Bread And Wine

Mark 5:35 (NKJV)
“While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

The big lesson of our meditation today is this, don’t agree it is over until God declares it so. This is lesson is born from the ruler who approached Jesus on behalf of his dying daughter. Before the Master could create the time to go with him report came that the child had died. On this people of the ruler’s household asked him to desist from bringing Jesus over to his house. They thought there was no need to begin to look for cure after death.

Jesus knew what adverse effect a negative news would have on the man’s faith. He therefore swung into action immediately. “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36, NKJV). He later went with the man and raised his daughter back to life.

We will be prone to wrong action if we close the chapter on an issue when God has not closed it. Sarah closed the chapter on bringing forth a child. That was after God had given a personal promise to her. She devised a means to nurse a child through her maid. That produced result that blew right back on her face. Her maid began to look down on her after she conceived. The son from that arrangement also mocked her. And that is not to talk of the eternal feud that has been between Jews and the Arabs till today.

God sometimes delight Himself in doing what people have written off, because that is what shows that He is the God of all flesh and there is nothing impossible unto Him. Perhaps it is time for you to roll back the stone of unbelief and give access to the Master to do what He alone can do.

FURTHER STUDY: LUKE 11:32-45

PRAYER
Come in, dear Lord, to all previously locked areas of my life.

Mark 4:38 (NKJV)
“But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

After a gruesome teaching for the most part of a day Jesus gave order to His disciples to go over to the other side. They were in the middle of the sea when the storm rose fiercely against them. Something is in need of being stressed here; and that is, every word of God generates reaction from the devil. Going to the other side is like making progress. And the devil won’t fold hands and watch that happen without resistance. Most times when people go through storms it is because there is a contest over the word of God.

The disciples did the right thing when the storm started; they went to the Master. This is why it is important to go only where He sends; if anything goes wrong we have the confidence to return to Him for help. Whereas they went to the right place, they asked the wrong question. “Teacher, do you not care?, they asked. God cares about every details of our life. Of course, He cares about our reactions to issues as well.
Jesus did not provide a direct answer to their question. He simply stood up to rebuke the wind and the storm, and restored peace. This is a case of action speaking louder than voice. The real proof of care is positive, corresponding action. If you care about your health, act. If you care about your family do things that show you care. It is not enough to belong to a congregation and complain about everything that is going wrong. Take redemptive steps. The same thing goes for the nation. Those who truly care about the nation must be involved, doing things that will change the lot of the land.

FURTHER STUDY: LUKE 10:25-37

PRAYER
Lord, make me a point of contact to distribute your care to the world.

Proverbs 14:31 (KJV)
“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.”

In a sense your stand with the poor defines your stand with the Lord. Even though God did not design nor create any group of people to be poor, it is an undeniable fact that poor people abound every where in the world, only being more pronounced in some parts than others. It is also true from the Bible that God takes special interest in the plight of the poor; and He expects those who are strong in terms of worldly goods to bear the infirmities of the weak. Where this is not done but rather the poor are taken advantage of and are oppressed, God sees it as a personal affront on His person. To oppress the poor is to reproach the Lord. The question is, can one reproach the Lord and not reap reproach some way or the other?

The other side of the coin is this: when mercy is shown to the poor the Lord is honoured. In consequence the harvest of honour is to be expected. Actually, giving to the poor is reckoned as granting a loan to the Lord. Proverbs 19:17 says, “Mercy to the needy is a loan to GOD, and GOD pays back those loans in full.” (MSG). Not only does God pay back in full He pays back with interest. When Hannah loaned Samuel to the Lord Eli prayed for her. “And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the LORD.” (NKJV). That loan came with interest. Hannah eventually had three sons and two daughters. That number signifies grace.

Grace is the interest we receive from giving loan to God. This grace translates into several things. It does what money cannot do, it surmounts seemingly intractable problems, and it eventually delivers victory. By improving the lot of the poor you indirectly your lot. Good enough, you don’t have to stretch too long to find someone to shower mercy upon. And of course, you don’t have to wait till you have the millions. There is someone who hasn’t got what you have. Reach out!

FURTHER STUDY: DEUTERONOMY 15:1-11

PRAYER
Lord, make my heart soft towards the poor in the land.

Proverbs 14:14 (KJV)
“The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.”

We left off yesterday with Jeremiah 49: 4 which says, “Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?”. The emphasis then was, priding in our possessions or positions is a sign of turning back from the Lord. The other bit of that verse is a sense of invincibility as portrayed by the question “who shall come unto me?”. The people felt they were secure by the multitudes of mountains that walled them round. Again here we can see that making anything our source of security, other than God, is evil and a pointer to departing from the Lord. If one may ask, what is the source of your confidence?

Perhaps a more subtle sign of backsliding is pointed out here in Proverbs 14:14. This verse describes a form of backsliding that occurs in the heart. Like we observed before, backsliding may not take the form of cutting off from church. One may be a front bencher in church and still be far from God. This is more dangerous. Believers can easily follow up those who drop out of church, not those who are in but have dropped from their heart. The symptom of this kind of backsliding is taking to one’s ways. The moment we take steps without taking counsel from the mouth of God it is a sign of backsliding. Don’t be self-conceited to think only your ways are right. Neither should you go on in your own devices until you receive green light from God. Remember, the way that seems right to a man may lead to certain destruction.

FURTHER STUDY: MATTHEW 15:1-8

PRAYER
Lord, heal my backsliding.

Jeremiah 49:4 (KJV)
“Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?”

Backsliding means apostasy, turning back from the Lord. Instance of this could be seen in the ministry of Jesus. As He began to teach core truths of the Kingdom many of the disciples turned back from following Him. Backsliding will characterize the last days. The Bible already predicted that the love that many people have for the Lord will wax cold, because of the multiplying effect of sin.

Backsliding can set in rather deceptively. In other words, not all form of backsliding manifest in wholesale departure from religious activities, at least not at the onset. People can actively participate in church programs but still be far from God. It is therefore important to know the symptoms of this spiritual disease that can damn the soul.

“Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley,” the verse says. To glory here means to take pride in. Here you have a people who seem to be well endowed naturally. They occupied a fruitful place because of the rains of heaven. That has also resulted in abundance of treasures. But instead of glorying in God the giver of all things, they take pride in their possession. God describes this as backsliding.

Whenever you begin to pride yourself in anything other than God, you are already on a course to backsliding. The scripture is clear, there is nothing you have or have become that has not been made possible by God’s grace. To behave as if those things have been because of smartness is sin.

FURTHER STUDY: JEREMIAH 9:23-24; 1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-7

PRAYER
Keep in my imagination always, dear God, to remember that it is Your grace at work in me.