Guidelines for living.
August 14th, 2026

Here Is the Secret to Spiritual Renewal

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2



Evident in almost every facet of life today is a fundamental problem: We have not learned the secret of renewal, and pollution is the inevitable result, morally, spiritually, and physically too. A leading scientist said that almost everything the human hand touches becomes polluted. The Sea of Galilee in Israel is a typical example. Marine life in Galilee, the largest body of fresh water in Israel, is in danger of serious harm, possibly even extinction, so say some.

If you should look on a Bible atlas you will find a small dot on the map, north of Galilee, then called “the waters of Merom.” Years ago, it was a swamp, but engineers drained the swamp, fertilized the area, and turned it into productive land. But now, decades later, those fertilizers along with other pollutants have drained into the Jordan and now threaten to destroy life in Galilee. The balance of nature is upset.

Now, this is not another plea for a green world. The environment is only an illustration of what has happened universally. We know the problem, but there’s a solution. No, it isn’t original, but I think it’s inspired. The answer is renewal. Even the seasons themselves teach the lesson of renewal. Centuries ago, the Psalmist recognized that renewal is God’s program, for he said, “… You Bwambale Gilbert renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30 KJV). In almost every facet of life, renewal is important, your spiritual life included.

Almost everywhere I go I meet Christians. Their stories go something like this. “There was a time when I went to church, but then something happened … ” There are a lot of variations, like, “There was a time when I taught a Sunday School class,” or “served on a committee,” or “worked with the young people,” but something happened, and that individual became a spiritual drop‑out.

Now, hold steady. You may be thinking, “No. That person didn’t have any faith to begin with.” Possibly you’re right, but I’m not always convinced. You see, at times working for God can be a trap. People get so wrapped up in church work they neglect the person behind it all—their spiritual energies are exhausted.

Friend, what you are is more important than what you do. Once, Dr. Wilbur Chapman went to his friend, F. B. Meyer, and complained of lacking spiritual energy. Meyer said, “Hey, try exhaling twice without inhaling.” Thinking that this was some kind of new exercise, Chapman tried desperately to exhale to the fullest twice without inhaling. That is impossible. It is also one reason why many Christians are fatigued—perhaps you’re among them.

Let me share with you three guidelines for spiritual renewal.

Guideline #1: Get into the Word, the Bible, and pray every day. Isaiah said, “They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength …” (Isaiah 40:31). That is God’s promise of spiritual renewal for you. To the Romans Paul wrote, “Don’t be conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind …” (Romans 12:2).

Guideline #2: Practice the presence of God in your life. Jesus said, “… Lo, I am with you always …” (Matthew 28:20) and again He said, “… I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Start every day with the realization God is by your side; ask Him never to leave you.

Guideline #3: Renew your spiritual life by confessing and forsaking any wrong in your life. That, friend, is the answer.



Resource Reading: Job 42:1-17

Welcome to the Lordbook Family

I warmly welcome all friends of the Lordbook Christian Social Media Channel. It is a joy and a blessing to meet you here on this anointed platform.

As Christians, we are called not only to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ but also to live out His love, compassion, justice, mercy, and respect for the dignity of every human being. Human rights are therefore not separate from our Christian journey; they speak to our responsibility to love our neighbors, stand with the vulnerable, defend the oppressed, and treat every person with dignity and respect.

I look forward to sharing fellowship with you, learning from one another, and encouraging each other in the faith. I would also be glad to receive your invitation, wherever and whenever possible, to share my testimony of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, while reflecting on how Christian values can inspire us to uphold the fundamental rights and dignity of all people.

May Christ's love guide our words, our actions, and our service to humanity.

God bless you all, and you are warmly welcome to the Lordbook family.

Matthew 19:1-12

Remember that every time the Pharisees test Jesus with a question, it wasn't because they wanted the answer, it was to test Him. So the question they ask is purposely a binary choice. A question with intentionally so, only two possible answers, yes or No.

