IS CHRISTIANITY A RELIGION?

Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? – Gal 3:3

Some words change in meaning over time. Several centuries ago, it’d be an insult to call someone “nice”, because that meant they were stupid! The same phenomenon is gradually happening to the term ‘religion’ today – at least among evangelicals.

Religion in itself is simply ‘devotion to God’. There’re many: Islam, Hinduism, Tao and, of course, Christianity. These are formal categorisations and to say one does not have any religion is understood to mean that one is an a-theist. In this sense, all Believers belong to the religion called “Christianity”.

However, as we saw yesterday, religion is more than a collection of beliefs; it is ultimately man’s attempt to remedy himself – on his own terms.

This comes in various forms: prayer, meditation, ablution, penance, pilgrimage, sacrifices, séances, etc. Simply put, any act that aims to substitute – or even add to – what the Creator Himself has provided as the solution to man’s sin, is religion. This is the sense in which many Believers are distancing themselves from the ‘religion’ of Christianity.

This dissociation is not new, however. Christianity itself started as a revolt by JEWS (the first disciples) against a pharisaic philosophy that had transformed a stopgap sacrificial system anticipating the Messiah into a full-blown, works-based religion.

Nevertheless, in less than 400 years, with the advent of the Catholic Church, Christianity itself had become steeped in its own tradition, ceremonies and rituals. It wasn’t until 1517 (exactly 500 years ago) that Luther, a Catholic priest, protested against this ‘religion’ (thus precipitating the ‘Protestant’ movement).

Fast-forward to the Church today and it seems the cycle has started again; Believers, mostly Evangelicals, are seeking to distance themselves from ‘religion’ for those very same reasons.

Will this vicious cycle ever stop? No. As long as people keep creating convoluted ways of ‘earning’ their right-standing and favour with God, it would only be a matter of time before whatever they come up with becomes another full-blown religion.

We need to search ourselves and our traditions regularly, and make sure that we’re not – like the Galatian Believers – slipping into ‘religion’ through the addition of other ‘requirements’ for God’s blessings and favour apart from Jesus and His finished work on the Cross.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

ABOUT RELIGIONS

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation; – Heb 2:3 

What is ‘religion’?

There’re different ways of looking at this. It could be a catchall to describe all things ‘spiritual’; it could be seen as any form of worship to God; or even one’s general way of life. If you want to take it to the other extreme, you could see religion as the legitimisation of ignorance, fanaticism, or wishful thinking.

In all cultures, people make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual powers. These may be in the form of gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality with which they believe themselves to be connected.

A cursory study of religion will reveal just how varied it is and how deeply entrenched it is in our culture. Whether it be the sea of men milling round the Kaaba in Mecca, the hordes of bodies bathing in the River Ganges in India, or swarms of Catholic votaries kneeling before “Our Lady of Fatima”, the sight of people deeply and passionately engaged in their practice of religion can be moving – or disturbing, depending on your perspective.

In our study of world religions, it’s easy for us to so romanticize the complex traditions, rich history and intricate ceremonies of each one that we fail to see them all for what they actually are: monumental expressions of Man’s rebellion against his Maker.

People may worship a plethora of ‘Gods’, but there can only be ONE Creator! And in the end, it is that Creator’s opinion that matters, not our own.

We often fault evolutionists for claiming that the concept of ‘God’ is a creation of the human mind; yet a dispassionate analysis of how religions came to be would show they are right – at least in part!  

The first act of Religion was immediately after Man fell in Eden. Adam and Eve gathered fig leaves to cover their nakedness and hid themselves from God; (Gen 3). The second act was when Cain insisted on worshipping the Creator his own way instead of that which the Creator favoured; (Gen 4).

Ever since then, ALL Religions have been based on these two templates: atonement for sin by Man’s way, and worship of God on Man’s own terms.

Of course, while demonic spirits may be relied upon to provide the ‘supernatural’ component of each religion; philosophically, it’s all MAN at the heart of it. The Creator is nowhere to be found there.

