The Response!

The Response!

Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 AMPC

The Charge:

There is a love the world tries to define and set as the only standard to live by. The world lays huge focus on actions and behaviours as the basis of love, but there is another side to love that the world cannot define, because it does not know the origin or its target and destination. That is the love of God. It is not a love that is first transactional, like the love the world tries to promote, but it is a love that is relational. It is love that is of God, who is presented to us as the personification of love. The bible says God is love, and love is of God. You cannot define love outside of God. There is no true version of love that excludes God. 

How do we know this is love? Consider what we got: the life of His Son was laid down so that my own life could be secured and free from sin. This is love in its full measure. My life will flow out with whatever I have received. I cannot take it, and I can't pretend to have what I don't. Love is not one of those things that you can simply talk your way into. It is first about who God is, then something I open my heart to. God has to first do a work in me before that work can flow out of me. This work of love is so amazing that words cannot fully describe it. It is love that I did not deserve, and there is nothing I could do to change God's mind about me. 

The Conclusion:

Just as I have received this love, God expects me to show it to other people. This love cannot be hidden; I cannot keep hidden that which is a spring of love in me. The work that God does is first internal, then the fruit will definitely manifest on the outside. Love from God will always look like God, and it is constant and consistent. It does not wait for me to earn it; God does not need my approval. I got it simply because I am created by God. He just would not see me go to waste. It is a duty on my part to flow out with what I have received from God. Men are waiting for the manifestation of God in and out of me. Would I allow Him do what He alone can do? God's time of favour is here. 

Consistent and Faithful!

Consistent and Faithful!

Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

James 1:17 AMPC

The Charge:

God is the Source of all things good and perfect. There are other sources for all sorts of things, but if you seek things that last forever, you only get those from God. However, with the way the world is, you need God's grace to be able to trust His process and be convinced that whatever He allows to come to you is for good. The world has pain, sickness, disease and death, and we all have at one time either directly experienced one, or know some one who did. How do you come to the conclusion that something so painful could actually be something so good? The secret is in relationship. 

It is my daily walk with God that defines my walk in the world. If I know this God, I won't struggle with accepting his plans and purposes for me. I fix my gaze above, because below here, all you get are daily distractions. The devil may present an experience to me as evil, but because i am secure in the knowledge of the love of God for me, I know that He can only do what is good. He is also the God of perfection; whatever he allows weaves into His perfect plan for me. If the world has not completely fallen apart, it is because the eternal God won't let go, and is waiting for us to turn to Him. 

The Conclusion:

Why this confidence in God? It takes a very personal encounter to speak this way. He is called the Father of all lights, One who does not cast shadows because there is no change, turning or variation to his standards. Men can make promises, but capacity and competence are two different things. In God, both are present; His Word can be trusted to perform as promised. He cannot lie, because that would be contrary to His nature as Light. He's not a seasonal wonder,  but the One called Wonderful. Do I know this God introduced here? He wants us to draw near to Him. Would you? Would I? God's time of favour is here.

Being Different!

Being Different!

Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you]. Luke 6:28 AMPC

bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Luke 6:28 KJV

The Charge:

Different versions; the same message: God calls me to live a life that is different in character, commitment and content from the people of the world around me. We keep emphasizing the need to let the light of God shine out of our lives, but how would that happen if I do not give the light of God room to first take root in me before its fruit can then flow out of me? The verse before us today is addressed to disciples, people who have made up their minds to follow Jesus everywhere, no matter where he leads. It is not a call to be taken lightly or without counting the cost, because it is a call that will cost you dearly. 

Men will deliberately step on you, so they can see the stuff you are made of. Men will go out of their way to mistreat you, just to see how you would react. Sometimes, it could just be indifference, but in all ways, I have a duty, and it is to ensure that the work of God in me is seen in my walk among men. When men come with curses and abuse, what flows out of me must look like what I have spent time storing up in me. If there is a squeeze on me now, what will flow out: that which the world recognizes as its own, or that which  is of God? Whatever it is that flows out forms my character. It has to be right.