In Jesus’ day there were two schools of thought on the subject of divorce. The liberal school taught that divorce was permitted if your wife burned breakfast. Yeah, literally that's in the language of the scholarly books. The conservative school taught that divorce was not permitted, at all in any way but only permitted in cases where the spouse was unfaithful, so it was two extremes on opposite ends.

So the Jews test Him, because either answer isolates half of the population. So Jesus answers the fundamental issue under the question will God allow divorce? And Jesus's answer is very firm, at marriage, two bodies are joined into one flesh. And God considers the marriage indelible, permanent from the beginning.

The truth is no, God doesn't want divorce for his people. God never intended divorce to exist. He allowed it to exist because of the hardness of the hearts of the people.
However this does not say that an abused spouse must stay in such a relationship because to divorce would be a sin. It does not suggest anything close to that. If a spouse or child is being abused for that there is no good excuse.

But Moses gave the Israelites an out. If your husband is unfaithful, a divorce frees the wife to remarry. And vice versa with the wife being unfaithful. Remember too that in cases where someone commits adultery there is likely a death penalty coming. So a divorce may not be called for simply because the guilty party is taking a dirt nap after being rocked to sleep.

How serious is Jesus's advice? He's telling the men that the question of marriage being permanent is truth and as God intended. So they say,

“If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

And they were right. Then Jesus contemplates eunuchs. Eunuchs were men who were so dedicated to God that they had their sexual organs removed, and anesthesia had not been invented yet. And please understand that Jesus isn't advocating for sexual organs being removed He is saying, “men, if you can't resist the urge to commit adultery, you're better off not having it.”

In other words, get a grip on yourself if you can't resist temptation, learn to control yourself as a single or as a married man.

And yes, there are some people who God gifted with the talent and personality to remain single. Sadly, sometimes those people marry anyway in defiance of God's plans. And the beginning of trouble in their life occurs when they realize their mistakes.

There are others who feel they are on the opposite end of that position, people who feel incomplete or lost if they aren't in a relationship. These people hop from partner to partner looking for the “one“ but never actually finding them.

Then you have the partners that are never satisfied with their partner. Nothing is ever enough for them. Wives who would sacrifice their family for their own happiness while their man will sacrifice his happiness for his family. This seems to be a trend of modern women for whom the end goal in life is their happiness. Jesus Is saying that divorce is a horrible thing that was never supposed to exist. That for some it is better to castrate themselves than to marry.

It should serve as a reminder that the decision to marry should not be taken lightly.







[1] When Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; [2] and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. [3] Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” [4] And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.” [7] They *said to Him, “Why, then, did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” [8] He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. [9] And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” [10] The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” [11] But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. [12] For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

The Mice in the Piano

Pastor Joseph Clark
August 12, 2026

“He who denies the existence of God, has some reason for wishing that God did not exist.”

—Saint Augustine

“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown before My Father in heaven.”

—Matthew 10:32–33

The Mice in the Piano

Once upon a time, there were two little mice. They were brothers, and they had lived their entire lives inside a piano. It was the only world they had ever known.

Their parents and siblings had died of old age, leaving the two brothers as the last members of their family. They spent their days exploring their strange little world and listening in wonder to the beautiful music that constantly filled the piano.

They could not see where the music came from.

Their parents had taught them that the music was produced by a great and mysterious being who lived beyond their understanding—the one who played the piano.

The two mice loved to think about this great player. They talked about him, wondered about him, and delighted in the beautiful music he produced.

Then, one day, one of the mice went exploring.

When he returned, he was thoughtful and unusually serious.

“There is no great player,” he told his brother. “It is all a myth. I have seen the inside of this piano. The music is produced by wires, hammers, strings, and mechanisms. I have seen them with my own eyes!”

The brothers abandoned their belief in the great player.

They were convinced that they had finally discovered the truth. They understood the mechanisms of the piano, and therefore they believed they had explained away the musician.

