The Happy God

 The Happy God

Sound doctrine [is] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed [that is, happy] God. (1 Timothy 1:10–11)

A great part of God’s glory is his happiness.

It was inconceivable to the apostle Paul that God could be denied infinite joy and still be all-glorious. To be infinitely glorious was to be infinitely happy. He used the phrase, “the glory of the happy God,” because it is a glorious thing for God to be as happy as he is — infinitely happy.

God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination.

This is the gospel: “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” That’s a quote from the Bible! It is good news that God is gloriously happy.

No one would want to spend eternity with an unhappy God. If God is unhappy, then the goal of the gospel is not a happy goal, and that means it would be no gospel at all.

But, in fact, Jesus invites us to spend eternity with a happy God when he says, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). Jesus lived and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full (John 15:11; 17:13). Therefore, the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.”

The happiness of God is first and foremost a happiness in his Son. Thus when we share in the happiness of God, we share in the very pleasure that the Father has in the Son.

This is why Jesus made the Father known to us. At the end of his great prayer in John 17, he said to his Father, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). He made God known so that God’s pleasure in his Son might be in us and become our pleasure in him.

Recover Your Authority by Paula Whyte

 

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 05, 2025.

SUBJECT: THOSE WHO CONSIDER THE POOR ARE BLESSED!

Memory verse: "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.” (Proverbs 19 vs 17.)

READ: Psalm 41 vs 1 - 3:

41:1: Blessed is he who considers the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

41:2: The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

41:3: The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness: You will sustain him on his sickbed.

INTIMATION:

The Bible often speaks of God’s care for the weak, poor, and needy, and of his blessing on those who share this concern. Providing for the poor is not just a suggestion in the Bible. The need for believers to care for the poor is a constant theme in the Scriptures. But often we do nothing, rather we are caught up in meeting our needs and desires. Perhaps we don’t see enough poverty to remember the needs of the poor. God said neglecting the poor is a sin. Helping the poor is a command that may require a change of attitude on your part. 

God wants our generosity to reflect His own giving. Helping the poor is also an active part of religious life. As He has blessed you, then you should bless others. God has a special concern for the poor. He insists that those who have material goods should be generous with those who are in need. He who gives to the poor is assured of deliverance, blessing, strength, and mercy from the Lord because he had shown the same to the poor. 

When you show mercy to others, the Lord will show you mercy as well: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5 vs 7.) We should reflect God’s concern for the poor by giving and by helping those less fortunate than ourselves. God counts on believers to provide for the poor, and we should use what God had given us to aid those less fortunate. Look beyond your regular giving and think of ways to help the needy. This will help you show your regard for God (as Creator of all people), and His creation. When you share God’s goodness to you with others, you draw them to Him. It is a practical and essential way to make faith work in everyday life.

Many times we do nothing, not because we lack compassion, but because we are overwhelmed by the size of the problem and don’t know where to begin. God doesn’t expect you to eliminate poverty, nor does He expect you to neglect your family while providing for others. He does, however, expect that when you see an individual in need, you will reach out with whatever help you can offer. 

Many people conclude that people are poor through some fault of their own. This kind of reasoning makes it easy to close their hearts and hands to the needy. But we are not to invent reasons for ignoring the poor. We are to respond to their needs no matter who or what was responsible for their condition. There is no excuse for ignoring the poor and needy within our reach.

It is everyone’s responsibility to care for those less fortunate. Families should help other family members, and towns are to help their community. One will not only seek out the poor to help them, one will ensure to make it easy in society for the poor to survive. 

Helping and caring for the poor and less privileged amongst us is a demand placed on us by God, and it is strictly for our own benefit because God has promised to reward us with deliverance, blessing, strength, and mercy. And God is not a man that He can lie and the son of man that He can repent or change His promise. What He says He will do is as sure as day and night.

Prayer: Abba Father, I know Your word is yes and amen. Endue me with the spirit of generosity, especially to the poor and needy in our society, that I may obey You in giving and showing mercy to others and quality for Your rewards, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Justice Will Be Done

 Justice Will Be Done

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.

And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt and bitterness is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone.

That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it.

