Love One Another Gladly

 Love One Another Gladly

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

No one has ever felt unloved because he was told that the attainment of his joy would make another person happy. I have never been accused of selfishness when justifying a kindness on the basis that it delights me. On the contrary, loving acts are genuine to the degree that they are not done begrudgingly.

And the good alternative to begrudgingly is not neutrally or dutifully, but gladly. The authentic heart of love loves kindness (Micah 6:8); it doesn’t just do kindness. Christian Hedonism forces this truth into consideration.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:2–4)

Read these sentences in reverse order and notice the logic. First, being born of God gives a power that conquers the world. This is given as the ground or basis (notice the word “For”) for the statement that the commandments of God are not burdensome.

So, being born of God gives a power that conquers our worldly aversion to the will of God. Now his commandments are not “burdensome,” but are the desire and delight of our heart. This is the love of God: not just that we do his commandments, but also that they are not burdensome.

Then in verse 2 the evidence of the genuineness of our love for the children of God is said to be the love of God. What does this teach us about our love for the children of God?

Since love for God is doing his will gladly rather than with a sense of burden, and since love for God is the measure of the genuineness of our love for the children of God, therefore our love for the children of God must also be done gladly rather than begrudgingly.

Christian Hedonism stands squarely in the service of love, for it presses us on to glad obedience, not just begrudging obedience.

Who Invented Religion?

 Who is the creator of religion, God or man? It seems that religion is a human invention, devised to enslave people mentally under the pretext of gospel. The early Christian church, as described in Acts Chapters 2-4, exemplifies a genuine commitment to Christianity, where followers mirrored Jesus Christ's actions and teachings. It was others who referred to them as Christians due to their dedication to practicing their faith. In contrast, contemporary religion has fostered a reliance on human spiritual authorities, promoting a servile mindset that undermines genuine worship. This has led to fragmentation, strife, and prejudice among individuals. The underlying motivations of religious leaders appear to be driven by a desire for control, exploitation of resources, wealth accumulation, and mental enslavement. Observing religious centers reveals these dynamics, which hinder the establishment of justice and peace. Ultimately, it is crucial to develop a personal relationship with God through prayer, scripture study, and practical application of its teachings to experience transformation as a Christian, rather than merely following religious doctrine, which can lead to disconnection from God, as exemplified by the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Bible.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 05, 2025.

SUBJECT : GOD BRINGS GOOD OUT OF BAD CIRCUMSTANCES!

Memory verse: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8 vs 28.)

READ: Genesis 50 vs 17 - 20:

50:17: Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.”’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

50:18: Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

50:19: Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

50:20: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

INTIMATION:

Circumstances are never so bad that they are beyond God’s help. We need never despair because we belong to a loving God. We don’t know what good He may bring out of a seemingly hopeless situation. No problem is too complicated for God if you are willing to let Him help you. Any trial a believer faces can ultimately bring glory to God because God can bring good out of any bad situation. 

When trouble comes, do you grumble, complain, and blame God, or do you see your problems as opportunities to honor Him? God can even use our sins for good purposes if we are sorry for them and seek His forgiveness. When we confess our sins, the way is opened for God to bring good from a bad situation.

God works in “all things” (not just isolated incidents) for our good. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. Certain things can happen in our lives for the ultimate purpose of God to be fulfilled in our lives. Note that God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill His purposes. 

Note that the promise in our anchor Scripture is not for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by Him, that is, those whom the Holy Spirit convinces to receive Christ. Such people have a new perspective, a new mind-set. They trust in God, not in worldly treasures, their security is in heaven, not on earth. Their faith in God does not waiver in pain and persecution because they know God is with them. 

There are some personalities in the Scriptures that God demonstrated in them His concept of bringing out good out of bad circumstances. In the passage we read today, the experience in Joseph’s life, who was sold to slavery by his brothers out of envy, taught him, and teaches us also, that God brings good from evil for those who trust in Him. He overrules people’s evil intentions to bring about His intended good results. In Joseph’s case, He brought good from the brothers’ evil deed, Potiphar’s wife’s false accusation, the butler’s neglect, and seven years of famine. Trust God enough and wait patiently for Him to bring good out of bad situations you face.

Although Joseph’s brothers didn’t kill him outright, they wouldn’t expect him to survive for long as a slave. They were quite willing to let cruel slave traders do their dirty work for them. Joseph faced a 30-day journey through the desert, probably chained and on foot. He will be treated like baggage, and once in Egypt would be sold as a piece of merchandise. 

His brothers had wanted to get rid of him, but God used even their evil actions to fulfill His ultimate plan. He had sent Joseph ahead to preserve their lives, save Egypt, and prepare the way for the beginning of the nation of Israel. God is sovereign. His plans are not dictated by human actions! Do you trust God enough to wait patiently for Him to bring good out of bad situations you may be in? 

