Serve God with Your Thirst

 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. (2 Corinthians 5:9)

What if you discovered (like the Pharisees did) that you had devoted your whole life to trying to please God, but all the while had been doing things that in God’s sight were abominations (Luke 16:14–15)? 

Someone may question this and say, “I don’t think that’s possible; God wouldn’t reject a person who has been trying to please him.” But do you see what this questioner has done? He has based his conviction about what would please God on his idea of what God is like. That is precisely why we must begin with the character of God revealed in Scripture.

God is a mountain spring, not a watering trough. A mountain spring is self-replenishing. It constantly overflows and supplies others. But a watering trough needs to be filled with a pump or bucket. So, the great question is: How do you serve a spring? And: How do you serve a watering trough? How do you glorify God the way he really is?

If you want to glorify the worth of a watering trough, you work hard to keep it full and useful. But if you want to glorify the worth of a spring, you do it by getting down on your hands and knees and drinking to your heart’s satisfaction, until you have the refreshment and strength to go back down in the valley and tell the people what you’ve found.

My hope as a desperate sinner hangs on this biblical truth: that God is the kind of God who will be pleased with the one thing I have to offer: my thirst. That’s why the sovereign freedom and self-sufficiency of God are so precious to me: they are the foundation of my hope that God is delighted not by the resourcefulness of bucket brigades, but by the bending down of broken sinners to drink at the fountain of grace.

By all means we should seek to please God, now and forever. But woe to us if our whole life proves to be based on a false view of what pleases God. The Lord is pleased not by those who treat him as a needy watering trough, but as an inexhaustible, all-satisfying spring. As Psalm 147:11 says, “The Lord takes pleasure . . . in those who hope in his steadfast love.”

Virtuous Woman

 MY WEDDING NIGHT

It was my wedding night. I was so tired, I needed a bath and a rest. We had danced so much my back was aching.

My husband was beginning to have funny ideas. He was beaming like a new born baby.

Well, I wouldn’t blame him; any man in his position would not joke with this night because I was a warrior during our courtship”.

No… no hugging, no pecking, no holding, no touching, no tapping current, no weather for two, Sexual purity till marriage was top on my list.

The Knock came. I was thinking, half past eleven (11:30pm). Is that room service, I wondered. Then, with eyes popping. I heard my mother in-law’s iron like voice: “Tise, Micheal, open the door”. Micheal jumped up from the bed, rushed to the door and opened it for his mum. My Mother in-law walked in, sat down majestically and asked us to sit down too.

“Tise, I don’t know if anyone ever told you? There is a curse on my husband’s family line.

The men in their family don’t prosper, their wives are the ones who work, and provide for the families.flameschannel.

This is because, according to the story that I was told, one of their forefathers killed the only son of a great herbalist and the herbalist placed a curse on every son in their lineage, that their hands will never produce nor bring forth anything good also, their sons must always lose a son amongst their children”

I watched in amazement as my mother in-law kept telling the story. Then, she concluded by saying: “In essence, I have just come to let you know that your marriage is not a land of fun but of war”

Why? Why didn’t she tell me this before now?

Well, in order not to waste her time, I also gave her my history. I said,

“Mum, I am sorry, I also did not tell you this before now. I came from a family that fights for those we love. My Father (Jesus Christ) actually died while trying to save His people. My family line does not operate under curses because we are operating under a covenant of blessings – John 1:12-13. Therefore, anyone who is fortunate to marry any one in my family becomes automatically BLESSED! So mum, for my sake, your son can not operate under those curses again”.

My mother in-law was shocked, to say the least, as I could tell what she was thinking. Then, it made sense to me.

My Sisters in-law always had this gloomy look on their faces and the two of them actually lost their sons.flameschannel.

“Mum, you need to go and rest. My husband and I need to produce two sons this night because in my family line we conceive immediately our husbands meet Us”, I concluded.

My mother in-law stood up with caution and silently walked out.

At that moment, all the tiredness vanished as I took Michael’s hands and looked him straight in the eye.

“Listen, I don’t care what you or your ancestors have done, but for my sake, you will prosper with these hands”, I said.

Listen, Paul and some criminals were on a ship and there was a shipwreck.

The soldiers wanted to kill all the criminals to prevent them from escaping, but the Army Officer stopped them for the sake of saving Apostle Paul.

Michael, for Paul’s sake, the lives of other criminals were preserved. “So Sweetheart, because you are married to me, because we are in the same ship, yes, this relationship called marriage, for my sake, you cannot be punished for your ancestors’ Sins”, I assured him.

That became my prayer plea to God from that day forward. I kept praying to God to save my husband, my sons for my sake.

To the Glory of God, I have 4 sons none of them died. Now, they have sons and daughters of their own.

For my sake, my husband’s destiny changed for the best.

You see, women are always great assets to change powers; not assets for sex only.

It doesn’t matter what challenge that man of yours is facing at this point in time with you on his side praying, ancestral curses will fly out of his life.

Women are destined for that; good women are a great blessing to the men.

