TODAY! AS THE BEST:

"For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Some people are either regretting the failures of yesterday or fretfully dreading the challenges of tomorrow. But God doesn’t live in your yesterday; His name is "I AM," not "I WAS" or "I WILL BE." Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is now; and the Bible says without faith it’s impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

The life of faith is not about yesterday or tomorrow; it is about today! Faith works now. It is your response to God and His Word—NOW. So instead of having regrets of who you were or what you did in the past, or worrying about what the future holds for you, focus on the now! Ask yourself: "Who am I now?" This is what matters. Make the best of your today.

Regrets of yesterday and fears of tomorrow are enemies of today’s happiness. It doesn’t matter that yesterday’s assessments of you weren’t favourable; that was yesterday and it’s gone. Focus your attention on God’s Word to you now. Meditate on His truth about your personality and identity in Christ, and not on the failures of the past or the fears of tomorrow. A businessman who says for example, "I know my proposal won’t be approved," has already voiced his fears ahead of tomorrow. God doesn’t triumph in your fears; He triumphs instead in your faith.

Instead of anticipating tomorrow’s failures or the negative response you may get from people, choose to be positive and happy about today; make the day a success. When Elijah met with the Lord on Mount Horeb, God asked him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:9). It didn’t matter where he had been or where he was going; God was concerned about his current location. Today is what counts, so make a move to be your best today because tomorrow isn’t promised you. Tomorrow only belongs to those who take a hold of today because today is the springboard for tomorrow.

Further Study: 

Matthew 6:34

Andy Agim

Christ Realities

FIRST FRUITS SEPARATE:

"Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me." (Exodus 22:29).

Someone once asked if it was necessary to give the first-fruit offering only at the beginning of the year: Couldn’t one give it any other time of the year? First, you have to understand that God is not a man; He is a Spirit being (John 4:24), and the Bible refers to Him as "…the Father of spirits..." (Hebrews 12:9). So you don’t deal with Him as you would a man. When such a spiritual instruction comes to you in your local assembly, to give your first fruit at the beginning of the year, put it into action immediately. Delay or procrastination in giving your first fruits or other offerings to God is actually a delay in receiving from Him.

This is important at the beginning of the year, but as the Lord blesses you in the process of time, perhaps you received a raise in your salary, or a blessing of any kind, you should separate the first fruit unto the Lord, and pay it as well.

Romans 11:16 says "For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches." If you give God your first fruit at the appropriate time, the Lord will watch over the entire lump—your entire resources. He will sanctify, separate and consecrate everything you receive afterwards. He will see to it that you don’t encounter austere moments or dryness in your finances.

Always be prompt to pay your first fruits, tithes, and seed-offerings. Remember, the Word says "...God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, "prompt to do it") giver [whose heart is in his giving]" (2 Corinthians 9:7 AMP). When you give, there is a promise for a harvest. Proverbs 3:9-10 says "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." This is one of the surefire recipes for financial abundance. So be excited to give your first-fruit offering, for it is holy unto the Lord.

Further Study: 

Psalm 116:12-14 

Proverbs 3:9-10

Andy Agim

Christ Realities

BELIEVE, DO THE WORD:

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22).

Some people are puzzled as to what to do to make the Word of God effective in their lives. Their concern is similar to the question the Jews put to Jesus in John 6:28-29: "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."

To believe the Word is to believe in Jesus, for He is the living Word. Doing the Word of God is proof that you believe it. Jesus said if you love me, keep my commandment; that means do my word. The Word of God has the ability, potentiality and capacity to produce what it says. James, in his epistle describes the blessedness of the one who hears and does the Word: "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (James 1:25).

The blessing is in doing and not just in hearing the Word. Be sure to provide a good ground in your heart for the Word of God because the Word will naturally produce results once it is sown in good ground. What guarantees its effectiveness in your life is your faith-response. Faith is action added to the Word that you heard; it’s the response of your human spirit to the Word of God.

For the Word to be effective in your life you must mix it with faith; you must believe and act on it. The Bible describes some in whose lives the Word wasn’t effective, not because the Word was void of power, for no Word from God is void of power, but they didn’t mix the Word with faith: "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Hebrews 4:2).

Further Study: 

Joshua 1:8

James 1:22-25

Andy Agim

Christ Realities