Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 136:1

God’s mercy endures forever! His willingness to act on man’s behalf is still operating in the earth. His mercy never runs out. Neither has it abated or weakened.

“Praise the Lord! His mercy endureth forever!” Mighty and powerful things happened when Israel said these words. They are words of praise and adoration to God.

When Solomon finished building the house of the Lord, the trumpeters and singers lifted their voices as one, and with trumpets, cymbals and instruments of music, they praised the Lord saying, “For he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Jehoshaphat appointed singers unto the Lord to go before the army and say, “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

It has been thousands of years since the Lord said His mercy extended to a thousand generations, and His mercy continues to reach you day after day. He is still plenteous in mercy unto them that call upon Him. With your spirit, dare to stretch your faith to take in the boundless mercy of God. And say with your mouth, “The Lord, He is good and His mercy endureth forever. His mercy surrounds me even today!”


Scripture Reading:

2 Chronicles 5:1-14

You cannot serve two masters: God and money.

—Matthew 6:24 (TLB)

Tell me what you think about money, and I will tell you what you think about God, for these two are closely related. A man’s heart is closer to his wallet than anything else. It is a staggering fact that for the past few years people have spent ten times as much for luxuries and non-essentials as they have for all charitable and religious purposes. This is a commentary on our shallow and superficial religious faith.

While the Bible warns us against greed and selfishness, it does encourage frugality and thrift. Even Jesus said to His disciples after He fed the multitude, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” Although our Lord had the power to create, He Himself lived frugally and without luxury. John Wesley had a threefold philosophy about money. He said, “Make all you can; keep all you can; and give all you can.” Most of us get all we can, spend all we can; borrow all we can; and give meagerly to God.

Audio: Billy Graham on the love of money and eternal consequences

If you will turn (repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit upon you, I will make my words known to you.

- Proverbs 1:23

We need to pray and obey God's leading when He speaks to us. Obedience is not to be an occasional event for us; it is to be our way of life. There's a big difference between people who are willing to obey God daily and those who are only willing to obey to get out of trouble. God certainly shows people how to get out of trouble, but He bestows abundant blessings on those who decide to live wholeheartedly for Him and who make obedience to Him their lifestyle. The only pathway to true peace is obedience to God.

Many people obey God in the big issues, but they aren't aware that obedience in the little things makes a difference in His plan for their lives. The Bible says plainly that if we are not faithful in the little things, we will never be made rulers over much (see Luke 16:10). There is no reason for God to trust us with a major responsibility if we are not going to be faithful to do the little things He has asked us to do. I strongly urge you to be obedient to God even in the smallest of things. A sixteenth-century monk called Brother Lawrence was well known for walking continually in the presence of God. He said that He was pleased to pick up a piece of trash from the ground in obedience to God and because He loved Him.

In the verse for today, God says He will make known His words to us if we listen to Him when He corrects us. If we follow His guidance and are pleased to do each little thing He asks of us then He will open His wisdom to us, and we will have more revelation than we could ever imagine.

Memorise: On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Leviticus 23:35

Read: Mark 6:30-32 (KJV)

6:30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.


6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.


6:32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.


Bible in one year: 1st Kings 14-15, Ezekiel 20:1-13, Hymn: Sing hymn 6

MESSAGE:
“Come ye apart” is a call for a holy convocation or a coming together of the saints in a solemn assembly. In the Bible, such a meeting was often called to enable the people of God separate themselves unto God. Such special days were devoted to spiritual activities such as praise, worship, celebration, Scripture reading, fasting, prayers and offering of sacrifices. In today’s Bible reading, the Lord Jesus Christ called for a holy convocation or solemn assembly with His disciples. The disciples had just returned from their very first missionary tour. Although they had many victories and testimonies of healing and casting out of demons, they were also very tired, confused (from seeing strangers casting out demons in the Name of Jesus), and full of several questions they wanted to ask the Master. On getting back to Jesus, they immediately bombarded Him with their reports, but Jesus would not engage them in the presence of the multitude. Instead, He called them apart for a solemn assembly. He said to them, “Come ye apart and rest a while”. Within the atmosphere of peace and quiet, the disciples were able to tell Jesus all about their labour, victories, challenges and ask their questions unhindered. The Lord Jesus in turn was able to properly instruct them, answer all their questions, clear their doubts, and minister to them appropriately.


