Why We Must Hold Fast Our Hope

 Why We Must Hold Fast Our Hope

When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17–18)

God is not inconsistent. He does not exert himself with promises, and oaths, and the blood of his Son, simply to anchor down one end of our security while leaving the other to dangle in the air. 

The salvation Jesus obtained by his blood was everything it takes to save his people, not just part of it.

So, we are prone to ask, Why does the writer encourage us to hold fast to our hope (Hebrews 6:18)? If our holding fast was obtained and irrevocably secured by the blood of Jesus — which it was (that’s the difference between the new covenant and the old) — then why does God tell us to hold fast?

The answer is this:

What Christ bought for us when he died was not the freedom from having to hold fast, but the enabling power to hold fast.

What he bought was not the nullification of our wills as though we didn’t have to hold fast, but the empowering of our wills so that we want to hold fast.

What he bought was not the canceling of the commandment to hold fast, but the fulfillment of the commandment to hold fast.

What he bought was not the end of exhortation, but the triumph of exhortation.

He died so that you would do exactly what Paul did in Philippians 3:12, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” It is not foolishness, it is the gospel, to tell a sinner to do what Christ alone can enable him to do; namely, hope in God.

So, I exhort you with all my heart: Reach out and take hold of that for which you have been taken hold of by Christ, and hold it fast with all your might — which he mightily works in you.

THE CERTAINTY IN GOD’S WORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MARCH 18, 2025.

SUBJECT : THE CERTAINTY IN GOD’S WORD!

Memory verse: "God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should repent, has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23 vs 19.)

READ: Isaiah 55 vs 10 - 11:

55:10: For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

55:11: So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

INTIMATION: 

The Word of God is certain and cannot be broken; it is constant and stands forever just as the Owner. The Scripture, in John 1 vs 1, says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus who lives is the Word, hence every Word of God abides. The word of man is as grass, but the Word of God lives on through the ages (Isaiah 40 vs 8). It behoves on us to put our confidence and trust in that Word that cannot be broken. 

God, by His nature, cannot lie. The Bible says in Second Timothy 2 vs 13, "He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" No word from God can ever be faulted. There never can be any denying of His own Word. We did not ask Him to write the Word, nor is He mindful of our perception of His Word. In Isaiah 45 vs 23 God said, "By Myself have I sworn." This is repeating what He said to Abraham (Genesis 22 vs 16). 

God has made even His Throne back of His Word. I wonder how much some of our hearts can take it. It is like God throwing a cable about the Throne, dropping the cable over for us to grasp. Think of it this way; He said, "Do you see, I am putting My Throne as surety for My Word. My very Self is enwrapped in this." This is awesome!

The Scripture, Jeremiah 1 vs 12, says, “...for I will hasten My Word to perform it.” 

Impassable gulfs become level roads to us when we realize that God watches over His Word and is ready to perform it. We take His Word and carry it into His presence and repeat it and say, "Father, this is what you said." We would not say that we knew that He kept His Word. That is an insult. We just look up and say, Father I thank you." It is in this assurance that Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24 vs 35; Mark 13 vs 31; Luke 21 vs 33).

The Word of God is living, life-changing and dynamic as it works in us. God's Word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is within us, both good and evil. (see Hebrews 4 vs 12.)

Have you ever noticed Hebrews 6 vs 18, "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation....." The two immutable things are God's nature and His promise. God embodies all truth, you can be secure in His promises; you don't need to wonder if He will change His plans because by His nature He will never change for He said "I am the Lord, I change not." (Malachi 3 vs 6). 

Let us now look at Hebrews 7 vs 22, "By so much more Jesus has become the surety of a better covenant." The better covenant is also called the new covenant or testament. It is new and better because now we have the Father, Jesus, and the Throne back of every Word. Is this not tremendous? If the Word should fail, it will dethrone the Triune God. It cannot fail even when the heaven and earth pass away.

How limitless becomes our ministry when we realize the integrity of the Word, when we know we have what He says we have, when we know we are what He says we are, when we know we can do what He says we can do. We step out of the narrow limits of a theology and sense knowledge into the boundless ability of God. Now we understand what it means when we say, "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." With quiet confidence we face the impossible, knowing that He is the Master.

Prayer: Abba Father, forever Your Word is settled in heaven. All things were made by Your Word. Your Word is true from the beginning, and every one of Your righteous judgments endure forever. Let the light of Your unfailing Word flood my heart at all times, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Prayer’s Exclamation Point

 Prayer’s Exclamation Point

All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Prayer is a response to promises, that is, to the assurances of God’s future grace. 