When a good woman comes into a man’s life, many good doors of success, prosperity, joy, love, etc open & ancestral curses break down & disappear.

Good women diffuse ancestral curses like a diffused bomb.

Woman, always pray for your man (husband) friend; your prayer works for him; your prayer can save his life from shame …

Your prayer can set him free from bondage.

God bless you

The Honeymoon That Never Ends

 As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)

When God does good to his people, it is not so much like a reluctant judge showing kindness to a criminal whom he finds despicable. It is like a bridegroom showing affection to his bride. 

Sometimes we joke and say about a marriage, “The honeymoon is over.” But that’s because we are finite. We can’t sustain a honeymoon level of intensity and affection. But God says that his joy over his people is like a bridegroom over a bride. And he doesn’t mean it starts out that way and then fades.

He is talking about honeymoon intensity and honeymoon pleasures and honeymoon energy and excitement and enthusiasm and enjoyment. He is trying to get into our hearts what he means when he says he rejoices over us with all his heart. Jeremiah 32:41, “I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.” Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

With God the honeymoon never ends. He is infinite in power and wisdom and creativity so that there will be no boredom for the next trillion ages of millenniums.

TRUST NOT IN YOUR RICHES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 15, 2024.

SUBJECT : TRUST NOT IN YOUR RICHES!

Memory verse: “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (First Timothy 6 vs 17).

READ: Luke 12 vs 16 - 21:

12:16: Then He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

12:17: And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’

12:18: So He said, ‘I will I do this: I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

12:19: And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

12:20: But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

12:21: So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

INTIMATION:

Riches are entrusted to us by God—the Owner of the world and everything therein (Psalm 50 vs 12). The Lord ensures this by giving us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8 vs 17 - 18). The primary purpose of bestowing on us riches is for us to serve Him with them. He told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12 vs 2.) The only condition God attached to Abraham’s blessing after fulfillment is that ‘he will be a blessing.

Consequently, riches comes with great responsibility. If you have been blessed with riches, then thank the Lord. Don’t be proud and selfish and trust in your riches. Use your riches to do good. Be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share. No matter how much riches you have, your life should demonstrate that God controls the wealth that He has placed under your care. Remember, you wouldn’t have received anything if He didn’t give you (John 3 vs 27).

In the passage we read today, Jesus told the story of the rich man, whom God has blessed, and expecting to be a blessing to others. Instead, he became selfish; planned to keep all his riches to himself, expanded his storage to accommodate all his crops and goods, he would then relax and enjoy his riches. God saw that as foolishness. He called the man a fool who had forgotten his source and relied on his riches for pleasurable years ahead. God saw him as a poor man for laying up treasures for himself. 

The rich man died even before he could begin to use what was stored in his big barns. The man carefully and skillfully planned his pleasurable life and retirement leaving God out of his plan. Planning for retirement—preparing for life before death—is wise, but neglecting life after death is disastrous. If you accumulate wealth only to enrich yourself, with no concern for helping others, you will enter eternity empty-handed. Jesus challenges us to think beyond earthbound goals and to use what we have been given for God’s kingdom. Faith, service, and obedience are the way to become rich toward God. 

Just like the rich man, many of us plan what we intend to do or achieve, leaving God out of the plan. We may subsequently come to Him for help to actualize our plans. It is good to have goals, but goals can disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point in making plans as though God does not exist because the future is in His hands. The beginning of good planning is to ask yourself such questions as: “What would God want me to do today? What would God say of this my plan? When you ask such pertinent questions, it indicates that you are seeking God’s guidance, and approval. 

Again we can ask, “What would I like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will I react if God steps in and rearranges my plan?” We can plan ahead, but we must hold on to our plans loosely. If we put God desires at the center of our planning, He will never disappoint us.

We have heard of so many rich people dying of one thing or the other. Even among the rich, many near—incurable sicknesses abound such as cancer, high blood pressure etc. In the midst of their riches, survival from the illnesses is very slim, which indicates that their riches couldn’t help them. But we have heard of so many miraculous healing and deliverance among the poor who put their trust in God. 

We should not trust on the created riches, but rather on Him who created them. The Creator controls all circumstances and determines events and purposes in our lives. Riches are only means to an end, and not an end itself. God demands that we please Him in all things, not to please ourselves. Pleasing God is accomplished by all acts of obedience to Him. Strive to serve Him with the riches He put under your care. Ensure to be a blessing when you have been blessed. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You. You bless us to be a blessing. Endue me with the spirit of trust in and obedience to You, and that I may bless others after being blessed by You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

BACKSLIDING

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 14, 2024.

SUBJECT : BACKSLIDING!

Memory verse: "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10 vs 29.)

READ: Hebrews 6 vs 4 - 8:

6:4: For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Ghost,

6:5: and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,

6:6: If they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

6:7: For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;

6:8: but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

INTIMATION:

Falling away from faith in Christ—backsliding—is disgraceful. Backsliding, in the context of our discussion, is falling back to sin. When people, after receiving the Good News, and Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, deliberately return to evil ways, is abominable. It is refusing the freedom that comes from knowing the truth. For Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8 vs 32.) 

