We Must Love All Mankind

Those who work the work of the Lord must not only love the brethren but also love all mankind. “Whoever mocks the poor,” said Solomon, “reproaches his Maker” (Prov. 17:5a). All men are created by God; therefore all are to be loved. If a worker does not have sufficient love for the brethren, or if he has the love of the brethren but no love for mankind in general, he is not qualified to serve God. For loving men or showing love to men is an essential quality to have in God’s service.

All who view people with annoyance and despise them are definitely unfit to be the Lord’s servants. We ought to see that though all men have fallen, they are nonetheless the object of the redemption of our Lord Jesus inasmuch as they were all created by God. In spite of their hardness of heart, the Holy Spirit still convicts them. The Lord Jesus came to this earth; He came to be a man. Like the rest of mankind, He grew up gradually from birth to maturity. For God intends to set up on earth a Model Man, a Representative Man – one upon whom rests all the purposes of God. After the ascension of the Lord Jesus, the church came into being, and yet the church is but the formation of a new man. The whole plan of redemption is to exalt and glorify men.

One day when we come to a deeper understanding of the word of God, we shall find the term “man” more palatable than even the term “children of God.” For we shall realize that God’s preordained plan and election is to obtain a glorious man. As we gradually perceive the place of man in God’s plan as constituting the focus of His counsel, and when we truly see God humbling Himself to be a man, we shall be impressed with the preciousness of man.

While our Lord Jesus was on earth He declared that “the Son of man also came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for man” (Mk. 10:45). The word the Lord says here is so plain; the Son of man comes to serve men. The Son of God becomes the Son of man on earth in order to serve men. Thus are we shown the attitude of the Lord Jesus towards mankind.

Many who work for God have a serious deficiency, which is, that they are totally lacking in the love of humanity. They lack the proper respect towards men, and they lack as well a knowledge of the value of man in God’s sight. Today we feel elated because we seem to have learned a little love for the brethren. Formerly, we loved no one; now, we can show our love towards the brethren by doing something for them.

No wonder we are high-spirited. Yet this is far from sufficient. We need to be so enlarged by God that we come to see that all people are to be loved and valued. Whether or not you are successful in your future work for God depends chiefly on your attitude towards the value of man. The depth of your work is to be measured by your interest and feeling towards men. By this we do not mean your interest in one or two clever or special persons. We simply mean your interest in “man” per se. This is a very significant issue.

The primary sense of Jesus’ phrase “the Son of man came” lies in the Lord’s tremendous interest in man—so much so as to become a man Himself. Such is His interest in man; but how about you? Many people do not meet your eyes; many people do not arouse your sympathetic feeling. Let us inquire, however, what the Lord’s attitude towards them is. He asserts that “the Son of man came.” Which means that He takes the place of a son of man among men. He is interested in man, He feels for man, and He values man. His interest in people is so great that He verily stands on the human level in serving mankind.

How strange that many brothers and sisters have no interest in man. Should this not arouse our righteous anger? Let us ask ourselves if we really understood what this word “The Son of man came” truly signifies. As we are in the presence of God we ought to see that this word of our Lord Jesus reveals His enormous interest in man. How can we ever think or say that we have no interest in the people we are with? Such an attitude is really preposterous.

Hence in the life of a workman of God there is another basic element in his character formation, which is, that he has an interest in all people. This, however, is not to suggest that he can choose whom among men he will be interested in—that he will only consider a particular person or persons whom he deems as interesting and lovable. No, he must be interested in man per se. For let us observe the characteristic of the Lord Jesus, that He had a keen interest in all of mankind.

There was such a love in Him towards all of humanity that He could say, “the son of Man came.” Suppose we go to a certain place to work for God. If we can say that we come to that place not to be served by the people there but to serve them, then our attitude is proper, our way is correct and our position is right. We shall be like Jesus, the Son of Man.

We should always have in mind that as the servants of God we must not withhold our love in a place until some Christian brethren arrive on the scene. All who hold this misconception—namely, that their love is to be reserved for the brethren only—are unable to do the work of God. Let it be known and unequivocally declared that the love of the brethren comes afterwards, and that it is a totally different proposition.

You need to have a love for the generality of mankind and compassion towards them. For John 3:16 makes plain that “God so loved the world.” What is “the world” here? It refers to all the people in the world, including the unsaved and ignorant. Those whom God loves are the people of the entire world. He loves everyone on the earth. If you are not interested in a person whom God loves, and furthermore, if you will love him only after he becomes a Christian brother, your disposition is quite different from the Lord’s; and therefore, you cannot serve God. Your heart will need to be expanded to such a degree that you feel that all people are to be loved. As long as this one or that one is a person, you love him. And only then shall you be qualified to serve God.

