DILIGENTLY SEEK THE LORD TO RECEIVE HIS BLESSING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 11, 2024.

SUBJECT : DILIGENTLY SEEK THE LORD TO RECEIVE HIS BLESSING!

Memory verse: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7 vs 7.)

READ: Psalm 34 vs 4 - 15 & 22

34:4: I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

34:5: They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.

34:6: This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of his troubles.

34:7: The angel of the LORD encamps all round those who fear Him, and delivers them.

34:8: Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

34:9: Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

34:10: The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

34:11: Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

34:12: Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?

34:13: Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.

34:14: Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

34:15: The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.

34:22: The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

INTIMATION:

God promises great blessings to His people, but most of these blessings require active participation of the people in seeking Him. In the passage we read today, He promised to set us free from our fears (34:4), deliver us from trouble (34:6), guard and defend us (34:7), show us goodness (34:8), supply our needs (34:9), listen when we call to Him (34:15), and redeem us (34:22). But we must do our part: We can appropriate His blessings when we seek Him (34:4, 10), that is, cry out to Him (34:6), trust Him (34:8), fear Him (34:9), refrain from lying (34:13), turn from evil, do good, and search for peace (34:14), and serve Him (34:22).

Prayer is our lifeline to God, hence we should prayer regularly to ensure our line of seeking Him is open at all times. The apostle Paul echoed it thus, "Pray without ceasing." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17.) Seeking God in prayers regularly, ensures God's guidance and strength that we need at all times, and to appropriate His promised blessings to ourselves. 

Regular and constant praying habit ensures a disciplined life of prayer. Though our prayers are usually interrupted by pressures of our schedules, developing a regular prayer time makes you develop a prayerful attitude at all times. This attitude is built upon acknowledging our dependence on God, realizing His presence within us, and determining to obey Him fully.  

The Scripture, in Daniel chapter 6, enumerated Daniel’s prayer discipline. He  prayed three times daily. He never allowed threats or pressure of his schedules interrupt his prayer life. Daniel was a foreigner, exiled in Babylon, but never gave up his disciplined prayer life amidst all pressures of life. 

Daniel hugely partook of the attendant blessings associated with seeking God. God bestowed great wisdom on him and he enjoyed the presence and favour of God in his life. Daniel, a captive from Israel, became an adviser of kings in a foreign land. He served as an adviser to two Babylonian kings and two Medo-Persian Kings (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus). 

God is waiting for us to find Him, and He rewards those who sincerely look for Him (Hebrews 11 vs 6). In our anchor Scripture, Jesus promised, “Seek, and you will find.” The Bible records the history of God’s people, and in searching its pages we will discover a loving God who is waiting for us to find Him. 

Become familiar with the way He has helped His people  in the past. When we take the first step of obedience in following God, we will discover that He is good and kind. When we begin the Christian life, our knowledge of God is partial and incomplete. As we trust Him daily, we experience how good He is.

All those who call upon God in their need will be answered, sometimes in unexpected ways. Remember God knows what we need, and our deepest needs are spiritual. Even though many Christians face unbearable poverty and hardship, they still have enough spiritual nourishment to live for God. If you have God, you have all you really need. God is enough. 

If you feel you don’t have everything you need, ask (1) Is this really a need? (2) Is this really good for me? (3) Is this the best time for me to have what I desire? Even if you answer yes to all three questions, God may allow you to go without the perceived need to help you grow more dependent on Him. He may want you to learn that you need Him more than having your immediate desires.

Prayer: Abba Father endue me with the spirit of constant prayer, supplication and raw obedience to You, realizing that by You all things consist. In so doing I may appropriate to myself Your promised blessings for those who seek You diligently, in Jesus Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD’S GREAT OBJECTIVES IN REDEMPTION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 10, 2024.

SUBJECT: GOD’S GREAT OBJECTIVES IN REDEMPTION!

Memory verse: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name.” (John 1 vs 12.)

READ: John 3 vs 3 - 8:

3:3: Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

3:4: Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

3:5: Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

3:6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 3:7: Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 

3:8: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

INTIMATION:

Restoring relationship, and fellowship with God are two great objectives in redemption. Redemption is rescuing us in Christ from the conquest of sin which has separated us from God from the days of Adam. Restoring our relationship is the first while restoring fellowship follows thereafter. The fellowship was lost after Adam and Eve committed the felony at the Garden of Eden and were driven out. God is working to the end that the relationship and fellowship are restored and man may legally become His child, a partaker of His very nature, so that he will be a genuine heir and joint-heir with Jesus (Romans 8 vs 17).

