DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Wed. 9/8/2017

Arise And Shine

Isa. 60:1-3

Until the appearance and arrival of light, there is bound to be inactivity, limitation and restriction, all occasioned by darkness. The human race lost it at the beginning in the Garden of Eden. There was shame instead of glory, heaviness instead of joy with attendant gloom and ashes typifying a better past. Everywhere you find ashes, it is a depiction of history of a better past, a beautiful edifice may get burnt and what is left would be ashes, a nice furniture after being burnt will be remembered by its ashes. By coming to the light and becoming lights, we become separated from those under the spell of darkness, we recover the glory lost in the beginning and our access to God is restored. What has kept our head low is removed and now as light, we can arise and then shine forth against darkness and relegate it to the background.

POINT OF EMPHASIS: By coming to the light, we become separated from the spell of darkness.

PRAYER POINT: I show forth the glory of God as light, shame, limitation and ashes are ejected from my life, in Jesus’ name

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Thur. 10/8/2017

Light Gives Direction

Exo. 13:17-22

The world is a wilderness of sort with so many intimidating forces and challenges that greet us on daily basis. The children of Israel were here perplexed thinking all hope was lost and that next moment, the wilderness will become their burial grounds. God would have led the Israelites the other way that was not the wilderness way but He had His reasons for choosing the wilderness route for them. The lesson for us today is to trust God in whichever direction He leads. He knows it all. God did not leave them without direction in the wilderness, He gave them light to lead them twenty four hours to go day and night and in the right direction. This is really one of the many blessings we have as lights having our source from God. We have direction and light soothing even our wilderness experiences as enjoyable adventures. Direction prevents wastages of life, time and resources, it guards against aimless movements and spending. As we have received from God, He also wants us to give to our world. Give direction to people domiciled also in your own world.

POINT OF EMPHASIS: Light gives direction which prevents wastages of life, time and resources.

PRAYER POINT: God, please grant us direction in life and also help us to also give out to people around us.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Fri. 1/9/2017

Acquire Spiritual Knowledge

Heb. 10:26-39

You will give yourself to anything you are passionate about, no matter what happens. Endurance will make you persistent and persevere in order to finish well. There is no need to commit yourself to what you don’t know. You are encouraged to draw near to God by being knowledgeable about what you believe. Paul the Apostle reminded the professors of Christ (i.e. the Jews), how they endured suffering when there was a severe persecution. You must know that the Christian spirit is not selfish, it is sympathising. You must therefore identify with every Christian that suffers. Christians are one body bound by the Holy Spirit. We must equally acknowledge the compassions of our Christians which we received while passing through conflict like Paul did to his people (v. 34). Those persecuted were able to bear their suffering because they knew that better things and comfort are waiting for them in Heaven. You must have the assured knowledge that irrespective of what you are going through now, you have a better reward in Heaven. But remember that you must do the will of God before receiving the reward.

Point of Emphasis: Knowledge of eternal values will encourage you to finish well.

Prayer Point: Father, deepen my knowledge about things of eternal value so that I can finish well.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Sat. 2/9/2017

Discern The Problem And Offer Solution

Jam. 4:1-10

James tells us that pride and evil desires are mostly the root causes of conflicts. Self-centred Christians search for pleasure and position which reveals selfish goals that prevent common vision. The result of this is hostility and its remedy is humility. Lack of the knowledge of divine truth is what is responsible for the myopic walk with the Lord. You must not be deceived by your ego to outsmart others. What you do with carnal intention has no reward before God.

Point of Emphasis: “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”.

Prayer Point: Help me Lord not to labour in vain.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Mon. 4/9/2017

Inability To Manage Our Diversity

Prov. 10:12; 1 Cor. 4:7

Jesus gave His disciples the, ‘go ye’; command… in Matt. 28:18-20. His expectation is that people of all races and nations would come to enlarge the church. He also gave different types of spiritual gifts to believers in order to ensure the growth of the church. Brethren in the church consist of people from different backgrounds, temperament, views, ethnicity, language etc. The diversity in our callings should add more value and strength to the profession of our faith but surprisingly the human element in us, the great mischief-maker ‘strife’ strikes to cause dis-affection among us. The antedote to this ugly trend is to manage our diversity to unite us by loving and accepting each other as we are. No matter how hard we try to live according to God’s purpose, all of us cannot attain perfection in this life. In view of this, don’t allow people’s action to produce evil fruit of hatred: Accept people as they are and love them as God loves you.

Point of Emphasis: Accept others as they are, don’t allow the human element in you to place you in opposition to others.

