Medicine for the Missionary

 Medicine for the Missionary

“All things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)

Sovereign grace is the spring of life for the Christian Hedonist. For what the Christian Hedonist loves best is the experience of the sovereign grace of God filling him, and overflowing for the good of others.

Christian Hedonist missionaries love the experience of “not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). They bask in the truth that the fruit of their missionary labor is entirely of God (1 Corinthians 3:7; Romans 11:36).

They feel only gladness when the Master says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). They leap like lambs over the truth that God has taken the impossible weight of new creation off their shoulders and put it on his own. Without begrudging, they say, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).

When they come home on furlough, nothing gives them more joy than to say to churches, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience” (Romans 15:18).

“All things are possible with God!” — in front the words give hope, and behind they give humility. They are the antidote to despair and the antidote to pride — the perfect missionary medicine.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 25, 2025.

SUBJECT: WHY DOES THE WAY OF THE WICKED PROSPER!

Memory verse: “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgements. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?” (Jeremiah 12 vs 1.)

READ: Job 21 vs 7 - 21:

21:7: Why do the wicked live and become old, yes, become mighty in power?

21:8: Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes.

21:9: Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

21:10: Their bull breeds without failure. Their cow calves without miscarriage.

21:11: They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.

21:12: They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice to the sound of the flute. 

21:13: They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.

INTIMATION:

Many people have asked, and wondered why the ways of the wicked prosper, but the righteous had to suffer in the presence of a good and benevolent God. We are not alone in this puzzle. Job reasoned with God in Job 10 vs 3. He asserted that it was not logical for God to oppress that which He created, and at the same time shine with favor on the wicked. 

Job stated that the wicked often live, prosper and become very powerful. Their children are established. Their houses are safe and God doesn't punish them. Their herds grow in number and their children dance with joy. They lavish their wealth upon themselves, and then die suddenly without anguish. And on top of all this, they reject any direction from God. 

Job spoke of reality. He observed that the wicked enjoyed a great life. They were at ease in life, enjoying the comfort of their riches. Because they were rich without God in their lives didn't assume that they would have a hard life. In fact, Job reasoned that because they were wealthy they did not need to suffer anxiety of life that was often experienced by the poor. Job struggled similarly wondering: “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21 vs 7).

The prophet Jeremiah grappled with the issue when he asked the Lord: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near to their mouth but far from their mind” (Jeremiah 12 vs 1 – 2). 

And the psalmist expressed envy when he saw the prosperity of the wicked, wondering if living righteously was worth the trouble (Psalm 73 vs 3, 13). How does a holy God of love allow His people to suffer while the wicked thrive?

It’s natural to wonder why God is gracious and merciful to people when they do not deserve His mercy—when their hearts are hard and stubborn. It’s human to desire appropriate consequences for bad behavior. Forgiving our enemies does not come easily. Perhaps we forget that many of us once were hard-hearted and stubborn. We, too, deserved God’s judgment. But God extended His love and grace toward us so that we might receive His salvation: (see Ephesians 2 vs 3 – 5).

One answer to the question “Why do the wicked prosper?” is that even the wicked have a purpose to fulfill in God’s plan. God raised up the Babylonians, a “ruthless and impetuous people” for a reason (see Habakkuk 1 vs 6; Jeremiah 27 vs 6). God raised up the Persian king Cyrus in order to accomplish all that God pleased (Isaiah 44 vs 28). God raised up the Egyptians and Assyrians in His righteous judgment of disobedient Judah (Isaiah 7 vs 18).

Perhaps the best answer to the question “Why do the wicked prosper?” is this: because God loves sinners (John 3 vs 16; Romans 5 vs 8). He is compassionate, merciful, and patient with wicked people because He wants them to be saved. Second Peter 3 vs 9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning in His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God is slow to anger, abounding in love. He is a compassionate God who gives certain blessings to all people (Matthew 5 vs 45) and who desires all to be saved. His patience with the wicked is an opportunity for them to be saved. (Second Peter 3 vs 15.)

We might want to see the wicked destroyed immediately, but God has a sovereign plan that needs to move forward. And in His love and grace, He wants them to be saved. God’s patience with the wicked is an opportunity for us to pray for them and witness to them so that they will know God’s heart toward them. We are called to tell the wicked of His wonderful salvation and to warn them of the punishment that they can expect if they remain hardened toward God and don’t turn from their stubborn path.

