Monthly Archives: May 2015

May 14

Would You Lend Him Your Boat?

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God had always needed man to carry out His mission on earth. This does not mean that He couldn’t have been able to carry out His mission without the instrumentality of man. But in His wisdom, He has designed to get man involved.

 

“And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship” (Luke 5:3).

 

Jesus in our text above needed a platform from which He could preach to the multitudes at the seashore.

 

There were many boats around and He chose to approach Simon’s. Observe that He did not compel him to allow Him use His boat but simply “prayed him.”

 

Had Peter turned Him away, He would have gone elsewhere. But Peter obliged Him. Jesus did not use and abandon Peter. He knew his need, how he had toiled all night and failed. He gave him the miracle of a great catch.

 

The Lord does not use one and abandon him.

 

Overwhelmed by the blessing of a single moment of service and consecration, Peter took a wise decision for a lifetime of service and commitment. He saw the initial blessing as a tip of the iceberg.

 

If he had given to the Lord a moment of service and got such a huge return, what would a lifetime of surrender bring him? He must have reasoned. So, he gave up all to follow the Lord and we know today that that was the wisest decision.

 

Today, the Lord is still looking around for “boats” He can use. There are many people out there He needs to reach, to teach and to bless. Would you lend Him your boat, your life, talent, house and possessions?

 

Remember, even though He owns you by right of creation and redemption, He will not compel you; He will only “pray” you. Also remember, He will not use you, walk off and abandon you. So, do not turn Him away.

 

If you turn Him away, He will certainly get another boat but you would have lost a lifetime opportunity. Do let Him use you. You will be glad you did!

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Take my life and use it, Lord!

 

 

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May 13

The Compassionate Touch

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palmtreeA palm-wine tapper was witnessed to by a local pastor for years to no avail. He would not receive the gospel nor come to church. No, not even on the Lord’s Day.

 

He esteemed the gain from his infamous trade more highly than the souls of many promising young men now turned drunkards in the small village; no thanks to the cheap liquor that was his stock-in-trade. He fell off a tall palm-tree as he went up to collect the product one Sunday morning and came down with injury to his spine.

 

Doctors pronounced his case to be hopeless. In hospital, he sent for the village pastor whose preaching he had spurned these many years.

 

The pastor arrived immediately, prayed for him and rallied church members round him in an intense prayer meeting for his recovery.

 

Three days later, doctors said he got better. About six weeks later, he was ready to go home. Christ had touched his soul and healed his pain not minding his shameful past.

 

“And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean.” (Luke 5:12,13a).

 

 

The leper in our text above must have heard of the ministry of Jesus for he knew He had power to heal him. However, he was not sure Jesus would be willing to touch him, probably because of his putrefying sores.

 

He was ignorant of the intense love, mercy and compassion of Jesus. Being humbled by his hopeless situation, he pleaded and cried out to Jesus for help: “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”

 

The response from Jesus is ever so reassuring – “I will”.

 

That is Christ’s same answer to us whenever we turn to Him for help in our distressed, helpless state. He will never turn away those who penitently come to Him though they be untouchable sinners or diseased fellows.

Jesus is a compassionate and loving God. When you are suffering, remember that He feels your pain with you.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The Lord’s love and compassion are without parallel.

 

 

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May 12

Will The Lord Be Pleased With Your Actions?

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When pleasing the Lord is our main motive in Christian service, then we would always be concerned with the way the Lord feels about our service.

 

Many people do things without thinking of how the Lord feels about them. They do not seem to be bothered about how God views their actions and services. They feel okay if they are satisfied with their actions and have the supporting approval of others. But if we are conscious of the fact that the Lord takes interest in all that we do, we will render a more acceptable service to Him.

 

“And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD… and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?” (Leviticus 10:19).

 

Moses in our passage above was surprised when he found out that Aaron, the high priest, did not eat the sin offering as it was his duty to do.