Prayer Point: Lord Jesus, help me to accept and love people as they are and not to develop hatred against them because of their action.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Tue. 5/9/2017
Rumour Mongering And Gossip
Jam. 1:19-26; Acts 2:42

Some other reasons for conflict in the church today include rumour mongering and gossip. These have destroyed so many churches, homes, friendships simply because we do not tame our tongues. Have you heard? This is the latest gist in the church usually called ‘411’. Tale bearing in the church is a major problem. The bible stated in Proverb 26:20 where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. We should all be cautious of this and shun tale bearing in our church because it does more harm than good.

Point of Emphasis: Shun tale bearers and don’t join them
.
Prayer Point: Lord, help me to bridle my tongue for Your glory.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Thur. 7/9/2017

Dodging Responsibilities

1 Cor. 1:4-10

There are some members in the church today who live their lives without credibility as if they were not called. They are irresponsive concerning responsibilities. The church at Corinth in our text this morning is a divided church. Some of the members are problematic to the church, giving her bad label, but thank God, Paul did not call black and white. He knew he must confront the issues and provide solution to them. He began with words of appreciation (vv. 4-9) and then admonished them not to allow division in their midst. He employed this approach to let them see that they were enriched by God (vv. 4-8] , had fellowship with God (v. 9) and that they could make positive impact in the church (v. 10) as you can do also. Ask yourself this vital question; “Am I responsible in the church? If the answer is yes; then how do you confront the problem of those that are not responsible?

Point of Emphasis: Irresponsibility causes division, don’t get involve in it.

Prayer Point: Help me, oh Lord, to operate with your spirit so that I will not be among those who cause division in the church (v. 10)

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Fri. 8/9/2017

Envy And Jealousy

Gal. 5:16-26

Envy and jealousy are as deadly as cancer. They should not be found among Christians if we indeed hearken to Jesus’ instruction to serve with humility (Matt. 18:1-5). Envy and jealousy are found in the church today because of members’ selfish ambition which makes them cling to leadership. The evidence of this could be seen in strife and competition. They speak lies and deceive. These result into disharmony. To curtail this evil phenomenon, let’s be pure, loving and selfless. Each of us should operate in the areas where we have comparative advantage. There is no one who is not important if he or she decides to be responsible. Avoid the spirit of strife, envy and evil competition, desire to complement others.

Point of Emphasis: Envy and jealousy are the root of hatred. Avoid them because they kill without remedy.

Prayer Point: Lord, help me to eschew envy and jealousy. Let embrace things that promote peace among brethren.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Sat. 9/9/2017

Anger And Quick-Temper

Prov.15:18;29:22; Acts 15:36-40

Human custom seems to tell us that our sacred honour is at stake whenever our personal rights are trampled upon. Our intuition prompt us to stand up and fight for our right so that nobody pushes us around. Acting on this impulse compels some people to burst out and express anger but Christian ethics outlook on this differs. It proffers alternative solution: instead of jumping into ‘anger at every perceived offence’, a sensible Christian should allow peace to reign. A moment of anger and quick temper would destroy a home which took many years to build just in some minutes. Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15 separated peacefully and continued with the work of God. They were committed to the church and God despite their differences.

Point of Emphasis: Anger destroys and cannot build, therefore, shun it.

Prayer Point: Lord, let Your power work on my temperament. Give me grace to control my anger and temper.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Tue. 12/9/2017

Avoid Pride

Prov. 8:12-17

Pride or arrogance is the major problem behind conflicts in the world. Arrogance is a sin that affects the spiritual world. If you are too proud because of whom you are, to reconcile with others in conflict, you are just wasting your time because of ignorance. Perhaps you are still struggling with arrogance. To shun pride and accept God’s wisdom, you can ask God to help you to be humble and make peace with that who hurt you. Remember Satan came to a horrible end because of arrogance. Be humble to use wisdom to end the conflict so that your life will not end with the conflict

Point Of Emphasis: Pride does not tolerate correction. Arrogant people don’t listen to those who offer wise help.

Prayer Point: Lord, give me grace to receive correction with humble attitude. In addition, me to forebear and get along well with others.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Thur. 14/9/2017

Let There Be No Division

1 Cor.1:10-17

The church in Corinth was filled with people of diverse tongues, cultures and preferences. By reason of their having the privilege of different preachers coming to establish them in faith, they went into the extreme of forming their opinions and acceptance of them on their personal basis; an action which tended to tear the church apart. This Paul had to address quickly and sternly. We could get caught up in the same game of ‘’my preacher is better than yours”. To do so would divide the body of Christ. Divisions between Christians work like brick walls and barbed wire fences to undermine the effectiveness of the message that believers are to proclaim. Christ is not divided and His true followers should not allow anything to divide them. Our allegiance must be to Christ and to the unity He so desires.

Point Of Emphasis: We are a team, so let’s strive for harmony. Keep arguments about allegiances off the team.