Moses once warned the Israelites against every man doing “whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Dt 12:8); if it was true then, it is true now; we can each have and cherish our ‘religion’, but is it acceptable to our common Maker?

SELAH.

GREG ELKAN

“MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE”

There’re two things we need to know about the voice of God.

Firstly, Hearing from God is not difficult. It is the Father’s good pleasure that we do His will, so He’s not going to obfuscate and mystify His ways. God is always talking to His children. You have more to worry about not hearing correctly than about not hearing AT ALL.

Secondly, Obeying God’s voice isn’t hard. This may sound contrary to our religious thinking, but 1Jn 5:3 says, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.”

The word, “grievous” there means burdensome, hard to follow or irksome. It is misleading for us to teach that doing God’s will is going to be demanding. If you’re a child of God, doing your Father’s will should not come across to you as ‘difficult’. The Psalmist declares, “I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved.” (Ps 119:47) And our Lord said, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Mt 11:30).

Many young Believers are afraid of praying to God about marriage because they’re afraid He’ll ask them to marry “that smelly brother that sleeps in Church”, or “that ‘spiritual’ sister that doesn’t talk to anybody”. Men are afraid to ask God to use them because they’re afraid He’ll tell them to “sell all you have and move your family to Zheng'anpu, northern China for missionary work.”

Again, this perception of God’s will is quite misleading.

Jesus told His disciples, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you... For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” (Jn 16:23,27)

The Father loves you and has your interest in mind. He’s not out to harm or cause you pain for the sake of it. Ask Him for His will in your life today, and be rest assured that He’ll answer. The heavens may not immediately split open while a bodiless hand spells out the instructions for you; you may not fall into a vision and see the woman you are meant to marry; But as long as you stay in faith, keep studying the word and stay around with God’s people, you’ll surely get to know what to do. It could be from a sermon, a conversation, a revelational insight... or even from next week’s “The Word For Today”. J

Whatever it is, “Fear not; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Lk 12:32)

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

SOUND CHECK

Test all things; hold fast that which is good. – 1Th 5:21

The Christian life is a led life. The whole concept of having Jesus as our ‘Lord’ is meaningless if He is not in charge of the day-to-day running of our lives. Rom 8:14 tell us that the index of our salvation is whether we are being led by the Spirit or not (see also Gal 5:18).

But as we discussed earlier this week, not every ‘voice’ in our head is the Holy Spirit. To paraphrase 1Jn 4:1, we are to “Believe not every voice, but test the voices whether they are of God.”

Before any public event, the sound engineers carry out a ‘sound check’ to see if the sound systems are in good order.

And we’re also about to have ours now on the “sound system’ in our heart: the Voices within. So, TESTING, TESTING- 1,2...

Is It of Faith? “Whatever is not of faith is sin”, (Rom 14:23). Without faith it is impossible to please God, (Heb 11:6).

Does It Magnify Christ’s Finished Work? Be wary of voices that give you weird  commandments or else you won’t receive a blessing. Be wary of voices that tell you the reason for your predicament is this or that sin. Condemnation is a signature of the devil. Remember, Jesus said the Holy Spirit comes to convict us of “righteousness” (Jn 16:7-10).

Does It Threaten Harm If Not Obeyed Immediately? The Holy Spirit is not afraid of you questioning His instructions. He’s not going to knock you to the floor if you pause to ponder! From the first pages of Genesis, we can see that God’s not interested in robots! When Jesus lingered at Gethsemane, God sent an angel to help Him (Lk 22:43). Demonic spirits, on the other hand, are known to be very impatient and proud and cannot stand insolence.

Does It Contradict Scripture?

Does It Seek To Separate You From Other Believers?

Does It Ask You To Disrespect Your Leaders?

