Hope for the Worst of Sinners

 

I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” (Exodus 33:19)

Moses needed hope that God really could have mercy on a stiff-necked people who had just committed idolatry and scorned the God who brought them out of Egypt.

To give Moses the hope and confidence he needed, God said, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” In other words, “My choices do not depend on the degree of evil or good in man but solely upon my free, sovereign will. Therefore no one can say he is too evil to be shown grace.” That would imply God is not free, and election is not unconditional.

The doctrine of unconditional election is the great doctrine of hope for the worst of sinners. It means that when it comes to being a candidate for grace, your background has nothing to do with God’s choice. That’s good news.

If you have not been born again and brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ, do not sink into hopelessness thinking that the excessive rottenness or hardness of your past life is an insurmountable obstacle to God’s gracious work in your life. God loves to magnify the freedom of his grace by saving the worst of sinners.

Turn from your sin; call upon the Lord. Even in this daily devotion, that you are reading or hearing, he is being gracious to you, and giving you strong encouragement to come to him for mercy.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

SOME ENEMIES OF PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2022.

SUBJECT : SOME ENEMIES OF PRAYER! 

Memory verse: "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21 vs 22.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 22 - 24: 

11:22: So Jesus answering said to them, “Have faith in God.”

11:23: For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does  not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 

11:24: Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

11:25: And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

11:26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

INTIMATION: 

Prayer we already know is fellowshipping with the Father, and the Master. There are known enemies of prayer. Some of these enemies are very dear 'friends.' We have associated with them for many years, and it will be hard for us to give them up.

The most outstanding enemy is a lack of knowledge of whom we are in Christ, and what He is in us, what He did for us, and of our standing and legal rights before the Throne. All these are embedded in the Scriptures. And the lack of this knowledge is the bane of the believer. The Scripture says,  "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...." (Hosea 4 vs 6). It is in studying and meditation that God’s inheritance to you in Christ is revealed.  And until you do, you will never have a prayer life beyond the baby experience.

Another enemy is ignorance of what "Believing" is. The word "Believe" is a verb. It is an action word—it means to act upon the Word. Then believing the Word is simply acting on it. We act upon it as we act upon the word of our governments on taxes. Act on it the way you expect your children to act on your word of right morals to them. There is no believing without acting, and believing means having possession. I possess what the Word has promised. 

For instance, here is a statement of fact, Isaiah 53 vs 4 personalized: "Surely He has born my sicknesses and carried my pains and I have come to esteem Him as the one stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." You just don't give a mental assent to it, rather you act on the Word; you say it out to yourself and others, as if you are the only person Jesus is talking to. You claim it as your word, and eat it as if you are eaten your favorite meal. Declare it all the time. If you fail to speak and act on the Word, you are self-deceived.  The Believer is a "doer”  of the Word and not a hearer only.

Another enemy is praying for faith. It is a delusion to pray for faith or more faith. You can never get it. I have never heard of anyone getting more faith or having their faith increased by praying for it. Why is it so? Because the prayer for faith is a prayer based on unbelief. If unbelief were not your master, you wouldn't need faith. Praying for faith is because you are in doubt of the Father, His integrity, and His Word, hence you are praying for faith to believe Him. It is an absolute proof that you will not get it.

For instance, if a child should say to the mother, "Mum, I want you to increase my faith in you. I have been trying all morning to believe what you said that my birthday being this Saturday is true." It is noteworthy that the mother gave birth to the child and knows the day she gave birth, but the child is trying to believe the mother on the date of birth. That child is insulting the integrity of the mother. 

So when you pray for faith you are insulting the Author of the Word. You don't intend to, but you are doing that. This is the same as acting on the Word and still not believing on the efficacy of the Word. For instance, when you are divinely healed, you will not confess it because you still want to wait a while to confirm it is done.

Another enemy of prayer is our dependence on other people's faith. We become unconsciously spiritual hitchhikers. To everyone God has given a measure of faith (Romans 12 vs 3); that faith came when you received the Father's nature—you accepted Jesus Christ. That nature is a faith nature. As soon as it came into you and you became His child, you began to develop that faith. Just as you develop your mental strength by certain mental exercises, and develop your physical strength by certain physical exercises, now you are developing your faith by feeding on the Word (John 15 vs 7).

Our Father did give us a measure of faith because He knows that without it, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11 vs 6). If you have no faith you cannot please Him, even with somebody's faith posturing for you. Many times we have gone to the altar, and to the prayer room to pray for more faith, but to no avail. Your faith is built up when you begin to live in the Word, act on the Word, and take advantage of your inheritance in Christ.

Another enemy is the desire to read about the Bible and about prayer rather than to study the Word, meditate on it, and fit yourself for the highest known and holiest of all vocations. In my considered opinion, it is more than a vocation, it is a privilege, and the rarest of all privileges that have been given to us in grace.

Another known enemy an unforgiving heart. God does not answer the prayer that comes from an unforgiving heart. God will judge without mercy the one who has shown no mercy. Forgiving heart is a condition for answered prayer.

