Hold Fast to Your Hope

 Hold Fast to Your Hope

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17–18)

Why does the writer of Hebrews encourage us to hold fast to our hope? If the final enjoyment of our hope was obtained and irrevocably secured by the blood of Jesus, then why does God tell us to hold fast?

The answer is this:

What Christ bought for us when he died was not the freedom from having to hold fast, but the enabling power to hold fast.

What he bought was not the nullification of our wills as though we didn’t have to hold fast, but the empowering transformation of our wills so that we want to hold fast.

What he bought was not the canceling of the commandment to hold fast, but the fulfillment of the commandment to hold fast.

What he bought was not the end of exhortation, but the triumph of exhortation.

He died so that you would do exactly what Paul did in Philippians 3:12, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” It is not foolishness, it is the gospel, to tell a sinner to do what Christ alone can enable him to do; namely, hope in God.

So, I exhort you with all my heart: Reach out and take hold of that for which you have been taken hold of by Christ. Hold it fast with all your might — which is his might. His blood-bought gift of your obedience.

DO NOT TOLERATE SIN IN YOUR LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2024.

SUBJECT : DO NOT TOLERATE SIN IN YOUR LIFE!

Memory verse: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-“ (Mark 9 vs 43.)

READ: Matthew 5 vs 29 - 30:

5:29: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

5:30: And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 

INTIMATION:

We are to be completely intolerant of sin and remove it from our lives. God cannot condone or excuse even the smallest sin, therefore, we cannot excuse ourselves for sinning only a little bit. We should be tolerant of people who hold differing views, but we should not condone beliefs or practices that lead people away from God’s standard of living.

We sometimes tolerate sin in our lives that, left unchecked, could eventually destroy us. It is better to experience the pain of removal (getting rid of a bad habit or something we treasure, for instance) than to allow the sin to bring judgement and condemnation. Examine your life for anything that causes you to sin, and take every necessary action to remove it.

Not tolerating sin in our lives is not easy in a world full of immoral conducts. We also are living in times of widespread sin and sexual immorality. It is popular to be open-minded toward many types of sin, calling them personal choices or alternative lifestyles. But when the body of believers begins to tolerate sin amongst them, it lowers the standards and compromises the believers’ witnessing for Christ. Remember that God’s approval is infinitely more important than the world’s. Use God’s Word, not what people around you are willing to accept, to set the standards for what is right or wrong. 

One of the realities of sin is that its effects spread. When we do something wrong, often we try to relieve our guilt by involving someone else. Like toxic waste spilled in a river, sin swiftly spreads. Sin in our lives is similar to pollution in streams. Even small amounts are deadly. A small sin has the tendency of growing out of control. 

When we discover sin in our lives, we must deal with it completely. When God points out sin, move quickly to remove it from your life. We often choose to tolerate sin rather than drive it from our lives. We may know what to do but just don’t follow through. This results in a gradual deterioration of our relationship with God. In our battles, we may grow tired and want rest, but we need to know that God loves us and has given us a purpose for life. Victory comes from living according to His purpose and from being willing to fully obey Him. 

In our anchor Scripture., the starling language is not meant to promote self-mutilation, but instead stresses the importance of cutting sin out of our lives. Painful self-discipline is required of God’s true followers. Giving up a relationship, job, or habit that is against God’s will may seem just as painful as cutting off a hand, but Christ is worth any possible loss or discomfort. Nothing should stand in the way of faith. We must be ruthless in removing sin from our lives now in order to avoid suffering for eternity. Make your choices from an eternal perspective.

As we grow spiritually, our sensitivity to sin increases. As God makes us aware of sin, we must be intolerant toward it and be willing to change. All believers should strive to be more tolerant of people but less tolerant of the sin in themselves and others. Are you insensitive, unconcerned, disappointed, or comfortable? What is your reaction to sin in your life? 

It is not the sins we don’t know about but the sin we excuse that causes us the greatest trouble. We must never let any sin go unchallenged. In your life, is an unchallenged sin spreading like a deadly cancer? Don’t excuse it. Confess the sin to God and ask Him for strength to resist temptation. 