They examined the wires, hammers, strings, and mechanical workings repeatedly. The more they learned about how the piano worked, the more confident they became that there was no need to believe in a player.

But they had overlooked something very important.

Knowing how the piano works does not explain who is playing it.

And so, while the two mice congratulated themselves on their newfound wisdom, the great player continued to play.

The mice simply could not see him.

The Limits of Human Understanding

There is an important lesson in this little story.

Human beings are intelligent. We have learned extraordinary things about the universe. We have explored the depths of the oceans, walked on the moon, examined the microscopic world, mapped the human genome, and discovered astonishing laws governing the physical universe.

But our ability to understand something does not mean that we understand everything.

The Bible repeatedly reminds us that humility is essential when approaching God.

Jesus said:

“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

—Matthew 18:3

He also said:

“Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

—Matthew 19:14

And again:

“Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

—Luke 18:17

Jesus is not telling us to abandon reason or become intellectually childish. Rather, He is calling us to humility, trust, and dependence upon God.

Scripture says:

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

—Matthew 18:4

The Christian life begins with recognizing that God is God—and we are not.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

—Ephesians 2:8

And:

“The righteous shall live by faith.”

—Romans 1:17

Faith is not a rejection of reason. Faith recognizes that human reason has limits.

Living in a Skeptical Age

In 1897, Francis Pharcellus Church wrote his famous response to eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon concerning her question about Santa Claus. Church observed that people can become skeptical of anything they cannot see or fully comprehend.

Although Church was writing about Santa Claus—not God—the broader observation is worth considering.

We live in an age that often treats what can be measured as though it were the only thing that can be real.

But there are many things we accept as real without seeing them directly.

We cannot see gravity.

We cannot see thoughts.

We cannot see love.

We cannot see electricity itself.

Yet we observe their effects.

Likewise, Christians believe that although God cannot be placed under a microscope or reduced to a laboratory experiment, His existence can be considered through the evidence of creation, reason, morality, human consciousness, history, and ultimately the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The fact that we cannot see God with our physical eyes does not prove that God does not exist.

The mice could not see the piano player either.

That did not mean he wasn't there.

When People Mock Our Faith

A close friend of mine, an Archbishop, once told me a humorous story from his childhood.

He had been at a park with his mother when he ran over excitedly and told her that the sun was actually a star and that the stars in the sky were also suns.

His mother, apparently overwhelmed by the complexity of the information, responded with a blunt declaration that, in essence, the sun was the sun and the stars were the stars—and that was the end of the discussion!

Sometimes we can become uncomfortable when someone challenges what we believe.

That is particularly true when people we respect dismiss Christianity as foolishness.

Richard Dawkins, Woody Allen, Isaac Asimov, Mark Twain, Carl Sagan, and many others have expressed skepticism toward Christianity or belief in God.

But Christians should not respond with anger or hatred.

We should respond with grace.

Forgive them. Pray for them. Love them. And share the Gospel with them.

The Apostle Peter instructed Christians:

“Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

—1 Peter 3:15

That is an important distinction.

We are called to defend the faith, but we are not called to be quarrelsome.

Jesus said:

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.”

—Matthew 10:14

And He warned:

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls before swine.”

—Matthew 7:6

There comes a time when we must recognize that arguing louder will not make someone believe.

Our responsibility is to faithfully proclaim Christ.

The Holy Spirit is responsible for changing hearts.

What About Suffering?

One of the most common objections to belief in God is the existence of suffering.

People ask:

“How can I believe in a loving God when there is so much suffering in the world?”

This is a serious question, and Christians should never dismiss it with a shallow answer.

The Bible itself contains people crying out to God in the midst of suffering. Job asked difficult questions. David cried out in the Psalms. Even Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus.

Christianity does not pretend that suffering is imaginary.

Instead, Christianity tells us that suffering exists in a fallen world and that God entered that suffering Himself through Jesus Christ.

The cross is Christianity's answer to the claim that God is indifferent to human suffering.

God did not remain distant from our pain.

