In the Likeness of Men.

READ: Jn. 1:10-16
MORE LESSONS: I Tim.3:16
Bible Reading in One Year: Genesis 16-19

God's eternal Son, Jesus Christ, became one of us. He took on human flesh like us, only that He was without sin. When He was born in Bethlehem, He had come down to us; in essence, He became man like us, but not in our condition.

Jesus did that because He was willing to take our place before God. He lived a life of absolute holiness, thereby meeting the standard of God for man. Since man failed utterly, the Son of God sacrificed His spotless life for us, He became man in order to die for us. We deserved God's judgement and death because of our sin, but Jesus took our place and died voluntarily, so that all who believe in Him as their Saviour might be saved and obtain eternal life.

Until Jesus came, satan had the key of death. The Bible says that men and women were all their lifetime subject to bondage because of the fear of death. But Jesus put an end to the fear through His victory over death and the grave, and liberated all men
from the fear of death, Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage: Heb.2:14-15.

Blessed be God! When Jesus died on the cross, He went right into hell, the devil's territory and took back from him the keys of death and hell, I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death: Rev.1:18. He overcame death when He triumphantly rose from the dead and ushered man into a new life.

God has clearly demonstrated His great and boundless love for man because while we were yet in sin, He died for us (Jn.3:16). The Bible says in II Cor. 8:9, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Take advantage of God’s love today and come out of poverty, sickness, failure and mediocrity because God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (II Pet. 1:3).

Prayer/Action
* Thank You Jesus for taking my place before God.
* Oh God, let me have an in-depth understanding of how much You love me so that I can take my rightful place on earth.
* In the name of Jesus, from today, I refuse to settle for poverty, failure, sickness and mediocrity.

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Mandate of the Church

READ: Matt.28:18-20
MORE LESSONS: Acts 2:41-42
Bible Reading in One Year: Genesis 12-15

The world population is about seven billion. The tragedy is that most likely half of this number have not heard about Jesus. But the great commission which is the last command that the Lord Jesus gave the Church before His ascension to the Father is, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature: Mk.16:15. This is the mandate and indeed, the greatest work that every child of God must be involved in.

The Gospel is to be proclaimed universally to all peoples – all nations and all cultures, every individual, all tribes, without discrimination. The primary preoccupation, passion and purpose of Christ’s ministry on earth was to seek and save the lost. Jesus paid the greatest price and sacrifice to redeem humanity from the bondage of sin and satan.

The Church was born and strengthened to evangelise and thereby reproduce ourselves as children of God. It is for this purpose that people are not taken to Heaven the moment they believe so that we can evangelise and save the lost. The responsibility to evangelise is not for the church leaders only, but for all born again Christians. It is a debt to be paid by all believers to all men in the world for whom Jesus died (Mk 16:15-17).

Therefore, we must go into every nook and cranny of this busy
world and preach the Gospel. We need to get to the lost souls everywhere - in the motor park, market, hospital, prison, school, neighborhood, office, seaport, airport, railway station, village, city, on the internet, etc and convince them to come to Jesus Christ.

This will be costly in terms of sacrifice, self denial and discipline, but no sacrifice is too great, no expense or time is too much to be invested in the task of soul winning. The work of soul winning has not ended yet because there is still much to be done. We are to re-dedicate our lives and give the best of our time and resources to bring the lost into the Kingdom of God.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that God will make you a pillar in the end time to win souls for Christ.
* Ask God to send more labourers for the harvest of souls.
* Ask God for grace that your place and role in world evangelism will not be given to another.

* Make a phone call, send text messages or email to members of your family, friends and neighbours that are not yet born again, and tell them about Jesus.

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Peace Within

READ: Gal.1:1-4
MORE LESSONS: Col.1:1-2
Bible Reading in One Year: Genesis 10-11

Peace is one thing that is often taken for granted until it is lost. When there is no peace, people suddenly realise the importance of peace. Considering the importance of peace, Jesus came to the earth as the Prince of peace and His birth was heralded by a
declaration of peace, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,…. Luke 2:14.

Moreover, as Jesus was going back to Heaven, He left a legacy of peace behind, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.... John 14:27. Peace is one blessing of God that you must key into. According to our text,
peace comes only from God and Jesus Christ His Son.

Primarily, the Bible talks about peace in two ways. The first is peace with God (Rom.5:1). When the first Adam sinned, the whole human race fell short of the glory of God. This brought a spiritual separation between God and man. But God did not go to sleep angry with man; He made provision for reconciliation in the person of Jesus Christ His only begotten Son. When you accept Jesus as God's provision for reconciliation, you have peace with God.

The second way the Bible uses peace is the peace of God. The peace of God comes when you cast your cares upon Him, Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus: Phil4:6-7. Peace with God and the peace of God combined is what forms inner peace or peace within.

Obviously, the world is in dire need of peace today. The wars, conflicts and fights that we see are indications that we need peace. Although these wars and conflicts are signs of the end time, it is also true that because men lack the inner peace of God, the
expected peace without has become elusive. We know that the major factor responsible for lack of peace on earth is the devil.

However, the Church, which is an agent of peace, must not relent in her prayer for peace in the world because it is nothing with God to give peace by all means. Since the Bible says, Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God: Matt.5:9, we must be at the forefront of the crusade for peace.

Prayer/Action
* Today, I destroy everything that tampers with my God-given peace, in Jesus’ name.
* I receive the grace of God to be an agent of peace everywhere I go, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* I shall not lose my peace again, I shall live in peace with all around me.

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Unfading Glory

READ: 2 Cor.4:15 -1
MORE LESSONS: Col.3:1-4
Bible Reading in One Year: Genesis 6-9

There is hardly anything on earth that really lasts. A man can buy a car today and be mesmerised by the glory of his new car, but give it two years and you will see how faded the glorious car has become. Look at the life of a man; he grows from infanthood to
adulthood and then to old age. No matter how beautiful and fulfilling the life of a man is, at a certain old age he becomes a shadow of himself. With these two examples, it is important to note that everything on earth fades away. That is what the Bible means when it says, ...for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal: 2 Cor.4:18. Nothing really lasts beyond its lifespan.

A song writer captures it succinctly, Fading away like the stars of the morning, losing their lights in the glorious sun, thus shall we pass from the earth and its toiling, only remembered by what we have done.

The only glory that is unfading is what the Bible calls eternal glory. 1 Pet.5:10 tells us in unmistakable term that our call is to eternal glory by Christ Jesus. This glory is the one which is reserved for believers in Heaven. Interestingly, the factors that diminish the glory of earthly things have no power over heavenly things. The atmosphere of Heaven is corrosion-free and as such does not affect the glory of the things there.

This explains why the Bible urges us to lay up treasures for ourselves in Heaven where they can’t lose their value (Matt.6:20).
It is abundantly clear from the Scripture that though there is an unfading glory for us in Heaven, we may go through some temporal suffering for us to arrive at this glory.

We must keep labouring, despising the pain we go through, until our Chief

Shepherd appears to give us the crown of glory that does not fade (1Pet.5:4). Beloved of God, no matter the things you are going through on the path of righteousness, rest assured that they are working for you a far more eternal weight of glory. If your pain,
affliction, difficulties, and discomforts are working out something as weighty as eternal glory, then you must never complain but give thanks to God on a continuous basis, irrespective of how you feel.

Prayer/Action
* Father, let your glory upon my life not fade away, in Jesus’ name.
* I receive the grace of God to successfully pass through all that I need to pass through to enter into eternal glory.
* I am a glorious being, I walk in glory everyday of my life.

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