The Powerful Root of Practical Love

 

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. (1 John 3:14)

So, love is the evidence that we are born again — that we are Christians, that we are saved.

Sometimes the Bible makes our holiness and our love for people the condition of our final salvation. In other words, if we are not holy and not loving, we will not be saved at the judgment day (e.g., Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:10). This doesn’t mean that acts of love are how we get right with God. No, the Bible is clear again and again as Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.” No, when the Bible says that we are saved by faith but that we must love people in order to finally be saved, it means that faith in God’s promises must be so real that the love it produces proves the reality of the faith.

So, love for others is a condition of future grace in the sense that it confirms that the primary condition, faith, is genuine. We could call love for others a secondary condition, which confirms the authenticity of the primary and essential condition of faith which alone unites us to Christ, and receives his power.

Faith perceives the glory of God in the promises of future grace and embraces all that the promises reveal of what God is for us in Jesus. That spiritual sight of God’s glory, and our delight in it, is the self-authenticating evidence that God has called us to be a beneficiary of his grace. This evidence frees us to bank on God’s promise as our own. And this banking on the promise empowers us to love. Which in turn confirms that our faith is real.

The world is desperate for a faith that combines two things: awestruck sight of unshakable divine Truth, and utterly practical, round-the-clock power to make a liberating difference in life. That’s what I want too. Which is why I am a Christian.

There is a great God of grace who magnifies his own infinite beauty and self-sufficiency by fulfilling promises to helpless people who trust him. And there is a power that comes from prizing this God that leaves no nook or cranny of life untouched. It empowers us to love in the most practical ways.

GOD BRINGS GOOD OUT OF BAD CIRCUMSTANCES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 29, 3023.

SUBJECT : GOD BRINGS GOOD OUT OF BAD CIRCUMSTANCES!

Memory verse: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8 vs 28.)

READ: Genesis 50 vs 17 - 20:

50:17: Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.”’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spake to him.

50:18: Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

50:19: Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

50:20: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

INTIMATION:

Circumstances are never so bad that they are beyond God’s help. We need never despair because we belong to a loving God. We don’t know what good He may bring out of a seemingly hopeless situation. No problem is too complicated for God if you are willing to let Him help you. Any trial a believer faces can ultimately bring glory to God because God can bring good out of any bad situation. 

When trouble comes, do you grumble, complain, and blame God, or do you see your problems as opportunities to honor Him? God can even use our sins for good purposes if we are sorry for them and seek His forgiveness. When we confess our sins, the way is opened for God to bring good from a bad situation.

God works in “all things”—not just isolated incidents—for our good. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. Certain things can happen in our lives for the ultimate purpose of God to be fulfilled in our lives. Note that God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill His purpose. 

Note that the promise in our anchor Scripture is not for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by Him, that is, those whom the Holy Spirit convinces to receive Christ. Such people have a new perspective, a new mind-set. They trust in God, not in worldly treasures, their security is in heaven, not on earth. Their faith in God does not waiver in pain and persecution because they know God is with them. 

There are some personalities in the Scriptures that God demonstrated in them His concept of bringing out good out of bad circumstances. In the passage we read today, the experience in Joseph’s life, who was sold to slavery by his brothers out of envy, taught him, and teaches us also, that God brings good from evil for those who trust in Him. He overrules people’s evil intentions to bring about His intended good results. In Joseph’s case, He brought good from the brothers’ evil deed, Potiphar’s wife’s false accusation, the butler’s neglect, and seven years of famine. Trust God enough and wait patiently for Him to bring good out of bad situations you face.

Although Joseph’s brothers didn’t kill him outright, they wouldn’t expect him to survive for long as a slave. They were quite willing to let cruel slave traders do their dirty work for them. Joseph faced a 30-day journey through the desert, probably chained and on foot. He will be treated like baggage, and once in Egypt would be sold as a piece of merchandise. 

