God Isn’t Gloomy

 God Isn’t Gloomy

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:10–11)

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). The implication of this text is that God has the right and power to do whatever makes him happy. That is what it means to say that God is sovereign.

Think about it for a moment: If God is sovereign and can do anything he pleases, then none of his purposes can be frustrated. “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:10–11).

And if none of his purposes can be frustrated, then he must be the happiest of all beings.

This infinite, divine happiness is the fountain from which the Christian (Hedonist) drinks and longs to drink more deeply.

Can you imagine what it would be like if the God who ruled the world were not happy? What if God were given to grumbling and pouting and depression, like some Jack-and-the-beanstalk giant in the sky? What if God were frustrated and despondent and gloomy and dismal and discontented and dejected?

Could we join David and say, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1)? I don’t think so.

We would all relate to God like little children who have a frustrated, gloomy, dismal, discontented father. They can’t enjoy him. They can only try not to bother him, or maybe try to work for him to earn some little favor. 

But that is not the way God is. He is never out of sorts with frustration or discouragement. And, as Psalm 147:11 says, he “takes pleasure . . . in those who hope in his steadfast love.” So the aim of the Christian Hedonist is not to avoid this God, not to run from him, or tiptoe through the living room lest his gloominess become anger. No, our aim is to hope in his steadfast love. To run to him. To be happy in God, to delight in God, to cherish and enjoy his fellowship and favor.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 01, 2026.

SUBJECT: SEEK FIRST SPIRITUAL NEEDS!

Memory verse: "But seek first AREA the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6 vs 33.)

READ: Luke 10 vs 38 - 42: 

10:38: Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

10:39: And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 

10:40: But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

10:41: And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

10:42: But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

INTIMATION:

Having right priorities produce good choices. Our spiritual needs should take precedence over our physical needs. It is good to care for our physical needs, but the spiritual needs of man are always more important. Therefore, one must not use the service of physical needs as an excuse to neglect the spiritual needs that is more important in our lives. 

Even in offering your service, let your service be of your best interest, and best desired by whom you are offering the service to. Avoid your service becoming self-serving, or degenerate into mere busywork, that is not to your best interest, and that of whom you are serving. 

In the passage we read today, Mary and Martha were both in service to Jesus in their house, the One they both loved. But Martha was very busy with the household chores, and was distracted with much serving, which was a wrong priority for her at the time, though she was doing a needed and good work. The physical needs of her guest should not have taken precedence over her spiritual needs which was the most important her guest has to deliver. She didn't realize that in her desire to serve the physical needs, she was actually neglecting her guest’s desire to give the spiritual need. 

God should be first in our lives, therefore, we should seek Him and His Word first before any other thing. The Word of God is our spiritual need that ought to take precedence over our physical needs. You can be so busy doing things for Jesus that you're not spending any quality time with Him. It is likened to being busy with assigned duties in your service unit in the church that you don't hear the preaching from the pulpit. Jesus, realizing the wrong priorities of Martha, gently corrected her and advised her to set her priorities right. 

Though Martha’s works were good but were not to her best interest. She got so busy that she found it hard to relax and enjoy her guest. Her service to Jesus degenerated into mere busywork that was no longer full of devotion to Him. The personal attention she gave her guests should be more important than the comforts she tried to provide for them. Avoid your service being self-serving or busywork like Martha's

You may be working for God effectively and still not serving Him appropriately. This was the sin of Jehu. In Second Kings 10 vs 30 - 31 the Bible says:- "And the Lord said to Jehu, 'Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart, for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin." 

Jehu had become God's instrument for carrying out justice, but he had not become God's servant. Check the condition of your heart toward God, ensure you are not giving only lip service to God. We can be very active in our work for God and still not give the heartfelt obedience He desires. Our greatest desire should be to live in the presence of the Lord each day of our lives. Sadly, this is not the greatest desire of many who claim to be believers. Many substitute commitment and obedience to God, and His Word with busywork in form of services to the church, which, to a large extent, is self-serving—wanting to be seen as workers in His vineyard while their heart is far away from Him.

Being in His presence requires communion with Him through prayers, and hearing from Him. We most effectively hear from Him via His Word. Therefore, total attention is required from us to His Word. Any services we offer that takes away our complete attention to His Word degenerates into self-service, or busywork. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the wisdom, understanding and grace to seek first my spiritual needs that will enable me to serve You appropriately, with total commitment to You, and in my best interest, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The All-Satisfying Object

 The All-Satisfying Object

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

The quest for pleasure is not even optional, but commanded (in the Psalms): “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

The psalmists sought to do just this: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1–2). “My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).

The motif of thirsting has its satisfying counterpart when the psalmist says that men “drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights” (Psalm 36:8 NASB).

I found that the goodness of God, the very foundation of worship, is not a thing you pay your respects to out of some kind of disinterested reverence. No, it is something to be enjoyed: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). Taste. Taste! And see.

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

As C.S. Lewis says, God in the Psalms is the “all-satisfying Object.” His people adore him unashamedly for the “exceeding joy” they find in him (Psalm 43:4). He is the source of complete and unending pleasure: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2026.

SUBJECT : BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT! 

Memory verse: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8 vs 14.)

READ: Romans 8 vs 1 - 7; 

8:1: There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

8:3: For what the law could not in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh,

8:4: that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

8:5: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

8:6: For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 

8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

INTIMATION:

The passage we read today shows that there are two minds; the mind of flesh and the mind of the Spirit of God. But that does not mean you and I have two brains, it simply means that we receive information from our natural mind (which operates without the Holy Spirit), and we get information from our spirit (through which the Holy Spirit communicates directly to us).

Now the mind of the flesh which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit is death; death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace both now and forever. As children of God, we are not to be led by our carnal mind, but by the Holy Spirit Who indwells us. The Holy Spirit is the only One who knows the mind of God, and is the revealer of the truth. (John 16 vs 13). 

In First Corinthians 2 vs 16, the Bible says, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ." This Scripture tells us that because the Holy Spirit lives in us, you and I have the mind of Christ. The problem is that although we have the mind of Christ and know the Word of God, we don't listen to our spirit which is being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Instead, we listen to our natural mind, which relies strictly on sense and reason without the Holy Spirit.

In every situation of life, our head will be trying to give us information. It will be yelling at us so loudly that if we don't turn our attention to our spirit we will never hear what the Lord is saying to us in that situation. That is why we must learn to live out of our spirit and not of our head.

You see, evil spirits constantly bombard us with negative thoughts. If we receive them and dwell on them, they become ours because the Bible says that as we think in our heart, so are we. (Proverbs 23 vs 7.) If we accept the lies of the devil as reality, then they will become reality to us because of our "faith," our belief in them.

That is why in moments of worry, stress and turmoil we have to simply take the time to turn to our inner man, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and say, "Lord, what do You have to say about this?" If we listen in faith, He will speak to us and reveal to us the truth in that situation.

You and I have two huge vats of information within us. One is carnal information that comes off the top of our head. The other is spiritual information which wells up out of our heart. One is muddy, polluted water, and the other is clean drinking water. It is up to us to decide which source we are going to drink from.

Some people try to drink from both sources. That's what the Bible calls being double-minded. (James 1 vs 8.) Do you know what it means to be double-minded? It means that your mind is trying to tell you one thing, and the your spirit is trying to tell you just the opposite. Instead of saying, "I'm not going to believe that because it's a lie," you get in a cross-fire, going back and forth between the two thoughts.

If you and I are ever going to live the happy, victorious and successful Christian life the Lord wills for us, we are going to have to decide which fountain of information we are going to drink from. We are going to have to learn to live out of our spirit and not out of our head.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the gift of an Helper, the Holy Spirit. Give me the grace to seek the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit at all times in my life’s journey and His empowerment to lead my life in accordance with Your Will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Most Liberating Discovery

 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippians 3:1)

No one had ever taught me that God is glorified by our joy in him — that joy in God is the very thing that makes our praise an honor to God, and not hypocrisy.

But Jonathan Edwards said it so clearly and powerfully:

God glorifies himself towards the creatures also [in] two ways: (1) by appearing to . . . their understanding; (2) in communicating himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which he makes of himself. . . . God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. . . . 

[W]hen those that see it delight in it: God is more glorified than if they only see it. . . . He that testifies his idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it.

This was a stunning discovery for me. I must pursue joy in God if I am to glorify him as the surpassingly valuable Reality in the universe. Joy is not a mere option alongside worship. It is an essential component of worship. Indeed the very essence of worship — being glad in the glories of God.

We have a name for those who speak their praises of God when they have no pleasure in what they praise. We call them hypocrites. Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’” (Matthew 15:7–8). This fact — that authentic praise means consummate pleasure and that the highest end of man is to drink deeply of this pleasure for God’s glory — was perhaps the most liberating discovery I have ever made.

Every day in the God's Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2026.

SUBJECT : THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!

Memory verse: "Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in Him." (Hebrews 10 vs 38.)

READ: Habakkuk 2 vs 2 - 4:

2:2: Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. 

2:3: For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

3:4: Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith. 

INTIMATION:

Faith, primarily, is a firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing. The main elements in faith in its relation to the invisible God, as distinct from faith in man, are (1) a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God's revelation or truth, (2) a personal surrender to Him, (3) a conduct inspired by such surrender. Faith is, therefore, resting in what God has done through Christ for us in the past, trusting Him for what He will do for us in the present and in future. 

"Just" is the same as being judged 'righteous,' which was formerly spelt 'rightwise.' It simply denotes a state of being right, or a right conduct, especially by the divine standard of what is right.

Therefore, "the just shall live by faith" simply means that the righteous (just) shall live in right conduct that resulted from a firm conviction of what God wrought for us in Christ, fully acknowledging God's revelation of His righteousness in Christ, surrendering to Him, and conducting oneself in line with such surrender. 

God gave humanity laws that will govern them in accordance with the principles of life obtainable in His kingdom. And to be justified before God one has to be right or flawless in keeping all the laws. The law of works demanded that man live flawlessly in order to gain his acquittal from sin. Unfortunately, no one can keep the law perfectly, consequently all have sinned. 

All humanity has fallen short of that which is required for one to dwell in the presence of God. The result of law is that all are made sinners. The result of sin is the separation from God. Since all men sin, then apart from the grace of God, no man can stand justified (not guilty) before God on the basis of law alone. 

Most religions require specific duties that must be performed to make a person acceptable to a god. However, Christianity is unique in that no amount of human achievement or personal goodness will close the gap between God's moral perfection and our imperfect daily performance. No good deed that we do will make us right with God. Good deeds are important, but they will not earn us eternal life. We are saved only by trusting in what God has done for us through Christ. 

God sent Jesus Christ as a propitiation for our sins. In His death, Jesus was God’s offering to appease His wrath that would eventually have to be poured out on sinners. Salvation has come to man by the blood offering of sinless Jesus on the cross, not through the meritorious efforts of men. All that is required of man is the response to God by faith in what He has wrought for man in Christ. 

The sacrificial blood offering of Jesus was for the sins of humanity from creation to the consummation of this world. The righteousness of God is the justification of those who obediently respond to the grace of God that was revealed on the cross. It is the righteousness (justification) that is accredited to those who seek God by faith. 

The just (righteous) will live by their faith in God. This has been the principle of salvation from the beginning of time. The Gospel shows us both how righteous God is in His plan for us to be saved and also how we may be made fit for eternal life. By trusting Christ, our relationship with God is made right. From start to finish God declares us to be right with Him because of faith and faith alone in Christ. 

Trying to be right (just or righteous) with God by our own effort doesn't work. Good intentions such as "I will do better next time" or "I will never do that again" usually end in failure. It is only by trusting God--believing in His provision for our sins and living each day in His power that we can break this cycle of failure. 

Why does God save us by faith alone? (1) Faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a deed that we do. (2) Faith exalts what God has done, not what we do. (3) Faith admits that we can't keep the law or measure up to God's standards--we need help. (4) Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your saving grace available to me. My whole trust is in Christ atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sin of mankind. You demonstrated Your righteousness in our salvation through Christ's propitiation for our sins, and my faith is completely anchored in His saving grace, and pray that nothing will tempt me away from Him, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Make War with Unbelief

 Make War with Unbelief

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16–17) 

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Join me in this battle! Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. Unbelief in the promises of God is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, Paul said in Ephesians 6:17. The shield by which we quench Satan’s fiery deceits is faith (verse 16) — faith in that very word of God. So take up the shield in your left hand and the sword in your right hand, and let us fight the good fight of faith.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.