Category: 2017 Daily Blackboards

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 wants 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, something that you have never done before or only dreamed about.

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!

John 11:41-42

“…And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me.”

Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus raised him to life. This is one of the greatest miracles that Jesus performed. Wouldn’t you agree that death is indeed an extreme problem? Having no money in the bank, being sick and losing your job, bad as they are, are not as bad as being dead!

But what you need to see is this: If Jesus, in the most extreme of problems, shows us that the solution is still, “Father, I thank You,” then how much more should we thank God in the midst of the less serious problems we face. If thanksgiving can raise the dead, then let us give thanks in spite of the negative circumstances and we will see victory. Unfortunately, we tend to do the opposite – murmur and complain. But murmuring and complaining only magnify the problem. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is the language of faith which pleases God. I am not saying that we give thanks for the problems we have. No, we thank God that He is our answer and that He has already given every blessing to us. (Ephesians 1:3)

Even the little we may have we need to be thankful for, because it will multiply. Jesus thanked His Father for the five barley loaves and two small fish, a little boy’s lunch, and they were multiplied to feed more than 5,000 people with 12 baskets full of leftovers! (John 6:8-13) And notice that when the Holy Spirit talked about this event again, He specifically mentioned the Lord giving thanks, “the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks”. (John 6:23) The Holy Spirit seemed to be more pleased with the act of giving thanks than the miracle of multiplication or the 12 baskets full of leftovers.

The more you thank God, the more you please Him. What little you have will be multiplied and whatever is dead in your life will be raised to life!

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night… For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Have you ever wondered why the Torah (the first five books of Moses) is read out loud by the Jews. It is said that they read God’s Word out loud because of Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night…”

The word “meditate” in English means to ponder. But in Hebrew, it is the word hagah, which means to utter or mutter under your breath. In other words, when you meditate on God’s Word, you speak forth or confess His Word instead of just giving it mental assent. Hagah God’s Word by confessing verses in the areas that you are believing God for breakthroughs. If you are waiting for God to make your way prosperous, you will have a long wait. The Bible says that you will make your way prosperous when you hagah God’s Word.

So speak forth verses in the areas which you want to see breakthroughs and you will have good success. Some people have success that destroys them – you don’t see them in church anymore and their family members don’t get to see them either. That is bad success. But when you hagah God’s Word, you will have good success that does not destroy you.

Now, confessing God’s Word does not move God to do things for you. It is not a formula. God had already moved when He gave up Jesus to die for you. However, when you confess His Word, it moves you from a position of doubt to faith. It moves your heart from a position of “Is it true?” to “I believe it!” When that happens, “you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”!

Luke 5:9

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken.

Have you ever heard a preacher say that God only supplies our needs, not our wants. Yet, in the Bible, God clearly shows us that He wants to meet not just our needs, but also our wants. For example, the famous “shepherd psalm” begins with “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”. (Psalm 23:1) Another psalm says, “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:9-10)

One of the names of our God is Jehovah Jireh, which means “the all-providing One”. He provides more than enough. The God of more-than-enough came in the flesh and walked among His people. And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He did not give His disciples small blessings. That is why He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets (plural) for a catch,” (Luke 5:4) and not “let down your net (singular)”. And what a catch it turned out to be – a boat-sinking, net-breaking catch! It was such a big and unexpected blessing that Peter and all who were with him were “astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken”.

See God’s heart for you today. He wants to prosper you. Don’t settle for anything less, thinking that He only supplies your needs and not your wants. If you need a job, know that He wants you to pray not just for a job, but for a position. When you have a position, you have influence and you are able to impact lives.

You may start out poor when you follow God. But you cannot remain in lack when you follow the God of more-than-enough. In fact, like Peter, you too will be astonished that God supplies more than what you need and beyond what you have asked!

Acts 3:20-21

…that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things…

As a believer, you have a right to expect restoration of the things that the devil has stolen from you. It may be your health, marriage or finances, but payback time is definitely coming!

Acts 3:20-21 tells us that before Jesus comes back for His church, we will experience “the times of restoration of all things”. What a hope that gives us, knowing that God will restore to us all things before Jesus returns!

If the devil is attacking you in any area, say, “Father, I will not allow the devil to rob me of my health, marriage, children or finances. These blessings are blood-bought and paid for by Your Son!” Claim your restoration in Christ and heaven will hear you.

