Open the Windows of Your Heart

 Open the Windows of Your Heart

A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. (Isaiah 42:3)

Probably the most encouraging words I have heard in weeks came from a prophecy in Isaiah 42:1–3 about how Jesus will use his spiritual power.

Do you feel like “a bruised reed” — like one of those big top-heavy Easter lilies whose stem has been squashed so that the flower flops to the ground and gets no sap? Do you ever feel like your faith is just a little spark instead of a flame — like that little red dot at the end of the wick after you blow out the birthday candle?

Take heart! The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of encouragement: he will not snap off your flower; he will not snuff out your spark. 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). “The sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2). “[He is] gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).

It may be a grief to us that we are only a spark instead of a flaming fire. But listen! And be encouraged: Yes, there is a big difference between a spark and a fire. But there is an infinite difference between a spark and no spark! A mustard seed of faith is infinitely closer to being a mountain of faith than it is to being no faith.

Open the window of God’s promises and let the Spirit blow into every room of your heart. The Holy Wind of God will not break or quench. He will lift up your head and fan your spark into a flame. He is the Spirit of encouragement.

BENEFITS OF THANKSGIVING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MARCH 08, 2025.

SUBJECT : BENEFITS OF THANKSGIVING!

Memory verse: "For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden. And her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in It, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." (Isaiah 51 vs 3.)

READ: Jeremiah 30 vs 19 - 20:

30:19: Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 

30:20: Their children also shall be as before, and their congregation shall be established before Me; and I will punish all who oppress them.

 

INTIMATION:

Giving thanks in everything is the Will of God in Christ for the believer. It is for the believers’ good and benefit. In it we access God’s many blessings:

1. Thanksgiving and praise give us direct access to God. Psalm 100 vs 4 gives these familiar words "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." 

The gate leads into His courts, the courts lead into His presence. You get through the gates with thanksgiving, and enter the courts with praise, then you are right there before Him. In the presence of God there is fullness of joy—joy unspeakable. (Psalm 16 vs 11). Joy and gladness are established in and around us as we announce and thank Him with melodious voices. 

2. Thanksgiving preserves our blessings, “as they abound through many thanksgiving to God” (Second Corinthians 9 vs 12). This means acknowledging God for who He is—the Almighty Creator of the universe who alone is perfect and who reaches down to sinful mankind with perfect love, and has given us all things to enjoy (First Timothy 6 vs 17).

3. Thanksgiving judges God faithful, and by that reminds Him of what remains. We request from Him of our desires through thanksgiving, and receives strength for accomplishment of our desires. (Philippians 4 vs 6; Hebrews 11 vs 11).

4. Thanksgiving multiplies our blessings. In Matthew 15 vs 33 - 37, Jesus gave thanks and consequently fed four thousand people with seven loaves and a few little fish. Also in John 6 vs 1 - 11, Jesus gave thanks and fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish. Even the believers are multiplied and glorified, ensuring our increase, sustenance, and establishment (Jeremiah 30 vs 19 - 20).

5. Thanksgiving keeps the anointing of the Holy Spirit alive in our life, and working, ensuring that we are empowered to be rooted, built up in Him, and established in faith and abounding in it (Psalm 92 vs 10 - 11; Colossians 2 vs 7).

6. Thanksgiving moves God to punish and silence our enemies and oppressors, that our desires on them are not only heard by us, but also seen with our own eyes (Psalm 92 vs 11; Jeremiah 30 vs 20).

Thanksgiving therefore, is our means of ensuring our multiplication, establishment, accomplishment, and reminding God of our outstanding petitions. It is our weapon of offense against our enemies. In it believers obtain good reports.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are ever faithful, abounding in mercy, and kindness. Thanking You for who You are, what You have done, what You are doing, and what You are yet to do engender our continual receiving from You. Endue me with the heart of gratitude that I may be thankful to You in everything according to Your Will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit?

 How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit?

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? How can we experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our church and ourselves that fills us with indomitable joy and frees us, and empowers us, to love those around us in ways so authentic that they are won to Christ? 

Answer: Meditate day and night upon the incomparable, hope-giving promises of God. As Romans 15:4 shows us, that’s the way Paul kept his heart full of hope and joy and love. “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” 

The full assurance of hope comes from meditating on the promises of God’s word. And this does not contradict the sentence nine verses later that says that the Holy Spirit gives us hope (Romans 15:13). This is because the Holy Spirit is the divine author of Scripture. His word is the means of his work. It is no contradiction that the way he fills us with hope is by filling us with his own word of promise. 

