How to Hate Your Life

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24–25)

“Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” What does that mean?

It means, at least, that you don’t take much thought for your life in this world. In other words, it just doesn’t matter much what happens to your life in this world.

If men speak well of you, it doesn’t matter much.
If they hate you, it doesn’t matter much.
If you have a lot of things, it doesn’t matter much.
If you have little, it doesn’t matter much.
If you are persecuted or lied about, it doesn’t matter much.
If you are famous or unheard of, it doesn’t matter much.
If you have died with Christ, these things just don’t matter much.

But Jesus’s words are even more radical. Jesus is calling us not just to endure experiences we don’t choose, but to make a choice to follow him. “If anyone serves me, he must follow me” (John 12:26). Where to? He is moving into Gethsemane and toward the cross.

Jesus is not just saying: If things go bad, don’t fret, since you have died with me anyway. He is saying: Choose to die with me. Choose to hate your life in this world the way I have chosen the cross.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). He calls us to choose the cross. People only did one thing on a cross. They died on it. “Take up your cross,” means, “Like a grain of wheat, fall into the ground and die.” Choose it.

But why? For the sake of radical commitment to ministry: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). I think I hear Paul saying, “It doesn’t matter what happens to me — if I can just live to the glory of God’s grace.”

LIFE ON EARTH IS NOT ALL THERE IS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MAY 20, 2023.

SUBJECT: LIFE ON EARTH IS NOT ALL THERE IS! 

Memory verse: "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." (Ecclesiastes 3 vs 11.)

READ: Ecclesiastes 12 vs 5; John 17 vs 3:

Ecclesiastes 12:5: Also they are afraid of height, and terrors in the way; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets.

John 17:3: And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

INTIMATION:

You are created to live forever. Life on earth is not all there is; it’s just the small fraction of your whole life. Life encounters on earth prepares you for the next life that is unending—eternal. Earth is only a tryout for your life in eternity. It is a practice workout before the actual game. Death therefore, marks the beginning of life on the other side—in eternity. It is not the end of you. It isn't your termination because you can't be terminated. Death is only a transition into eternity, and there are eternal consequences to everything you do on earth, leading to the part of the eternal divide you will forever live.

Even though we know that everyone will eventually die, death always seems unnatural and unfair, even at a hundred and twenty years. The reason we feel we should live forever is that God wired our brains with that desire! (Ecclesiastes 3 vs 11.) One day your heart will stop pumping, and that marks the end of your body and your time on earth, but it will not be the end of you. Your earthly body is just a temporary residence for your real self—your spirit. At most, God desires you live a hundred and twenty years on earth (Genesis 6 vs 3), and transits to eternity. Your time on earth is but a small parenthesis to your life in eternity. You are made to last forever. 

The plain truth is that while life on earth offers many chances, eternity offers only two; heaven or hell. Your relationship with God on earth will determine your relationship with Him in eternity. If you learn to love and trust God's Son, Jesus, accept His finished work on the cross for you, and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, you are given the legal right to be the child of God, heir of God, joint heir with His Son, and will spend the rest of eternity with Him. On the other hand, if you reject Him, reject His love, forgiveness, and salvation, thereby committing the only unforgivable sin, you will spend eternity away from God—in hell. 

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Your Will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right then, have it your way.' Tragically, many people will have to endure eternity without God because they chose to live without Him here on earth. When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life on earth is just preparation for eternity, you will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, tasks, and circumstances. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. 

The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears. Eternity focused life changes your value system. You use your time and money wisely. You place higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn't matter as much anymore. 

The Scripture in Philippians 3 vs 7 says, "But what things were gain to me, I have counted loss for Christ." The apostle Paul said he thought his past achievements were very important, but now he considers them worthless when compared with what Christ has done for him. If our time here on earth is all there is to life, we would live as if there is no tomorrow. You would exploit life as much as you could, forget being good and ethical, and wouldn't have to worry about any consequences of your actions. You could indulge yourself in total self-centeredness because your actions would have no long-term repercussions. Unfortunately, life is beyond our days on this earth. Lead your life with eternity in mind and with God as your driving force.

