Category: 2015 Daily Blackboards

Romans 4:17

…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

There are times when we look at ourselves and don’t see what we can become. But when God looks at us, He sees what we can become by His grace.

When Jesus first saw Simon, whose name in Greek means “reed”, He changed his name to “Peter”, which means “rock”. But did Peter instantly become someone with the characteristics of a rock – solid, stable and unshakable? No, for a long time, he continued to act like a reed that bends every which way the wind blows.

On one occasion, when Peter saw Jesus walking on water, he took a bold step of faith and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Then, as he was walking on the water, he saw the violent wind, got scared and when he began to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:28-30) Another time, he said, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” (Luke 22:33) Then, a few hours later, he denied knowing Jesus not once, but three times. (Luke 22:54-62) Yet, throughout his reed-like behavior, Jesus kept calling him “rock” until one day, how Jesus saw him began to take root in him. That day, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood up to preach and 3,000 people were saved! (Acts 2:41) Peter had indeed become a rock, a pillar in the early church.

That was how Jesus transformed Peter. And that is how God wants us to change the people and situations in our lives. God does not tell us to call those things which exist as they exist. What is the point of stating the obvious? It is not going to change anything. No, God tells us to call those things which do not exist as though they did, and they will!

Deuteronomy 28:4

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.”

Would you want to buy a chair that Jesus made? Even if it cost $1,000 most probably would because it would be of superb quality. Whatever Jesus did, He did it with perfect excellence. And because Christ is in you, the things which you produce will be of exceptional quality too. That includes your children, who will be champions. Deuteronomy 28:4 says, “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks”.

God was using terms that the Israelites understood since they were farmers and shepherds. Today, “your ground” is the place of your work. This means that “the produce” of your work shall be of excellent quality. That is not all. God promises that quantity will always follow quality because Deuteronomy 28:11 says that the Lord will “grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body,” which means that you will have plenty of children, “in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground,” which means that your business will flourish and you will be a leading producer in the area of your specialty.

Your excellence and plenty do not come by your efforts. They come by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for you to have divine provision – “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus was made destitute of all material things at the cross. He had nothing! As He hung on the cross, He watched the Roman soldiers gamble for His robe. His last possession on earth was gambled away. He became poor, so that you could be blessed with the excellent and the plenty!

Matthew 10:30

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

As much as you might like your wife and daughter, I doubt that you have ever bothered to count the number of hairs on their heads.

Every day, your hair drops. Yet, God knows how many hairs are left on your head. And He also knows how many are growing back! He knows because He bothers to count them again. When it comes to you, He always has time for every little thing about you.

So when Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” He was not exaggerating. He never exaggerates. He means what He says and He says what He means. So for the Lord to say that the very hairs of your head are all numbered means that He wants you to know that He is very interested in you and has intimate knowledge about you – your body, family, finances, relationships and everything in your life!

He knows the pain you have been having in your body. He is aware of the financial worry which you have been keeping from your family. He sees how your nasty boss is treating you. He understands the hurts you have been keeping in your heart.

Your heavenly Father wants you to know that as long as something concerns you. God knows you intimately. He knows every small problem you are worried about and every single burden you have. And when you approach Him for help, He has all the time for you as if no one else exists. That is how valuable you are to Him and how absorbed He is in you!

Matthew 4:4

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”‘

The Bible tells us that God breathed into man and he became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) It also tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV) This means that when you read the Bible or listen to God’s Word preached, you are imbibing the very breath of God which gives you life.

That is why there may have been times you walked into church feeling tired at first, but left at the end of the service feeling refreshed and energized. God’s Word had breathed life into your body!

It is no wonder that Proverbs 4:22 tells us that God’s words are “life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh”. So if you are under the weather or if symptoms are attacking your body, double up on God’s medicine. Simply feed more on God’s Word, and you will find life and health flowing through your body again.

Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If it is important to eat our meals every day, how much more feeding on God’s Word? Jesus wants us to know that we need God’s Word even more than our daily meals. He made us, so He knows best what our bodies need daily. So whatever you do, remember to get your daily feeding of God’s Word. Read your Bible in the comfort of your home or in the office during your lunch break. Play sermon CDs while driving to work or doing household chores. If you prefer something more visual, watch DVDs on the preaching of His Word. Choose whichever form you prefer and get His Word into you!

You cannot live when you stop breathing. In the same way, you cannot live without the Word because it is the very breath of God which gives you life and health!

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

In this verse, “all things” is literally all things – the good, the bad and the ugly! Now, it does not mean that all things are from God. Some things, such as accidents, sicknesses, broken relationships and divorces are not from Him. They are from the devil or just part of the fallen world that we live in. But what this verse does tell us is that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. That is our inheritance as God’s beloved children.

Do the people of the world have this inheritance? No. When bad things happen to them, they are what they are – bad things. But when bad things happen to the children of God, it does not end there. God can make those bad things work together for good. In other words, the devil may throw lemons at you, but God can make refreshing lemonade!

It is important you remember that God is not behind anything bad or ugly. But when those things happen, know that He can make all things work together for good. And don’t let anyone tell you that all things will work together for good only if you love God and are called according to His purpose. These two things are not conditions but descriptions of believers. Believers are those who love God because they know that God first loved them. (1 John 4:19) And they are called according to His purpose for they have been born again and belong to Him.

Because you have been born again, all things in your life will work together for good. This is your inheritance as a beloved child of God!

Psalm 23:5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

The table is set. The bread and wine are there, and Jesus says to you, “Come, My child, partake.” But you tell Him, “Lord, I am unworthy!” You are afraid to come to the Lord’s table because you have been taught that if you partake in an “unworthy” manner, you will come under God’s fiery judgment.

Jesus has washed you whiter than snow and qualified you with His own blood, so you are as worthy as worthy can be! The most humble thing you can do now is to acknowledge His perfect sacrifice and accept His invitation with gladness. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul tells the church how to partake of the Lord’s Supper so that they will not drink judgment to themselves. The word “judgment” in verses 29 and 34 is krima in the original Greek text. It refers to a divine sentence. And in the context of this passage, the divine sentence refers to sickness. But when was this divine sentence of sickness passed? It was passed when Adam sinned. (Genesis 3:19) When he sinned, death entered the world (Genesis 2:17), and man would grow old and weak, fall sick and die.

So it is not that God is passing sentences of sickness on people today. How can that be when Jesus said, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17) God is not in the business of condemning but saving. And the Greek word for “saved”, sozo, also means to preserve, heal and make whole.

God does not want you to suffer the divine sentence of sickness that is already in the world, so He has given you a way of escape, paid for by the blood of His Son. He wants you to be healthy and whole, without the diseases of the world, and He has made this possible for you through the Holy Communion. Don’t be robbed of this tremendous blessing any longer because of erroneous teachings that have put fear in your heart. Come boldly to the Lord’s table today and receive His health, strength, wholeness and life!

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

According to this verse, you are rich. You are not trying to be rich. It does not matter how much you are earning or how much you have in your bank account. You are rich because as your need arises, God’s supply will be there for you.

In the Bible, there is an account of a couple who had a big need on their wedding day. They had run out of wine. Now, you would expect wedding couples to know how many guests to expect on their big day and to plan accordingly. But perhaps this couple did not have the money to buy enough wine. Whatever the reason was, Jesus saved them from embarrassment and shame. He saved the day when He supplied their need by miraculously turning six pots of water into wine. (John 2:1-10) And it was not cheap wine, it was the best wine available. God never makes second hand things. Our Lord Jesus abundantly supplied the need of that couple.

Whatever needs you have, God wants you to know that His supply will be there for you. You have His Word for it. He promises that He will supply all your needs, not just some. And He will supply all your needs according to and not out of His riches. This means that He lines up from A to Z all of His resources for your every need!

