The Only True Freedom

 The Only True Freedom

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)

What is true freedom? Are you free?

Here are four things that need to be true if we are going to be fully free.

If you don’t have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. Oh, you may muster the willpower to do what you don’t want to do, but nobody calls that full freedom. It’s not the way we want to live. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don’t want.

And if you have the desire to do something, but no ability to do it, you are not free to do it.

And if you have the desire and the ability to do something, but no opportunity to do it, you are not free to do it.

And if you have the desire to do something, and the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it, but it destroys you in the end, you are not fully free — not free indeed — when you do it.

To be fully free, we must have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make us happy forever. No regrets. And only Jesus, the Son of God who died and rose for us, can make that possible. 

If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

Worship in a Lightning Storm

 Worship in a Lightning Storm

"For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” (Luke 17:24)

I was flying at night from Chicago to Minneapolis, almost alone on the plane. The pilot announced that there was a thunderstorm over Lake Michigan and into Wisconsin. He would skirt it to the west to avoid turbulence.

As I sat there staring out into the total blackness on the east side of the plane, suddenly the whole sky was brilliant with light, and a cavern of white clouds fell away four miles beneath the plane and then vanished.

A second later, a mammoth white tunnel of light exploded from north to south across the horizon, and again vanished into blackness. Soon the lightning was almost constant, and volcanoes of light burst up out of cloud ravines and from behind distant white mountains of clouds.

I sat there shaking my head almost in unbelief. O Lord, if these are but the sparks from the sharpening of your sword, what will be the day of your appearing! And I remembered the words of Christ: “As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day” (Luke 17:24).

Even now as I recollect that sight, the word glory is full of feeling for me. I thank God that again and again he has awakened my heart to desire him, to see him, and to sit down to the feast of Christian Hedonism and worship the King of Glory. The banquet hall is very large. Come.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2025.

SUBJECT : TITHING DEMONSTRATES YOUR FAITH IN AND LOVE FOR GOD!

Memory verse: "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.” (Deuteronomy 14 vs 22.) 

READ: Malachi 3 vs 10 - 12:

3:10: Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may food in My House, and try Me in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

3:11: “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts.

3:12: And all nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

INTIMATION:

Tithe means a tenth part, and tithing is the act of giving a tenth of your increase (income) back to God. Tithing is a biblical principle that has been practiced long before the law came through Moses. Even in some heathen religions, it was traditional to give a tenth of one's earnings to the gods.

Tithe was first mentioned in the Scripture in Genesis 14 vs 20 when Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God. This incidence happened more than 400 years before Moses gave the Law of tithing to Israel. It is noteworthy that Abraham wasn't living under the Law, yet he tithed.

The Bible makes the purpose of tithing very clear—to teach us to reverence God and put him first in our lives. We are to give God the first place in our lives to show our faith in Him. And we give first part of our earnings to demonstrate our love for Him. For example, what we do first with our money shows what we value most. 

Giving the first part of our paycheck to God immediately focuses our attention on Him. It also reminds us that all we have belongs to Him. A habit of regular tithing can keep God at the top of our priority list and give us a proper perspective on everything else we have.

God really has no needs for our money! All the gold, silver, and riches in the earth already belong to Him. (Haggai 2 vs 8.) He doesn't need our donations. God could have set up church finances differently. He could have made every minister of the Gospel independently wealthy like He made Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, and all the rest. The tithe exists for our benefit, not God's.

It all comes down to faith, and that's why God told us to give. God could establish His kingdom using other principles. He could give every person in ministry creative ideas that would generate incredible wealth. He could have done all sorts of things, but God set up His kingdom around giving because He wants you to remember that even though you have money, you didn't get it by your own power. Remember nothing is either difficult for, or impossible with Him.

Giving to God demonstrates our love for Him and His place in our lives. Giving Him the first place in your life puts Him under obligation to care for you, and always come through to you. He will return to you as the Owner of all things both in heaven and on earth. The blessedness of giving, especially to God, is exceedingly overwhelming. 

For instance, God demanded that Abraham should give Him His only son Isaac. God's intention then was to find out how Abraham loved Him. Abraham was very willing to offer his son in a sacrifice to God as requested without any form of hesitation because of his love and faith in God. When God saw really that Abraham loved Him, He came through for Abraham, spared his son, and gave him the animal for the offering to Him:

"Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son - blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis22 vs 15 - 18.)

God doesn't need your money any more than He needed those Old Testament sacrifices. The point of the tithe is for you to demonstrate your love and faith in God, recognizing Him as the source of all you have. It's one thing to say you believe God is your source, but it's another thing to prove it. The way you prove to yourself, not God, that you believe God is your source is to give a portion of what you make back to Him. 

