Hope for Imperfect Christians

 By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

This verse is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and full of motivation for holiness. 

It means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are “being sanctified,” “being made holy” — that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness. That’s the point of Hebrews 10:14.

Does your faith make you eager to forsake sin and make progress in holiness? That’s the kind of faith that in the midst of imperfection can look to Christ and say, “You have already perfected me in your sight.” 

This faith says, “Christ, today I have sinned. But I hate my sin. For you have written the law on my heart, and I long to do it. And you are working in me what is pleasing in your sight (Hebrews 13:21). And so, I hate the sin that I still do; and I hate the sinful thoughts that I contemplate.”

This is the true and realistic faith that saves. This is the faith that can savor the words, “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

This is not the boast of the strong. It is the cry of the weak in need of a Savior. 

I invite you, I urge you, to be weak enough to trust Christ in this way.

HOW WILL YOU COME FORTH WHEN TESTED?

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JANUARY 04, 2024.

SUBJECT : HOW WILL YOU COME FORTH WHEN TESTED?

Memory verse: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23 vs 10.) 

READ: Job 23 vs 1 - 10:

23:1: Then Job answered and said,

23:2: Even today is my complaint bitter; my hand is listless because of my groaning.

23:3: Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!

23:4: I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

23:5: I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say unto me.

23:6: Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me.

23:7: There the upright could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

23:8: “Look, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him.

23:9: when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him, when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

23:10: But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

INTIMATION:

Life is a race (we all have our finishing lines and destinations), a trust (entrusted to you by the Owner for your use here on earth; our time, energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are gifts from God that He has entrusted to our care and management), a test (the Owner has given the guidelines regarding our sojourn here, and will test us in line with the required conducts as He has given; your character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty will be evaluated), and a temporary assignment (it is transient; this place is not our home, we are just passing through). 

Against the backdrop enumerated above, when God evaluates you, how will you come forth? Can you answer with certainty, like Job did? God never promised a Christian life void of tests, trials, temptations, struggles, hardship, and so on. But He promised to be with us even in those storms of life. All of life’s circumstances we pass through are for His purpose, plan and grand design. When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant or trivial in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.

All of life is a test. You are always being tested. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, event, weather, and every circumstance in life. God is interested in your simple attitudinal actions like how you smile to others, open a door for others, reacts to filths in your environment and so on. We don't know all the tests God will give us, but we can predict some of them based on the Bible—our manual for life in Him. We know obviously, from the Scripture, that we will be tested by delayed promises, major changes, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, senseless tragedies, and so on. 

Some tests seem overwhelming, while others you don't even notice, but all of them have eternal implications. The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so He never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace He gives you to handle them (First Corinthians 10 vs 13). He works behind the scene for our good (Romans 8 vs 28). God tests our character to reveal our weaknesses, and to prepare us for more responsibilities. The very most important test is how you act when you can't feel God's presence in your life. Sometimes God intentionally draws back, and we don't sense His closeness. 

Every time you pass through test, God notices and makes plans to reward you in eternity (James 1 vs 12). The worst temptation you will ever face is being tempted to abandon Christ. That is the only sin that cannot be forgiven. If you have come into the household of God through Christ, rest assured no temptation can overwhelm you because Christ promises that He will be with you forever in accordance with the Father’s will (Matthew 28 vs 20; John 6 vs 37 - 40).

Job faced the testing of the Lord. He was amazed at his suffering, and said that his suffering would be more bearable if only he knew why it was happening. If there was sin for which he could repent, he would! Job wavered back and forth, first proclaiming loyalty to God and then complaining at being abandoned by Him. His friends’ words and his own suspicions undermined his confidence in God. 

His friends condemned him by identifying some secret sin that he may have committed. His overriding desire was for God to clear his name, prove his righteousness, and explain why he was chosen to receive all the calamities. At some point Job was saying that God appeared to be avoiding him. Thereafter, he expressed confidence in his integrity and God’s justice, and that God knew every detail about his situation and would come to his rescue.

We are always likely to have hidden sin in our lives, sin we don’t even know about because God’s standards are so high and our performance is so imperfect. If we are true believers, however, all our sins are forgiven because of what Christ did on the cross in our behalf (Romans 5 vs 1; 8 vs 1). The Bible also teaches that even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings (First John 3 vs 20). His forgiveness and cleansing are sufficient, they overrule our nagging doubts. The Holy Spirit in us is our proof that we are forgiven in God’s eyes even though we may feel guilty. If we, like Job, are truly seeking God, we can stand up to others’ accusations as well as our own nagging doubts. If God has forgiven and accepted us, we are forgiven indeed.

When afflictions come, it is natural to blame God and to think our suffering must be divine punishment. But we must not assume that God has rejected us. His purposes go deeper than our ability to grasp all that is really happening. While this sounds like a pat answer, it is the same answer God gave Job in chapters 38 - 42. We should not demand to know why certain calamities befall us. Often we cannot or are not meant to know. 