Prayer is drawing on the account where God has deposited all his stores of future grace.

Prayer is not hoping in the dark that there might be a God of good intentions out there. Prayer banks on the promise of God, and goes to the bank every day and draws on stores of future grace needed for that day.

Don’t miss the connection between the two halves of this great verse. Notice the “that is why”: “All the promises of God are Yes in Christ. That is why (therefore) we pray Amen through him, to God’s glory.”

To make sure we see it, let’s turn the two halves around: When we pray, we say Amen to God through Christ, because God has said a decisive Amen to all his promises in Christ. Prayer is the confident plea for God to make good on his promises of future grace — for Christ’s sake. Prayer links our faith in future grace with the foundation of it all, Jesus Christ. 

Which leads to the final point: “Amen” is a full and precious word in times of prayer. It doesn’t mean primarily, “Yes, I have now said this prayer.” It means primarily, “Yes, God has made all these promises.” 

Amen means, “Yes, Lord, you can do it.” It means, “Yes, Lord, you are powerful. Yes, Lord, you are wise. Yes, Lord, you are merciful. Yes, Lord, all future grace comes from you and has been confirmed in Christ.” 

“Amen” is an exclamation point of hope and warranted confidence after a prayer for help.

JESUS THE WAY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 17, 2025.

SUBJECT: JESUS THE WAY! 

Memory verse: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14 vs 6.)

READ: John 14 vs 7 - 11:

14:7: If you had known Me, you should have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.

14:8: Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.

14:9: Jesus said to Him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

14:10: Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak of My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

14:11: Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

INTIMATION:

God has preordained our pathways. God, from the beginning, has set each of us apart for a particular purpose or purposes, and particular ways to function respectively. Identifying the preordained pathway for you ensures you’re leading a glorious, victorious, pleasurable, joyous, and stress-free life, as predetermined by God—our Loving Father. 

Since God has preplanned all things concerning us, it is therefore given, and realistic that all keys to our preordained pathways are with Him. God, in His infinite wisdom, mercy, unparalleled love, and faithfulness sent us His Son to help us identify our predetermined pathways through the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him who fills all in all. 

In our memory verse, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life...." Three principal things are in Him; ‘the way,’ ‘the truth,’ and ‘the life.’ Therefore, outside of Jesus you are in the wrong way, you can’t discover the truth, and you have no life. Jesus, as the way, is our path to the Father. He is one with the Father, and the same with the Father. He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1 vs 15) and the exact representation of God. Jesus is not only equal to God (Philippians 2 vs 6), He is God (John 10 vs 30 & 38). 

As the truth, He is the reality of all God’s promises. He not only reflects God, He reveals God to us (John 1 vs 18; 14 vs 9). Jesus said these of Himself, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own Will but the Will of the Father who sent Me." "....When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as the Father taught Me, I speak these things" (John 5 vs 19, 30 & 8 vs 28).

As the Life, He joins His divine life to ours, both now and eternally. He is Supreme over all creations(Colossians 1 vs 15), and has all priority and authority. He came from heaven, not the dust of the earth (First Corinthians 15 vs 47), and He is Lord over all (Romans 9 vs 5; 10 vs 11 - 13). He is, in truth, the only living way to the Father.

Following Jesus is knowing the way of the Father. No one has seen the Father, and no one can see Him. But Jesus Christ came to reveal the Father to us. Observing the ways of Jesus is tantamount to observing the ways of the Father, because He is the same with the Father. Everything you need is in Him, and without Him you can do nothing (John 15 vs 5).

Now Jesus has come, and has gone back to the Father, to come again for the final union in marriage with His people—‘the marriage of the Lamb’ (Revelation 19 vs 7 & 9). While He is away, He has left with us the instructions on what to do, and also has given us an Helper, just to help us to occupy until He comes (Luke 19 vs 13). The instructions are in the Holy Book—the Bible, and our Helper is the Holy Spirit. Outside of these two, you will never discover the way.

The Book of instruction—the Bible—tells us that the starting point is embracing Jesus and declaring Him as Savior and Lord of your life. When you do this, He will help you to ensure that all other things would fall in pleasant places if you follow His instructions (Psalm 16 vs 6). Therefore, today if you hear His voice do not harden your heart. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11 vs 28.)

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the gift of Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who gave His life for me on the cross to pay the wages of my sin. I wholeheartedly declare Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior. O Lord, reveal to me the predetermined pathway for my effective functioning according to Your will for my life, in Jesus Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

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This Book of Revelation by Dax

 This Book of Revelation by Dax

Jesus Will Finish the Mission

 Jesus Will Finish the Mission

“This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

I don’t know any more inspiring missionary promise than this word from Jesus.

