MADE RIGHT WITH GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 02, 2023.

SUBJECT: MADE RIGHT WITH GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST!

Memory verse: "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Romans 10 vs 4.) 

READ: Romans 3 vs 21 - 26:

3:21: But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

3:22: even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 

3:23: for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God,

3:24: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

3:25: Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

3:26: to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

INTIMATION: 

Righteousness is the character or quality of being right or just. It is formerly spelled ‘rightwiseness,’ which clearly expresses the meaning. It’s used to denote an attribute of God (Romans 3 vs 5) the context of which shows that “the righteousness of God” means essentially the same as His faithfulness, or truthfulness; that which is consistent with His own nature and promises.  

In Romans 3 vs 25 -26, the Scripture speaks of God’s righteousness as exhibited in the Death of Christ for our sins, which is sufficient to show men that God is neither indifferent to sin nor regards it lightly. On the contrary, it demonstrates that quality of holiness in Him which must find expression in His condemnation of sin. In Second Peter 1 vs 1, the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, is the righteous dealing of God with sin and with sinners on the ground of the Death of Christ. 

But for the most part, the apostle Paul uses it of that gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God. This righteousness is unattainable by obedience to any law or by any merit of man’s own, or any other condition than that of faith in Christ. The man who trusts in Christ becomes ‘the righteousness of God in Him,’ (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21), that is, becomes in Christ all that God requires a man to be, all that he could never be in himself. 

All humanity has fallen short of that which is required for one to dwell in the presence of God. The result of law is that all are made sinners. The result of sin is separation from God. And the result of separation from God is spiritual death which will eventually lead to a second death (Romans 6 vs 23; Second Thessalonians 1 vs 7 - 9). Since all men sin, then apart from the grace of God, no man can stand justified (righteous) before God on the basis of law alone.

It was through Jesus faithfulness to go to the cross that the righteousness of God (God’s resolve to set things right for us with Himself) was accomplished. Justification (our being worth what was done for us) was also accomplished because of the faith of those who believed in the cross. Both the faithfulness of Jesus in going to the cross, and man’s faith response to the cross, were necessary in order to accomplish God’s eternal plan to reconcile men to Himself through Jesus. 

Christianity is unique in that no good deed that we do will make us right with God. No amount of human achievement or personal goodness will close the gap between God’s moral perfection and our imperfect daily performance. Good deeds are important, but they will not earn us eternal life. We are saved only by trusting in what God has done for us (Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 10).

There is a way to be declared not guilty, that is, by trusting Jesus Christ to take away our sins. Trusting means putting our confidence in Christ to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way He taught us. God’s solution is available to all of us regardless of our background or past behavior. 

Christ died in our place, for our sins. God is justifiably angry at sinners. They have rebelled against Him and cut themselves off from His life-giving power. But God declares Christ’s death to be the appropriate, designated sacrifice for our sin. Christ then stands in our place, having paid the penalty of death for our sin, and He completely satisfies God’s demands. His sacrifice brings pardon, deliverance and freedom. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From His perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. He could do this because Jesus took the penalty that we deserved. Christ purchased our freedom from sin, and the price was His life.

In His death, Jesus was God’s offering to appease His wrath that would eventually have to be poured out on sinners. In order for God to stand just in judgement of free-moral man, there had to be a choice for men to be saved from condemnation. Through the offering of the blood of Jesus, God gave that choice. Though the offering had to be made at a point in time in human history, the required response to God by faith on the part of man has always been in existence.   

God is just because He has revealed the means by which men can be made righteous. God promised that He would send the Savior into the world for the blessing of all nations. Through the Sanai law and the prophets the promises were made. Through the faithfulness of God the promises were accomplished. The promises were not fulfilled because of the man’s perfect obedience of law, but because of the grace of God to do such regardless of the sinfulness of man.

