The Key to Spiritual Maturity

 The Key to Spiritual Maturity

Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Now, this is amazing. Don’t miss it. It could save you years of wasted living. 

What this verse is saying is that if you want to become mature and understand and appreciate the more solid teachings of the word, then the rich, nutritional, precious milk of God’s gospel promises must transform your moral senses — your spiritual mind — so that you can discern between good and evil. 

Or, let me put it another way. Getting ready to feast on all God’s word is not first an intellectual challenge; it is first a moral challenge. If you want to eat the solid food of the word, you must exercise your spiritual senses so as to develop a mind that discerns between good and evil. This is a moral challenge, not just intellectual.

The startling truth is that, if you stumble over understanding Melchizedek in Genesis and Hebrews, it may be because you watch questionable TV programs. If you stumble over the doctrine of election, it may be because you still use some shady business practices. If you stumble over the God-centered work of Christ on the cross, it may be because you love money and spend too much and give too little. 

The pathway to maturity and to solid biblical food is not first becoming an intelligent person, but becoming an obedient person. What you do with alcohol and sex and money and leisure and food and computers, and the way you treat other people, has more to do with your capacity for solid food than where you go to school or what books you read.

This is so important because in our highly technological society we are prone to think that education — especially intellectual education — is the key to maturity. There are many Ph.D.’s who choke in their spiritual immaturity on the things of God. And there are many less-educated saints who are deeply mature and can feed with pleasure and profit on the deepest things of God’s word.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2025.

SUBJECT : STRIVE TO HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!

Memory verse: "Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2 vs 5.)

READ: Philippians 2 vs 6 - 8: 

2:6: Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

2:7: but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

2:8: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross.

INTIMATION:

The mind of Christ is humble. Jesus Christ, during His earth walk, displayed unparalled humbility, willing to give up His rights in order to obey God, and of service to God and people. Humility is the state of being humble, not to think too highly of oneself. It means being meek or gentle. It is not self-depreciation, but rather proper respect for God.

The mind of Christ is the mind of complete obedience. Christ said of Himself: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son does in like manner." "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own Will but the Will of the Father who sent Me." (John 5 vs 19, 30).

That you are humble does not take away anything from you. If you are a President of a country, or a Chief Executive Officer of a big corporation, and is humble, it does not change your status. Instead you are esteemed highly, and consequently receives grace—unmerited favour of God. A humble person is more secure than a proud person because humility gives a more accurate perspective of oneself, and of the world.

Truly, humble people compare themselves only with Christ, realizing their sinfulness, and understanding their limitations. On the other hand, they also recognize their gifts and strengths and are willing to use them as Christ directs, being also, realistic in their assessment, and commitment to serve. 

To humble ourselves before God, we must respect His Majesty by comparing ourselves to His greatness. When we look at creation, we realize our smallness by comparison, and to feel small is a healthy way to get back to reality, and humble ourselves before God to get His lifting (James 4 vs 10 & First Peter 5 vs 6). The psalmist in Psalm 8 vs 3 - 4 says; "When I consider Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him." 

As we look at the vast expanse of creation, aren't you marveled at God's concern for you, who is always disappointing Him? Out of His love and care He made us in His own image, after His likeness, and only a little lower than the angels! We have great worth because we bear the stamp of the Creator. 

Jesus lived as God wanted Him to live. He never sought His own, but was completely in obedience to the Father. Now, because of our identification with Jesus, we must honor Him and live as He wants us to live. If we always ask ourselves the question in any circumstance, "What would Jesus do?" may help us make the rights choices and decisions.

We must humble ourselves before God to be able to hear His words, receive His instructions, direction, and help. In times of trouble, or when our lives fall apart, or when we sin against God, we should go before Him in deep humility and sorrow to obtain His promised help, mercy, and forgiveness of sin.  

Humility and obedience are intertwined. Obedience to God begins with humility. We must believe that His ways are better than ours, though we may not always understand His ways of working, but by humbly obeying, we will receive His blessings. Remember that God's ways are best. He wants our obedience and humility more than anything else because in these are we engraced, and exalted. 

Prayer: Abba Father, let the mind of Jesus Christ be in me that I may obey You at all times. I can of myself do nothing, but in obedience and lowliness of mind, I can do all things through You that strengthens me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Gravity of Gratitude

 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful . . . (2 Timothy 3:1–2) 

Notice how ingratitude goes with pride, abuse, and insubordination.

In another place Paul says, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking . . . but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4). So, it seems that gratitude, thankfulness, is the opposite of ugliness and violence.

The reason this is so is that the feeling of gratitude is a humble feeling, not a proud one. It is other-exalting, not self-exalting. And it is glad-hearted, not angry or bitter. Bitter thankfulness is a contradiction in terms.

