Words for Life Articles

This month of October, we continue with our theme from last month CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH.

Jude 3-4

3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

In contending for the faith, we must ask ourselves this question about our Christianity.

Am I a consumer or contributing Christian?

SO, YOU MIGHT ASK WHO IS A CONSUMER, CHRISTIAN?

2 Timothy 3:1-5

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

Today we are seeing scriptures being fulfilled. The love of many waxing cold, children disrespecting parents, the love of money, the love of self. The lists go on. False prophets and teachers, wars and rumours of war. False messiahs, increase in warfare, and increases in famines, plagues, and natural disasters. Jesus advises us not to be deceived, that these are only the beginning of the "birth pangs"; the end is yet to come.

In the meantime, what are we to do as believers.  We are to contend or defend the authentic faith that we have received.

Matthew 6:25-33

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

It is not everyone who is truly content with life, we are often unsatisfied with many things. There are those who worry about everything, the clothes they wear, where they live, how much money they have, how many friends they have on Facebook, how many people follow them on social media.

1 Samuel 2:26

26 And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men.

Luke 2:52

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Our theme for the month of July is, “God’s Favour”. Every one of us do need favour at one time or the other. I have however found out that, all we need is God’s favour. God’s favour, simply put is God stepping into our situation to make a difference. I am not talking about the unmerited favour of God – Grace. I am talking about connecting with God’s goodness, mercy and grace. When it looks as though everyone else is struggling, fighting and pulling their hair out to find favour from men, because you are connected to His goodness, mercy and grace. His favour opens door to you. The above scriptures clearly indicates that Samuel and Jesus increased in favour with God and so found favour with men.

You see we cannot know the father without a knowledge of Jesus.

Jesus said in John 14:7-11.  In this scripture Jesus reveals the father to His disciples

7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

The key here to knowing the father is knowing Jesus.

You cannot separate the relationship of Jesus from that of the father.

John 5:19-23

19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

John 3:14-17

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [c]not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 1:49-51

49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

The term, Son of man, is usually used by Jesus to refer to himself in the gospels. In some texts He is referred to as the Son of God, but Jesus referred to Himself mostly as the Son Man and never as the Son of God.

This month we are looking at “knowing the son”.

Jesus Christ is the all sufficient one. He is enough for us. He is the all adequate one. He is all and all. he is everything we need and more. He is the answer to every need.

Let’s look into some specifics and scriptures:

1. From the very beginning He was and He has been. All things were created through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him is life, the Life that we need. In Him we find light to illuminate our paths and guide us. Before anything was, He was and will continue to be. All things flow from Him. He is number one and will always be number one.
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