He entered our world.

He suffered.

He died.

And He rose again.

The Apostle Paul writes:

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

—Romans 8:18

C.S. Lewis famously described pain as God's “megaphone” to a deaf world.

Suffering does not prove that God does not exist. For many people, suffering instead becomes the very circumstance that drives them to ask the deepest questions about meaning, morality, mortality, and God.

What About Hell?

Another question frequently asked is:

“How can a loving God send people to Hell?”

The Christian answer begins with the extraordinary love of God.

Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

—John 3:16

God offers salvation freely through Christ.

The Gospel is not a message that God delights in condemning people. It is a message that God has provided a way of salvation.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

The seriousness of judgment is precisely what makes the offer of salvation so important.

God does not force anyone to love Him.

The Gospel calls us to repent, believe, and receive the grace of God.

Faith and the Evidence of Creation

The universe raises enormous questions.

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Why does the universe possess order?

Why are the laws of nature intelligible?

Why does human consciousness exist?

Why do human beings possess an awareness of moral obligation?

Science can investigate how many things work. But questions concerning ultimate meaning and purpose extend beyond the laboratory.

The Christian does not believe that science is the enemy of faith.

Quite the opposite.

The universe is intelligible because Christians believe it was created by an intelligent God.

The laws of nature can be investigated because Christians believe those laws reflect an ordered creation.

The human capacity to reason can be used to explore the universe because Christians believe human beings were created by God.

Science can tell us much about the mechanisms of the piano.

But science alone cannot answer the question:

Who is playing the music?

Believers in the Scientific Community

Christianity has never belonged exclusively to the uneducated or uninformed.

Throughout history, many highly accomplished scientists have believed in God.

Among them are figures such as:

Isaac Newton, whose work transformed physics and mathematics.
James Clerk Maxwell, one of the great figures in electromagnetic theory.
Gregor Mendel, whose experiments established foundational principles of genetics and who was also an Augustinian friar.
Georges Lemaître, a Catholic priest and physicist whose work on an expanding universe helped establish the foundation of what became known as Big Bang cosmology.
Francis Collins, physician-geneticist and former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, who has publicly identified as a Christian.
Charles Townes, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and inventor of the maser and co-inventor of the laser, who was an openly religious Christian.

These examples do not prove Christianity simply because these scientists believed.

But they do demonstrate something important:

Faith in God is not incompatible with intellectual achievement.

A person does not have to abandon intelligence in order to believe in God.

Nor does becoming a Christian require someone to stop asking questions.

Christians should welcome honest questions.

The Problem With the Piano Mice

The two mice made a fundamental mistake.

They confused an explanation of the mechanism with an explanation of the ultimate cause.

They discovered the wires.

They discovered the hammers.

They discovered the strings.

They discovered the machinery.

And then they concluded:

“Therefore, there is no piano player.”

But that conclusion did not logically follow from their discovery.

In fact, their discovery of the piano's complexity could have led them to ask an entirely different question:

Who designed this?

And that is the question we must ultimately ask about our universe.

Where did everything come from?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Why does the universe operate according to discoverable laws?

Why does consciousness exist?

Why do we have an innate sense that some things are genuinely right and others genuinely wrong?

And perhaps the greatest question of all:

Who are we, and why are we here?

The Christian answer is that we are creatures made by our Creator.

We are not accidents without purpose.

We were created by God, for God, and ultimately for relationship with Him.

We Are the Mice

There is another lesson in the story that we must not miss.

Perhaps the greatest danger is not being ignorant.

Perhaps it is believing that we know everything.

We are the mice in the piano.

We live inside a universe vastly larger and more complicated than our minds can fully comprehend.

We see only a fraction of reality.

We understand only a fraction of what exists.

And yet we sometimes look at the small portion we understand and confidently declare that nothing exists beyond it.

The Bible reminds us:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD.”

—Isaiah 55:8

And:

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!”