Taken from The Character of God’s Workman, by Watchman Nee; pp. 19-23; Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc.; New York; 1988.

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The Agony

Philosophers have measured mountains,

Fathom’d the depths of seas, of states, and kings,

Walk’d with a staff to heaven, and traced fountains

But there are two vast, spacious things,

The which to measure it doth more behove:

Yet few there are that sound them; Sin and Love.

Who would know Sin, let him repair

Unto Mount Olivet; there shall he see

A man, so wrung with pains, that all his hair,

His skin, his garments, bloody be.

Sin is that Press and Vice, which forceth pain

To hunt his cruel food through every vein.

Who knows not Love, let him assay,

And taste that juice, which on the cross a pike

Did set again abroach; then let him say

If ever he did taste the like.

Love is that liquor sweet and most divine,

Which my God feels as blood; but I, as wine.

*** Written by George Herbert ***

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Carest Thou Not That We Perish?

TEXT: MARK: 4:35-41

You call it a question of unbelief? Of course, it is what it is, a question of unbelief born out of fear. The Disciples of Christ while sailing to the Gadarenes developed a spirit of fear; unaware of the nature, power and personality of whom they had as Master and Lord.

In the above text, it was shocking to see the disciples who had dined and wined and seen all that the Master was capable of develop such a thing as fear in their bowels even when Jesus was with them.

“And there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full… and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Sometimes and often times, all we ask the Saviour originates from these same words of the disciples. A little challenge comes our way and we ask: Lord, carest thou not that we perish?

God expects us to get to a point in our walk with Him where fear, panic and anxiety no longer wield control over our lives. He wants to be the captain of our ship, to be the anchor of our lives and declare: “Peace, be still” every time the devil strikes to weigh us down. But without faith this is impossible.

Hebrews 11:6 says “But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Without faith it is impossible for God to intervene in your battles and calm the storm of your life. That was why Jesus had to rebuke the disciples, “And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”

How is it that you have no faith in God to fix your home and marriage? How is it that you have no faith in God to provide your needs, wipe your tears and bring joy your way? How is it that you have no faith that God can bless your womb, provide a suitable helpmate and give you the desired job you want? For it is written “that whosoever cometh to God must believe that He is… able, capable and abundantly able to deliver and to save.

As believers we must know that “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. According to His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promise: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Timothy 1:7; 2 Peter 1:3-4).

Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? God can still your storm and bring peace into your life. I was unemployed in March, 2015, at the end of my contract job with a multinational firm; I became fatherless in May, 2015, to have lost my dad to illness; my mum, a full housewife, had no business of her own; and I have three siblings in the university and two in primary school. Being the first child, responsibility pressed so hard on me as a hammer to a nail and at a point, I questioned my faith. Really, I did. Little assistance came from friends and relatives but could solve nothing.

I had to put my kneels to use, called on the Lord to prove to me that I wasn’t serving Him in vain and guess what He showed me: “Psalm 100:1-5.” Reading this Bible passage totally calmed my soul and brought life and unexplainable vigor to my heart that people around me did not understand. They didn’t understand the secret was God; it was Jesus Christ that blessed me with peace as a river and told me not to fear what tomorrow holds. He said to me: have faith and that was all.

With all these challenges beckoning, it wasn’t easy to strengthen my mum and encourage my siblings to go on living with God’s grace but then, my kneels and mouth weren’t dormant. I kept pleading with heaven and through it all, God responded with a job offer in August, 2015, where I am currently. Although, there are still tons of responsibilities to cater for but I just want to believe and keep believing that God is able.

My testimonies leave me no room to ask God: carest thou not that I perish because I know He cares (1 Peter 5:7). If God doesn’t really care, you won’t be reading this piece right now. I would be dead or somewhere unimaginable, unable to write and share this living and continuous testimonies with you.

Consider carefully what God told me in the book of Psalms, my experience, the disposition of the disciples on their way to Gadarenes and the aftermath, and measure these things with what you are going through presently. Then answer the Lord: “why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”

Remember He said “…whatever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it…I will not leave you comfortless…Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:13-14, 18, 27).

“And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). He is called “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus Christ is his name.

Whenever you are tempted to ask again: ‘carest thou not that I perish’, bring to thoughts His loving responses: ‘Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’…‘cast all your care upon me, for I care about you’…‘and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’

*** Written by Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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Committed To Him?

When we’re truly betrothed to Him,

We can’t help, but divinely succeed;

Christ’s not a Man that He should lie

And He’s promised to meet our needs.

Are we, not more important than birds

Found about the land, trees and air?

Are we better clothed than flowers?

Are we committed to Him and His care?

Are we not made after God’s image?

As His Children, are we responsible,

For applying The Word to our lives?

Are we spiritually irresponsible?

We’re accountable for understanding

How to divinely develop and grow.

