Served in Serving Others

 Jesus said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?” (Mark 8:17)

After Jesus had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000 with only a few loaves and fish, the disciples got in a boat without enough bread for themselves.

When they began to discuss their plight, Jesus said, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?” (Mark 8:17). What didn’t they understand?

They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Jesus says,

“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:19–21)

Understand what? The leftovers.

The leftovers were for the servers. In fact, the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43) — one whole basket for each server. The second time there were seven basketfuls left over — seven, the number of abundant completeness.

What didn’t they understand? That Jesus would take care of them. You can’t out-give Jesus. When you spend your life for others, your needs will be met. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

THE STEWARDSHIP IN GIVING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24, 2024.

SUBJECT: THE STEWARDSHIP IN GIVING! 

Memory verse: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20 vs 35.)

READ: Luke 6 vs 38; Second Corinthians 9 vs 8 - 11:

6:38: Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Second Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work

9:9: As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

9:10: Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness,

9:11: while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

INTIMATION:

Giving is a service to God, especially when it is done for God’s work, and within the household of faith. In God's economy, you move closer toward your goals by giving out than you do by clinging to everything you have. God is the source of all you have; “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” (John 3 vs 27.) Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1 vs 17), He alone gives us power to make wealth (Deuteronomy 8 vs 18). Consequently, He blesses us so that we can be a blessing (Genesis 12 vs 3). 

God is the source of all we have, regardless of how much effort we put into earning a living. Yes, money or possessions may be difficult to come by, and you may have worked hard to acquire them, and giving some of them away would only seem to put you further away from the goal of having all your needs met. All of that would be true if God wasn't your source. 

For instance, the people of our generation live at a level of relative prosperity that most people throughout history couldn't have dreamed of, yet we didn't do anything to be born at this time. We didn't cause ourselves to be born into such opportunity and freedom. It is quite obvious that the ability to prosper is a gift from God, and we can't boast of the opportunities we have been given.

The apostle Paul used those splendid words in First Corinthians 4 vs 7 to emphasize the fact that all you have you have received; "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?" 

The apostle Paul, In Galatians 6 vs 9  - 10 says; “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” The apostle Paul challenges us to continue in the act of doing good, like giving to the needy, especially among believers, whether it is acknowledged or not. 

Although, it is discouraging to continue doing right and receiving no word of thanks or see any tangible results, but we should trust God for the results if we faint not. In due time, we will reap a harvest of blessing, and a crown of glory in eternity with Christ. Your stewardship in giving is to God, and not to the receiver. And the Master will reward at His own time, whether here on earth or in eternity or both.

God gives us resources to use and invest for Him. The resources He gives us are not to be hidden, foolishly devoured, or thrown away. Instead, they should be cultivated in order to produce more resources; “Blessed to be a blessing.” When we invest what God has given us in His work, and according to His will, He will provide us with even more to give in His service. 

Consequently, there is no lack in giving according to God’s will; He will make you sufficient in all things, that you may have an abundance for every good work. He owns all things, and shows His compassion to whom He chooses (Romans 9 vs 15). Your giving is also counted for you as righteousness, and He ensures you prosper in the things you do, and is enriched in everything for all generosity.

Your selfishness with possessions is ungodly. God has only entrusted all you have to your care, and stewardship to Him. It is not yours, God owns all resources (Psalm 50 vs 12). And proper use of the resources entrusted in our care by the Owner is demonstrated in how we use it to earn eternal benefit. And that is why no takes anything away at the point of death. Another person will be entrusted with those things you possessed while you lived. 

Unselfish use of the possessions is an act of obedience to God’s Will. It's one thing to say you believe God is your source, but it's another thing to prove it. The way you prove to yourself, not God, is to give a portion of what you make back to Him. And that is done when you use your money to help those in need or to help others find Christ, therefore, our earthly investment will bring eternal benefit. 

Prayer: Abba Father, all I have I have received from You! Endue me with the spirit of giving, to serve You and others with what You gave entrusted in my care, that I may be approved as a worthy steward, and earn myself true riches in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Go Directly to God

 “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:26–27)

Don’t make God’s Son more of a Mediator than he is. 