Prayer: Abba Father, one thing I have desired of You, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in Your house forever. You have put eternity in my heart, awaken, therefore, the spirit of eternal consciousness in me, that I will lead my life on earth with utmost desire to please You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Makes Jesus Rejoice

 In that same hour he [Jesus] rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21)

This verse is one of only two places in the Gospels where Jesus is said to rejoice. The seventy disciples have just returned from their preaching tours and reported their success to Jesus. 

Notice that all three members of the Trinity are rejoicing here: Jesus is rejoicing, but it says he is rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. I take that to mean that the Holy Spirit is filling him and moving him to rejoice. Then at the end of the verse it describes the pleasure of God the Father. The NIV translates it, “Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do” — what you rejoiced to do!

Now, what is it that has the whole Trinity rejoicing together in this place? It is the free, electing love of God to hide things from the intellectual elite and to reveal them to babes. “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.” 

And what is it that the Father hides from some and reveals to others? Luke 10:22 gives the answer, “No one knows who the Son is except the Father.” So, what God the Father must reveal is the true spiritual identity of the Son. 

When the seventy disciples return from their evangelistic mission and give their report to Jesus, he and the Holy Spirit rejoice that God the Father has chosen, according to his own good pleasure — his own rejoicing — to reveal the Son to babes and to hide him from the wise. 

The point of this is not that there are only certain classes of people who are chosen by God. The point is that God is free to choose the least likely candidates for his grace.

God contradicts what human merit might dictate. He hides from the self-sufficient wise and reveals to the most helpless and unaccomplished. 

When Jesus sees the Father freely enlightening and saving people whose only hope is free grace, he exults in the Holy Spirit and takes pleasure in his Father’s election.

So, when we see this — in fact, when we know that we are among the chosen children — we too join the rejoicing.

THE WORD OF GOD AND THE GRACE OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY May 19, 2023.

SUBJECT : THE WORD OF GOD AND THE GRACE OF GOD!

Memory verse: "And if by grace, then no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work."(Romans 11 vs 6.)

READ: Romans 7 vs 15 - 25:

7:15: For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that ain't do.

7:16: If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

7:17: But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

7:18: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

7:19: For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

7:20: Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

7:21: I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

7:22: For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

7:23: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

7:24: O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 

7:25: I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

INTIMATION:

Revelation into, and the understanding of the grace of God starts with the understanding of the dynamics of Word of God, and limitations of our works. The grace of God enables the working of the Word of God in our lives. Without the grace of God the Word of God would not profit us anything. The Word of God could be frustrating when we try to work the Word rather than the Word work in us. The most frustrating aspect of the Word of God is that it keeps convicting most believers. Incidentally this is what the Word should do to us. But how do we react to, and handle the conviction?

As the Word would convict us of our wrong doings, we turn completely to our Lord for the grace to change, instead of relying on our self will or efforts to change. When the Word convicts you in one thing or the other (which it ought to do), turn to God completely to accomplish the change you desire through His grace (unmerited favor). Do not get frustrated when the devil will come to minister condemnation (which it ought to) because the devil's mission is "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10 vs 10). Remind the devil of what Christ had already wrought for us in redemption; "There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus..." (Romans 8 vs 1.) 

When we look into the Word and see our need to change from our sinful ways, let us then turn to Christ for the grace to bring about that change in us. We will pray earnestly, and seek the grace of God to allow the Spirit of the Lord come into our lives and cause the things to happen that needed to happen as we believed Him and exercised our faith. We cannot do it all by our own power.

We are not alone in this predicament. In the passage we read today the apostle Paul states his struggle with sin. He understood that self-determination, that is, struggling in one's own strength, doesn't succeed. He found himself sinning in ways that weren't even attractive to him. He knew it requires more than his strength to get rid of the sin.

When you try to change yourself, trying to make yourself be everything the Word said you ought to be, you get frustrated because you cannot do it by your will power, but only by the grace of God. You have to submit yourself to the Lord and wait patiently on Him to accomplish all He planned for you. Trying to do something about something you can't do anything about is frustrating. It takes the grace of God to change to what the Word wants you to be. It is not automatic but gradual, being changed from glory to glory (Second Corinthians 3 vs 18). You conquer your enemies little by little (Deuteronomy 7 vs 22). When convicted by the Word, allow God (trust and surrender yourself to Him) to walk His perfect Will in your life.