—Romans 11:33

The proper response to a God who is greater than our understanding is not arrogance.

It is humility.

It is worship.

It is faith.

The Music Continues

The two mice eventually stopped believing in the piano player.

They became convinced that they had explained everything.

But outside their tiny world, the musician continued to play.

The music never stopped.

The fact that they could not see him did not mean he was absent.

And perhaps that is where many people find themselves today.

They have examined the mechanisms of the universe.

They have learned about physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, and astronomy.

They have become fascinated by the machinery.

But they have never stopped to ask whether there is a Creator behind it all.

The Christian message is that there is.

His name is Jesus Christ.

He is not merely an idea, a philosophy, or a comforting story.

He is the Son of God who entered human history, died for our sins, and rose from the grave.

And He calls every one of us to respond.

Jesus said:

“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven.”

—Matthew 10:32

The question is not merely whether we believe that God exists.

The deeper question is:

What will we do with Jesus Christ?

The piano is playing.

The music is all around us.

The question is whether we will remain convinced that there is nothing beyond the wires and hammers—or whether we will humble ourselves, listen carefully, and seek the One who is playing the music.

Do not be so certain that you have explained the piano that you never look for the Player.

—Pastor Joseph Clark

THE MONEY’S MIND
The Money Is a Person
By Omodolapo Ogunye
Before we can properly discuss money, wealth, finance and economics, there is a more fundamental question we must ask:
Who is the Money?
We have been taught to think of money as a thing—a currency, an asset, a medium of exchange, a store of value.
But Scripture gives us another way of seeing.
In Song of Solomon 5:11, the Beloved is described:
“His head is purest gold.”
This is a remarkable description.
Gold is precious. Gold carries value. Gold has been used throughout human civilisation as a store of wealth and a monetary asset.
Yet in this passage, gold is not merely an economic object.
Gold is used to describe a Person.
And the Scriptures testify that the Person of the Word is revealed throughout Scripture.
Jesus said:
“These are the Scriptures that testify about me.”
— John 5:39
This gives us the foundation for The Money’s Mind:
The Money is a Person.
The Money is the Word.
And if the Money is the Word, then the Money has a Mind.
The question, therefore, is no longer simply:
“What is money?”
The deeper question becomes:
“What is the Mind of the Word concerning money, wealth, finance and economics?”
---
THE BODY OF THE WORD IS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL
This revelation becomes even more significant when we examine the descriptions of the Body of the Word.
In Revelation 1, John sees the glorified Christ with feet like bronze glowing in a furnace and eyes like blazing fire.
His feet reveal a way.
His eyes reveal sight.
His head, in Song of Solomon, is described as purest gold.
We therefore begin to see three dimensions of the Body of the Word:
The Word has a way.
The Word has sight.
The Word has an economic and financial identity.
The Word is therefore not disconnected from the material and economic realities of the earth.
The Word has implications for how we see value, how we build, how we produce, how we steward resources, how we create wealth and how nations develop their economic capacity.
This is why the economic revelation of the Word cannot be reduced to a collection of biblical principles about giving, saving or prosperity.
The revelation is about a Person.
---
THE MONEY HAS A MIND
Every economic system has a mind behind it.
Markets operate according to assumptions about value.
Businesses operate according to ideas about production and human need.
Investments are based on judgments about the future.
Governments make economic decisions according to their understanding of resources, productivity and national development.
There is always a mind behind the money.
But The Money’s Mind asks us to look beyond the minds that govern earthly financial systems.
What is the Mind of the Word?
How does the Word understand value?
How does the Word understand wealth?
How does the Word understand productivity?
How does the Word understand resources?
How does the Word create enduring wealth?
How does the Word enter the economic environments of nations?
These are not merely financial questions.
They are questions about the Person of the Word.
---
THE ECONOMIC WAY OF GOD
Proverbs 3:16 says:
“In her left hand are riches and honor.”
Proverbs 8:18 says:
“With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.”
The language is unmistakably economic.
But the Scriptures testify of the Person of the Word.
Therefore, riches, honor, wealth and prosperity must be understood within the wisdom and order revealed through Him.
This changes the way we think about wealth.
The question is no longer merely:
How can I acquire money?
It becomes:
What wisdom produces wealth that can endure?
There is a difference between possessing money and possessing the capacity to create value.
There is a difference between receiving wealth and possessing the wisdom to preserve, multiply and transmit it.
There is a difference between financial success and enduring economic capacity.
The Word therefore presents an economic way that goes beyond immediate accumulation.
It points toward enduring wealth.
---
THE MONEY’S MIND
This is the reason for the title of this series.
The Money is not merely a thing.
The Money is a Person.
The Money is the Word.
And therefore:
The Money has a Mind.
The Money’s Mind is an exploration of the economic and financial Mind of the Word—the revelation of the Word concerning value, wealth, productivity, finance and the economic destinies of nations.
The starting point is therefore not:
“Where is the money?
It is:
“Who is the Money?”
Because when we discover the Person, we can begin to discover the Mind.
And when we discover the Mind, we can begin to understand the Way.
The Body of the Word is the economic and financial way of the Lord.
The Money is the Word.
And The Money’s Mind is the Mind of the Word.
---
Omodolapo Ogunye
THE MONEY’S MIND
The Body of the Word as Finance & Economics
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#foodmoneyshow
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There is one body and one Spirit.

