Evang. Ephraim Amaechi Ministry

Evang. Ephraim Amaechi Ministry The church on the move.

17/08/2022

TODAY'S LESSON,17/8/2022

TOPIC: GOD’S GLORY vs. HUMAN SINFULNESS
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
(Isaiah 6:3)

The Bible records how the Lord God reveals Himself to us humans. He does so in various ways: by speaking through prophets, by visions or by a voice from a cloud, to name a few examples. He wants to communicate with us and to have a relationship with us. But, every encounter makes it clear that there is a distance between God and man.

The Lord is holy. He is highly exalted. We worship Him because He is our Creator. But what creates this distance most of all is our sin that cannot coexist with His holiness and glory. When Isaiah sees something of God’s glory in a vision, he cries out: “Woe is me! For I am lost … for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).

The Bible uses the Hebrew word כָּבוֹד and the Greek word δόξα when something of the heavenly radiance and majesty of God becomes visible on earth. As we follow those key words through the Bible, we discover how even humans can share in God’s glory and be in His glorious presence. Halleluyah.

06/08/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 6/8/2022.

TOPIC: FULLNESS OF GOD IN HUMAN FRAILTY.
“For in Him all the fullness of God
was pleased to dwell”
(Colossians 1:19)

It’s a recurring theme in the Bible and in theological debates: Jesus is God, and yet became man. He was completely human, but remained fully divine at the same time. This is so incomprehensible that many people have a hard time believing and accepting these facts.

In Paul’s day, Gnosticism was gaining ground. This philosophical movement was very much focused on spiritual knowledge and the pure spiritual realm. They considered the material world as inferior or even evil.

Therefore, gnostics ridiculed the idea that God, who was pure spirit, would take on a human body. This idea sounded almost blasphemous to them.

Against this background, Paul stresses that “all the fullness of God” dwelt in Jesus. In chapter 2:9 he repeats: “In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily”. Yes, this is incomprehensible. But it is true.

The fact that God the Son became human shows how deep God’s love for sinners is. He wants to save us completely — body, mind and soul. He does not despise the material world, but will restore it to perfection.

Fullness of Grace in man’s human frailty,
This is the wonder of Jesus.
Laying aside His power and glory,
Humbly He entered our world. Halleluyah.

01/08/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 1/8/2022.

TOPIC: JESUS IS OUR REDEEMER.
"....His beloved Son, in whom we
have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.”
(Colossians 1:14)

The Bible speaks a lot about redemption and forgiveness, about salvation and eternal life. These are major themes that deserve our full attention. But today, let’s focus on a little detail of this verse from Colossians 1:14. It says that we have redemption in God’s beloved Son. This is important to note.

By dying on the cross, Jesus paid the price for human sin and made it possible for sinners to be reconciled with God. But His role does not end there. Being redeemed is all about having an intimate relationship with Jesus, being “in Him” just as a branch is in the trunk of a tree. Only as long as the branch is in the trunk, it receives water and nourishment and strength.

If it is broken off, it will die. Similarly, only if we are “in” Jesus, we are in a right relationship with God and receive His forgiveness. Apart from Him, we are spiritually dead
Being redeemed and being united with God the Father and Jesus Christ are two sides of the same coin. Everyone who is “in Jesus”, is saved. Everyone who lives separated from Him, is lost. Are you “in Jesus”?

31/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 31/7/2022

TOPIC: LIVING IN GOD'S KINGDOM HERE
AND NOW.
“He has delivered us from the domain
of darkness and transferred us to
the kingdom of His beloved Son”
(Colossians 1:13)

The apostle Paul says that believers have been delivered from the domain of darkness and have been transferred to the kingdom of Jesus. Being in God’s Kingdom is not something totally in the future, even though it has not yet come in all its fullness.

One day, every knee will bow down before Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. But you are blessed if you acknowledge Him as your King and Lord now! If you do, you are in His Kingdom, under His dominion and protection, while living your earthly life.

You let Him rule your life and you long for Him to make an end to everything that opposes Him: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Being in Jesus’ Kingdom sets you apart from non-believers. As Paul explains in Philippians 3:18-20, the “enemies of the cross”, so the people who despise Jesus’ offer of salvation, have their minds set on earthly things.

Brethren, “But our citizenship is in heaven”, Paul says. Therefore, he has his mind set on heavenly things, on the things of God’s Kingdom. How about you? Halleluyah.

30/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 30/7/2022.

TOPIC: LIVING IN LIGHT INSTEAD OF DARKNESS
“…giving thanks to the Father, who has
qualifie you to share in the inheritance
of the saints in light. He has delivered
us from the domain of darkness”
(Colossians 1:12-13)

The Bible often uses the words “light” and “darkness” figuratively, as images for a life of joy and happiness versus a life of fear and bo***ge to sin. Today’s verse says that God the Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness, which implies that we used to be trapped in spiritual darkness and needed a savior.

Naturally, every human being lives in darkness and is kept in bo***ge by Satan, God’s enemy.

And as long as they are living in darkness, many don’t even want the light to expose their sinful lives. They don’t see the problem because they are spiritually blind and just want to continue living their own way. But if God’s light shines into our darkness, we see the hopelessness of our situation and the beauty of the light of life that He offers us.

When God delivers us, we are freed from Satan’s bo***ge and deception and are transferred to the Kingdom of God, which is characterized by light and love and joy. Then we want to follow “the light of the world”, Jesus Christ.

Is your life characterized by light or by darkness?
Halleluyah.

29/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON,29/7/2022.

TOPIC: ENDURING IN GOD'S STRENGTH
"…being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11).

