Abel's Acceptable Worship Sacrifice, by Faith
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. (Heb_11:4)
The Lord desires that people become true spiritual worshipers of Him. "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (Joh_4:23). This can only become a reality through faith in the Lord. One helpful example of this is Abel's acceptable worship sacrifice, by faith.
Cain and Abel were two sons of Adam and Eve. The time came when they both offered sacrifices unto the Lord. "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat" (Gen_4:3-4). The sacrifice of Cain was rejected by God, whereas Abel's sacrifice was accepted. "And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering" (Gen_4:4-5).
Our primary verse tells us why Abel's gift of worship was acceptable to the Lord. "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Abel's sacrifice was given by faith. It came from a heart that believed in the Lord and trusted in His righteous ways. "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD . . . but He loves him who follows righteousness" (Pro_15:8-9). When the Lord accepted Abel's offering, He was declaring that Abel was righteous in His sight: "through which he obtained witness that he was righteous." Elsewhere, the word confirms that Cain was an unbeliever; whereas, Abel walked in righteousness. "Cain . . . was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous" (1Jo_3:12).
When we offer worship sacrifices to the Lord, He is looking on our hearts. Are we trusting in Him? Are we yielding to the righteous paths that His word has set forth? Whether we are offering praise, giving thanks, doing good deeds, or sharing our resources with others, we are to do it all by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased . . . you . . . are being built up a spiritual house . . . to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (Heb_13:15-16 and 1Pe_2:5).
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I want to be a true spiritual worshiper of You. I repent of any sacrifices that I have offered from self-interest or self-righteousness. I want to offer my worship to You through faith in Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Soul Winning
Soul Winning
Matthew 5:16 – ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
You are in the perfect position to win someone to Christ. Your job is full of people that need Christ and your family is filled with souls that are ripe and ready to be harvested. You have the power of life and death in your tongue and you can speak victory over sin to them! God is calling on us to be bolder and take a stronger stand in the coming year for him. Your life is a living testimony! Why are you hiding it? What you believe works for you and God is strengthening your relationship with him daily.
So, why not take some time to ask God for open doors to reach out to your coworkers or your family and associates? Are you saved just for you? God can turn your boss around, your coworkers, your friends, your family, etc. if you allow him to. Stop conforming to them and hold fast in your belief. They will inquire as to what is different about you.
The enemy loves for us to get involved with people and then fall into sin with them. The enemy sees this as opportunity to stop your witness and cause people to lose faith in your Christianity. And it's a terrible thing to always fall back in front of the world because it does lessen their confidence in your faith and your walk. But that is not the end! If you are in that position, what better time to show the power of God and his ability to take us from a sinful walk to a blessed walk? This is your time!
You can show your coworkers, your peers, your family, how you were once in darkness but now you are a child of light. Even though you may have claimed Jesus, you may not have been where you should have been. But thanks be to God for his mercy and grace and his ability to change us, even when we feel we have shamed his name! It really doesn't matter what you have done or how bad you may think you have been. God is able and once you decide to live for him wholeheartedly, then you can be a light to others.
Take some time to pray for your coworkers. Send them the daily word. Go after their souls like it was your own! Pray for them and ask God for ways to touch them. It's time that we get it together and stop spending our prayer time praying for ourselves. The world is dying around us and we are responsible because their salvation maybe alive in us.
God bless you!
Matthew 5:16 – ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
You are in the perfect position to win someone to Christ. Your job is full of people that need Christ and your family is filled with souls that are ripe and ready to be harvested. You have the power of life and death in your tongue and you can speak victory over sin to them! God is calling on us to be bolder and take a stronger stand in the coming year for him. Your life is a living testimony! Why are you hiding it? What you believe works for you and God is strengthening your relationship with him daily.
So, why not take some time to ask God for open doors to reach out to your coworkers or your family and associates? Are you saved just for you? God can turn your boss around, your coworkers, your friends, your family, etc. if you allow him to. Stop conforming to them and hold fast in your belief. They will inquire as to what is different about you.