Prayer: Abba Father, my complete trust is in You. You are loving, unfailing and ever faithful. There is none like You in heaven and on earth. In You I live, and move, and have all my being. Blessed be Your holy Name forever. Endue me with the spirit of love that I may have the mind of Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISR THE LORD!

Let Goods and Kindred Go

 

Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. (Hebrews 10:32–35)

The Christians in Hebrews 10:32–35 have earned the right to teach us about costly love.

The situation appears to be this: In the early days of their conversion, some of them were imprisoned for their faith. The others were confronted with a difficult choice: Shall we go underground and stay “safe,” or shall we visit our brothers and sisters in prison and risk our lives and property? They chose the way of love and accepted the cost.

“For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property.”

But were they losers? No. They lost property and gained joy! They joyfully accepted the loss.

In one sense, they denied themselves. It was real and costly. But in another sense, they did not. They chose the way of joy. Evidently, these Christians were motivated for prison ministry the same way the Macedonians (of 2 Corinthians 8:1–9) were motivated to relieve the poor. Their joy in God overflowed in love for others.

They looked at their own lives and said, “The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life” (see Psalm 63:3).

They looked at all their possessions and said, “We have a possession in heaven that is better and lasts longer than any of this” (see Hebrews 10:34).

Then they looked at each other and said — perhaps sang — something like Martin Luther’s great hymn:

Let goods and kindred go
This mortal life also
The body they may kill
God’s truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever

PROPER CONDUCTS IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2022.

SUBJECT : PROPER CONDUCTS IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11 vs 24.)

READ: First Samuel 1 vs 9 - 16:

1:9: So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord.

1:10: And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD, and wept in anguish.

1:11: Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but wilt give Your maidservant a mail child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.

1:12: And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth.

1:13: Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

1:14:So Eli said to her, “How long wilt you be drunk? Put your wine away from you.

1:15: But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

1:16: Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.

INTIMATION:

The proper conducts in prayer include the following:-

1. We must be candid in our prayers.

God is “All-knowing,” therefore, go to Him in prayers with total sincerity of heart, and frankness in all intents and purposes. Don't keep anything back. In the passage we read today, Hannah had no child for her husband who really loved her. She was greatly discouraged and bitter because the husband's other wife had children and ridiculed her. Her loving husband could not solve her problem. She then turned in prayer to the Provider of solutions to all problems. The antidote to discouragement is telling God honestly of your problem, how you feel, and then leave your problems with Him.

It is difficult to pray in faith when we feel so ineffective, but Hannah did. We should always be careful of what we promise in our prayers because God may take us up on it. Hannah so desperately wanted a child that she was willing to strike a bargain with God. God took her up on her promise, and to her credit, she did her part, even though it was painful. Hannah made a vow in return for having a mail child, to dedicate him to God for lifetime service. God gave her a son named Samuel. She lived up to her promise, and God even blessed her with five more children excluding Samuel. 

2. Pray simply and directly. 

God is pleased with our sincerity, and uprightness. We can never pray vainly if our prayers are honest and sincere. Christ condemns vain repetitions in prayer (Matthew 6 vs 7). Repeating the same words over and over is no way to ensure that God will hear your prayer. Remember, God knows your needs even before you ask for them (Matthew 6 vs 8). However, you can come severally with the same request to God. In Matthew 26 vs 39 - 44, Jesus persistently prayed to the Father three times saying the same thing, even when He knew the Will of the Father. If you will say the same prayer now, it will take you less than twenty seconds, because it is simple, sincere, and direct. 

3. Pray audibly and in alignment with His Word—His Will.

Align your prayer with God’s Word. Put Him in remembrance of His Word (Isaiah 43 vs 26), He is always ready to perform His Word (Jeremiah 1 vs 12). The Word of God is our blueprint for life, the architectural plan for our divine destiny. The utterance of God's Word helps to activate our faith. If you can hear yourself when you pray, you are loud enough. You really don't need to shout. God expects you to speak to Him, not shout. In Isaiah 65 vs 24 God says, "It shall come pass that before you call, I will answer; and while you still speaking, I will hear." Not while you are shouting.

4. Pray passionately.

Your prayer, and supplication should be passionate. It is the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much" (James 5 vs 16). The Christian's most powerful resource is communing with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we thought were possible.

5. Don't mock God.

Do not ask God to do for you what He has already mandated you to do for yourself. Continuing to pray about what God has already told you to do is rebellion against the known Will of God. For instance, in Psalm 50 vs 15, God says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." If you are then in any trouble, the proper prayer is, "God I am in the day of trouble, I believe you will deliver Me as I call upon You," not "O God I am in trouble, will You deliver Me? I am Your child...." 

6. Pray believing.

God is never far from the person who seeks Him, and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The Bible in Hebrews 11 vs 6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Have faith in God (Mark 11 vs 22). Have faith that His promises are true and that they apply to you.

