Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:20-21

Daily Devotion:

Hero Worship

"You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created everything" (Rev 4:11)

God uses human instruments of His choice in revival. We should not hero-worship them.The man at the Beautiful gate but in an awful state presented a great challenge to Peter and John who had just experienced revival fires. God used Peter and John to perform an instant miracle on this born lame. Folks were greatly amazed and they ran to Peter and John. When Peter saw it he said, "Why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?" (Acts 3:12). Both the preachers and the people are responsible to see that no man is idolized.

Quite unusual to the military way of saluting, Cornelius fell down at Peter's feet and worshipped him. "But Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up; I myself am also a man" (v 26). The vehicle which brings God's blessing should not be worshipped. Peter rightly said, I am also a man!

God used Paul to heal a born cripple at Lystra. The people were highly excited and they shouted, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" (Acts 14:11). They brought garlands for Paul and Barnabas and were even getting ready for sacrifices! The reaction of the apostles deserves our attention. They tore their clothes and cried out, "Men, Why are you doing these things?" (vv 14,15). God alone is worthy and we should never touch His glory. Let's protest all religious showmanship. God sends revival with a "concern for His holy Name!" He told the people of Israel, "I do not do this for your sake, but for My holy Name's sake" (Ezek 36:21,22). Christ must be the centre of all attraction.

John was closer to Jesus than all the other disciples. Yet he found it so difficult to learn the truth that God alone is to be exalted and worshipped. Being excited over the prophetic revelations he received through the angel, he fell down and worshipped him. Poor thing, the angel had to teach John the kindergarten lesson, "Don't worship me, worship God!" (Rev 19:10). He repeated this blunder in the last chapter of the Bible also (22:8,9). Fortunately there is no 23rd chapter lest John worships the angel again! During times of revival when the Holy Spirit is outpoured there may be several prophetic revelations. Beware of worshipping a prophet!

Crown the Saviour! Angels, crown Him! Rich the trophies Jesus brings:

In the seat of power enthrone Him, while the vault of Heaven rings! (Thomas Kelly, 1769-1854)

Prayer:

O God, may the fire of the Holy Spirit burn up the dross in our hearts, warm them with love, and set them on fire with zeal for your service. Amen.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

Daily Devotion:

Dead to Dread!

"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power...so be ready to suffer for the proclamation of the Good News" (2 Tim 1:7,8)

When a great multitude of people with swords and clubs, led by the betrayer, came to take Jesus, "all the disciples forsook Him and fled." One young man even left his clothes and fled away naked! (Mt 26:56; Mk 14:50-52). But Jesus stood like a lion and declared thrice, "I am He!" (Jn 18:4-8). Peter denied, swore against and cursed Jesus. What was the secret of Christ's fearlessness? He had prepared Himself well in prayer. He had strengthened His willing spirit to overcome the weak flesh (Mt 26:41). This is where the disciples failed. Instead of praying, they were sleeping and snoring. The knee-failure is the underlying cause of our weakness in witnessing. The early Church did not buckle under threats because they did not neglect "the hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). Even a daring apostle like Paul repeatedly requested the prayer of God's people for "boldness" (Eph 6:19).

Another secret of Jesus' boldness was the anointing of the Spirit that was on Him. Missionary work and evangelistic outreach are direct confrontations with the power of Satan. It's neither by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts that we can bang and break open the "gates of hades" to release the captives (Lk 4:17-21). It's foolish to fight a spiritual battle with our intellectual brilliance, oratorical skill, technological expertise, social status, financial power or institutional strength.

While encouraging young Timothy to fight for the faith relentlessly and proclaim the Gospel dauntlessly, apostle Paul reminded him of "Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate" (1 Tim 6:12,13). Jesus was ready to die and therefore He had nothing to fear. He set the standard for His followers: "He who loses his life for My sake will find it!" (Mt 10:32-39).

Bible Translator William Tyndale (1494-1536) had removed the word "fear" from his vocabulary. That's why he stood firm in his conviction even though he was to be burnt alive!

Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone!

Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known!

Hold the Gospel banner high! On to vict'ry grand!

Satan and his host defy, and shout for Daniel's Band! (Philip P. Bliss, 1838-1876)

Prayer:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,and enkindle in them the fire of your love.Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created And you shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Daily Devotion:

Favourable Fear

"Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man" (Eccl 12:13)

Fear is a powerful force that motivates us to obey. Noah feared God and obeyed Him to build an ark. If he had not obeyed, he would have got destroyed with others in the flood (Heb 11:7). Fear has two components, one negative and the other positive. Fear of punishment is negative. Fear for the person is positive. The negative thing is the worry of consequence.

The other one is reverence for the person. For God-pleasing obedience both the dimensions are important.

a) Negative fear

The first lessons of obedience are usually learnt in the school of negative fear. When God gave Adam a commandment about the tree of knowledge, He warned him, "In the day when you eat of it you shall surely die!" (Gen 2:17). Parents show the cane or threaten their children, "I'll kick you if you do it!" Teachers warn students they would fail if they don't work hard. While counselling youngsters, King Solomon wrote, "Fear the Lord and depart from evil" (Prov 3:7b). Why does a nation become corrupt? Why do communities collapse in morals? Why does the world embrace evil? Why is sin tolerated in the Church? Loss of fear of God is the underlying reason (Gen 20:10,11).

Fear of God comes from the knowledge that nothing can be hidden from Him (Heb 4:13). It was this knowledge that made Joseph flee from temptation (Gen 39:11,12).

b) Positive fear

Understanding "who" commands us makes obedience easy. Reverential fear for God stops arguments and rebellion in our minds. See the introduction to the Ten Commandments: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex 20:2). Then follow the commandments. "Therefore, You shall... You shall not..." and so on! Not only for the Ten Commandments, but also whenever God gave His people important laws and regulations, He prefaced them with the statement, "I am the Lord!" (Lev 19:10,14,16,18). Peter knew how risky it was to attempt to walk on water. But he ventured because he knew who called him (Mt 14:24-29). Even when we don't know who calls us, we run to the telephone the moment it rings! Many times it will be a wrong number call!

Christian, walk carefully: danger is near!

On in thy journey with trembling and fear;

Snares from without, and temptations within,

Seek to entice thee once more into sin!

Prayer:

Blessed be the Love which chose us before the foundation of the world.

Blessed be the Grace that saved us before the world began.

Blessed be the Glory prepared for us from all eternity.

Blessed be God for ever and blessed be his glorious Name! Amen.