The enemy loves for us to get involved with people and then fall into sin with them. The enemy sees this as opportunity to stop your witness and cause people to lose faith in your Christianity. And it's a terrible thing to always fall back in front of the world because it does lessen their confidence in your faith and your walk. But that is not the end! If you are in that position, what better time to show the power of God and his ability to take us from a sinful walk to a blessed walk? This is your time!
You can show your coworkers, your peers, your family, how you were once in darkness but now you are a child of light. Even though you may have claimed Jesus, you may not have been where you should have been. But thanks be to God for his mercy and grace and his ability to change us, even when we feel we have shamed his name! It really doesn't matter what you have done or how bad you may think you have been. God is able and once you decide to live for him wholeheartedly, then you can be a light to others.
Take some time to pray for your coworkers. Send them the daily word. Go after their souls like it was your own! Pray for them and ask God for ways to touch them. It's time that we get it together and stop spending our prayer time praying for ourselves. The world is dying around us and we are responsible because their salvation maybe alive in us.
God bless you!
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Protection from the Devil through Faith
Protection from the Devil through Faith
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith. (1Pe_5:8-9)
As we walk by faith, God's grace is imparted into our lives, bringing us many blessings in our Lord. We have seen that among these heavenly delights are assurance of salvation and security of salvation. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life . . . who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1Jo_5:13 and 1Pe_1:5). Related to these is protection from the devil through faith.
Godly Christian living involves a spiritual gravity and a spiritual attentiveness. "Be sober, be vigilant." These necessary traits that the Lord wants to develop in us do not nullify the reality of joy and peace in the Lord. However, such earnestness is mandatory due to the enemy that we have. "Because your adversary the devil walks about." We do have a committed and intimidating spiritual opponent, and he has an organized army of fallen, rebellious, demonic cohorts.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph_6:12). The intention of our spiritual foe is deadly. He goes about "like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Our enemy is not merely desiring to frustrate us or make us miserable. He wants to devour us, to devastate our lives. Jesus stated the matter this way. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (Joh_10:10).
Although our adversary is relentless and imposing, God's gracious remedy is simple and effective. "Resist him" We are to oppose him. We are to stand against him. How are we to accomplish this? Are we to pit our own strength against his? Never! We effectively stand against him by being "steadfast in the faith." We simply continue trusting in the great truths of God's word, which declare Christ as victor over our foe. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil . . . Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [the cross] " (1Jo_3:8 and Col_2:15).
By faith, we renounce the enemy and submit to our Lord. Thereby, God promises us that the enemy will flee. "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (Jam_4:7).
Prayer
Dear Lord, mighty conqueror, what a joy it is to know that You have defeated the enemy and his demonic conspirators. What grace You offer in providing protection from the devil as I simply resist him by trusting in You. Praise Your victorious name!
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith. (1Pe_5:8-9)
As we walk by faith, God's grace is imparted into our lives, bringing us many blessings in our Lord. We have seen that among these heavenly delights are assurance of salvation and security of salvation. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life . . . who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1Jo_5:13 and 1Pe_1:5). Related to these is protection from the devil through faith.
Godly Christian living involves a spiritual gravity and a spiritual attentiveness. "Be sober, be vigilant." These necessary traits that the Lord wants to develop in us do not nullify the reality of joy and peace in the Lord. However, such earnestness is mandatory due to the enemy that we have. "Because your adversary the devil walks about." We do have a committed and intimidating spiritual opponent, and he has an organized army of fallen, rebellious, demonic cohorts.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph_6:12). The intention of our spiritual foe is deadly. He goes about "like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Our enemy is not merely desiring to frustrate us or make us miserable. He wants to devour us, to devastate our lives. Jesus stated the matter this way. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (Joh_10:10).
Although our adversary is relentless and imposing, God's gracious remedy is simple and effective. "Resist him" We are to oppose him. We are to stand against him. How are we to accomplish this? Are we to pit our own strength against his? Never! We effectively stand against him by being "steadfast in the faith." We simply continue trusting in the great truths of God's word, which declare Christ as victor over our foe. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil . . . Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [the cross] " (1Jo_3:8 and Col_2:15).