7. Pray without ceasing.

The door to prayer is always open; you should take full advantage of walking through that sacred gate often. In First Thessalonians 5 vs 17, the Bible says, "Pray without ceasing." We cannot spend all our times on our knees praying, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. This attitude is built upon acknowledging our dependence on God, realizing His presence within us, and determining to obey Him fully. Then we will find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous, short prayers. A prayerful attitude is not a substitute for regular times of prayer but should be an outgrowth of those times.

8. Pray with thanksgiving.

It is the spirit of thanksgiving that makes your prayer supernatural. The apostle Paul, in Philippians 4 vs 6 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Naturally, the best way to ask for more is to always be thankful. When you thank Him for what He has done, He will do more.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace for proper conduct in prayer; that I will pray acceptably to You and receives answer from You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Ammunition Against Anxiety

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

One of the things we are thankful for when we let our requests be known to God is his promises. These are the ammunition in the cannon that cuts down the unbelief that produces worry. So here’s how I fight.

When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise of Isaiah 55:11. “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).

When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

When I am anxious about the welfare of those I love, I battle unbelief with the promise that if I, being evil, know how to give good things to my children, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).

And I fight to maintain my spiritual equilibrium with the reminder that everyone who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for Christ’s sake, shall “receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29–30).

When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

And I take the promise with trembling: “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3–5).

THE MEANING OF PRAYER/PRAYING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE MEANING OF PRAYER/PRAYING!

Memory verse: "Men ought always to pray and not faint." (Luke 18 vs 1.)

READ: Matthew 6 vs 9 - 13:

6:9: In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

6:10: Your kingdom come. Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

6:11: Give us this day our daily bread. 

6:12: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

6:13: And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

INTIMATION: 

Prayer is a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity. Praying is to speak reverently to God in order to express thanks or make a request. It is earnestly entreating God in sincerity of your intention—supplication. Prayer is our need crying out for help with the voice of faith to the Father. Prayer therefore, is born out of the sense of need, and the assurance that the need will be met. Prayer is one of the greatest opportunities given to man by God. It is one of the greatest privileges and ministries available to all Christians. Indeed everyone who seeks to take his or her place in the Kingdom of God should seek or learn how to pray effectively. 

Most Christians have realized the fact that the Father's heart is hungry for the companionship of His children. His heart hunger is the reason for man and his redemption. God wants a constant fellowship with His children. It was His plan from the beginning hence He visited Adam everyday in the Garden. He loves us and that love impels Him to call us to prayer.

It is God's Will that His children will come to His Throne Room, to stand in His presence  without reproof or condemnation. Jesus Christ, knowing the quest of the Father on His children, to commune with Him in prayer, said to the disciples while teaching them how to pray, "When you pray" (Matthew 6 vs 5), and not "if you pray." It is clearly God's intention that His children will always commune with their Loving Father, coming joyously into the presence of their Loving Parent, and are welcome.

In summary, prayer is part of God's program for us, to come before Him with our needs, trusting Him to meet those needs. Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach but rather taught them how to pray. God not only welcomes us in prayer, He is waiting for us to pray. Consequently, He taught us to pray, and to do it always, as He is with us in this prayer life. 

In our memory verse, Jesus noted that we should persist in prayer and not give up. The apostle Paul collaborated this when he advised that we pray without ceasing (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17). However, this does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays have good reasons. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope. 

Therefore, prayer is the vital contact with the Father, coming near enough to breathe in His very presence, coming boldly into the Throne Room and standing in His presence. It is more than bringing Him to the scene. It is going into the presence of the Father and Jesus in an executive meeting, laying our needs before them and making our requisitions for ability, for grace, for His enablement to face our challenges, like healing for someone, victory for someone, or financial needs. Whatever the needs they may be, we are making a demand upon Him.

When we pray, we are in constant communication with the Father and it enriches us spiritually. We touch the Father through our prayers, and there cannot be any touching of the Master without the Master knowing it. When our need touches Him, it makes a demand upon his ability to meet that need. 

Prayer: Abba Father, by You all things consist. Your thoughts for me is of good. Endue me with the spirit of excellence and boldness for constant communion with You in prayers, to have my path in life determined by You, communicated to me, that I will walk in it, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Not Nearly Hedonistic Enough

 

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19–20)

The message that needs to be shouted from the houses of high finance is this: Secular man, you are not nearly hedonistic enough!

Quit being satisfied with the little 2% yields of pleasure that get eaten up by the moths of inflation and the rust of death. Invest in the blue-chip, high-yield, divinely insured securities of heaven.

Devoting a life to material comforts and security and thrills is like throwing money down a rat hole. But investing a life in the labor of love yields dividends of joy unsurpassed and unending:

“Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. [And thus] provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (Luke 12:33).

This message is very good news: Come to Christ, in whose presence are fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Join us in the labor of Christian Hedonism. For the Lord has spoken: It is more blessed to love than to live in luxury! More blessed now, and forever.