 

The response of Aaron to this gives us a very challenging and instructive lesson. He did not just want to carry on with duty for the sake of it. He was concerned with rendering acceptable service before the Lord.

 

At this point, he grieved over the death of his two sons whom God had brought instant judgment upon because they offered a strange fire before the Lord.

 

Aaron’s action was not to protest the death of his sons. He just felt that with what had happened that day, carrying on with religious duty may not please the Lord.

 

The primary focus of Christian living and service should be to please the Lord.

 

There is no point trying to carry on a spiritual duty when we sense that such service at such a time will not be acceptable before the Lord. If we realize that the state of our hearts disqualifies us from giving unto the Lord holy and acceptable service, it is better to suspend such a service and get our hearts right before the Lord.

 

Don’t just carry on with duty because you want to satisfy yourself or those who have appointed you. Focus on pleasing the Lord alone.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Let pleasing the Lord be your daily desire.

 

 

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May 11

What Do You Know About God?

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In an age of distressing crises and sundry pressures of life, many people are often hesitant in relating with strangers. Some even adopt the extreme position of showing suspicion towards those they do not know.

 

In fact, conventional wisdom tells us that the more aware and acquainted you are with a person, the more likely you are able to relate well to him. It follows then that spiritually speaking, the reason many people do not have a flourishing relationship with God is because they really do not know Him.

 

Bible writers were different. They knew only little about God, of course, for no one can ever successfully unravel all there is about the Almighty. Yet, they spoke about Him with so much reverence and awe.

 

The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted” (Psalm 47:9).

 

The Psalmist in the scripture above best illustrates this. In obvious wonderment, he urged all people to clap their hands, shout with the voice of triumph in praise and worship of the almighty God, the great King over all the earth.

 

He points out that God has power to subdue nations and peoples under Him; He desires to be praised, honoured and worshipped. He reigns and rules in holiness over both good and bad people.

 

He has power over all. No wonder the people who know Him, “even the people of the God of Abraham” unite in extolling His greatness and exalting His Name.

 

God, indeed, is so awesome; we can never capture all His essence in words. But this must not stop us from describing Him in glowing terms.

 

We should excitedly tell others about Him, especially what He has done for us, and what we know personally about this “God of Abraham”. And like Abraham, what we know about Him should make us obey Him without reservation.

 

This way, we can become, not just God’s children but His friends and spiritual inheritors of all the promises that He made to Abraham.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If you know God more, you’ll trust Him more.

 

 

 

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May 10

Who Am I?

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Hudson Taylor was scheduled to speak at a large Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. The moderator of the service introduced the missionary in eloquent and glowing terms. He told the congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as “our illustrious guest.”

 

Taylor stood quietly for a moment, then opened his message by saying, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.”

 

There are times when we hesitate to do God’s will because of feelings of inadequacy.

 

“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).

 

Moses, in today’s text, felt so inadequate to lead the children of Israel that he offered several excuses to God. He was such a humble man who saw himself not up to the task of bringing Israel out of Egypt. But God had found His man in Moses; therefore, He assured him and persuaded him to accept the task.

 

God not only reminded Moses of His covenantal promise to Abraham, but used the name “I AM” to teach him about His unchanging nature.

 

This is because a right concept of God is essential to serving Him with proper perspective. Moses was soon ready to undertake the task. The scepter of Egypt which he had stood to inherit was replaced with the staff of a simple shepherd.

 

The self-appointed vigilante who had slain an Egyptian taskmaster had, over the space of four decades, become the meekest man on the face of the earth.

 

We may have at one time acted rashly and took laws into our hands in our zeal to carry out our self appointed tasks in the vineyard of God. Trying to do the work of God ourselves without His mandate is not a very practical plan and God is definitely not in it.

 

But the Lord will qualify us for the task ahead if we truly and sincerely seek Him, with the mind-set to serve on His terms only.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: True servants of God are groomed in the furnace of affliction.

