How to Defy Sinful Desire

 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24–26) 

Or, boil it down to the essentials: “By faith Moses . . . [left] the fleeting pleasures of sin . . . for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24–26).

Faith is not content with “fleeting pleasures.” It is ravenous for joy. Joy that lasts. Forever. And the word of God says, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). So, faith will not be sidetracked into the deceitful pleasures of sin. It will not give up so easily in its quest for maximum joy. 

The role of God’s word is to feed faith’s appetite for God. And, in doing this, it weans my heart off of the deceptive taste of lust. 

At first, lust begins to trick me into feeling that I would really miss out on some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight. 

I read that it is better to gouge out my eye than to lust (Matthew 5:29). 

I read that if I think about things that are pure and lovely and excellent, the peace of God will be with me (Philippians 4:8–9). 

I read that setting the mind on the flesh brings death, but setting the mind on the Spirit brings life and peace (Romans 8:6). 

I read that lust wages war against my soul (1 Peter 2:11), and that the pleasures of this life choke out the life of the Spirit (Luke 8:14). 

But best of all, I read that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11), and that the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8). 

As I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life and peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugarcoating off the poison of lust. I see it for what it is. And by the grace of God, its alluring power is broken.

THE BOOK OF THE LAW—THE BIBLE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JULY 23, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE BOOK OF THE LAW—THE BIBLE!

Memory verse: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1 - 8.)

READ: Psalms 1 vs 1 - 3: 

1:1: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

1:2: But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law he meditates day and night.

1:3: He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

INTIMATION:

The Bible is the comprehensive book regarded as the ultimate authority on the subject of the solemn declaration of the Will of God—the Word of God. It contains the engagement entered into between God and man. These declaration is called Testament and the engagement is known as covenant. The Bible is the ultimate authority detailing the engagement entered into between God and man, either that with Moses (as expressed in the Old Testament) or that instituted by Christ (as expressed in the New Testament). 

The Bible has been with us for more than two thousand years, and the early books of the Old Testament have existed almost twice that long. Its enduring life attests not only to its great spiritual treasures but also to its amazing stories, astonishing miracles, and intriguing facts that continue to grip readers today. Even today, the modern scholar or scientist is hard-pressed to provide a logical, natural explanation for the events described in the Bible. We must rely on the Bible authors' interpretations to shed light on otherwise inconceivable happenings. Their confident understanding of these events points us beyond ourselves to consider the One who created all things.

It is thrilling to examine how God has providentially guarded His word in order to provide His word for men of all ages in written form. The very fact that the Bible has survived schemes to destroy it, gives witness to the fact that it has been held in great esteem by men throughout all history. Regardless of all attacks against it, the Bible lives in the hearts of those who have been changed by its precepts and promises. 

No other book has been preserved throughout history as the Bible. The manner by which the Bible has been providentially preserved indicates that there is something different about this book than all ancient books. If the Bible were just another book, we would at least had wondered why men have given so much attention to preserving it. Our conclusion is the great care by which the Bible has been preserved lies in the fact that men have considered the Bible to be more than another book. Those who have sought to preserve the Bible have given their testimony that it is the inspired word of God. 

A man has deprived himself of the best knowledge in the world if he has deprived himself of a knowledge of the Bible. On the foundation of this book, civilizations have been built and sustained. Only through the Bible can we understand who God is and what we must do to please Him. The Word of God is special revelation from God of Himself, and is the solemn declaration of His Will. And the Will of God is the expression of God. 

The Bible is God’s book of instruction for all people. It contains the written word of God. No other written words have affected so many people for so long in history. The reason for this is that men know the Bible is God’s truth that was revealed to direct our beliefs and behavior. No word from God can ever be defaulted. There never can be any denying of His own Word. Every Word of God is pure, and forever God’s Word is settled in heaven. The Word of God shall stand forever. His Word is eternal, constant, and unfailing. And only on God’s eternal Word will we find lasting solutions to our problems and needs. Your confidence is in that Word that cannot be broken. 

The Bible is a library of sixty-six Holy Spirit inspired books and letters. It is written by over forty inspired men over a period of 1,500 years. Though written by so many different people over a period of many centuries, there are no contradictions in the original writings of the Bible. The theme is the eternal salvation of man through the sacrificial offering of Jesus, the Son of God. God seeks through the Bible to inform all men concerning His desire to bring them into eternal heaven. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of constant meditation in Your Word, that the Book of the Law will not depart from me. Give me the grace to put to work all I have learned from the Book, that I will prosper and have good success, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Preach to Yourself

 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:11)

We must learn to fight despondency — the downcast spirit. The fight is a fight of faith in future grace. It is fought by preaching truth to ourselves about God and his promised future. 

This is what the psalmist does in Psalm 42. The psalmist preaches to his troubled soul. He scolds himself and argues with himself. And his main argument is future grace: “Hope in God! Trust in what God will be for you in the future. A day of praise is coming. The presence of the Lord will be all the help you need. And he has promised to be with us forever.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones believes this issue of preaching truth to ourselves about God’s future grace is all-important in overcoming spiritual depression. In his helpful book, Spiritual Depression, he writes,

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. . . . Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment. I will speak to you.” (20–21)

The battle against despondency is a battle to believe the promises of God. And that belief in God’s future grace comes by hearing the word. And so preaching to ourselves the word of God is at the heart of the battle.

I KNOW WHOM I BELIEVED!.

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JULY 22, 2024. 

SUBJECT : I KNOW WHOM I BELIEVED!.

Memory verse: "For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." (Second Timothy 1 vs 12.)

READ: Romans 8 vs  35 - 39:

8:35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

8:36: As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are counted as sheep for the slaughter."