This list is not exhaustive, but here’s a final important one:

Does It Disturb Your Spirit? There’s a difference between a difficult instruction and a disturbing one. The Believer is “born of the Spirit” (Jn 3:6); therefore, though you may not know Genesis to Revelation, but when your Lord speaks, it’ll come naturally to you. Remember, “My sheep hear my voice,” Jn 10:27.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

LOOK WHO'S TALKING

An image was before my eyes... and I heard a voice, saying, – Job 4:16

We often use the phrase, “look who’s talking” to point out hypocrisy in people who are commenting on issues that they’re also guilty of. However, in a rather literal sense, we really need to look at who’s talking at every moment of our lives.

As Believers, it is ill-advised, even dangerous, for us to go to sinners for counsel. The Psalmist categorically declares, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,” (Ps 1:1).

However, we need to know that the “ungodly” here does not necessarily have to refer to some wicked, lecherous, foul-mouthed, pot-smoking shaman somewhere. But “ungodly” simply means “not of God”; and I dare say you will find ‘ungodly’ counsel coming from the least expected places.

A secular psychologist/counsellor is a good example of a sane, educated and well-intended “ungodly” person. As long as they do not share the same Bible-based worldview with you, all of their counsel must be taken with a pinch of salt.

Ungodly counsel can even come from a godly person! After all, who’s best qualified to help the Devil mislead a Believer than one who he or she trusts implicitly? All it takes is a little bit of misinformation, a slice of miscommunication and a little sprinkling of carnality and you have the basic recipe for erroneous counsel. That a counsel is not patently evil or immoral does not automatically make it ‘godly’.

This is why we need always to LOOK WHO’S TALKING.

The incident in Mat 16:13-23 where Simon Peter was inspired by God and Satan almost simultaneously is enough to caution us about counsel we receive from others. Because Jesus was familiar with the voice/tone of the Father He was able to “see” who was talking per time.

Please note that ‘ungodly’ counsel from godly people does not mean they mean you harm or are actually trying to deceive you. We are all finite in our wisdom and even in our inspiration. 1Co 13:9 says, “We know in part, and we prophesy in part”.

Let the word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit be your voice-checker. And may the Lord keep you and preserve you in all of your decision-making in Jesus’ Name.

AMEN.

GREG ELKAN

HELP! I HEAR VOICES

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without meaning. – 1Co 14:10

We’re already familiar with the multitude of voices without, but let’s go deeper today, and talk about the voices within.

When psychotic serial killers and perpetrators of brutal murders are brought before trial, they often claim the reason they carried out those gruesome acts was because some “voices” in their head told them to. This fact has become so clichéd that I once saw a guy with a T-Shirt that read, “I hear voices...and they don’t like you!” It was humorously inferring I could be butchered at any moment without warning if I got close. 

Though it’s well-established that psychologically disturbed persons hear “voices”, the truth is, WE ALL hear voices in our heads too! If you’ve been tempted before, then you’re well acquainted with the crazy reality of conflicting voices screaming in your head.

What distinguishes us from the man in the straitjacket in the padded cell is that we do not simply do ‘everything that comes into our heads’.

But they DO come into our heads: voices hinting on the right way to flaunt “it”, offering various false alibi’s on why we were late for work, providing several choice cusswords for that woman who stepped on our shoe without apologizing, proffering various explanations of “how she could buy a brand new car on that slim salary of hers”... VOICES.

Let’s be honest, we all hear them in our heads, and clearly they are not all from the Holy Spirit.

Does that then make us schizophrenic, conflicted, possessed by some foul sprite even?  No, on the contrary, if anything, it proves our spiritual sanity. People under the bondage of sin blindly follow the orders of Satan, their master; but we Believers who are free from his direct control and influence would necessarily have to be constantly tempted to sin. Hence, the ‘voices’.

Sometimes they are loud (sexual temptations, anyone?), other times they are subtle (fibs, for example), and some are so craftily constructed, that we’re not even aware that it’s an external voice speaking.

This is why we need to be always in tune with the indwelling Spirit. If we have the habit of always running our thoughts by the Holy Spirit before acting, we would spare ourselves a whole lot of struggle and baggage down the line.

