Word For the Day

  What Does it Mean to Abide in Christ? Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (Joh 15:4 KJV). Jesus used a simple comparison to illustrate how a believer may be fruitful: just as a fruit grows by the nourishment supplied through the vine, so a believer grows through the nourishment of Christ. If you break a branch off from the main vine, the fruit will soon wither. This is also true for a believer who disconnects from the means of grace available to them. Two really important means of grace should not be ignored: the study of God’s Word and prayer. Imagine your heart and mind as a warehouse in which you store God’s Word. If the warehouse is full, then the Holy Spirit has ample supply to feed your soul for every situation. However, if the warehouse is empty, you will find yourself ill-prepared to ward off the darts of the enemy. Temptations may not be recognized, dryness will set in, ...

  Seeking the Lost Do you long to see souls saved? Surely, this is the desire of every Christian. However, many Christians squash this desire and rarely witness. Is this not a weakness we should strive to overcome? Read what Jesus said to the disciples. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mar 8:34-38 KJV). Did you catch the part about losing your life? Whosoever sha...

  The Deceitfulness of Sin Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:12-13 KJV). Do you ever find yourself making excuses or minimizing your sin? Do you sometimes compare your sins against the sins of others, saying, “I am not as bad as that person.” If you do, you need to understand sin more clearly. Sin appears fair, but is vile; it appears pleasant, but is destructive; it promises much, but performs nothing. The deceitfulness of sin hardens the soul; one sin allowed makes way for another, and every act of sin confirms the habit (Matthew Henry). As believers, we should make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust (Rom 13:14). The priority in this battle is filling your heart with God’s Word (Ps 119:11). Keep a short accounting of sin. Make it a daily practice to confess your sins. Do...

  Commit Your Spirit to God Has your life taken a turn for the worse? Do you sometimes feel trapped by your circumstances? Are your foes more clever and sinister than you ever thought possible? David felt that pressure when he penned this Psalm. In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be to me a rock of strength, A stronghold to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake, You will lead me and guide me. You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth (Psa 31:1-5 NAS95). David declares that he is taking refuge in God. David’s plea for help likely made him vulnerable to mockery from his oppressors should God not deliver him.  Therefore, he asked that he may never be ashamed. He appeals to God’s righteousness, knowing God is just. He als...

His Kingdom Come James reminds us that we are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (James 4:14b). While this image helps express the brevity of our time on earth, it can hardly capture the fleeting nature of life in relation to eternity. However, God's kingdom will last forever. The Book of Daniel records for us: I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14). Wow, we are part of an eternal kingdom that is now and will soon be fully realized.   Eternity is a concept that goes beyond human comprehension—it is like infinity. When I was a boy, I remember discussing space ...

  VENGEANCE IS MINE It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him (Daniel 6:1-4). The devil and his demons hate seeing God’s servants advance. When they do, they are reminded of their defeated position. Is it not curious that, knowing they are defeated, they still seek to wreak havoc on believers? So, ...

  Avoid Pride A man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor (Proverbs 29:23). There is a clear picture of this in King Nebuchadnezzar's life. Twelve months later [After Daniel had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream], he [Nebuchadnezzar] was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.' Immediately, the word concern...

Daniel and the King's Dream King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and he wanted his wise men to interpret the dream for him. Of course, this was an impossible task for the king’s wise men. So, the wise men plead their case, arguing that no one could do what the king wanted because the king wanted the wise men not only to interpret the dream, but also to do so without the king telling them what he had dreamed. When the wise men told the king no one could do what he asked, the king became furious. Then the king ordered all the wise men to be destroyed. However, when they came for Daniel, Daniel asked why they were to be destroyed. Armed with this new information, Daniel requests time to interpret the dream. Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon....