 

 

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May 09

God Will Take Charge

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The Scripture affirms that this world with its filth and depravity will not last. God, who created it will reclaim it and wash it clean for Himself and His people.

 

It will start with the Church and later the whole world.

 

“And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Isaiah 4:6).

 

This is the focus of today’s meditation. For a long time, the women of Zion had walked their own way, away from the teachings of God. They were given to “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

 

They looked for immorality and thought only of their selfish interests, showing no concern for holiness or for the poor and the oppressed. They steeped themselves in the fashion of the day, spending heavily on the things that perish with no regard to their spiritual development. The ornaments they put on made an irritating noise in the ears of the Almighty.

 

But God said He would eventually step in through the Messiah, Who is referred to as the Branch: “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel”.

 

God will uproot the evil in the world by washing “away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning”.

 

He will create for Himself a Holy place fit for a holy God and His holy saints.

 

The power of God would put an end to all defilement such that nothing unclean will dwell there. God’s glory will then hover above His people. It will be a place of impregnable refuge for all the saints of God.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God is preparing an Eternal refuge for believers in Christ.

 

 

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May 08

The Mystery Of True Wisdom

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Ordinarily, wisdom is defined as the ability to assess issues and situations correctly, following the best course of action on the basis of sound knowledge and understanding.

 

This is clearly different from the wisdom of the world, which seeks to measure all forms of wisdom merely on the basis of human knowledge, understanding and rationality.

 

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7,8).

 

The biblical concept of wisdom is quite different from the standard view which seeks to subject its understanding of wisdom to philosophical and rational thought in explaining the deep mysteries of human existence. This has been described variously in the Scriptures as the wisdom of this world, human wisdom, the wisdom of men, the wisdom of this age and God’s wisdom.

 

In our text above, Paul the apostle, in proffering answers to the questions of the Corinthian church, made it abundantly clear that there is a world of difference between biblical wisdom and the wisdom of the world. The first principle of biblical wisdom is that people should humble themselves before God in total obedience and reverential worship; and accept the message of the Cross as real and final.

 

Non-Christians do not see the gospel as the power of God unto salvation. One’s decision to follow the Lord seems to them foolish and silly.

 

No one can comprehend God but believers are given the spirit to understand God’s plans. The world still clings to the wisdom of this age which eliminates God from the realm of man. The wisdom of God is a mystery. He has chosen both base and foolish things to confound the worldly wise.

 

As you read this, the only true option open to you is to stop rationalizing the message of salvation, accept Christ and follow Him all the way. This is the only true type of wisdom that humanity needs today.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: True wisdom enables fallen man to reconcile with his creator

 

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May 07

Burden Bearers Wanted

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John Calvin, an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation, stated: “Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them.”

 

“And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens” (Ezra 9:6).

 

burden-bearer Ezra, a prophet of God, never disobeyed the Lord. In humility, he went before Him for the Jews, praying as if he was involved in their sin. He was deeply sad about the sin of his people, which, he said, had swept over them like a flood that could reach up to the heavens. He noted that the Jews had lived in sin all through their history, which was why their enemies defeated them, killing some and making slaves out of others.

 

Ezra acknowledged that notwithstanding God’s kindness to the Jews, they still did not obey His laws.

 

As the former owners of Canaan were not obedient to God, doing wicked things, God told the Jews to completely separate themselves from these other nations and not to marry them. Yet, the Jews did not obey Him. They did the same things, which their forefathers did. Ezra knew that they had no excuse for their actions.

 

Today, the same situation still befalls many Christians. Some have completely enmeshed themselves in sin, paying little regard to God’s feelings.

 

God sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to rescue us from our sin. Yet, not many people have utilized this great opportunity. You can only have a right relationship with Him when you live within the framework of His commandment.

 

There is still an opportunity today. If you turn to Him with a humble and sincere attitude, He will forgive you.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Greatness is measured in terms of selfless service rendered to others.