Spiritual progression doesn’t allow

Us to blindly accept the status quo!

The Day of Judgment is still coming.

Will you be seen as a goat or sheep?

Are you joined to the True Vine or

Will your soul burn on Hell’s heap?

Author Notes

Inspired by:

Num 23:19; Prov 16:3; Matt 6:25-34, 25:31-46

Learn more about me and my poetry at: http://amzn.to/1ffo9YZ

By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2014, All rights reserved.

--------Joseph Breunig, Author/poet

Reaching Towards His Unbounded Glory

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Waiting And Watching

TEXT: MATTHEW 24:29-31, 36-44

Nothing else should be of greater importance to all believers than the imminent second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first phase of His coming is the rapture of saints which will be heralded by Christ’s appearance in the air and the catching up of prepared saints. At the second coming, His feet will rest on Mount Olivet and this event will usher in His millennial reign of righteousness and peace on earth.

The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of all the believers. Christ will come again literally and visibly – this is the promise given by Christ Himself before His ascension to heaven. Angels and the Apostles confirmed it (Acts 1:10; 2 Peter 3:10). Today, believers look forward with great eagerness to the day of Christ’s coming when all our sorrows will be wiped away and a new dawn of joy and peace will come from heaven.

As we expect His appearing, the word of God enjoins us to be watchful since He will come at a time we are not expecting. Watchfulness is a great pan of believers’ preparation. Failure to wait and watch will lead to serious disappointment and sorrow on that day. Waiting entails sobriety in all things. We must be on our guard always. Frivolity is unbecoming of a watchful heaven-bound believer because “…they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.” So, “…be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Thessalonians 5:7; 1 Peter 4:7).

The Apostle Paul enjoins us to watch and stand fast in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13). The duty of watching is of paramount obligation aimed at all believers. We must watch out life, conversation, relationship with God and with men. We must give ourselves to fervent prayers and daily seek to do His will.

As we wait for His coming, our duty as believers is to reach out with the gospel to the millions of unsaved and careless souls around us. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we need to persuade men to come to Christ and receive eternal life before it is too late. “And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.”

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When Not To Run Away

Text: Nehemiah 6:10-14

Key Verse: Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go! (Nehemiah 6:11).

Once again the enemy switches his tactics, reverting again to subterfuge. A word comes in the form of a prophecy, but this man is a false prophet. He claims to have hidden knowledge that men are coming to kill Nehemiah and advises him to go into the temple to save his life. This false prophet may be involved in the occult, because that is what is suggested here by the explanation that he was shut in at his home (Nehemiah 6:10). Being shut in suggests that for some religious reason he was secluding himself.

What he says sounds logical. Some people are out to get you. They are going to kill you, he charges. Nehemiah certainly knows that! The man suggests, Come on up here, and we will go into the temple and shut the doors. They will not dare attack you there. That sounds good, but immediately Nehemiah detects something wrong. He knows that as a layman, he is not permitted to go into the temple, for only priests could enter the temple. It was simply not right for him to enter the temple.

He realizes that a prophet who was really from the Lord wouldn't say anything that was not in line with the commands of God. There was an altar of asylum in the temple courtyard to which people who were under threat could flee and be safe, but this man is proposing they actually go into the temple and shut the doors.

Nehemiah says it was all part of a plan to discourage the people from following his lead. Fueled by jealousy and ambition, these enemies slandered him and tried to trick him into yielding to their demands. We must be aware of this kind of attack on our lives in these days. Do not take people's advice just because they are friendly to you. It may be completely wrong advice.

Nothing substitutes for a knowledge of the Word of God. That is how you can detect error and tell what is wrong. The best response to such an approach is what Nehemiah uses here--a deep sense of his true identity as a believer. Should a man like me run and hide and try to save his life by wrong approaches and unlawful practices? He falls back upon his clear consciousness of who he is. He is a believer in the living God, and thus he need not resort to trickery to save his life.

This is exactly what the New Testament calls us to as well. Writing to the Thessalonians, faced with the normal pressures and problems of life, the apostle Paul's word is, live lives worthy of God (1 Thessalonians 2:12). We are called to walk with God. You are a child of His. You belong to Him. You are therefore living at a different level from those around you. If you remember who you are, you will not go along with the wrong things that people are being pressured into today.

Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden Pond, “If I seem not to keep step with others, it is because I am listening to another drumbeat. Christians also listen to another drumbeat. They are following their Lord, not the voices they hear around them. Nothing will free us more from the subtle pressures and temptations of today than to remember who we are.

Culled from Ray Stedman's Ministry | www.raystedman.org

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Brighten The Corner Where You Are

Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar;
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.

Brighten the corner where you are!

Brighten the corner where you are!