The key to unlocking a heart of thankfulness and overcoming bitterness and ugliness and disrespect and violence is a strong belief in God, the Creator and Sustainer and Provider and Hope-giver. If we do not believe we are deeply indebted to God for all we have and hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude has gone dry.

So, I conclude that the rise of violence and sacrilege and ugliness and insubordination in the last times is a God-issue. The basic issue is a failure to feel gratitude at the upper levels of our dependence.

When the high spring of gratitude to God fails at the top of the mountain, soon all the pools of thankfulness begin to dry up further down the mountain. And when gratitude goes, the sovereignty of the self condones more and more corruption for its pleasure.

Pray for a great awakening of humble gratitude.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2025.

SUBJECT: GIVE GOD THE CREDIT AND GLORY DUE TO HIM!

Memory verse: “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner.” (Like 17 bs 18.) 

READ: Genesis 41 vs 15 - 16:

41:15: And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

41:16: So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

INTIMATION:

Glory primarily signifies an opinion, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion. It is used of God’s nature in self-manifestation, that is, what He essentially is and does, as exhibited in whatever way He reveals Himself in these respects, and primarily in the Person of Christ, in whom essentially His glory has ever shone forth and ever will do.

When His grace and His power manifest, it constitute His glory. And we should always give due acknowledgment of the exhibition of His attributes and ways. How easily we take credit for what God does through us! This rubs God of the honor that He alone deserves. Instead, we should, in any achievements in our lives, give credit to God thereby pointing people to God so that we give Him the glory due to Him. 

In our anchor Scripture, Jesus asked the question here to stimulate all to think concerning their obligation of returning credit to God for all that He would do in our lives, and through us, especially in showing mercy to man. The gratitude of the one leper in contrast to the ingratitude of the nine, illustrates how often men forget God’s blessings in both the materials and spiritual realms. 

In the passage we read today, Joseph made sure that he gave the credit to God. We should be careful to do the same. To take the honor for ourselves is a form of stealing God’s honor. Don’t be silent when you know you should be giving glory and credit to God. When the interpretation of dreams came up, Joseph focused everyone’s attention on God. Rather than using the situation to make himself look good, he turned it into a powerful witness for the Lord. One secret of effective witnessing is to recognize opportunities to relate God to the other person’s experience. When the opportunity arises, we must have the courage to speak as Joseph did. 

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had a dream and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then he gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell him his own dream and its interpretation. However, none of them was able to tell the king his dream, nor its interpretation. But Daniel did. In Daniel 2 vs 27 - 30, before Daniel told the king anything else, he gave credit to God, explaining that he did not know the dream through his own wisdom but only because God revealed it.

In Daniel 2 vs 47 - 48, the Scripture says. “The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret. Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.” 

Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel and Daniel’s God. If Daniel had taken the credit himself, the king would have honored only Daniel. Because Daniel gave God the credit, the king honored both of them. Part of our mission in this world is to show unbelievers what God is like. We can do that by acts of love and compassion, and if we give God credit for our actions, they will want to know more about Him. Give credit and glory to God for what He is doing in your life, and through you.

God appreciates giving Him credit and glory due to Him hence Christ’s question concerning the lepers that were cleansed. And the benefits include. (1) perfection of the blessings, (2) preservation of the blessings, and (3) qualification for more blessings; Joseph was made a prime minister in a foreign land, Daniel was made a great man, and received many great gifts, and was made the ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon, and the leper that returned was made whole.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with a heart of gratitude for Your acts and works in my life, and to testify of Your works in my life at all times. Give me the grace never to take credits and glory due to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Five Reasons Death Is Gain

 Five Reasons Death Is Gain

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

How is it “gain” to die?

1) Our spirits will be made perfect (Hebrews 12:22–23).

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.

There will be no more sin in us. We will be done with the inner war and the heartrending disappointments of offending the Lord who loved us and gave himself for us.

2) We will be relieved of the pain of this world (Luke 16:24–25).

The joy of the resurrection will not yet be ours, but the joy of freedom from pain will be. Jesus tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man to show the great reversal that is coming at death.

“[The rich man] called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.’”

3) We will be given profound rest in our souls (Revelation 6:9–11).

There will be a serenity beneath the eye and care of God that surpasses anything we have known here on the softest summer evening by the most peaceful lake at our most happy moments.

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer.

4) We will experience a deep at-homeness (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

The whole human race is homesick for God, without knowing it. When we go home to Christ, there will be a contentment beyond any sense of security and peace we have ever known.

5) We will be with Christ (Philippians 1:21–23).

