BRING GLORY TO GOD BY SERVING OTHERS WITH YOUR GIFTS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2023.

SUBJECT: BRING GLORY TO GOD BY SERVING OTHERS WITH YOUR GIFTS!

Memory verse: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5 vs 16.)

READ: First Peter 4 vs 10 - 11:

4:10: As each one has received gift, minister it one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

4:11: If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

INTIMATION:

Each of us was uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. The way you're "wired" is not an accident. God didn't give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit. Some people, well aware of their abilities, believe that they have the right to use their abilities as they please. Others feel they have no special talents at all. Everyone has some gifts; find yours and use them. All our abilities should be used in serving others; none are for our own exclusive enjoyment. 

How is God glorified when we use our abilities? When we use them as He directs; to help others, they will see Jesus in us and praise Him for the help they have received. God would be glorified because the origin of the gifts is Himself. All of us are blessed by God with natural gifts from birth. Though these gifts are not the same as the Spirit--given gifts (First Corinthians 12 vs 8 - 11), they are God-given in the sense that all we are is from God. The Scripture, in John 3 vs 27 notes, “...A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” Though some people use their natural gifts for their own self-gratification and profit. However, the God-given natural gifts that every Christian has must be used for the benefit of others. 

God gives us gifts so we can serve one another with them. To use them effectively, we must (1) realize that all gifts and abilities come from God; (2) understand that not everyone has the same gifts; (3) know who we are and what we do best; (4) dedicate our gifts to God’s service and not to our personal success; (5) be willing to utilize our gifts wholeheartedly, not holding back anything from God’s service. God’s gifts defer in nature, power, and effectiveness according to His wisdom and graciousness, not according to our faith. Our role is to be faithful and to seek ways to serve others with what Christ has given us. Since all gifts originated from God, whether miraculous or not, then they must be used according to the will of God.

Be a beacon of good works—don’t deny the world your God-given abilities and talents in helping those in need of them. Our abilities should be faithfully used to serving others; none are for our own exclusive enjoyment. Some people, well aware of their abilities, believe that they have the right to use their abilities as they please. Others feel that they have no special talents at all. Incidentally, everyone has some gifts God has deposited in us; find yours and use them. Even as we seek to discover our gifts, if you see a need, seek to meet it. You may find gifts in areas you might not have guessed. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You, most gracious Lord, for the talents and abilities You deposited in me. Endue me with the spirit of selflessness that I may serve You and others with my abilities and talents, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

BRING GLORY TO GOD BY BECOMING LIKE CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2023.

SUBJECT: BRING GLORY TO GOD BY BECOMING LIKE CHRIST!

Memory verse: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (Second Corinthians 3 vs 18.)

READ: Romans 15 vs 1 - 5:

15:1: We then who are strong ought to bear the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

15:2: Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.

15:3: For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

15:4: For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

15:5: Now the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus,

INTIMATION:

Once we are born into the family of God, He wants us to grow to spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. The more you develop Christlike character, the more you will bring glory to God. The Christian’s life is being transformed into the image of Jesus by their obedience to His will. Becoming Christlike is a progressive experience. The more closely we follow Christ, the more we will be like Him. 

By gazing at the nature of God with unveiled minds (open minds), we can be more like Him. In the Gospel, we see the truth about Christ, and it transforms us morally as we understand and apply it. Through learning about Christ's life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what He is really like. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change. For instance, our knowledge of Christ’s sincere love and selflessness, triggers off selflessness in our lives. God’s love and forgiveness free us to take our eyes off ourselves and to meet others’ needs. By Christ’s sacrifice of His life, He showed that He truly loves you. Now we can love others by following His example and giving of ourselves sacrificially. 

God gave us new life and a new nature when you accepted Christ. Now, for the rest of your life on earth, God wants to continue the process of changing your character. The Bible in Philippians 1 vs 11 says, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." The "fruits of righteousness" includes all the character traits flowing from a relationship with God. There is no other way to gain this fruit of righteousness than through Christ.

The Holy Spirit helps us to become like Christ through imbibing the “fruit of the Spirit.” The Scripture in Galatians 5 vs 22 - 23, says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, Peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are by-products of Christ’s control—we can’t obtain them by trying to get them without His help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our life to His (John 15 vs 4 - 5). We must know Him, love Him, remember Him, and imitate Him.

