The Path of the Just

”But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” Proverbs 4: 18.

This verse paints the beautiful picture of the life of the Christian. We are all saved to fellowship with God; and God is moulding and fashioning us into the image of His dear Son. Our own part is to ensure that we grow spiritually to conform to that image. How can we do that? Its by studying the Word of God and prayer.

Sometimes we neglect our spiritual welfare while we tend to the things of the flesh. We don’t pray and meditate on God’s Word but we feed our mortal bodies everyday. We do not understand that prayer and the Word of God is the food for our spiritual lives; and if we neglect it, how can we grow into the image of Christ? Some people believe that they can still be Christians while they indulge in unwholesome practices. They believe in the doctrine of ”once saved, always saved”. But they fail to admit the truth of the Scripture that says, ”work out your salvation with fear and trembling”.

We must understand that when we discipline ourselves in the place of prayer and meditating on God’s word, new heights of goodness are ever open to us. But if we give up the battle and take the easy way, even the resistance power we possessed against the devil will be lost and will slip from the little height to which we had attained. There is no such thing as standing still in the Christian life. We either get more or lose what we had. We either advance to greater heights or slip back everyday. The Bible admonishes us to ”give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest at anytime we should let them slip” (Hebrews 2: 1).

Let us always remember that there is no creature that is hidden from the Creator. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4: 13). Therefore let us live our lives with the consciousness of who we are in the sight of God.

God bless you.

 

Hold Fast To What You Have

”Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” Rev. 3. 11

When we look at the letters Jesus sent to the seven Churches, we discover that the main emphasis is that they should hold fast to the gospel that has been given to them. There are many false teachers and prophets today that teach false doctrines- doctrines of demons. The message of Jesus to the Churches also applies to us- we should hold fast to what we have.

Jesus Christ warned us to hold fast so that no man can take our crown. Many of us today have little or no regard to this exhortation. We know certain areas of our spiritual life that is ”dead”; and yet we don’t do anything about it. We overlook it and pretend as if everything is all right- no, it isn’t. When we hold fast to what we have, we cannot let it slip away. We jealously guard it. As Christians, we are to hold fast to the Word of God. We should keep it in our heart and obey it. The Psalmist said, ”Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against thee”. When our life is not in harmony with one text of that blessed book, we are letting it slip away. We should wake up and be on the watch, so that we can strengthen those aspects of our lives that are about to die.

When Jesus gave the parable of the talents, the lazy and unfaithful servant did contrary to his master’s wish, he let what he had to slip away. As a result, his talent was taken away from him and was given to the servant with ten talents. When we let God’s word slip away from our heart, we work contrary to His will, and our reward (crown) will be given to another man that made the best use of God’s word. Therefore let us hold fast to what we have, so that no man can take our crown.

God bless you.

 

Guard Your Thoughts

”They want to look at nothing but immoral women…they are under God’s curse!” 2 Pet. 2: 14.

This verse talks about the characteristics of those who are heading for destruction. The Bible is so plain about those things that can rob one of God’s blessings and subjects one to God’s cure instead. As Christians, we must strive to be holy and have our conscience sprinkled from every evil thoughts and imaginations.

Sometimes, the devil sees to it that immoral thoughts come across our mind. He tries as much as possible to make us dwell on those thoughts. If he can’t get us through that, he will try to lead immoral people to turn us away from the faith. If we consent to them and allow them to raise our emotions and passions, that is a clear signal that we are moving away from God’s blessings and going under His curse.

We must see to it that we put our body into subjection like Apostle Paul did. We must mortify our members (body) against every deeds of the flesh because our flesh is always at war with our spirit. The world we live in is very perverted. That is why Jesus told us to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We must quit every appearance of sin. God sees our struggle against sin. He sees our craving to gain the mastery over every carnal desire. We should not relent for God will reward our labour in due time.

 

Hold On To the Faith

”So then, my brothers and sisters, try even harder to make God’s call and his choice of you a permanent experience; if you do so, you will never fall into sin.” -2 Pet. 1: 10

Apostle Peter was addressing the early Christians about the need to remain firm in the faith. There were doubtless some who have grown weary and have sat on a comfortable plateau; awaiting what the future holds for them. They failed to see Jesus at the end of their spiritual journey waiting to receive them into His Kingdom. Such is the case of many Christians today!

The Bible makes us to understand the activities of the devil in the affairs of men. ”…The devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” 1 Pet. 5: 18. The major work of the devil is to set up situations and circumstances so that a Christian can fall. He does not trouble himself much with the unbelievers- they are already his. That is why the Bible warns us to be alert and be on the watch against his devices. How can we do that? One way is by diligence and faithfulness in serving God. We are to strive to make our calling and election sure.

There are some people who tell stories of how they had been zealous for God and were used mightily for His service but have backslidded in some trying situations. There is danger in this for the Bible tells us that it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them (2 Pet. 2: 20). We must continually dwell in God’s presence and the infilling of the Holy Ghost must be a permanent experience. We must strive to serve Him with the understanding that God chose us because He knows that we are perfectly suited to carry out His plans and purposes. After our work is accomplished here on earth, we have an inheritance that is incorruptible in Heaven.

 

Eternal Rest

”I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” -2 Tim. 4: 6, 7.

The ultimate goal of every Christian is to make heaven after our sojourn here earth. We hope for that blessed place of rest where will be no tears but pleasures forevermore. This is the will of God towards His children.

However, we must be overcomers in the battles of life in order to reign with Christ. We must not allow anything to weaken or distract us from our tasks. Many a times, we allow the devil to have his way in our lives. God did not desire this to happen. Instead He wants to build a glorious and holy church- not a church decimated by Satan’s machinations. As Christians, we must not look for any other thing than to focus on the race that is set before us. ”No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life…” (1 Tim. 2: 4). We must make our calling and election sure. We must fulfill the prophecies which went before us.

Instead of allowing the devil to deceive us with worldly glory, we should strive to be the person God wants us to be. We must preach the Word of God to the dying world. We are in the perilous times, and the powers of darkness are out to drag as many people as they can to destruction. We must intercede for men and nations. We are commanded to ”do the work of an evangelist…” (2 Tim. 4: 5). The Holy Spirit is moving mightily in the earth at this time, convicting people of their sins. We must allow God to use us to bring these souls unto Himself.

However, we must be careful about the way we live our lives. Remember the words of Jesus in Matt. 7: 22, 23 that many would tell Him how they had labored for Him, but they will be turned into the lake of fire because they were not careful with their lives. We, like Apostle Paul, must keep our bodies, and bring it into subjection, so that when we have preached to others, we ourselves would not be a castaway (1 Cor. 9: 27)./p>

We must finish our course in this world before we receive our crown. We must be good soldiers of Christ. How we live our lives here on earth will determine where we’ll spend eternity. Dear reader, are you following God’s will for your life or you are being tossed around by Satan’s whims and caprices? Think about your life!!! Its more important than anything in the world.

P.S. Perhaps you have not given your life to Christ or have not surrendered your all to Him, cry out from your heart for God’s mercy and forgiveness. We are at the time of God’s grace, and its running out. The world is coming to an end, and only those who the Lord recognises as His own would escape the tribulations that is about to come upon the earth. Confess your sins before Him with a sincere heart. He is willing to forgive you and restore you to Himself.

GOD BLESS YOU!

 

Serving Christ

”For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even the little that he hath” Matthew 13: 12.

When Jesus rose from the dead, His disciples asked Him if He would restore the kingdom to Israel at that time (Acts 1: 6). Their minds were filled with the prophecies of old prophets. They expected that God would bring His plan to its final conclusion and bring in the prophesied restoration of Israel and the Kingdom at once. However, Jesus told them that the Father had put the times and seasons in His own power.

Though it is not our business to know the time of our Lord’s return, we do have important business to take care of until He returns. It is our business to receive power to be Christ’s witnesses ”unto the uttermost parts of the earth”. To illustrate this, Jesus told the parable of the nobleman giving ten servants ten pounds. The number ten in the Bible often indicates a fullness. Thus the ten servants represent all who really belong to Jesus. Since each received the same amount, God has dealt to every Christian ”the measure of faith” (Romans 12: 3). The work before us is to occupy till Christ comes.

Just as the ten slaves were to see what they could earn with what their master gave them, so are we to do the Lord’s business, not merely while He is gone, but while He is coming. We should labor for Him in anticipation for His return.

When the day of reckoning came for the ten servants to give account, Jesus mentioned only three coming before the nobleman. They represented three classes into which all fit. The first earned ten times as much as he started with. He was commended and promoted to a place of high authority over ten cities. The second represented those who were faithful but who might have done more. They were also promoted to a place of authority, but without the commendation given to the first. In neither case did the slaves take any credit to themselves. It was the nobleman’s money that produced the increase. Similarly, what we are able to do for the Lord is only possible through the faith, truth, and the power of the Spirit within us. Our reward too will be greater responsibility and greater opportunities for service. ”If we endure, we shall also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2: 12).

The third slave let fear dominate him instead of love and faithfulness. He wrapped up the money and did nothing with it. This is the plea of many so-called Christians: ”I still have the bit of faith I had at the beginning. I have not done anything wrong”. But their real trouble is that they have never really done anything at all.

The reward the servants received from the nobleman illustrates the reward believers will receive from Christ. Salvation is not a matter of works, but of divine grace (Ephesians 2: 8, 9). Rewards will be given, however, on the basis of the motive and faithfulnes in service (1 Corinthians 3: 14). The hope of reward for faithful service should result in diligence. Because of the prospect of reward, we should endure sufferings, knowing that our light affliction will be changed for an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4: 16-18).

 

Dead Works

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Ephesians 9: 14)

Normally we think of dead works as being another term for sins. Certainly this is true, for such works result in spiritual death. Furthermore, they are works which are performed by spiritually dead persons (Ephesians 2: 1, 2).

It is possible, however, that works which are good in themselves may actually be regarded by God as dead works. God of course requires good works of all His people (Galatians 6: 10). These good works are an expression of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5: 22, 23). But good works which are improperly motivated are not acceptable to God. Our good works can never be the basis for God’s acceptance into His family, for it is ”not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3: 5). When we rely upon our good works to gain acceptance before God, then these works of righteousness are regarded by Him as filthy rags.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time serve as an excellent example of men who are guilty of such dead works. In the familiar story of the Pharisee and the publican, the Pharisee prided himself in the fact that he fasted regularly twice a week and that he was faithful in paying tithes. These were commendable works in themselves, but the Pharisee found himself rejected by God because they were not done out of love but out of a feeling of superiority and piety which would put the publican to shame (Luke 18: 9-14).

The Pharisees not only thought to win the favor of God by their good works, but they also thought they would thereby win the favor of men. They made a public display of their almsgiving, their praying and their fasting (Matt. 6: 1-18).

Why we perform certain good works is more important in the sight of God than what good works we perform. True Christianity is based on the inner motivation of the heart.

 

Christian Stewardship

Stewardship is responsibility. It is the grateful and responsible use of God’s gifts. As believers we are God’s stewards. All we have comes from Him and belongs to Him. Even the time, talent, material possessions or wealth belong to God and are to be used for His service.

There are some of us that use God’s gifts for selfish ambitions and to exploit others. Our selfish culture says, ”If I don’t own it, why should I take care of it?”. Joseph did not satisfy his own wish when he was in charge of Potiphar’s house. If he had not been responsible, he wouldn’t have prospered. He understood God’s will; that was what enabled him to live by a higher standard.

In God’s Kingdom, ”those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust” (1 Cor. 4: 2 NCV). To illustrate this, Jesus told the story of a businessman who entrusted his wealth to his servants while he was away. When he returned he evaluated and rewarded them accordingly: ”…’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ” (Matt. 25: 21). The real test of our faithfulness is not how we treat the big things, but in how trustworthy we are in very little things. Those who are unjust in little things will be untrustworthy in the big things.

We have to remember that responsibility would be meaningless if there were no giving of account, no day of reckoning. ”We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5: 10). There, we must give account of what we have done with the gospel and its blessings, with the Holy Spirit’s gifts and everything God has entrusted to us.

God commits His resources to us and expects us to manage it as good stewards. Only if we are faithful will He commit to us true riches which will be our eternal inheritance. We have an earnest of our inheritance in the Holy Spirit which we receive now (Ephesians 1: 14). But the fulness of that inheritance is ”reserved in heaven for us” ( 1 Peter 1: 4). Do we desire God to trust us with the riches and glories of heaven, with crowns and a throne? Then let us show that He can trust us here with money and material possessions of this world.

 

”Examine yourself whether ye be in the faith” 2 Cor. 13: 5

Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Lord, and know my thoughts I pray;
See if there be some wicked way in me,
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.

Do you know yourself? Are you familiar with your own heart and mind? Do you know your nature and works as well as Christ knows you? Do you know all thy works? Do you know how dirty, vile and worthless your life and efforts and vain-glorious actions have been before God?

Do you feel God’s frown at all the wicked and sinful imaginations of your heart? Have you taken it to heart that He has decreed to confine all sinners to everlasting punishment? Have you been told that He is more severe with religious sinners than with Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it clear to you that those who hold the truth of the Word of God in unrighteousness are worse than the ordinary, unchurched sinners?

Do you know Jesus, the Son of God? Have you been to Him for the forgiveness of your sins? Have you ever prayed with sincerity for pardon? Did you confess your sins with a determination to forsake them all by His grace? Are you free from guilt and condemnation? Are you free also from the power of sin or does sin still have dominion over you? Are you deceived into thinking that Christ and sin can both live in your heart?

If you have been to the Lord, where is the evidence? How can you meet with the Prince of Peace without having His peace? How can you remain under the heavy burden of sin if you have prayed in faith to the Savior whose burden is light? If He, the one who conquered sin and death, lives within your heart how is it that you are always conquered by sin? Have you experienced the power of sonship? Does the Spirit of truth lead you? Do you look at the praise of men and flattery as a deadly poison which you can neither give nor take?

Are you poor in spirit? Are you of the settled conviction that you have nothing whereof you can boast? Do you, like Christ, seek no reputation, no name except to be known by God as a real child of His?

Now where do you stand? As the Almighty God Himself asks you these questions, what answers do you have? As you present your heart and life before His X-ray, how dirty, stained, how clean, pure and how ready and prepared are you to meet the Lord?

 

God’s unfailing love

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years (Deut. 8: 3, 4 KJV).

This verses of the Scriptures give deep insightful teachings on the way Christians should live and conduct themselves. God is ever faithful, glorious and eternally merciful. He led the Israelites out of bondage because He saw their sufferings and He heard their cries; just as He hears our calls and sees our inmost struggle to gain the mastery over sin. God heard our cries and He has led us out of that land of bondage into a good and large land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3: 8; Romans 5: 8) by giving up His only begotten Son to die in order to redeem us from our sins.
However, God allowed the Israelites to pass through the wilderness amid severe drought. He could have led them through a shorter route but He chose to lead them through the wilderness in order to prove them, refine them, humble them, build them and to know what was in their hearts Deut 8: 2. God is infinitely rich in wisdom. None can be compared unto Him. He deliberately allowed His beloved children to suffer hunger, thirst and harsh weather conditions in the wilderness because He was preparing them for that higher place which he has destined for them. In the same way God makes and prepares His children for the place He has destined for him. Many times we face crises in our daily lives, but God has good motives behind it. Sometimes we tend to use our own little wisdom and experience to solve these problems, neglecting the Source of all wisdom. That is why problems seem to persist and even grow worse. But God, our creator, is calling out to us in the midst of the storms of life to cast our burdens on Him. Hear his words, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt 11: 28, 29).
The clothes of the Israelites did not get old for forty years. That is a manifestation of God’s wisdom. He made them to know that man does not live by bread and material things alone, but by His word. If our problems are to be solved, we must quit our effort in trying to solve them and allow God to do His business. Our destiny is tied to God’s word, we cannot be of any value if we turn away and despise its life-giving truths. Many so-called rich men get frustrated by little things because they failed to hear what God has to say concerning them. The only way one can truly be successful in life is to find out God’s will for his life and to pursue after it.