Possible with God

 Possible with God

“I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” (John 10:16)

God has a people in every people group in the world. He will call them through the gospel with Creator power. And they will believe! What a power is in these words for overcoming discouragement in the hard places of the frontiers!

The story of Peter Cameron Scott is a good illustration. Born in Glasgow in 1867, Scott became the founder of the Africa Inland Mission. But his beginnings in Africa were anything but auspicious.

His first trip to Africa ended in a severe attack of malaria that sent him home. He resolved to return after he recuperated. This return was especially gratifying to him because this time his brother John joined him. But before long, John was struck down by fever.

All alone, Peter buried his brother in African soil, and in the agony of those days recommitted himself to preach the gospel in Africa. Yet his health gave way again, and he had to return to England.

How would he ever pull out of the desolation and depression of those days? He had pledged himself to God. But where could he find the strength to go back to Africa? With man it was impossible!

He found strength in Westminster Abbey. David Livingstone’s tomb is still there. Scott entered quietly, found the tomb, and knelt in front of it to pray. The inscription reads:

OTHER SHEEP I HAVE WHICH ARE NOT OF THIS FOLD; THEM ALSO I MUST BRING.

He rose from his knees with a new hope. He returned to Africa. And today, over a hundred years later, the mission he founded is a vibrant, growing force for the gospel in Africa.

If your greatest joy is to experience the infilling grace of God overflowing from you for the good of others, then the best news in all the world is that God will do the impossible through you for the salvation of the unreached peoples.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY OCTOBER 27, 2025.

SUBJECT : THE BREVITY OF LIFE!

Memory verse: "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4 vs 14.)

READ: Psalm 39 vs 4 - 6:

39:4: Lord make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

39:5: Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You.

39:6: Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.

INTIMATION:

Life on earth is the period between birth and death. And because it has a beginning and an end, it is temporary, and not permanent. The brevity of life is a theme throughout the books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. The earth is not our permanent home or final destination. We are just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our temporary and brief stay on earth. 

Ironically, people spend so much time securing their lives on earth but take little or no thought about life after here; where they will spend eternity. They are busy with the things that are temporary, but neglecting the things that are permanent. Amassing riches and busily accomplishing worldly tasks would make no difference in eternity. 

Few people understand that their only hope is in the Lord. The only thing that matters in eternity is your relationship with your Maker, and it is the relationship built with Him that you take to eternity. All other things you have acquired, built, accomplished and so on, are abandoned here on earth to the cares of others, and they will one day perish.

To make the best use of your life is to build a superb relationship and fellowship with the Lord which is the only thing that qualifies you for eternity with Him, and your mansion in His house. Realizing that life is short helps us use the little time we have more wisely for eternal good, and don't get too attached to this world. May God help you see life on earth as He sees it. 

In First Peter 2 vs 11, the apostle Peter stated, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." As believers, we are "sojourners and pilgrims" in this world, because our real home is with God. Our true loyalty should be to our citizenship in heaven, not to our temporary stay here, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3 vs 20.) How prepared are you to receive Him at His coming?

Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet, and their homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. 

When we flirt with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery: "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4 vs 4.)

We are in the world and constantly in association with the world, its standards, and circumstances. Though we are in the world, but we are not of this world (John 15 vs 19). The prince of this world is the greatest enemy of God, and by extension, our greatest enemy. "We are ambassadors of Christ" (Second Corinthians 5 vs 20). As an ambassador you will not be able to isolate yourself from the rulership of the prince of this world where you have ambassadorial assignment. To fulfill your mission, you would have to have contact with the world.

God warned us not to get too attached to what's around us because it's temporary, "For the form of this world is passing away" (First Corinthians 7 vs 31). The cares of this world; financial security, self actualization, worldly happiness, marriage, and so on, are not the ultimate goal of life. As much as possible, we should live unhindered by the cares of this world, not getting involved in burdensome life activities that might keep us from doing God's work.