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure.” (First John 3 vs 2 - 3) The Christian life is a process of becoming more and more like Christ. This process will not be complete until we see Christ face to face, but knowing that it is our ultimate destiny should motivate us to purify ourselves. To purify means to keep morally straight, free from the corruption of sin. God also purifies us but there are actions we must take to remain morally fit.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of submission to Christ’s control, that I will imbibe and exhibit the character traits found in Christ, and give You glory by becoming like Him, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Only Enduring Happiness

 “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22)

“No one will take your joy from you” because your joy comes from being with Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus means that you will never die; you will never be cut off from him.

So two things have to be true if your joy is never to be taken from you. One is that the source of your joy lasts forever and the other is that you last forever. If either you or the source of your joy is mortal, your joy will be taken from you.

And oh, how many people have settled for just that! Eat, drink, and be merry they say, for tomorrow we die, and that’s that (Luke 12:19). Food doesn’t last forever, and I don’t last forever. So let’s make the most of it while we can. What a tragedy!

If you are tempted to think that way, please consider as seriously as you possibly can that if your joy comes from being with Jesus, “No one will take your joy from you” — not in this life, nor in the life to come.

Not life or death, or angels or principalities, or things present or things to come, or powers or height or depth, or anything else in all creation will be able to take our joy from us in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38–39). 

Joy in being with Jesus is an unbroken line from now to eternity. It will not be cut off — not by his death or ours.

God Will Supply All Your Needs

 My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And then in Philippians 4:19 (just 13 verses later), he gives the liberating promise of future grace: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

If we live by faith in this promise of future grace, it will be very hard for anxiety to survive. God’s “riches in glory” are inexhaustible. He really means for us not to worry about our future.

We should follow this pattern that Paul lays out for us. We should battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of future grace.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I regularly battle unbelief with one of my most often-used promises, Isaiah 41:10. 

The day I left America for three years in Germany my father called me long distance and gave me this promise on the telephone. For three years I must have quoted it to myself five hundred times to get me through periods of tremendous stress. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

I have fought anxiety with this promise so many times that when the motor of my mind is in neutral, the hum of the gears is the sound of Isaiah 41:10.

BRING GLORY TO GOD BY LOVING OTHER BELIEVERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2023.

SUBJECT: BRING GLORY TO GOD BY LOVING OTHER BELIEVERS!

Memory verse: "Therefore, receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God" (Romans 15 vs 7).

READ: First John 3 vs 14 - 18:

3:14: We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

3:15: Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

3:16: By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

3:17: But whoever hath this world's good, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

3:18: My little children, let us not love in word, or in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

INTIMATION:

It is your responsibility to learn how to love as God does, because God is love, and it honors Him. Christianity is a religion of the heart, outward compliance alone is not enough. Real love is in action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. How can we lay down our lives? By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we will die for others than we truly live for them—this involves putting others’ desires first. 

Jesus taught this same principle of love in John 15 vs 13, “Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” The greatest expression of love that can be made is that one lay down his life for his friend. And such was what Jesus did for all who would obey Him. We are to love each other as Jesus loves us, and He loves us enough to give His life for us. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love: listening, helping when it is not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others welfare without complaining or fighting back, encouraging others, and so on. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source. 

Christianity is relational. Love is more than simple warm feelings; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action. The evidence of a Christian’s salvation is the behavioral relationship he or she maintains with another, and the commandments of God. Hence Jesus gave us a new commandment, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13 vs 34 - 35.) The evidence that one has passed out of the unregenerate life of sin, and into the eternal life in Christ is the loving relationship one maintains with others.

The Bible has another beautiful description of love in First Corinthians 13. Love is more important than all the spiritual gifts exercised in the body of Christ. Great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice, and miracle-working power have little effect without love. Love makes our actions and gifts useful. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone (Romans 5 vs 5). Love is the greatest of all human qualities and an attitude of God Himself (First John 4 vs 8). It involves unselfish service to others. God’s kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. This kind of love goes against our natural inclinations. It is impossible to have this love unless God helps us set aside our natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return.

