BE SELFLESS AS CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 25, 2024.

SUBJECT : BE SELFLESS AS CHRIST! 

Memory verse: "Bear one another's burdens, and fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6 vs 2.)

READ: Philippians 2 vs 3 - 5; First Corinthians 10 vs 24:

Philippians 2:3: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

2:4: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

2:5: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

First Corinthians 10:24: Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being. 

INTIMATION:

Being selfless is laying aside right; putting others first. Selflessness is having no regard to self, being altruistic—living and acting for the interest of others. It is inconveniencing yourself for the happiness, and benefit of others. Jesus Christ, our Messiah, is a classic example of a selfless life. He was humble, willing to give up His rights in order to obey God and serve people. Consequently, the apostle Paul advises us thus: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Like Jesus, we should have a servant's attitude, serving out of love for God and others. 

Everyone chooses his or her attitude. You can approach life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others. Jesus Christ's ministry on earth was anchored on selflessness, and was the basis for our salvation. He died for us; paid a ransom for us because we could not do it ourselves. His death released us from our slavery and bondage to sin. Jesus remarked in Mark 10 vs 45; "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 

Living a selfless life as Christ did brings about spiritual unity. We must love one another and be one in spirit and purpose. When we co-operate in working together, caring for the problems of others as if they were our problems, we demonstrate Christ's example of putting others first, and consequently, fulfill the law of Christ. 

Always think of yourself the way Jesus thought of Himself. Though He is God, and equal with God in status, but didn't think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men to serve and save man.

Many people, even Christians, live only to make a good impression on others or to please themselves. However, selfish ambition or conceit (overbearing, having a high opinion of oneself) brings discord. Unfortunately, selfishness abound in the Body of Christ. Christians—members of the Body of Christ—compete amongst themselves with the motive to outdo or undo the other; backbiting, gossiping, witch-hunting, working against the interest of others etc. 

Such evil behaviors are the products of selfishness. Even the leaders who should lead by example even struggle in traffic jam, in fuel cue, in difficult circumstances to take the first turn etc. Though it is difficult to lead such a lifestyle but we need to start from somewhere and let the Holy Spirt help us accomplish the rest.

Someone would say, “Can a selfless lifestyle of service be possible.” Yes it can! Worthy of note was the Christlike selfless service of the late Mother Teresa; a unique personality who devoted her life to the service of God and others as a nun in the Roman Catholic faith. In 1950, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. 

The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children's and family counseling programs, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow—to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.” 

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You. Give me the grace to lead a selfless lifestyle of service to You and fellow humans. treating others with respect and common courtesy, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Two Purposes for Christmas

 Two Purposes for Christmas

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:7–8)

When 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil,” what are “the works of the devil” that he has in mind? The answer is clear from the context.

First, 1 John 3:5 is a clear parallel: “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins.” The phrase he appeared to occurs in verse 5 and verse 8. So most likely the “works of the devil” that Jesus came to destroy are sins. The first part of verse 8 makes this virtually certain: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”

The issue in this context is sinning, not sickness or broken cars or messed up schedules. Jesus came into the world to enable us to stop sinning.

We see this even more clearly if we put this truth alongside the truth of 1 John 2:1: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” This is one of the great purposes of Christmas — one of the great purposes of the incarnation (1 John 3:8). 

But there is another purpose which John adds in 1 John 2:1–2, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 

But now look what this means: It means that Jesus appeared in the world for two reasons. He came that we might not go on sinning — that is, he came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8); and he came so that there would be a propitiation for our sins, if we do sin. He came to be a substitutionary sacrifice that takes away the wrath of God for our sins.

The upshot of this second purpose is not to defeat the first purpose. Forgiveness is not for the purpose of permitting sin. The aim of the death of Christ for our sins is not that we relax our battle against sin. The upshot of these two purposes of Christmas, rather, is that the payment once made for all our sins is the freedom and power that enables us to fight sin not as legalists, earning our salvation, and not as fearful of losing our salvation, but as victors who throw ourselves into the battle against sin with confidence and joy, even if it costs 

us our lives.

SILENCE IS EXPENSIVE FOR A BELIEVER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 24, 2024.

SUBJECT: SILENCE IS EXPENSIVE FOR A BELIEVER! 

Memory verse: "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10 vs 9.)