However, it should be noted that the call for a solemn assembly was intentionally made to exclude the multitude. It was strictly designed for the hardworking disciples, who were exhausted, to come away and rest for some time. A solemn assembly is therefore a time to recharge our spiritual battery, a time of deep reflection and a time to meditate on the word of God. It is meant to be a time of total rest from daily physical work in order to be in the presence of the Lord. It is a time of separation unto God for spiritual worship, fasting and prayers, with high expectations of divine visitation. It is a time of very serious business with God that leaves no room for pettiness, gossip, indiscipline or any form of carnality. That is why the solemn assembly in the Redeemed Christian Church of God is strictly meant for mature ministers and workers of the Church. “Come ye apart” is an open invitation by God to His favored children as a means of setting them apart for divine blessings. It could be a call to an individual, as was the case with Moses in Exodus 34:2-3, or a call to a group of people, as was the case with Jacob and his family in Genesis 35:1-7. May you receive your own special invitation today in Jesus’ Name.

2 Corinthians 5:19

…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…

On which two ancient cities did God rain brimstone and fire? If your answer is Sodom and Gomorrah, you are right. But if you think that God was all eager to destroy the two cities, you are wrong!

God wasn’t willing at all. He was not on a sin hunt. He was on a righteousness hunt so that He could spare the cities. (Genesis 18:23–32) And I believe that if Abraham had asked God, “What if You can find just one righteous man?” God’s answer would have been the same: “I will not destroy the place for the sake of onerighteous man.”

Today, the righteousness of one Man—Jesus—has come. Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us!

Therefore, no judgment will fall on you today because it fell on Jesus 2,000 years ago at Calvary. And if God was gracious enough to remove Lot and his family before the judgment fell (Genesis 19:12–22), how much more will He do for you who are no longer under judgment!

And because God does not judge you, don’t be like Lot’s wife, who became a pillar of salt when she turned around to look at the brimstone and fire. (Genesis 19:24–26) She wanted to see God’s judgment, even though the angels had warned, “Don’t look back, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17)

So don’t be judgment-focused and look back at the sins you have committed. God is not against you. He is for you and on your side. He remembers that He has already judged and punished your sins in the body of His Son. And because He is faithful to His Son and to what His Son has done, He will never judge or punish you. Any trouble that you might have today is not from Him. But He will show you a way of escape because He is on your side. He loves you and has your best interests at heart.

Beloved, God is not out to get you. He is out to bless you. And He wants you blessed more than you can ever ask or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)

Happy wife (or husband!), happy life.

When two people decide to marry, they’re agreeing to love and care for each other until the end of their days. The goal of that union is more than just making oneself happy; it’s also about growing your spouse’s joy as well.

As satisfying as it is to have a happy partner, there are more benefits than just happiness at your disposal when you keep a harmonious relationship.

A new study published by the American Psychological Association reports that people with happy spouses experience greater overall health. Also, it seems our partners happiness contributes to our well being just as much as our own happiness does.

Previous research has found that happy people are generally healthier than people who see themselves as unhappy but this study took it further to find the results of happiness in relationships. Research found that the reason behind the health bump can be attributed to 3 different factors in a relationship.

1. Spousal Support

It’s been found that happy partners are more likely to offer stronger social support to their loved one than a person who is less satisfied with their life.

This support includes caretaking, empathy, advice, and a compassionate shoulder to lean on which will help a stressed partner overcome their troubles quicker and without lasting negativity.

Loving support like this is much different compared to a unhappy partner who is more likely to focused solely on their own stresses instead of being an advocate for their spouse.

2. Set The Tone

Another way happy partners add to their spouses’ health is through their ability to pull their love out of their comfort zone and into activities and environments that promote good health.

Happier people often have hobbies that encourage positive attitudes such as sports, yoga, or pastimes that explore creative passions. The happy spouse’s involvement will often pull their partner into that encouraging environment.

Happy spouses are also more likely to manage important factors such as enforcing regular sleep cycles, eating nutritious foods, and exercising. In these ways, the happier spouse is setting a very positive tone for the other to follow.

3. Take It Easy

At the very least, if being with a happy partner doesn’t explicitly make the other spouse happier, it is sure to make their life much easier.