Ephesians 4:4 ɴᴋᴊᴠ

Do you heartily believe, upon divine authority, in the doctrine of the unity of the body of Christ? Do you believe that there is such a body on this earth now, united to its divine and living Head in heaven by the Holy Spirit? Do you hold this great truth from God Himself, upon the authority of Holy Scripture? Do you hold as a cardinal and fundamental truth of the New Testament the indissoluble unity of the Church of God? Do not turn round and ask, “Where is this to be seen?” This is the question which unbelief must ever put, as the eye rests upon Christendom’s numberless sects and parties, and to which faith replies, as the eye rests upon that imperishable sentence, “There is one body and one Spirit.”

Mark the words: “There is”! It does not say there was at one time and there shall be again “one body.” Neither does it say that such a thing exists in heaven. No, but it says, “There is one body and one Spirit” now on this earth. Can this truth be touched by the condition of things in the professing Church? Has God’s Word ceased to be true because man has ceased to be faithful? Will anyone undertake to say that the unity of the body was only a truth for apostolic times, and that it has no application now, seeing that there is no exhibition of it? Is it on appearances that faith ever builds? Did Elijah build on appearances when he erected his altar of twelve stones? Did Josiah build on appearances when he carried his reformatory operations into all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel? Surely not! They built upon the faithful Word of the God of Israel. That Word was true whether Israel’s tribes were scattered or united. If God’s truth is to be affected by outward appearances, then where are we? The fact is, there is hardly a truth in the entire compass of divine revelation to which we could with calm confidence commit our souls if we suffer ourselves to be affected by outward appearances.

C. H. Mackintosh


https://gbv-online.org/calendar/773/date/2026-08-10

LIVING IN TRUTH
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body
Ephesians 4:25
The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus about the fundamental importance of truth and trust. He uses the imagery of changing clothes to explain how we should live. Just as we are called to clothe ourselves with Christ, we are also told to put off our old garments of falsehood. This does not only refer to major lies. It includes exaggeration, white lies, and wearing a mask to appear a certain way to others. When we pretend to be someone we are not for the sake of reputation or status, we are wearing a garment of falsehood.

Speaking truthfully to our neighbor is the standard that God sets for us. This is not an invitation to be rude or mean. Truth should always be spoken in a way that represents God and His love. It is not about being right or winning an argument. Instead, it is about getting closer to Jesus and pointing others toward Him. We are reminded that we are all members of one body with Jesus as our head. Just as the parts of a physical body do not work against each other, we are called to work together in unity.