READ: Matthew 10 vs 32 - 33:

10:32: 32: Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

10:33: But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

INTIMATION:

People say silence is golden, and it can certainly be so. But in Christendom it is certainly very expensive, and most times, costs a person the thing wanted from God. Your communication matters. The confession of our belief—our faith, is the confession of God's Word; hearing God's Word, claiming it for your own, saying His promise is for you, and receiving the results of that promise are the orderly and direct steps along the pathway to God. However, it starts with the confession of your faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross that culminated in the gift of salvation to you: “…With the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10 vs 9). 

In the Bible passage we read today, the statement by Jesus thus, “every one .....who shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father...,” conveys the thought of confessing allegiance to Christ as one’s Master and Lord, and on the other hand, of acknowledgement, on His part, of the faithful one as being His worshipper and servant, His loyal follower. 

Anyone who confesses Jesus Christ (that is, publicly acknowledges faith in, or declares allegiance to Him) will be acknowledged by Christ before His Father in heaven. People who will not take a stand for Jesus for reason of being afraid of rejection or ridicule will eventually be denied by Jesus before His Father. They wouldn’t admit to faith in Jesus because they may not want to lose their association or follower-ship in worldly affairs which may be their source of livelihood, or lose their prestigious position in their association or community. 

In Mark 8 vs 8 Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” We can reject Jesus now and be rejected by Him at His second coming, or we can accept Him now and be accepted by Him then. Rejecting Christ may help us escape shame for the time being, but it will guarantee an eternity of shame later. We should live as Christ has urged us to, sharing our faith no matter what the cost. We may not be beaten or thrown into jail, but we may be ridiculed, ostracized, or slandered. 

But the praise of humans is fickle and short-lived. We should be much more concerned about God’s eternal acceptance than about the temporary approval of other people. Christ’s given mission for Christians is to go forth and preach the gospel; confessing Christ’s “Good News” to the world thus turning many from sin to righteousness. 

The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ death, burial for our sins, and resurrection for our hope. And this is what all believers must proclaim to all the world. In doing this, the Scripture says we are eternal “stars”—by being wise and leading many to God’s righteousness. (Daniel 12 vs 3.) If we share our Lord with others, we can be true stars—radiantly beautiful in God’s sight. It is very important to lead people to Christ because it keeps us in touch with God while it offers others eternal life. 

It’s noteworthy that Christians still face persecution in the hands of non-Christians in some parts of the world till date. In the face of such persecution, Jesus’ followers are encouraged to publicly claim to belong to Him. Though it is usually at their peril, but they are assured of an everlasting joy with Christ in eternity. Genuine discipleship always involves acknowledging Jesus Christ, whether or not we face pressure and persecution. Not confessing Jesus or keeping silent about your faith in Him is tantamount to denying your faith, and consequently denying Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, denying You is death, and confessing You is life—life everlasting. Let my tongue gum to the roof of my mouth if I fail to confess You to the world. May the thought of denying You never cross my mind, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

HOW TO SEEK GOD AND FIND HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY DECEMBER 23, 2024.

SUBJECT : HOW TO SEEK GOD AND FIND HIM!

Memory verse: "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4 vs 29.)

READ: Jeremiah 29 vs 11 - 14:

29:11: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

29:12: Then will you call upon Me, and you will go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

29:13: And you will seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

29:14: I will be found by you, says the LORD: and I will bring you back from your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

INTIMATION:

God promises us that we will find Him when we search for Him with all our hearts and souls. God is knowable and wants to be known, but we have to want to know Him. In seeking the Lord to find Him, our acts of service and worship must be accompanied by sincere devotion of the heart. As Hebrews 11 vs 6 says, “He who comes to the Lord must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God will reward those who pursue a relationship with Him. God promises great blessings to His people, but most of these blessings require our active participation in seeking Him. 

Now, many will ask, “How do I seek God with all my heart and all my soul?” Moses gave an elaborate answer regarding this to the children of Israel. He said, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to  keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10 vs 12 - 13.)

In the above verses, Moses gives a summary of what God expects us to do. They are simple in form and easy to remember. Here are the essentials: (1) Fear the Lord (reverence Him; give Him profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and affection, as for a holy being). We must fear God’s awesome being. (2) Walk in His ways; We must obediently walk according to His Will, follow the road He sets out for us. (3) Love Him; We must respond to His being with love. (4) Serve Him; our lives must be one of service to His glory with everything you have in you (with all your heart and soul). (5) Keep His Commands; We must know and obey His commandments and regulations He has given us. Compliance with all that God requires results in our well-being on earth among ourselves.

