RANDOM GRACE, JUNE 10-16, 2007
A collection of short expositions for every day of the week. Bookmark the page, read them and add your own insight as you leave comments.
Monday, June 10
“When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God.”
Is. 8:19 NIV
When there is a problem, so many advisers offer us their counsel. Isaiah points out that even if we consider their counsel, we should also consult the LORD.
Many homes have been broken and glorious destinies annulled because Christians, in the time of crisis, have chosen to turn to spiritualists who whisper spells and mutter incantations.
Even in the comfort of their homes, some Christians, whom Jesus has redeemed from the control of the elemental spirits, still depend on Saturn, Uranus, Pluto etc. as they read their ‘stars’ and base their day to day plans on them.
If we learn to wait upon God, we will discover that there is no knowledge and counsel which the Holy Spirit cannot provide for us. Who are you turning to in your present problems?
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Tuesday, June 11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you”.
Jer. 29:11-12 NIV
The Israelites had been carried off from Jerusalem into exile in Babylon. Through Jeremiah, God was telling them to make themselves comfortable in the foreign land because the time for their restoration was not ripe.
We often pray and lament endlessly that God is not responsive -simply because we do not understand what God is doing. If the electricity generation authorities announce that there will be power cut so that the installation of new and better transformers may be effected, we will all understand and during the period will not be bothered that there is no power supply.
When God has a better plan for us and He is working it out, our duty is to exercise strong but patient faith as we wait, knowing that all things will work out for our good.
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Wednesday, June 12
…You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune,…
Oba. 1:12A NIV
Edom is the nation that descended from Esau, while Israel descended from Jacob. When Israel was carried off into exile, Edom rejoiced and took advantage of them instead of assisting them. For so doing, Edom earned God’s wrath. The single chapter of Obadiah reveals God’s judgement on Edom.
Though Christians, we often secretly enjoy it when calamity befalls our neighbours, we sometimes see the misfortunes of our co-workers, spouses, siblings etc. as a prove of our own righteousness or smartness because God has not dealt with us that way. We forget that we are all standing by grace and if called into account we will not measure up.
Sometimes we also see the misfortunes of others as a way by which we can rise above fellow men.
We forget that the LORD we serve has sufficient grace for all and can lift us up without bringing others down.
The story of Israel and Edom reminds us that like Esau and Jacob, we all share the same ancestry somewhere down the line and the evil that befalls one can befall the other if not nipped in the bud.
How are you reacting to the misfortune of your neighbour who desperately needs your compassion and intercession?
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Thursday, June 13
What do you have that you did not receive?
And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
1 Cor. 4:7b NIV
The terms by which we come to possess something will greatly affect our reactions about it. Everybody receives, but some receive from the devil after paying bitter prices, some receive from God after fulfilling the law, some receive from men after serving them and some others receive from God as a free gift for which God himself has paid.
Definitely, those who paid for it will see it as a personal accomplishment and will want to earn something before passing it on to others. But as Paul points out, it should not be so among New Testament believers who are enjoying the grace of God. In the truest sense of the word, the Christian receives all things-He receives access to a privilege and he receives the price to pay for it, and the power to keep it.
When you begin to boast about anything, re-consider the means by which you obtained it and your reasons for possessing it.
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Friday, June 14
Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.
1 Cor. 6:7b-8 NIV
She had seen her husband with her best friend on some occasions and heard rumours. So she decided to make herself available to her friend’s husband, who fancied her. It turned out, however, that her husband and best friend were only planning a surprise birthday party for her.
Fear is one of the devil’s greatest weapons. Out of fear of being cheated or wronged, we often make the ‘smart’ move of cheating and doing wrong to the other person first.
But in this reaction, we fail to see that by ‘protecting’ our self we offend God and thus put ourselves in greater danger. It is better if others cheat us and wrong us than for us to offend God.
This worldly survival instinct is often carried into Christianity. Many of us lay claim to the new life but we do not allow the old one to die, in moments of desperation we revert back to it.
As Christians, we must remember that we are all personally called to shine as the light. We should not do wrong because of negative influence but rather do good to impart positive influence.
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Saturday, June 15
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Rom. 8:37 NIV.
Whenever a war is fought, both the victor and the vanquished will have wounds to nurse. Both sides will record casualties, some circumstances will return to normal after some time but some are never the same again.
The Christian race is a battle against sin, death, angels, demons, present and future circumstances, good times and bad times. Yet in all these conflicts, the writer of Romans says we are more than conquerors.
No doubt, the conqueror comes home with scars, but those for whom he has conquered enjoy victory without the scars.
If we fight our battles by ourselves, we have scars to show, even if we win. But because we have won through faith in what Jesus did, we have no scars-the scars are on his side, back, palms, feet, in his heart and on his thorn crowned head.
Indeed we are more than conquerors!
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Sunday, June 16
Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. Jeremiah 17:22(NIV)
It seems we love our appliances and cars more than we love ourselves. When we buy a new car and it comes with an instruction that we should service it after every 30,000km, we obey the manufacturers. We don’t want to have an accident or lose our warranty. We conclude that the makers of vehicles and household appliances know their product better than us, and we comply.
But we forget that the Lord is our maker and He too has given us manufacturer’s instructions. One of them says, “this appliance must rest after every six days of work.”
It is interesting reading how the longevity of men began to decline from the time of Adam to David. From several hundreds of years during Methuselah’s time to seventy years, by David’s observation. What do you suppose is responsible? Sin of course! Man had continually neglected his manufacturer’s instructions, resulting in genes of increasingly lower longevity being passed down from generation to generation.
If we rest, we are not doing God a favour, He gains nothing from it. If we don’t, we may lose everything through it.
Determine today not merely to make your Sundays days of worship, but also days of rest. It is the manufacturer’s instruction!
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This article has been contributed by ‘Yemi Ogunjimi.
To find out more about him please follow this link
http://blogtheword.wordpress.com/about/
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