When you were born again, you became a part of God's family. Following Christ is not only a matter of believing; it also includes belonging and learning to love the family of God. The apostle John wrote in First John 3 vs 14, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren, he who does not love his brother abides in death." Accept each other just as Christ accepted you; then God will be glorified. Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of Love today. Give all the love you can, and then try to give a little more.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to manifest the love of God that has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit who was given to us, among fellow believers, that I will lay my life down for my fellow believers, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 3

 “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31–34)

We have seen in the last two days that Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. Today we look at the final three promises.

Promise #5: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:31–32)

Do not think that God is ignorant of your needs. He knows all of them. And he is “your heavenly Father.” He does not look on, indifferently, from a distance. He cares. He will act to supply your need when the time is best.

Promise #6: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

If you will give yourself to his cause in the world, rather than fretting about your private material needs, he will make sure that you have all you need to do his will and give him glory. This is how I understand “All these things will be added to you.” All the food and drink and clothing — and everything else — that you need to do his will and glorify him. Which might mean his purpose is for you to die for him, but he will supply everything you need to do it for his glory.

This is similar to the promise of Romans 8:32, “Will [God] not also with [Christ] graciously give us all things?” Which is followed by, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:35–37). Famine and nakedness may come. But we will have everything we need to be more than a conqueror. 

Promise #7: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

God will see to it that you are not tested in any given day more than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will work for you, so that “as [your] days, so shall [your] strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25, KJV).

Every day has its appointed trouble. But never more than you can bear by his grace. Every day will have mercies that are new every morning — mercies sufficient for that day’s trouble (Lamentations 3:22–23). He will not expect any good deed from you for which he does not supply all the grace you need (2 Corinthians 9:8).

BRING GLORY TO GOD BY WORSHIPING HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2023.

SUBJECT: BRING GLORY TO GOD BY WORSHIPING HIM!

Memory verse: "Give to the LORD the glory due to His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalm 29 vs 2.) 

READ: Psalm 96 vs 1 - 9:

96:1: Oh sing to the LORD a new song! sing to the LORD, all the earth.

96:2: Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

96:3: Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

96:4: For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised, He is to be feared above all gods.

96:5: For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

96:6: Honor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

96:7: Give to the LORD, O families of the people, give to the LORD glory and strength.

96:8: Give to the LORD the glory due to His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts.

96:9: Oh worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth.

INTIMATION:

Worship is the appropriate response to God's self-revelation. Anything you do to give glory to God is an act of worship: praising, dancing, praying, offering, witnessing, meditating, studying the Scriptures, and so on, are all acts of worship to God. Worship is our first responsibility to God. We worship God for who He is. God wants our worship to be motivated by love, thanksgiving, and delight, not duty. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to be used for His purposes. 

When you use your life for God's glory, everything you do can become an act of worship. And the apostle Paul advised us thus, “Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (First Corinthians 10 vs 31.) Our actions must be motivated by God’s love so that all we do will be for His glory. Keep this as a guiding principle by asking, “Is this action glorifying God?” Or “How can I honor God through this action?”

The Christian’s life is given in its entirety to God (Galatians 2 vs 20). Therefore, the motivation behind the Christian’s behavior is in thanksgiving for all that God has done through His grace (First Corinthians 15 vs 10). God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. The Bible in Romans 6 vs 13 says, "And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." Commit yourself entirely to God's way of doing things. Use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for God's glory.

In the passage we read today, the psalm writer sings out his praises to God, overwhelmed by all that God has done. As we reflect on God’s majesty and His goodness to us, we cannot help telling others about Him. Witnessing comes naturally when our hearts are full of appreciation for what He has done. God has chosen to use us to declare His wonders among the people. Praise for our great God overflows from His creation and should overflow from our lips.

Worship is an exclusive right of God. Only Him should be worshiped. Jesus, in emphasizing this fact, said to Satan, “Away with You Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Matthew 4 vs 10.) Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6 vs 13 in order to show that it is sinful to worship Satan and angels (Revelation 19 vs 10), men (Acts 10 vs 26), or anything other than God. Only God, the Creator of all things, is worthy of worship.

The devil offered the whole world to Jesus if Jesus would only kneel down and worship him. Today the devil offers us the world by trying to entice us with materialism and power. We can resist temptations the same way Jesus did. If you find yourself craving something that the world offers, quote Jesus’ words to the devil: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the only God, there is no other. Before there is no God, with You there no other God, and there will be no other God after You. You are the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega. Give me the grace to worship You with my whole life and in all I do, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!