The Bible interchangeably uses fear of the LORD, for seeking the LORD. The fear of the LORD in the Scriptures denote reverential fear of God, not to dread Him, or being scared of Him. It is to show Him deep respect, reverence, and honor, demonstrated by a humble attitude and genuine worship. Reverencing God should be a controlling motive of our lives in spiritual and moral matters. It is not mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. A fear which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence, and which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God, through the Spirit of God indwelling us. 

Most often we complicate faith in God with man-made rules, regulations, and requirements; we strictly obey the man-made laws, but give partial obedience to God’s commands, apparently because man is seen, but God is unseen.

Our relationship, and fellowship with God starts with prayer. It is our lifeline to God, hence we should pray regularly to ensure that our line of seeking God 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 the availability of His guidance and strength that is needed at all times. It also aids us to appropriate His promised blessings to ourselves. Regular and constant praying habit ensures a disciplined life of prayer. 

David was one of the people in the Bible who sought the Lord and found Him. His reverence to God was exemplary; three times a day he would pray to God, he constantly inquired from God before engaging on any battle, and consequently, never lost even one, he was never perfect in his moral and spiritual life, but never failed to turn to God in genuine repentance whenever he sinned. 

These acts made God adjudged him a friend to Himself and a man after His heart. God is no strict with us about our leading a perfect life because He knows no one is perfect, but demands our reverencing Him. Are you frustrated and burned out from trying hard to please God? Concentrate on His real requirements and find peace. Respect, follow, love, serve, and obey God, and you will seek Him and find Him.. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with a humble spirit of rightly seeking You at all times; respect, follow, love, serve, and obey You in all things, that I may find You, and appropriate to myself Your promised blessings, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God’s Indescribable Gift

 God’s Indescribable Gift

If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:10–11)

How do we practically receive reconciliation and exult in God? We do it through Jesus Christ. Which means, at least, that we make the portrait of Jesus in the Bible — that is, the work and the words of Jesus portrayed in the New Testament — we make that portrait the essential content of our exultation over God. Exulting in God without the content of Christ does not honor Christ. And where Christ is not honored, God is not honored.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4–6, Paul describes conversion in two ways. In verse 4, he says it is seeing “the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” And in verse 6, he says it is seeing “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In either case you see the point. We have Christ, the image of God, and we have God in the face of Christ.

To exult in God, we exult in what we see and know of God in the portrait of Jesus Christ. And this comes to its fullest experience when the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, as Romans 5:5 says. And that sweet, Spirit-given experience of the love of God is mediated to us as we ponder the historical reality of verse 6, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

So here’s the Christmas point. Not only did God purchase our reconciliation through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10), and not only did God enable us to receive that reconciliation through the Lord Jesus Christ, but even now we exult in God himself, by the Spirit, through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:11).

Jesus purchased our reconciliation. Jesus enabled us to receive reconciliation and open the gift. And Jesus himself shines forth as himself the indescribable gift — God in the flesh — and stirs up all our exultation in God.

Look to Jesus this Christmas. Receive the reconciliation that he purchased. Don’t put the gift on the shelf unopened. And when you open it, remember God himself is the gift of reconciliation with God.

Exult in him. Experience him as your pleasure. Know him as y

our treasure.

Trust Your Wings by Bishop TD Jakes

TRUST YOUR WINGS BY BISHOP TD JAKES

That You May Believe

 That You May Believe

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep, and yet who can yawn through the Apostles’ Creed — that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.

You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.

How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to your glory and your story, O God! How often have I had to repent and say, “God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.”

Perhaps the galactic movie thrillers of our day can do at least this good for us: they can humble us and bring us to repentance, by showing us that we really are capable of some of the wonder and awe and amazement that we so seldom feel when we contemplate the eternal God and the cosmic glory of Christ and a real living contact between them and us in Jesus of Nazareth.

When Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37), he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read.

Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God.

One of these days lightning is going to fill the sky from the rising of the sun to its setting, and there is going to appear in the clouds the Son of Man with his mighty angels in flaming fire. And we will see him clearly. And whether from terror or sheer excitement, we will tremble and we will wonder how we ever lived so long with such a domesticated, harmless Christ.

These things are written — the whole Bible is written — that we might believe — that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder — that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came 

into the world.