Someone far from harbour you may guide across the bar,

Brighten the corner where you are.

Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear,
Let not narrow self your way debar;
Tho' into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer,
Brighten the corner where you are.

Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,
Here reflect the Bright and Morning Star;
Even from your humble hand the bread of life may feed,
Brighten the corner where you are.

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When You Need A Friend

Text: Genesis 14: 1-16

Key Verse: "He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people" (Genesis 14:16).

The Holy Spirit would drive one thing home to our hearts through Abram's experiences in this passage. We do not lead our Christian lives in isolated seclusion - we are members of one another and in circumstances of this nature, one Christian can often be the means of deliverance of a weaker brother or sister. There was nothing Abram could do to deliver Lot from Sodom. Sodom represented an inward choice in Lot's heart to live in the materialistic, sensualized atmosphere of Sodom.

If a child of God chooses to be materialistic, sensual, commercial, and greedy for things of the world, not much can be done for him or her. Only Lot could take himself out of Sodom. But from this circumstance that threatened Lot's very life and liberty, Abram's resources were amply sufficient through prayer.

James 5:16b tells us, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. There is a Chinese translation of that verse that is excellent: The earnest, hot-hearted prayer of a righteous man releases great power. That is certainly the case in this incident.

The prayer offered in faith, we are told in the same chapter of James, will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up (James 5:15). Many have been puzzled by this verse, but if we read the context, we see clearly that the affliction here is one that has arisen because a child of God has become involved in deliberate sin. Such a one is to call the elders of the church together and confess his or her faults, and then the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him or her up again. It is a wonderful experience, this power of prayer for someone else.

The history of the church is replete with instances of such deliverance through faithful prayer. A wise and experienced missionary leader, speaking to a group on the subject of prayer, addressed the matter of overwhelming sin that so grips the heart as to enslave the life and frustrate all activity for God. He gave some very wise words of advice. Perhaps some younger Christian, he said, may find himself in such a circumstance, and the thing he is doing is so shameful that he cannot bring himself to confess it publicly; then let him seek out some older man of God, someone he can trust, and lay the whole matter before him and ask him to pray concerning this.

It is wise counsel, indeed. When Lot could not possibly help himself, Abram, separated in heart from the Sodom-like attitudes that rendered Lot so powerless, was able to lay hold of God and affect a great and mighty deliverance.

As Christian we ought to bear one another's burden and see the need to pray for one another if we find ourselves in a position we can barely do anything.

** Culled from www.raystedman.org **

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Welcome To August: Build A Mind To Rise

Your foes your ruin desire,

They’ll shoot their words of fire;

Their aim to raze your heart

And watch you from God depart.

Night and day they conspire

That you faint and retire

In the abyss of fear;

They mail you throes you cannot bear

Build a mind to rise

Above despair and dear be wise;

Come know the Lord and you’ll find strength

That leads one’s faith to any length.

Build a mind to rise…

Arise and shine and rise and shine;

O, shine and rise

But slay the whine.

Since the days of Tobiah

Have men drowned in phobia;

Choose this day to end the trauma;

Come know the Lord and your groans are over.

=== Written by Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ===

From The Truth Media family,

Happy New Month!!!

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A Message Of Hope

TEXT: JEREMIAH 29:10-19 

Key verse: “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10).

A missionary went to some Indian villages with the gospel message. One day, after preaching in an open market, a Muslim gentleman approached him and said: “You must admit we have one thing you have not, and it is better than anything you have.” The missionary smiled and inquired: “I should be pleased to hear what it is.” The Muslim said: “You know when we go to Mecca we at least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave.” The missionary smiled again and replied: “That is just the difference. Mohammed is dead; Mohammed is in the coffin. And false systems of religion and philosophy are in their coffins, but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindred and tribes, is not here; He is risen. And all power in heaven and on earth is given unto Him. That is our hope.”

That hope, which is still alive in us, is why Jesus is not in the coffin. For the Israelites, the Lord knew what would give them hope at the hour of their needs. Against the backdrop of his struggle with incurable false prophets at home, Jeremiah addressed a letter of hope to the exiles at Babylon. Jeremiah’s letter was intended to calm their nerves and bring them hope from the living God. He mentioned that the Lord had thoughts of peace towards them and not of evil.

God’s plan was to give them an expected end, that is, a future and a hope. They must, therefore, forsake the counsel of false prophets, who had been prophesying an immediate end to their captivity. Rather, they should be praying for the peace of the city wherein they were taken captives.

As Christians, God’s thoughts for us should be our only concern. We should not be bothered about what other people may think of us. The Lord wants to give us the desire of our heart, if only we let Him reign supremely in our life.   Thought for the day: Do not look to your hope, but to Christ, the Source of your hope.

See more via daily manna above or here: <<Daily Manna>> Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

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