Step aside with Jesus by ClaudyGod

 

Heaven’s Relief in the Coming Wrath

 

God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted . . . when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:6–8)

There will come a time when the patience of God is over. When God has seen his people suffer for the allotted time, and the appointed number of martyrs is complete (Revelation 6:11), then a just and holy vengeance will come from heaven.

Notice that God’s vengeance on those who have afflicted his people is experienced by us as “relief.” “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted.” In other words, the judgment on “those who afflict” us is a form of grace toward us.

Perhaps the most remarkable picture of judgment as grace is the picture of Babylon’s destruction in Revelation 18. At her destruction, a great voice from heaven cries, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” (Revelation 18:20). Then a great multitude is heard saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants” (Revelation 19:1–2).

When God’s patience has run its long-suffering course, and this age is over, and judgment comes on the enemies of God’s people, the saints will not disapprove of God’s justice.

This means that the final destruction of the unrepentant will not be experienced as a misery for God’s people.

The unwillingness of others to repent will not hold the affections of the saints hostage. Hell will not be able to blackmail heaven into misery. God’s judgment will be approved, and the saints will experience the vindication of truth as a great grace.

YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD’S USE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 30, 3023. 

SUBJECT: YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD’S USE!

Memory verse: "Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out of two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.” (Joshua 2 vs 1.)

READ: Acts 23 vs 16 - 22:

23:16: So when Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

23:17: Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.”

23:18: So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.

23:19: Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that that you have to tell me?”

23:20: And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to enquirer more fully about him.

23:21: But do not yield to them: for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now they are ready, waiting for a promise from you.

23:22: So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

INTIMATION:

God has no favorites; none preferred above others, liked or loved above others. We are all created in His own image and after His likeness. We are equally loved by Him; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3 vs 16). 

God’s work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and He works through ordinary people. He can use anyone, of any age, and any background, who is willing to yield to Him. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring His Son into the world, He uses all kinds of people today to accomplish His will. And God can use you. Nobody is excluded from God’s Love, but we appropriate it to ourselves by believing in His Son—Jesus Christ—He sent to us. 

Several heroes in the Bible were common people: Jacob was known as a deceiver but God used him to “father” the Israelite nation (Genesis 27 - 28). Joseph was a slave in Egypt, but God used him to save his family, and the birth of Israelite nation (Genesis 39). Moses was a shepherd in exile and a murderer, but God used him to lead Israel out of bondage to the Promised Land (Exodus 3). Gideon was a farmer but God used him to deliver Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6 vs 11 - 14). 

Jephthah was the Son of a harlot, but God used him to deliver Israel from the Ammonites (Judges 11). David was a shepherd boy and last-born of the family, but God used him exceedingly to defeat the enemies of the Israelites, and he became Israel’s greatest king. Esther was a slave girl, but God used her to save her people from massacre (The Book of Esther). 

Mary was a peasant girl, but God made her the mother of Jesus (Luke 1 vs 27 - 28). Matthew was a tax collector, but God used him as one of the apostles and Gospel writer (Matthew 9 vs 9). Paul a persecutor of Christians, but God converted him to be the most influential of the apostles (First Corinthians 15 vs 9 - 10).

Our memory verse relates to the use of a prostitute by God to accomplish His plan. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. As a prostitute, she lived on the edge of society, one stop short of rejection. Her house, built right into the city wall, provided both lodging and favors to travelers. God used her and gave her the courage to hide the spies and lie to the authorities. God can work through people, like Rahab, whom we are inclined to reject. God remembered her because of her faith, not her profession.  

In the passage we read today, God used a child to accomplish His plan to save the apostle Paul’s life. It is easy to overlook children, assuming that they aren’t old enough to do much for the Lord. But this young man played an important part in protecting Paul’s life. Even Jesus made it clear that children are important (Matthew 18 vs 2 - 6).

The encounter of Jesus with the woman of Samaria in John 4 vs 7 - 42 clearly emphasizes God’s character of not being particular about your background, and loves us equally. The woman: (1) was a Samaritan, a member of the hated mixed race, (2) was known to be living in sin, and (3) was in a public place. No responsible Jewish man would talk to a woman under such circumstances. But Jesus did, her social status, past sin, and her race notwithstanding. 

The same woman was used to convert a whole city—the city of Samaria to Christ. If at times you feel like a failure, remember that Rahab rose above her situation through her trust in God. You can do the same. Jesus selected “ordinary” men with a mixture of backgrounds and personalities to be His disciples. He can use you!

Prayer: Abba Father, I love You, all I have is Yours, Yours I am, Yours I want to be, use me as it pleases You. Here I am, ready for whatever You let me do, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

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!