to say, “God demonstrated (past tense) his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Was not the death of Christ, when it happened, the demonstration of God’s love? And did not that demonstration happen in the past?

I think the clue is given a few verses earlier. Paul has just said that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (Romans 5:3–5).

In other words, the goal of everything God takes us through is hope. He wants us to feel unwaveringly hopeful through all tribulations.

But how can we?

Paul answers in the next line: “Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). God’s love has been poured into our hearts. The tense of this verb means that God’s love was poured out in our hearts in the past (at our conversion) and is still present and active.

God did demonstrate his love for us in giving his own Son to die once for all in the past for our sins (Romans 5:8). But he also knows that this past love must be experienced as a present reality (today and tomorrow) if we are to have patience and character and hope.

Therefore, he not only demonstrated it on Calvary; he goes on demonstrating it now by the Spirit in our hearts. He does this by opening the eyes of our hearts to taste and see the glory of the cross and the guarantee it gives that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38–39).

FORSAKE YOUR PRIDE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MAY 02, 2023.

SUBJECT : FORSAKE YOUR PRIDE!

Memory verse: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16 vs 18.)

READ: Isaiah 2 vs 11 - 17:

2:11: The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

2:12: For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up; and it shall be brought low;

2:13: Upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan;

2:14: Upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up;

2:15: Upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall;

2:16: Upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops.

2:17: The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

INTIMATION:

Pride is inordinate self-esteem or conceit. It’s the inner voice that whispers, “My way is best.” It is resisting God’s leadership and believing that you are able to live without His help. Whenever you find yourself wanting to do it your way and looking down on other people, you are being pulled by pride. Pride indicates that a person is self-centered, and thus he will fall over himself as he deals with people. Only when you eliminate pride can God help you become all He meant you to be. God cuts off the pride from His grace. 

The Scripture says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord, though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” (Proverbs 16 vs 5.) God Himself is an epitome of humility. The Creator of all things, seen and unseen, does not pride Himself in His creation. Even when He came into the world to save sinful humanity, He came as a humble servant in the person of Jesus Christ, and He did not come to the proud of this world. He came to the lowly and common people (Luke 1 vs 51). God will turn away from the proud because the proud will not submit to His will. Therefore, the arrogant people present themselves for rejection, while the humble are exalted. Though God is exalted above the heavens, at the same time the omnipresent God dwells in the hearts of the humble and contrite,(Isaiah 57 vs 15). 

The proud attitude heads the list of seven things God hates. And the harmful results of pride are constantly contrasted with humility and it’s benefits. Pride leads to disgrace (Proverbs 11 vs 2), produces quarrels (Proverbs 13 vs 10), leads to punishment (Proverbs 16 vs 5), leads to destruction (Proverbs 16 vs 18; 18 vs 12), ends in downfall (Proverbs 18 vs 12), brings one low (Proverbs 29 vs 23). Pride is harmful when it causes us to: (1) look down on others, (2) be selfish with our resources; (3) force our solutions on others’ problems; (4) think God is blessing us because of our own merits; (5) be content with our plans rather than seeking God’s plan. 

Pride cripples us in our quest for a proper relationship with God. Only God must be exalted is the first step toward developing that relationship with Him. Nothing can compare with or rival the place God must have in our hearts and minds. To place our hope elsewhere is nothing but false pride. Place your confidence in God alone. Those who are arrogant will not submit their lives to the will of God. They resist submission, and thus, God resists giving His grace to them in order that they might be saved.

The Scripture says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5 vs 3.) Happy are those who are not proud, conceited or arrogant, especially concerning their spiritual relationship with God. One must empty himself of self-reliance and learn to humble himself before God. Those with such an attitude of mind will submit to the kingdom reign of God, therefore, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

The Scripture in Second Chronicles 32 vs 25 says, “But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown to him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.” We are not told the specifics of Hezekiah’s pride. Much has been done for him by God, but it seems he failed to give thanks to God for all His blessings. Instead Hezekiah became somewhat self-confident, and thus God sought to humble him. Therefore, humble yourself before God that He may exalt you. Be proud and be humiliated and destroyed. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my whole pride is in You, who made earth and all therein, and outstretched the heavens. In You I live, and move and have my being. Outside of You I am completely nothing. Endue me with the spirit of humility, that I may humble myself before You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Dirty Rags No More

 

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. (Isaiah 64:6)

It is true that any shortcoming of God’s law offends his perfect holiness and makes us liable to judgment, since God cannot look with favor on any sin (Habakkuk 1:13; James 2:10–11).