Christ is a more wonderful person than anyone on earth. He is wiser, stronger, and kinder than anyone you enjoy spending time with. He is endlessly interesting. He knows exactly what to do and what to say at every moment to make his guests as glad as they can possibly be. He overflows in love and with infinite insight into how to use that love to make his loved ones feel loved. Therefore Paul said,

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2025.

SUBJECT : REINSTATED TO ABUNDANCE!

Memory verse: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4 vs 11).

READ: Psalm 50 vs 10 - 12; First Timothy 6 vs 17:

Psalm 50:10: For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

50:11: I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

50:12: If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

First Timothy 6:17: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us all things to enjoy.

INTIMATION:

God created all things, and therefore, owns all things. He created all things for His pleasure, and as well as ours. God is not in want of anything because He is sufficient in all things. God created all things including us. He made us special by creating us in His image and likeness. And we are made sufficient in God's own sufficiency (Second Corinthians 3 vs 5).  

In the beginning God placed everything that man could use and enjoy in the Garden of Eden. God saw to it that Adam lacked nothing, as he was created in His own image and after His likeness, leaving nothing to be desired by him. God gave Adam dominion over everything. Adam was the master of the kingdom given to him, and was empowered to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it. God only placed Himself above Adam as his master.

God's Will of abundance for mankind was supreme until that fatal day Adam committed high treason against God by doubting God's integrity, and believing God's permanent enemy- Satan. According to the Scriptures, the woman was deceived but the man was not (First Timothy 2 vs 14), meaning that Adam knew what he did, and the implications of what he did. He tried shifting the blame on the woman when God enquired of him concerning his did (Genesis 3 vs 12).

When Adam partook of the deadly tree, he died, not physically but spiritually. Spiritual deadness is the nature of Satan. That nature consequently overtook Adam's once righteous spirit, and he became one with Satan. Every phase of Adam's life came under the curse of his new god, Satan. He was driven from the Garden, consequently abundance was no longer his to enjoy. He had to toil and sweat in order to survive. His beautiful life was overrun by thorns and thistles both in the physical and in the spiritual world.

The Lordship of God provided only good. Poverty and lack came only after Adam changed god and began to operate under Satan's dominion, the author of poverty. It is obvious that God desired man to live in abundance, but by Adam's own choice, the lordship of Satan engulfed him in a curse that resulted in poverty and lack. 

God's heart yearns for His people to be free, and through His infinite wisdom, He has continually provided deliverance for man and freedom from the curse of poverty. God, in His infinite mercy that endures forever, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, for our sake, to pay the supreme price: "Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace upon Him, And by His stripes we are heeled" (Isaiah 53 vs 4 - 5). 

Through our believe in Christ Jesus, our Sacrificial Savior, He gave us right to become God's children (John 1 vs 12). We are reinstated to our original position with Him. His wish is that we shall prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (Third John 2). In accordance with His Will for us, in prosperity and sufficiency, He has given us back all things in Christ Jesus to enjoy, Hallelujah!

Prayer: Abba Father, to You be glory for the great things You have done. My sufficiency is in You who made heaven and the earth. Thank You for my redemption in Christ Jesus, and Your upholding me by Your generous spirit. My desire is that nothing we take me away from You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

We All Need Help

 We All Need Help

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Every one of us needs help. We are not God. We have needs. We have weaknesses. We have confusion. We have limitations of all kinds. We need help.

But every one of us has something else: We have sins. And therefore at the bottom of our hearts we know that we do not deserve the help we need. And so we feel trapped. 

I need help to live my life, and to handle death, and to cope with eternity — help with my family, my spouse, my children, my loneliness, my job, my health, my finances. I need help. But I don’t deserve the help I need.

So, what can I do? I can try to deny it all and be a superman or a superwoman, who doesn’t need any help. Or I can try to drown it all and throw my life into a pool of sensual pleasures. Or I can simply give way to the paralysis of despair.

But God declares over this hopeless situation: Jesus Christ became a High Priest to shatter that despair with hope, and to humble that superman or superwoman, and to rescue that drowning wretch.

Yes, we all need help. Yes, none of us deserves the help we need. But no to despair and pride and lechery. Look at what God says. Because we have a Great High Priest, the throne of God is a throne of grace. And the help we get at that throne of grace is mercy and grace to help in time of need. Grace to help! Not deserved help — gracious help. That’s why the High Priest, Jesus Christ, shed his own blood.

You are not trapped. Say no to that lie. We need help. We don’t deserve it. But we can have it. You can have it right now and forever. If you will receive and trust in your High Priest, Jesus the Son of God, and draw near to God through him.