8:37: Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

8:38: For I am persuaded that neither things present nor things to come,

8:39: Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

INTIMATION:

How many of us can proudly say, "I know Whom I have believed." But the apostle Paul, in our memory verse, affirmed his total confidence, and trust in God, especially in times of tribulations, to protect him. This is not a claim of strong faith, rather, it is a trust in the One so powerful that even a weak or little faith, as small as a mustard seed, is sufficient in all circumstances. His confidence in Christ was as a result of his intimate relationship with Him. He made this very challenging statement in his Epistle, because he knew whom he trusted with personal knowledge; he knew Christ so well that no earthly experience could break the bond of love by which Christ held him. 

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul reaffirms God's profound love for His people. It contains one of the most comforting promises in all Scriptures. Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms; persecution, illness, imprisonment, hardship, and even death. These sometimes cause them to fear that they have been abandoned by Christ. But nothing can possibly separate us from Christ. His demeaning death on the cross for us is proof of His unconquerable love for us. 

No matter the problems or setbacks we face, we can trust fully in God knowing that He is still in control, and there is nothing too difficult for Him to handle. It is for this reason we should cast all our cares upon Him, knowing He cares for us, and victory is ours through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever has been committed to Him, we are assured that He will keep until the day of His coming again. For He has promised thus: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. This is the Will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise them up at the last day." (John 6 vs 37 & 39.)

Jesus said He would not lose even one person whom the Father had given Him. Thus, anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God's promise of everlasting life. He will not let His people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation. 

Our victory is our faith in God, knowing that whatever is born of Him overcomes the world (First John 5 vs 4). We are sons of God, and will always triumph in Christ. In our walk as believers, we partner with Christ all through the race, with more weight resting on His bigger shoulders than ours, Someone with more pulling power upfront helping, and compelling us to run the race to the end so as to obtain the crown of glory kept for us. In Christ we are participating in life's responsibilities with a great Partner, who has promised to give us rest from our labor, and heavy laden (Matthew 11 vs 28).

The apostle Paul's trust and confidence in God was conc. that even the persecutions he suffered, and his imprisonment couldn't stop his ministry. He was writing the churches from prison, and carried on his ministry through others like his spiritual son Timothy. While in prison, he had lost all his material possessions, but he would never lose his faith. He trusted God to use him regardless of his circumstances. He so trusted God that he was not bothered about his bleak situation. He gave all his concerns to Christ, trusting Him to guard his faith and safely guard all he has entrusted to Him until the day of His return.

I know Whom I believed. I know that nothing about me is impossible with Him, and nothing about me is difficult for Him. I know in returning and rest in Him will I be saved, and in quietness and confidence in Him shall I draw my strength. This, I say of me, is true for all believers. Therefore, believe in the Lord your God, and you will be saved. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the only God, and there is no other. It is in my trust and confidence in You I draw my strength. I cast my cares upon You because You cares for me. I rejoice, therefore, that I have confidence in You in all thing. Help me to comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that I may be filled with all the fullness of God, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Models for Combating Discouragement

 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

Literally the verb is simply fail, not “may fail.” This God-besotted psalmist, Asaph, says, “My flesh and my heart fail!” I am despondent! I am discouraged! But then immediately he fires a broadside against his despondency: “But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

The psalmist does not yield to discouragement. He battles unbelief with counterattack. 

In essence, he says, “In myself I feel very weak and helpless and unable to cope. My body is shot, and my heart is almost dead. But whatever the reason for this despondency, I will not yield. I will trust God and not myself. He is my strength and my portion.” 

The Bible is replete with instances of saints struggling with sunken spirits. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” This is a clear admission that the soul of the saint sometimes needs to be revived. And if it needs to be revived, in a sense it was “dead.” That’s the way it felt.

David says the same thing in Psalm 23:2–3, “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” The soul of the “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) needs to be restored. It was dying of thirst and ready to fall exhausted, but God led the soul to water and gave it life again. 

God has put these testimonies in the Bible so that we might use them to fight the unbelief of despondency. And we fight with the blast of faith in God’s promises: “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” We preach that to ourselves. And we thrust it into Satan’s face. And we believe it.

THE GIVING THAT RECEIVES REWARD.

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JULY 21, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE GIVING THAT RECEIVES REWARD.

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 amount and import 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, 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 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, will be put into your bosom. 

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 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, and it is giving place to the devil. Believe God's Word, give cheerfully and be blessed. 

God gives us resources to use and invest for Him. In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul uses the illustration of seed to explain that the resources God gives us are not to be hidden, foolishly devoured, or thrown away. Instead, they should be cultivated in order to produce more crops. When we invest what God has given us in His work, He will provide us with even more to give in His service. That is why "givers never lack."

Prayer: Abba Father, You have imparted Your nature of love on me in redemption. Give me the spirit of gratuitous and generous giving, reflecting my faith and trust in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Grace for Every Need

 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant. (Psalm 86:16)

Future grace is the constant plea of the praying psalmists. They pray for it again and again to meet every need. They give us a beautiful model of daily dependence on future grace for every exigency.

They cry out for grace when they need help: “Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” (Psalm 30:10). 

When they are weak: “Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant” (Psalm 86:16). 

When they need healing: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord” (Psalm 6:2). 

When they are afflicted by enemies: “Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me” (Psalm 9:13). 

When they are lonely: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted” (Psalm 25:16). 

When they are grieving: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief” (Psalm 31:9). 

When they have sinned: “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!” (Psalm 41:4). 

When they long for God’s name to be exalted among the nations: “God be gracious to us and bless us . . . that your way may be known on earth” (Psalm 67:1–2). 

Unmistakably, prayer is the great link of faith between the soul of the saint and the promise of future grace. If ministry was meant by God to be sustained by prayer, then ministry was meant to be sustained by faith in future grace.