When we give our lives to Jesus, we serve Him and we serve others for His sake. We do this regardless of whether people deserve it or have earned it. Operating as one body means laying down our own pain, insecurity, and the need to be right. We choose to forgive and surrender our opinions because of what Jesus has done for us. As we behold His beauty and glory, it becomes much easier to act as a unified body under His leadership.

Jesus gave His life for us and paid the ultimate price to make us His own. Our response is to surrender our rights and our desire for validation to Him. By living in truth, we reflect the character of our Savior to the community around us. We honor the head of the body by walking in the honesty and love that He modeled for us.

Are we seeking pleasures that fade or are we seeking His face?
God bless you!

Anaginosko Discipleship

Topic: THE HOLY TRINUNE GOD

ECHAD AND YACHID

Shalom, everyone.

Today, we are going to discuss one of the FUNDAMENTALS of the Christian faith.

One of the most important things we must understand is:

WHO IS THE GOD WHOM WE WORSHIP?

In the Old Testament, the LORD God clearly declared to His chosen people, the nation of Israel:

Deuteronomy 6:4
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!"

In Hebrew:

"Shema Yisrael, YHWH Eloheinu, YHWH Echad."

The word SHEMA means "hear" or "listen," but it is not merely about hearing something with your ears.

It means:

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION AND TAKE CAREFUL NOTE OF THIS IMPORTANT TRUTH!

Because this is a FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH OF THE FAITH of Israel.

YAHWEH IS OUR GOD, AND YAHWEH IS ECHAD.

ECHAD is pronounced EHAD.

The word ECHAD can mean:

1. ONE — but "one" in the sense of Echad does not necessarily mean solitary or only one person.

2. ONE can refer to a plurality, more than one, or a unity.

3. ONE can also mean UNIQUE — meaning there is no one like Him.

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Exodus 15:11

"Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?"

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YAHWEH IS ECHAD IN THE SENSE THAT HE IS UNIQUE.

He is truly HOLY, ALMIGHTY, AND PERFECT.

There is absolutely no one like YAHWEH, even among the angels in heaven.

And nowhere else is there anyone like YAHWEH.

This means that YAHWEH IS THE SUPREME SPIRIT — ALMIGHTY, PERFECTLY HOLY, AND PERFECT.

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YAHWEH: THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB

The God of Israel also clearly revealed Himself as:

THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.

Exodus 4:5

"That they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

This also helps us understand the THREE PERSONS of YAHWEH.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are clearly THREE DISTINCT PERSONS.

1. Abraham — a symbol of the FATHER in Heaven

Abraham was the father of the nation of Israel and is also regarded as the father of those who believe in YAHWEH.

The FATHER IN HEAVEN is the FIRST PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY, as the One who initiates all things:

ENERGEOS TOU THEOU.

2. Isaac — the only son of Abraham

Isaac is a symbol of JESUS CHRIST.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE SECOND PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY, who became human, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven.

He is THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION.

STAUROS TOU IESOU — the cross of Jesus.

3. Jacob — a symbol of the HOLY SPIRIT

From Jacob came twelve sons, who became the twelve tribes of Israel, and from them came the nation of Israel.

The HOLY SPIRIT IS THE THIRD PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY.

After Pentecost, through the work of the Holy Spirit, the community of believers was born, which over the past 2,000 years has become the Church and the people of God.

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SO, IT IS CLEAR, RIGHT?

Where are the verses in the New Testament that reveal the THREE PERSONS OF THE HOLY TRINITY?

There are many passages.

But one event clearly shows all three Persons at the same time:

WHEN JESUS CHRIST WAS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN RIVER.

Matthew 3:16–17

"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him; and suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

It is very clear:

Who was the One speaking from heaven?

THAT WAS THE VOICE OF THE FATHER IN HEAVEN.

Who was being baptized in the river?

JESUS CHRIST.

And then the SPIRIT OF GOD appeared in the form of a dove.

THAT IS GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT.