It's noteworthy that God's justice would ultimately come, but as humans we are impatient because we always want justice to come quickly. It's natural for us to demand fair play and cry for justice against those who take advantage of others. But when we call for justice, we must realize that we ourselves would be in big trouble if God gave each of us what we truly deserve.  

The wicked may prosper in this world, but perhaps we’ve forgotten that their fortune will only endure for the short term. We’ve lost sight of our eternal reward and the ultimate fate of the wicked. We need this reminder: “Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings schemes to pass.” (Psalm 37 vs 1 – 7.)

The prosperity of the wicked is often attributed to God's patience and desire for all to have time for repentance, with blessings being extended to all people regardless of their faith. Such appearances are temporary, with true justice and consequences following later, as worldly prosperity is not the ultimate measure of a person's life. 

It is scriptutal to note that the success of the wicked is temporary and their end is not as glorious as their prosperity. The Book of Job and various Psalms reflect on the apparent ease and wealth of the wicked, but also conclude that their "victory" is short-lived. 

It's noteworthy that worldly prosperity is a poor measure of a life, especially when compared to the eternal life promised in faith. The focus, therefore, should be on living a righteous life and focusing on the spiritual reward, rather than the temporary blessings or hardships of this life. Material wealth or power do not equate to true success. Success to God, however, is based on a person's heart. Focusing on kindness, honesty, and being a good person are seen as measures of a successful life, regardless of one's material success.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are perfect in all Your ways and Your judgement is supreme. Your love, kindness, mercy, faithfulness, and lognsuffering are abundantly available to all Your creation. My desire is for Your blessings that makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. Endue me with the spirit of absolute obedience to You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Great Missionary Hope

 The Great Missionary Hope

Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:5)

The great missionary hope is that when the gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, God himself does what man cannot do: he creates the faith that saves. The call of God does what the call of man can’t. It raises the dead. It creates spiritual life. It is like the call of Jesus to Lazarus in the tomb, “Come out!” And the dead man obeyed and came out. The call created the obedience by creating life (John 11:43). That is how anyone is saved.

We can waken someone from sleep with our call, but God’s call can summon into being things that are not (Romans 4:17). God’s call is irresistible in the sense that it can overcome all resistance. It is infallibly effective according to God’s purpose — so much so that Paul can say, “Those whom [God] called he also justified” (Romans 8:30), even though we are only justified by our faith.

In other words, God’s call is so effectual that it infallibly creates the faith through which a person is justified. All the called are justified according to Romans 8:30. But none is justified without faith (Romans 5:1). So the call of God cannot fail in its intended effect. It irresistibly brings into being the faith that justifies.

This is what man cannot do. It is impossible. Only God can take out the heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26). Only God can draw people to the Son (John 6:44, 65). Only God can open the spiritually dead heart so that it gives heed to the gospel (Acts 16:14). Only the Good Shepherd knows his sheep, and calls them by name with such compelling power that they all follow — and never perish (John 10:3–4, 14). 

The sovereign grace of God, doing the humanly impossible, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the great missionary hope.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 24, 2025.

SUBJECT: WHY SATAN TEMPTS US!

Memory verse: “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4 vs 13.)

READ: Genesis 3 vs 1 - 8:

3:1: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Had God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

3:2: And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

3:3: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

3:4: Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

3:5: For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Good, knowing good and evil.”

3:6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her; and he ate.

3:7: Then the eyes of both them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves coverings. 

INTIMATION:

Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give in to his kind of life and give up on God’s kind of life. It is often the combination of a real need and a possible doubt that creates an inappropriate desire. At one time Satan had been a glorious angel. But in pride he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. As a created being, Satan has definite limitations. Although he is trying to tempt everyone away from God, he will not be the final victor. Satan will be finally crushed by one of the woman’s offspring—the Messiah.

Satan tempted Eve and succeeded in getting her to sin. Ever since then he is busy getting people to sin. By deceiving Eve that she ‘will not surely die,’ (the first lie recorded in human history) he identifies his deceiving nature (John 8 vs 44). However, Eve eventually died a spiritual death with Adam. Satan tempts man with being a god who is dominant over all things.

Satan appealed to Eve’s lust of the flesh (“the tree was good for food”), lust of the eyes (“pleasant to the eye”), and pride of life (“desired to make one wise”). The temptation resulted in her action to commit sin. Adam and Eve were created as free moral individuals, just as we are, and were placed in an environment wherein they could be tempted because there was an opportunity to sin, just as we are. The same ploy Satan used on Eve he has continued to use on us till date. 