Happy people are less likely to bring conflict into the relationship. This means that the possibility of martial infighting is not very high. They are also more likely to be in tune with their partner’s wants and needs because of their compassion and empathy.

If you are married to a generally happy person, they will be surrounded by much less drama so their positive energy is more to likely to focus on you!

Increasing your spouse’s happiness is actually a very simple investment that can pay off big time. Since small, heartfelt gestures mean the most to your partner, finding easy ways to grow your love’s happiness is a breeze.

Consider crossing off some of the tasks from your spouse-assigned “Honey-Do” list. Whenever you have free time, select a few tasks to work on and watch how happy completing them will make your better half. Don’t be too surprised if your honey-do completion motivates your loved one into working on their own list of chores!

Poor communication is the number one reason given for divorce but it’s the easiest conflict to avoid. Try increasing communication by leaving messages around the house for your spouse to find. The note passing system can help to send simple reminders to each other but it can also be used to pass on flirtatious love letters. Keep the exercise light and fun so it feels more like a game!

Partnerships can get stale but there are plenty of ways you can inject a little bit of the unexpected into your relationship. Try recreating your first date or surprise them with a serenade of your special song. Romantic revelations like these will remind your sweetheart that they are special to you and will make them feel happily loved.

In keeping your partner happy, you’re keeping yourself healthy. Make sure your spouse returns the favor so you both can reap the benefits of good health and a good relationship.

READ: 2 Samuel 6:17-23

Yea, mine own familiar friend...hath lifted up his heel against me

Psalm 41:9

There are four groups of people that often suffer from familiarity.

First, your colleagues - those who know you closely - often suffer from familiarity. When I started my church as a medical student, very few of my colleagues were able to receive from me.

Secondly, we have relatives who also suffer from familiarity. Mine would say, "Do you remember me? I carried you when you were two years old. I knew your father very well." With this background, how can such people receive me as a man of God?

Pastor's wives are the third group who suffer from severe familiarity. Just like Michal, when everyone is impressed with their husbands, they are not. They say things like, "I know you", "No one knows you better than I do", "I am the only one who can tell you certain things!"

Close friends and associates are the fourth group of people who also experience familiarity. They have been around you for so long and they have seen your vicissitudes. Sometimes it would be better not to know someone closely in order not to develop an air of familiarity.

When people are familiar, they lose their respect and they cross boundaries they should never cross. Familiarity makes people say things they should never say. Familiarity breeds disloyalty.

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

—Proverbs 14:12

A line of human thought that seems right to many people is the idea of self-redemption. Man thinks he must work at righteousness to save himself. After all, it was man who sinned and as we say, “God helps those who help themselves.” But a greater truth than this emerges from the Bible-the truth that God helps those who cannot help themselves. We cannot save ourselves. It is noble to be upright if we can. It is admirable to be honest, kind, and compassionate. It would seem that these characteristics would be sufficient to save our souls. But the Bible says that though this way seems right, it is wrong.

Prayer for the day

Father, I know that my attempts at living a good life are nothing compared to my beloved Savior, Jesus Christ; but because of Him I can come to You, knowing He has redeemed me.

Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:14

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Gentleness. Goodness. Faith. Meekness. Temperance. Powerful forces the Bible calls the fruit of the spirit. They’re the character traits of God Himself and when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in you, He brought them with Him, so they could become your character traits too.

They’re designed to bubble up inside you, to gush forth like a powerful stream constantly protecting and cleansing you from the inside out.

Have you ever noticed that you can’t put any trash in the mouth of a flowing fountain? When it’s shooting that water up, the force of its own outflow protects it and keeps it clear of any impurities from the outside. Well, the spiritual fountain within you works the same way. When you’re allowing the forces of love and joy and peace and gentleness and all the others to flow out, the devil can’t get any of his junk in.

How do you keep the spirit flowing? You pump your heart so full of the Word of God that the forces of eternal life start bubbling out. Just a little at first...and then stronger and higher.

Choose to keep those forces streaming out of the fountain of your heart. Refuse to let selfishness and sin stop the flow. You have a fountain filled with unbeatable life forces inside you and it’s ready to come forth. Let it flow!



Scripture Reading:

Jeremiah 17:7-13

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