His brothers had wanted to get rid of him, but God used even their evil actions to fulfill His ultimate plan. He had sent Joseph ahead to preserve their lives, save Egypt, and prepare the way for the beginning of the nation of Israel. God is sovereign. His plans are not dictated by human actions! Do you trust God enough to wait patiently for Him to bring good out of bad situations you may be in? 

Jesus was a close friend to the family of Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. After the sisters informed Jesus that Lazarus was seriously sick, Jesus responded that the sickness would not lead to his permanent death. Jesus delayed before going to the family to see His sick friend. Lazarus did die. He was buried and was already four days in the tomb before Jesus came.

However, Jesus knew that He would raise him from the dead because He was nearing the end of His ministry. He thus needed to work the great miracle in order to agitate the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus would be glorified through the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection. This would be the final miracle to stir the religious leaders to great jealousy, and thus, they would take Him to the cross. His eventful death on the cross, His burial and resurrection from the dead occasioned the salvation of man, and hope for eternal life.

God is still who He is; unchanging and dependable, our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. He has promised that those who put their trust in Him, will never be put to shame. Anchor your life in Him, and your victory in life’s circumstances is assured. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so faithful and compassionate. Your thoughts for me is of good, and I will not despair in any circumstances of life I find myself because I am persuaded that Your loving kindness and tender mercy is available to bring good out of any seemingly bad situation I may be in. You, O Lord that promised is faithful and will do it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Enduring When Obeying Hurts

 Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)

What faith performs is sometimes unspeakably hard. 

In his book Miracle on the River Kwai, Ernest Gordon tells the true story of a group of POWs working on the Burma Railway during World War II. 

At the end of each day the tools were collected from the work party. On one occasion a Japanese guard shouted that a shovel was missing and demanded to know which man had taken it. He began to rant and rave, working himself up into a paranoid fury and ordered whoever was guilty to step forward. No one moved. “All die! All die!” he shrieked, cocking and aiming his rifle at the prisoners. At that moment one man stepped forward and the guard clubbed him to death with his rifle while he stood silently to attention. When they returned to the camp, the tools were counted again and no shovel was missing.

What can sustain the will to die for others, when you are innocent? Jesus was carried and sustained in his love for us by “the joy that was set before him.” He banked on a glorious future blessing and joy, and that carried and sustained him in love through his suffering. 

Woe to us if we think we should or can be motivated and strengthened for radical, costly obedience by some higher motive than the joy that is set before us. When Jesus called for costly obedience that would require sacrifice in this life, he said in Luke 14:14, “You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” In other words, be strengthened now in all your losses for Christ’s sake, because of the joy set before you.

Peter said that, when Jesus suffered without retaliating, he was leaving us an example to follow — and that includes Jesus’s confidence in the joy set before him. He handed his cause over to God (1 Peter 2:21) and did not try to settle accounts with retaliation. He banked his hope on the resurrection and all the joys of reunion with his Father and the redemption of his people. So should we.

IDOLS IN OUR LIVES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JUNE 28, 2023.

SUBJECT : IDOLS IN OUR LIVES!

Memory verse: "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that causes them stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be enquired of at all by them?” (Ezekiel 14 vs 3.)

READ: Job 31 vs 24 vs 28:

31:24: If I have made gold my hope. Or said to fine gold, 'You are my confidence'; 

31:25: If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; 

31:26: If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, 

31:27: So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; 31:28: This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgement, For I would have denied God who is above.

INTIMATION:

An idol is an object of worship (most times made in stone or wood), an object of love, admiration, or honor in an extreme degree. In our first imagination of an idol we think of an idol as statues of wood or stone, but in reality an idol is anything natural that is given sacred value and power. The statues of object were not evil in themselves, but people gave them credit for what only God could do, such as provide good weather, crops, children, happiness etc.  

If your answer to any of the following questions is anything or anyone other than God, you may need to check out who or what you are worshiping: 

• Who created me?
• Whom do I ultimately trust?
• Whom do I look to for ultimate truth?
• Whom do I look to for security and happiness? 
• Who is in charge of my future?