“My sheep hear my voice... and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (Joh 10:27; 10:5 )

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

VOICES

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters... – Ps 29:3

We are definitely in the last days, and it means that we need God’s guidance now more than ever. Our Lord prophesied that deception would be a hallmark of the End Times, (Mk 13:22), therefore, if there has been any time that we need sound counsel, it is now.

In the classrooms, in our homes, on our pulpits, in our businesses, we need light. Nevertheless, shortage of counsel is hardly a problem for us in this age; indeed, it is the plethoric cacophony of voices around us that we need to worry about.

In the library, you’ll find journal after journal on every field imaginable. Turning to Cyberspace, the internet is awash with pages upon pages of information that presume to tell you what to do; and the hazy maze of Social media can be relied upon to furnish us with unverifiable “life hacks”.

What can a mere mortal do with all this information? As at 2013, there were over 1 trillion SEARCHABLE webpages! (a lot more exist on the non-indexed “Dark Web”). How does one start reading all that? With the advent of digital television we now have access to literally hundreds of channels all competing for our ears, eyes and hearts: News, Documentaries, Shows, Soaps, ... each one vying to influence our worldview.

Then of course, there’s the information we get from Meat-space – real life people around us: friends, colleagues, neighbours, leaders...

 With competing and conflicting voices like these out there, how can one be safe from being misled and misinformed about the key issues of life?

This is why we need to always be in tune and in step with the Holy Spirit.

Many Believers are more familiar with the Google Search Engine than they are with the Holy Spirit. But despite its name (from ‘googol’ – 1 followed by 100 zeros), the information available on Google is nothing compared to the infinitude of wisdom and knowledge that can be found in the Spirit.

In this day and age, let’s learn to train our ears to the voice within: the voice of the Spirit.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT LEAVE?

Christians have traditionally opined that when a Believer sins, the indwelling Spirit is grieved and departs until there’s full repentance. While this sounds theological, it’s not backed by scripture; and we need to be glad for that.

Eph 1:13 tells us that immediately we got Born Again, we were “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise”. That means that the indwelling Spirit in us is the seal (our Guarantor) for the Day of Judgement.

Understanding this critical role of the Holy Spirit in our life is vital. Because though we can “Grieve” and “Quench” the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30; 1Thes. 5:19), scriptures do not say He will leave us when we do such things. The concept of the Spirit leaving a person because He’s grieved is an Old Testament paradigm.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit never indwelled people, He only came UPON them occasionally. Whether it be Bezalel, Samson, Saul, David, etc. He was never permanently resident in any of them. But all that changed after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Because now we are Washed, we are Sanctified and we are Justified in God’s sight. (1Co 6:11).

The Holy Spirit is God Almighty: united in holy trinity with the Father and the Son. He never acts in dissonance to the other members of the Godhead.

To the New Testament Believer, the Father says, “I will NEVER leave you, nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5), and the Son says, “Lo, I am with you ALWAYS, even unto the end of the world”. (Mat 28:20). And of the Spirit, our Lord said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you FOREVER;” (Joh 14:16).

This permanence of the Spirit in us is obviously not a licence to the Believer to live in sin. There’re always consequences for sin (Rom. 6:23; Jas 1:15). Sin deadens the Believer and corrupts their fellowship with God.

But the knowledge of the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in us is a reminder of the Father’s utmost love for us and His willingness to stick with us in our low times as He patiently works us up to full Christ-like maturity.

And on a more practical note, it’d be presumptuous of us to think a sinning Believer would turn round and repent if the Holy Spirit has left them. It is the Spirit that does the conviction (Jn 16:8), AND the cleansing (1Co 6:11) AND is the source of our hope for said righteousness in faith (Gal 5:5).  

THANK YOU HOLY SPIRIT.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES NOT TALK ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

I once heard a preacher complain, “the Church is always talking about Jesus; it’s ‘Jesus’, ‘Jesus’ all the time, but we need to talk about the Holy Spirit, too”.