The Scripture describes such as a foolish act of one repeating his folly, just as a dog returns to his own vomit (See Proverbs 26 vs 11).

Jesus gave an analogy of the backsliding scenario, He said, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of the man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11 vs 24 - 26.)

In the passage of the Scripture above, Jesus was illustrating the unfortunate human tendency of backsliding. In many people the desire to reform often does not last long. They are lured by the fantasy of their old worldly ways. Consequently, Satan draws them back to the world, and their last state is worse than the first—prior to accepting Jesus Christ.

It’s not enough to be emptied of evil, we must then be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s new purpose in our lives. Just cleaning up one’s life without filling it with God leaves plenty of room for Satan to enter. Ridding our lives of sin is the first step. We must also take the second step: filling our lives with God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Unfilled and complacent people are easy targets for Satan.

In like manner, the apostle Peter analyzing backsliding says, “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ”A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (Second Peter 2 vs 20 - 22.) 

The apostle Peter was speaking of people who have learned about Christ and how to be saved but then reject the truth and return to their sin. These people are worse off than before because they have rejected the only way out of sin, the only way of salvation. It is like someone sinking in quicksand who refuses to grab the rope thrown to him or her. When you reject Christ’s offer of salvation, you reject God’s most precious gift. You ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, the one who communicates to us God’s saving love. 

There is no other acceptable sacrifice for sin than the death of Christ on the cross. If someone deliberately rejects the sacrifice of Christ after clearly understanding the gospel teaching about it, then there is no way for that person to be saved, because God has not provided any other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them (See Acts 4 vs 12).

The sacrifice of Christ is tied with the Holy Spirit; therefore, to scorn Christ’s sacrifice is to insult the Holy Spirit by arrogantly rejecting Him. The Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force or influence. To reject him is to cut off the means of God’s acceptance. This is equivalent to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; the only sin that cannot be forgiven men (See Matthew 12 vs 31 - 32). 

Prayer: Abba Father, by my strength I cannot prevail. Endue me with the spirit of absolute commitment to following Christ that I may not return to my past worldly ways, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How Much God Wants to Bless You

 “The Lord will again take delight in prospering you.” (Deuteronomy 30:9)

God does not bless us begrudgingly. There is a kind of eagerness about the beneficence of God. He does not wait for us to come to him. He seeks us out, because it is his pleasure to do us good. God is not waiting for us; he is pursuing us. That, in fact, is the literal translation of Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.”

God loves to show mercy. Let me say it again. God loves to show mercy. He is not hesitant or indecisive or tentative in his desires to do good to his people. His anger must be released by a stiff safety lock, but his mercy has a hair trigger. That’s what he meant when he came down on Mount Sinai and said to Moses, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Exodus 34:6). It’s what he meant when he said in Jeremiah 9:24, “I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” 

God is never irritable or edgy. His anger never has a short fuse. Instead he is infinitely energetic with absolutely unbounded and unending enthusiasm for the fulfillment of his delights.

This is hard for us to comprehend, because we have to sleep every day just to cope, not to mention thrive. Our emotions go up and down. We get bored and discouraged one day and feel hopeful and excited another. 

We are like little geysers that gurgle and sputter and pop erratically. But God is like a great Niagara Falls — you look at 186,000 tons of water crashing over the precipice every minute, and think: Surely this can’t keep going at this force year after year after year. Yet it does.

That’s the way God is about doing us good. He never grows weary of it. It never gets boring to him. The Niagara of his grace has no end.

Who Killed Jesus?

 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32) 

One of my friends who used to be a pastor in Illinois was preaching to a group of prisoners in a state prison during Holy Week several years ago. At one point in his message, he paused and asked the men if they knew who killed Jesus. 

Some said the soldiers did. Some said the Jews did. Some said Pilate. After there was silence, my friend said simply, “His Father killed him.” 

That’s what the first half of Romans 8:32 says: God did not spare his own Son but handed him over — to death. “This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). Isaiah 53 puts it even more bluntly, “We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God. . . . It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he (his Father!) has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:4, 10).

Or as Romans 3:25 says, “God put [him] forward as a propitiation by his blood.” Just as Abraham lifted the knife over the chest of his son Isaac, but then spared his son because there was a ram in the thicket, so God the Father lifted his knife over the chest of his own Son, Jesus — but did not spare him, because he was the ram; he was the substitute.

God did not spare his own Son, because it was the only way he could spare us and still be a just and holy God. The guilt of our transgressions, the punishment of our iniquities, the curse of our sin would have brought us inescapably to the destruction of hell. But God did not spare his own Son; he gave him up to be pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities, and crucified for our sins. 

This verse — Romans 8:32 — is the most precious verse in the Bible to me because the foundation of the all-encompassing promise of God’s future grace is that the Son of God bore in his body all my punishment and all my guilt and all my condemnation and all my blame and all my fault and all my corruption, so that I might stand before a great and holy God, forgiven, reconciled, justified, accepted, and the beneficiary of unspeakable promises of pleasure forever and ever at his right hand.