Becoming a Christian doesn't stamp out all sin and temptation from a person's life. Being 'born again' takes a moment of faith, but becoming like Christ is a lifelong process. No one in the world is innocent; no one deserves to be saved. All of us must depend totally on the work of Christ, that is, the grace of God, for our salvation. We cannot earn it by our behavior.

We must never underestimate the power of sin and attempt to fight it in our own strength. Instead of trying to overcome sin with our own human willpower, we must get hold of God's provision for victory over sin; the Holy Spirit, who, by the grace of God, lives within us and gives us the power to overcome sin. And even when we fall, He lovingly reaches out to help us up.

There is great tension in daily Christian experience. The conflict is that we agree with God's commands but cannot do them. As a result, we are painfully aware of our sin. The inward struggle with sin was as real to the apostle Paul as it is for us. From Paul, we learn what to do about it. Whenever we are overwhelmed by the spiritual battle, we should return to the beginning of our spiritual lives, remembering how we have been freed from sin by Jesus Christ. When we feel confused and overwhelmed by sin's appeal, let us claim the freedom Christ gave us. It is only His power and grace that can lift us to victory.

Prayer: Abba Father,give me the grace to live above sin. Keep me back from presumptuous sins that usually have dominion over me, and let them not have dominion over me anymore. Empower me by Your Spirit indwelling me to lead a life pleasing to You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Light Beyond the Light

 

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1–2)

Jesus Christ is refreshing. So, seek the things that are above. Don’t replace Christ this summer with trifles. Flight from Christ into Christless leisure makes the soul parched.

At first it may feel like freedom and fun to skimp on prayer and neglect the word. But then we pay: shallowness, powerlessness, vulnerability to sin, preoccupation with trifles, superficial relationships, and a frightening loss of interest in worship and the things of the Spirit.

Don’t let the coming of summer make your soul shrivel. God made summer as a foretaste of heaven, not a substitute.

If the mailman brings you a love letter from your fiancé, don’t fall in love with the mailman. Don’t fall in love with the video preview and find yourself unable to love the coming reality.

Jesus Christ is the refreshing center of summer. He is preeminent in all things (Colossians 1:18), including vacations and picnics and softball and long walks and cookouts. He invites us this summer, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Do we want it? That is the question. Christ gives himself to us in proportion to how much we want his refreshment. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Peter’s word to us about this is, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19–20). Repentance is not just turning away from sin, but also turning toward the Lord with hearts open and expectant and submissive.

What sort of summer mindset is this? It is the mindset of Colossians 3:1–2, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

It is God’s earth! It is a video preview to the reality of what the eternal summer will be like when “the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23).

The summer sun is a mere pointer to the sun that will be: the glory of God. Summer is for seeing and showing that. Do you want to have eyes to see? Lord, let us see the light beyond the light.

PROFITABLE LIVING BY THE WORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY MAY 18, 2023.

SUBJECT : PROFITABLE LIVING BY THE WORD!

Memory verse: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119 vs 105).

READ: Psalm 119 vs 97 - 105; 129 - 130:

Psalm 119:97: Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

119:98: You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me.

119:99: I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.

119:100: I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts. 

119:101: I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.

119:102: I have not departed from Your judgements, for You Yourself have taught me. 

119:103: How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 119:104: Through Your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.

119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.

119:129: Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them.

119:130: The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. 

INTIMATION:

Life by the Word makes for a profitable living. God's Word makes us wise—wiser than our enemies and wiser than any teachers who ignore it. True wisdom goes beyond amassing knowledge; it is applying knowledge in a life-changing way. Intelligent or experienced people are not necessarily wise. Wisdom comes from allowing God's teachings to guide you.

The practice starts with your believe in the Word. Believe is having trust in, or firm conviction about something. To believe in the Word is accepting its existence, recognizing its value or advantage, and to have faith in its ability. The Word is the same as God (John 1 vs 1), therefore, believe in the Word is believe in God. All God's attributes are also associated with His Word. Believing that God exists is only the beginning. You have to have faith in what you believe, and demonstrate that faith by practicing what you have believed. 