Prayer: Abba Father, sin is an abomination before You., O Most Holy God. Endue me with the spirit of delightsome obedience to Your Word, and empower me to live for You all the days of my life. Help me to resist any temptations that comes my way, that I may find strength to lead a holy life pleasing to You at all times, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When God Swears by God

 When God Swears by God

Since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” (Hebrews 6:13–14)

There is one Person whose worth and honor and dignity and preciousness and greatness and beauty and reputation is more than all other values combined — ten thousand times more — namely, God himself. So, when God takes an oath, he swears by himself. 

If he could have gone higher, he would have gone higher. Why? To give you strong encouragement in your hope. What God is saying in swearing by himself is that it is as impossible that he will break his word of promise to bless us as it is that he will ever despise himself. 

God is the greatest value in the universe. There is nothing more valuable or wonderful than God. So, God swears by God. And in doing that he says, “I mean for you to have as much confidence in me as it is possible to have.” For if more were possible, Hebrews 6:13 says, he would have given us that. “Since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.” 

Now this is our God, the God who is reaching as high as he can reach to inspire your unshakable hope in him. So, flee to God for refuge. Turn from all the superficial, self-defeating hopes of the world, and put your hope in God. There is nothing and no one like God as a refuge and a rock of hope.

CRAVE FOR A CHILDLIKE FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2024.

SUBJECT : CRAVE FOR A CHILDLIKE FAITH!

Memory verse: "And said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18: vs 3.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 15 - 17:

18:15: Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

18:16: But Jesus called them to Him, and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

18:17: Assuredly, I say to you, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

INTIMATION:

Having faith like a child means we should have confidence in the promises of Christ and faith even in situations where we cannot see any hope. Children are naturally full of faith. They are able to trust and praise God without doubts or reservations, with humble and sincere hearts. It is difficult, but healthy, to identify with “children”—weak and dependent people with no status or influence. Children are innocent, they marvel in God's creation, they are trusting, they rely on others to sustain them, they are honest and bold, they ask questions, and are eager to learn. As we get older, many of us find this more and more difficult to do.

One must have the attitude of submissive little children in order to be of the spiritual nature that is necessary to enter the spiritual kingdom. The children represent the nature of those who would accept Christ’s kingdom reign in their hearts. In order to receive His kingdom reign, one must humble himself as a child who is not presumptuous in his behavior. Little children have the kind of faith and trust needed to enter God’s kingdom.

Having faith like a child is no easy feat. In Matthew 18 vs 4, Jesus tells us “whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Having faith like a child requires putting aside one’s will. This way our opinions and misconceptions do not get in the way of trusting Christ wholeheartedly. We have to admit that we do not always know what is best and humble ourselves, which can be a challenge.

Children often have very little control over their own lives. Yet, in healthy circumstances, children embrace the fact that they have to put their trust in other people. They trust what their parents, teachers or other adults say without doubts or fear. For example, when a young child is shown a magic trick, their eyes light up with wonder.

Adults, on the other hand, are much more skeptical than children. It seems as the childlike faith and wonder are somehow lost in the process of growing up. Most adults do not embrace putting their reliance or trust in other people as children do. In some ways, this is good because it protects us against being hurt and shows we are more aware than children are. However, in other ways, embracing trust and faith like a child is beneficial.

Having childlike faith in Christ as an adult does not mean that we have to trust blindly as some may assume. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Children are often open to learning and trying something for themselves. For example, if you tell a young child there is a puppy outside the house, they will most likely believe you, but they will investigate the fact for themselves. If what you are saying adds up and there is a dog outside when they go to look, that fact will strengthen their trust.

Everyone, whether they realize it or not, acts in faith everyday. When we get in a car, we place trust in the drivers around us to drive safely so we can arrive at our destination. When you order food from your favorite restaurant, you have faith that the chef is preparing your meal properly. If you look at the weather on your phone and decided you don’t need a jacket, you are putting faith in the weather forecast.

