ADAM: THE GOOD NEWS

Have you heard of Adam, the father of the human race? It’s said that his house in heaven is one of the most heavily guarded. Why? Because every human being in heaven wants to have a go at him!

Now, I’m obviously being facetious about the heavenly security, but it’s not news that Adam is one of the most disliked Bible personalities.

 “It’s ALL Adam’s fault”

“Adam brought this suffering on us”

“If only Adam had just controlled himself...”

“I can’t believe I’m being punished for ANOTHER man’s sin.”

Etc.

These lines echo the sentiments many of us have of Adam.

The man Adam is unique in human history because he’s the only one whose descendants reap – in a literal, direct way – the consequences of his actions.

1Co 15:22  succinctly states, “IN ADAM ALL DIE”. And Rom 5:12 says it even more clearly, “Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die;” (CEV).

This feels a lot like gross injustice at first glance. Why should I be punished for another man’s sins?

But people who say that forget that they are already sinners in their own right, Adam or not, (“all have sinned”); and will still go to Hell if God judged them as them (and not as Adam).

This is the good news of the Gospel, because Jesus Christ came to Earth as “the last Adam” (1Co 15:45)! And “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1Co 15:22).

As Adam, Jesus too was unique in that His ‘descendants’, (those who put their trust in His substitutionary sacrifice on the Cross), are automatically sentenced to ‘suffer’ the consequences of His actions: which was total, complete sinlessness and obedience to God.

Wow! The bad news of Adam is now the good news.

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counsellor?... For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. (Rom 11:33-36)

AMEN.

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

GREG ELKAN

EXPECT GOOD THIINGS

There’re 2 ways to look at life: Job’s way or Paul’s way.

Job saw life as a string of unending troubles; He said in Job 14:1 that “Life is short and sorrowful for every living soul;” (CEV). With such a pessimistic outlook of life, it’s unlikely Job ever enjoyed his wealth and abundance.

Paul, on the other hand, declares that “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).

This is why, regardless of the challenges perturbing him, he was always on the lookout for the opportunity God was opening for him through those trials.

This should be our outlook on life as well. As long as you’re a child of God, know that the sum total of your life is greatness.

If we allow the Devil to keep us fixated on the ills and evils in our life, we’ll never be conscious – and grateful – of the workings of God in us.

But whether we realise it or not, God is constantly working great things for, in and through us. It’s just that we’re often too blind to see it.

As we saw in the lives of Ruth and Esther, no bad incident of the enemy upon you will be allowed to go unpunished!

Therefore, Beloved,

When you see evil, expect the good.

When you see heartbreak, expect comfort.

When you see loss, expect restoration.

When you see darkness, know that your light is about to break forth explosively on every side.

Expect good things, therefore, in the midst of the present evil. For that is certainly true of you as God’s child.

AMEN.

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

GREG ELKAN

ESTHER: BAD NEWS? WHAT BAD NEWS?

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. – 1Co 10:11 

The Bible book of Esther is unique because it’s the only one that doesn’t mention “God” throughout its pages. However, it’s impossible to read through Esther without seeing the hand of God at work at every corner you turn.

Every bad news in Esther turned out to be actually good news for God’s people.

*If Esther wasn’t an orphan, she wouldn’t have been raised by Mordecai, a palace official!

*If Vashti, the Queen had not put the whole womenfolk in peril by her rebuff of the King, there wouldn’t have been a vacancy for Esther.

*If the King had not forgotten to reward Mordecai’s loyalty, there wouldn’t have been anything for Mordecai to take advantage of when he really needed the king’s favour.

*If Haman, the second-in-command of the empire had not hated Mordecai, Mordecai would have remained a lowly palace slave all his life.

*If Haman had not extended his hatred of Mordecai to ALL Jews in the realm, the eventual victory would have just been a family affair. But because all Jews were to be exterminated, all Jews were exonerated and honoured, to the point of non-Jews PRETENDING to be Jews (Est 8:17).