The answers to the above listed questions, and also the following questions will be of immense help to discern the ideal life expected of a believer; Is there anything you feel you cannot live without? Is there any priority greater than God? Do you have a dream you would sacrifice everything to realize? Does God take first place in your life? Do you worship God or idols of your own making?

Worshiping of an idol is regarded as idolatry. Idolatry is the greatest sin against God because it is rejection of God Himself. And worshiping or regarding or trusting in anything rather than God violates the very first commandment of God—“You shall no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20 vs 3). And Jesus reemphasized this Commandment in Matthew 4 vs 10, “Worship the LORD your God, and only Him shall you serve.” 

When you have any other gods, rather than the only true God, you cannot be His own, and no matter how faithfully you keep other nine commandments you can’t please Him, hence He made this the first commandment. Today we can allow many things to become gods to us. Money, fame, work, pleasure or problem can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security. 

In the passage we read today, Job affirmed that depending on wealth for happiness is idolatry and denies our Father in heaven. Jesus’ authority is established over all of creation so we dare not treat any created object or earthly resource as more important than He is. When we spend more time on ourselves than on serving Christ, we treat ourselves (His creation) as being more important than our Creator. When we regard our finances, rather than our faith in Christ, as the basis for security, we give higher status to an earthly resource than we do to God. 

Our dependence on what God has given us, like money and possessions, is an acceptance of our society's obsession with such things as a necessary evil or "the way it works" in the modern world. Although, every society in every age has valued the power and prestige that money brings, but true believers must purge themselves of the deep-seated desire for such things as more power, prestige, and possessions. They must also put their absolute trust in God, and use the resources given to them for service to Him and humanity.

Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to Him as Creator and Sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. They soon invent “gods” that are convenient projections of their own selfish ideas. These God’s may be wooden figures, or they may also be goals or things we pursue, such as money, power, or possessions. They may even be misrepresentations of God Himself— making God in our image, instead of the reverse.

No normal person sets out with the intention of worshiping these things. But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts, emotions, and energies. Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods. As societies change, they often throw out norms and values no longer considered necessary or acceptable. Believers must be careful not to allow society’s example if it discards God’s Word. When society does that, only godlessness and evil remain. 

When one idolizes something in his heart, he cannot give his full commitment to God. The heart is considered the core of a person’s intellect and spirit. Because all people have someone or something as the object of their heart’s devotion, they have the potential for idolatry within them. God wants to recapture the hearts of His people. We must never let anything captivate our allegiance or imagination in such a way that it replaces or weakens our devotion to God.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are God, the only God I know and serve. In You I live, and move and have my being. Whatever will take my attention and trust away from You let me not live to see it. Whatever is capable of taking the first place in my life instead of You, O Lord, may it never come to me. in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

A Hiding Place for the Helpless

 

How abundant is your goodness, which you have . . . worked for those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 31:19)

The experience of future grace often hangs on whether we will take refuge in God, or whether we doubt his care and run for cover to other shelters.

For those who take refuge in God, the promises of future grace are many and rich.

None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22)

He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)

Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1:7)

We do not earn or merit anything by taking refuge in God. Hiding, because we are weak and need protection, is not a work to commend our self-sufficiency. All it does is show that we regard ourselves as helpless and the hiding place as a place of rescue.

In all those promises I just quoted, the condition of great blessing from God is that we take refuge in him. That condition is not a meritorious one; it is the condition of desperation and acknowledged weakness and need and trust.

Desperation does not demand or deserve; it pleads for mercy and looks for grace.

LET ALL YOU DO BE MOTIVATED BY LOVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JUNE 27, 2023.

SUBJECT : LET ALL YOU DO BE MOTIVATED BY LOVE!

Memory verse: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." (First Corinthians 13 vs 3.)