Hope is not some vague emotion that comes out of nowhere, like a stomachache. Hope is the confidence that the stupendous future promised to us by the word of the Spirit is going to really come true. Therefore, the way to be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with his word. The way to have the power of the Spirit is to believe the promises of his word. 

For it is the word of promise that fills us with hope, and hope fills us with joy, and joy overflows in the power and freedom to love our neighbor. And that is the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THANKSGIVING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY MARCH 07, 2025.

SUBJECT : MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THANKSGIVING!

Memory verse: "Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgements of His mouth." (First Chronicles 16 vs 12.)

READ: First Chronicles 16 vs 8 - 9; 28 - 29:

16:8: Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the people! 

16:9: Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk about His wonderful works!" 

16:28: Give to the Lord, O families of the people, Give to the Lord glory and strength. 

16:29: Give to the Lord glory due to His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of His holiness.

 

INTIMATION:

There are four major elements of thanksgiving. These four elements are:-

1. To remember what God has done.

2. To tell others about what God has done.

3. To show God's glory to others.

4. To offer gifts of self, time, and resources.

The bases of praise, and thanksgiving is declaring God's character and attributes in the presence of others. When we recognize and affirm His goodness we are holding up His perfect moral nature for all to see. And this praise benefits us because it takes our minds off our problems and needs and focuses on God's power, mercy, majesty, and love. Genuine praise, and thanksgiving involves ascribing glory to God, noting that this is our worship, and that we give God all the glory. This means that we give credit where credit is due.

The elements of thanksgiving is clearly expressed in David’s psalm to thank the LORD in First Chronicles 16 vs 7 - 36. Thanksgiving should be an integral part of our praise to God, and this theme is woven throughout the psalms. Thanksgiving should be in all areas of life, and If you are truly thankful, your life will show it. As we praise and thank God for material, and spiritual blessings, we should also thank Him for answered prayers, remembering His answers to our quest for protection, strength, comfort, patience, love, or other special needs that He supplied. 

Beware of taking God's provisions and answered prayers for granted. Jesus healed ten lepers in Luke 17 vs 11 -19, but only one returned to thank Him, and consequently, he was made whole. Only the thankful man however, learned that his faith had played a role in his healing. It is possible to receive God's great gifts with an ungrateful spirit. This was the guilt of nine out of the ten lepers that Jesus healed. Remember that only grateful Christians grow in understanding of God's grace. God does not demand that we thank Him, but He is pleased when we do so and uses our responsiveness to teach us more about Himself; revealing Himself more to us for our benefits. 

Thanksgiving is one of the acts of 'giving,' and 'giving' is the nature of God. As His children, adopted in Christ in the new birth, that nature is imparted to us and is to be expressed in us. The Scripture, in Luke 6 vs 38, says; "Give, and it shall 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." Therefore, giving is for your own benefit. You can only receive when you give, and in the like manner you give, you receive. 

Giving to God is a wonderful tool for receiving from Him, and receiving quite in excess of your gift. It is noteworthy that you cannot out-give God. Study Genesis 22 vs 15 - 18, on how Abraham was blessed by God when He obediently offered Isaac. Also, study First Kings 3 vs 4 - 14, on the blessings of God on King Solomon when he offered his astonishing sacrifice.

Prayer: Abba Father, what do I have that I have not received from You? Everything within me will continually thank You for Your goodness, faithfulness, and mercy. Endue me with the excellent spirit of gratitude to You everyday of my life, that I will not take Your mercy, love, kindness, and faithfulness for granted, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God Regards the Lowly

 God Regards the Lowly

“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

You may be going through things right now that are painfully preparing you for some precious service to Jesus and to his people. When a person strikes rock bottom with a sense of nothingness or helplessness, he may find that he has struck the Rock of Ages. 

I remember a delicious sentence from Psalm 138:6 that our family read at our breakfast devotions: “Though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly.” 

You cannot sink so low in despairing of your own resources that God does not see and care. In fact, he is at the bottom waiting to catch you. As Moses says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Yes, he sees you trembling and slipping. He could (and often did) grab you before you hit bottom. But this time he has some new lessons to teach. 

The psalmist said in Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” He does not say it was easy or fun or pleasant. In retrospect, he simply says, “It was good for me.”

Last week I was reading a book by a Scottish minister named James Stewart. He said, “In love’s service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.” That’s why I believe some of you are being prepared right now for some precious service of love. Because you are being wounded.

Do not think that your wound has come to you apart from God’s gracious design. Remember his word: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me . . . I wound and I heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39).

May God grant a special grace to you who are groaning under some burden. Look eagerly for the new tenderness of love that God is imparting to you even now.

