Love!

Love!

Ephesians 4:2 AMPC

[2] Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.

Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus, and as we always point out, the audience defines the demand and the direction. In this case, Paul was writing to people who had been divinely called by God to a life that was different from what they had always known. This is the first message: if the call of God does not challenge you to a higher and nobler walk, check it again. God does not meet any man and then leave him the same way He met him. There will be a change first on the inside of that man, that will definitely manifest on the outside. The question for me today, which I must find an answer to, is if I have had an encounter with this God.  

Am I still used to the same old measures, or is there an insatiable desire for God burning on the inside of me? The answer to that question will define the rest of this devotion. As the verse just before the one above makes clear, there is a calling we all have received by virtue of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He did not pick and choose those who would enjoy the benefits of what He offered; all of us have access to the grace of God available in Christ Jesus. At the time Jesus died and rose again, none of us was alive so none of us can claim superior advantage or higher access to the benefits over any other person. It has been freely given to us all. 

I note the words in that preceding verse: a summons to God's service. That is what the call of God upon a man's life is. Remember: God will not demand from me that which He has not first supplied sufficient grace for. If He says I should live or love in a particular way, it is because He knows I have been given the grace to so do. After all, God does not call a man and then leave him to figure out what to do or how to walk; He holds the man up and guides him on a constant basis. He will supply the information required to take good decisions, and to live in line with the dictates and demands of this new life. Remember also that it is the life of God in me; the One who owns the life is the One who will help me live it the right way. 

That is the thrust of the verse above: I must live as it reflects my ownership and allegiance as men must know whose I am. That which is inside of me cannot be hidden; that which is of God cannot be limited. If it is the life of God, it has to find expression in and through me. Humility is not normal for the natural man, and meekness is strange to the man who is not yet broken. The natural man will push himself forward, and wants to heard and seen at all times. The man who has had an encounter with God seeks to make God known at all times. Love by God's standard becomes the norm, because the One who lives on the inside is able to flow unhindered to bless lives. Do I have Him, or do I need to really get Him? You cannot fake His presence; if He is in, it will show. God's time of favour is here.

Right Mind!

Right Mind!

Romans 8:6 AMPC

[6] 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 [soul] peace [both now and forever].

No matter how nice or firm a house is, once the owner decides that a new house is to be bullt, the owner has to draw up a new plan, factor in costs and then bring down the old house completely, before taking steps to build the new house. This is what the chapter from where the verse above is taken makes clear: it is not possible to build the new nature that Christ promotes on the ruins or foundations of the old nature. No matter how nice the old structure is, as long as the desire is a new one, the old has to be completely dismantled. If you do want to just patch up things and just go with the flow, a mix of the old and the new  at the same time may be permissible from your own perspective but not from God's view.

There is a natural flow that comes from the control centre. If I am under the control and influence of the old nature, it is expected that my life will produce in line with that nature. The bible makes clear what the produce of the flesh looks like. In the same way, if I am under the control and influence of the Spirit of God, my desires and pursuits will also reflect this control. Indeed, the same bible also lays out what the evidence of such control looks like. This is why you do not argue with anyone about who s/he is; the fruits of that life will eventually reveal who is in charge. This is not a comparison scheme; it is first and foremost a personal conviction, which then drives life's pursuits, priorities and purpose.

The warnings in the verse just before the one above, as well as the focus of the devotion today, are worthy of focus. For every choice I make, there are both earthly and eternal implications. If I am focused only on the things that are of the earth, of course I will get the rewards of such focus, but that may be all I get. When the earthly phase is done, what is next? When all of life is gone and I am standing in front of the throne, what plea can I make that will speak for me in eternity? This is the reason why I must get the balance right; God saves me from sin, but then leaves me on earth to represent Him. He wants men to be drawn to the light in me. He wants men to be convicted of sin based on the evidence of my life. 

If all I have is of this earth alone, then it is a miserable existence. The mind of the flesh, which is without the Holy Spirit, only leads to death, both physical and eternal. Flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, so all that belong to the earth must give way to that which is of the Holy Spirit. The power of sin has already been broken through the death and resurrection of Jesus, so I have no excuse for not depending on what has been settled to live a life free of sin. I have all I need in order to live in peace both down here and then inherit eternal life with God at the end of it all. There is no bigger or better package than this: earthly calm and eternal settlement. Do you have this God? God's time of favour is here. 

Wisdom!

Wisdom!

Proverbs 3:7 AMP

Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil.

Proverbs 8:13 AMPC

The reverent fear and worshipful awe of thm8 Lord [includes] the hatred of evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and perverted and twisted speech I hate.

Indeed, Solomon is recorded in the bible as the wisest man who ever lived. When you consider the books that are generally attributed to him, you find the themes of enthusiasm and romance of youth in the book of Songs of Solomon; themes of the wisdom and responsibility of adulthood in the book of Proverbs from where the verses above are taken, and then the themes of the reflections and lessons of old age in the book of Ecclesiastes. That is essentially all of life's full coverage, from birth to death. God is invested in my entire life too, from birth to death, and He wants me to submit all to Him. That is an offering God will never turn down. 