Jesus says, “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf.” In other words, I’m not going to insert myself between you and the Father, as though you can’t go to him directly. Why? “The Father himself loves you.”

This is astonishing. Jesus is warning us not to think of God Almighty as unwilling to receive us directly into his presence. By “directly” I mean what Jesus meant when he said, “I am not going to take your requests to God for you. You may take them directly. He loves you. He wants you to come. He is not angry at you.”

It is absolutely true that no sinful human being has any access to the Father except through Jesus’s blood (Hebrews 10:19–20). He intercedes for us now (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). He is our advocate with the Father now (1 John 2:1). He is our High Priest before the throne of God now (Hebrews 4:15–16). He said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Yes. But Jesus is protecting us from taking his intercession too far. “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you.” Jesus is there. He is providing an ever-present, ever-living witness to the removal of the Father’s wrath from us.

But he is not there to talk for us, or to keep us at a distance from the Father, or to suggest that the Father’s heart is guarded toward us or disinclined to us — hence the words, “For the Father himself loves you.”

So, come. Come boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Come expectantly. Come expecting a smile. Come trembling with joy, not dread.

Jesus is saying, “I have made a way to God. Now I am not going to get in the way.” Come.

“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:26–27)

Don’t make God’s Son more of a Mediator than he is.

Jesus says, “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf.” In other words, I’m not going to insert myself between you and the Father, as though you can’t go to him directly. Why? “The Father himself loves you.”

This is astonishing. Jesus is warning us not to think of God Almighty as unwilling to receive us directly into his presence. By “directly” I mean what Jesus meant when he said, “I am not going to take your requests to God for you. You may take them directly. He loves you. He wants you to come. He is not angry at you.”

It is absolutely true that no sinful human being has any access to the Father except through Jesus’s blood (Hebrews 10:19–20). He intercedes for us now (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). He is our advocate with the Father now (1 John 2:1). He is our High Priest before the throne of God now (Hebrews 4:15–16). He said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Yes. But Jesus is protecting us from taking his intercession too far. “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you.” Jesus is there. He is providing an ever-present, ever-living witness to the removal of the Father’s wrath from us.

But he is not there to talk for us, or to keep us at a distance from the Father, or to suggest that the Father’s heart is guarded toward us or disinclined to us — hence the words, “For the Father himself loves you.”

So, come. Come boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Come expectantly. Come expecting a smile. Come trembling with joy, not dread.

Jesus is saying, “I have made a way to God. Now I am not going to get in the way.” Come.

THE UNIMAGINABLE MERCY OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 23, 2024.

SUBJECT: THE UNIMAGINABLE MERCY OF GOD!

Memory verse: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD who has mercy on you." (Isaiah 54 vs 10.)

READ: Zechariah 3 vs 1 - 5:

3:1: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

3:2: And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3:3: Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

3:4: Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

3:5: And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

INTIMATION: 

Mercy signifies, in general, to feel sympathy with the misery of another, and especially sympathy manifested in act. Therefore, “mercy” has been defined as “not giving a person what he or she deserves.” This is exactly what God does for us. Our disobedience demands judgement! But God shows mercy toward us by providing an escape from sin’s penalty through Jesus Christ, who alone saves us from sin. When we pray for forgiveness, we are asking for what we do not deserve. Yet when we take this step and trust in Christ’s saving work on our behalf, we can experience God’s forgiveness.

In the passage we read today, Zechariah’s vision graphically portrays how we receive God’s mercy. We do nothing ourselves. God removes our filthy garments (sins), then provides us with fine, new clothes (the righteousness and holiness of God—Second Corinthians 5 bs 21; Ephesians 4 bs 24; Revelation 19 vs 8). All we need to do is repent and ask God to forgive us. When Satan tries to make you feel dirty and unworthy, remember that the clean clothes of Christ’s righteousness make you worthy to draw near to God. 

