May 21

Do Away With External Religion Please

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The underlining precepts of the kingdom Jesus preaches are spiritual and moral re-armaments with the powerful capacity to renew many a soul, however depraved through the grace of God.

 

The Lord’s messages are not about religion; instead, they are about a revolutionary spiritual rejuvenation which transforms a sinner into a saint, made to fit into God’s kingdom entirely by grace through Christ’s substitutionary atonement.

 

The carnal Jews rested in the external performances of their religious duties but missed the mark of a more excellent way of love, prayer and faith in God.

external religion

 

“I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds” (Psalm 50:8,9).

 

 

In the scripture passage above, the Psalmist detests insincerity and vain spiritual worship that is void of implicit obedience to God and to His moral standard. It further highlights the future appearance of a righteous judge with holy instructions for pure worship and a rebuke to pretenders who live in serial disobedience.

 

God deals with those who place their religion in ritual sources while neglecting practical and inward righteousness and holiness. A mere observance of physical piety without genuine experience of salvation and freedom from sin will attract the wrath of God.

 

Attending church services and prayer meetings without personal and definite encounter with the Lord in simple confession and forsaking of sin is vain. God does not esteem those who worship Him with lip service because He only regards those who worship Him in spirit, truth and sincerity.

 

Today, going to church services, taking part in the Lord’s table, evangelizing, water baptism and paying tithes and offerings have been turned into mere ritual by many.

 

These activities are vain and empty if they are done for earthly recognition. Obedience, loyalty to God and an attitude of devotion are necessary to serving Him acceptably.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Religious profession without Christ is vain.

 

 

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May 20

The Wrath To Come..

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A great number of pages of the book of Revelation is about hope for the believer in Jesus Christ. There are lines that breathe words of comfort for the Christian who is able, by the grace of God, to endure to the end.

 

There are assurances of the reality of heaven, the dwelling place of God and His Son as well as the Holy Spirit, the angels and all heavenly hosts including the redeemed saints. And there is the beautiful hope that our Saviour will lead us there.

 

Yet, alas in the same book, there are visions of eternal doom in hell which will be the home of those who do not die in Christ, those who reject the salvation plan of God, or those who through careless living, lose their salvation.

 

This place of eternal damnation was not created for man but for Satan and his fellow fallen angels, according to Jesus Christ in Matthew 25:41. In addition to numerous pages that issue clear and distinct warning about the end-time and the events that would lead to a separation between those marked for heaven and those for hell, Revelation 14:14-20 also addresses the activities of the last days of the Great Tribulation. “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (Revelation 14:20).

 

The treading of grapes was a symbolism for the execution of divine wrath on the ungodly (Isaiah 63:3).

 

At the return of Jesus Christ by the end of the Great Tribulation, all unbelievers in the world will be gathered and judged. A massive slaughter will take over at the Battle of Armageddon.

 

This is the reason believers should be on their toes preaching the gospel to save the lost, while at the same time asking for more of God’s grace to endure to the end. “For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Show love for the lost.

 

 

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May 19

Unqualified Favor

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It boggles the mind why most peoples’ priority lies in the realm of the profane and the carnal. Not many realize that a God-given wisdom is the answer to all the challenges of life.

 

When Solomon became the king of Israel, he went for the real thing – God’s wisdom, not wealth. He probably knew that wealth without God would amount to vanity. And God, who promised that when you seek first His kingdom and righteousness “all these things shall be added unto you,” favored Solomon with abundant blessings.

 

“So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom” (1 Kings 10:23).

 

The scripture passage above shows Solomon’s great wealth, which came from taxes that merchants paid and countries that his father, David, had conquered. Much of the wealth equally came from merchants, while others came from people who paid him for his advice and from trade in horses and chariots.

 

All around Solomon was wealthy and he flaunted it in the best ways he knew.

