God is not ashamed to be called their God - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) May 17, 2024

Back in the day, children understood that their choices could impact the reputation of their family. They lived in close-knit communities where, if a child got into trouble outside, their parents would already know before they got home. All because everyone was talking about what they'd done. This reality discouraged many from misbehaving too much. They knew that they had a responsibility to not shame their family members or the family name. No matter what.

We don't tend to focus on this concept of bringing shame to others nowadays. This is partly because shame no longer carries the same weight it once did in our society. There are no limits to what people will do anymore and everyone is blatant about the wrongs they carry out. There is no concern that their behavior will potentially put others to shame. Instead, individuals are more self-centered than ever, focused on doing whatever they feel as long as it pleases them, regardless of the consequences to others.

Alas, things are no different for modern Christians. Even in the Body of Christ, people have forgotten that their behavior reflects upon their brothers and sisters in the faith. Many of us don't feel any form of responsibility to the rest of God's family. We are ignorant of the fact that the Bible speaks about us not putting others to shame. Specifically, the concept arises in scripture when it speaks of those whom God was not ashamed to be associated with, because of their good choices. Hebrews 11:16 - Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

What sort of people were these and how do we become like them?

These were individuals who put their faith to work and remained heaven-focused. These men and women moved forward with God and did not allow their desires and the things of the world to dictate their decisions. They were not perfect and made mistakes, but they repented and allowed God to get them back on track. Abraham and Sarah serve as an example. They left their homeland for a future they knew little about all because God told them to. They erred in creating an Ishmael but in repentance, they allowed God to steer them toward His promise of an Isaac. And God was proud to call Abraham His friend and share knowledge of the future with Him and His wife.

If they could do it, so can we by the grace of God. After all, they also faced the challenges that we Christians experience today. There were pressures to take matters into their own hands instead of waiting on the Lord. Many had to hold onto their faith for years, waiting on promises that either took long to materialize for them or would only be fulfilled long after they were gone. It is these sorts of people - individuals and groups who doggedly held on to their faith and their hope in a heavenly home - that did not put our Lord to shame.

It is easy to listen to the lie that we can't achieve what these people did but we must not believe satan. Praise God that there is grace available at the Father's throne to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 tells us "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Therefore, God is willing to help us become the people He will be proud to say, "I am their God." And this is despite our struggles and sins, all because of Jesus whose sacrifice bought us grace.

Hebrews 2:11 - Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

This promise is for those who have received Jesus as their Savior and submitted to His authority. Christ died to ensure that those who believe in Him and obey His instructions are the very ones who will not bring shame to the Father and the family of believers. He, Himself, will help them and He will do it because they have become His brothers and sisters. His family members. This is why we are told in Romans 8:1 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Those who remain submitted to Christ, following His lead and thus, the lead of the Father, will not be condemned but shall be renewed and refreshed in their spirit. They will not look back toward the world but look forward toward their heavenly home. And the Lord Almighty shall not be ashamed to be called their God. Indeed, He will say, "These ones are Mine" (Isaiah 43:1).

We are those ones by the grace of God. The people He has reserved for Himself. Those He is not ashamed to be associated with. Hallelujah!

PS: Father, I thank You for bringing Your daughters together on Tuesday to honor You in fellowship. I was unable to participate like normal, but You oh Lord glorified Yourself. You will always preserve a remnant for Yourself and I am grateful! Thank You, God, IJMN, I pray, Amen.

PPS: I want to thank everyone for holding it down on Tuesday. May the Lord bless you all for showing up to worship and intercede with zeal.​

Live As Free People, But ... - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) May 14, 2024

When many people give their lives to Christ they often say they feel 'light' afterward. They describe their feeling as something heavy having left them. This is because of the freeing grace that comes from God once a person chooses to be on His team and no longer be the devil's pawn.

God wants every person He created to experience that liberty. That liberty comes from knowing that despite their flaws God loves them and Christ died for their sake. And as they lean into the ways and the word of the Lord, they learn that God will shepherd them even when they mess up because His grace allows for true repentance to bring forgiveness, which then washes sin away.

Some erroneously think that because grace and forgiveness are available, they are free to sin and behave as they like. Their attitude is that they can live as unbelievers and simply repent to get right with God at any time.

However, the word tells us in 1 Peter 2:16 - Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil: live as God's slaves. This scripture teaches that as believers in Christ and His Father, we are free from satan and all the things it previously used to keep us bound. With the death of Christ on the cross, we also died to sin and were set free from death. And one of the reasons why God freely grants all believers the gift of the Holy Spirit is to keep them free. 2 Corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

​And yet, the scripture also warns us not to allow that liberty to become a cover-up for evil. We can't think that because of grace and its resulting freedom, we can continue to live in sin. Paul confronted this issue in Romans 6:1-2 - What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow? Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer? (AMP).

