Another Repentance

Text: Psa. 119:11 More Lessons: Jn. 5:39-47

Aside from repenting from our sins and iniquities, there exists yet another kind of repentance that we all must undertake in our faith walk. It is repentance from sheer unbelief, which in the life of a Christian is about the most grievous of offences one can commit. This is so because we know that the Word of God cannot lie yet out of logic and personal perspectives we develop reasons to doubt the Word of God. Every believer has the Holy Spirit, and it is He who empowers us to believe God’s Word until we receive what it promises. It is one thing to have the Word of God in your head (logos) and it is another to have the Word in your heart (rhema). King David who was a man after God’s heart made this clear enough when he said of the Word of God in Psa. 119:11 that it must find its way into our hearts. For it is from our hearts that the abundance of life flows.

The Word of God is not a logical book and cannot be approached as such. It is spiritual wisdom and can only be interpreted by the spirit of the one who inspired its writings. We are not even mandated to understand everything that the Word of God delivers to us at first contact because we just might not; we are rather instructed to believe it. This is the difference; faith. We must exercise our faith in God’s Word, both individually and corporately. Faith is the prerequisite for getting the best out of God’s Word.

The litmus test of true maturity in the things of God is actually a measure of the difference between the scriptures we know in our heads and the ones we have received into our hearts and lives. Our head knowledge must be mixed with faith in our hearts so that we can get the results that the Word talks about. The word in the book cannot do us good until it becomes the Word at heart. Sin is figurative of all the works of the devil so the psalmist was saying that the Word of God in his heart is his defense from the powers of darkness.

Oh! How powerful is the Word of God in our hearts? Enough of confessing your feelings, your pains and your negative situations! Away with sense knowledge and approach to things; away with our traditions. It’s time to make heartfelt faith proclamations from the Word that is stored up in our hearts. It’s time to confess the Word of God by faith and see the power of God at work in and through you.

Prayer/ Action
* Pray that you will never to doubt or deny God’s Word in your life ever.
* Pray that God should forgive you for every time you ever doubted His Word.
* Pray that God’s Word will mix with faith in your heart and produce results in your life.

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Manual of Life

Text: Mark 7:13
More Lessons: Jn.5:39-47

All religions of the world have one thing in common; a special book considered to be holy and containing instructions for everyday life from a ‘divine deity’. This special book impacts the culture and even determine the entire lifestyle of its devotees, who are required to diligently study and sometimes memorize portions until the words become part and parcel of their lives.

In our text, we see that this is not the same in Christianity, which is not a religion, but the way of life. The pages of the Bible are not given to us to be flipped through as religious requirement for spiritual accreditation by an impossible-to-please deity or anything of that sort. The Bible is carefully scripted and crafted by the inspiration of Almighty God. It is the creator’s manual for effective living. In the Bible are spiritual capsules for living above the circumstances and forces of life. The Bible is God’s given manual for unending victories and success. As an anchor is to a ship, so is the Word of God to our souls. Those who hold on to the Word of God for life are the most successful people alive. And when I make reference to success in life through the Word, I am not referring to material prosperity alone. I’m talking also about a balanced and complete package, full of health, fulfillment, joy and a fire wall of defense round about.

But I have seen a terrible thing under the sun. Wicked men who hate the name of Jesus Christ have selected and adopted principles and doctrines taught in the living book and are succeeding by the same, yet those to whom the Word of God is given have lost its efficacy and power because of their traditions, their ordinary way of thinking, and their logical conclusions drawn from the circumstances around their lives or family beliefs. A good example is the principle of giving as taught by the scriptures. In fact, some time ago, ten of the richest men alive, most of who are unbelievers met one day and decided that they would spend half of their wealth on the orphans, widows and the needy because they realized one secret of wealth they all shared in common; the act of giving.

More than two-third of all the parables our Lord Jesus taught in the Synoptic Gospels were on finances and giving. We cannot afford to just read the book; we must also live by the Book!

Prayer/ Action
* Pray that your life will focus on God’s Word on living and directive.
* Pray that you will handle every circumstance of your life by the Word alone.
* Promise God that from today, you will live by His principles in everything.
* Declare that the principles of God’s Word will never fail you.