The sin problem must be settled on legal grounds so that God will have a perfect right to impart to man His own nature, thereby making the man an absolute “New Creation.” The sin nature in man must be driven out by the nature of God coming in. Man's spirit must be in perfect harmony with the Father. Man is made up of spirit, soul and body. The part of man that had to be recreated was the spirit of man. Man must become an actual child of God, as truly as was Jesus Christ in His earthly walk. This can only come by a re-birth of the spirit of man, a real new creation of which Jesus speaks in John 3 vs 3 - 8. 

Spiritual re-birth is all God’s work through the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in ways we cannot predict or understand. Just as we cannot predict the wind that blows where it wishes, and we hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. As we don't control our physical birth, so we cannot control our spiritual birth. It is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit.

The second objective of redemption is to restore to man his lost fellowship. This can only come as righteousness is restored to him. Fellowship with God can never be possible if we have sin imputed to us. It was God’s design in the beginning to be in constant fellowship with us hence He visited Adam and Eve daily at the Garden of Eden. But when they sinned, they were separated from Him and lost that fellowship. 

To restore that fellowship, God sent His only begotten Son to the world to take away sin, because He is Holy, and cannot behold sin. We therefore, have to be cleansed, and made righteous to have fellowship with Him. Consequently, God gave us His own righteousness in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures in Job 33 vs 26 states that "....For He restores to man His righteousness."

The whole redemptive process has been to the end that He might have children, and that these children should live in the closest fellowship of love and freedom with Himself. Because He is a just God, sonship, then, must be on legal grounds. There must be no question as to man's legal standing in the family of God. There can be no fellowship unless man can stand in the presence of God the Father without the consciousness of guilt, of sin, or of inferiority. There can be no fellowship of the type that the Father craves unless man is utterly free from sin consciousness and free from the fear of Satan's dominion. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You wrought for us in redemption. I remain ever grateful for the awesome privilege of adopting me as Your son, heir, and joint heir with Jesus. Endue me with the spirit of complete obedience to You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE DRIVING FORCE OF LOVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MARCH 09, 2024.

SUBJECT: THE DRIVING FORCE OF LOVE!

Memory verse: "If you love me keep My commandments." (John 14 vs 15.)

READ: First John 4 vs 7 - 14:

4:7: Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

4:8: He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

4:9: In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 

4:10: In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

4:11: Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. 

INTIMATION:

The major driving force in sharing the “Good News” is the love for God and our neighbors. Learning to love how God loves is the most important aspect of our mission. God has never made a person He didn't love. Everybody matters to Him: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..” (John 3 vs 16). Therefore, everybody should matter to us, especially the unsaved souls, and we must reach out to them.

Whenever you feel indifferent about others, especially the unsaved souls, and about your mission on this world, spend some time thinking about what Jesus did for you on the cross. What else can you offer in return to Him than to obey and serve Him with all your heart, caring about what He cares for, and loving all He loves. 

Christ's love should compel your actions as it did for the believers in Paul's days: "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." (Second Corinthians 5 vs 14.)

The love of Christ constrained the believers to certain courses of action. They took certain difficult, and delicate steps in the spreading of the Good News. And so shall it be to us this day. They knew that Jesus, out of His great love, had given up His life for their sakes. He had not acted out of His own self-interest, selfishly holding on to the glory of heaven that He already possessed. Instead, Jesus had willingly "died for all." 

We should no longer live to please ourselves; we should spend our lives pleasing Christ. Therefore, you must learn to love other people the way God does. God has never made a person He didn't love. Everybody matters to Him. Therefore, everybody should matter to us, especially the unsaved souls, and we must reach out to them. If you have been indifferent or afraid to share the Good News with those around you, ask God to fill your heart with His love for them.

Jesus gave us the “Great Commission” to go into the world and preach the Good News. And our memory verse gives us Christ’s yardstick of measuring our love for Him—keeping His commandments. How else do we demonstrate our love for Him who loved us first and gave His life up for us than to keep His commandment of preaching the Good News to the world.

However, we need wisdom in reaching out to unbelievers, making the most of our opportunities to tell them the Good News of salvation: "Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." (Colossians 4 vs 5 - 6.) This can only be accomplished with the force of love.

