LOVE MATTERS MOST IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND MAN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY AUGUST 23, 2022.

SUBJECT: LOVE MATTERS MOST IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND MAN!

Memory verse: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13 vs 35.)

READ: John 14 vs 15 - 18 & 21; First John 4 vs 7 - 8 & 12 - 13:

John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

14:16: And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

14:17: the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

14:18: I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

14:21: He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

First John 4:7: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

4:8: He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

4:12: No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 

4:13: By this we know we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit.

INTIMATION:

In leading a life of intimacy with God, love is what matters most. God is love, and to know God is to know how to love. God is invisible, and a Spirit. How then do you develop intimate relationship with Him when you can’t see Him? You only draw closer to Him if we love one another whom you see. 

God is the source of our love. He loved us enough to sacrifice His Son for us. Jesus is our example of what it means to love; everything He did in life and death was supremely loving. In death He gave us the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to love, He lives in our hearts and makes us more and more like Christ. Consequently, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5 vs 5).

Because God is love, the most important lesson He wants us to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving that we are most like Him, so love is the foundation of every command He has given us. The Bible, in Galatians 5 vs 14, says, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The Ten Commandments of God center on relationships; the first four are on our relationship with God, and the other six is on our relationship with others.

It is in keeping His commandments that you show you love Him, and your love is returned even in greater magnitude. When we live by God’s standards, He will not leave us, He will be in us, and He will plainly show Himself to us. 

Love is more than lovely words; it is commitment and conduct. It’s much more than simply warm feelings. It is an attitude that reveals itself in action. If you love Him, then you prove it by your action of obeying what He says in His Word. How can we love others as Jesus loved us? By helping when it is not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others' welfare rather than our own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source.

Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That's why we are given a lifetime to learn it. Of course, God wants us to love everyone, but He is particularly concerned that we learn to love others in His family. 

One of the purposes, and God’s greatest commandment for your life is to love God, and one another. The apostle Peter, in First Peter 2 vs 17, tells us, "Love the brotherhood." He says we should show special love for God's people, that is 'other believers in Christ.' The apostle Paul echoes this sentiment in Galatians 6 vs 10 that says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

Why does God insist that we give special love and attention to other believers? Why do they get priority in loving? Because God wants His family to be known for its love more than anything else. In our memory verse, Jesus said our love for each other is not our doctrinal beliefs, rather it is our greatest witness to the world that we are His people. 

In heaven we will enjoy God's family forever, but first we have some tough work to do here on earth to prepare ourselves for an eternity of loving. When we are not motivated by love we become critical of others. We stop looking for good in them and see only their faults. Have you talked behind someone's back? Have you focused on others' shortcomings instead of their strengths? When you begin to feel critical of someone, make a list of that person's positive qualities. If there are problems that need to be addressed, it is better to confront in love than in hate or to gossip.

God trains us by giving us “family responsibilities," and the foremost of these is to practice loving each other. God wants you to be in regular, close, fellowship with other believers so you can develop the skill of loving. Love cannot be learned in isolation. You have to be around people—imperfect, frustrating, irritating, people of all manner—to learn how to love in action, and as Jesus loved.

Prayer: Abba Father, You loved me first, and it’s only in keeping Your commandments that will prove My love for You. My utmost heart desire is to lovingly obey You in all things. Endue me with the spirit of raw obedience in love for You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God Is Not an Idolater

 

When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)

Paul says that Christ is coming precisely to be glorified and to be marveled at. That is why he is coming.

People stumble over the teaching that God exalts his own glory and seeks to be praised by his people because the Bible teaches us not to be like that. For example, the Bible says that love “does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5, NASB).

How can God be loving and yet be utterly devoted to “seeking his own” glory and praise and joy? How can God be for us if he is so utterly for himself?

The answer I propose is this: Because God is unique as an all-glorious, totally self-sufficient Being, he must be for himself if he is to be for us. The rules of humility that belong to a creature cannot apply in the same way to its Creator.

If God should turn away from himself as the Source of infinite joy, he would cease to be God. He would deny the infinite worth of his own glory. He would imply that there is something more valuable outside himself. He would commit idolatry.

This would be no gain for us. For where can we go when our God has become unrighteous? Where will we find a Rock of integrity in the universe when the heart of God has ceased to value supremely the supremely valuable? Where shall we turn with our adoration when God himself has forsaken the claims of infinite worth and beauty?

No, we do not turn God’s self-exaltation into love by demanding that God cease to be God.

Instead, we must come to see that God is love precisely because he relentlessly pursues the praises of his name in the hearts of his people. Our praise for his greatness is the capstone of our joy and his greatness.