The Conclusion:

There is no room for silence here, where I will just sit and do nothing. I am under a mandate to respond to whatever is going on around me. Like a thermostat, I am to regulate my environment and make it conform to the conditions of peace. I must not keep quiet and blend in; life demands a response or reaction from me, and I must show that I am a child of God. Whatever it is that I get, I give that which I have, which is God's nature. May it never be that I take the path of least resistance because I do not want to offend, but may the light of God in me  be attractive to men. God's time of favour is here.

Loved!

Loved!

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21 KJV

The Charge:

The world lays emphasis on the power of the memory. The brain is one of man's greatest blessing, because by it, we can process all that our senses perceive, and with our hearts and minds, we can decide to love and follow God. However, it is not enough to just read and commit the words of the Bible to memory, even though that is the start point of any good that a man can do for himself, but the extra is the bit about keeping them. This is where we struggle; where we find it hard to accept or follow the words of God as laid down in the Bible. We want it to be a bit logical and reasonable, because we want it to conform to our own standards. However, if God will be God in our Iives, I have to allow Him and His Word to reign and rule in my life.

It is the keeping of the commandments that proves that I love God. These are not mere suggestions, which I can decide to discount or disobey without consequences, but they are God's rules for everyday life. I can't pick and choose the ones that I am comfortable with, but I must take the whole of His Word, as revealed to me, as His prescription for success in life and ministry. Obedience is the physical evidence of a healthy and thriving relationship with God. God, like any father, loves all He has created, but He has a special place for those who show that they are truly His children by being careful to obey Him at all times. Would this describe me in any way or are there areas where I am struggling to fully commit to total obedience? 

The Conclusion:

Do I need to start paying attention to my daily pursuits and priorities so they can reflect a life that understands the call of God upon it?You would not want to dispense with the love of the Father; no true child of God can. All that I could ever lay my hands on or become is a function of God's love. It was love that drew the plan of salvation that required the Son of God to die a shameful death on a cross. It is this same love that makes Jesus, the glorious One, live in my heart, guiding and directing its affairs. I can't claim to love God and at the same time, reject His Son Jesus. I cannot accept God's love and reject the human manifestation of that love. God has made His love known; I must respond by embracing Jesus. This is the guarantee of eternal life. God's time of favour is here. 

Shine!

Shine!

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:3 AMPC

The Charge:

God's promises are indeed Yea and Amen. God's Word comes from a place of power and authority, because they are the words of a God who reigns and rules in the affairs of men. You may not consciously submit to His authority, but nothing you do or fail to do diminishes his authority. It only helps me if I come to Him of my own freewill, and submit to Him. He is able to work in and out of me, so that I look like Him every day. What this means then is that it is not enough to be able to quote all of God's promises from the head; I must let the Source of that Word take root and grow out of me. It is when God sits on the throne of my heart that I can claim the promises that come from the relationship. It is not a switch where I can turn off or on at will, but one that I must do all I can to daily nurture and nourish. 

One of God's promises is access. When I allow God come in and operate out of my life, men will be drawn and attracted to the God at work in and through me. Of course, how would I have access to all God is, and men will not see the difference? That is why today's extract is quite important, in the times and seasons we have found ourselves. Darkness threatens to derail the world, and men keep finding new ways of hurting each other. Yet, for all who are God's children, we are to shine out with the light of God in us. My life has to speak; I am an ambassador for God, and I represent Him wherever I am. There are no time-outs when it comes to this walk, because men are constantly looking for those that will make a difference. I cannot switch off at anytime, but even when I do not measure up, God keeps supplying fresh grace so I can get back up again and keep walking and working. 

The Conclusion:

Nations must seek me out for solutions to their problems, and kings must be drawn to the brightness that comes from my rising. This means that I have a duty to be a vessel that this light can operate through. God will not come down in the flesh, but He will plant people on my way, who will enjoy the outflow of God's grace in my life. My life has to be clean enough for the light to shine out of. Imagine if there is black tape stuck to the window of my life; it will be difficult for the light to be seen or be effective. Like the lamp that is lit and then set on the lampstand, so am I on display. If I am true to the call of God on my life, men will ask me for the reason for my faith. If no one asks, maybe I have learnt the deceptive art of hypocrisy. May God be pleased with my life, and may He be celebrated because of me. God's time of favour is here. 