Well, isn’t that odd? How can the Church be accused of not talking enough about the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit’ Himself – the One who’s the main teacher of the Church – doesn’t talk about ‘the Holy Spirit’?

Jn 15:26, (GNB) states, “The Helper will come – the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God... I will send him to you from the Father, AND HE WILL SPEAK ABOUT ME”. And Jn 16:14 reads, “HE SHALL GLORIFY ME: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.”

The commission of the Spirit, therefore, is to talk about – and glorify – Jesus!

This is a very important test of any ‘spirit’, regardless of the source. Any spirit that does not draw attention to Christ and His finished work is suspect.

Every aspect of Man’s Salvation Plan is resided in Christ. Whether it be forgiveness of sins, healing, power, authority, wisdom... EVERYTHING is resident in the Son (Col 2:3). Therefore, no true Spirit from God will scold you for ‘overemphasising’ the Son: in your life, teaching or ministry.

“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell;” (Col 1:19)

It’s not a question of ministerial emphasis or “calling”; every ministry in the Church must be centred on Christ.

A much-accomplished music Preacher here in Nigeria once declared that God told him that his ministry is going to be centred on the “Holy Ghost”. I found his statement somewhat confusing because I was very familiar with his songs, and all that this man sings about is ‘Jesus’; (indeed, his most popular album is titled “Son Talk”).

Then it occurred to me that that IS the ministry of the Holy Ghost: to draw attention and bring glory to the Son!

“For it is in Christ that the fullness of God’s nature dwells embodied, and in Him you are made complete,” – Col 2:9 (WNT).

May you receive a fresh revelation of Christ today by His Spirit in Jesus’ Name.

AMEN.

GREG ELKAN

LET THE HOLY SPIRIT BE THEIR TEACHER

But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit... shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance. – Jn 14:26

There is a place for godly counsel in the body of Christ. Eph 4:11,12 says Christ gave the so-called 5-fold ministries “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

However, the purpose of ministry is not to keep a perpetual nursery of spiritual babies, but to bring all Believers to “mature adulthood and the full standard of development in Christ;” Eph 4:13 (ISV).

When it comes to the nitty-gritties of the Christian walk, the Holy Spirit should be the Believer’s primary teacher. It’s unfortunate when leaders groom their followers to be perpetually dependent on them.

A leader who, in the name of ‘prophetic insight’, does not encourage their followers to learn to hear God for themselves but wants to tell them who to marry, which course to take, which dress to wear for that interview, etc. has left his or her scripturally assigned role and has arrogated to his or herself the function of the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, through this (what I call) ‘helicopter pastoring’, some mentors have become tormentors.

Someone once told me that the best teacher is one who gradually makes himself unnecessary. In the same vein, the best prophet (apostle, teacher, pastor, ‘discipler’, mentor, etc.) is the one whose entire ministry goal, is to make themselves ‘unnecessary’ as their members grow to full maturity and are empowered to tackle greater and greater challenges by themselves.

No one can teach a person better than the Holy Spirit can. He’s omniscient and all-compassionate. He doesn’t just know the exact unique provisions that each Believer has in Christ; He’s also intimate with their peculiarities and is the One making all things work together for their good future.

Let us, therefore, as leaders lead the flock to the Chief Shepherd, and let’s grant Him greater and greater influence in their lives, knowing whom we have believed, and being persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him against that day. (2Ti 1:12)

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN 

THE HOLY SPIRIT: GOD AT HIS BEST FOR MANKIND

But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away... – John 16:7 (CEV)

Have you ever wished Jesus were still around? I know I have. As a kid, I thought, “He’s alive forever; why couldn’t He just wait around?”

Others have wished they were able to walk and talk with God the way Enoch, Abraham and Moses did. Or what about that wonderful scenario of God visiting Adam in the cool of the evening? Awesome! Right?

The truth is, even though we have the Holy Spirit today, we feel that the men of old had it better. But though the Holy Spirit did many mighty things through the Old Testament saints, He was never permanently on any one of them. That is why we see the phrase, “And the spirit of the LORD came upon him” often in the Old Testament.