So we hold on to anger, and play the events or the words over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he (or she) be so happy when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong! We can’t let it go. And our bitterness starts to poison everything.

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to us by God to lift that burden from us.

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you?

Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. There was.

But it also does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No they didn’t.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the One to whom it belongs. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You lay it down. I will pick it up. Justice will be done. 

What a glorious relief. I do not have to carry this burden. It is like taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 04, 2025.

SUBJECT : ATTRACTING GOD’S COMPANIONSHIP!

Memory verse: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6 vs 8.)

READ: Psalm 101 vs 3 - 7:

101:3: I will not set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

101:4: A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.

101:5: Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.

101:6: My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

101:7: He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

INTIMATION:

God desires to be our companion. Companions come in different sizes and shapes and for various reasons. But we will examine a very specific kind of companion: the teacher-mentor, which is God's kind of companionship.

In our memory verse, God tells us the manner in which we are to walk with Him. God is ready to teach us, to let us be with Him, to be a true and faithful companion, if we will seek such a relationship with Him. God’s kind of companionship is the teacher-mentor, the Superior Being with ordinary man, a privileged association of the Creator with the created.

There are four areas that constitute the major ingredients for a relationship that would be described as a companionship. These areas are: (1) Agreement (2) Experience (3) Conversation (4) Learning. These ingredients are required in our companionship with God.

God defines the first one: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3 vs 3.) So agreement is the first requirement. You have to want to spend time together. With God we know this is the desire of His heart. He tells us in many different ways in the Word that He desires to be with us.

The second is that you would share experiences together because you are together by definition. One of the special privileges we have as believers is sharing our heart with God, and in turn learning more about His heart toward us and others. We get to see His overwhelming goodness, infinite patience, unchanging love, and unending mercies as we read the Bible—His "Code of Conduct," and "Owner's Manual" to us. The Holy Spirit makes the Word come alive in our hearts and points things out from it that are specifically for us and our situation. 

The third ingredient is conversation. There should be conversation between you and God. Not just one way, but rather an exchange of ideas from both parties. Think of your own experience where you have been with someone who monopolizes the conversation, or who does not let you talk but only wants you to listen, you feel uneasy, dominated, and useless in the conversation. You may feel you are only a listening board, and your opinion matters little since it is rarely sought.

Sometimes we are guilty of doing this to God. We rush into His presence with our "want" list and then, in essence, after presenting our requests and/or complaints, we close the time with "In Jesus' name, Amen." No time to hear His input, no time to seek His advice. Only a time to "dump" on Him. Yes, the apostle Peter advised us in First Peter 5 vs 7 to give the Lord all our burdens and cares. Surely, we are to present our anxieties to Him, but then, we are to wait for His response.

The fourth ingredient is learning. A relationship that culminates into companionship entails learning from superior partner. As we spend time with God, our relationship allows us to learn about Him, about ourselves, and about others. We come to appreciate Him more as we get to know Him better. We become more relaxed in His presence as we are now His companion. Consequently, we understand ourselves better; our strengths and weaknesses, how to overcome them, why we do things the way we do, how to change our negatives responses, and the likes. We also learn much about others and how better to interact with them, showing forth all the fruit of the Spirit.

Somebody will quickly ask, 'How do we hear from God or learn from Him?' A classical illustration is made with a product you bought from the store. The manufacturer is in Germany, but has included a manual in the package to enable you study and know more about the product and how to use and/or operate it. The same is true of our relationship with God. He has given us His 'Code of Conduct," and owner's Manual' -the "Bible" for our study. In it God speaks and you hear from, and learn about Him. As the spiritual relationship develops, God can speak to you in a vision, an audible voice or even through others in such relationship with Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my faithful companion, and has promised to be with me till the end of age. Thank You Lord for fighting my unseen battles, and giving me victory. Help me to walk humbly with You at all times, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Joy Unbound

 Joy Unbound

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

That’s what Jesus prayed the night before he died. Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world.

One is that nothing in this created world has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts.

Another is that we lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth.

And a third obstacle standing in the way of complete satisfaction is that our joys here come to an end. Nothing lasts. But if the aim and the prayer of Jesus in John 17:26 come true, all this will change. He prayed “that the love with which you, Father, have loved me may be in them.” God’s infinitely well-pleased love for his Son in us!