Jesus was a close friend to the family of Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. After the sisters informed Jesus that Lazarus was seriously sick, Jesus responded that the sickness would not lead to his permanent death. Jesus delayed before going to the family to see His sick friend. Lazarus did die. He was buried and was already four days in the tomb before Jesus came.

However, Jesus knew that He would raise him from the dead because He was nearing the end of His ministry. He needed to work the great miracle in order to agitate the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus would be glorified through the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection. This would be the final miracle to stir the religious leaders to great jealousy, and thus, they would take Him to the cross. His eventful death on the cross, His burial and resurrection from the dead occasioned the salvation of man, and hope for eternal life.

God is still who He is; unchanging and dependable, our refuge and our strength, our very present help in trouble. He has promised that those who put their trust in Him, will never be put to shame. Anchor your life in Him, and your victory in life’s circumstances is assured. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so faithful and compassionate. Your thoughts for me is of good, and I will not despair in any circumstances of life I find myself because I am persuaded that Your loving kindness and tender mercy is available to bring good out of any seemingly bad situation I may be in. You, O Lord that promised is faithful and will do it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Do You Neglect Your Salvation?

 Do You Neglect Your Salvation?

How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:3)

Is there a sense of greatness in your mind about your salvation? Or do you neglect it?

Do you respond to the greatness of your salvation? Or do you treat it the way you treat your last will and testament, or the title to your car, or the deed on your house? You signed it once and it is in a file drawer somewhere, but it is not a really great thing in your mind. You rarely think about it. It has no daily effect on you. Basically, you neglect it.

But when you neglect your great salvation, what are you really neglecting? Here’s what he is saying when he says, “Don’t neglect your great salvation!”

Don’t neglect being loved by God. 

Don’t neglect being forgiven and accepted and protected and strengthened and guided by almighty God. 

Don’t neglect the sacrifice of Christ’s life on the cross. 

Don’t neglect the free gift of righteousness imputed by faith. 

Don’t neglect the removal of God’s wrath and the reconciled smile of God. 

Don’t neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ. 

Don’t neglect the radiance of God’s glory in the face of Jesus. 

Don’t neglect the free access to the throne of grace. 

Don’t neglect the inexhaustible treasure of God’s promises. 

This is indeed a great salvation. Neglecting it is very evil. Don’t neglect so great a salvation. Because if you do, will there be an escape from judgment? That’s what the writer asks: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

So, being a Christian is a very serious business — not a sour business, but a serious business. We should be blood-earnest about being happy in our great salvation. 

We will not be deflected by this world into the fleeting and suicidal pleasures of sin. We will not neglect our eternal joy in God — which is what the goal of this salvation is. We will gouge out our eyes rather than be lured away from such a great salvation.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 04, 2025.

SUBJECT : THE FORCE OF FAITH IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes to God, must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11 vs 6.)

READ: Hebrews 10 vs 19 - 23:

10:19: Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

10:20: by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

10:21: and having a High Priest over the house of God,

10:22: let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

10:23: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

INTIMATION:

Building up your faith is a prerequisite for effectual communication with God. Faith is a potent force without which prayer will be absolutely unproductive. The Bible defines faith as "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11 vs 1.) You are holding in confidence the things you have asked in prayers, and perceiving as real facts what is not revealed to the senses. It is the ticket on which you take delivery of anything from heaven.

Your confidence in God must first be in place before you ask Him for anything, because though His Word presented before Him grants you audience in the Throne Room, your faith in Him and in His Word is what motivates Him to act on your behalf. Therefore, it is you, not God, who determines whether your prayer gets answered or not. Though ‘He is ready to perform His Word’ (Jeremiah 1 vs 12), He demands your faith that leads to a personal, dynamic relationship with Him.

You don't only approach God with His Word, you must come with an unwavering assurance that ‘He abides faithful and cannot deny Himself’ (Second Timothy 2 vs 13). Therefore, your approach to the Throne Room must be with unwavering faith. The apostle James, in James 1 vs 6 - 7 says, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord."

Once faith and trust in God is established, you can rest assured of results when you pray. You will not only believe in the existence of God, but also believe in His loving care. That is relying on God with full expectations that He will hear and answer when you pray.

In Matthew 9, two blind men prayed to Jesus for the restoration of their sight. Even though Jesus heard them, He did not heal them until He was assured of their faith in Him: "When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him. Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." And their eyes were opened...." (Matthew 9 vs 27 - 30.)

Jesus didn't respond immediately to the blind men's pleas. He waited to see if they had faith. They followed Him all through to the house, pleading with Him to heal them, and that shows believe and commitment. Not everyone who says he wants help really believes God can help him. Jesus may have waited and questioned these men to emphasize and increase their faith. When you think that God is too slow in answering your prayers, consider that He might be testing you as He did the blind men.

