Two of Our Deepest Needs

 Two of Our Deepest Needs

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1)

We as a church are “in” a Father and “in” a Lord. What does that mean?

The word “Father” implies primarily care and sustaining and protection and provision and discipline. So, to be “in” the Father would mean mainly to be in the care and under the protection of God as our heavenly Father.

The other designation is Lord: We are in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “Lord” implies primarily authority and leadership and ownership. So, to be “in” the Lord means mainly to be in the charge, under the authority, and in the possession of Jesus as our supreme Lord.

So, Paul greets the Thessalonian church in such a way as to remind them that they are a family (in the care of a Father) and that they are servants (in the charge of a Lord). These two descriptions of God as Father and Lord, and thus of the church as family and servants, correspond to two of our deepest needs.

Every single one of us has a need for rescue and help, on the one hand, and the need for purpose and meaning, on the other. 

We need a heavenly Father to pity us and rescue us from sin and misery. We need his help every step of the way, because we are so weak and vulnerable. 

We also need a heavenly Lord to guide us in life and tell us what is wise and give us a great and meaningful charge to fulfill, and reason for existence, some usefulness for the way God made us. We don’t just want to be safe in the care of a Father — as precious and needed as that is. We want a glorious cause to live for. 

We want a merciful Father to be our Protector, and we want an omnipotent Lord to be our Champion and our Commander and our Leader in some great cause. So, when Paul says in verse 1, You are the church “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” we can take rest and help from the one — God is our Father! And we can take courage and meaning from the other — Jesus is our Lord!

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MARCH 31, 2026.

SUBJECT : BLESS AND DO NOT CURSE!

Memory verse: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." (Romans 12 vs 14.)

READ: James 3 vs 8 - 12:

3:8: But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

3:9: With it we bless our God and Father; and with it we curse men, who has been made in the similitude of God.

3:10: Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

3:11: Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

3:12: Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

INTIMATION:

Christians should always remember God’s law of love—love for God and our neighbor. Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is an attitude of God Himself (First John 4 vs 8). Love should make a Christian always bless others rather than curse them because it sees good at the end of everything. Therefore, any Christian practicing God’s law of love is never hypocritical. It is hypocritical for a Christian to speak good of God and evil of his brother or sister in Christ at the same time. Hypocrisy is revealed in the one who speaks both blessings and cursing. Hypocrite seeks to worship God, while at the same time, he or she harbors animosity toward his or her brother or sister in Christ. 

Springs do not bring forth fresh and bitter water. Fig trees do not bear olives and grapevines do not yield figs. In the same manner, a sincere Christian does not speak blessings and cursing. As it is unnatural for trees and vines to bear that which is not common to their fruit. Praises to God and curses of men should not come forth from the same mouth. One cannot propose to giving praise to God while at the same time cursing those who are made after the image of God. Criticizing what God has made in His image and likeness, and the same time praising God for all His goodness is duplicitous, and two-faced because on one hand one is saying that God is good, and on the other hand that what He created is not good. 

Our contradictory speech often puzzles us. At times our words are right and pleasing to God, but at other times they are violent and destructive. We were made in God’s image, but the tongue gives us a picture of our basic sinful nature. When our speech is motivated by Satan, it is full of bitter envy, selfish ambition, earthly concerns and desires, unspiritual thoughts and ideas, confusion, and evil. But when motivated by God and His wisdom, it is full of mercy, love for others, peace, consideration for others, submission, sincerity, impartiality, and righteousness. God works to change us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit purifies a heart, He gives self-control so that the person will speak words that please God. 

It is for this reason that the apostle Paul, in Philippians 4 vs 8 says to us, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” 

What we put into our mind determines what comes out in our speech and actions. The apostle Paul tells us to program our mind with thoughts that are true, noble, right, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. If one will only meditate on these things, then his or her thoughts will be optimistic about life and others. 

Do not criticize or curse others, but rather think and speak of those good things you know about others. There is no room in the Christian mentality for pessimistic thinking. When one understands that all things are under the control of the God who can do all things, then he or she sees the best things of life. His or her focus is on that which is good and after the nature of God who is working all things together for good. 

A true heart is not one of malice or hate. Hearts of malice and hate identify those individuals who are of the world. Jesus said we should love our enemies and treat them well. If you love your enemies and treat them well, you will truly show that Jesus is Lord of your life. This is only possible for those who give themselves fully to God, because only He can deliver people from natural selfishness. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us show love to those for whom we may not feel love. By telling us not to retaliate, Jesus keeps us from taking the law into our own hands. By loving and praying for our enemies, we can overcome evil with good. 

Remember that we are not fighting the tongue’s fire in our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say, so that when we are offended, the Spirit will remind us of God’s love, and we won’t react in a hateful manner. When we are criticized, the Spirit will heal the hurt and help us to not lash out.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the fruit of the spirit that I my shall manifest the excellent spirit which is in Christ and my speech will bless and not curse, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Binds the Hands of Love?

 What Binds the Hands of Love?

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3–5)

The problem with the church today is not that there are too many people who are passionately in love with heaven. The problem is not that professing Christians are retreating from the world, spending half their days reading Scripture and the other half singing about their pleasures in God all the while indifferent to the needs of the world. That’s not happening! The people of God are not so full of love to God that they spend half their days in his word.

The problem is that professing Christians are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half their day making money and the other half loving and repairing what they spend it on.

It’s not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love for the lost and hurting of this world. It is worldly-mindedness that hinders love, even when it is disguised by a religious routine on the weekend. 

Where is the person whose heart is so passionately in love with the promised glory of heaven that he feels like an exile and a sojourner on the earth? Where is the person who has so tasted the beauty of the age to come that the diamonds of the world look like marbles from the dollar store, and the entertainment of the world feels empty, and the moral causes of the world are too small because they have no view to eternity? Where is this person?

To be sure, he is not in bondage to the Internet or eating or sleeping or drinking or partying or fishing or sailing or putzing around. He is a free man in a foreign land. And his one question is this: How can I maximize my enjoyment of God for all eternity while I am an exile on this earth? And his answer is always the same: by doing the labors of love. By expanding my joy in God, no matter the cost, if by any means possible I might include others in it.

Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love! 

It is not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love and make them ineffective. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort and praise — these are the cords of selfishness that bind the hands of love. And the power to sever these cords is Christian hope. “We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:4–5).

I say it again with all the conviction that lies within me: it is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love on this earth. It is worldly-mindedness. And therefore the great fountain of love is the powerful, freeing confidence of Christian hope.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 30, 2026.

SUBJECT : BE PERSISTENT IN SEEKING GOD!

Memory verse: "Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.” (First Chronicles 16 vs 11.)

READ: Hebrews 3 vs 14; 11 vs 6: 

3:14: For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

11:6: 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.

INTIMATION:

To persist is to persevere, stand firm, insist, or continue. The Christian life was never promised as an easy way to live; instead, the Scriptures constantly remind us that we must stand firm or persevere in our follower-ship to the end. To believe in Jesus “to the end” will take perseverance because our faith will be challenged and opposed. Several trials will sift true Christians from fair-weather believers. Enduring to the end does not earn salvation for us but marks us as already saved. We must have a purpose and a plan to persist because times will be difficult and Satan will attack. The assurance of our salvation will keep us strong in times of persecution.

Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God. People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude that God cannot be found. But knowing God takes faith, focus, and follow-through, and Jesus assures us that we will be rewarded. But we never persevere without the promise of a prize—a promise God will keep. Don’t give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding. He will give them to you. Because Christ lives in us as believers, we can remain confident and hopeful to the end. We are not saved by being steadfast and firm in our faith, but our confidence and hope do reveal that our faith is real. Without this enduring faithfulness, we could easily be blown away by the winds of temptation, false teaching, or persecution. 

We persist when we run the Christian race with a purpose; having in mind to run for the prize set before us, and running straight for the goal. We can achieve this by:

(1) Disciplining our bodies, and training it to sustain and even improve on the discipline. The Scriptures say, “Do you not know that those who run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who that competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (First Corinthians 9 vs 24 - 27.)

(2) We will not be weary in doing good, and for everyone, and not giving up. You do this to please the Spirit of God indwelling you. The SScriptures say, “And let us not be weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (see Galatians 6 vs 9 - 10). 

(3) You put on the full armor of God, and praying in all occasions; using all the pieces of God’s armor to resist the enemy. This helps you to take a stand against the devil’s schemes. In the Christian life we battle against “principalities” and “powers” (the powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by the devil, who are a vicious fighters. To withstand their attacks, you must depend on God’s strength and use every piece of His armor (see Ephesians 6 vs 10 - 20.)

(4) You keep pressing on toward the day when you will be all God wants you to be; forgetting the past; straining toward what is ahead—the heavenly prize for which God called you heavenward. Our goal is to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ has in mind for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians (see Philippians 3 vs 12 - 14).

(5) You should entrust the great truths of Christ to people who are able to pass them on to others. And also being strong in Christ’s grace, even when your faith is faltering. You should endure hardship like a soldier, and don’t get involved in worldly affairs. Follow the Lord’s rules, as an athlete should do in order to win. Work hard, like a farmer who tends His crops for the harvest. At the end you will live with Christ; you will reign with Him. He remains faithful. (Second Timothy 2 vs 1 - 13.)

Our hearts turn away from the living God when we stubbornly refuse to believe Him. If we persist in our unbelief, God will eventually leave us alone in our sin. But God can give us new hearts, new desires, and new spirits (Ezekiel 36 vs 22 - 27). To prevent having an unbelieving heart, stay in fellowship with other believers, talk daily about your mutual faith, be aware of the deceitfulness of sin (it attracts but also destroys), and encourage each other with love and concern.

Prayer: Abba Father, my absolute faith is in You and my utmost heart desire is to be all intend me to be. Give me the grace to follow You faithfully to the end, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

If He Calls, He Keeps

 If He Calls, He Keeps

[The Lord] will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:8–9)

What are you depending on to ensure that your faith will last until Jesus comes? 

The question is not, Do you believe in eternal security? The question is, How are we kept secure? 

Does the perseverance of our faith rest decisively on the reliability of our own resolve? Or does it rest decisively on the work of God to “keep us trusting”?

It is a great and wonderful truth of Scripture that God is faithful and will keep forever those whom he has called. Our confidence that we are eternally secure is a confidence that God will do whatever is necessary to “keep us trusting!” 

The certainty of eternity is no greater than the certainty God will keep us trusting now. But that certainty is very great for all whom God has called. 

At least three passages put the call of God and the keeping of God together in this way.

“[The Lord] will sustain you (keep you) to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:8–9).

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24).

“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you” (Jude 1–2). (See the same reality in Romans 8:30, Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 1:5, and Jude 24.)

The “faithfulness” of God guarantees that he will keep safe forever all whom he has called.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 29, 2026.

SUBJECT : LET YOUR EYES BE SINGLY FOCUSED ON GOD!

Memory verse: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3 vs 5.)

READ: Proverbs 3 vs 5 - 6; Matthew 6 vs 22 - 23:

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

3:6: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Matthew 6:22: The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 

6:23: But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

INTIMATION:

Your eyes are the windows into your body and the aperture in your life. Your eye is “good” when it is focused on God and His Word (Joshua 1 vs 8; Psalm 1 vs 2). The more we know of God's Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily decisions. When you have “good” eyes—one that is fixed on God, you develop the desired spiritual vision; the capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do, and to see the world from His own perspective. 

But this spiritual insight can be easily clouded. This happens when your attention is shifted from being completely focusing on God. For instance, self-serving desires, interests, and goals block that vision because it has shifted from focusing on God to bifocal vision of God and self. The quickest way to destroy a person's vision is to give him or her two separate visions. 

And the beclouded spiritual vision can best be restored by serving God with all your heart. 

You can't accomplish your goals when your attention and resources are divided. Have you ever tried to have one of your eyes looking down and the other looking up? It is impossible, and that is how having your eyes focused on two things at the same one time is impossible. If you really want to prosper, then you need to forget everything else and press toward this one goal of putting the kingdom of God first. The Lord is saying that He wants you to have a single focus of your eyes on Him. At first, you might think it is impossible to be totally committed to, and focused upon God in everything you do. Yes, it can be so if you have to rely on human strength. But we don't live the Christian life in our own strength. 

For instance, If you think that supporting your family and earning money is strictly up to you, then you are going to have a divided heart, and divided heart is going to allow darkness to enter your life and hinder you in your relationship with God. The Lord knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we want than we are! We must trust Him completely in everything we do, and let Him be the choice we make at any circumstances.

However, we should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason, but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of God’s leading. We must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors. Bring your decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide and then follow God’s leading.

King Solomon thirsted for God’s leading; spiritual vision, and earnestly asked for it from God and he was endowed with it, and he received even more than he asked from God (First Kings 4 vs 9 - 13). Consequently, he became the wisest king in Israel’s history, and the wisest man the world has ever known outside of Jesus Christ. This culminated in his writing most of the Books of wisdom (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) in the Scriptures. He said that to receive God’s guidance, we must acknowledge God in all our ways and in all we do.

About a thousand years later, Jesus emphasized this same truth; seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6 vs 33). Look at your values and priorities. What is important to you? Where is God on that list? What is His advice? Make Him a vital part of everything you do, then He will guide you because you will be working to accomplish His purposes.

Jesus warned against divided attention when He said in Luke 16 vs 13, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Have your focus on the kingdom, and adjoining righteousness of God, and all other things shall be added to you.

Prayer: Abba Father, by strength shall no man prevail. Outside of You we can do nothing. Endue me with the spirit of total obedience and commitment to You in all my ways that I may be completely focused on You in all things and at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

As Sure as God’s Love for His Son

 As Sure as God’s Love for His Son

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

God strips every pain of its destructive power. You must believe this or you will not thrive, or perhaps even survive, as a Christian, in the pressures and temptations of modern life. 

There is so much pain, so many setbacks and discouragements, so many controversies and pressures. I do not know where I would turn, if I did not believe that almighty God is taking every setback and every discouragement and every controversy and every pressure and every pain, and stripping it of its destructive power, and making it work for the enlargement of my joy in God. 

Listen to Paul’s astonishing words in 1 Corinthians 3:21–23, “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” The world is ours. Life is ours. Death is ours. Which I take to mean: God reigns so supremely on behalf of his elect that everything which faces us in a lifetime of obedience and ministry will be subdued by the mighty hand of God and made the servant of our holiness and our everlasting joy in God. 

If God is for us, and if God is God, then it is true that nothing can succeed against us. He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all will infallibly and freely with him give us all things — all things — the world, life, death, and God himself. 

Romans 8:32 is a precious friend. The promise of God’s future grace is simply overwhelming. But all-important is the foundation: I have called it the logic of heaven. Here is a place to stand against all obstacles. God did not spare his own Son! Therefore! Therefore! The logic of heaven! Therefore, how much more will he not spare any effort to give us all that Christ died to purchase — all things, all good, and all bad working for our good!

It is as sure as the certainty that he loved his Son!