You may have heard the phrase having faith like a child or childlike faith in reference to faith in Christ. Although the Bible never uses this phrase, it does have a lot to say about faith. Hebrews 11 vs 1 tells us that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Children are known for their pure belief and trust, and as Christians we can learn something from them. Ask God to give you childlike faith, removing any barriers to having a closer walk with Him.

The Scripture, in First Peter 3 vs 15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meanness and fear;” When the Bible talks about being like a child, it does not mean that we should not be educated and have reasons for our beliefs. However, having faith like a child means we should have confidence in the promises of Christ and faith even in situations where we cannot see any hope.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of childlike trust and confidence in You and delightsome obedience to Your Word, and empower me to live for You all the days of my life, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

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.

FIX YOUR SEARCH ON GOD ONLY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2024.

SUBJECT: FIX YOUR SEARCH ON GOD ONLY! 

Memory verse: "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His Will.”(Ephesians 1 vs 11.)

READ: Matthew 16 vs 25 - 26:

16:25: For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 

16:26: For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"

INTIMATION:

Many books have been written that suggests ways to discover the purpose of one’s life. All of them are classified as "self-help" books because they all approached the subject from a self-centered viewpoint, and predictable steps to finding one’s life's purpose. Some of the steps offered by these books are titled; ‘Consider your dreams.’ ‘Clarify your values.’ ‘Set some goals.’ ‘Figure out what you are good at.’ ‘Aim high.’ ‘Go for it!’ ‘Be disciplined.’ ‘Believe you can achieve your goals.’ ‘Involve others.’ ‘Never give up.’

Of course, these recommendations often lead to great success. You can usually succeed in reaching a goal if you apply yourself to it. But being successful, and fulfilling your life's purpose are not at all the same issue! You could reach all your personal goals, and achieve your set objectives, becoming a star, or a raving success by the world's standard, and still miss the purpose for which God created you. You need more than self-help advice. 

God is not just the starting point of our lives; He is the source of it. To discover our purposes in life we must turn to God's Word, not the world's wisdom. You must build our lives on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success motivation, or inspirational stories. God, in His infinite wisdom, purposefully created us, and we are to serve His purpose to live a purposeful life.

Today’s memory verse is quite clear and direct on how we find our purpose on earth. It is in Christ that we find out who we are (we obtain an inheritance), and what we are living for (the purpose of Him for us), and He did it all according to His Will. He works all things according to his overall plans and purposes in everything and for everyone.

God is working all things according to His plan. It is not that things in reference to the Christian’s salvation are happening by fate. All things are being unfolded according to the predetermined mystery of God that has now been revealed to all men through the cross and the church. 

God is unique in His knowledge and in His control of the future. His consistent purpose is to carry out what he has planned. The verse in Ephesians gives us three insights into our purposes: 1. We discover our identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ. 2. God was thinking of every one of us long before we ever thought about Him. His purpose for our lives predates our conception. He planned it before we existed, without our input! We may choose our career, our spouse, our hobbies, and many other parts of our lives, but we don't get to choose our purpose. 3. The purposes of our lives fit into a much larger, cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity.

God told Jeremiah; "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1 vs 5.) God knew us, as He knew Jeremiah, long before we were born or even conceived. He thought about us and planned for us individually. God has a purpose for each and everyone of us. In the same way He ordained Jeremiah a prophet to the nations while he was still in the womb, we are all appointed for various kinds of work. Discover yours!

Fixation on self instead on your Maker is wrong. Such obsession with self in these matters is a dead end. The Bible in Romans 8 vs 6 states; "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

In the passage we read today, Jesus gives the panacea for discovering your purpose. God relates with us in the spirit and the soul. The 'soul' is the individual's essential self, life, and being. Jesus said to His disciples, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. They should follow Him and He will show them their life's purpose. 

Jesus advised them that self-help is no help at all, but self-sacrifice is the way, God's way to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? Achieving your life's purpose ordained by your Creator is more valuable than gaining the whole world.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You all things lie. Help me discover the purpose of Your creating me, and have ordained me to serve, for in serving the preordained purpose, I will lead a purposefully fulfilled life in You, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Gravity of Gratitude

 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.