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Eternal Guide

Text: Heb. 11:3
More Lessons: Jm. 1:17-25.

I once heard a preacher-man coin out an acronym for “B.I.B.L.E” and I love it. He called it, “Best Instruction Before Leaving Earth”. There are two spheres of life, time and eternity. Friends, there is no doubting the fact that there is life after here. It is called eternity or life without time. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Heb 9:27. We are eternal beings, designed by God to live forever. But the quality of our eternity will be predicated on the guidance we receive and obey here in time.

Time is rewarded in eternity so we cannot afford to spend time recklessly. We need an eternal compass, a divine pathfinder to successfully ply the roads of life in time. We need a trustworthy time-guide; we need a living book. Praise God, we have the Bible. Even Science and Archeology accept that the Bible is a truth-pack. But much more than all of this, there is only one infallible proof that the Bible is the best guide into eternity with God; its words work! The Word of God cannot and does not fail. It always works, giving life to its readers and impacting the earth with eternal life. Its words are sure; you can bank on it. Jm. 1:25 says, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein...but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

It’s simple logic to say that a pillar, a picture, a bridge, the human body or anything at all cannot be firm in shape without a frame. And our anchor verse today from the living book reveals that …the worlds were framed by the word of God…. Heb. 11:3a. To show us that the Word of God is the very substance or force behind the reality of the world as we know it today. Thus, it is impossible to live a life that is successful, relevant, impactful and heaven bound without taking roots in the Word of God.

The audacity to poke Satan in the face and claim your victory is predicated on how much of God’s Word you have searched out, believed and acted upon. Nothing is sweeter than a life that is lived in the Word of God because for word-based people, heaven is sure! Time spent with the Living Book is not time wasted; it is time invested. It is said that the purpose of a thing is with its manufacturer. The Word of God is our manufacturer’s manual for effective and productive living. As the sun is to the earth so is the Word of God to our lives. Prepare for eternity, study the Bible.

Prayer/ Action
* Ask God to help you run your life solely on the compass of the God’s Word.
* Ask God to illuminate your mind and heart by His Word.
* Ask God to help you invest your time in the study of His Word.

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The Living Book

Text: II Tim 3:16
More Lessons: Psa 19:1-10

I believe the Bible contains the true and living Word of God. The Bible was written over 1,500 years ago by 40 different generations coming from radically different backgrounds and cultures, including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, etc. It was written from different places, at different times, in different languages and by different writers yet it contains an unmistakable thread of continuity. It’s incredible to realize that even human and natural science abound proofs that attest to the reliability of the Bible. Archeological research has revealed excavations and discoveries of tangible evidences to ascertain that the records in the Bible are not fiery tales but true.

Scientific research continues to unfold the wonders and mysteries of our universe which only the Bible anticipated, centuries before they were discovered. Let’s see a few of the inexhaustible tangible historical proofs that the Bible is truly God-breathed and relevant not only for spiritual things but also for daily living.

1. The earth floats in space (Job 26:7), affected only by gravity. While other sources declared that the earth sat on the back of an elephant or turtle, or was held up by Atlas, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true – “He hangs the earth on nothing.”
2. The Bible warns against eating birds of prey (Lev. 11:13-19). Scientists now recognize that those birds which eat carrion (putrefying flesh) often spread disease.
3. Circumcision on the eighth day is ideal (Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3; Luke 1:59). Medical science has discovered that the blood clotting chemical pro-thrombin peaks in a newborn on the eighth day. This is, therefore, the safest day to circumcise a baby.
4. Our bodies are made from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7; 3:19). Scientists have discovered that the human body is comprised of some 28 base and trace elements – all of which are found in the earth. History also has it that no other book in circulation has as much proof of its truth and reality in science, arts, history and archeology as the Bible does. The Bible is not a science text book; it is God’s Word yet it has proved itself even in human science. Friend, if you don’t own a bible, then you don’t own a real book. If you own one and don’t read it, reality is passing you by. If you own one but it’s dusty, then you are ignoring reality. But if you study the Word of God in faith, then welcome to Reality!

Prayer/ Action
Pray:
* Lord, help me to live by the reality of Your Word
* Let the truth of Your Word prevail over every lie of the devil around me.
* I dedicate my life to the truth of Your Word, I shall live by it all my life.

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