But the bottom-line in all this is that, the spirit of the LORD would come and the Spirit of God would leave. He was never permanently on them. We living in the New Covenant, however, have the Holy Spirit living permanently inside of us; every day, every night, when we sleep, when we wake up... the Spirit is right there in us, with us and for us. Even Adam did not have it this good!

This has been God’s wish from the very earliest. He has always wanted to tabernacle among men. That is why the Bible makes a big deal about “The Word” becoming flesh and dwelling among us (Jn 1:14), that is why Jesus was called “Emmanuel” – God with Us!

2Cor 3:17 says, “The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same,” (CEV). Recall that  Jesus’ unique term for the Holy Spirit is “Parakletos” (traditionally translated as “Comforter”). But Jesus IS our “Parakletos”! 1Jn 2:1 says “My little children... if any man sin, we have a Parakletos (KJV “advocate”) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

So just as Jesus once said to Philip, “He that has seen me has seen the Father;  (Jn 14:9), He is essentially saying to us “He that has the Holy Spirit has me!” Yes, that’s the Jesus of Nazareth right there in your heart right now. Awesome, innit?

As you meditate on this reality, may you enjoy a richer experience with the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name.

AMEN.

GREG ELKAN

THE HOLY SPIRIT

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. – Rev 22:17

What is your understanding of the Holy Spirit? How you see the Holy Spirit will go a long way in determining how much you enjoy from Him.

For many Christians, He’s identified with ‘POWER!’. Whenever you mention the Holy Spirit, they think of anointing, of speaking in tongues, of demons screaming out of the possessed, of prophesyings and of ‘slayings in the Spirit’.

Others see Him as their in-built faultfinder. To them, the Holy Spirit is that judging, condemning voice inside of them telling them “what you did is wrong” (curiously, that voice tends to remain quiet when what they did is right). These set of Believers have been told that the Holy Spirit is “easily offended” and will even leave you if you ‘grieve’ him.

These views of the 3^rd Person of the Trinity, apart from being narrow also border on being unscriptural.

While the average Believer today does acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is God, they only mentally assent to the doctrine of the Trinity and fail to grasp its implication. Just as Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 10:30), the Holy Spirit and the Father are also one, ( Mt 1:20; Lk 1:35). In the same vein, the Holy Spirit and Jesus are also one (2Co 3:17; Rom 8:9; 1Pe 1:11, etc.).

Whatever character the Father and Son have, the Spirit also has. If the Father is Love, then He is Love, if Jesus cares for you, then He too cares for you. If the Father says He will never leave you nor forsake you, then it would be incongruous for the Holy Spirit to do what the Father would not.

Beloved, the Godhead is not schizophrenic, we serve one God (Dt 6:4), yet for some reason we’ve compartmentalised the Holy Spirit in our minds and attributed to Him things we can’t legitimately attribute to the Father or Son.

Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” (Mt 18:20). Yet when we gather at church, we say “come Holy Spirit”, or “The Spirit is not here”.

The Father says, “Without faith, it’s impossible to please me” (see Heb 11:6). Yet when it comes to the Holy Spirit, if we don’t see evidence (goose pimples, warm feeling, falling under the anointing, etc.) we’ll not believe He’s there.  

Beloved, in what other way have you separated the Holy Spirit from the Godhead? Think about it, and repent (change your mind/thinking today).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

ARE YOU IN LOVE?

I am so glad that Jesus loves me,...

All through this week, we’ve used the words of the timeless hymn written almost a century and a half ago by P. P. Bliss to meditate on the unfathomable depths of the love the Father has for us in Christ Jesus.

It is vitally important to the Christian walk for the Believer to always be conscious of this love; for though, like the Sun it continues to shine and faithfully basks the Believer, day turns into night whenever we rotate out of focus with the Son.