When we tell others about Christ, it is important always to be gracious in what we say. No matter how much sense the message makes, we lose our effectiveness if we are not courteous. Just as we like to be respected, we must respect others if we want them to listen to what we have to say.

Prayer: Abba Father, You poured out Your love in my heart through the Holy Spirit indwelling me. Give me the grace to respond to Your love by obeying and keeping Your commandments, especially in preaching Your saving grace through Christ to the unbelievers, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE GREAT COMMISSION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY MARCH, 08, 2024.

SUBJECT: THE GREAT COMMISSION!

Memory verse: "And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16 vs 15.)

READ: Romans 1 vs 16 - 17; First Corinthians 1 vs 18:

Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

1:17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.""

First Corinthians 1:18: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

INTIMATION:

What is “The Great Commission”? It’s the sharing of the “Good News”; the gospel of Jesus Christ—how God sent His only Son as a propitiation for our sin. It is about Jesus’ coming to solve both our spiritual death problem and our physical death problem. It is good news that He died for our sins. It’s good news that He resurrected in order to give us hope of being resurrected when He comes again (First Corinthians 15 vs 50 - 57). Therefore, the gospel—the Good News—is the death of Jesus tor our sins and His resurrection for our hope (First Corinthians 15 vs 1 - 4).  

When we trust God's grace to save us through what Christ did, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven. The Good News—the gospel—shows us both how righteous God is in His plan for us to be saved, and also how we may be made fit for eternal life. By our trust in Christ, our relationship with God is made right. 

As a believer, God makes you to be a member of His family, a model of His character, a magnifier of His glory, a minister of His grace, and a messenger of His Good News to others. Of these five purposes, the fifth can only be done on earth, and it is the only mission Christ has given us on earth. The other four we will keep doing in eternity in some way. That's why spreading the Good News is so important; you only have a short time to share your life message and fulfill your mission for Christ.

Sharing the Good News fully identifies you with Christ in obedience to the “Great Commission,” and emphasizes your acceptance of what Christ wrought for you in redemption. It will be of absolute importance to you when you realize that you have just your short time on earth to fulfill this mission. It is your being convinced of the authenticity of the Good News, and that it’s the power of God showcased to man, which puts you on the go for Christ—makes you share the Good News with others. No amount of training in this world can motivate you to witness for Christ until you internalize the convictions of the Good News. 

In the passages we read today, the apostle Paul had the full conviction of the Good News about Christ, hence he was fully persuaded, and not ashamed of sharing his message. It was a message of salvation, it has life-changing power, and it is for everyone. This is what is expected of every believer; to be doing the same. When you are tempted to be ashamed, remember what the gospel is all about. If you focus on God and on what God is doing in the world rather than on your own inadequacies, you won't be ashamed or embarrassed.

The Bible, in Second Peter 3 vs 9, says:-"...Not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." God does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to renew their hearts and lives. As long as you know some persons who doesn't know Christ, you must keep praying for them, serving them in love, and sharing the Good News with them. And as long as there is one person in your community who isn't in the family of God, your church and you must keep reaching out. 

What are you willing to do so that the people you know will go to heaven? Invite them to Church? Share your story? Invite them to a fellowship? Give them Christian tracts and/or books? Pray for them every day until they are saved? The choice is yours. Your mission is all around you. Don't miss the opportunities God is giving you. 

Is anyone going to be in heaven because of you? Will anyone in heaven be able to say to you, "I want to thank you. I'm here because you cared enough to share the Good News with me" Imagine the joy of greeting people in heaven whom you helped get there. The eternal salvation of a single soul is more important than anything else you will ever achieve in life.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are love, and has poured out Your love in my heart by the Holy Spirit. Give me the grace to shower this love on others, especially in sharing the Good News of what Christ wrought for me in redemption, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THERE IS NO COMPLETE SATISFACTION ON EARTH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY MARCH 07, 2024.

SUBJECT: THERE IS NO COMPLETE SATISFACTION ON EARTH! 

Memory verse: "For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope." (First Chronicles 29 vs 15.)

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 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:

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. Such situations are not operative in our home.

In the passage we read today, the Scripture talks about God's Hall of Fame. These people of faith in the passage, were “strangers and pilgrims” on earth—this world was not their home. Embracing this truth, they lived and died without seeing the fruit of their faith on earth, not receiving all that God promised, but they never lost their vision of their heaven country. 