READ: First Corinthians 13 vs 1 - 3:

13:1: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

13:2: And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

13:3: And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

INTIMATION:

Love is having great affection for, feeling a passionate attraction to, and being fond of something or someone. God demands that our motivation in all we do should be by the geatest gift of love, that our driving force should be ‘love,’—love for Him and others.  God considers love as the greatest gift anybody can give, and demonstrated it when He Himself gave to the world His only begotten Son—Jesus—as a propitiation for our sins. 

Jesus gave His life for us; that we might have our own life and live through Him. He considered it the greatest gift of love anyone can give, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15 vs 13). No such gift has ever been given, and I doubt the possibility of ever having any gifts greater than this; exchanging something of inestimable value with something completely worthless. 

However, we may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love; listening, helping, encouraging, giving, sharing in grief etc. Sacrificial love is demonstrated in stretching yourself more than normal in offering yourself for God and others.

In giving His Son, the driving force to God is love for the world; “For God so loved the world that He gave...” (John 3 vs 16.) The apostle John said that by such act of God in given His Son, who laid down His life for us, we know love. And that should be our motive in all we do; we should love one another and ready to ‘lay down our lives for others,’—that is, serving others with no thoughts of receiving anything in return. 

John further stated that “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (First John4 vs 7 - 8.) The person who in not motivated by love does not know the first thing about God, because God is Love—so you can’t know Him if you don’t love. 

The Scripture makes it clear that no one has seen God, ever, or can see God. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and His perfect love becomes complete in us. And this is how we know we are living steadily and deeply in Him and He in us. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.

Love is more important than all the spiritual gifts exercised in the church body. Great faith, acts of dedication and sacrifice, and miracle-working power, etc, all have little effect without love. Love makes our actions and gifts useful. You aren't going to see a supernatural return on your giving when you do it with the wrong motive. It has to come from a humble and loving heart that desires to bless other people. The motive behind what you do is more important than the action itself, and giving with a wrong motive is of no benefit. Although people have different gifts, Love is available to everyone.

In the passage we read today, we can understand that you can go so far as to make the ultimate sacrifice of laying down your life, but it will be of no benefit to you if it isn't done out of a motivation of love. It will bless the person you sacrificed yourself for, but it isn't going to result in a supernatural return for you. 

Jesus gave us the ‘Greatest Commandment’ of love, saying, “And You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ‘This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There are no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12 vs 30 - 31.)

God’s laws are not burdensome. They can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. These commands are from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6 vid 5; Leviticus 19 vs 18). When you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of the Ten Commandments and the other Old Testament laws. 

According to Jesus, these two commandments summarize all God’s laws. Let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. Let sincere love for God and others be your motivating factor in all you do. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us. Endue me with the grace and power to love as You loved and gave Your life for us. Let my love for You and my neighbor showcase my abiding in You, and You in me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Fear That Draws Us In

 

“Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exodus 20:20)

There is a fear that is slavish and drives us away from God, and there is a fear that is sweet and draws us to God. Moses warned against the one and called for the other in the very same verse, Exodus 20:20: “Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.’”

The clearest illustration I have ever seen of this kind of good fear was the time one of my sons looked a German shepherd in the eye. We were visiting a family from our church. My son Karsten was about seven years old. They had a huge dog that stood eye to eye with a seven-year-old.

He was friendly and Karsten had no problem making friends. But when we sent Karsten back to the car to get something we had forgotten, he started to run, and the dog galloped up behind him with a low growl. And of course, this frightened Karsten. But the owner said, “Karsten, why don’t you just walk? The dog doesn’t like it when people run away from him.”

If Karsten hugged the dog, he was friendly and would even lick his face. But if he ran from the dog, the dog would growl and fill Karsten with fear.

That’s a picture of what it means to fear the Lord. God means for his power and holiness to kindle fear in us, not to drive us from him, but to drive us to him. Fearing God means, first, fearing to abandon him as our great security and satisfaction.

Or another way to say it is that we should fear unbelief. Fear not trusting God’s goodness. Isn’t that the point of Romans 11:20? “You stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.” That is, what we should fear is not believing, not having faith. Fear running away from God. But if we walk with him and hug his neck, he will be our friend and protector forever.