Notice what Eve did; she looked, she took, she ate, and she gave. The battle is always lost at the first look. Temptation often begins by simply seeing something you want. You will always win over temptation if you run away from those things that produces evil thoughts (Second Timothy 2 vs 22). Adam and Eve got what they wanted; an intimate knowledge of both good and evil. But they got it by doing evil, and the result was disastrous. The restrictions God gives us are for our own good, helping us avoid evil. You don’t have to do evil to gain more experience and learn more about life.

Satan tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness. He implied that God was stingy, strict, and selfish for not wanting Eve to share His knowledge of good and evil. Satan made Eve forget all that God had given her, and instead, focus on what God had forbidden. We fall into trouble, too, when we dwell on what God forbids rather than on the countless blessings and promises God has given us. The next time you are feeling sorry for yourself over what you don’t have, consider all you do have and thank God. Then your doubts won’t lead to sin. 

We must realize that being tempted is not a sin. We have not sinned until we give in to the temptation. To resist temptation, we should adopt the following guidelines: (1) Pray for strength to resist, ask God in earnest prayer to help you stay away from people, places, and situations that may tempt you. (2) say no when confronted with whatever you know is wrong, (3) run, sometimes literally, from temptation, (4) memorize and meditate on portions of Scriptures that combat your specific weaknesses. At the root of most temptation is a real need or desire that God can fill, but we must trust in His timing, and (5) find another believer with whom you can openly share your struggles, and call this person for help when temptation strikes. 

Self exaltation leads to rebellion against God. As soon as we begin to leave God out of our plans, we are placing ourselves above Him. This exactly is what Satan wants us to do. Prepare yourself for the attractive temptations that may come your way. We cannot always prevent temptation, but there is always a way of escape (First Corinthians 10 vs 13). If we attempt to meet life’s challenges with human effort alone, we will find the pressures and temptations around us too great to resist.

You may have strong faith, but you will also have areas of weaknesses—and that is where temptation usually strikes. Strengthen and protect yourself where you are weak because a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Also, it is easier to resist temptation if you have thought through your convictions before the temptation arises. We get into trouble if we have not previously decided where to draw line. Before such situations arise, decide on your commitments and what to do. Then when temptation comes, you will be ready to say no.

Prayer: Abba Father, You have given us all that pertains to life and godliness in Christ, and in You all things consist. Endue me with the spirit of absolute trust and commitment to You in all things. Give me the grace never to give in to the lies of the devil, and his temptations, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Christ Is Like Sunlight

 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. (Hebrews 1:3)

Jesus relates to God the way radiance relates to glory, or the way the rays of sunlight relate to the sun. 

Keep in mind that every analogy between God and natural things is imperfect and will distort if you press it. Nevertheless, consider for example,

There is no time that the sun exists without the beams of radiance. They cannot be separated. The radiance is co-eternal with the glory. Christ is co-eternal with God the Father.

The radiance is the glory radiating out. It is not essentially different from the glory. Christ is God standing forth as separate but not essentially different from the Father.

Thus the radiance is eternally begotten, as it were, by the glory — not created or made. If you put a solar-activated calculator in the sunlight, numbers appear on the face of the calculator. These, you could say, are created or made by the sun, but they are not what the sun is. But the rays of the sun are an extension of the sun. So Christ is eternally begotten of the Father, but not made or created.

We see the sun by means of seeing the rays of the sun. So we see God the Father by seeing Jesus. The rays of the sun arrive here about eight minutes after they leave the sun, and the round ball of fire that we see in the sky is the image — the exact representation — of the sun; not because it is a painting of the sun, but because it is the sun streaming forth in its radiance.

So I commend this great Person to you that you might trust in him and love him and worship him. He is alive and sitting at the right hand of God with all power and authority and will one day come in great glory. He has that exalted place because he is himself God the Son, “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 23, 2025.

SUBJECT : SATAN HAS NO SUPERNATURAL POWER!

Memory verse: “And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.” (Job 1 vs 12.)

READ: Job 2 vs 1 - 6:

2:1: Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

2:2: And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

2:3: And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”

2:4: So Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Skin for skin! Yes all that a man has he will give for his life.

2:5: But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face.!”

2:6: And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; but spare his life.

INTIMATION: 

Satan has no supernatural power. All supernatural power rests with God, for God created all things, including Satan (Colossians 1 vs 16). The statement that Satan moved God against Job clearly manifests this teaching that is maintained throughout the Bible. Only God has power over the supernatural. Only God can work miraculous happenings. And in this case, it was the power of God that was given to Satan on this particular occasion in order that Satan do the deed against Job. 