Satan accused (“opposed”) Joshua, who here represents the nation of Israel. The accusations were accurate—Joshua stood in filthy garments (sin). Yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. Satan is always accusing people of their sins before God. But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God’s mercy and forgiveness toward those who believe in Him (Revelation 12 vs 10), while everyone who is a believer will be saved (John 3 vs 16). To be prepared, we can ask God to remove our clothing of sin and dress us with His goodness. 

God’s mercy is unbelievable. It goes far beyond what we can imagine. In accordance with His nature of being merciful, God wants to forgive us and bring us back to Himself. Some people will not learn this until their world has crashed in around them. Then the sorrow and pain seem to open their eyes to what God has been saying all along. God is so merciful that many times He holds us back from sinning against Him in ways we cannot even detect. Yes, most of the times, we have no way of knowing. God works just as often in ways we can’t see as in ways we can. 

Countless times throughout the Bible we see God showing His love and patience toward men and women in order to save them. Although He realizes that their hearts are evil, He continues to try to reach them. When we sin or fall away from God, we surely deserve to be destroyed by His judgement. But God has promised never again to destroy everything on earth until the judgement day when Christ returns to destroy evil forever

If God gives us the justice that we deserve, none would be able to stand before Him. But the human nature often makes us cry for justice when we feel abused and unfairly treated. In those moments, we forget the reality of our own sin and the righteous judgement we deserve. How fortunate we are that God gives us mercy and grace rather than only justice. The next time you ask God for fair treatment, pause to think what would happen if God gave you what you really deserve. Plead instead for His mercy. If God treated us as with justice alone and not with mercy, we would be wiped out by God’s wrath. God in His kindness forgives us instead of giving us what we deserve. 

Are you separated from God by sin? No matter how far you have wandered, God promises a fresh beginning if only you will turn to Him. Mercy is the nature and act of God, and peace is the resulting experience in the heart of man. 

Prayer: Abba Father, there is nothing I can do to thank you enough for Your mercy that has never failed me. I will stop at nothing to declare at all times Your goodness and mercy in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

CREATED FOR A PURPOSE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JANUARY 22, 2024.

SUBJECT: CREATED FOR A PURPOSE! 

Memory verse: "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were through him and for Him.” (Colossians 1 vs 16.)

READ: Genesis 1 vs 27 - 28:

Genesis 1:27: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

1:28: Then God blessed them, and God 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.

INTIMATION:

All that exists finds its beginning in the Son of God. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit created all things through the specific work of the Son. Therefore, everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank of angels, everything got started in God, and finds its purpose in Him. 

God has His reasons for creating the world. He has a purpose for creating all that are in the world, and determines the purpose to be served by all He created. To live purposefully in this life, we need to understand why we are created, and brought into this world by the Creator. You and I are not an accident, we are here for a purpose, and discovering that purpose makes the best of life here on earth.

In the passage we read today, God’s mandate to humans is to have dominion over all other things He created. This is the primary, and general purpose to be served by all of us. To have dominion over something is to have absolute authority and control over it. God has ultimate rule over the earth, and He exercises His authority with loving care. God delegated some of His authority to the human race, and expects us to take responsibility for the environment and the other creatures that share our planet. 

To achieve the general purpose God created us all to serve, we are to individually serve our specific purposes predetermined by Him. The individual contributions and collective responsibilities of all of us culminates into achieving the general purpose for which we are created. And the respective purposes each and everyone of us is to serve toward achieving the goal is determined by God Himself. In Jeremiah 10 vs 23 the Bible says; ".....The way of man is not in himself, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." 

The quest for the purpose of life for everyone of us has puzzled many for thousands of years. This is because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We usually ask self-centered questions like; "What do I want to be?" "What should I do with my life?" "What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future?" But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose. 

Our Owner, our Creator, created us for His purposes. Therefore, if you want to know why you were placed on this earth, you must begin with God. We exist only because God wills that we exist. We were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end.

Many books have been written that suggests ways to discover the purpose of your life. All of them are classified as "self-help" books because they all approached the subject from a self-centered viewpoint, and predictable steps to finding your life's purpose. Of course, these recommendations often lead to great success. You can usually succeed in reaching a goal if you apply yourself to it. 