Being a Christian can be hard. In Paul’s day, many believers were publicly exposed to insult and persecution, some were imprisoned or saw their fellow believers murdered for their faith. Most Christians were surrounded by non-believers propagating norms and values that were completely opposed to God’s will.

Moreover, there is a constant struggle against our old self with its sinful desires, and against spiritual powers that try to draw us away from the Lord.

And still… Paul wants his readers (and us) to endure, not sighing and groaning but “with joy”. That’s not possible in our own power. But we can pray to be strengthened with God’s own great power.

Like Jesus said when He was about to return to His Father in heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

If you feel overwhelmed by the pressure internally and externally, if you feel exhausted and want to give up living according to God’s will — ask Him to fill you with His strength!

That way you can not only endure, but endure with joy! Halleluyah.

27/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 27/7/2022.

TOPIC: BEING A SERVANT OF CHRIST.
“… just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.” (Colossians 1:7)

Jesus Christ has provided everything necessary for our salvation. His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to atone for the sins of every single human. Everyone who puts his faith in Jesus, will be saved. But in order to do so, people need to hear the Gospel! As Paul says it, “How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14). This is where God involves people in His salvation plan. He told His disciples to spread the good news all around the globe, and this commission is still important since there are still so many people who do not know Jesus Christ!

Paul was a missionary. But he did not work alone. In today’s verse, he mentions Epaphras — not as his servant, but as a beloved fellow servant of Christ. Paul and Epaphras and many other believers of all times and places devote themselves to the spread of the Gospel, as “servants” or “slaves” of the Lord. They want to obey Him unconditionally and to give other people the chance to receive eternal life by faith in Jesus as well.

Are you also a “servant of Christ”? Halleluyah.

19/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 19/7/2022

TOPIC: LEAVE JUDGEMENT TO GOD.
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”
(Matthew 7:1)

Many people, including Christians, have a tendency to condemn others when those do not meet their standards of good behavior. The Bible warns us not to do that. We are not to sit on God’s judgment seat. It is not for us to pass judgment, and since we are not sinless ourselves, it is unjust to look down on others anyway.

What is good to do, however, is to call fellow believers to account for their behavior when we are convinced that they are going against God’s will. In such a situation, we give them a loving warning, expressed in the awareness that we ourselves can be wrong, too.

Then we judge a particular act by the standards the Lord has given us. In our turn, we ourselves must also be open to correction by fellow believers. In this way, we help each other to live more and more according to God’s plan.

Brethren, we are not judges — not of ourselves, not of our brothers and sisters, and not of the world. We must leave the final judgment of a person to God. Halleluyah.

Do you have a tendency to judge and condemn others? How can you change this?

18/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 18/7/2022.

TOPIC: GOD’S JUDGMENT IS ACCORDING TO TRUTH.
“No creature is hidden from His [God’s] sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

Human judges are limited in their understanding and knowledge. They can’t always be 100% sure of the facts of any case, but must rely on the testimonies of other people or the limited evidence that is available. This may cause their judgment to be unfair. But with God, this problem does not exist. Everything is open before Him.

He has witnessed every sin that we have ever committed and every good deed we have ever done, even though we ourselves may have forgotten about them!

He knows what we want to say even before the words leave our mouth and He knows our thoughts from afar. Therefore, He can judge us fairly and will never pass a wrong judgment.

Brethren,to some, this is a terrifying fact. They would rather pretend to be better than they are! To others, this is comforting, since they are longing for justice and for the Lord to bring to light the things now hidden in darkness.

Does it comfort you that God knows everything and will judge according to truth? Halleluyah.

17/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 17/7/2022

TOPIC: GOD DISCIPLINES HIS CHILDREN .
"God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:7)

The Lord God does not condemn anyone who believes in Him, since Jesus Christ has borne the judgment on sin. This does not mean, however, that Christians can do whatever they want without facing any consequences.

When David committed murder and adultery, the prophet Nathan confronted him with his behavior. David repented and was forgiven, but for the rest of his life he faced the consequences of his misstep, “because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord”, Nathan told him (2 Samuel 12:13-14). So, God can still execute justice by temporary punishments.

Hebrews 12 draws our attention to a slightly different situation, where believers face trials because the Lord disciplines them. He is like a loving father who wants the best for his children, and therefore disciplines them for their good.

For the moment, this is unpleasant. But later it yields “the peaceful fruit of righteousness”, the Bible tells us. So, God does not punish us out of cruelty, but out of love. He wants to correct us and to make us more holy. Therefore, He does not close His eyes to our (hidden) sins, but disciplines us whenever necessary.

Have you gone through times of discipline? Looking back, did this help you grow in faith?

13/07/2022

TODAY'S LESSON, 13/7/2022

TOPIC: IF YOU BELIEVE IN CHRIST, YOU WON'T BE CONDEMNED.
“Truly, truly, I [Jesus] say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)

Every single human will give an account of himself to God. The outcome is already clear: we all have sinned, and therefore earn God’s wrath. But if you believe in Jesus Christ, He has paid for all of your sins — past, present and future. He was sentenced to death on your behalf. As the prophet Isaiah phrases it, “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). That judgment has already been carried out.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, the apostle Paul says (Romans 8:1). Nobody can charge you before God for anything you have done wrong, since God Himself has justified you. You need not be afraid of God’s coming judgment anymore.

Believers do “fear the Lord”. However, this phrase does not mean that they are afraid of God, but that they deeply respect Him. They can come into His presence with reverence, but also with the full assurance that faith brings; trusting in His unending love.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ has paid for your sins?
Believe and be save,in Jesus name.

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6 Ike Street
Abakaliki
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+2349137013147

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