But what brought a person to ruin in the Old Testament (and it is the same for us today) was not the failure to have the righteousness of sinless perfection. What brought them to ruin was the failure to trust in the merciful promises of God, especially the hope that he would one day provide a Redeemer who would be a perfect righteousness for his people (“The Lord is our righteousness,” Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16). The Old Testament saints knew that this is how they were saved, and that this faith was the key to obedience, and that obedience was the evidence of this faith.

It is terribly confusing when people say that the only righteousness that has any value is the imputed righteousness of Christ. To be sure, justification is not grounded on any of our righteousness — even Spirit-given righteousness by faith — but only on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. But sometimes people are careless and speak disparagingly of all human righteousness, as if there were no such righteousness worked in us that pleased God. This is not helpful.

They often cite Isaiah 64:6, which says our righteousness is as filthy rags, or “a polluted garment.”

But in the context, Isaiah 64:6 does not mean that all righteousness performed by God’s people is unacceptable to God. Isaiah is referring to people whose righteousness is in fact hypocritical. It is no longer righteousness. But in the verse just before this, Isaiah says that God approvingly meets “him who joyfully works righteousness” (Isaiah 64:5).

It’s true — gloriously true — that none of God’s people, before or after the cross, would be accepted by an immaculately holy God if the perfect righteousness of Christ were not imputed to us (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). That is true! But that does not mean God does not produce in those very “justified” people an experiential righteousness that is not a “polluted garment” — even though it is not yet perfected.

In fact, he does produce such a righteousness, and this righteousness is precious to God and is, in fact, required — not as the ground of our justification (which is the righteousness of Christ only), but as an evidence of our being truly justified children of God. This is what Paul prays for, and we should pray for. He prays in Philippians 1:10–11 “that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

GIVING WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MAY 01, 2023.

SUBJECT : GIVING WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!

Memory verse: "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6 vs 38).

READ: Psalm 50 vs 7 - 15:

50 vs 7: Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! 

8: I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. 

9: I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. 

10: For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 

11: I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beast of the field are Mine. 

12: "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 

13: Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 

14: Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.

15: Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

INTIMATION:

The attitude with which you give, occasions the manner of your receiving. The right attitude in giving ensures receiving rightly from God. When you give with a wrong attitude, or in a wrong manner, you receive nothing from God. For instance, the religious rituals of going to church, taking communion, paying tithes, giving to charity, or to the church, are all empty if our motives of doing them are selfish. God doesn't want these sacrifices and offerings without an attitude of devotion to Him. 

Many believers' giving fall into the scenario hinted above. They participate in religious activities out of habit or conformity rather than out of heartfelt love and obedience to God. Some give to be recognized; be seen as a financial pillar in the church or ministry, or for self-actualization, not out of love, and obedient obligation to the LORD.

In our memory verse, we have seen that our receiving is tied to our giving. Note, most importantly, that the Scripture says, "the measure we use," not "the measure we give." Many people confuse the two. If we give in love, we receive in lovely manner, but if give in hate, or grudgingly, we receive in like manner. If we are critical rather than compassionate, we will also receive criticism. If we treat others generously, graciously, and compassionately, these qualities will come back to us in full measure. We are to love others, not judge them.

In the passage we read, God was saying to His chosen people that His disagreement with them wasn't about a lack of sacrifices on their part; they had been offering sacrifices continually. His complaint against them was the heart attitude they had in making offerings. They were missing the point! God didn't need the sacrifices. The Israelites were going through the motions of making the offerings, but they weren't giving their hearts to God.

They thought they were making the sacrifices because God somehow needed their bulls and goats. In this Scripture, God was making it clear that He didn't need anything from them; everything already belongs to the Lord. God said, "If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you! The world is Mine, and everything in it." He doesn't need to ask anyone for food. The truth is that the Israelites needed those sacrifices. They needed to give back to God and show their trust and dependence upon Him. It wasn't for God—it's for them. The same is applicable to us today. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13 vs 8).

Do you know the reason for tithe? Why God asked us to give ten percent of our income to the church? It isn't because God needs our money! All the gold, silver, and riches in the world already belong to Him (Psalm 50 vs 12; Haggai 2 vs 8). He doesn't need our donations. God could have set up church finances differently. He could have made every minister of the gospel independently wealthy like He made Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, and all the rest. The tithe exists for our benefit, not God's.

