Grace Is Pardon — and Power!

 Grace Is Pardon — and Power!

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift and power of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon. 

This is plain, for example, in 1 Corinthians 15:10. Paul describes grace as the enabling power of his work. It is not simply the pardon of his sins; it is the power to press on in obedience. “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

Therefore, the effort we make to obey God is not an effort done in our own strength, but “by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11). It is the obedience of faith. Faith in God’s ever-arriving gracious power to enable us to do what we should.

Paul confirms this in 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 by calling each of our acts of goodness a “work of faith,” and by saying that the glory this brings to Jesus is “according to the grace of our God” because it happens “by his power.” Listen for all those phrases:

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The obedience that gives God pleasure is produced by the power of God’s grace through faith. The same dynamic is at work at every stage of the Christian life. The power of God’s grace that saves through faith (Ephesians 2:8) is the same power of God’s grace that sanctifies through faith.

GOD'S UNPARALLELED LOVE FOR US!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 20, 2025.

SUBJECT : GOD'S UNPARALLELED LOVE FOR US!

Memory verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3 vs 16.)

READ: Romans 5 vs 6 - 11:

5:6: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

5:7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

5:9: Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

5:10: For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

5:11: And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

INTIMATION:

God is love, and wants us to realize we are loved and cared for by Him. This is one of God's most outstanding and obvious characteristics. The message of the Gospel comes to a focus in His love for us as is stated, and demonstrated in His choice of His Son being a propitiation for our sins—taking our place in death for our sins. The Scripture says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5 vs 8). 

God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for us, not because we are good enough, but just because He loved us. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (First John 4 vs 10). Here God sets the pattern of true love or passion for others, setting the pattern for all true love relationships. 

When you love someone dearly, you are ready and willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. For His love for us, God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay, and such is unheard of in history. Jesus accepted wholeheartedly to take our place, paid the wages we owed for our sins (Ezekiel 18 vs 4 & Romans 6 vs 23). He exchanged something of inestimable value for something completely worthless—our sins—and offered us the new life that He had bought for us with His blood.

The apostle Paul, in the passage we read today, expounded the love of God for us. He explained that when we were weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves, Christ had to come to rescue us. He came at exactly the right time in history in accordance with God's plan and schedule. It is God that controls all history, and He controlled the timing, method, and events surrounding Jesus' death. God sent Jesus to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because He loved us and is passionate about our well being.

The apostle Paul explained that the love that caused God to create the world for an extension of His kingdom, and caused Christ to die in our place, is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us daily. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that saved us, and is available to us in our daily lives. 

God is a Passionate Father. In Psalms 103 vs 13 the psalmist reminds us: "As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him." Jesus demonstrated this the day the disciples found themselves on the Sea of Galilee, and a storm was brewing, which is typical of the Sea of Galilee, even today. The boat containing these disciples started to take in water because of the turbulence. With the boat beginning to sink, these terrified disciples asked the ultimate question, "Lord, don't You care?" Of course He cares!

Many of us have at one time or the other felt like that, "Lord where are You when I really need You?" "God, I'm going under, don't You care?" But a believer and a child of God will remember the promise stated in First Peter 5 vs 7, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you."

Be assured that, having begun a life with Christ, you have a reservoir of power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trial. Too often, in our spiritual life, although we may need to love God more, there is a much higher need to recognize just how much He loves us. When our relationship is such that we feel God's love and His passion for us—His children, we naturally begin to love Him more. You can pray for His power and love as you need it.

In Psalms 145 vs 18 the psalmist tells us, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth." What this means is that He is never too busy for you. When you pray, you will never get busy signal. He hears you and ready to meet your real need. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for Your love for me. You have daily loaded me with Your benefits, always forgiving me my iniquities, healing me all my diseases, redeeming my life from destructions, satisfying my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's, and crowning me with loving kindness and tender mercies. Give me the grace to toe my path of life in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Offense of Fearing Man

 The Offense of Fearing Man

Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” (1 Samuel 15:24)

Why did Saul obey the people instead of God? Because he feared the people instead of God. He feared the human consequences of obedience more than he feared the divine consequences of disobedience. He feared the displeasure of the people more than the displeasure of God. And that is a great insult to God. 

In fact, Isaiah says it is a kind of pride to be afraid of what man can do while we disregard the promises of God. He quotes God with this piercing question: “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker?” (Isaiah 51:12–13). 

Fear of man may not feel like pride, but that’s what God says it is, “Who do you think you are to fear man and forget me your Maker!”

The point is this: If you fear man, you have begun to deny the holiness, the worth of God and his Son, Jesus. God is infinitely stronger than man. He is infinitely wiser and infinitely more full of reward and joy. 

To turn from him out of fear of what man can do is to discount all that God promises to be for those who fear him. It is a great insult. And in such an insult God can take no pleasure. 