Job’s suffering is a testimony of how God works with His saints. Suffering, therefore, draws faith out of God’s people. And faith must grow to the point of being able to count it with all joy when one is suffering (James 1 vs 2 - 4). Those who trust in God undergo tests or trials. They do not always understand why they suffer, but they must understand that God is there through their suffering, and will receive their rewards if they endure, and are approved by God (James 1 vs 12). Job concluded that whether or not he could find God, God knew where he was. Knowing that God knows our calamity reassures us that He is working all things for our case. Job, however, was confident that when God had tried him, he would come forth as pure or refined gold. Now the pertinent question again; when God test’s you, how will you be evaluated, as gold or wasted and useless scrap? In this new year reflect on this question in your self examination.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are All-wise! You are perfect, and never go wrong! For I know the testing of my faith is for my profiting. Give me the grace to excel in all life’s texts, and receive Your approval for my crown of life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Smallest Faith

 It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:16)

Let us make crystal clear at the beginning of the year that all we will get from God this year, as believers in Jesus, is mercy. Whatever pleasures or pains come our way will all be mercy. 

This is why Christ came into the world: “in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:9). We were born again “according to his great mercy” (1 Peter 1:3). We pray daily “that we may receive mercy” (Hebrews 4:16); and we are now “waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 1:21). If any Christian proves trustworthy, it is “by the Lord’s mercy [he] is trustworthy” (1 Corinthians 7:25). 

In Luke 17:5–6, the apostles plead with the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And Jesus says, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” In other words, the issue in our Christian life and ministry is not the strength or quantity of our faith, because that is not what uproots trees. God does. Therefore, the smallest faith that truly connects us with Christ will engage enough of his power for all you need.

But what about the times that you successfully obey the Lord? Does your obedience move you out of the category of supplicant of mercy? Jesus gives the answer in the following verses of Luke 17:7–10.

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Therefore, I conclude, the fullest obedience and the smallest faith obtain the same thing from God: mercy. A mere mustard seed of faith taps into the mercy of God’s tree-moving power. And flawless obedience leaves us utterly dependent on mercy.

The point is this: Whatever the timing or form of God’s mercy, we never rise above the status of beneficiaries of mercy. We are always utterly dependent on what we do not deserve. 

Therefore let us humble ourselves and rejoice and “glorify God for his mercy!”

LIFE IS ENTRUSTED TO YOU BY GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 03, 2024.

SUBJECT : LIFE IS ENTRUSTED TO YOU BY GOD!

Memory verse: "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." (Psalm 24 vs 1.) 

READ: Matthew 25 vs 14 - 19:

25:14: For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered his goods to them.

25:15: And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

25:16: Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

25:17: And likewise he who had received two, gained two more also.

25:18: But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.

25:19: After a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled account with them.

INTIMATION:

Life is a trust, and the second Biblical metaphor of life. Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are what God entrusted to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. This concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the Owner of everything and everyone on earth. We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. It is for this reason we come into the world bringing nothing with us at birth, and takes nothing away with us at death. God loans the earth to us while we're here. God only gives us right of use when we come in. And He will give the same right to another when you depart at death. 

In the beginning, God created the world—the heavens and the earth—and all therein. He created man last, and empowered man to have dominion over all other creations of His. When God created Adam and Eve, He entrusted the care of His creation to them and appointed them trustees of His property. Then God blessed them, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1 vs 28.) 

The first assignment God handed over to humans was to manage and take care of His property while here on earth. This role has never been rescinded. This stewardship Is the major part of our purpose on earth. Everything in our care, every gifts, are all from God, and should be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands. Him only gives us all we have (John 3 vs 27; James 1 vs 17). The Bible, in First Corinthians 4 vs 7 says, "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” 

Unfortunately, the common culture amongst us is to be careless of what you don't own. But that is not God's idea. Christians should live by a higher standard of "Because God owns it, I must take the best care of it in line with my ability." The apostle Paul stated this in First Corinthians 4 vs 2, "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." The faithful servant does the master's bidding, he does what the master tells him to do. We must do what God (our Master) tells us to do in the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit. Each day God presents us with needs and opportunities that challenges us to do what we know is right.

Jesus often referred to life as a trust and told many stories to illustrate this responsibility toward God. In the passage we read today about the story of the loaned money (the talents), a businessman entrusted his wealth to the care of his servants while he was away. When he returned, he evaluated each servant's responsibility and rewards them accordingly. Those who did well, in line with his expectations, he says, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy your Lord." (Matthew 25 vs 21.)

At the end of our lives on earth we will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well we handled what God entrusted to us. That means everything we do, even simple daily chores, has eternal implications. If you treat everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity. First, you will be given God's affirmation: He will say, "Good job! Well done!" Next, you will receive a promotion and be given greater responsibility in eternity: "I will make you ruler over many things." Then you will be honored with a celebration: "Enter into the joy your Lord." 