On the contrary, at the present time, many Christians become frustrated and defeated because their earthly needs, wants, expectations, and demands are not immediately met when they accept Christ as Savior. They become impatient and want to quit. Many think that pain is an exception in the Christian life. When suffering occurs they say, "Why me?" They feel as though God deserted them, or perhaps they accuse Him of not being as dependable as they thought in reality. 

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. While we are on earth, we may never see the purpose of our suffering. But we know that God will keep His promises to us. Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner. The end of life on earth is not the end! 

However, we live in an evil world filled with suffering, even for believers. But God is still in control. He allows some Christians to become martyrs for the faith, and He allows others to survive persecution. We should be comforted when we remember that Jesus is God, and suffered persecution, and death by hanging, in the evil world. He understands our fears, weaknesses, and disappointments (see Hebrews 2 vs 16 - 18; 4 vs 14 - 16). He promised never to leave us (Matthew 28 vs 18 - 20), and intercedes on our behalf (Hebrews 7 vs 24 - 25). 

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—longings that can never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better. 

Realizing that life on earth is just a temporary assignment should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your decisions. 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. 

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," 

When recognition is not given to your perseverance, when you suffer neglect, when life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won't leave home, you'll go home.

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, this world is not my home, I am just passing through. I am persuaded that You have prepared a place for me in our Father’s mansion, to welcome me home at my appointed time of coming home. Endue me with the right spirit of wisdom and understanding, to live on earth conscious of my home country, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

AS YOU GIVE SO YOU RECEIVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY MARCH 06, 2024.

SUBJECT : AS YOU GIVE SO YOU RECEIVE!

Memory verse: "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, 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." (Luke 6 vs 38.)

READ: Second Corinthians 9 vs 6 - 11:

9:6: But this I say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

9:7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

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:

God has a divine law of giving and receiving. If you want to receive reward for your giving, you need to understand this divine law. Therefore, understand that it is the measure with which you give that determines what you will receive from God. That is to say, "What you give determines what you receive."

In our memory verse, Jesus used the picture of measuring grain in a basket to ensure the full import and clear understanding of His teaching. A forgiving spirit demonstrates that a person has received forgiveness. If you are critical rather than compassionate, you will also receive criticism. If you treat others generously, and compassionately, however, these qualities will come back to you in full measure. Jesus taught us to love others as ourselves, not judge them.

The measurement here is relatively not in volume or quantity, but rather in value, or quality. In Mark 12 vs 42 - 43, a poor widow made an offering of two mites, which makes a quadrans, and Jesus told His disciples that the poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury, because others have given out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty gratuitously put in all that she had, her whole livelihood. Though her gift was the smallest, she gave more than the others put together in the eyes of the Lord.

The value of a gift is not determined by its quantity, but by the spirit in which it is given. A gift given grudgingly or for recognition loses its value. God desires that your gift be pleasing to Him, the volume or quantity not withstanding. Your gift is pleasing to God when it is given out of a heart of gratitude, and a spirit of generosity. When you give with God's desired motives, the dividend you receive thereto far more outweighs what you have given. The reward to you is in: ‘good measure, press down, shaking together, and running over.’

For instance, King Solomon gave a sacrifice of a thousand cows out of a heart of gratitude and a spirit of generosity, and it was pleasing to God. Rather than give him the wisdom to rule the Israelites he requested, God gave him his petition and added riches and honor. (First King 3 vs 4 - 14). You cannot out-give God. 

A giving attitude is more important than the amount given. A person who can give only a small gift with sincerity of heart shouldn't be embarrassed. God is concerned about how a person gives from his or her resources. God Himself is a cheerful giver. Consider all He has done for us. He is pleased when we, who are created in His image and after His likeness, give generously and joyfully. 

People may hesitate to give generously to God because they worry about having enough left over to meet their needs. Obviously, it is lack of faith in God, and also reflects ungratefulness to Him. The Bible tells us that withholding from God tends to poverty (Proverbs 11 vs 24). God wants to produce tremendous blessings for you, spiritually, physically, and financially. Real giving is an act of faith. Failure to give is unbelief. It is giving place to the devil. Believe God's Word and be blessed. That is why the saying, "givers never lack."

Prayer: Abba Father, You have imparted Your nature of love on me in redemption. Give me the grace to abide in You faithfully without wavering, and endue me with the spirit of gratuitous and generous giving in reflection of my faith and trust in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen,

PRAISE THE LORD!