On the other hand, when we hear God’s promises and trust him with courage, fearing the reproach brought upon God by our unbelief, then he is greatly honored. And in that he has much pleasure.

OUR EVER MERCIFUL GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 19, 2025.

SUBJECT : OUR EVER MERCIFUL GOD!

Memory verse: "But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9 vs 13.)

READ Isaiah 1 vs 18 - 20:

18: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

20: But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword", for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

 

INTIMATION:

Mercy is the outward manifestation of pity. It assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it. Mercy is used of God who is rich in mercy. He is merciful to those who fear Him (Luke 1 vs 50), for they also are compassed with infirmity, and He alone can succor them. Hence they are to pray to Him boldly for mercy (Hebrews 4 vs 16). 

God’s desire is to show mercy to deserving guilty persons. The ‘deserving guilty persons’ are those who are guilty of sin, acknowledge their sin, and have come to Him to ask for forgiveness. They are aware they cannot help or save themselves, and that only Him can save them. God is so merciful that no matter the guilt or sin, He is willing to forgive those who genuinely come to Him for forgiveness. 

Never let guilt feelings of sin keep you from praying (seeking the face of God), which is your only means of restoration, because only God forgives sin. Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin, except the sin against the Holy Spirit, that is, the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God, and His power in Christ, expressed through the Holy Spirit. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. It reveals a heart attitude of unbelief and unrepentance, that attributes to Satan the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes. 

Those with the hardened heart have turned their back on God, have rejected all faith, and are unwilling to ask for forgiveness. Even when they receive the prompting of the Holy Spirit, convicting them of sin, they reject it. And the deliberate rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy, because it is rejecting God Himself. Such people remove themselves from the only force that can lead them to repentance and restoration to God.

No matter how long you have been away from God, He is ready to hear from you and restore you to a right relationship with Him. Every situation can be salvaged if you are willing to turn to God. For instance, in Judges 16 vs 28 - 30,  we would observe that in spite of Samson's past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the philistines' heathen temple and worshipers. He killed more people at his death than he did in life because of the mercy of God when he turned to Him in prayer.

In the list of corrupt kings amongst the Israelites, Manasseh would rank near the top. His life was a catalog of evil deeds including idol worship, sacrificing his own children, and temple desecration. Eventually, however, he realized his sins and cried out to God for forgiveness. And God, full of mercy, listened. If God could forgive Manasseh, surely He can forgive anyone. Are you burdened by overpowering guilt? Do you doubt that anyone could forgive what you have done? Take heart my beloved, until death no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

One of the effects of sin in our lives is keeping us away from praying, but it is noteworthy that perfect moral behavior is not a condition for prayer. Though the stain of sin seems permanent, but only God can remove such stain of sin from our lives. We don't have to go through life permanently soiled. God's Word assures that if we are willing and obedient in turning to Him, Christ will forgive and remove our most indelible stains of sin.

Christ came for sinners like you and I, and He expects us—the sinners—to come to Him for mercy. We can only go to God in prayer, acknowledging our need and admitting that we don't have all the answers, and God will come to our help. He desires to show mercy and His mercy endures forever.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are our Merciful Father, always desiring to show mercy to the guilty who desire Your forgiveness of their sins. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, and tender mercies, and forgive me all my iniquities. Thank Lord for forgiving me, in Jesus name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Plead for Unbelievers

 How to Plead for Unbelievers

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

Paul prays that God would convert Israel. He prays for her salvation! He does not pray for ineffectual influences, but for effectual influences. And that is how we should pray too. 

We should take the new covenant promises of God and plead with God to bring them to pass in our children and our neighbors and on all the mission fields of the world. 

God, take out of their flesh the heart of stone and give them a new heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19)

Circumcise their heart so that they love you! (Deuteronomy 30:6)

Father, put your Spirit within them and cause them to walk in your statutes. (Ezekiel 36:27)

Grant them repentance and a knowledge of the truth that they may escape from the snare of the devil. (2 Timothy 2:25–26)

Open their hearts so that they believe the gospel! (Acts 16:14) 

When we believe in the sovereignty of God — in the right and power of God to elect and then bring hardened sinners to faith and salvation — then we will be able to pray with no inconsistency, and with the confidence of great biblical promises for the conversion of the lost.

Thus, God has pleasure in this kind of praying because it ascribes to him the right and honor to be the free and sovereign God that he is in election and salvation.

WHAT WORSHIP TO GOD IS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JUNE 18, 2025.

SUBJECT : WHAT WORSHIP TO GOD IS! 

Memory verse: ""But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."(John 4 vs 23.)

READ: Psalm 96 vs 1 - 9:

96:1: Oh sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

96:2: Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

96:3: Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people.