The greatest test and trust God put before us is money, hence one quarter of the teachings of Christ during His earth walk centered on money. Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God, and the greatest. God uses money to teach us to trust Him. God watches how we use money, and tests us on how trustworthy we are. The Bible says, "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" God says there is a direct relationship between how you use your money and the quality of your spiritual life. How you manage your money ("worldly wealth") determines how much God can trust you with spiritual blessings ("true riches"). 

God blesses you so as to be a blessing to others (Genesis 12 vs 2). This is a very important truth. How then do you manage the blessings God entrusted in your care? Are you serving Him with them? Are you blessing others with your talent, money, possessions, etc., or are you greedy and selfish with them? Jesus noted in Luke 16 vs 13, that no servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon. It is only in serving God with your possessions by being a blessing that you have truly managed what He entrusted to you properly. 

How do you treasure your possessions? Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Luke 12 vs 34). The key to using money wisely is to see how much we can use for God's purposes, not how much we can accumulate for ourselves. Does your money free you to help others? Does God's love touch your wallet? If so, you are storing up lasting  treasures in heaven. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Loving Father. Give me the grace to love as You love, and manage all You entrusted to me with utmost diligence in service, building lasting treasures in heaven to the glory of Your name, and to my earning eternal rewards from You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Jesus Did to Death

 Just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27–28)

The death of Jesus bears sins. This is the very heart of Christianity, and the heart of the gospel, and the heart of God’s great work of redemption in the world. When Christ died he bore sins. He took sins not his own. He suffered for sins that others had done, so that they could be free from sins.

This is the answer to the greatest problem in your life, whether you feel it as the main problem or not. There is an answer to how we can get right with God in spite of being sinners. The answer is that Christ’s death is an offering “to bear the sins of many.” He lifted our sins and carried them to the cross and died there the death that we deserved to die. 

Now what does this mean for my dying? “It is appointed [to me] to die once.” It means that my death is no longer punitive. My death is no longer a punishment for sin. My sin has been borne away. My sin is “put away” by the death of Christ. Christ took the punishment.

Why then do I die at all? Because God wills that death remain in the world for now, even among his own children, as an abiding testimony to the extreme horror of sin. In our dying we still manifest the external effects of sin in the world. 

But death for God’s children is no longer his wrath against them. It has become our entrance into salvation not condemnation.

LIFE ON EARTH IS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 02, 2024.

SUBJECT : LIFE ON EARTH IS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT!

Memory verse: For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, because our days on earth are a shadow." (Job 8 vs 9.)

READ: Hebrews 11 vs 13 - 16:

11:13: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

11:14: For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 

11:15: And truly if they have had called to mind that country from which they have come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 

11:16: But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

INTIMATION:

Life on earth is the period between birth and death. And because it has a beginning and an end, it is temporary, and not permanent. The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as He sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am." (Psalm 39 vs 4.)

Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. We're just passing through. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, "I am a stranger in the earth…"    

(Psalm 119 vs 19.) As believers, we are "sojourners and pilgrims" (First James 2 vs 11) in this world, because our real home is with God. Our true loyalty should be to our citizenship in heaven, not to our citizenship here, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3 vs 20.)

Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet. Believers identity is in eternity. At death you won't leave home; you'll go home. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery.

God warned us not to get too attached to what's around us because it's temporary, "For the form of this world is passing away" (First Corinthians 7 vs 31). The cares of this world; financial security, self actualization, worldly happiness, marriage, and so on, are not the ultimate goal of life. As much as possible, we should live unhindered by the cares of this world, not getting involved in burdensome life activities that might keep you from doing God's work.

Have you ever imagined why human wants are insatiable? This is because this earth is not our ultimate home. In our home, there are no wants, therefore, there is no insatiableness. And the fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life with longings that can never be fulfilled on this earth which is not our final home; we were created for something much better. 

This truth about life should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your actions. It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner. In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity. Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until you get to heaven for the rest of the chapters. 

An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States. Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners, and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God. Then God gently reminded him, "But my child, you're not home yet."

A fish will never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn't allowed to fly. You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God planned for you. You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, "Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn't going to last?"

Prayer: Abba Father, engrace me to live here on earth with the reality of the temporal nature of life, and be eternity conscious, living to please You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Grace for the New Year

 By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Grace is not only God’s disposition to do good for us when we don’t deserve it. It is an actual power from God that acts and makes good things happen in us and for us.

God’s grace was God’s acting in Paul to make Paul work hard: “By the grace of God . . . I worked harder than any of them.” So when Paul says, “Work out your own salvation,” he adds, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). Grace is power from God to do good things in us and for us.

This grace is past and it is future. It is ever-cascading over the infinitesimal waterfall of the present, from the inexhaustible river of grace coming to us from the future, into the ever-increasing reservoir of grace in the past.

In the next five minutes, you will receive sustaining grace flowing to you from the future, and you will accumulate another five minutes’ worth of grace in the reservoir of the past. The proper response to the grace you experienced in the past is thankfulness, and the proper response to grace promised to you in the future is faith. We are thankful for the past grace of the last year, and we are confident in the future grace for the new year.