Jesus, by His death and offering of His blood in atonement for our sins, has made it possible for us to approach God in the Throne Room directly. We must come not halfheartedly or with improper motives or pretense, but with pure, individual, and sincere worship in faith. We can know that we have “a true heart” If we evaluate our thoughts and motives according to His Word. Christians can approach God boldly, free from our “evil conscience” and in full assurance because of the work Jesus Christ did for us in redemption.

Under the new covenant of accepting the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, our hearts and consciences are cleansed completely, not partially or temporarily, from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9 vs 14). Christ’s sacrifice transforms our lives and hearts and make us clean on the inside. Our clean conscience allow us to enter God’s presence with boldness. We have a personal access to God through Christ and can draw near to Him without an elaborate system, and growing in faith to deepen our relationship with God.

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You who made heaven and earth. Forever You are my God and in You I live, and move, and have my being. Whatever You cannot give me, let me not have it. Whatever You cannot do for me, let it remain undone. My absolute faith is in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Real Problem with Anxiety

 The Real Problem with Anxiety

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30)

Jesus says that the root of anxiety is inadequate faith — “little faith” — in our Father’s future grace. 

One reaction to this might be: “This is not good news! In fact, it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is rather a far deeper struggle with whether I trust God.”

My response to this discouragement is to agree, but then to disagree. 

Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds, to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you, after a routine visit, that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree. 

So, the news that you have cancer is not good news. But, in another sense, it is good news, because knowing what is really wrong is good, especially when your problem can be treated successfully.

That’s what it’s like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is “little faith” (as Jesus says) in the promises of God’s future grace. And he is able to work in wonderfully healing ways when we cry out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 03, 2025.

SUBJECT : THE ENDURING MERCY OF GOD! 

MEMORY VERSE: "O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." (Psalm 136 vs 1.)

READ: Zechariah 3 vs 1 - 5:

3:1: Then he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

3:2: And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3:3: Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel.

3:4: Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

3:5: And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

INTIMATION:

Mercy is a translation of a Hebrew word that includes aspects of love, kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. It 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. It is used of God who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2 vs 4), and who has provided salvation for all men. God is merciful to those who fear (reverence) Him. We never have to worry that God will run out of love because it flows from a well that will never run dry. All that exists is the result of the mercy of God. God could have existed alone in eternity, but He chose not to. 

Mercy has literally been defined as not giving a person what he or she deserves in punishment. This is exactly what God does to us. Our disobedience demands God’s wrath! But God is merciful to us sinners; He shows mercy toward us by providing an escape from sin’s penalty through Jesus Christ, Who alone saves us from sin. When we pray for forgiveness, we are asking for what we do not deserve. Yet when we take this step and trust in Christ’s saving work on our behalf, we can experience God’s forgiveness.

Countless times throughout the Bible we see God showing His love and patience toward men and women in order to save them. Although He realizes that their hearts are evil, He continues to try to reach them. When we sin or fall away from God, we surely deserve to be destroyed by His judgement. But God has promised never again to destroy everything on earth until the judgement day when Christ returns to destroy evil forever. God reminds Himself of this promise by every change of season made by Him.

God’s mercy is unbelievable, it goes far beyond what we can imagine. Even when we deliberately walk away from Him and ruin our lives, He would still take us back, and give us inward spiritual renewal. God wants to forgive us our sins and bring us back to Himself, too, and will not remember them anymore. Most of us will not learn this until their world has crashed in around them. Then the sorrow and pain seem to open our eyes to what God has been saying all along. Are you separated from God by sin? No matter how far you have wandered, God promises a fresh beginning if only you will turn to Him.

The passage we read today regarding Zechariah’s vision portrays how we receive God’s mercy. We do nothing ourselves. God removes our filthy garments (sins), then provides us with fine, new clothes (the righteousness and holiness of God (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21; Ephesians 4 vs 25; Revelation 19 vs 8). All we need to do is repent and ask God to forgive us. When Satan tries to make you feel dirty and unworthy, remember that the clean clothes of Christ’s righteousness make you worthy to draw near to God. 

Satan accused (opposed) Joshua, who here represents the nation of Israel. The accusations were accurate—Joshua stood in filthy garments (sins). Yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. Satan is always accusing people of their sins before God (Job 1 vs 6). But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God’s mercy and forgiveness toward those who believe in Him. Satan the accuser will ultimately be destroyed (Revelation 12 vs 10); while everyone who is a believer will be saved (John 3 vs 16). To be prepared, we can ask God to remove our clothing of sin and dress us with His goodness. 

We should be thankful that God’s mercy extends to us. Many times God has withheld us from sinning against Him in many ways unknown to us, and we can’t even detect. We have no way of knowing, but He does. God works just as often in ways we can’t see as in ways we can. It is easy to view sin lightly in a world that sees sin as inconsequential, but we should view sin as serious. Even when we sin in the worst imaginable way, we can turn to God in prayers and repentance. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are full of compassion, gracious, long suffering, ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all those who call upon You. Thank You, O Lord, for Your grace and mercy upon my sinful life and may Your mercy speak for me all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!