Not: This gospel should be preached.

Not: This gospel might be preached.

But: This gospel will be preached.

This is not a great commission, nor a great commandment. It is a great certainty, a great confidence.

Who can dare talk like that? How does he know it will? How can he be sure the church will not fail in its missionary task?

Answer: The grace of missionary service is as irresistible as the grace of regeneration. Christ can promise universal proclamation because he is sovereign. He knows the future success of missions because he makes the future. All the nations will hear!

A “nation” is not a modern “country.” When the Old Testament spoke of nations, it referred to groups like Jebusites and Perizites and Hivites and Amorites and Moabites and Canaanites and Philistines. “Nations” are ethnic groups with their own peculiar language and culture. Psalm 117:1: “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!” Nations are peoples — people groups, as we call them.

As the sovereign Son of God and Lord of the church, Jesus simply took up this divine purpose and stated as an absolute certainty, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14).

The cause of world missions is absolutely assured of success. It cannot fail. Is it not reasonable, then, that we pray with great faith, that we invest with great confidence, and that we go with a sense of sure triumph?

WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 16, 2025.

SUBJECT : WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY!

Memory verse: "If He goes by me, I do not see Him; if He moves past, I do not perceive Him.” (Job 9 vs 11.)

READ: Job 23 vs 8 - 12:

23:8: Look, I go forward, but He is not there. And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 23:9: When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. 

23:10: But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

23:11: My foot has held fast to His steps; I have I kept His way and not turned aside.

23:12: I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

INTIMATION: 

There are times when God seems far away, and you eventually feels abandoned. You may have been working in righteousness, and obedience to God, but still nothing seems to work for you. Worst still, you may look around you and see the wicked and unrighteous prospering. People may even be asking you, “Where is your God.” When God seems distant, you may feel that He is angry with you or is disciplining you for some sin. Though it is a fact that sin does disconnect us from intimate fellowship with God because it grieves His Spirit and quench our fellowship with Him. By our disobedience, conflict with others, busyness, friendship with the world, and other sins we grieve His Spirit. 

But quite often this feeling of abandonment or estrangement from God has nothing to do with sin. It is a test of faith, and is obvious we all must face this test. In such situations, will you continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when you have no sense of His presence or visible evidence of His work in your life? That is the test, and just the right thing to do!

The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. They look for a feeling, and if it happens, they conclude that they have worshiped. This is very wrong! In fact, God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship. When you are a baby Christian, God gives you a lot of confirming emotions and often answers the most immature, self-centered prayers, so you'll know He exists. But as you grow in faith, He will wean you of these dependencies. 

God's omnipresence and the manifestation of His presence are two different things. One is a fact, the other is often a feeling. God is always present, even when you are unaware of Him, and His presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotion. Of course, God wants you to sense His presence, but He is more concerned that you trust Him than that you feel Him. Faith, not feelings, pleases God. 

The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. This happened to Job. On a single day he lost everything—his family, his business, his health, and everything he owned. Most discouraging, in thirty-seven chapters in the Book of Job God said nothing! 

The realization of the fact that God, at some points in our lives, tests us with His deliberate silence to observe our commitment and trust in Him, gave Job hope when he could not feel God's presence in his life. He said, "Look, I go forward, but He is not there. And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23 vs 8 - 10.) What a great and awesome faith!

How do you praise God when you don't understand what's happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they're full of tears? You do what Job did: "Then Job arose,......and fell to the ground and worshiped. And He said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." (Job 1 vs 20 - 22.)

Job didn't hide his overwhelming grief. He had not lost his faith in God; instead, his emotions showed that he was human and that he loved his family. God created our emotions, and it is not sinful or inappropriate to express them as Job did. Even the Lord Jesus expressed His when He wept (John 11 vs 35). 

If you have experienced a deep loss, a disappointment, or a heartbreak, admit your feelings to yourself and others, and grieve. Job had lost his possessions and family, but he reacted rightly toward God by acknowledging God's sovereign authority over everything God had given him. Job proved that people can love God for who He is, not for what He gives. In the unfortunate circumstances Job worshiped the Lord, blessed His name, and never sinned nor charged God with any wrong! This should be the believers’ attitude or reaction in such situations as Job’s—when God seems far away.

Prayer: Abba Father, forever Yours I am and Yours I want to be. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. Do to me, and with as it is pleasing to You, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!