Jesus died a painful death to rescue us from sin not to enable us to continue sinning just so we can tap into the grace He paid for with His blood. Instead, we should do as instructed in 1 Peter 2:16 and "live as God's slaves." That means we need to try to be righteous each day. We must aspire to obey God's word and live in accordance with it. We cannot therefore submit to sin and the sin habits that were common in our Before Christ (BC) days.

We have to submit every aspect of ourselves to the Lord as His slaves, knowing that He promises to bring us to an expected and good end. Thus, there will be no disadvantage to letting Him have His way instead of being led by the sinful desires of our flesh.

The Lord is ready and able to help each of us live as His slaves - those fully submitted to Him. We don't have to worry that such submission will result in the abuse and injustice that are trademarks of human slavery. Instead, we should view being God's 'slaves' as a relationship established for our good and to ensure that the devil cannot easily make a mockery of us. And by the grace of Almighty God, we shall serve Him and be richly blessed in the process for that is His promise for all who would submit to Him, IJMN Amen.

PS: Given another commitment the Lord permitted me to attend today, I may not be as responsive as I like to be during today's fellowship. Please forgive me but understand that I will be serving somewhere else at the same time as P&P. I trust the Lord to guide all of us as this is not the first time such has happened and He will enable me to satisfy all my responsibilities well, IJN, Amen.​

Our Responsibility To The Future - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) May 10, 2024

Earlier this week, we discussed that there are promises tied to you that are not for you. We understood that such promises are waiting to be fulfilled in the lives of our descendants as was the case for Abraham and others in the Bible.

Today, we look at this issue once more. However, we consider an additional perspective. Can we imagine being stepping stools for future individuals who are not related to us genetically? See it is easy to accept that we need to lay a foundation for our biological descendants. After all, the Bible states that a good person leaves an inheritance for his children's children in Proverbs 13:22. Yet, as Christians, we also need to keep in mind that we are related to our brothers and sisters in Christ. These are individuals with whom we likely will never share DNA, but we will always have the blood of Jesus Christ in common with them. We have a duty to also leave them something they can build upon.

Many of us are incapable of looking beyond ourselves and our loved ones to consider our responsibility to future generations of Christians. We also struggle with accepting that there is a role we are to play in the promises that are to come for them. We don't realize that God seeks to use us as part of a chain to transmit His wisdom to the world today and in the future. These are the types who are referred to in Hebrews 11:39-40 - These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Think about the likes of Abraham, who had to wait for us - a people of the future - to receive the promises that they received on our behalf. People like Him left a legacy for us to learn from and build upon.

We don't even have to go all the way back to Biblical times. Think about the great men and women of God of years past. Those who triggered God to move with their piety and their prayers. Some ministers wrote books and recorded teachings sharing what God taught them in the Bible and through miraculous encounters. They left examples of how to live and move as people of faith who impacted the world around them by what happened in their quiet time with the Lord. They understood their responsibility to leave something behind for those who were to come. Those who would experience the promises that had eluded them.

Take an honest look at the Body of Christ today and ask this question - will we collectively leave things better or worse for future believers? Now let us turn our attention to ourselves and ask, are we making choices that will help those who come after us to stand firm in the knowledge of God and His word? Are we teaching our children about God and speaking of Him with reverence? Are we breaking faith and displaying examples of disbelief instead of unflinching trust? Are we speaking falsely about Him to others who need to be encouraged? Are we sharing testimony to His glory? Are we carrying ourselves in a way that future generations of Christians can emulate? Or will they despise us for not leaving them a nest egg that they could build upon as they waited for the promises of God for them?

We have previously learned that God's people have a responsibility not just to their fellow believers, but even to non-believers. Now, we understand that the responsibility extends to future generations in our family and in the family of Christ. It all might seem daunting but we serve a God who is more than able to help us every step of the way. He has accepted responsibility for us and is committed to ensuring we are successful on these issues and many others per Philippians 2:13 which states For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (NLT).

We, nevertheless, have to put in some work. We have to cooperate with Him, His word, His Son, and His Spirit. We have to let Him lead us so that we will be the ancestors in Christ that future believers will praise God for. They may never know our name or our face, but our contribution to them can and will make a difference if we become intentional about laying the groundwork with love and faith for future Christians.

We are the beneficiaries of a great faith that God crafted with His hands over the millennia. He used Individuals and groups to build up a collective understanding of who He is and what He is ready to do. We cannot relinquish our role in getting future generations to step into that faith and experience the promises that await them. That role may seem miniscule, but that doesn't change its significance.

The Lord God will help us all.