Prayer Point: Lord help me never to be an agent of disunity in Your church.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Sat. 16/9/2017

Do Not Be Hasty To Judge

Matt. 7:1-5

Believers are warned here not to have a judgemental attitude. The traits that bother us in others are often the habits we ourselves have. Our bad habits and behaviour patterns are the very ones that we most want to change in others. We have to be patient with a person that seems to be causing conflicts or have some attitudes that are not very acceptable to us. It could be that such an individual is having unknown psychological trauma or it is even possible that we have over prized their maturity. Patience and a little additional understanding can go a long way to help. At times, we may be the ones wearing dark “glasses that caused the blurred vision’’. Having time to talk and correct any wrong view or motives will go a long way in helping to avoid conflict. So at times, we need to judge ourselves, and then lovingly forgive and help our neighbours.

Point Of Emphasis: Good and prompt dialogue at times could avert war and total separation.

Prayer Point: Lord make me a channel of Your love. Where there is war, help me to bring peace.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Mon. 18/9/2017

Injustice Forbidden

Lev. 19:15

In our text today, God instructed the judges and all the people in authority to give judgment without partiality. Justice must never be perverted, the law of equity must be followed. A higher standard regarding relationships, right and responsibilities was demanded from the Israelites. They are expected to be more morally upright than the unbelievers around them. God intended that they should be light and a standard for the rest of the world. As spiritual Israelites of our days, we are expected to exhibit higher moral code than the infidels around us; to show that we adopt godly values and live with integrity. We must not use double standards in dispensing judgment. As God is not a respecter of persons, so we must not handle justice to please one at the expense of others.

Point of Emphasis: God expects believers to keep higher standard of justice than the rest of the world.

Prayer Point: Help me Oh Lord to maintain higher standard of justice no matter how perverted the world may be.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Tue. 19/9/2017

Keep God’s Charge

1 Tim. 5:19-21

Paul states the Biblical procedure of establishing a case against an accused person. The accusation must not be a rumour. It must not be accepted unless it can be ascertained by at least two witnesses. Though he talks about accusation brought against an elder, this procedure could as well be applicable to members of the church. No one must be hastily judged because reputation is involved. Believers should be careful not to be involved with things that can bring disreputation to their names. The accused, if found guilty, should be warned or rebuked publicly so that others may learn and fear.

Point of Emphasis: Rebuke erring members in the presence of all so that they can fear.

Prayer Point: Help me Lord not to involve myself with anything that can tarnish my image.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Fri. 22/9/2017

Don’t Show Favouritism

Jam. 2:1-4

From the passage read, James condemns in great terms Christians who make hasty judgments based on what some people are. Christians should learn how to relate to people based on decision as led by the Spirit not a reaction or what we perceive by our self intuition. We must love people not on the basis of what we can get in return. Love must be shown to people unconditionally as God is not a respecter of persons. It is ideal to deal with each individual in line with his or her inward gifts and not on outward appearances.

Point of Emphasis: God is not a respecter of persons.

Prayer Point: I receive Christ-like spirit to deal with people not on the basis of outward appearances but according to how God sees them.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Thur. 28/9/2017

Desire God’s Perfect Law

Ps. 19:7-14

There are numerous laws guiding the conduct and activities of man within a given region. Nations have their laws and constitutions; likewise professional bodies have ethics and rules guiding their practices. Most of these laws oftentimes become obsolete and irrelevant, hence, require review. This is because they were compiled by fallible men. God’s law is perfect. His testimony is sure. His statutes are right. His commandment is pure. His fear is clean, and His judgments are true and righteous altogether. The Psalmist encouraged every believer to desire God’s perfect law more than fine gold. God’s law may sometimes be difficult to accept because it negates the ways of man. However, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, we can be like God in holiness and purity. When the perfect law of God is desired and embraced, it will help a believer to have dominion over sin and all manner of corruption. Therefore, every heaven minded child of God should sincerely desire the law of God that the words of his mouth and the meditation of his heart be acceptable in the sight of God.

Point of Emphasis: Desiring God’s perfect law is a positive step towards being like God in love and judgment.

Prayer Point: Dear Lord, create in me today the strong desire for Your law and righteousness. Help me to be like You.

Quarter’s Theme: CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE CHURCH

UNIT 2 - Preventing Conflict In The Church (Lessons 4-7)

LOYALTY CAMPAIGN MONTHS

Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 195, 208

Devotional Reading: PROV. 18:1-5

Topic For Adults

AVOID PARTIALITY IN JUDGMENT

Topic For Youths

DON’T BE BIASED

Topic For Intermediates

JUDGE RIGHTEOUSLY

Lesson Scriptures

EPH. 6:9; PS. 18:24-26; ROM. 2:11; 1 TIM. 5:21; LEV. 19:15; DEUT. 1:17; JAM. 2:1-10

1/10/2017 LESSON 5

ENCOURAGE EQUITY, AVOID PARTIALITY

MEMORY VERSE

For there is no partiality with God (Rom. 2:11) NKJV

BACKGROUND

Partiality is favoritism or the act of being biased. To show favoritism is to give preference to one person over others with equal claims. It is similar to discrimination and may be based on conditions such as social class, wealth, race, religion, tribe, appearance etc. God is no respecter of persons and there is no partiality found in Him. It is not the will of God for His children to show partiality, but to demonstrate equity in judgment. At one time or the other we may have fallen victim of favoritism, and so know how it feels. We are not expected to encourage this ungodly act.