Rejoice that you are rich “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. This is far greater and more dependable than the temporal riches that you might have from any worldly source!

Luke 5:4

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

God really does want to bless you – big-time! It was for this reason that He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” The deep is where you will find a whole lot of fish. You won’t find them near the shore in shallow waters. But to launch out into the deep is to move away from the comfort of the shoreline.

God wants you to break away from your comfort zone and step out in faith to do what He has put in your heart. It may be something simple, that you have never done before or something that you only dreamed of.

Now, our Lord Jesus who said, “Launch out into the deep…” also said, “…let down your nets for a catch.” Notice that He used the plural “nets” and not the singular “net”. God wants to give you more than what you need. His dream for you is bigger than anything you can ever dream of. Dream big and God will exceed your dream because He delights in giving you exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

God wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. He did it for Simon who was astonished at the size of the catch of fish. (Luke 5:9) But it was not until Simon launched out into the deep that he ended up with the net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish. (Luke 5:6-7) You, too, will be astonished at your catch when you step out of your comfort zone and launch out into the deep with the Lord!

Ruth 4:15

And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age…

Famine impoverished the life of Naomi, an Israelite. But it was the deaths of her husband and two sons that left her completely destitute. (Ruth 1:1-5) Or so she thought, until Boaz, who was a wealthy and close relative, entered her life. As her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz married Ruth, Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law. And through that union, Naomi had a grandson. The birth of her grandson gave her a new lease of life, causing the women in her village to declare that the restorer of life and the nourisher of her old age had come into her life. (Ruth 4:14-16)

Boaz is a picture of Jesus, our kinsman-redeemer. Jesus became our kinsman when He was born into this world as one like us. And He became our Redeemer when He paid with His life and blood at the cross to redeem us. Jesus gave Himself to us as our restorer of life and nourisher of our old age. When the restorer of life is in our lives, what we have lost can be restored. (Joel 2:25-26) And with the nourisher of our old age in us, our bodies can be gloriously renewed even though we advance in our years.

When Moses died at the age of 120, his eyes were not dim and his natural vigor was not diminished. (Deuteronomy 34:7) Caleb, at 85 years old, could still drive out the giants from the land. God had literally nourished his body and made it strong for war. (Joshua 14:11) Sarah was certainly rejuvenated in her old age by God for she was still desirable to a king at the age of 90. (Genesis 20:1-2) God even renewed her womb. She received strength to conceive seed (Hebrews 11:11), giving birth to Isaac in her old age.

God is outside of time and your faith in Him brings you into this timeless zone. There, what the years have stolen will be restored. And even as your years increase, you will not grow weak and weary because the restorer of life and nourisher of your old age is in you!

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…

God calls us “a royal priesthood”. This means that we are kings as well as priests under the king-priesthood of Jesus Christ. This has never happened before in the history of God’s people. In the Old Testament, kings and priests were two distinct groups of people. You were either a king or priest, but not both at the same time.

Today, because we are in Christ, we are king-priests – a royal priesthood. This means that we have a double portion of speaking power because as kings, “Where the word of a king is, there is power” (Ecclesiastes 8:4), and as priests, “by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled”. (Deuteronomy 21:5)

So if you are a Christian businessman, you will have an edge over worldly businessmen. What you say about your business deals will come to pass. And if you are falsely accused, know that by your very word, every controversy and every assault will be settled!

And as a king-priest parent, when you bless your children, your words have the power to set in motion supernatural events which will bring them into God’s abundance and super-abounding grace. And there will be such a courage and resilience about them that it will empower them to win the fights of life!

When the devil comes to you and says that you will die young because your father and grandfather died young, or that you will never be successful because you are not well-educated, you must remember that the devil is neither a king nor a priest. There is no power in his words. But there is power in yours because you are a king-priest in Christ!

So instead of agreeing with him, believe and declare, “I will not die young. With long life He will satisfy me and show me His salvation!” Say, “The Lord will make my way prosperous and give me good success!” Use your double portion of speaking power and see these blessings come to pass!