A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of March 15-19, 2021
MONDAY
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 9:24
The Christian life is a discipline toward self-denial. When Jesus walked the earth, He taught principles of the Kingdom of God. Every Kingdom has laws. Every Kingdom has rules. A kingdom is a government by which men’s lives are structured. Jesus was letting us know that this Kingdom is far different from the kingdom of this world. This world moves on self-indulgence, self-gratification, and self-love. When Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, He preached a Kingdom that worked completely differently than the kingdom of Darkness. This Kingdom of light pertained to eternal life, and denial of self, not temporal life and self-indulgence. When Jesus spoke, He said words that confounded the wisdom of the world, because His Kingdom is not of this world. They thought He was insane.
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If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Psalm 103:1-3 ~ Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases…
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
March 15: Exodus 26, John 5, Proverbs 2, Galatians 1
March 16: Exodus 27, John 6, Proverbs 3,Galatians 2
March 17: Exodus 28, John 7, Proverbs 4, Galatians 3
March 18: Exodus 29, John 8, Proverbs 5, Galatians 4
March 19: Exodus 30, John 9, Proverbs 6, Galatians 5
March 20: Exodus 31, John 10, Proverbs 7, Galatians 6
March 21: Exodus 32, John 11, Proverbs 8, Ephesians 1
TUESDAY
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 9:24
The world that Jesus spoke of is a holy world, run by a holy God, who has made His people holy. Holiness is the quality of purity. Holiness is without guile, selfless, and righteous. Holiness is success guaranteed, because there is nothing to correct or repent of in holiness. Holiness allows us to serve others without fear of loss. Holiness is so in touch with God that we have no concerns about ourselves. Holiness allows us to imitate Christ and live in His joy. Holiness is the quality of God that makes Him God. It is love without constraint.
WEDNESDAY
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 9:24
Holiness allows us to see things differently. It helps us to know that if we give something away, we have more besides. Each act becomes an offering to God. We see ourselves as givers for the joy of giving. We are not reluctant to go the extra mile with our brother, and forgive him seventy times seven. Holiness prepares us to receive the blessings of God without sorrow. We never regret having forgiven someone who has wronged us. We are careful to not wrong one another, and when we do, we know we have someone who has provided the same forgiveness that we give others. The holiness of God allows us to be as He would be in the world.
THURSDAY
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 9:24
This is insane to the unbeliever. When we give glory to God in front of an unbeliever, they may say something like, “God helps those that help themselves,” or if we offer to pray for them, they may say “I’m sure God has more important things to worry with besides my problems.” While this sounds crazy to us, it is just as ludicrous to them for us to give instead of being concerned about getting. When we love instead of hate, we appear to be crazy to the unbeliever. When we tithe, the world tells us that our church “doesn’t allow” us to spend our money the way we wish, often calling us crazy for the decisions we make. Every decision made through holiness is anathema to the world.
FRIDAY
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 9:24
The Bible tells us that God quickens the dead and calls those things that be not as though they are. As believers, we know this as the “confession of faith.” When we ask God to let it be so on earth as it is in heaven, we are actually opening ourselves up to believe God has already done all that He is going to do to cause the desired effect of our prayers. We actually begin to speak as though heaven were our home, and it is. We talk as God talks because the Bible tells us to be imitators of God. When we obey God in this way, we are demonstrating the highest level of faith. This faith passes judgment on the world’s unbelief. The world says this is crazy, but we say it is God’s way. We have to be a little crazy by the world’s standards in order to please God.