When a man is regenerated, he might not be different from others in the way he attends to the common business of life. He could be behind the same counter as other men, selling off the same lot of goods, at the same prices; yet one is there doing his own will, and the other doing God’s will; the one pleasing himself the other pleasing his Master. It is possible that both the regenerated and the unregenerated man may be following the plow, each to raise the same crop, yet each with a perfectly opposite ultimate end in view; the one to gratify self, the other to gratify God.
Category: The Christian Lifestyle
Living the life that is pleased to God and get favor from God and man
By the renewal of the mind, selfishness is put away and Christ is put on in all things. This is the very essence of the Apostle’s meaning. The putting on the new man is also taking on the yoke of Christ, as well as having the Spirit of Christ imbibed, and acting out; the law of love, supreme to God, and impartial to man. Thus a spirit of self-sacrifice ensues, and the individual no longer asks what will gratify him, but what will please God.
When the old man is put off, he dies. This does not mean the annihilation of the appetites and the physical constitution: no, the former body still exists, and you must eat and drink, for its support, no less than before. It only means that all these appetites and propensities are held under the control of God’s revealed will, and to be indulged only following that will. They are no longer our masters; we have no master but God.
The ultimate and efficient intention of the mind in the form of the old man is to commit itself in a deep and hearty commitment of the soul to self-gratification.
The new man however is a spiritual mind, or a disposition to please God instead of self. It is right over against the carnal selfish state. The mind is fully committed to pleasing God so this becomes the chief purpose for which the individual reacts and acts.
Do you know that great achievement does not come perchance? It is not a product of “trial and error”. It does not result from gambling. Great success is a product of dogged determination to study and achieve success. Wisdom demands that you identify those activities that compete with your study time and do away with them.
God is interested in your physical growth, spiritual development, and academic advancement. The gift and potential to grow and move forward are available to you in Christ. All you need to do is to “stir up the gift of God, which is in thee” (2 Timothy 1:6) to achieve your life ambitions.
He deserves and demands the best of our talents, material resources, and time. The house of God should reflect the character of God – sacred and dignified.
Jesus knew that however genuine and sincere our desire and resolve to follow the Lord may be, we will fail if we do not watch and pray. Our spirits may indeed be willing to please the Lord, but our flesh, which unfortunately we sometimes yield to, overpowers and weakens us.
Goodness is one of the virtues that God graciously bestows on the people that love Him. God, Himself is gracious and merciful. He is abundant in goodness. He, therefore, wants His children to imbibe the deeds of goodness through His grace in our lives.
The Almighty God knew that the tendency of Israel to dabble into an unnecessary imitation of the culture and tradition of other people was very high, hence, His decision to forewarn them. Israel had demonstrated repeated unfaithfulness and faithlessness in their dealings with God; for this reason, God did not want to leave anything to chance.
A remnant shall survive the assault. Whether against the Assyrians or in the time of the end, God has prepared some people who will outlast the storm. They will stand when others fall. They will be faithful when others are backsliding. They will continue in the faith when others are turning away. I trust you will be one of the remnants.
God is holy, and those who serve Him must be holy. Israel is to be separated from all unclean persons and things, be devoted to God’s service, and obey all His commands. That is the purpose why the Almighty God severed them from the people of the land; which is a very forcible argument, which laid them under great obligation to obedience and holiness.
God’s mercies and His salvation guarantee our happy rest. The more we seek after the perfection of our obedience, the more shall we enjoy complete emancipation from every form of spiritual slavery. Liberty is next to life and is dearest to all brave men.
God wants to maintain a loving relationship with a man. However, “can two walk together except they are agreed?” Therefore, before anyone can have a meaningful relationship with Him, he must repent and believe the gospel. Moreover, he needs to follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
Redeeming the time is to set your priorities right and ensure you work according to the order of their value. Time will not wait for you, do something now to fufil your destiny. Stop procrastinating. Remember, wasted times cannot be regain but you can redeem the time.
Christ died and made Himself a ransom, because of His love for us. Thus we have every reason to be filled with hope and feel secure to expect His help and blessings. Through His Love we enjoy salvation and abundant life, live a life of love, to become more like Him, live a life of victory over sin and evil, and enjoy His presence filled with joy and encouragement.
There once lived a man who protested each time he was extended a God-be-with-you compliment. He reasoned that if God were to be with someone the person will lose his freedom to do as he pleased. True, God’s presence in our life should put some restraint in our lives. What the protesting man did not consider is that God with us makes us unconquerable for, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
The gracious protection of God is very important for our security. The Assyrians had broken their covenant of peace and started overrunning Israel without any recourse to human sympathy. This necessitated the remnants crying to God for deliverance from the Assyrian oppression. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king moved his army against Judah and Jerusalem in a heartless invasion that devastated the land.
God is neither a tyrant nor a dictator. He gave man the right to decide what he does, hence, it is said that man is a free moral agent. But for every decision he makes right or wrong, there is a recompense. It is often said that decision determines destiny.
The ironies of prayer are evident: God knows our need, yet we must ask; God is ready to answer, yet we must patiently persist. It was continuous knocking that gave the widow victory over the unjust judge. God promises that He will answer prayer if we do not waver when our faith is tried. Perseverance proves that we have no alternative, that we depend on Him whole-heartedly.
Surely we confess secret sins or sins committed only against God and known to him only to God. But sins against our fellow men must be confessed to them. And refusing or neglecting to do so is to cover sin, in which case we are expressly informed that we shall not prosper. Many people seem to be afraid to confess their sin or to have others confess, lest their institution is injured thereby. But on the other hand, The Lord knows them that are his and who have departed from evil.
In love, there is no fear and as well no evil speaking. Love in the heart of Christians leads to unity among brethren. God looks at the heart. Your thoughts and the secret movements of your mind, lie open before him. The words and actions of man are no otherwise pleasing or offensive in his sight than as they are the expression of what passes within a man. All your silent and most secret musings, are as well distinctly observed, and marked, and pondered by the Holy Spirit. He weighs every thought of your heart in his balance.
Easter is the time we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died and He rose from the dead. He commissioned his disciples to preach the gospel. The same Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on the earth. By the name of Jesus Christ, miracles happen today.
We shall live to possess our possession. Healing and health are for the children of God today. We can lay claim boldly to this redemptive grace, not with uncertainty, but with the confidence of faith and prayer to get healed and remain healthy all the days of our lives. Now we are redeemed, purchased, bought back again to be God’s peculiar possession.
The Scriptures thought us that “after we believe” we are, or maybe, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, and that this sealing is the earnest of our salvation. Ephesians 1:13, 14: “In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” This sealing, this earnest of our inheritance, is that which renders our salvation sure.