GOD'S NAMES AND TITLES

 Take two minutes and Just call dis names,don't Stop

1. Wonderful

2. Counsellor

3. Prince of Peace

4. Eternal Rock of Ages

5. King of Glory 

6. Mighty God

7. King of kings

8. Lord of lords

9. Lord of hosts

10. Lilly of the valley

11. Healer

12. Deliverer

13. Provider

14. Creator

15. Potter

16. Day Star

17. Cornerstone 

18. Prophet of prophets

19. Saviour

20. I AM THAT I AM

21. Wisdom of God

22. Head of the church

23. Governor

24. Righteous Judge

25. Protector

26. Rock of salvation

27. Shield 

28. Merciful God

29. Gracious God

30.  Faithful God

31. Giver

32. Victorious in Holiness

33. Consuming Fire

34. El Elyon

35. Jehovah Raphael

36. Jehovah Rohi

37. Jehovah Jireh

38. Jehovah Elgibor

39. Jehovah Sham ah

40. Jehovah Shalom

41. El Olam

42. Defender

43. Redeemer 

44. Comforter 

45. Trinity in Council

46. Instructor

47. Teacher 

48. Inspirer

49. Reminder

50. Invinsible God

51. Hope of Glory

52. Lion of Judah

53. Root of Jesse

54. Man of war

55. Lamb of God

56. Sustainer

57. Convincer

58. Light of the world

59. Restorer

60. Silencer

61. Stiller of storms

62. Proclaimer 

63. Father of the fatherless

64. Husband of the widow

65. Smith of heaven

66. The Way

67. The Truth

68. The Life 

69. Bread of life

70. Bread Winner

71. Champion of champions

72. Winner of winners

73. Composer

74. Author 

75. Finisher 

76. Glorious in Holiness 

77. Fearful in praises

78. Sleepless God

79. Ancient of days

80. Ageless God

81. Eternal God

82. Excellent God

83. Powerful God

84. Leader of leaders

85. Chief Inventor

86. Convener 

87. Compassionate God

88. Commander-in-Chief of heavenly host 

89. Worthy King

90. Overseer

91. Moulder 

92. Shaper

93. Breaker

94. Praiseworthy God

95. Helper

96. Richer than the richest

97. Older than the oldest 

98. Trustworthy God

99. Arranger

100. Master Builder

101. Master Planner

102. Master Minder

103. Arrester 

104. Relentless God

105. Voice of hope

106. Beautiful God

107. Alpha and Omega

108.Game Changer

109. Our Refuge

110. Our fortress 

111. Our Buckler

112. Our Banner

113. Strong Tower

114. Unchanging changer

115. Rose of Sharon

116. All in All

117. Pillar of our lives 

118. The First Born

119. Lamb that was slain

120. The Glory & lifter of our heads

121. The word of God

122. Our Advocate

123. Our High Priest

124. Bishop of our souls

125. High and Lofty one

126. Almighty

127. Our Best Friend

128. On time God

129  Lion of Judah

130  Omnipotent

131. Omnipresent

132  Omniscient

133. Consumming fire Adonai

134. The beginning &         the end

135   Living water

136   Unquenchable  fire

137. Awesome God

138  Excellent Jehovah

139  Battle Winner

140  Unquestionable  God. 

141 Jehova Tchidkenu,

142 Mighty one in battle. 

143 Glorious in Holiness, 

144 Fearful in praises. 

145 Mighty man of valour. 

146 Miracle worker.

147 Rock of ages.

148 Merciful God.

149 Advocate.

150 Always  doing wonders.  

151 Amen and Hallelujah. 

152 Answer to prayers. 

153 Intercessor.

154 Interceptor. 

155 Balm of Gilead.

There is no one like Him. To Him be the Glory, forever, Amen

How do you feel, after calling these wonderful names? Your battles are settled!🙏🏻

May God bless all those who will read these wonderful names of God to the end and share the blessings to others by sending to atleast 6 people and groups you love and care about.

PADLOCK YOUR MOUTH ! ! ! Psalms 141:3

 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐗 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐒𝐎𝐍...

Calm down and listen.... 

Extra marital /pre marital sex ofcourse is discouraged, but we need to get to the root of what really disarmed Samson.

Before that fateful day, Samson had sex partners in almost every city he's been to (just as many today)

Samson's fall was progressive but one thing destroyed him completely. Read on to find out…..

All the mistakes Samson made prepared him by weakening him for that final fall.

Remember: if you fall in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

WHAT THEN HAPPENED TO SAMSON.

The same mistake Eve made, by revealing to the serpent what God told them.

Thrones are preserved by secrets.

Kingdoms are secured by mysteries.

Destiny is guarded by codes.

The moment Eve gave serpent the secret, she handed the code of the garden to the enemy.

There are covenant secrets you must defend with your life.

God is God because of secrets, there are a lot we still don't know about God. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Deut. 29:29.

Every nation has their secret service agency.