 

 

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May 06

Character Of A True Christian

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John Hill Aughey, one of the notable gospel ministers, said: “Holiness consists of three things separation from sin, dedication to God, transformation into Christ’s image. It is in vain that we talk about the last, unless we know something experimentally about the first.”

 

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in today’s text above, pointed out some salient issues about Christian conducts.

 

When a great multitude followed Him, He went to the mountain, where He taught them what they should know about true fellowship with God, which obviously would make them enjoy life on earth and in heaven.

 

Remarkably, Jesus pointed out that nobody would be able to make heaven without being poor in spirit.

 

Heavenly-minded people should not be haughty, but be humble and lowly. They must acknowledge their spiritual wretchedness, bewail their guilt and thirst after God.

 

For those who mourn for their poor spiritual state, Jesus assured that they will be comforted and filled with happiness. Their godly sorrow would enable them have true repentance, become watchful of everything they do and continue to depend on God wholeheartedly.

 

Jesus equally taught of the benefit of meekness, pointing out that those who quietly submit to God and bear all insults patiently would inherit the kingdom of God.

 

Those who are meek would always live peaceably with everybody. These teachings of our Lord are still relevant to us today.

 

Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. At every moment, we should be friendly with everyone, not being proud or feel that we know more than others.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Nothing so clearly discovers a spiritual man as his treatment of an erring brother.

 

 

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May 05

Traits Of A Growing Christian!

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A Christian never stops growing. It is one defining characteristic of those who follow Jesus.

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain and when he was set, his disciplines came unto him: And he opened his mouth and he taught them.” – Matthew 5:1-2

 

Physical growth results from a mixture of hormones, discipline, nutrition, exercise and rest. Similarly, spiritual growth results from the work of the Holy Spirit, increased understanding of and love for God, repentance and obedience. Here are seven traits of a growing Christian.

 

Ardent love for the truth.

The growing Christian seeks the truth without reserve.  He asks questions, expresses doubts, listens to sermons and lectures, reads books, memorizes Scripture, observes other Christians, takes notes and reflects on different points of view.

 

Supreme love for God.

Ultimately, the growing Christian lives out of his deep love for God. “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The growing Christian considers the unfading love God has for him. He considers the kindness and goodness God has shown him. This results in the love of the Christian for God. “Love God” comes first on the Christian’s priority list. This love will kick-start all growth and learning.

 

Intense desire to know him more.

The Christian also has an insatiable desire to know God more. What pleases him? What does he value? What hurts and angers him? How does he work? How does he speak?

 

Willingness to make any personal sacrifice in order to learn and grow.

This growth consumes the attention of the Christian. To grow and learn, the Christian must ultimately be willing to throw off anything that stunts his growth. He wakes up early to study the Word of God. He puts the phone down. He doesn’t rush to get through it. He takes his time, slowly digesting the Word of God.

 

The commitment to grow as fast as he learns.

The growing Christian makes the commitment to line his life up with the Word of God. When the pastor explains that “Love is patient,” the Christian immediately goes out and has more patience with his wife and kids. He has more patience with the clerk at the grocery store. He has more patience when someone cuts him off in traffic. He is committed to applying the Word of God to every aspect or facet of his life.

 

A fixed purpose of heart to know and to do the whole truth, not just a part. 

If a Christian doesn’t kill or steal but lies and hates, he still is not living a holy life before God. The Christian does not have the option of picking some Scriptures and rejecting others. As he is seeking the truth, God will bring sin to his attention. He must repent and commit himself to obedience.

 

A state of mind that will not divert to make provision for the flesh.

A growing Christian never gives himself an excuse to live in sin. “I know this is true, but…” This is depleting God’s power in his life. It is kicking him off the throne of his life. It gives Satan a foothold to destroy him. “I know this is true, but I’m weak.” Or “I know this is true, but I cannot do that.” Or “I know this is what is right, but I want to do things my own way.” This is a dangerous path that will ultimately lead to destruction and death. Rather, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).