96:4: For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

96:5: For all the gods of the peoples are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

96:6: Honour and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

96:7: Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength.

96:8: Give to the LORD the glory due to His name: bring an offering, and come into His courts.

96:9: Oh worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: tremble before Him, all the earth.

INTIMATION:

The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scriptures. A consideration of the verbs that precede the object of worship shows that it is not confined to praise. Worship to the Lord is broadly regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God; of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such accomplishment. Worship should occupy the core of our lives and not just a few minutes once a week. 

God alone is worthy of being worshipped because of who He is! We are to sincerely, willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence, not just going through the motions. We can worship at any time if we stay aware of God’s presence and guidance in all situations and if we maintain an attitude of serving Him. To truly develop the attitude of worship to God, you should build your life around the worship of God rather than making worship just another activity in a busy schedule. 

The first step toward meaningful worship is a desire to know God. If we thirst for Him, the Bible promises that He will provide for us and satisfy our needs. Confess your sins that might be hindering your fellowship with God. Then ask God to stir your heart, to instill within you an unquenchable thirst to know Him. Meditate upon how God has revealed Himself in the Bible, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you again. When you see God in a new way, of who really He is, worship will be your only fitting response.

When you follow a worship ritual but maintain a sinful lifestyle, it’s not true worship. It is religion without personal commitment to God. Attending church, taking communion, teaching church school, singing in choir and so forth, all are empty exercises or religious rituals unless we are truly doing them for God. It is good to do these activities, not because we ought to do them for the church, but because we want to do them for God. God's heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment of the worshiper.

When people claim to be close to God, but they are disobedient and merely going through the motions, such people come near to God with their mouth and honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. Their worship is only routine rather than real. It is noteworthy that we are all capable of hypocrisy. Often we slip into routine patterns when we worship and neglect to give God our love and devotion. 

It takes time to worship, and setting aside the time allows us to adjust our attitudes before and reflect afterward. The pressures of everyday life may cause us to focus on the here and now and thus forget God. True worship is so important; it takes our eyes off our current worries, gives us a glimpse of God’s holiness, and allows us to look toward His future kingdom. God desires wholehearted worship. We show our commitment when we give God something of value to Him. God’s presence makes everything glorious, and worship brings us into His presence. 

Worship is not for our benefit, but for the benefit of who we offer it to—the Lord. Whatever anybody does that brings glory, honor, and is pleasurable to God is worship. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, honor, and pleasure to God. You may not like the way I dance in the church, but if I dance to bring glory, honor, and pleasure to God, it is true worship. 

Any act of worship that is intended to please oneself is worshiping for the wrong reason—to please yourself, rather than God. Worship isn't for you. It's for God. Of course, most "worship" services also include elements of fellowship, edification, exhortation, and evangelism, and these are benefits to worship, but we don't worship to please ourselves. Our motive it to bring glory and pleasure to our Creator.

For many people, worship is just synonymous with music, especially slow style of music. They say such things as, "In our church we have worship first, then teaching." Or, "First we sing hymns, then praise and worship songs." Or, "I like the fast praise songs but enjoy the slow worship songs the most." All these are misconceptions. Every act of bringing glory to God or every part of a church service, is an act of worship such as; praying, Scripture reading, singing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving offering, baptism, communion, signing a commitment card, and even greeting other worshipers.

Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. God loves all kinds of music because He invented it all; the fast, and slow, the loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship. There are no styles nor music notes in the Bible. 

Frankly, the music style you like best says more about you—your background and personality—than it does about God. One ethnic group's music can sound like noise to another. But God likes variety and enjoys it all. There are no such thing as Christian music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the only true God. You are great and greatly to be worshipped at all times. Endue me with the spirit of true worship to You, that I may worship You acceptably, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Kind of Prayer Pleases God?

 What Kind of Prayer Pleases God?

“This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

The first mark of the upright heart is that it trembles at the word of the Lord. 

Isaiah 66 deals with the problem of some who worship in a way that pleases God and some who worship in a way that doesn’t. Verse 3 describes the wicked who bring their sacrifices, “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man.” Their sacrifices are an abomination to God — on a par with murder. Why? 

In verse 4 God explains, “When I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen.” Their sacrifices were abominations to God because the people were deaf to his voice. But what about those whose prayers God heard? God says in verse 2, “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” 

I conclude from this that the first mark of the upright, whose prayers are a delight to God, is that they tremble at God’s word. These are the people to whom the Lord will look. 

So, the prayer of the upright that delights God comes from a heart that at first feels precarious in the presence of God. It trembles at the hearing of God’s word, because it feels so far from God’s ideal and so vulnerable to his judgment and so helpless and so sorry for its failings. 

This is just what David said in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” The first thing that makes a prayer acceptable to God is the brokenness and humility of the one who prays. They tremble at his word.