People who don't really see God as their source are going to balk at giving part of what they have away. They are going to think, I need that money! But giving back some of what God has already given you is nothing when you see God as your source.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You have given to me. Endue me with the spirit of giving that I may never hesitate to return to You a little of all You have given me in demonstration of my love for You, in Jesus’ Name I/ have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Soul’s Final Feast

 The Soul’s Final Feast

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul. He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11–12).

But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude. It also rises from the forward glance in hope: “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 42:5–6).

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).

In the end, the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself. To see him and know him and be in his presence is the soul’s final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4).

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2025.

SUBJECT : TITHING IS A SELF-SACRIFICIAL GIVING FOR OUR BENEFIT!

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: Second Corinthians 9 vs 6 - 7:

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.

INTIMATION:

The entire Gospel comes to focus in our memory verse. God's love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationship. When you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. This was what God did—sacrificially offering His Son for our sins due to His love for us. We are expected to love Him in return, and sacrificially offer to Him as He did for us.

We have been taught to believe that tithe is mandatory. We are told that we owe God a tenth of our income and if we don't pay up, we will be cursed. Not tithing, we were told, is the same as stealing from God. "You're robbing God," they will tell us, and God is going to get you." Fortunately, none of that is true. God loves us independent of our performance, which includes whether or not we tithe. New Testament giving isn't a debt or an obligation.

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul reveals that we are not of any necessity to give. I don't know how any Christian can read these passages, and still think we are of necessity to tithe, or that we are cursed if we don't. It says we're not supposed to give "grudgingly, or of necessity." If the reason you pay a tithe is because you don't want to be under a curse, then you are paying out of necessity and it isn't cheerful. It's paying hush money to God. 

Some ministers are vicious about tithing. They harp on the curse of not tithing and talk about the wrath of God. Disappointingly this is not right. Yes, tithing is a biblical principle that existed before the law, and curses on tithing came from Moses. Abraham paid tithe over 400 years before the law came. 

Abraham wasn't living under the law, yet he tithed. I believe very strongly that we are supposed to tithe too because it is to our own benefit of letting God into our finances, and actually it should be our starting point. It's unwise not to tithe, but God will still love you if you don't.

The teaching on curses of not tithing is based on prophet Malachi's preaching to the children of Israel after their return from exile and their abandonment of those godly principles and practices they practiced before they were exiled. (See Malachi 3 vs 8 - 11.) During Malachi's days the people were not giving tithes, so the Levites went to work to earn a living, thereby neglecting their God given responsibilities to care for the temple and the service of worship. I will discuss those verses in detail later.

Some people, reacting against the ‘curse’ teaching, have swung in the completely opposite direction and say that the tithe was an Old Testament thing. They don't think it has any bearing on our lives today. I don't believe that is true. In the New Testament Book of Matthew 23 vs 23, Christ talked about tithing, and this shows it is a fundamental biblical principle. 

Christ admonished the scribes and the Pharisees who were very precise and faithful about giving ten percent of their money to God, but were neglecting the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faith. Christ said these things they have to do without leaving the others undone. Therefore, they should do the right things as well as pay their tithes.

Since God doesn't send payment overdue notices, it is easy to take care of other financial responsibilities while letting our gift to Him slide. Giving to God first out of what He has allowed you to have demonstrates He has first priority in your life. It's always tempting to shortchange God because we think we won't get caught. But our giving shows our real priorities. When we give God the leftovers, it's obvious that He is not at the center of our lives. It's absolutely important to give God the honor of having first claim on your money, time and talents.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are our Sacrificial Savior. For the love You have for us You gave Your Son to die for our sins. Endue me, most Loving Father, with the spirit of love that I may give sacrificially to You in demonstration of my love and faith in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Only Enduring Happiness

 The Only Enduring Happiness

“You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22)

“No one will take your joy from you” because your joy comes from being with Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus means that you will never die; you will never be cut off from him.

So two things have to be true if your joy is never to be taken from you. One is that the source of your joy lasts forever and the other is that you last forever. If either you or the source of your joy is mortal, your joy will be taken from you.

And oh, how many people have settled for just that! Eat, drink, and be merry they say, for tomorrow we die, and that’s that (Luke 12:19). Food doesn’t last forever, and I don’t last forever. So let’s make the most of it while we can. What a tragedy!

If you are tempted to think that way, please consider as seriously as you possibly can that if your joy comes from being with Jesus, “No one will take your joy from you” — not in this life, nor in the life to come.

Not life or death, or angels or principalities, or things present or things to come, or powers or height or depth, or anything else in all creation will be able to take our joy from us in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38–39). 

Joy in being with Jesus is an unbroken line from now to eternity. It will not be cut off — not by his death or ours.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 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:

1:18: "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.

1:19: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

1:20: 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 can 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, knowing 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 the our Merciful Father, always desiring to show mercy to the guilty who desire Your forgiveness of their sins. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, and tender mercies, in Jesus' name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!