WHEN NO IS GOD’S ANSWER TO YOUR PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY MARCH 06, 2025.

SUBJECT : WHEN NO IS GOD’S ANSWER TO YOUR PRAYER!

Memory verse: "The word of the Lord came to David saying, 'You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight' (First Chronicles 22 vs 8).

READ: First Chronicles 22 vs 9  - 10:

22:9: Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

22:10: He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.

INTIMATION:

King David was a man described by God Himself as "a man after My own heart" (Acts 13 vs 22). He was worried that while he was dwelling in a beautiful palace of cedar, the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, which is a symbol of the presence of God, sat under tent curtains. David expressed his displeasure to Nathan the prophet. The prophet urged him to do all that is in his heart. But God refused that David should build a temple for Him. God told David that his job was to unify and lead Israel and to destroy its enemies. This huge task would require David to shed a great deal of blood. God did not want His temple built by a warrior. 

However, God told David that his son Solomon will undertake the task of building a temple for Him instead. David graciously accepted this "no" from God. David made the plans and collected the materials so that his son Solomon could begin work on the temple as soon as he became king. He was not jealous of the fact that his son would have the honor of building God's temple, but instead made preparations for him to carry out his task. David responded to God's refusal with deep humility, not resentment. He accepted his part in God’s plan and did not try to go beyond it. 

David went and sat before the Lord and humbled himself in prayer, praising God, recognizing God's blessings and accepting God's decision, promises, and commands. He recognized that God is the true King (See First Chronicles 17 vs 16 - 20).

David thought well, his request was good, but God said no. This does not mean that God rejected David. In fact, God was planning to do something even greater in David’s life than allowing him the privilege of building the temple. Sometimes God says no to our plans for His own reasons, and purposes. When He does, we should utilize other opportunities He gives us. 

It’s noteworthy that although God turned down David’s request, He promised to continue the dynasty of David forever. David’s earthly dynasty ended four centuries later, but Jesus Christ, a direct descendant of David, was the ultimate fulfillment of this promise (Acts 2 vs 22 - 36). Christ will reign for eternity—now in His spiritual kingdom, and in heaven, and later, on earth, in the New Jerusalem (Luke 1 vs 30 - 33; Revelation 21).

You may have sometimes prayed with good intentions, only to have God say no to your request. This is God’s way of directing you to a greater purpose in your life. Accepting God’s ‘no’ requires as great a faith as carrying out His yes. God has done many things in David’s life, and He plans to do even more! This is so in the life of some of us. Like David, we should humble ourselves and give glory to God, saying, “O LORD, there is none like You.” 

Sometimes we are quick to make requests to God and to tell Him of our troubles, but, like David, we need to emphasize these other dimensions of prayer, which helps us deepen our spiritual life; we should take time to praise God, to count His blessings, and to affirm our commitment to do what He has already said to do.

Similarly, we should take steps now to prepare the way for our children to find and fulfill  God's purposes. When they are grown to start making their own decisions, you would have helped them with the proper tools, showing them how to pray and study God's Word, the difference between right and wrong, and the importance of church involvement.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my all in all. Whatever You cannot give me, let me never have it. Whatever You cannot do for me, let it remain undone forever. Endue me with a humble spirit; to acknowledge, obey and trust in You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Look to Jesus for Your Joy

 Look to Jesus for Your Joy

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others. . . . They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” (Matthew 23:5–7)

The itch of self-regard craves the scratch of self-approval. If we are getting our pleasure from feeling self-sufficient, we will not be satisfied without others seeing and applauding our self-sufficiency. 

Hence Jesus’s description of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:5, “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” 

This is ironic. Wouldn’t you think that self-sufficiency should free the proud person from the need to be made much of by others? That’s what “sufficient” means. But evidently there is an emptiness in this so-called self-sufficiency. 

The self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It never can be self-sufficient. We are not God. We are in the image of God. And what makes us “like” God is not our self-sufficiency. We are shadows and echoes. So, there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self. 

This empty craving for the praise of others signals the failure of pride and the absence of faith in God’s ongoing grace. Jesus saw the terrible effect of this itch for human glory. He named it in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” The answer is, you can’t. Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why? 

Because faith looks away from self to God. Faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus. And if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of others’ praise, you will turn away from Jesus. That is not what he is like. He lives for the glory of his Father. And calls us to do the same.

But if you would turn from self as the source of satisfaction (repentance), and come to Jesus for the enjoyment of all that God is for us in him (faith), then the itch of emptiness would be replaced by a fullness — what Jesus calls “a spring of water welling up to eternal life”(John 4:14).