Month: October 2024

“I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us?…” Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As this final book of the Old Testament opens God is reminding His people of the great love He has for them. Over many centuries, from Abraham until Malachi’s time, God has demonstrated in many ways His divine love to them. He has miraculously delivered and provided for them. He has defeated great and powerful enemies for them. He has carried them as a mother does her baby. He has shown mercy and forgiveness in so many ways. He has even paused the motion of the universe for them! And yet, after all of this, they still doubted God’s love. It seems ever since man was created in the garden this has been a constant struggle. Adam and Eve failed because they doubted God’s love and care for them. And since that time, fallen man has continued to question and doubt His love. But this should be a truth that we never question or wonder about. It is the simplest truth that a little child can understand. And yet, it is also the most profound truth of all, to know that God loves us! What a joy it is to be secure in this knowledge: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”.

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:8-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬. In the previous verse, Paul is talking about the power of God working in our hearts and lives. And it is solely because of God’s divine power that Paul could testify, that no matter what came against him, God would keep him from being overcome. And the good news for us is, that same Almighty power is working in us! We can rejoice with the Apostle, that even when troubles come, we don’t have to be distressed! We may face confusing situations, but we are not in despair. We feel the persecuting powers of evil warring against our souls, but we are assured that our blessed Lord will never forsake us! And even in those times when we feel cast down in spirit, when it seems like nothing is going right and discouragement comes in like waves of the ocean, we can be sure, with God’s power in us, we will not be destroyed! May God help us to believe, that as long as our faith and trust is in Christ, and His life and power is dwelling in us, then no weapon formed against us will prosper! “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” ‭‭(Romans‬ ‭8:37‬)

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the declared purposes of Christ’s coming into this world was to save us from our sin. He will free us from the guilt and condemnation of sin. He frees us from the eternal punishment our sins deserved. And, His Word makes clear that He wants to liberate us from the power of sin over our lives. But in this shallow religious age, these words have been twisted to give religious people an excuse to continue in their sins. They falsely declare that since they are free and have God’s Spirit, that they can live like this ungodly world and do what they want. Many church people wrongly assume that now they are free from the consequences of sin. But let’s be clear, when God’s Holy Spirit lives in us, the freedom He provides is the freedom to live a holy and Godly life, above sin. It is the liberty to answer God’s call ‘to be holy as He is holy’. It is the freedom to be who we were created to be and enjoy a genuine, personal relationship with our Holy God that glorifies Him. Let’s not be deceived by those false doctrines that promote the idea that a believer is free to continue living in sin. Let us thank God for the privilege of having His Holy Spirit within us to keep us free from sin.

“not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the goals of fleshy minded people is to reach a place in life where they do not need others. They desire to become self-sufficient. That attitude is entirely from man’s pride. It also causes people to think that they do not need God. But God’s Word makes it clear that we have absolutely no reason to feel sufficient in ourselves. Any person who feels self-sufficient has no idea of the things that they are up against. They are not aware of their own weakness and frailty. They do not realize that we all face spiritual adversaries that are far greater than we are in our own strength. But thank God, when we walk with Jesus, we have this blessed promise that our sufficiency is of God! This means that for everything we face, our Blessed Lord is well able to handle it. He is able to work in and through us so that we can be able to overcome our foes. How wonderful to know, that ‘greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!’ Let us be thankful that we have an All Sufficient Father in Heaven and we can rest in Him.

“(God) Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver us;” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As the apostle Paul is thanking God for past deliverance from the persecuting powers that were against him, he enlarges upon the truth of God as our Deliverer in all times. He not only delivered in the past, but He is delivering us now in the present. And thank God, He will also deliver in the future. This is very important for us to understand spiritually. Even as our Lord has delivered us from the sins of our past, so He is delivering us each day, as we keep our trust in Him. Every moment of every day we can look to Him as our All Sufficient Deliverer! He is always a Present Help in our time of need, which is all the time. But it is not only the past and present, because we also have the added assurance that He will deliver in all that we will ever face in the days to come. What a Mighty Deliverer our God is! May we never doubt Him nor wonder how we will make it. Let us rejoice with the songwriter, “He is able to deliver thee; Though by sin oppressed, Go to Him for rest; Our God is able to deliver thee.” By God’s grace, let us trust Him to deliver us now and one day He will deliverer us from this evil world.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:58‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What great encouragement these words are to God’s true children! It is important to know that the things we do for our Lord truly matter. They matter eternally. Our labor is not in vain. Many times the enemy tries to convince us that what we do is not making a difference, that we’re not really helping souls. Then we get our eyes on outward success, as men measure it, and we feel downhearted, because it does not appear that we are accomplishing much. But may we understand, God doesn’t measure success like men do. Thank God, He sees more than this shallow religious world does. He does not measure success by numbers, but by our desire to please Him and to help needy souls. And souls are what matter to God! So let us be steadfast in our work for God. Let’s continue being faithful regardless of what we see. May we not be moved by the opinions of fleshy minded people. And for God’s glory, let us be faithful as we continue in this great work He has called us to.

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:57‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the things that every true child of God desires and seeks for, is victory in the spiritual battles we face. We want victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. We long for victory over temptation and our own human weakness. But may we realize, this victory is ours IN CHRIST! It is a gift from God that we receive, but only as we abide IN CHRIST. Spiritual victory is not some religious experience we are waiting for. It is not about simply growing in grace to spiritual maturity. Rather, it is for every soul who is willing to humbly abide IN CHRIST on a consistent basis. It is for those who choose to do His will and to please Him rather than self. And the sad reality is, most people still want to do their own will far too often. They aren’t willing to abide IN CHRIST when there is a conflict between their will and God’s will. But may we believe, our only victory and all of our our victory is in and through Jesus Christ! “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph IN CHRIST…” (‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭2:14‬)

(Part 2) “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: Refuge failed me; No man cared for my soul.” Psalm‬ ‭142‬:‭4‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As children of God, we should always be sure that someone cares for us. We have the wonderful invitation to “cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us” (1 Peter 5:7). But while we can rest secure in this knowledge, we should also realize that all around us are precious souls who think that no one cares for them. Our world has become a very wicked place where people are abused and cruelly treated. Many children grow up wondering if anyone cares. Multitudes of adults press on in a meaningless existence feeling that no one cares. So a big part of our responsibility as Christians is to show that we truly care for souls. It is by the care we show for others that they learn of God’s care for them. We can’t convince people or help them merely by telling them that God cares for them. For too long, church people have thought that saying the right words and presenting the Gospel message was all they needed to do. But the reality is, we must show people that we care! We must show them in word and deed. This means we must allow God to fill our souls with His love, so that His tender care can flow through our lives. By God’s grace, let us show a needy world that we care.