8 August 2017
The benefits of faithfulness to God
Num. 12:4-8
Whereas faithfulness is an act that is demanding on the part of the believer
(cf. Lk. 14:25-26), it is a rewarding activity for him. We learn this
from Moses’ life. God Himself testified that in all His house Moses
alone was faithful to Him (Num. 12:7). As a result of his faithfulness,
Moses enjoyed several privileges from God. First, God spoke with him
face to face (Num. 12:8). Second, God allowed him to see His form (Num.
12: 8). Third, God spoke to Him clearly, and not in riddles (Num. 12:8).
Sometimes God speaks through visions and dreams (Num. 12:6), but with
Moses He spoke directly, one on one (Num. 12:6-8). Fourth, God protected
Moses against Aaron and Miriam who rose up against him (Num. 12:4-8).
Thus, faithfulness is not a virtue we exercise in vain. Like Moses, every
believer gains from being faithful to God (cf. Deut. 28:1-14; Ps. 1:1-3).
On the contrary, we attract God’s displeasure, not His blessings,
when we are unfaithful to Him (see Deut. 28:15-68; Ps. 1:4-6). God will
give anyone the grace to be faithful to Him if he really desires to do
so.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to be faithful to you.
2. Father, please destroy everything that hinders me from being faithful
to you.
3. Father, please let the blessings of faithfulness be my portion.
9 August 2017
Life’s priority
Matt. 6:33
What things ought to receive our first attention in this life? Jesus Himself
answers the question. According to Him, what should receive our first attention
in life is neither our food nor our drink not our clothing, but God’s Kingdom
and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Here Jesus makes eternal life not only prior
to the earthly one but superior and more important to it (Matt. 6:33). This is
not what we human beings think concerning the subject. Here we learn from Jesus
not only that the Kingdom of God is prior to the earthly Kingdom but that our
material well-being depends on our eternal well-being (Matt. 6:33). This means
that anyone who sincerely seeks his earthly well-being must first find his heavenly
well-being. Earthly well-being is not possible without heavenly well-being. To
seek earthly well-being before heavenly well-being is to place the cart before
the horse. We must never allow anything on earth to come between us and our eternal
well-being (cf. Lk. 14:25-27, 33; Deut. 6:5).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to seek your Kingdom above everything else.
2. Father, please give me the right understanding and attitude toward the things
of this world.
3. Father, please destroy anything that hinders me from making your Kingdom a
priority in my life.
10 August 2017
Following Jesus
Mk. 1:16-20
Jesus began His public ministry by inviting people to follow Him (Mk. 1:16-20).
In this passage, He invited Simon, Andrew, James and John to follow Him, and
they did, leaving their fishing equipments and partners behind (Mk. 1:16-20).
Here we learn what it means to belong to Jesus and what it means to follow Him.
To belong to Jesus means to follow Him (Mk. 1:17, 20). Anyone who is not following
Jesus does not belong to Him (Mk.1:17,20). To follow Jesus does not merely mean
to accompany Him wherever He goes but to become His obedient disciple. For Jesus,
obedience is the mark of His true followers (Jn. 14:15, 21, 23-24). Therefore,
anyone who claims to belong to Jesus today but is not living in full obedience
to Him is not His genuine follower (see Matt. 7:15-23). Like the early disciples,
to follow Jesus today one must be willing to leave every hindrance and cling
to Him in total obedience. No one can follow Him today unless he is prepared
to leave every hindrance behind and cling to Him and His teaching as Simon, Andrew,
James and John did. This is what really characterizes Jesus’ true followers.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to follow you wholeheartedly.
2. Take away whatever hinders me from following you wholeheartedly.
11 August 2017
Reasons not to worry
Matt. 6:25-34
To worry is to become anxious about something. Jesus clearly forbids His followers
from worrying and gives several reasons why they must not do so (Matt. 6:25-34).
First, God the Father will take care of them even as He takes care of birds (Matt.
6:26), and plants (Matt. 6:28-30). He is the Shepherd of His children (cf. Ps.