By faith, we renounce the enemy and submit to our Lord. Thereby, God promises us that the enemy will flee. "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (Jam_4:7).
Prayer
Dear Lord, mighty conqueror, what a joy it is to know that You have defeated the enemy and his demonic conspirators. What grace You offer in providing protection from the devil as I simply resist him by trusting in You. Praise Your victorious name!
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Hopeful Living
Hopeful Living
Job 14:7 - 'For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.'
Hope is a wonderful thing to have inside of you. The hope that things will be okay even though they look terrible. The hope that your money will add up sooner or later. The hope that your body will be healed. The hope that your life will take a turn for the better after the trial and tribulations that you are facing are turned around. The hope that your marriage will be restored. The hope that your children will get past their rebellious stages.
Hope is good to have. But hope is not enough if it is only inside of you. There has to be an outward hope applied to your situation. You must speak your hope and live according to your hope so that your hope will produce! Faith is the substance of things "hoped for"! That means that you must have substance with your hope. In other words, your hope must have something more to it than just a gut feeling or wishful thinking. There has to be wishful speaking and wishful living involved.
Job is saying in this passage that if the tree is cut down, then hope can be applied! In other words, if the tree is still standing, there is no hope for the tree needed. You can stand around wondering whether or not it will grow again. You can write books about it growing again. You can tell everyone you know that it will grow again. But until it is cut, there is no hope needed! Until it is cut down, your hope has no substance. The same with your daily walk with the Lord. You have to walk in the hope that things will get better. They had to get bad for you to exercise your hope.
Your hope is only tried when things go wrong. And your hope must be tried so that it can be strengthened, and your hope in the invisible God of heaven and his righteous return will be solid. When God brings you out of all this you are going through, your hope will have produced what could not be seen.
In other words, your hope, when it's tested, will produce what it did not have. So, keep your hope in your words and your actions, not just inside of you. Don't just know it, but speak it and act on it. You will survive and live past this test and your hope will be fulfilled.
God richly bless you.
Shalom!
Suggested Reading: Psa. 16:9, Psa. 39:7, Rom. 8:25, Rom. 12:12
Job 14:7 - 'For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.'
Hope is a wonderful thing to have inside of you. The hope that things will be okay even though they look terrible. The hope that your money will add up sooner or later. The hope that your body will be healed. The hope that your life will take a turn for the better after the trial and tribulations that you are facing are turned around. The hope that your marriage will be restored. The hope that your children will get past their rebellious stages.
Hope is good to have. But hope is not enough if it is only inside of you. There has to be an outward hope applied to your situation. You must speak your hope and live according to your hope so that your hope will produce! Faith is the substance of things "hoped for"! That means that you must have substance with your hope. In other words, your hope must have something more to it than just a gut feeling or wishful thinking. There has to be wishful speaking and wishful living involved.
Job is saying in this passage that if the tree is cut down, then hope can be applied! In other words, if the tree is still standing, there is no hope for the tree needed. You can stand around wondering whether or not it will grow again. You can write books about it growing again. You can tell everyone you know that it will grow again. But until it is cut, there is no hope needed! Until it is cut down, your hope has no substance. The same with your daily walk with the Lord. You have to walk in the hope that things will get better. They had to get bad for you to exercise your hope.
Your hope is only tried when things go wrong. And your hope must be tried so that it can be strengthened, and your hope in the invisible God of heaven and his righteous return will be solid. When God brings you out of all this you are going through, your hope will have produced what could not be seen.
In other words, your hope, when it's tested, will produce what it did not have. So, keep your hope in your words and your actions, not just inside of you. Don't just know it, but speak it and act on it. You will survive and live past this test and your hope will be fulfilled.
God richly bless you.
Shalom!
Suggested Reading: Psa. 16:9, Psa. 39:7, Rom. 8:25, Rom. 12:12
Warning Signs
Warning Signs
Psalm 19:11 - 'There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.' - The Message Bible
When it comes to relationships, we often times ignore God to get what we feel we need at the time. We want someone cause we are lonely, or we want to marry because everyone else is getting married. Many times people seek marriage or engagements because they need to feel wanted or they are trying to prove something to their family or friends. But no Christian on earth should ever form relationships until "GOD gives the thumbs up!" I know that's hard to swallow because we like to feel in control of our own relationships.
But only God knows the end as well as the beginning, so his advice is priceless when it comes to marriage and family. And God will always give you warning signs before you ever commit to the wrong person. He will show you what's up, but you must take heed and listen to him. If your fiance' is abusive to you now, then it will get much worse when you marry them! If your boyfriend got a little sugar in his tank now, marrying him is not going to make the sugar go away! If he or she is not saved now, then please don't expect them to get saved after you say I do, especially after they see you disobey God by being unequally yoked to them. If you can't stand them now, chances are, you won't be able to stand them after the wedding!
We must learn to ask God before we decide to do things like marry, date, or even search for a mate. God has the answer and he will show you very clearly. But you must learn to hear him and obey what he says. Multiple divorces, abusive relationships, and long separations, are all signs of selfishness and sure signs of disobedience. God does not take us through bad relationships to teach us a lesson or give us a powerful testimony! God does not glory in divorce and he would that no man put asunder their marital vows.
So, he is in the business of warning us before we ever get into these situations. God wants to protect you from a bad relationship so he sends warning signs. But because of loneliness, low self worth, or stubbornness, we decide to go our own way and ignore God's warning signs. The saddest part is that we get ourselves into a place where we have ignored the voice of the Lord so much, we can't hear him anymore. And at that point, we are on our own, bumping our heads, trying to fix what we have messed up.
Children get involved and destroyed, our home gets torn apart, and drama begins to follow us everywhere, all because we did not heed the warning signs, Please, do not ignore God's warning signs about your relationships. You must understand that God wants the best for you and he does not glory in you being abused and hurt from a bad relationship. You deserve better and you must allow him to bring the best to you. If you see yourself as God's child, then you must allow him to choose who he feels is right for you.
Suggested Reading: Jer. 6:10, 2Cor. 6:14 , Matt. 5:32, Matt. 19:6
Psalm 19:11 - 'There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.' - The Message Bible
When it comes to relationships, we often times ignore God to get what we feel we need at the time. We want someone cause we are lonely, or we want to marry because everyone else is getting married. Many times people seek marriage or engagements because they need to feel wanted or they are trying to prove something to their family or friends. But no Christian on earth should ever form relationships until "GOD gives the thumbs up!" I know that's hard to swallow because we like to feel in control of our own relationships.
But only God knows the end as well as the beginning, so his advice is priceless when it comes to marriage and family. And God will always give you warning signs before you ever commit to the wrong person. He will show you what's up, but you must take heed and listen to him. If your fiance' is abusive to you now, then it will get much worse when you marry them! If your boyfriend got a little sugar in his tank now, marrying him is not going to make the sugar go away! If he or she is not saved now, then please don't expect them to get saved after you say I do, especially after they see you disobey God by being unequally yoked to them. If you can't stand them now, chances are, you won't be able to stand them after the wedding!
We must learn to ask God before we decide to do things like marry, date, or even search for a mate. God has the answer and he will show you very clearly. But you must learn to hear him and obey what he says. Multiple divorces, abusive relationships, and long separations, are all signs of selfishness and sure signs of disobedience. God does not take us through bad relationships to teach us a lesson or give us a powerful testimony! God does not glory in divorce and he would that no man put asunder their marital vows.
So, he is in the business of warning us before we ever get into these situations. God wants to protect you from a bad relationship so he sends warning signs. But because of loneliness, low self worth, or stubbornness, we decide to go our own way and ignore God's warning signs. The saddest part is that we get ourselves into a place where we have ignored the voice of the Lord so much, we can't hear him anymore. And at that point, we are on our own, bumping our heads, trying to fix what we have messed up.
