January 31
Great Redeemer, what a Wonder You Are! We are indeed grateful for all Your protections, provisions, healing, deliverance, miracles, sign and wonders in the month of January and most especially this last day, we say thank You Lord! We are grateful to You for keeping us safe in Your abode, not allowing us to backslide despite the torture of the devil and his agents.
You are a mighty King, Who delivers and make whole. Let Glory, honour, adoration, and hosanna be unto the Most High God.
God is love, on one can claim to love God Who he had not seen without first loving his brothers and sisters whom he had seen (1 Jn 4:7-21). Beloved, “Is love that makes the world go round”, do you agree with me? In whatever we are doing, let our pure motivate be “Love” and it will be well with us and our Heavenly Father will be very pleased with us.
Why? Because we are having His very Nature, that Nature that made Him placed premium on you and made His Son to go the cross, so that we, the redeemed, can also call Him Abba, Father! (1 Jn 4:14-16). Is love that will make you intercede for someone in pain, in need of wants, love and repentance in your hour of prayer!
Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me. I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.—John 17:25–26
You do not “organize” the kingdom of God, you “agonize” the kingdom of God. You cannot be close to God without being affected by His love. The heavenly Father loved His Son with an eternal love. Everything in the heart and life of the Father was released to His Son. As the Father expressed His love for a broken and sinful world, this passion was manifested through the life of His Son. The Father initiated His plan to save mankind, and out of a heart of devotion, the Son accepted the assignment that took Him to the cross.
As Jesus walked among people, the Father’s love filled His Son. Jesus recognized that no ordinary love could motivate Him to go to the cross. No human love could keep Him perfectly obedient to His Father throughout His life. Only His Father’s love was powerful enough to compel Him to commit His life to the saving purpose of His Father.
Jesus prayed that God would place this same love in His disciples. He knew that no other motivation would be sufficient for the assignments God had for them. God’s answer was to place His Son in them. It is impossible for a Christian to be filled with this measure of love and not to be on mission with God.
You will be incapable of ministering to everyone God sends you unless you have His love. You cannot forgive others or go the extra mile with others or sacrifice for others unless you have first been filled with the boundless love of God.
In case you are yet to have such a love, seek to know the Father and His immeasurable love, then allow His Son to love others through you! Some are saddle with unforgiving spirit, so bent on revenge with wrong judgment. Just see how love took Christ to the cross:
“The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself.” Daniel 9:26
Blessed be His name, there was no cause of death in Him. Neither original nor actual sin had defiled Him, and therefore death had no claim upon Him. No man could have taken His life from Him justly, for He had done no man wrong, and no man could even have lain Him by force unless He had been pleased to yield Himself to die.
But lo, one sins and another suffers. Justice was offended by us, but found its satisfaction in Him. Rivers of tears, mountains of offerings, seas of the blood of bullocks, and hills of frankincense, could not have availed for the removal of sin; but Jesus was cut off for us, and the cause of wrath was cut off at once, for sin was put away for ever. Herein is wisdom, whereby substitution, the sure and speedy way of atonement, was devised! Herein is condescension, which brought Messiah, the Prince, to wear a crown of thorns, and die upon the cross! Herein is love, which led the Redeemer to lay down His life for His enemies!
It is not enough, however, to admire the spectacle of the innocent bleeding for the guilty, we must make sure of our interest therein. The special object of the Messiah’s death was the salvation of His church; have we a part and a lot among those for whom He gave His life a ransom? Did the Lord Jesus stand as our representative? Are we healed by His stripes? It will be a terrible thing indeed if we should come short of a portion in His sacrifice; it were better for us that we had never been born. Solemn as the question is, it is a joyful circumstance that it is one which may be answered clearly and without mistake.
To all who believe on Him the Lord Jesus is a present Saviour, and upon them all the blood of reconciliation has been sprinkled. Let all who trust in the merit of Messiah’s death be joyful at every remembrance of Him, and let their holy gratitude lead them to the fullest consecration to His cause.
With this great love, we beg to round off this wonderful month of the Lord that will usher us into our greatness subsequently. Click here to accept Christ this last day of the month, it will be so memorial!
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