*Indeed, if none of the calamities, sorrows and near-death perils had befallen Mordecai, he wouldn’t have attained the highest rank by any Jew in ancient history – higher than even Daniel ever was!

So, is this why Esther is a book of the Bible? To tell us about the exploits of two Jews in a foreign land?  NO!

Rom 15:4 says For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Yes, Beloved, Esther was written for you to have hope. I pray, therefore, that Every ‘bad’ news in your life be turned around for good in the name of Jesus. As you yield your pains and disappointments to the Almighty this season, receive supernatural turnarounds in Jesus’ name. 

AMEN.

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

GREG ELKAN

ORPAH AND RUTH: A CONTRAST IN TRAGEDY

The woman Ruth is one of the more recognisable women in the Bible. As the great grandmother of King David and thus an ancestress of the Messiah, Ruth holds a revered position with the Jewish people. This is in spite of her pagan Moabite heritage.

When we read about the grass-to-grace story of Ruth, we celebrate her devotion, her loyalty and her piety. But in doing this, we often forget that all this would not have been possible had she not experienced the tragedy of losing her husband, and brother-in-law in her homeland... exactly like another Moabitess – Orpah.

Throughout scriptures, we see examples of people who were greatly blessed, NOT in spite of their tragedies, but seemingly because of them. In other words, when you look back at their life, you’re tempted to feel the trouble was all part of God’s plans in the first place.

But that’s just how good God is in transforming our tragedies to triumph.

Yes, we live in a fallen world, with the consequences of Adam’s sin on the one hand, and satanic inflictions on the other. Death, diseases and devastation is a reality for all of us; and we face setbacks and sorrow every day. But our attitude towards this reality will determine whether we end up as Orpah or as Ruth.

The scorching sun of life shines on everyone. But as a Believer, you live in this world with an advantage: you serve a God who specialises in turning tragedy into triumph, pain into praise, and tests into testimonies.

In one of Paul’s most popular writings, he says, We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. – Rom 8:28

Beloved, do you realise that that current challenge of yours could end up being a defining aspect of your life testimony? When calamities come and tragedies fall, don’t clam up and turn away from God; open your hands and your heart and say, “This mess is all I have, do your thing God”.

I injure you to give your troubles to God, and that “light affliction, which is but for a moment”, will work for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory through Christ Jesus, (2Co 4:17).

AMEN.

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

GREG ELKAN

THE BAD NEWS IS THE GOOD NEWS

You’re probably familiar with the real-life scenario where someone comes to you and says, “I have good news, and bad news; which do you want to hear first?”

Many persons would say, “Give me the bad news first”. (Because it is psychologically easier to handle bad news when you know that at least, you’ll still hear something good after it).

When the person tells you the bad news, though you’ll naturally feel disheartened and sad; you’ll quickly then ask, “And what is the good news?”

Now, imagine with me that after you ask that, the person’s face brightens up with a big smile and they declare, “Well, the bad news IS the good news”.

Sounds crazy, right?

But think about that for a moment.

Life: I’ve got bad news for you: you’ve just been laid off.

You: Oh No, and what’s the good news?”

Life: That is also the good news!”

Life: Your application has just been declined”

You: Seriously? And what’s the good news?”

Life: That WAS the good news.

You may place your current condition in the above dialogue and it could still be true... if you allow God to take over the situation.

Sounds like cold comfort? A psychological gimmick? No!

God’s in charge of human history. Ps. 75:7 says, “God is the judge: He puts down one, and sets up another.” Paul writes in Eph 1:11 that “God always does what He plans, (CEV).

Your life is not the sum of random events and happenstances, your life is the result of a thought and agenda of God. And because we emphatically know that His plans towards us are plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for, (Jer 29:11 GNB), we can be sure that every evil can ultimately be turned for good.

All God needs, is your faith and your cooperation. I implore you to take that option today; we have ample scriptural examples and assurances, that that will surely lead you to success and fulfilment in the end.

AMEN.

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

GREG ELKAN