Compared with other centuries, life has never been easier for much of our world today. The advancement in technology has made life much more easier and enjoyable. We are constantly entertained, amused, and catered to. With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences available today, it's easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about. Only as we remember that life is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives. 

Life is short no matter how long we live. Be conscious of the two divides in eternity—heaven and hell. Take time to number your days by asking, “Where do I want to be in eternity?” “What do I want to see happen in my life before I die? What small step could I take toward that purpose today?” If you want to be with the Lord, deal with all undisciplined areas in your life, and tell someone about Jesus. Because life is short, don’t neglect what is truly important, telling others of the Good News of Jesus Christ and all He wrought for us redemption. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to be eternity conscious, and not be consumed in seeking after the cares of the world that are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 26, 2025.

SUBJECT: CARNAL MIND VERSUS SPIRITUAL MIND!

Memory verse: "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8 vs 6.) 

READ: Read Romans 8 vs 12 - 14; Galatians 5 vs 16 - 18:

Romans 8:12: Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Galatians 5:16: I say then. Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

5:17: For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

5:18: But If You are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

INTIMATION:

The apostle Paul notes in our memory verse that there are two minds—the mind of the flesh, and the mind of the Spirit. That does not mean you and I have two brains, it simply means that we receive information from our natural mind (which operates without the Holy Spirit), and we get information from our spirit (through which the Holy Spirit communicates directly to us). The mind of the flesh, which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, is death, that is death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace, both now and forever.

In the passages we read today, the believers are not to be led by the carnal mind, but by the Holy Spirit Who indwells them (Romans 8 vs 14; Galatians 5 vs 18). The Holy Spirit is the only One who knows the mind of God, and is the revealer of the truth (John 16 vs 13). If your desire is to have the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5 vs 22 - 23), then you know that the Holy Spirit is leading you. 

In First Corinthians 2 vs 16, the Bible says, "For who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” This Scripture tells us that because the Holy Spirit lives in us, you and I have the mind of Christ. The problem is that, although we have the mind of Christ and know the Word of God, we don't listen to our spirit which is being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Instead, we listen to our natural mind, which relies strictly on sense and reason without the Holy Spirit.

In every situation of life, our head will be trying to give us information. It will be yelling at us so loudly that if we don't turn our attention to our spirit, we will never hear what the Lord is saying to us in that situation. That is why we must learn to live out of our spirit and not of our head. 

It’s noteworthy that evil spirits constantly bombard us with negative thoughts. If we receive them and dwell on them, they become ours because the Bible says that as we think in our heart, so are we (Proverbs 23 vs 7). If we accept the lies of the devil as reality, then they will become reality to us because of our belief in them. Use the Bible to discover God’s guidelines, and then follow them. 

This is why in moments of worry, stress and turmoil we have to simply take the time to turn to our inner man, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and say, "Lord, what do You have to say about this?" If we listen in faith, He will speak to us and reveal to us the truth of that situation. You and I have two huge vats of information within us. One is carnal information that comes off the top of our head. The other is spiritual information which wells up out of our heart. One is muddy. polluted water, and the other is clean drinking water. It is up to us to decide which source we are going to drink from.

Some people try to drink from both sources. That's what the Bible calls being double-minded. (James 1 vs 8.) Do you know what it means to be double-minded? It means that your mind is trying to tell you one thing, and your spirit is trying to tell you just the opposite. Instead of saying, "I'm not going to believe that which comes from my head—the mind of the flesh—because it's a lie," you get in a cross-fire, going back and forth between the two thoughts. 

If we are destined to live the happy, victorious and successful Christian life the Lord wills for us, if we are going to have to decide which fountain of information we are going to drink from, we are going to have to learn to live out of our spirit and not out of our head—our fleshy mind.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is my Senior Partner, and daily I hand over my thoughts, words, and actions to Him for His leading. Endue me with the spirit of discernment, to know the prompting of the Holy Spirit, that I will follow His leading, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

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!