1 September
Believers must bear fruit
Jn. 15:16
Jesus requires all His children to bear fruit (Jn. 15:16). For Him, this
is His purpose for their lives (Jn. 15:16; cf. Rom. 7:4). This is the
reason and goal of the new life in Him (Jn. 15:16; Rom. 7:4). When His
children are not bearing fruit, they are not fulfilling His purpose for
their lives (Jn. 15:16; Rom 7:4). A life of fruitlessness is not serving
God’s purpose. Jesus takes the issue of His children’s fruitfulness
most seriously. This is why He does not tolerate or condone fruitlessness
(Matt. 3:10; Jn. 15:2). A fruitless life exists at His mercy (Matt. 3:10;
Jn. 15:2). But it is not every fruit that Jesus desires. He desires only
good and lasting fruit (Jn. 15:16). A bad fruit is like bearing no fruit
at all. The enablement to bear good, lasting fruit is His own (Jn. 15:4-6).
Any believer who is ready to bear fruit can count on Jesus’ enablement
(Jn. 15:4-6).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to bear good and lasting fruit for
you.
2. Father, please take away the spirit of fruitlessness in my life.
2 September
Worship and serve God from the heart
Ps. 51:6
An age-long problem with man’s relationship with God is hypocrisy (see
Is. 29:13). But God requires and seeks worship or service that is from the heart
(Ps. 51:6; Deut. 6:5; cf. 1 Sam. 16:7). The heart is the person, the indicator
of the individual (Prov. 4:23; cf. Lk. 6:45). Worship or service that does not
come from the heart is not acceptable to God (1 Sam. 16:7). Worship or service
that is not from the heart is nothing at all before God. In order to worship
or serve God from our hearts as He desires, we must bring our hearts in complete
submission to Him. What really matters to God is the state of our heart in relation
to Him (Ps. 51:16). Those who desire their worship or service to be acceptable
to God must worship and serve Him from their hearts (Ps. 51:16; Deut. 6:5; 1
Sam. 16:7). Anything short of this is nothing before God and is unacceptable
to Him.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please reign in my heart.
2. Father, please enable me to worship and serve you from my heart..
3. Father, please take away everything that stops me from worshipping and serving
you from my heart.
3 September
God accepts voluntary giving
2 Cor. 8:12
The kind of giving that God accepts is one that is done willingly, voluntarily
(2 Cor. 8:12; 9:7). The Scripture has stated this quite clearly and conclusively
(2 Cor. 8:12; 9:7). No compulsion of any form must be used to get believers to
give to God. Doing so would amount to a direct challenge to God who forbids it
( 2 Cor. 9:7). And believers must not wait to be compelled before they give to
God. When believers give out of compulsion it is no longer giving but taxation.
Much of what we practice today in the name of giving falls far short of the clear
command of the Scripture (2 Cor. 8:12; 9:7). The teaching of Scripture with regard
to willing, voluntary giving is not optional for believers. Believers must learn
to give willingly, voluntarily in order to make their giving acceptable to God
(2 Cor. 8: 12; 9:7).
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to give to you and your cause willingly.
2. Father, please take away everything that hinders me from giving to you and
your cause willingly.
4 September
Take your case to God alone
Ps. 127:1
It really matters to whom one takes his case. Victory or failure, deliverance
or enslavement, depend on it. Only God can give us success over all our cases
(Ps. 127:1; 44:5-7; 108: 13). The ability to do so resides with Him exclusively
(Ps. 127:1). Except He helps us, no one else can do so (Ps. 127:1; Lk. 1:37).
Those who enroll in secret fraternities for one reason or the other do so in
vain, including those who seek help from herbalists and spiritists. Satan cannot
cast out Satan (Mk. 3:23). Only God does (Ps. 127:1; cf. Mk. 9:25-27). Therefore,
take all your cases to the one who alone is able and willing to handle them all
(Lk. 1:37). His invitation to bring all our cases to Him still stands (Matt.
11:28). It is futile to take our cases elsewhere (Ps. 127:1). But one must become
God’s child in order to enjoy this privilege (Jn. 1:12-13). This privilege
belongs only to His true children (Jn. 1:12-13).
PRAYER: 1. Father, I accept Jesus as my Saviour.
2. Father, please handle all the matters that concern me.
5 September
We must repent of wrong ideas of God
Acts 17: 29-30
The Greeks of Paul’s day had wrong ideas of God (Acts 17: 16, 23, 29).
They thought of Him as images made by men (Acts 17:29). Such ideas of God are
still held today all over the world. Paul told them that God commands people
with such ideas of Him to repent (Acts 17:30). This command applies to all human
beings. This command is not optional or negotiable. No one is exempted from it
(Acts 17:30). Everyone, everywhere, is bound by this command. Therefore, every
wrong idea of God must be discarded and turned away from. In addition to turning
away from wrong ideas of God, everyone must turn from what are not gods to the
one true God. If one’s idea of God is the same as or similar to that of
the Greeks of Paul’s day, he must turn away from it. The right understanding
of God is as taught in the Scripture (see Acts 17:24-25). Any understanding of
God that has no basis in the Scripture is wrong and must be turned away from.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please give me the right understanding of who you are.
2. Father, please reveal your glory and majesty in my life.
6 September
Beware of God’s day of judgement
2 Cor. 5:10
We hardly like to hear or talk about God’s day of judgement. Many people
do not even believe that there is such a thing as this. But the Scripture has
made it quite clear that there is such a day when God will judge the world (2
Cor. 5:10; Acts 17:31; Rev. 20:11-15). Whether people believe it or not, that
day will come to pass and they will not be exempted from it (Acts 17: 31; 2 Cor.
5:10). God has already set this day (Acts 17:31) and no one has the authority
to cancel or change it. The fact that the day has been set (Acts 17:31) means
it will certainly take place. Those who deny God and refuse to repent and turn
to Him will have no alternate or choice than to face His judgement. No one will
be able to escape it. The time to escaping it is now (2 Cor. 6:2). The means
for escaping it is Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16).
PRAYER: 1. Father, I accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour.
2. Father, please forgive all my sins.
3. Father, please reckon Jesus’ righteousness for me.
7 September
How to abide in Jesus
Jn. 15:4-6
Jesus requires all His children to abide in Him (Jn. 15:4). This is a condition
for His abiding in them (Jn. 15:4). It is also the condition for their fruitfulness
(Jn. 15:5-6), and for answered prayers (Jn. 15:7). But how can one abide in Him?
A good example is like living inside a house. When we live inside a house, we
yield ourselves to that house and come under its protection. This is what it
is like to abide in Jesus. We must make Him our own (Jn. 1:12-13) and yield our
entire lives to Him to live through us (see Gal. 2:20). We must accept Him alone
as the Lord of our lives (Matt. 4:10) and yield ourselves completely to His sovereign
lordship. We must let Him go forward ahead of us while we follow behind Him and
put our feet where He put His (cf. Col. 2:6-7). Whenever we leave the house above,
we no longer remain inside it or come under its protection. In the same way,
whenever we cease to yield ourselves completely to the lordship of Jesus, we
no longer remain in Him or under His keeping. We must always yield ourselves
totally to Him in order to remain in Him and enjoy the benefits of doing so.
PRAYER: 1. Father, please enable me to yield my life totally to Jesus.
2. Father, please over come whatever hinders me from yielding my entire life
to Jesus.
 |
|
 |
|