  Make Up Your Mind But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself (Daniel 1:8). Although Daniel was in a hostile environment, he made up his mind not to defile himself. It would have been easy to rationalize partaking of the king's food and wine. After all, he was taken captive and placed under guard. He had no way to overcome his situation except by appeal. So, that is what he did. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials (Daniel 1:9). What an example of trusting God and seeing Him work. We live in a hostile environment, too. Jesus said, If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the wor...

  Faith in Prayer Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1). We say that we have faith, yet we pray all the while wringing our hands. The passage says,  faith is the assurance of things hoped for. If you are assured or convinced, why fret over those things you place in God’s hand? The Scriptures command us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Php 4:6-7). The verb in this passage is in the present imperative form, meaning we are continually instructed not to be anxious but to pray. Furthermore, the verb represented by the phrase “be made known” is also a present imperative. Meaning you are commanded to keep making your request known to God. This is where we often fail. Instead of continually asking God for help, we ask, the...

  Blessings Abound Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love (Ephesians 1:3-4 NAS95). When my flesh seems to be winning the battle for my heart, I can identify with Paul, who said, “The Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin” (Romans 7:14b NAS95). It is during these dark struggles that I find comfort in the passage above.  Have you realized, dear Christian, that you have spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ? You have not some spiritual blessings, but every spiritual blessing. These blessings are not predicated upon your performance. They are yours because of your position in Christ. You ask, " When did you get these blessings?” You were blessed before the foundation of the world. Don’t think this gives you a license to sin. Are we...

  Can You See His Glory? And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14 NAS95). Nicodemus was told, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3b). That is, you must have your spiritual blinders removed by regeneration. This is true because the Gospel is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:3b-4). Is this not what John is referring to when he says “full of grace and truth”? John was indeed present at the Mount of Transfiguration. However, the glory John speaks of is more than the brilliance seen on that glorious occasion. It is the grace and truth of the Father manifested in Christ. This seems to bear true as Isaiah testifies, For He...

  Depravity As it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE" (Romans 3:10-12 NAS95). Without regeneration, man’s depravity will always drive him away from God. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:19-20 NAS95). Regeneration is what changes a man’s heart, allowing him to seek the light. Jesus speaking to Nicodemus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3b NAS95). Without rebirth, the heart remains in darkness. A man’s will will always choose what it perceives as being in its best interest. I...

  Do Not Love the World (Part 3) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17 KJV). The last forbidden love is the pride of life. Oh, how we love to be flattered. The devil tries Jesus one more time with this great temptation. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone (Luke 4:9-11 KJV). Jesus didn’t need to prove Himself. So, He responds to the devil : "It is said, T...

  Do Not Love the World (Part Two) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17 KJV). While the lust of the flesh is, subjectively, the humour and appetite of indulging fleshly pleasures; and, objectively, all those things that excite and inflame the pleasures of the flesh (Matthew Henry). The lust of the eyes craves riches, and its power is in covetousness. Again, we turn to our Lord for insight. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoev...

Do Not Love the World (Part One) Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17 NAS95). If asked, “Do you love the world?” one might say, “No, of course not.” This is certainly the response that believers would hope to give. However, let us examine this subject more closely.  Three areas are mentioned in this text: first, the lust of the flesh. This temptation relates to our physical being. When the devil tempted Jesus, he said, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:4). This is a twofold attack, as it targets Jesus' hunger and tempts Him to be prideful. This attack is alive and well in our society today. Here are s...

The Prodigal Son  And He said, "A man had two sons. "The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them. "And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. "So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. "And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. "But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned a...

  Trust God’s Sovereignty How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted (Habakkuk 1:2-4 NAS95). Habakkuk was weary of all the evil and injustice he saw. Praying for God’s help and seeing no answer makes for a discouraged soul. Everywhere he looked he saw iniquity and wickedness. Lawlessness was prevailing and justice was being perverted. Have you ever felt this way? Well know this, God is not unaware of current affairs. Nor was He unaware of or indifferent to Habakkuk’s situation. He answers Habakkuk: "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days—You would not believe if...

  Praying for Wayward Children And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it." And He *answered them and *said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!" They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possib...