There will be such times of restoration of all things to the body of Christ that His people will only get better, stronger, healthier, and more successful and glorious! When God restores, even under the old covenant, His people always received much more than what they had originally lost, in terms of quality and/or quantity. How much more will our restoration be under the new covenant because of the shed blood of the Lamb of God!

I can personal attest to the restoration in my own life. Just over 12 years ago, after losing everything that I owned, all my possessions would fit in the trunk of my car. God led me out of California to Connecticut. Over the next 11 years, He restored to me 100 fold. Now I have a beautiful home in South Carolina, fully furnished, and a new truck. My finances are no longer day to day struggle, scraping at the end of the month to make ends meet. My bills are all paid and I am no longer in debt and have regained a credit score in the high 700s.

God will do the same for you, as He works in the background of all who believe. Your part is to simply believe, God will take care of the rest.

John 8:32

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

The SCREWTAPE letters are a fictional account written by C.S. Lewis about senior demon (Screwtape) training a younger tempter (Wormwood). Lewis concluded chapter 23 with a reflection on politics that says much to our contemporary situation.

“About the general connection between Christianity and politics, our position is more delicate. Certainly we do not want men to allow their Christianity to flow over into their political life, for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster. On the other hand we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything – even to social justice. The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner. Only today I have found a passage in a Christian writer where he recommends his own version of Christianity on the ground that “only such a faith can outlast the death of old cultures and the birth of new civilizations”. You see the little rift ? “Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason.” That’s the game,
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE

You notice that Screwtape tells us clearly that if Christianity were to flow over in political life there would be a just society, which according to him would be a major disaster. He states that he wants Christianity to become a means to anything but what it actually is, which is Jesus Christ, God and our salvation!

The Screwtape quote is relevant to today’s political scene. Lewis, offers a subtler and more important point on the dangers of manipulating faith for our own personal and ideological ends.  Many, if not most, forms of popular Christianity (read: Protestantism) are proffered either a) as a means of personal advancement or b) as a means of societal advancement.  Both fit demonic desires. Screwtape tells Wormwood they want their victims to “treat Christianity as a means,” preferably to selfish ends but also to more noble ends if necessary. This is a subtle but crucial point – a “little rift” as Screwtape calls it. Christianity turned into a means is thus embraced not because it is true, not because, say, Jesus really is the Messiah of Israel and the world’s true Lord (N.T. Wright’s lovely formulation), but because Christian faith gets you from point A to point B.  Even if point B is something desirable like “social justice,” we (Screwtape’s victims) have successfully reduced Christianity from an end to a means, from the truth on which the world turns to just another way of achieving some desired outcome.

On e thing that we must keep in focus is that no matter who is in office, no matter how much money is made, no matter what the outcome of a physical condition, God is and always will be in control, and that all these thing combined have nothing to do with our salvation.

Galatians 1:15

…God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

You are not an accident with no destiny. God has called you from your mother’s womb. You have a special calling and a destiny in Christ, and it is all by His grace!

There are Christians who are called by God to be doctors. But among them are those separated from their mothers’ wombs for the healing ministry. They are passionate about seeking cures to alleviate the sufferings of humanity.

Likewise, there are Christians who are called by God to be teachers in secular schools. But among them are those separated from their mothers’ wombs to be Bible teachers. What gives them tremendous fulfillment is seeing lives saved and transformed under their teaching.

The apostle Paul knew that he was called from his mother’s womb. He had a misguided passion for God though, as he was persecuting the church, until he had his encounter with Jesus. (Acts 8:3, 9:1-6)

Now, don’t think that your calling has to do with your qualifications, abilities, achievements or even your walk with God. You were called from your mother’s womb by His grace. As a fetus in your mother’s womb, there was not much you could do – good or bad. That is why your calling is all by His grace. And since He has given you a calling, ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the desires that He has placed in your heart, the passions that drive you in life, and fulfill your calling and destiny in Christ!