This the loving favor of God that was extended toward man that man could not have earned on the basis of his performance of law or meritorious good works. The grace was freely given regardless of the spiritual condition of all humanity. It had to be freely given because men could not work in order to earn grace. Sin blocks any efforts to meritoriously earn the gift. Therefore, grace was given to take care of man’s sin problem. Once justified from sin by grace, we are then reconciled again to His presence and glory (Second Corinthians 5 vs 19). All this was made possible by the sacrificial cross of Jesus where God’s grace was manifested.

Prayer: Abba Father, great are You LORD, great is Your faithfulness, and You are greatly to be praised. Everyday I will praise You for who You are and for Your faithfulness in all things. I will thank You and praise Your name forever for Your unalloyed mercy, goodness, and faithfulness in my life. May I never take Your faithfulness and mercy for granted, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

The Faith That Magnifies Grace

The Faith That Magnifies Grace

I do not nullify the grace of God. (Galatians 2:21)

When I lost my footing as a little boy in the undertow at the beach, I felt as if I were going to be dragged to the middle of the ocean in an instant. 

It was a terrifying thing. I tried to get my bearings and figure out which way was up. But I couldn’t get my feet on the ground, and the current was too strong to swim. I wasn’t a good swimmer anyway. 

In my panic I thought of only one thing: Could someone help me? But I couldn’t even call out from under the water. 

When I felt my father’s hand take hold of my upper arm like a mighty vice grip, it was the sweetest feeling in the world. I yielded entirely to being overpowered by his strength. I reveled in being picked up at his will. I did not resist.

The thought did not enter my mind that I should try to show that things aren’t so bad; or that I should add my strength to my dad’s arm. All I thought was, Yes! I need you! I thank you! I love your strength! I love your initiative! I love your grip! You are great!

In that spirit of yielded affection, one cannot boast. I call that yielded affection “faith.” And my father was the embodiment of the future grace of God that I desperately needed and craved under the water. This is the faith that magnifies grace. 

As we ponder how to live the Christian life, the uppermost thought should be: How can I magnify rather than nullify the grace of God? Paul answers this question in Galatians 2:20–21, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God.” 

Why does his life not nullify the grace of God? Because he lives by faith in the Son of God. Faith calls all attention to grace and magnifies it, rather than nullifying it.

HaPpY new of "JUNE" 2023

J- Joy

U- Unbelievable miracles

N- Next level 

E- Expansion

May you testify in this month of JUNE in Jesus Name! Amen🙏🙏🙏🔥

Daily devotional on https://miheanyi.blogspot.com

WHY THE LAW WAS GIVEN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 01, 2023.

SUBJECT: WHY THE LAW WAS GIVEN!

Memory verse: "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made, and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator." (Galatians 3 vs 19.) 

READ: Romans 7 vs 7 - 9:

7:7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

7:8: But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

7:9: I was alive once without law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

INTIMATION: 

Te ostensible aim of the law is to restrain the evil tendencies natural to man in his fallen estate. Yet in experience law finds itself not merely ineffective, it actually provokes those tendencies to greater activity. 

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul says that he would not have known that sin existed in his life unless the law stated that his behavior was against the law. Therefore, the law “was added because of transgressions” (Galatians 3 vs 19). It made us realize that we were all sinners (Romans 3 vs 23). When men followed after the lusts of the flesh, the coming of the law exemplified the sinful behavior of the individual. 

When there was no law, one would not be aware of the intensity of the sin of his life. Where there is no law, there is no violation of law. Without the presence of the written law, one is deceived into thinking that his life is right with God. Where there is no law, there is no sin, because people cannot know that their actions are sinful unless a law forbids those actions. God’s law makes people realize that they are sinners doomed to die, yet it offers no help. Sin is real, and it is dangerous. 

Imagine a sunny day at the beach. You plunge into the surf, then you notice a sign on the pier: “No swimming. Sharks.” Your day is ruined. Is it the sign’s fault? Are you angry with the people who put it up? The law is like the sign. It is essential, and we are grateful for it—but it doesn’t get rid of the sharks.