NOTES ON THE TEXT

PART 1: NO FAVORITISM WITH GOD (EPH. 6:9; PS. 18:24-26; ROM. 2:11)

The word “favoritism” comes from a compound word that literally means, “lifting up the face”. In those days when a subject, like a knight, visited the presence of a king, he would kneel down with his face bent to the floor. The king would then use his scepter to gently lift up the face of the knight to confirm he has been favoured by the king and permitted to speak to him.

God is faithful and perfect. He does not have favourites. God deals with men according to their faithfulness and commitment to Him. He does not show favouritism. Man can easily be made to bend his rules by bribe or manipulation somehow. There is a common saying that every man has got a price; that is, there is a price every man would be paid to make him compromise a set standard. This should not be true of believers. No price can be high enough to make you give in to partiality. God can never be manipulated. Gal. 6:7 says, ‘Be not deceived for God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap.’

Going through the Bible, all the characters who had good relationship with God and obtained mercy in His sight and were blessed. They gained all these as a result of their faithfulness and commitment to Him. Abraham for example was termed “the friend of God” because he loved and respected God, had faith in Him and was ready to go extra miles to please Him. David was called “the man after God’s heart”. Reading through David’s history, you would discover he was humble before God and he knew how to bless God with his body (dancing and singing songs of praise) and his substance. God shows no partiality in giving spiritual gifts to His children because He gives according to individual’s ability.



PART 2: AVOID PARTIALITY (1 TIM. 5:21; LEV. 19:15; DEUT. 1:17)

The society we belong to is unfortunately corrupt. Equity in judgment seems to be gradually fading away even in our judiciary and common men are being oppressed. But God still instructs His children to avoid partiality.

Partiality or favouritism was a thing that was fast becoming popular among the brethren in the early church. Paul had to swiftly intervene and addressed the issue. Timothy was a young, dynamic and promising up-coming minister of the gospel. He was going to be in charge of the church and was therefore instructed not to do anything out of favouritism. Being a youth, there are tendencies for him to be carried away by his position as a minister of God or to be manipulated by the older Christians in the church. He was warned against favouritism.

The Old Testament provides similar instructions regarding this topic. “Do not pervert justice, do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly”. (Lev. 19:15). This means you should dem-onstrate equity in justice rather than partiality. Justice should be blind, and both the rich and the poor should be treated equal before the law. Favouritism and genuine faith are incompatible. It has no place in the lifestyle of a Christian.

PART 3: WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID PARTIALITY (JAM. 2:1-10)

It is clearly stated in the scriptures that a believer should not show partiality or favouritism in judgment. There is no reason given that is genuine enough for anyone to engage in such behaviour. There is no favouritism in God. The reasons we are instructed to avoid partiality include the following:

It is the command of God (Deut. 1:11). It is a straight command from God that no one should show respect of persons in judgment. You must not be afraid of the face of man for judgment is God’s.

It usurps God’s sovereignty (Jam. 2:1-5). Judgment is God’s and God gives man the authority to judge rightly on His behalf. When a man shows partiality in judgment he is trying to usurp God’s sovereignty, making himself God and acting like he is unquestionable.

It contradicts the heart of God (Jam. 2:5-6a). When the poor is being deprived of justice and favour, he is despised and oppressed. God does not want the poor to be despised in any way. Whosoever does this contradicts the heart of God.

It aligns you with God’s enemies v. 6-7. God’s enemies use their strength, wealth and position to oppress the poor, whereas God is concerned about justice. Anyone who shows favouritism is God’s enemy.

It violates the law of God v. 8-9; Lev. 19:15. If you love your neighbour you wouldn’t want to deprive him of his right for whatever reason. It is as serious as the sin of adultery. If you show any degree of partiality and injustice, you break God’s law. You are a transgressor.

CONCLUSION

Partiality is a problem we still deal with today in the church. Surely, partiality and favouritism are not from God. Christians are called to love and not to be biased or to show partiality. As humans, we tend to form judgment based on selfish, personal criteria rather than seeing others as God sees them. May we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and follow His example of treating every person with God’s love.

QUESTIONS

What do you consider as ‘partiality’?

Why should we not be involved in encouraging partiality?

“God doesn’t show partiality” Discuss.

Why did Paul intervene in the case of partiality in the early church?

Despite the Bible’s injuction against ‘partiality’ why do we still have the practice in the church?