Satan was a created angel of God who fell. That which was created cannot have the power of the One who creates. All supernatural beings were created by God, and thus do not have the power of the Creator. All supernatural powers originate from God, and thus are controlled by God. If God had not delegated power to Satan he could have done nothing in reference to taking away Job’s possessions, family, and inflicting his body. God limits Satan, and in this case God did not allow Satan to touch Job’s life. Therefore, Satan is limited to what God allows, and so it is forever.

We must learn to recognize, but not fear Satan’s attacks, because Satan cannot exceed the limits that God set. Don’t let any experience drive a wedge between you and God. Although you can’t control how Satan may attack, you can always choose how you will respond when it happens. In Job’s case, Satan attempted to drive a wedge between Job and God by getting Job to believe that God’s governing of the world was not just and good. But in all Satan’s schemes, Job never succumbed to his wiles. 

Satan’s greatest power lies in deception and accusing believers before God. But can Satan persuade God to change His plans? Satan is unable to persuade God to go against His character. God is completely and eternally good. But God is willing to go along with Satan’s plan because God knows the eventual outcome. God cannot be fooled by Satan. For instance, God knew the eventual outcome of Job’s story. Job’s suffering was a test for Job, Satan, and us—not God.

Satan schemes in order to deceive the innocent. His deceptive influences are presented to the saints of God through every means. If one is not conscious of the fact that Satan is continually scheming to deceive the righteous, then he will not be vigilant against apostasy. The most common deception of Satan is through the means of misdirecting the religious inclinations of man. The world is full of religions that satisfy man’s religious desires. However, all such religions are false because they are not founded upon the Word of truth that has been revealed by and through the Holy Spirit. By smooth and fair speech the religious leaders of the world have thus led astray the hearts of the innocent who are ignorant of the Word of God.

The Christian’s strength is maintained if he remains in fellowship with the Lord who is the source of power against Satan. The imperative command places the responsibility for being strong on the shoulders of the Christian. The Holy Spirit does not assume the responsibility for keeping the Christian strong. The responsibility for faithfulness is with free-moral saints who must maintain the spiritual armor of the Lord by which strength is maintained against the wiles of Satan. The Holy Spirit does not work in the life of any individual in a manner that would subject free-moral agents into conforming to the Will of God. 

The reason of putting on the whole armor of God is to be able to stand against Satan’s deceptions. Satan has deceived the whole world. Through the intimidation of the environment in which Christians live, they are often drawn away from truth in order to conform to the teaching and behavior of unbelieving friends and neighbors. (James 1 vs 13 - 15). Satan is the ruler of those who have given themselves over to follow after the lusts of the world. Those who make decisions, and live without considering the Will of God, are often living and making decisions according to the will of Satan. They are thus being directed by Satan. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is to put on Your whole armor, that I may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and to remain in fellowship with You all the days of my life. Give me grace to walk in the consciousness and enrichment of this desire, in Jesus' mighty Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God’s Final, Decisive Word

 God’s Final, Decisive Word

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

The last days begin with the coming of the Son into the world. “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” We have been living in the last days since the days of Christ — that is, the last days of history as we know it before the final and full establishment of the kingdom of God.

The point for the writer of Hebrews is this: The Word that God spoke by his Son is the decisive Word. By the Son’s own design, that word has been captured for the ages in the writings of the New Testament. He explicitly made provision for this, lest every generation be left to itself to dream up the decisive word of God. This word will not be followed in this age by any greater word or replacement word. This is the Word of God — the person of Jesus, the teaching of Jesus, and the work of Jesus, captured by inspiration in the apostolic writings we call the New Testament.

When I complain that I don’t hear the Word of God, when I feel a desire to hear the voice of God, and get frustrated that he does not speak in ways that I may crave, what am I really saying? Am I really saying that I have exhausted this final, decisive Word revealed to me so fully and infallibly in the New Testament? Have I really exhausted this Word? Has it become so much a part of me that it has shaped my very being and given me life and guidance? 

Or have I treated it lightly — skimmed it like a newspaper, clicked through like a quick series of internet postings, dipped in like a taste-tester — and then decided I wanted something different, something more? This is what I fear I am guilty of more than I wish to admit. 

God is calling us to hear his final, decisive, inexhaustible Word — to meditate on it and study it and memorize it and linger over it and soak in it until it saturates us to the center of our being.