The law still has an important role to play in the life of a Christian. The law (1) guards us from sin by giving us standards for behavior; (2) convicts us of sin, leaving us the opportunity to ask for God’s forgiveness, and (3) drives us to trust in the sufficiency of Christ, because we can never keep the Ten Commandments perfectly. The law cannot possibly save us. But after we become Christians, it can guide us to live as God requires. 

God gave rules to His for people for some reasons. He did not withhold good from them; He only prohibited those acts that would bring them to ruin. All of us understand God’s physical laws of nature. For example, jumping off a 10-story building means death because of the law of gravity. 

But some of us don’t understand how God’s spiritual laws work. God forbids us to do certain things because He wants to keep us from self-destruction. The next time you are drawn to a forbidden physical or emotional pleasure, remind yourself that it’s consequences might be suffering and separation from God, who is trying to help you.

Most of us chafe under rules, for we think they restricts from doing what we want. But God’s laws were given to free us to be all He wants us to be. They restrict us from doing what might cripple us and keep us from being our best. God’s guidelines help us follow His path and avoid paths that lead to destruction.

In the Old Testament there were three categories of law: ceremonial, civil, and moral:

(1) The ceremonial law related specifically to Israel’s worship. Its primary purpose was to point forward to Jesus Christ; these laws, therefore, were no longer necessary after Jesus’ death and resurrection. While we are no longer bound by ceremonial law, the principles behind them—to worship and love a holy God—still apply.

(2)) The civil law applied to daily living in Israel. Because modern society and culture are so radically different from that time and setting, all of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. But the principles behind the commands are timeless and should guide our conduct. Jesus demonstrated these principles by example.

(3) The moral law (such as the Ten Commandments) is the direct command from God, and it requires strict obedience. The moral law reveals the nature and will of God, and it still applies today. Jesus obeyed the moral law completely,

The functions of God’s law is first, to show us where we go wrong. Because of the law, we know that we are helpless sinners and that we must come to Jesus Christ for mercy. Second, the moral code revealed in the law can serve to guide our actions by holding up God’s moral standards. We do not earn salvation by keeping the law (no one except Jesus ever kept or could keep God’s law perfectly), but we do please God when our life conforms to His revealed will for us.

We miss the intent of God’s Word when we read His rules for living without trying to understand why He made them. Most people do keep God’s rules but close their eyes to His intent. For example, God’s moral and ceremonial laws were given to help people love God with all their hearts and minds. 

Prayer: Abba Father, Your law is holy, good, and just; a great compass to direct my path in life in righteousness and moral uprightness with You. Though meritorious law-keeping cannot earn me salvation but enables me to be in constant fellowship with You after been saved by grace in Jesus Christ. Empower me in my inner man to live above those presumptuous sins that usually have dominion over me that I may lead a life pleasing to You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

The Gain of Serving God

 “They shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” (2 Chronicles 12:8)

Serving God is utterly different from serving anyone else. 

God is extremely jealous that we understand this — and enjoy it. For example, he commands us, “Serve the Lord with gladness!” (Psalm 100:2). There is a reason for this gladness. It is given in Acts 17:25. God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” 

We serve him with gladness because we do not bear the burden of meeting his needs. He has no needs. So, serving him can’t mean meeting his needs. Instead we rejoice in a service where he meets our needs. Serving God always means receiving grace from God to do what we have to do.

To show how jealous God is for us to understand this, and glory in it, there is a story in 2 Chronicles 12. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, who ruled the southern kingdom after the revolt of the ten tribes, chose against serving the Lord and gave his service to other gods and other kingdoms. 

As judgment, God sent Shishak, the king of Egypt, against Rehoboam with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen (2 Chronicles 12:2–3).

In mercy God sent the prophet Shemaiah to Rehoboam with this message: “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak’” (2 Chronicles 12:5). The happy upshot of that message is that Rehoboam and his princes humbled themselves in repentance and said, “The Lord is righteous” (2 Chronicles 12:6).

When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, he said, “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak” (2 Chronicles 12:7). But as a discipline to them he says, “They shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries” (2 Chronicles 12:8).