God blessed Solomon with wisdom because he asked God for it, and we see the impact of a life that God blesses. Two of the great lessons that the life of Solomon teaches me are that God is ready, willing and able to give us all that we ask, as long as the purpose behind usage is to glorify the giver. The other lesson, as we have consistently pointed out, is that God will not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. These two lessons run through the verses above. Just like Solomon, If a man seeks to glorify God, God is also interested in blessing such a man. Am I interested in an offering that God is pleased to accept?

That is what happened to David and Solomon. David laid the foundation; Solomon knew that the kingly assignment was beyond his current capacity, so he went to the One with limitless resources to help him. In the same way, if I will ever amount to anything of value, I cannot be self-sufficient. As the verse above makes clear, I cannot be wise in my own eyes and still depend on God to help me. I am unable to combine both extremes into a single heart. How can I juggle and satisfy the demands of two completely different authorities at the same time? How can I seek to please God one moment and then appease the flesh at the next moment? That is confusion.

As one of the verses above lays out, the reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord also includes the hatred of evil and arrogance or pride. The other charges us to reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn entirely away from evil. I cannot turn to God, and also have an eye on pleasing the human nature. This is what God calls lukewarmness, and the eventual impact is that God spews such people out of His mouth. I cannot love God and also love whatever He hates at the same time. He has not left us in doubt as to what He desires from us, and this is what makes His judgment right. Would you seek Him the right way? Would I? God's time of favour is here. 

God's Nature 2!

God's Nature 2!

Isaiah 41:13 AMP

[13] “For I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord], Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

Just as we read yesterday, God is not a God to be trifled with. He does not joke with sin, and when you consider the size, scope and scale of the price He paid in order to deal permanently with sin, you know that sin is not something to be trifled with either. God will also punish sin, no matter in whom it is found. He has made that clear with the way He had dealt with His own people Israel. This was a people loved by Him and chosen from among the many nations of the world at the time to be the source of His affection. This was His prerogative at the time. However, as we know, being chosen and loved by God places a duty on you not to forget the grace that chose and placed you where you are. 

When God would punish His people, He raised up nations that were not even as strong as the people of Israel. That is what sin does: it renders you powerless. Whatever you had as a defense and protection are gone; anything can push you over. Whatever it is you were able to do in the past quite well becomes a burdensome activity. This is why God paid such a high price to deal with sin. His choice does not absolve me of the responsibility to listen to, heed His instructions and follow Him closely. Interestingly, God who raised up kings like Nebuchadnezzar to deal with Israel for its sin is the same God who raised up another king Cyrus to implement His will for His people and to exact justice on those who had maltreated His people. 

I must never forget where I have been and who I was before God saved me. This must keep me entirely dependent on God for this walk of faith. I was not able to defeat sin on my own, and even after Christ has died and also resurrected, I am still not able to defeat sin on my own. I need the help of this God on a daily basis. This God is always willing to help. That is the message of the verse above. He lays out His credentials as a God who is ever-present; He does not let go, and He does not give up on me. Fear has no room in my heart anymore; His presence does not leave room for anything else. Remember: this is a willing sacrifice. God will not force Himself on anyone. Would I embrace His help? God's time of favour is here. 

God's Nature!

God's Nature!

Lamentations 3:22 AMP

[22] It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, Because His [tender] compassions never fail.

When you read the first few verses of the chapter from where the verse above is taken, you will struggle to align the messages. At the start of the chapter, we indeed read of the lamentations of the writer Jeremiah. Here was a man God had used to teach the children of Israel the dangers of rebellion against God and the dire consequences that follow. He spoke out against the political and 'spiritual' leaders  of his time, and he paid a huge price for his words. We read of times he was put in prison in the court of the  king, and at another time, he was beaten by a man who was supposed to be a priest, a chief officer in the house of God. 

These were just a few of the things Jeremiah had to face because he was speaking God's mind to a rebellious people. Who says being on God's side automatically keeps you away from trials and tough times? In fact, it is then that the world opposes you because it knows that it no longer has any hold over you. This was the reflection of Jeremiah at the start of the chapter when he introduced himself as the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of God's wrath. He was not the one who did wrong, and he was only sent to speak God's mind about the people's wrongs, yet he suffered affliction. Before I claim to be on God's side, am I ready for what that claim really entails? 

One great thing about God that is evident in all His dealings with those who He uses is that He backs them up. He does leave us to fend for ourselves or to struggle through pain on our own. Jeremiah was harassed, beaten and oppressed, yet God will not allow anyone to take his life, not even the king  with all his might and army. Jeremiah had some nasty experiences, to the point where he even went to God to complain about what he deemed to be God's heavy hand against him. Thank God that the answers to his dilemma came in the verse above. God never leaves us in doubt that He is on the side of all whose hearts are fully committed to Him.