God doesn't need your giving today any more than He needed those Old Testament sacrifices. The point of your giving is for you to learn to recognize God as the source of all you have (John 3 vs 27). It's one thing to say you believe God is your source, but it's another thing to prove it. The way you prove to yourself, not God, that you believe God is your source, is to give a portion of what you have back to Him. People who don't really see God as their source are going to balk at giving part of what they have away. They are selfish, and usually are going to think, 'I need this thing!' But giving back some of what God has already given you is nothing when you see God as your source.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my everything. All I have You have given me. I am nothing without You. Give me the grace to give in full devotion to You, that I will receive from you in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Fifteen Tactics for Joy

 

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

In this life of sin and pain, joy is embattled. Just like faith. And Paul says to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). So it is with joy. We must work for it and fight for it. Paul said to the Corinthians, “We work with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24).

How then shall we fight for joy? Here are 15 pointers.

Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift.Realize that joy must be fought for relentlessly. And don’t be put off by the paradox of these first two pointers!Resolve to attack all known sin in your life, by the power of the Holy Spirit.Learn the secret of gutsy guilt — how to fight like a justified sinner.Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see — to see God for who he is.Meditate on the word of God day and night.Pray earnestly and continually for open heart-eyes and an inclination for God.Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.Spend time with God-saturated people who help you see God and fight the fight.Be patient in the night of God’s seeming absence.Get the rest, exercise, and proper diet that your body was designed by God to have.Make a proper use of God’s revelation in nature — take a walk in the woods.Read great books about God and biographies of great saints.Do the hard and loving thing for the sake of others (your verbal witness and deeds of mercy).Get a global vision for the cause of Christ, and pour yourself out for the unreached.

Every one of those has Bible verses to support it. If you want to see them, they are in the book When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy.

HOLY SPIRIT—THE BELIEVERS’ GUIDER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY APRIL 30, 2023.

SUBJECT: HOLY SPIRIT—THE BELIEVERS’ GUIDER! 

Memory verse: "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16 vs 13.)

READ: John 14 vs 15 - 18:

14:15: If you love Me, keep My commandments.

14:16: And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

14:17: the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and will be in you.

14:18: I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

INTIMATION:

God, in His mercy, faithfulness, and love nature came down Himself to help mankind, haven seen that man cannot help himself. He sent to those who believe in Him and do His commandments a guider—the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Christ according to His promise. In the passage we read today, Jesus teaches about the Holy, Spirit: "If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, standby), that He may remain with you forever—The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you." (John 14 vs 15 - 18. Amplified Bible.)

The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God in and within all believers, helping them live as God wants—according to His purpose. He is the powerful person on our side, working for and with the believers; caring and guiding them to achieve their God's ordained purposes for their lives. How is the Holy Spirit the ultimate guide of the believer? (1) The Holy Spirit will be with the believers forever  (John 14 vs 16). (2) He lives with them and in them (John 14 vs 17). (3) He teaches the believer (John 14 vs 26). (4) He reminds them of Jesus' words (John 14 vs 26; 15 vs 26). (5) He convicts all of sin, shows all God's righteousness, and announces God's judgement on evil (John 16 vs 8). (6) He guides the believers into all truth and gives them insight into future events John 16 vs 13). 

Many people are unaware of the Holy Spirit's activities, but to those who hear Christ's Word and understand the Spirit's power, the Spirit gives a whole new way to look at life, to achieve their God's ordained purpose of life. By faith the believer can appropriate the Spirit's power each day.

Jesus said, "I will not live you as orphans; I will come [back] to you," (John 14 vs 18). He means He will come back as Holy Spirit to live with all believers. Therefore, to have the Holy Spirit is to have Jesus Himself. Through the Holy Spirit, God reveals to us all we need to know to prepare for the future. The future is known to Him from the beginning. When the believer lives by His standards, He will not leave him or her, He will come to him, He will be in him, and He will show Himself to him. God already knows what will happen and, because He will be with the believers through it all, they need not fear. They don't have to know the future to have faith in God; they have to have faith in God to be secure about the future.

The end result of Holy Spirit's work in the believers’ lives is deep and lasting peace. When God guides you, you rest assured you never will miss your goal. You have confident assurance in any circumstance; with Christ's peace we have no need to fear the present or the future. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Endue me with the spirit of complete obedience and believe in You, so that I will be guided by the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

LASTING GREATNESS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY APRIL 29, 2023.

SUBJECT: 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 of yourself to serve 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 arrived. But Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, as the lowliest slave will do, and washed and dried His disciples’ feet. If even He, God in the flesh, is willing to serve, we His followers must also be servants, 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 would be 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 and do it (John 13 vs 17).

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of selfless service to You and others, just as Christ gave us example, that I may achieve greatness in Your eyes, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!