Authority!

Authority!

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19 AMPC

The Charge:

David wrote the words of this psalm, extolling the virtues of God, and asking us all to bless the Lord for all the blessings and benefits He has extended to us. It is a time-honoured principle that you can only give that which you have, so if God makes a promise to give us anything, we need to critically examine His nature, power and wisdom in order to be able to determine with precision, what we stand to gain. Just take a quick look at what we get from God, as laid out so clearly in the chapter from which the verse is taken: he forgives all sin, heals all diseases, redeems us from destruction, crowns and rewards us with his love and kindness, meets all our daily needs, and many others that space and time will not permit us to lay out here. He is the Source of all these, so if I want them I have to go to Him and ask. 

It then means that whatever God gives to or does for me is a function of who He is. He is God of all: no other person/creation can dare make such claims. Yes, earthly men lay claim to physical territories and defined kingdoms, but the fact that there are kingmakers and ruling families show that no mortal man can reign forever. There is a king who is called the Lord, and His throne is established in the heavens. This also means It is not a kingdom that is subject to my whims or caprices. I can decide to accept or reject the authority of this kingdom, but nothing I say or do can reduce the scope, reach, depth and glory of that kingdom. I must decide now, of my own freewill, to submit to and embrace this kingdom. He is king, whether I say so or not, but it sure makes my life easier when I give room for his kingdom in my life. 

The Conclusion:

In this kingdom, the power and authority of the King is never questioned or in doubt. We are the ones on earth who struggle to submit. It is no wonder that the Lord's prayer has this line, where we ask that the will of God be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. At some point in the near future, this same King will return to the earth, and His rule will be established on this earth. I note that the verse above speaks to both the past and the present. Heaven's place is already secured, but earth's too is a work in progress. God's kingdom rules; it is not subject to negotiation or consultation. God wants to lay the foundations of His kingdom in my life too; He wants to do a work in me that will reverberate into eternity. I have to make room for him to do His work; eternity will be glad I did. God's time of favour is here. 

Do Good!

Do Good!

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16 NIV

The Charge:

The Holy Spirit inspired the writer of this book to lay emphasis on interpersonal relationships. What is the use of mouth profession of faith, if the evidence of that faith is not evident from the daily dispensation of grace and love that must follow on from that faith? Is it sufficient for me to pay lip service to a life of devotion, while my life does not in any way reflect the demands of that devotion? How else will the world be attracted to Jesus, if there is no difference between the way it lives, and the way I live? If I have made a personal confession of faith, the evidence must be seen in the public. It is another reminder of the need to live out the demands of the faith on a daily basis. Enough of paying lip service to Christianity; it is indeed a way of life, not just a box to be ticked on a form.

Doing good may not be easy, especially when the target of the good does not appreciate it, or chooses not to recognize it, or even pays back the good with evil. Well, the instruction to do good here is not subject to the recipient's response or reaction, but to the need to obey. If I am a child of God, I should not have any issue with obedience. My life before I was saved is also a testament to the grace of God. I would not be a child of God if the love of God did not reach out to me. I am saved, so I can extend the same grace I have received to other people. I am called to share with others, because whatever it is I have received is not for me to enjoy alone, but to extend to others. That is the evidence that I am God's child - I can look outside of myself and see with God's eyes.  

The Conclusion:

This is what pleases God - a life that is a visible expression of the invisible God. God will not come down by himself and do the good he needs done in the lives of men, but he has put me in the world, at this point in time, to be his hands, feet, heart, ears and eyes. Wherever I stand, I am an ambassador for God, because I represent Him. When I am an effective witness, I am a true representative of God. Men must come to know and love the God I represent. I please God when I do what he wants, when he wants it and how he wants it. I am his child, his servant, his ambassador all rolled into one. The world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. The world needs something different from what it has always seen. Am I one? God's time of favour is here.