The Spiritual Hope

“What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?”

1 Corinthians 4:7 (TLB)

We’ve talked about how trusting in God’s goodness helps you face life’s struggles.

But what happens when you start thinking you earned the good things in your life, forgetting goodness comes from God?

In Luke 12, Jesus tells the story of a rich man who was very successful but didn’t give God any of the credit for his prosperity. And so God tells the rich man, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?” Jesus finishes the story by saying, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:20-21 NLT).

Prideful ingratitude is the sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven, and it’s the source of all sins. When you stop being grateful to God, you get into trouble: “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 NLT).

The problem with some self-made people is that they end up worshipping themselves. They may think, “Wait a minute; I built this business with my bare hands.” But who gave you your hands? They say, “I thought up the business plan totally by myself.” But who gave you your mind? They claim, “I worked for where I am today by the sweat of my brow.” But who gave you the ability to work so hard?

Everything you have in life—the ability to see, hear, and eat, your freedom and thoughts—you owe to God. You would not take your next breath if it weren’t for the goodness of God.

Ingratitude is one of the roots of atheism too; when you’re ungrateful, you start dismissing or even denying what God has done. And that’s just a short step from denying that God even exists.

Yet the truth is you can see the presence of God everywhere you look: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT).

If you start to doubt God’s goodness, just take a step outside your door and look around. You can see God’s goodness throughout his creation!

Malachi 3:6 (WEB)
“For I, Yahweh, don’t change;
therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

As we begin a brand new year, it is important for us to be reminded of this simple truth… The Lord our God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Every promise that He has made is secure and will last forever. Since we live in a world that is constantly changing, the promise of our Father’s rock-solid commitment to us is very reassuring.

Today is a new day of a new year for us to be able to experience the Lord’s continued faithfulness in our lives. He will never leave us or let us down. He loves us with all His heart and each one of His promises that is true today will be true in a million years from now.

I pray that this truth will bring a deeper level of comfort and security to each one of us. May we look forward to all of the ways that our Father will show Himself faithful to us in this New Year. May this new year be blessed beyond imagination for you!

God’s love is foreign to human experience.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
I John 3:1 NKJV

God’s love is out of this world. It can’t compare with any other love. HE already loves you when you are still against him. HIS love for you is based on his qualities not yours.

God’s love updates your status.

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:4‭-‬6 NKJV

God’s love changes your status from “sinner” into “child of God. HE does not love you because you qualify; He qualifies you because He loves you.

God’s love is eternal.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
I John 3:2 NKJV

God’s love is not confined by time and space. He is not just the experience of present reality it is also the assurance of promising future.

God’s love is practical.

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,
II Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV

God’s love compels you to what to live a life that pleases him. The holy spirit makes you holy but he needs your participation.

What’s keeping you from experiencing the love of God? HE said..

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28‭-‬31 NKJV

“If you are really eager to give, then it isn’t important how much you have to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you haven’t.”

2 Corinthians 8:12

Generosity is about far more than giving money. It’s about living generously in every area of your life.

The Bible says this about generosity: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion” (2 Corinthians 9:11 NIV).

What does it look like to “be generous on every occasion”? It means being generous with your time, praise, sympathy, forgiveness, love, compliments, and kindness. It means being generous with your listening so that you can seek to understand others. And it means being generous with your attention so that you can be aware of the needs of people.

But God isn’t interested in how much you give in life. He cares about why you give and how you give. He cares about your motivation—your heart. That’s the difference between normal generosity and radical generosity.

Radical generosity is an attitude, not an amount.

The Bible says it this way: “If you are really eager to give, then it isn’t important how much you have to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you haven’t” (2 Corinthians 8:12 TLB). 

God doesn’t need your money, talent, or time. In truth, he really doesn’t need anything from you. But what he wants from you is your heart. What he wants is your love. The Bible says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV). When you give your life to Christ, your heart will be with him.

No matter what you do or what you give, it’s important to check your motivation. Why? Because God wants you to “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17 NIV). He wants you to be radically generous.

Over the next few days, we’re going to look at the impact radical generosity can have on your life. It will change you and the people around you!

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. Acts 8:9-11

After Jesus was resurrected, He appeared before the apostles for 40 days and on the last day, on Mount of Olive where He met with the apostles, He gave them the Great Commission and that was to make disciples of all nations.
In Mark, it was mentioned that “God will confirm His words by signs and wonders” and that is something we should take note of. Indeed, miracles will happen in the midst of those who believe in the word of God.

What was recorded in the book of Acts about the works by the apostles and their disciples is historical; what happened was exactly like what Mark had mentioned… The spreading and sharing of the gospel were accompanied by miracles which testified that Jesus has risen and He is alive.

Meanwhile, Luke said about a person by the name of Simon who practised magic and had amazed the people around him till they believed that the power he had was from God.
What can be the similarity and difference between the two incidents above? The similarity is about the happening of miracles; the difference is one group of people follows miracles (of Simon’s) while the other, miracles (of Jesus) follow them wherever they go.

The same thing is happening today where there are individuals who claim that they have special power to perform miracles and people believed in them and became their followers.
Christians must realise that they are followers of Jesus Christ, whether they have physically experienced a miracle or not does not matter because the greatest miracle that has already happened is “Jesus is risen from the dead and He is alive.” Based on this faith we have in Jesus, miracles will follow.

So there is a difference between chasing after miracles and letting miracles following us and the latter will happen if we are steadfast in our faith in Jesus. Today, God continues to do miracles in the midst of people who believe in Him. He wants us to be well grounded in His words and by putting our trust in Him, He will let miracles happen in our lives.