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure in the Son, then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating.

No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God.

Moreover, our ability to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses. We will enjoy the Son of God with the very enjoyment of his Father. That’s what Jesus prayed for!

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours — our delight in the Son. And this will never end, because neither the Father nor the Son ever ends.

Their love for each other will be our love for them and therefore our loving them will never die, nor ever diminish.

Every day in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 03, 2025.

SUBJECT: DO NOT FEAR CHRIST!

Memory verse: "Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all districts, from two years old and under, according to the time he had determined from the wise men.” (Matthew 2 vs 16.)

READ: John 3 vs 14 - 21:

3:14: And as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

3:15: that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

3:16: 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.

3:17: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

3:18: He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

3:19: And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

3:20: For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

3:21: But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

INTIMATION:

The problem of mankind is that from the beginning we have all done things that are wrong, and have failed to obey God’s laws. This, however, caused our separation from God our Creator. The consequence of that separation from God is death; condemnation by our Creator that we have no solution by ourselves; we can do nothing to become united with God. He is a fair and just God who will not break His own laws. His law says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6 vs 23), “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18 vs 4 & 20). Bud God, in His infinite mercy and love nature, provided a remedy by the gift of His only begotten Son—Jesus Christ—as a propitiation for our sins.

Therefore, Jesus came to save us. He could help us because He was not only a man; He was God’s unique Son. Because Jesus never disobeyed God and never sinned, only Him can bridge the gap between the sinless God and sinful people. Jesus freely offered His life for us, dying on the cross in our place, taking all our wrongdoing upon Himself, and saving us from the consequences of sin, including God’s judgement and death. 

Jesus said, “...I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10 vs 10.) Jesus gives life. The life He gives right now is abundantly rich and full. It is eternal, yet it begins immediately. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane because of His overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance. Don’t be afraid of Christ, take His offer of life. 

Many people don’t want their lives exposed in God’s light because they are afraid of what will be revealed. They don’t want to be changed because they feel that the evil in their lives if exposed or revealed will earn them condemnation from God. But know sin is beyond God’s forgiveness except the sin of denying the power of God in Christ for the forgiveness of sin. 

The Scripture says; “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12 vs 31 - 32.)

The unpardonable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God’s power in Christ. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. Those who have turned their backs on God and rejected all faith can’t be forgiven, not because their sin is worse than any other, but because they will never ask for forgiveness. Whoever rejects the prompting of the Holy Spirit removes himself or herself from the only force that can lead him or her to repentance and restoration to God.

In our memory verse, Herod was afraid of Jesus, he thought that the newborn king would one day take his throne. He completely misunderstood the reason for Christ’s coming. Jesus didn’t want Herod’s throne; He wanted to be king of Herod’s life. Jesus wanted to give Herod eternal life, not take away his present life. Today people are often afraid that Christ wants to take things away from them, in reality, He wants to give them real freedom, peace, and joy. Don’t fear Christ—give Him the throne of your life.

The truth is that Jesus took our past, present, and future sins upon Himself so that we could have new life. Because all our wrongdoing is forgiven, we are reconciled to God. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the proof that His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God, and His resurrection has become the source of new life for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. All who believe in Him may have this new life and live it in union with Him.

Some people are repulsed by the idea of eternal life because their lives are miserable. But eternal life is not an extension of a person’s miserable, mortal life. Eternal life is God’s life embedded in Christ given to all believers now as a guarantee that they will live forever. In eternal life there is no death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin. When we don’t know Christ, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality, this life is just the introduction to eternity. Receive this new life by faith and begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective. 

Put your trust and confidence in Jesus, He alone can save you. Put Him in charge of your present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting His words as reliable, and relying on Him for the power to change. If you have never trusted Christ, let this promise of everlasting life be yours, and believe. 

We believe in God by recognizing the insufficiency of our own efforts to find salvation and by asking Him to do His work in us. When Jesus talks about unbelievers, He means those who reject or ignore Him completely, not those who have momentary doubts.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, as a propitiation for our sins. In Him I live, and move, and have my being. I confess Christ as my Lord and Savior, and submit to His rulership over my life now and forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!