Children get involved and destroyed, our home gets torn apart, and drama begins to follow us everywhere, all because we did not heed the warning signs, Please, do not ignore God's warning signs about your relationships. You must understand that God wants the best for you and he does not glory in you being abused and hurt from a bad relationship. You deserve better and you must allow him to bring the best to you. If you see yourself as God's child, then you must allow him to choose who he feels is right for you.
Suggested Reading: Jer. 6:10, 2Cor. 6:14 , Matt. 5:32, Matt. 19:6
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Humility and the Fear of the Lord
Humility and the Fear of the Lord
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life . . . with the humble is wisdom . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. (Pro_22:4; Pro_11:2; and Pro_9:10)
Walking in humility is the pathway for living by the grace of God. "God . . . gives grace to the humble" (1Pe_5:5). In our present verses, we see that humility and the fear of the Lord are related.
Humility and the fear of the Lord result in the same blessings. "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life." The closing trio ("riches and honor and life") are an Old Testament description of a life that is fully blessed by God. The New Testament counterpart would be fullness of spiritual life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Joh_10:10).
Humility and the fear of the Lord also result in wisdom. "With the humble is wisdom . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."
Humility is the candid acknowledgment of our absolute need for the Lord to work comprehensively in our lives day by day. The fear of the Lord is respect and reverence toward our great God. It is not a fear involving terror or apprehension.
Rather, it is based upon profound admiration and dependent devotion.
Those who humbly fear the Lord (by placing their admiration and devotion in Him) also embrace His perspectives and values. They develop a hatred for the things that He hates. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate" (Pro_8:13). Correspondingly, those who have respect and reverence for the Lord develop a love for all that He loves. The Lord loves for His people to walk in righteousness and justice. "The LORD loves the righteous . . . the LORD loves justice" (Psa_146:8 and Psa_37:28).
The Lord loves Israel, His chosen nation. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples" (Deu_7:7). The Lord loves His church, the children of God. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1Jo_3:1). The Lord loves the world, those who need to know Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Joh_3:16).
Prayer
Lord God almighty, I humbly bow before You, acknowledging my absolute need for You to work comprehensively in my life day by day. I want to walk in the fear of the Lord, placing my admiration and devotion in You. I want to hate all that You hate and love all that You love, in Jesus name, Amen.
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life . . . with the humble is wisdom . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. (Pro_22:4; Pro_11:2; and Pro_9:10)
Walking in humility is the pathway for living by the grace of God. "God . . . gives grace to the humble" (1Pe_5:5). In our present verses, we see that humility and the fear of the Lord are related.
Humility and the fear of the Lord result in the same blessings. "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life." The closing trio ("riches and honor and life") are an Old Testament description of a life that is fully blessed by God. The New Testament counterpart would be fullness of spiritual life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Joh_10:10).
Humility and the fear of the Lord also result in wisdom. "With the humble is wisdom . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."
Humility is the candid acknowledgment of our absolute need for the Lord to work comprehensively in our lives day by day. The fear of the Lord is respect and reverence toward our great God. It is not a fear involving terror or apprehension.
Rather, it is based upon profound admiration and dependent devotion.
Those who humbly fear the Lord (by placing their admiration and devotion in Him) also embrace His perspectives and values. They develop a hatred for the things that He hates. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate" (Pro_8:13). Correspondingly, those who have respect and reverence for the Lord develop a love for all that He loves. The Lord loves for His people to walk in righteousness and justice. "The LORD loves the righteous . . . the LORD loves justice" (Psa_146:8 and Psa_37:28).
The Lord loves Israel, His chosen nation. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples" (Deu_7:7). The Lord loves His church, the children of God. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1Jo_3:1). The Lord loves the world, those who need to know Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Joh_3:16).
Prayer
Lord God almighty, I humbly bow before You, acknowledging my absolute need for You to work comprehensively in my life day by day. I want to walk in the fear of the Lord, placing my admiration and devotion in You. I want to hate all that You hate and love all that You love, in Jesus name, Amen.
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