 

All his dishes and cups in the palace were made of gold. He had a royal seat on which he sat to give laws and advice. He also made some gold shields, which he used in ceremonies. Solomon’s great wealth is incomparable with God’s. But he was able to tap into God’s blessings because he, first of all, sought for what was needful, the wisdom from on High.

 

God’s wealth, unlike Solomon’s, will never fade. Seeking God wholeheartedly attracts His favor.

 

Many today seek Him halfheartedly, asking for frivolous things. They value material acquisition more than God’s precious salvation and holiness of life.

 

But if you will decide today to distinguish yourself before Him, through a lifestyle of holiness and consecration, God will surely honor you with His blessings, especially His wisdom.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Whom God loves, He favors; therefore, seek His love.

 

 

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May 18

The Broadened Entrance Gate For Many Into Degeneration

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“Wide is the gate.” Ancient cities have walls around them, and they have gates through which people may go out or come in.

 

The wide gates are spacious enough to admit men and their loads or chariots while the strait, narrow gates take only individuals without loads or encumbrances.

 

The examples of wide gates (for big trucks and vehicles) and narrow gates (for pedestrians) are still very common in cities and communities today.

 

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, often used visible, known, natural things to illustrate spiritual, invisible, unknown, eternal realities.

 

For travelers to get into the way leading to their destination, they go through the wide toll gate. The gate is the only avenue of admittance into the way and it must be taken in order to reach the destination. All who enter the wide gate will travel on the broad way and the only place this way leads to is destruction, doom and damnation.

 

The wide gate is the gate through which multitudes enter into life from the age of accountability. The gate takes in everyone with loads of sin and evil without any restriction or restraint.

 

There is ample liberty for everyone desiring to go through the wide gate; the Pharisee and the Sadducee, the hypocrite and the reprobate, the covetous and the deceiver, the self righteous and the religious, the fleshly, sensual and pleasure-seekers, despisers of God and opposers of righteousness, private and public sinners, unconverted moralists and unashamed criminals, the proud and the worldly, vicious, violent men and vile, vulnerable youths, wicked people and wandering backsliders, tempters, temptresses and their victims all go through the wide gate that leads to the broad way of the world.

Further Scriptural reading: Matthew 7:13; Genesis 6:5,12; Psalm 14:2,3; Isaiah 59:7,8,13-15; Romans1:28-32; Romans 3:9-19,23; Ephesians 2:2,3; Philippians 3:18,19; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 5:19.

May 17

The Destiny Of Multitudes In The Popular Way

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destiny=of-multitudesFrom the beginning and throughout the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord, Jesus Christ speaks about the Kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:3,10,19,20; 6:33; 7:21).

 

His focus was on the destiny of man. The Lord looks at life as a journey, a journey from time unto eternity. He reveals that there are only two gates – the wide gate and the strait (narrow) gate; only two ways – the broad way and the narrow way; only two destinations – destruction and life. There are only two destinations unto which any of us can get to; the path we are treading will lead to either eternal peace and happiness in heaven or eternal torments, sorrow and suffering in hell.

 

The choice we make of which gate we enter, which path, road or way we walk in will determine our final, eternal destiny after this life. God has ordained only two distinct places to be the final, eternal abodes of men after this life, and between them, He has fixed a great gulf so that none can pass from the one to the other (Luke 16:26).

 

There are only two gates, the wide gate of multitudes, the majority of the human race; and the narrow gate of the few who make the right choice which God has ordained.

 

And there are only two ways, the popular way, the spacious road on which broadminded multitudes travel, and the narrow way, the unpopular road traversed by the few who walk and follow the Lord closely and consistently.

 

There are only two destinations, not three. Some religious people have invented a third destination which they call ‘purgatory’. It is an imaginary place of human invention which does not exist.

 

Men enter through the wide gate or the narrow gate; there is no third gate. Men travel on the broad way or the narrow way; there is no third way.