But “being successful,” and “fulfilling your life's purpose,” are not, at all, the same issue! You could reach all your personal goals, and achieve your set objectives, becoming a star, or a raving success by the world's standard, and still miss the purpose for which God created you. You need more than self-help advice. 

Contrary to what many popular books, movies, and seminars tell you, you won't discover your life's meaning looking within yourself. You didn't create yourself, and as such there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If you are handed over an invention you have never seen before, you wouldn't know its purpose, and the invention itself wouldn't be able to tell you either. Only the creator or the owner's manual could reveal its purpose.

The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it directly, or refer to the owner's manual. The same is true for discovering your life's purpose; Ask God—your Maker, or refer to the Owner's Manual—the Bible. The intended discovery is achieved by revelations inherent in the Word of God. He has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess. He has clearly revealed His purposes for our lives in the Bible. It tells us why we are alive, how life works, how the Owner of life governs it, what to do, what to avoid, and what to expect now, and in the future. And it is only in Him, and His manual you can find these answers.

Just as all things in life serve their respective purposes. And everything manufactured, produced, or developed have their respective guidelines, manuals, and instructions for their effective, useful, and intended use. In like manner, God created you for a purpose, and determines how that purpose will be served and achieved by you. All of that knowledge is with Him. Knowing that in Him all knowledge of you is hidden, why then do you seek your purpose in life outside of Him. Go to Him, and you will discover the purpose of your being created.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened that I may discover Your purpose for me on earth which is imbedded in the knowledge of You and Your Will, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

We Will Rule All Things

 “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:21)

What does Jesus mean when he says this to the church in Laodicea?

Sit with Jesus on his throne? Really?

This is a promise to everyone who conquers, that is, who presses on in faith to the end (1 John 5:4), in spite of every threatening pain and luring, sinful pleasure. So if you are a true believer in Jesus, you will sit on the throne of the Son of God who sits on the throne of God the Father.

I take “throne of God” to signify the right and authority to rule the universe. That’s where Jesus sits. “He must reign,” Paul said, “until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25). So when Jesus says, “I will grant him to sit with me on my throne,” he promises us a share in the rule of all things.

Is this what Paul has in mind in Ephesians 1:22–23? “He put all things under [Christ’s] feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

We, the church, are “the fullness of him who fills all.” What does that mean? I take it to mean that the universe will be filled with the glory of the Lord (Numbers 14:21). And one dimension of that glory will be the complete and unopposed extension of his rule everywhere.

Therefore, Ephesians 1:23 would mean: Jesus fills the universe with his own glorious rule through us. Sharing in his rule, we are the fullness of his rule. We rule on his behalf, by his power, under his authority. In that sense, we sit with him on his throne.

None of us feels this as we should. It is too much — too good, too amazing. That’s why Paul prays for God’s help that “the eyes of your hearts [would be] enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:18).

Without omnipotent help now, we cannot feel the wonder of what we are destined to become. But if we are granted to feel it, as it really is, all our emotional reactions to this world will change. The strange and radical commands of the New Testament will not be as strange as they once seemed.

The Anchor of Joy

 

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11)

“Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

Jesus revealed a secret that protects our happiness from the threat of suffering and the threat of success. That secret is this: Great is your reward in heaven. And the sum of that reward is enjoying the fullness of the glory of Jesus Christ (John 17:24).

Jesus protects our happiness from suffering when he says,

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11–12)

Our great reward in heaven rescues our joy from the threat of persecution and reviling.

He also protects our joy from success when he says,

“Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

The disciples were tempted to put their joy in ministry success. “Even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17). But that would have severed their joy from its only sure anchor.

So Jesus protects their joy from the threat of success by promising the far greater reward of heaven. Rejoice in this: that your names are written in heaven. Your inheritance is infinite, eternal, sure.

Our joy is safe. Neither suffering nor success can destroy its anchor. Great is your reward in heaven. Your name is written there. It is secure.

Jesus anchored the happiness of suffering saints in the reward of heaven. And he anchored the happiness of successful saints in the same.

And thus he freed us from the tyranny of worldly pain and pleasure — worldly suffering and worldly success.