He does not call and abandon. He does not send out without backing up. One theme that has run through the experiences of Jeremiah is that God's mercy and love is beyond compare. There is no way that man in his fallen nature can fully comprehend the loving kindness of this God. Even for Israel that had sinned, God would not leave them alone, how much more a man that was faithful to God's message. If Israel could experience God's mercy, despite its failings, it gives me hope that God will not give up on me. He will not let me go; He will not abandon me to my devices and He will do all He can to restore me. That is love from God's perspective. How do you respond? God's time of favour is here.

Emmanuel!

Emmanuel!

Deuteronomy 31:8 AMP

[8] It is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

The name Emmanuel is a Hebrew name meaning 'God is with us'. That is the basis of the verse above and the devotion for today. It shows that the Omnipresence of God is not conditional on my acceptance of Him. There is nothing I can do or say to lessen His power and identity, but it will do me a lot of good to recognise and submit to His authority. It may also not happen suddenly, but as I relate with Him on a regular basis, I get to know more and more of Him. The more of Him I know, the more I realise that there is a lot more to know about Him. The more time I spend with Him, the more I look like Him and crave to hear Him. This is the beauty of a God who also seeks to have a relationship with mortal human beings. 

This is the amazing reality of a God beyond human understanding. Man is frail and temporal; God is eternal and beyond permanent. Nothing mortal lasts forever; God is the One who defines the beginning and the end of what we call time, yet He is not limited by time. Indeed, the Creator cannot be defined or dictated to by anything He has created. This was the reality of the man Moses. He had led Israel for 40 years through the barren wilderness, and he had seen God work some mighty miracles. God had brought out water from a rock, had provided a steady supply of food for all the years spent in the wilderness, and had kept them from war, as they had not had any experience fighting any. 

This was not a God to be trifled with, and Moses was careful to note this to the people of Israel, as he came to the end of his own journey with them. He had made a grevious error that cost him entry into the land of promise, but he was now charging Israel, as well as Joshua the new leader, not to forget the God who had brought them this far and was taking them into a land that was not theirs in the first place. Moses was careful to note that it was God who had done all these things for Israel, so that there was now no room for pride or self-sufficiency. God wants to show Himself strong, but He needs me to let Him work. He needs me to let go and let Him in, so He can display His power. 

God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my own freewill. He wants to lead, and I have to be willing and ready to follow. I cannot be in front; I have no idea where I am going. God does not leave His own alone, even when it appears to be so. As He does not fail, those who He helps cannot also fail. As He cannot be defeated, those who He is with cannot also be defeated. His promise to Israel then, and, as a God who does not lie or change, to us too is that He will not fail or abandon us. That presence is the foundation of the confidence I have to face whatever is coming my way.  I do not fear, not because there is nothing to be afraid of, but because I have God on my side. He is all I have. He is all I need. God's time of favour is here. 

Rest!

Rest!

Matthew 11:28 AMP

[28] “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 

The world is indeed a burdensome place. In all the places you turn to, there are issues to resolve, or a problem to be addressed. Let us consider the context of the verse above. Jesus had finished speaking to His disciples and had entered the cities of Galilee to teach the people about the kingdom of God. These were the people He had been sent to presch to first, but as we know, familiarity with the messenger became the problem the people could not overcome. They thought that they knew his parents and siblings, and did not think that there was anything special about Him. This became the stumbling block to the reception of these people to the message of salvation that Jesus had brought. 

Before we point the finger at them, can we also consider our own lives today? Are we receptive to the message of salvation in its simple form, or are we trying to justify effort and labour in earning that which Jesus offers us freely? This was the message of Jesus to the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. These were cities that had clear sight of the miracles that Jesus performed, yet they remained stubborn and resistant to the message of salvation. Even John the Baptist, one used mightily by God to lay the groundwork for the coming of Jesus, had to send men to ask Jesus if He was the coming Messiah or if they were to expect another. 

For all who seek clarity on the way forward, the message in the verse above is for us. The world does not have the answers we really need, because it is not set up to answer those kinds of questions. The temporal world does not have answers to the questions of eternity. If you need answers to the questions of eternity, you come to the eternal God, the One who was, who is and who is to come; the ageless, timeless and limitless God. The great thing about this God too is that He wants us to come. That is the first sentence in the verse above: 'Come to me'. He is not looking for people who are perfect from the start; He is looking for people He can work in and on, and make them into what He wants.

Of course, God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. This is why the verse above extends the invitation to all who are weary and heavily burdened. If you are fine, you do not nees help. If you know you need help, it is clear who has the help you need. If you are tired of religious rituals that provide no peace, come to the One who is able to give you the kind of rest that refreshes the soul, calms all fears, secures the present, and also guarantees the future. That is the greatest gift of God: an assurance that all will end well with Him. That is rest, even when I am walking with and working for God. What could be better? God's time of favour is here.