 

There are only two classes of people –

  • believers or unbelievers,
  • saints or sinners,
  • the few or the many.
  • We are either in the light or in darkness;
  • in the truth or in error;
  • among the few or among the multitude;
  • either righteous or unrighteous.

 

There is no third category. There are only two ends – the end of the broad way or the end of the narrow way. There are only two destinations for travelers journeying through life – life or destruction.

 

There are only two destinies – heaven or hell. Where will you spend eternity?

May 16

The Perfection Of God Cannot Lie

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God Cannot Lie

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”

Believers need to know the implication and weight of the word ‘cannot’. It is a stronger word than ‘will not’.

 

This word expresses the utter impossibility for God to lie. The attribute of God’s immutability is applied to His promise of eternal life. Because He cannot lie,

 

 

  • His promise to save sinners who come to Him in repentance can be depended upon;
  • His promises to saints can be depended upon because He gives life;
  • His promises to the world and the Church are dependable; and
  • His promises to His children will be fulfilled.

 

The promises were made before the world began, and they will be fulfilled until the end of the world.

 

We are called to trust God who cannot lie, who will satisfy our needs and fulfill our heart desires. The Lord will defend, protect and preserve us for His abundant blessings if we trust Him.

 

Study Scriptures: Titus 1:2; Jeremiah 33:22; Hosea 1:10; Matthew 7:18; Luke 16:26; John 15:4; James 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:13; James 1:17; Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Samuel 22:31.

 

May 16

THE IMMUTABLE GOD

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We serve a God we can trust and implicitly depend on. When we know who He is in reality, and faith becomes as natural as breathing to us, then we shall be able to take our place beside Abraham who staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was fully persuaded that what He has promised He was also able to perform.

 

Knowing this unalterable character of God that He cannot lie will impart the courage of Moses to us, and we shall be able to endure seeing Him who is invisible. To know in our hearts that God cannot lie will make us invincible as we stand on His promises.

 

The Scripture reveals that

 

(1) God is immutable (Hebrews 6:18);

(2) He is infallible (Joshua 21:45);

(3) He is incorruptible (Romans 1:23; Revelation 4:8);

(4) He is infinite (Isaiah 40:28);

(5) He is incomprehensible (Psalm 139:1-6);

(6) He is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17); and,

(7) He is immortal (1 Timothy 6:15,16).

 

As believers, our full-time responsibility is to glorify God and adorn His doctrine.

May 15

What A Fall!

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Once, a millionaire attended a party and found himself in the midst of a group of people discussing the subject of prayer. He told them that he did not have to pray to God for anything.

 

“Prayer maybe all right for you,” he said, “but I don’t need it. I worked hard for everything I have. I didn’t ask God for anything!”.

 

Then a university president responded: “Sir, there is one thing you don’t have that you might pray for.” “And what might that be?” asked the man. The educationist replied: “You could pray for humility”.

 

A grave consequence of human pride since the fall in Eden is that man has separated himself from his Creator, exalting himself in false glory that leads to destruction. Like the millionaire, the entire humanity has lived in the erroneous belief that man does not need God, that we can direct our affairs without God’s guidance.

 

But according to Isaiah, a time of judgment is coming when the haughty men would be brought down. The immediate fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy was the devastation of the individuals and the land they populated. Now there is a larger prophetic perspective: “The day of the LORD” (Isaiah 2:12). At that time, God will hurl down all evil in the earth (Joel 2:31; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 4-19).

 

The present evil system that glorifies pride and rebellion against God’s law of righteousness, holiness and humility shall be destroyed along with those who practice and support them. Only those who meekly submit to obtain the salvation of God through Jesus Christ will be saved from the “wrath to come”.

 

The wise who do not want to suffer in eternity will “cease from man” (Isaiah 2:22) and his spiritually unprofitable ways and “enter into the rock” (Isaiah 2:10). Jesus Christ is the Rock.

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God rejects the haughty but gives grace to the humble.

 

 

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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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