Even the demons also believe, but fail to practice that believe (James 2 vs 19). God will not settle for mere acknowledgement of His existence. He wants a personal, dynamic relationship with you that will transform your life by demonstrating your faith in His Word. God assures us that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God (the Word), putting into practice or action the Word they believe, will be rewarded by Him (Hebrews 11 vs 6).

The efficacy of the Word of God is described in the Bible in Hebrews 4 vs 12 thus:- "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The Word of God is not simply a collection of words from God, or a vehicle for communicating ideas. It is living, life-changing, and dynamic as it works in us. His Words are purposeful hence it accomplish what He please, and prospers in the things for which He sent it, and never returns to Him void (Isaiah 55 vs 11). 

In this life, we walk through a dark forest of evil. But the Bible can be our light to show us the way ahead so we won't stumble as we walk. It reveals the entangling roots of false values and philosophies. Studying the Bible, and practicing what it tells you, makes you able to see your way clear enough to stay on the right path.

God means what He says, and what He says goes. His powerful Word is superbly sharp, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense. It lays us open to listen and obey. Nothing, and no one is impervious to God's Word, and cannot get away from it, no matter what. When we live our life in the Word—doing what God says we should do, we rest assured of a profitable living. This is because we can't go wrong since God can never go wrong. The Lordship of God is undoubted. He is unique in His knowledge and in His control of all things, including the future. His consistent purpose is to carry out what He has said, and planned. 

All that is written in Bible are God's Word, and are for our benefit. Remember the instruction of the LORD to Joshua in Joshua 1 vs 8, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Live the Word life, and rest assured of good success in all areas of your life, and the numbers of your days on this earth God will fulfill (Exodus 23 vs 25).

Prayer: Abba Father, the entrance of Your Word illuminates my path, and gives me understanding. Therefore, give me the grace to resist evil plotting of the enemy to take away Your Word from me, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Five Digital Dangers

 

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

Christians do not just coast through life like jellyfish floating in the current of contemporary culture. We live by the power of the Spirit and find our course by the word of God. We swim. Like dolphins, not jellyfish. Part of that course setting and power is expressed in thoughtful engagement with the digital realities of our day. Dangers included. Here are five.

1) The hook of constant curiosity

Digital devices offer a never-ending possibility for discovery. Even the basic operating systems can consume hours of curious punching and experimenting. Then there are the endless apps consuming weeks of your time as they lure you into their intricacies.

All this is very deceptive, giving the illusion of power and effectiveness, but leaving you with a feeling of emptiness and nervousness at the end of the day.

Resolution: I will strictly limit my experimental time on the device and devote myself more to truth than to technique.

2) The empty world of virtual (un)reality

How sad to see brilliant, creative people pouring hours and days of their lives into creating cities and armies and adventures that have no connection with reality. We have one life to live. All our powers are given to us by the real God for the real world leading to a real heaven and real hell.

Resolution: I will spend my constructive, creative energy not in the unreality of “virtual reality” but in the reality of the real world.

3) “Personal” relations with a machine

Like no other invention, a computer comes closest to being like a person. You can play games with it. It will talk to you. It will always be there for you. The great danger here is that we really become comfortable with this manageable electronic “person,” and gradually drift away from the unpredictable, frustrating, sometimes painful dealings with real human persons.

Resolution: I will not replace the risk of personal relationships with impersonal electronic safety.

4) The risk of tryst

“Tryst \’trist\ noun: An agreement (as between lovers) to meet.” Sexual affairs begin in private time together, extended conversation, and the sharing of soul, which can now be done in absolute seclusion through digital devices. You can think that “it’s just nothing” — until she (or he) shows up in town.

Resolution: I will not cultivate a one-on-one relationship with a person of the opposite sex other than my spouse. If I am single, I will not cultivate such a relationship with another person’s spouse.

5) Porn

More insidious that X-rated videos, we can now not only watch but join the perversity in the privacy of our own den. Interactive porn will allow you to “do it” or make them “do it” virtually.

I have never seen it. Nor do I ever intend to. It kills the spirit. It drives God away. It depersonalizes women. It quenches prayer. It blanks out the Bible. It cheapens the soul. It destroys spiritual power. It defiles everything.

Resolution: I will never open any app or website for sexual stimulation, nor purchase or download anything pornographic.