The point is plain: serving the enemy and serving God are very different. How so? Serving God is a receiving and a blessing and a joy and a benefit. Serving Shishak is exhausting and depleting and sorrowful. God is a giver. Shishak is a taker.

This is why I am so jealous to say that the worship of Sunday morning and the worship of daily obedience is not at bottom a burdensome giving to God, but a joyful getting from God. That is the true service that God demands. In all you do, trust me as the giver.

LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE CLEAR!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY MAY 31, 2023.

SUBJECT : LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE CLEAR!

Memory verse: "Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.” (Hebrews 13 vs 18.)

READ: Hebrews 10 vs 22 - 24:

10:22: Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

10:23: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

10:24: And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and to good works:

INTIMATION:

Conscience is a knowing with oneself. It’s that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives. It is that process of thought which distinguishes what is considers morally good or bad, commending the good, and condemning the bad, and so prompting to do the former, and avoid the later. Your conscience is your first judge, and imprisons you if you are not acting appropriately. We escape the gnawing accusations of our consciences by acting in love, and setting our hearts on God's love. Not by ignoring them or rationalizing our behavior. Do good, act appropriately, and you will then free yourself by clearing your conscience.

Many feel guilty because they think they are not doing enough to show proper love to Christ, and others. Their conscience bother them. If they ignore their consciences, then they sin because they have compromised their faith by doing something they believe is wrong. One must not allow his faith to be led astray by a violation of what he or she conscientiously knows to be what is right. 

How can you keep your conscience clear? Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish. As you walk with God, He will speak to you through your conscience, letting you know the difference between right and wrong. Be sure to act on those inner tugs so that you do what is right—then your conscience will remain clear. Do not ignore those inner tugs nor rationalize your behavior, but set your heart on God’s love. 

When you come to God with a clear conscience, you are coming to Him without fear, confident that your requests will be heard. When you say, "God You know that I am walking in the light of love, I am doing Your Word," then persuade your heart. If you go into His presence for intercession, your heart is not fearful; your heart does not condemn you. Your heart is in perfect fellowship with this living Word and you have boldness in His presence, conscious that you are welcome. You make your petition in the name of Jesus, and you know that the Father hears you and that you have the petition of your heart.

We try to steer clear of actions forbidden by Scripture, of course, but sometimes Scripture is silent. Then we should follow our consciences, and be faithful in your doings. “Whatever is not from faith is sin” means that to go against a conviction will leave a person with a guilty conscience. When God shows us that something is wrong for us, we should avoid it. 

Job said, “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.” (Job 27 vs 6.) In the midst of all accusations, Job was able to declare that his conscience was clear. Only God’s forgiveness and the determination to live right before God can bring a clear conscience. How important Job’s record became as he was being accused. Like Job, we can’t claim sinless lives, but we can claim forgiven lives. When we confess our sins to God, He forgives us. Then we can live with clear consciences (First John 1 vs 9.) 

Sometimes after confessing our sins, we still feel guilty. However, when such guilt feeling rise up in our hearts, we should remind ourselves that God knows our motives as well as our actions. His voice of assurance is stronger than the accusing voice of our conscience. If we are in Christ, He will not condemn us (Romans 8 vs 1; Hebrews 9 vs 14 - 15). So if you are living for the Lord but feeling that you are not good enough, remind yourself that God is greater than your conscience. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of obedience to Your Word; hearing and doing Your Word, that my conscience may be clear in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Something to Boast About

 

By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

The New Testament correlates faith and grace to make sure that we do not boast in what grace alone achieves.

One of the most familiar examples is Ephesians 2:8. By grace, through faith. There’s the correlation that guards the freedom of grace. By grace, through faith.

Faith is the act of our soul that turns away from our own insufficiency to the free and all-sufficient resources of God. Faith focuses on the freedom of God to dispense grace to the unworthy. It banks on the bounty of God.