That is why Jude 1:21 enjoins us to “Keep yourselves in the love of God;”

The knowledge that God loves you is powerful and life-changing. The Apostle Paul had such a rich experience of this knowledge, which is why he once exclaimed, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through HIM THAT LOVED US.” (Rom 8:35-37)

The Apostle John is nicknamed “The Beloved” for this same reason. His reputation for being “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, was so intense that the other apostles felt requests to Jesus from him were more likely to get answers than from others, (e.g. John 13:21-26). Nevertheless, there is no evidence that Jesus loved him more than the others, he just was more conscious of it.

As we round up this series, I leave you with the earnest prayer of the Apostle Paul for us:

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end”  (Eph 3:14-21).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

LOVE: THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

If one should ask of me, how can I tell?...

As sure as night follows day and summer follows spring, the time will come in the life of a Believer when he or she will question his or her salvation. The Enemy is well aware of this period and uses it to full measure.

The primary target of the salvation experience is our spirit. When we were saved, our bodies didn’t change and our minds didn’t get a clean slate. Our freckles, birthmarks and scars remained as they were; and though our minds may have experienced an emotional thrill, that thrill soon fades off.

But thank God our salvation does not depend on the unreliable feedback from our five senses nor from the shifting moods of our emotions. 1Jn 5:10 tells us that, “He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself;” According to Rom 8:16, the Holy Spirit is that witness. It says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”

This is a primary function of the Holy Spirit in us: constant reassurance of our sonship. Satan also ‘witnesses’ to our hearts; but his ministry is that of nagging, fault- finding, second-guessing and condemnation.  

P. P. Bliss beautifully captures both contrasting ‘ministries’ in the verses of his well-known hymn on the love of God:

God’s Holy Spirit with mine doth agree,

Constantly witnessing Jesus loves me.

Satan, dismayed, from my soul now doth flee,

When I just tell him that Jesus loves me.

1Jn 3:20 says “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”

It is your knowledge of the love of God that helps you discern which voice is speaking. The Holy Spirit will always affirm God’s eternal love for you; Satan will always tell you the opposite.

As you meditate more and more on the blessed love the Father has shown to you, I pray you receive greater discernment to single out the steady, reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd residing inside your heart.  

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

LOVE: THE KEY TO UNWAVERING FAITH

Jesus loves me, and I know I love Him...

The most self-assured child is the one who KNOWS they are loved. Teenage girls who aren’t told how beautiful and precious they are, become vulnerable when sleek predators begin to dot on them. Young boys who lack a sense of confidence from their parents eventually fall prey to gangs who make them feel “part of the team”.

One of the greatest tactics of the Devil is to shield the Believer from knowledge of how valuable and precious they are in the eyes of God. When Jesus was baptised by John, the Father testified for all of creation to hear: “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED;” (Mat 3:17). Note that Jesus had not done anything as at this time. He had not healed anybody, prayed for anybody, blessed any child, or evangelised in any town. The reason for the Father’s love was who Jesus was, not because of what He did.

But immediately after that heavenly approbation, the Devil confronted Jesus in the wilderness and said, “If you are THE SON OF GOD, command that these stones be made bread” (Mat 3:17). In this echo of the Father’s words, the Tempter deviously left out a key word: BELOVED.

It is hard to be dissuaded when you know you are “accepted in the Beloved”; when the Devil tells you God must be angry with you that is why you’re going through that difficulty, point him to the Cross. If God loved you enough to die for you when you were a rank sinner, what makes you think He doesn’t love you now?

The next time that Old Serpent starts whispering words of doubt in your ear, sing back to him the words of P. P. Bliss

Jesus loves me, and I know I love Him;

Love brought Him down my poor soul to redeem;

Yes, it was love made Him die on the tree;

Oh, I am certain that Jesus loves me!

Beloved, “good things happen to those who know God loves them”. When you are persuaded that God is for you, not against you in this life, you’ll set yourself up for the greatest breakthrough of your life. Remember, you’re important to the most important Person in the Universe; in the final scheme of things, that’s what really matters.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN