FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE AVAILS MUCH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY MARCH 28, 2025.

SUBJECT: FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE AVAILS MUCH!

Memory verse: "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5 vs 6.) 

READ: James 2 vs 14 - 20:

2:14: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

2:15: If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

2:16: and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body; what does it profit?

2:17: Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

2:18: But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

2:19: You believe that there is one God; you do well. Even the devils believe—and tremble!

2:20: But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

INTIMATION:

We become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please ourselves. We are saved by faith, not by deeds. But love for others and for God, is the response of those whom God has forgiven. God’s forgiveness is complete, and Jesus said that those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7 vs 47). Because faith expresses itself through love, you can check your love for others as a way to monitor your faith.

The characteristics of an effective Christian in any age is work produced by faith, labor prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope. As Christians, our calling from God is to become like Christ (Romans 8 vs 29). To be worthy of this calling means to want to do what is right and good as Christ would. Christians have been created anew in Christ by obedience to the gospel (Romans 6 vs 4 - 5). Since they are recreated in Christ, they respond with good works of thanksgiving. They have been so created, not by good works, but for good works. Such actions show that their commitment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ.

Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message, hope is the attitude and focus, love is the action. Therefore, your faith is put into action through love. Love involves unselfish service to others. When faith and hope are in place, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves. While it is true that our good deeds can never earn salvation, true faith always results in a changed life and good deeds. Love endures forever (First Corinthians 13 vs 13). Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is an attribute of God Himself (First John 4 vs 8). Does your faith fully express itself in loving others? 

Your faith should be carried into action with an obedient response to the grace of God. (Second Corinthians 4 vs 15). Your faith should move you into action. In your relationship with one another you should be moved into action to care for one another. God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit, but to benefit others in our faith works through love, serve Christ and build up the church. Christians thus work in response to what God has done for them (First Corinthians 15 vs 10). It is their works that manifest their response to the grace of God. 

Though good works are not a qualification of the saving grace of God, rather it is a manifestation of the obedient and faithful response to the free gift of grace. What is required of a Christian is a faith that works through love. This is the obedient faith that responds to the grace of God. One’s recognition of his salvation by the free gift of grace motivates one to work out of love and thanksgiving. When one trusts in God for his or her salvation by grace, he or she will lovingly respond in obedience to God with a better relationship with his or her fellow human. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for your saving grace bestowed on me in Christ. My faith is in You. Give me the grace to manifest my faith working through love for You and others, that I will be a through sin of my Father in heaven and my Redeemer, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

10 Results of the Resurrection

10 Results of the Resurrection

 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)

Here are ten amazing things we owe to the resurrection of Jesus:

1) A Savior who can never die again. “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Romans 6:9).

2) Repentance. “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel” (Acts 5:30–31).

3) New birth. “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

4) Forgiveness of sin. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

5) The Holy Spirit. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:32–33).

6) No condemnation for the elect. “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).

7) Jesus’s personal fellowship and protection. “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

8) Proof of coming judgment. “[God] has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

9) Salvation from the future wrath of God. “[We] wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 5:9).

10) Our own resurrection from the dead. “[We know] that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence” (2 Corinthians 4:14; Romans 6:4; 8:11; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:20).

THE SUPREME SACRIFICE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY MARCH 27, 2025.

SUBJECT: THE SUPREME SACRIFICE!

Memory verse:  "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor that you through His poverty might become rich.” (Second Corinthians 8 vs 9.) 

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:

In the beginning God created us in His image and after His likeness. He created us out of love, modeled us to be like Him, and to live the best of life without lack or want. But our first parents—Adam and Eve—were grossly influenced that they doubted His integrity, and disobeyed Him when they are the forbidden fruit. It was for the reason of our parents haven done things wrong—disobeyed God’s laws—that we were separated from God our Creator. Separation from God is death; but, by ourselves, we can do nothing to become reunited with God.

His sincere, and genuine love, and concern for us occasioned His sending His only begotten Son to the world for our liberation. His Son, Jesus, was God’s unique Son, Who never disobeyed God and never sinned. Consequently, only Him can bridge the gap between the sinless God and sinful people. Jesus’ incarnation was the act of the preexistent Son of God voluntarily assuming a human body and human nature. Without ceasing to be God, He became a human being, the man called Jesus. He didn’t give up His deity to become human, but He set aside the right to His glory and power. 

Jesus came as a propitiation for us, freely offered His life for us; He knew no sin, but was made sin for our sakes, taking all our wrongdoing upon Himself, dying a shameful death on the cross in our place, and saving us from the consequences of sin—including God’s judgement and death. He gave His life so that we can have life, not only having life, but having it more abundantly.

Before the incarnation and the manifestation of God through Jesus, Jesus was originally in the totality of God in being, essence and experience: He was in the “form” of God—Spirit (John 4 vs 24), and “equal with God” in essence, being, eternity, and work. Since He was God, then He would not have existed in any other state of being than what God is. However, in order to accomplish the redemption of mankind, He did not consider His being as God something that could not be forsaken for the benefit of His creation. 

Jesus was willing to lay aside or empty Himself of His being and essence as God in order to incarnate in the flesh of man. Therefore, He did not have on earth the totality of that which He had before the incarnation. In some way, He made a supreme sacrifice in incarnation in order to accomplish the plan of redemption for the salvation of man: In contrast to lordship, He took on slavehood. In contrast to existence in spirit, He took on the physical. In order to become the slave of humanity, He has to take on the form of humanity. In order to make the divine sacrifice for the sins of humanity, He had to incarnate into the form of those for whom He would die. 

The magnitude of His transition from God to man (Deity to flesh) was awesome and incomprehensible. In the lowered state of incarnation, Jesus was not only in the form of man, but also in a different relationship with the Godhead than what He had before incarnation. In the form of man, He maintained an obedient relationship to God, the Father. He voluntarily died on the cross because it was the Will of God. 

Jesus, as a Deity, was rich in all things; haven all things created by Him and for Him. But He became poor by giving up His rights as God and becoming human. In His incarnation, God voluntarily became man—the person Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, Jesus was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. He did not give up His eternal power when He became human, but He did set aside His glory and His rights. In response to the Father’s Will, He limited His power and knowledge. Christ became poor when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us rich because we received salvation and eternal life. What a “SUPREME SACRIFICE!”

Jesus took our past, present, and future sins upon Himself so that we could have new life. Because all our wrongdoing is forgiven, we are reconciled to God. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the proof that His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God, and His resurrection has become the source of new life for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. All who believe in Him may have this new life and live it in union with Him. This great and supreme sacrifice, has never been done before, and ever will it be done by any again.

Prayer: Abba Father, there is nothing I can do to adequately compensate for what You did for me in redemption. Virtually nothing! I will forever be grateful for all You did for me in redemption. My utmost heart desire is to obey and trust You in all things, by all means, with all my being all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Delight in God’s Word

 How to Delight in God’s Word

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

Never reduce Christianity to a matter of demands and resolutions and willpower. It is a matter of what we love, what we delight in, what tastes good to us. 

When Jesus came into the world, humanity was split according to what they loved. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19). The righteous and the wicked are separated by what they delight in — the revelation of God in Jesus, or the way of the world. 

So someone may ask: How can I come to delight in the word of God? My answer is twofold: 

1) pray for new tastebuds on the tongue of your heart;

2) meditate on the staggering promises of God to his people.

The same psalmist who said, “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103), said earlier, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). He prayed this, because to have spiritual eyes to see glory, or to have holy tastebuds on the tongue of the heart, is a gift of God. No one naturally hungers for, and delights in, God and his wisdom.

But when you have prayed, indeed while you pray, meditate on the benefits God promises to his people and on the joy of having Almighty God as your helper now and forever. Psalm 1:3–4 says that the person who meditates on God’s word “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Who would not delight to read a book, the reading of which would change one from useless chaff to a mighty cedar of Lebanon, from a Texas dust bowl to a Hawaiian orchard? Nobody deep down wants to be chaff — rootless, weightless, useless. All of us want to draw strength from some deep river of reality and become fruitful, useful people.

That river of reality is the word of God, and all the great saints have been made great by it.

CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY MARCH 26, 2025.

SUBJECT: CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS!

Memory verse: “So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.” (Exodus 32 vs 19.) 

READ: Numbers 14 vs I - 4:

14:1: So all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

14:2: And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt!! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 

14:3: Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? 

14:4: And they said one to another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.

INTIMATION:

Emotion is a moving of the feelings, an agitation of the mind. It is any of the various phenomena of the mind, such as anger, joy, fear, depression, murmur or sorrow, associated also with physical symptoms. 

Uncontrolled emotions can lead you to sin, especially when expressed negatively. Emotions such as anger, worry, and losing your temper are very destructive. They reveal a lack of faith that God loves us and is in control. We should not worry, instead, we should trust in God, giving ourselves to Him for His use and safekeeping. When you dwell on your problems, you will become anxious and angry. But if you concentrate on God and His goodness, you will find peace.

Jesus taught us on the emotions of anger and worry (Matthew 5 vs 21 - 24; 6 vs 25 - 33), admonishing us to control them. He likened anger to killing which is a terrible sin. Anger can be against someone or something, when against someone, it is a seething, brooding bitterness against the person, and incidentally violates God’s command to love. It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress, and spiritual damage. Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to God. 

Jesus also admonished us against worrying apparently because of its ill effects on us. Worry may (1) damage your health, (2) disrupt your productivity, (3) negatively affect the way you treat others, (4) reduce your ability to trust in God, and (5) its inability to solve our problems. Jesus ironically asked, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Matthew 6 vs 27.) Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today, and worrying is more harmful than helpful.

Although, there is a place for righteous anger. For instance, in Exodus 32, when Moses, on descending from the mountain, where he had gone to receive God’s commandment on the tablets of Testimony, he saw the children of Israel worshiping and dancing around the gold calf they have made for themselves. He was overwhelmed by the actual sight of the blatant idolatry and revelry. Very angry he threw away the tablets at the foot of the mountain and broke them. Anger at sin is a sign of spiritual vitality, therefore, do not squelch this kind of anger. However, when you are justifiably angry at sin, still be careful not to do anything that you will regret later.

Again, Moses anger against the nagging, slandering, and rebelling children of Israel, made him to disobey God. Instead of speaking to the rock to bring out water, he struck the rock twice. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers 20 vs 11 - 12.) By striking the rock, Moses disobeyed God’s direct command in the presence of His people. And because of this great responsibility to the people as the leader and role model, he could not be let off lightly. Consequently, after all his travails from Egypt and in the wilderness, he did not enter the Promised Land. 

Now, let us look at Job emotional reaction when Satan incited God against him, and Satan was allowed to attack him. He lost all his possessions and children: “Then Job arose, tore his rob, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped. And said: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” (Job 1 vs 20 - 22.)

Job did not hide his overwhelming grief. He had not lost his faith in God. Instead, his emotions showed that he was human and that he loved his family. God created our emotions, and it is not sinful or inappropriate to express them as Job did. If you have experienced a deep loss, a disappointment, or a heartbreak, admit your feelings to yourself and others, and grieve. 

Job had lost his possessions and family in this attack of Satan’s which God allowed to put him to test, but he reacted rightly toward God by acknowledging God’s sovereign authority over everything God had given him. Job’s right reaction made him passed God’s test and proved that people can love God for who He is, not for what He gives.

In Job 7 vs 11, Job said, “Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” He felt deep anguish and bitterness, and he spoke honestly to God about his feelings to let out his frustrations. If we express our feelings to God, we can deal with them without exploding in harsh words and actions, possibly hurting ourselves and others. We must never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to God. He understands and knows them. Be honest, and don’t try to hide anything from your Savior. He cares. 

The next time strong emotions threaten to overwhelm you, express them openly to God in prayer. This will help you gain an eternal perspective on the situation and give you greater ability to deal with it constructively because our helper the Holy Spirit will offer the desired help.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You I live and move and have my being. Endue with the spirit of complete trust in You and self-control, that in any circumstances, I will not react negatively out of emotions, knowing that You love me and I love You and all things works together for my good because I trust in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Forever Satisfied

 Forever Satisfied

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

This text points to the fact that believing in Jesus is a feeding and drinking from all that Jesus is. It goes so far as to say that our soul-thirst is satisfied with Jesus, so that we don’t thirst anymore.

He is the end of our quest for satisfaction. There is nothing beyond, and nothing better.

When we trust Jesus the way John intends for us to, the presence and promise of Jesus is so satisfying that we are not dominated by the alluring pleasures of sin (see Romans 6:14). This accounts for why such faith in Jesus nullifies the power of sin and enables obedience. 

John 4:14 points in the same direction: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In accord with John 6:35, saving faith is spoken of here as a drinking of water that satisfies the deepest longings of the soul. And the satisfaction becomes productive, like a well overflowing.

It’s the same in John 7:37–38: “Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”’” 

Through faith, Christ becomes in us an inexhaustible fountain of satisfying life that lasts forever and leads us to heaven, and on the way sets us free from the sinful illusions of other satisfactions. This he does by sending us his Spirit (John 7:38–39).

HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MARCH 25, 2025.

SUBJECT : HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!

Memory verse: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 18.)

READ: Luke 17 vs 12 - 19:

17:12: Then as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.

17:13: And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

17:14: So when He saw them, He said unto them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

17:15: And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,

17:16: and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17:17: So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”

17:18: Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?”

17:19: And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

INTIMATION:

We have learned that every good thing that comes to us in this life comes by the grace of God. And until we recognize that truth, we will never be the kind of thankful, grateful people God desires us to be. God's attitude is that if His people really believe Him, then no matter what happens in life they will know that He is big enough to handle it and to make it work out for their good, if they continue to have faith in Him. God desires a thankful people, not a murmuring, grumbling, fault-finding, complaining people. Joy and peace are found in believing, not in murmuring, grumbling, fault-finding, or complaining.

It is God’s Will that we should give Him thanks in everything. Since we have been graciously adopted as children of God, and born of the Will of God, we should rest assured of His presence in our lives at all times. Therefore, in everything that happens to us, we should be thankful for God's presence, and for the good that He will accomplish through the happening in our lives. The Scripture says, "All things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8 vs 28). 

God works in 'all things,' not just in 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. God does not demand that we thank Him, but He is pleased when we do so and uses our responsiveness to teach us more about Himself, revealing Himself more to us for our benefits. 

In the passage we read today, only one of the ten lepers had an attitude of gratitude and returned to give thanks to Jesus. And Jesus recognized that, and asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” (Luke 17 vs 17 - 18.) 

Jesus then turned to the thankful man, noted his faith, and pronounced his wholeness or wellness—not just his being cured of leprosy. It is possible to receive God's great gifts with an ungrateful spirit. Nine out of the ten lepers did that. However, only grateful Christians grow in understanding of God's grace. 

The bases of gratitude or thankfulness is declaring God's character and attributes in the presence of others. When we recognize and affirm His goodness we are holding up His perfect moral nature for all to see. And this benefits us because it takes our minds off our problems and needs and focus on God's power, mercy, majesty, and love, giving glory to God in worship.

As human beings we are subject to selfishness and ingratitude. We can pray and believe God for something, and even be very thankful and grateful for it when we receive it. But it doesn't take us very long and we are no longer thankful and grateful for them. We quickly and easily can fall prey to an ungrateful attitude. 

For instance, we can believe God for a life partner, and even be thankful and grateful when we are married. Then within a matter of months, we are grumbling, murmuring, and complaining that God gave us a partner that is always "nagging."

Or we are believing God for the fruit of the womb, and thankful and grateful when we got pregnant and delivered to a baby. In a few years we are griping and complaining and questioning God for giving us  "a stubborn child." Or still, we can believe God for a bigger house, and even be thankful and grateful when we first received one. Then within a short period, we can find ourselves griping and complaining because now we have to clean that "big old house!"

You and I have multitudinous opportunities to complain on a regular basis. But all complaining do open the door to the enemy. It doesn't solve problems; it just creates a breeding ground for greater problems. We should be grateful and thankful to God always. In the event of our desiring something more, we then go to the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of grace and supplication—which is the power of God coming into our lives to help us solve every problem that we encounter, as well as helping us institute any changes we desire.

Let's learn to respond to the help we are already getting but don't deserve by developing an attitude of gratitude. This is not just an occasional word of thanks, but a continual lifestyle of thanksgiving. The person who has developed an "attitude of gratitude" is one who is thankful and grateful for every single thing that God is doing in his or her life day by day.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of gratitude in all things, knowing that You work in all things for my good because of Your love, mercy, faithfulness  and adoption as Your son, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!