There are offices, companies and ministries you can never work in, until you are initiated into their secrecy, to preserve their secret.

Every destiny has a code and that's the secret of their success.

Joseph made same mistake, when he revealed to his brothers more than they deserve to know at that moment.

Stop talking too much.

Stop talking to everybody.

Stop talking about everything.

There are things God tells you that are meant for you only.

The damage the enemy couldn't do to Samson through sex, the moment he revealed his sacred covenant secret; they finished him.

Nobody should know your covenant code with God.

Preserve your spiritual ticket to Kingdom mysteries.

He that dwells in the secret place...

You cannot dwell in the secret place, until you are initiated into divine secrecy.

When Paul was caught up into the third heaven, he said he heard things which are not permitted for man to say.

If you have a leaking mouth, you are not qualified for power.

PADLOCK YOUR MOUTH ! ! !

Psalms 141:3

Pleased to Praise

 

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3, 5)

Why does God demand we must praise God?

C.S. Lewis:

Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?”

The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

There is the answer — the solution to the apparent egomania of God in demanding us to praise him! It is a demand for our greatest happiness. We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy would not be full.

So, if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts — not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all beings.

If he is truly for us, he must be for himself! God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimately loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When he does all things “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12, 14), he preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world that can satisfy our longings.

God is for us! And the foundation of this love is that God has been, is now, and always will be for himself.

LOVE IS THE HIGHEST RULE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY AUGUST 22, 2022.

SUBJECT: LOVE IS THE HIGHEST RULE!

Memory verse: "And now abide faith, hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (First Corinthians 13 vs 13.)

READ: Mark 12 vs 28 vs 31:

12:28: Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

12:29: Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

12:30: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

12:31: And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

INTIMATION:

Love is having great affection for, feeling a passionate attraction to. Biblically, It is described as the basic first cause and ultimate expression of God and man, is the Christian gospel, and church ethics; a fruit of the Spirit. Love describes God; “God is love” (First John 4 vs 8 & 16). Love as used of God, expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, and a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.

The intent of God’s Law is to promote love to God and others. Consequently, the Christian faith involves many rules that are meant to be governed by love. That makes love the highest rule, but it also moves Christians toward personal sacrifice, discipline, and responsibility, which are scarce resources in today’s world. When confronted with rules of your own or others’ making, ask: (1) Does the rule serve God’s purpose? (2) Does the rule reveal God’s character? (3) Does the rule help people get into God’s family, or keep them out? (4) Does the rule have biblical roots that can be supported in the context of all Scripture? Good rules pass all four tests.

Everything concerning God is summed up in love. His laws can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. When you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of God’s Law.—the “Ten Commandments.” According to Jesus, these two commandments summarize all God’s laws. Let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.

Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (First John 4 vs 9 - 10). 

Obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its object: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5 vs 8). It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.

Love explains: (1) why God creates—because He loves, He creates people to love; (2) why God cares—because He loves them, He cares for sinful people; (3) why we are free to choose—God wants a loving response from us; (4) why Christ died—His love for us caused Him to offer a solution to the problem of sin; and (5) why we receive eternal life—God’s love expresses itself to us forever.

Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. The Scripture says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (First John 3 vs 16). How can we “lay down our lives?” By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. 

Sometimes it is easier to say we’ll die for others than to truly live for them—this involves putting others’ desires first. Jesus taught this same principle of love, He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15 vs 13.) 

We are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and He loved us enough to give His life of inestimable value for ours that are completely worthless because of sin. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love: listening, helping, encouraging, giving, caring. Evaluate your lifestyle, and measure your obedience to the highest rule! You can start right away: Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the love you can, and then try to give a little more. Then make it a regular practice.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are love, and has poured out Your love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Give me the grace, and empower me to love as You do, in Jesu’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

An Unshakably Happy God

 

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

God is absolutely sovereign.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

Therefore, he is not frustrated. He rejoices in all his works when he contemplates them as colors of the magnificent mosaic of redemptive history. He is an unshakably happy God.

His happiness is foundationally the delight he has in himself. Before creation, he rejoiced in the image of his glory in the person of his Son — his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then the joy of God “went public” in the works of creation and redemption.

These works delight the heart of God because they reflect his glory. The heavens are telling the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works” (Psalm 104:31). He does everything he does to preserve and display that glory, for in this his soul rejoices.

All the works of God culminate in the praises of his redeemed people. “Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2). The climax of his happiness is the delight he takes in the echoes of his excellence in the praises of the saints. “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:10–11).

But our praise is not only God’s delight, as an echo of his excellence; it is also the apex of our joy. Praise is the consummation of the joy we have in seeing and savoring the greatness of God.

Therefore, God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in him are the same pursuit. This is the great outcome of the gospel of the glory of the grace of God in Christ!