Therefore faith, by its very nature, nullifies boasting and fits with grace. Wherever faith looks, it sees grace behind every praiseworthy act. So it cannot boast, except in the Lord. The author of grace.

So Paul, after saying that salvation is by grace through faith, says, “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Faith cannot boast in human goodness or competence or wisdom, because faith focuses on the free, all-supplying grace of God. Whatever goodness faith sees, it sees as the fruit of grace.

When it looks at our “wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” it says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30–31).

CRAVE FOR THE HIDDEN MANNA!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MAY 30, 2023.

SUBJECT: CRAVE FOR THE HIDDEN MANNA!

Memory verse: "He who has an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden Manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” (Revelation 2 vs 17.)

READ: John 6 vs 31 - 35:

6:31: Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

6:32: Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give gave you the bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

6:33: For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

6:34: Then said they to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 

6:35: And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life: he who comes to Me shall never hunger; and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

INTIMATION:

“Hidden manna” suggests the spiritual nourishment that the faithful believers in Christ will receive. Christ is our daily bread who satisfies our eternal, spiritual need. In John 6 vs 48 - 51 Jesus compares Himself to manna: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Jesus is the Living Bread (the hidden manna), which provides spiritual nourishment that satisfies our deepest hunger. To eat living bread means to accept Christ into our lives and become united with Him. We are united with Christ in two ways: (1) by believing in His death (the sacrifice of His flesh) and resurrection for our hope, and (2) by devoting ourselves to living as He requires, depending on His teaching for guidance, and trusting in the Holy Spirit for power.

The bread from heaven (the manna) was a special meal from God to His people that sustained them for forty years in the wilderness. Manna was the survival food given to Israel in the desert during their wilderness wanderings. It gave them life. As the Israelites travailed in the wilderness for forty years, traveling toward the Promise Land, God provided the bread from heaven (manna) for their physical nourishment. 

The bread—Manna—that God provided for the Israelites in the desert satisfied a temporary hunger that returned the following day. In contrast to the physical bread provided in the wilderness, the bread that comes from the Father in heaven through Jesus will satisfy one’s spiritual thirst for eternity. Jesus is the bread of life that was sent from the Father in order to nourish the spiritual poverty of humanity.

Every morning, the desert floor east of the Red Sea was white with this mysterious substance. Like snow it lay evenly on the ground. Like frost it began to crystallize and evaporate in the midday sun. The wandering Israelites harvested the manna each day of their 40-years trek in the wilderness of Sanai. On the day it first appeared, their leader Moses declared this unusual seedless crop "bread from heaven." Most of the people were so hungry that they spent less time questioning the dietary value of the manna than they did collecting it. It tasted sweet like honey. It resembled coriander seed with a waferlike consistency. 

The manna was nutritious enough. Men, women, and children survived on this bread substitute. But "bread from heaven" was an awesome creation of God, a customized never-before-heard-of food just for His chosen people, the Israelites. The manna kept a whole nomadic nation of Israel alive when their survival seemed in jeopardy. It even fueled the amazing growth of the nation of Israel so that they could supplant the people's living on the edges of the desert—the Edomites, the Midianities, and eventually the Canaanites. 

People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain physical life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder He called Himself the bread of life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life. 

Jesus was both the bread of life and the water 

of life. The two things that man needs to sustain his physical life are bread and water. The two things that man needs to maintain his spiritual life are the bread and water that flow from Jesus. He is the bread of life that would preserve all who came to Him. They would be preserved for eternity.

The same perplexing nature and nutritional value associated with manna in sustaining the life of the nomadic Israelites, is inherent in our believe in Christ. Our believe in Him is the hidden manna which satisfies our deep spiritual and eternal needs. In the hidden manna do all our need to live for God consist. Therefore, crave to have it.

Prayer: Abba Father, I crave for the hidden manna. Satisfy my thirst and quest for spiritual nourishment to eternity. Jesus Christ, I invite You into my life as Lord and Savior. Feed me with the bread and water from heaven, that I may never thirst again, and consequently live for You forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!