23:1-6). Second, worrying about something cannot change anything about it (Matt.
6:27). It is an exercise in futility. Third, worrying is characteristic of pagans,
that is heathens or unbelievers (Matt. 6:32). Since they do not know or have
God who takes care of His children, they are left to themselves. Fourth, worrying
is not necessary because God the Father knows the things His children needs (Matt.
6:32). To know in this context means to make provision for them. Going by the
reasons given above, worrying is entirely unnecessary and unbecoming of Jesus’ followers.
Instead of worrying, Christians must entrust their needs to Him who cares for
them (1 Pet. 5:7).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me not to worry.
2. Father, please take care of all my needs.
12 August 2017
Jesus Christ, the only true vine
Jn. 15:1
Jesus likens Himself not only to a vine, but the true or genuine one. This means
that there are other vines, no doubt, but they are all false, fake, untrue, and
illegitimate (cf. Jn. 10:1-15). They are impostors. There is only one true, genuine
vine which is Jesus Christ (Jn. 15:1; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 1:5; Jn. 10:7-15). Jesus
alone is the true vine, the only source of true, satisfying drink (see Jn. 4:10,
13; 7:37). We can only bear good fruit by clinging to Him (see Matt. 7:16-18).
No one can ever bear good fruit through other vines (see Matt. 7:16-18). As Jesus
Himself put it, the only right thing to do is to cling to Him, the only true
vine (Jn. 15:4-6). Therefore, it is not only futile but fatal to cling to any
other vine than the one true vine, Jesus Christ (See Jn. 15:6; Matt. 7:19).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please plant me on the one true vine.
2. Father, please enable me to cling to the one true vine alone.
3. Father, please take away anything that hinders me from being planted in the
one true vine.
13 August 2017
How to conquer evil forces
Rom. 8:35-39
The forces of evil are quite real. Believers encounter them and their activities
in different forms on a regular basis. This passage explains that believers overcome
them all through Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:35-39). Since Jesus overcame them (Col.
2:15), His followers enjoy this victory by being planted in Him (see Rev. 7:1-14).
We are not only conquerors but more than conquerors over them (Rom. 8:37). This
victory over the forces of evil is available only to those who belong to Jesus
Christ (1 Jn. 5:15). Those who do not belong to Him do not enjoy this victory.
Instead, they live at the mercy of evil forces. In Christ, we do not only have
justification from sin, we also have victory over all evil forces. We are not
entitled to this victory when we are not His own (cf. Jn.1:12-13). One must belong
to Him to have access to this complete victory over all evil forces. Like that
of Jesus (Col. 2:15), the believer’s victory over evil forces is total,
complete (Rom. 8:37-39). In view of this victory, believers have no basis to
fear or appease evil forces.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please plant me in Jesus’ love.
2. Father, let Jesus’ victory over all evil forces be my portion.
3. Father, please take away anything that hinders me from having access to Jesus’ victory
over all evil forces.
14 August 2017
Human weapons do not bring victory
1 Sam. 17:45-47
Many people think that victory can be attained through human means or weapons.
This is contrary to what the Scripture teaches. According to the Scripture, human
weapons do not bring us victory (see Ps. 44:5-8; cf. 1 Sam. 2:9). In fact, human
weapons are worthless in the battles of life (see Ps. 108:12; cf. Ps. 127:1).
This explains why many battles involving believers are often lost to their enemies.
Believers often loose life battles because they fight with human weapons. Human
weapons are destined to fail as far as the battles of life are concerned. They
failed great and highly experienced Goliath in his confrontation with little,
inexperienced David (see 1 Sam. 17:47). For human weapons those who fight with
them are guaranteed to loose. There is no reason for believers to use weapons
that are known to bring defeat. On the contrary, believers must learn to fight
their life battles with God’s own weapon (Ps. 44:5-8; Ps. 127:1). This
alone is guaranteed to bring victory.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to put my trust in you alone for victory.
2. Father, please let your own hand bring me victory over my enemies.
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