Matthew 17:15-16

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”

Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I (Jesus) to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” (Matthew 17:17) But like all of Jesus’s rebukes to his disciples, His reproof is not intended to condemn us but to exhort us to press in further. If we currently have little faith, it is possible for us to have more faith. If we failed yesterday or today, we don’t have to continue to fail. “Little faith” is not a permanent label. Jesus means it as a catalyst for our transformation. For this is what he followed up with:

“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

If Jesus’s rebuke over our little faith makes our heads droop, his promise should make our jaws drop: “nothing will be impossible for you.” Those are not empty words. That phrase is a check to be cashed.

How would you live differently if you really believed that nothing would be impossible for you?

Don’t let cynicism squelch that question. Our lightning quick and loud unbelief is not commendable. It is perverse, twisted. It robs us of more than we know. When contemplating such a question, it can be tempting for some of us to quickly point to the errors of the word-of-faith movement and reaffirm that we aren’t going to fall in that ditch. Good. We should not. But that does not excuse us to live at peace with little faith and impotence in kingdom ministry.

We are meant to move mountains – to see the impossible occur through the exercise of faith in the omnipotent promises of our sovereign Lord. If we are not seeing mountains move, we are living beneath our means. We are living as paupers when we have millions in our heavenly bank account. Jesus doesn’t commend this. He rebukes it.

The faith of God’s people is the channel through which God chooses to manifest much of his glory that results in the conversion of unbelievers. If we have little faith, then little glory is seen through us. We must not be content with this.

If we recognize that we have little faith, let us repent today and join the disciples in pleading, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5), and not let God go until he blesses us with an answer. It is a request he loves to grant.

Jesus really does mean for us to move mountains. He wants us to live in the bold joy of knowing that nothing will be impossible for us.

Mark 11:23

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

God says that we will have whatever we say. So whatever we want to have, we can say it and have it. Unfortunately, we often say what we don’t want to have. For example, we say, “I don’t know why I go through my money so fast every month. There never seems to be enough money.” And true enough, we see a lack of money at the end of every month. You see, you will have whatever you say, good or bad. So why not change what you have been saying to, “From now on, I will have more than enough because Jesus became poor at the cross, so that I might be financially supplied – 2 Corinthians 8:9. So lack, be gone in Jesus’ name!”

Whatever mountain of difficulty you have, be it a mountain of debt or serious health condition, Jesus says, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Jesus highlights the importance of saying by mentioning the word “say” three times, but the word “believe” only once. Our problem today is that there is more preaching on believing than saying. So the reason people find it hard to walk in faith is that they are not actually saying enough of the Word.

But if we would focus more on saying God’s Word, faith will come. That is how God quickened Abraham’s faith. He changed Abraham’s saying when He changed his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of many nations”. (Genesis 17:5) From then on, whenever Abraham introduced himself, he would say, “Hi, my name is Abraham (Father Of Many Nations).”

Declare your abundance, saying, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) Speak forth your healing, saying, “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed!” (Isaiah 53:5) And you will have whatever you say!

Romans 5:20

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.

When a top executive is charged for corruption or a church minister is caught in the very act of adultery, you may hear the phrase “fallen from grace” being used. We have come to believe that when someone falls into sin, he falls from grace. But God wants us to know that when someone falls into sin, he does not fall from grace – he actually falls into grace! Thank God His grace is there to put the person back on his feet.

The Bible tells of prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors – sinners – who fell into God’s grace and got back on their feet. If the sin in their lives could stop God’s grace, they would never have been able to receive His grace of healing, help and power to live right in the first place.

Now, it is important you understand that God hates sin because it destroys our lives, relationships and bodies. Sin is evil! But sin is not overcome by us talking about it and relying on our willpower to overcome it. It takes God’s grace to destroy sin. In fact, it is when you are under His grace that sin has no dominion over you. (Romans 6:14) It is when you see His grace in providing His Son to put away your sins and make you eternally righteous that sin will not dominate you.

The devil will say, “You think that you can still expect God’s blessings after what you did this morning?” That is when you must remind yourself that Christ alone is your perfection and righteousness. All of us have faults. None of us deserve God’s blessings. That is why we plead the grace of God, which is His unearned, unmerited and undeserved favor toward us.

Sin does not and cannot stop God’s grace. If His grace can be cut off by sin, Jesus would never have come to save us because we were all terrible sinners. But praise God, “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more”!

God’s grace is bigger, deeper, wider and more powerful than all the world’s sins put together. Receive His grace right now to walk in total victory over that weakness or evil habit in your life!