So, it is clear:

THE GOD WHOM WE WORSHIP IS THE HOLY TRINUNE GOD.

And in the New Testament, we know and must remain IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, because He is THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN AND SALVATION.

Can I hear an Amen?

You must say Amen, my friends.

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NOW, FOLLOW ME IN THIS PRAYER WITH ALL YOUR HEART.

Pray out loud.

Do not merely pray silently in your heart.

FATHER IN HEAVEN,

Your servant comes humbly before Your THRONE OF GRACE, O LORD.

Open my heart and my mind so that I may KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

correctly and accurately.

Your servant desperately needs YOUR GRACE, O LORD.

Enable me not only to understand, but also to experience YOUR TRUTH in JESUS CHRIST.

Thank You, FATHER IN HEAVEN.

In the name of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR.

HALLELUJAH. AMEN.

THE NARROW PATH MINISTRIES

The life of a Christian is indeed a journey. One fundamental question we ought to ask ourselves is "what road am I journaling upon?"

Jesus narrates this in Matthew 7 vs 13-14 where he contrasts it with the broad road

13. “Enter through the narrow gate. The road that leads to hell is a very easy path. And the gate to hell is very wide. Many people enter through that gate

14. But the gate that leads to true life is very small. The path is very hard. Only a few people find that gate.” (International Children's Bible)

Very few individuals truly find the narrow path not because it's not easily accessible but it requires
Conscious choice, sacrifice, humility, and rejecting worldly values. Because it costs "everything," only a few find it.

The Narrow Path Ministries was established on this concept and we are instructed by the Lord to deliver His true message that will enable one to walk on the narrow road.

Acts 20:21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. 

We begin a new month of devotions focusing on repentance. But before we can dig into the goodness of this verse, let’s first define what repentance is for the believer. In the Bible, repentance refers to the absolute, whole change of mind and heart that turns a person from sin and toward God. Think of it as a complete U-turn or about-face. It is a total change that encompasses more than just regret or feeling sorry. It results in the transformation of your life through obedience to God’s will. 

In today’s verse, the Greek word for repentance is metanoia. This is literally translated as a change of mind. In this verse, it describes the fundamental turning around, the reorienting of one’s mind and heart towards the will of God and His plan for our lives.

We are beginning this month’s look at repentance with the core message of salvation because we need to be sure that we have the correct heart posture before going into further study each day. It is more than just a change of heart that we are looking at here. We are also looking at faith because if we do not know Who we are turning to, there can’t be true repentance. There can only be conviction.

The truth of the matter is this - Jesus died for our sins, in our place, to give us eternal life. He bore our punishment for us, becoming the sacrifice needed to fulfill the requirement for remediation. Without Him, we would be hopelessly lost, floundering about in our attempts to make things right. But because He stepped in and bore our punishment for us, we are now free. We are made new, washed clean in the blood He shed, and are adopted into the family of God.

Our response to this is faith. We believe in our hearts that He died for our sins and rose again, defeating death, and we ask Him to be Lord of our lives. But faith is not the only thing that we need in our lives. We need to turn away from our sin, to stop living the life that was leading us to destruction prior. We need to start living a life that demonstrates our faith in Him and aligns with His purpose and His will for us. 

We must make a complete turn around, ceasing the things that were destructive and sinful and begin to live a life of faith, seeking and fulfilling His purpose for our lives. Our life is no longer governed by rebellion and self-seeking behavior. Instead, it becomes a life that focuses on others, loving and serving them as we share God’s grace with others. Our lives of change become our testimonies. We are able to help others turn from sin and develop faith in Jesus as we tell them about the changes in our own lives. 

Before we study any further this month let’s take some time in prayer. Examine your heart. Ask God to show you what in your life needs to change and then turn from it. Confess it to God, ask for forgiveness, and turn away. Turn to Him. And then trust and believe that you are forgiven. His grace is free to all who seek it. All we have to do is repent and turn to Him. 

#TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse