Text: Hebrews 12:1-5 you can read to 21

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;  who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.   3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.   5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 

Friday, 24^th May 2024

THE GREAT PRICE

Text: Hebrews 12:1-5 you can read to 21

Memory verse: Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer

Do you wish to know the price to be paid for the privileges that are offered after we have received the Holy Ghost? The price is not a predetermined or fixed amount; rather, it is determined by each of us individually. If you set your payment, which is your personal effort, very low, you may not be able to avail yourself of all that the Spirit has to offer. You may even quench the Spirit. However, if you set your personal contribution high, you will reap an abundant harvest from the Spirit. The payment I refer to here is, of course, not money; rather, it is a greater commitment to and involvement in personal spiritual endeavours and behaviours. We determine the level of our current personal contribution by examining our present choices and priorities against questions like:

1. Do I spend more time with sports than Church attendance or callings?
2. If I have a free day, do I choose to attend Spiritual matters or to visit a Cinema centre to watch movies?
3. Do I resort to computer games or surfing the Internet rather than offering meaningful Spiritual service to others in my home and community?
4. Do I read the newspaper religiously but find it difficult to read the scriptures daily?

There are other questions you might formulate which will reveal the appropriateness of your current choices and priorities. Whatever level of spiritual development we presently have, there will always be a higher level within our reach. Time is one of our most precious assets. Would you consider investing more of your time in the things of eternity to merit the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and to benefit more fully from His influence?

If your answer is yes, the initial offering in this pursuit of deeper spirituality is an intensified desire to receive greater inspiration and to become more holy. When these desires fill our hearts, we will eagerly increase the price we pay for heaven’s help. Our next contribution to this effort will be to immerse ourselves more consistently in the words of Christ and of the prophets. When our study efforts expand, so will the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives increase. Let us search the scriptures with pen in our hands, making note of new insights and recording spiritual promptings. Thereafter, let us strive to apply what has been learned to our personal lives. The Spirit will quicken our inner selves; new understanding will come precept upon precept.

CGDS HYMN 2; SS&S 621:

I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE

1. I gave My life for thee ;
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might'st ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead.
I gave My life for thee :
What hast thou given for Me ?

2. I spent long years for thee
In weariness and woe,
That an eternity
Of joy thou mightest know.
I spent long years for thee :
Hast thou spent one for Me ?

3. My Father's home of light,
My rainbow-circled throne,
I left for earthly night,
For wanderings sad and lone.
I left it all for thee :
Hast thou left aught for Me ?

4. I suffered much for thee----
More than thy tongue can tell,
Of bitterest agony----
To rescue thee from hell.
I suffered much for thee :
What canst thou bear for Me ?

5. “And I have brought to thee,
Down from My home above.
Salvation full and free,
My pardon and My love.
Great gifts I brought to thee :
What hast thou brought to Me ?”

6. Oh, let thy life be given,
Thy years for Him be spent ;
World-fetters all be riven,
And joy with suffering blent.
Bring thou thy worthless all :
Follow thy Saviour's call.

 Prayers: 

1.  Holy Spirit, help me to spend quality time with You daily in Jesus’ name Amen.

2.  LORD God Almighty, help me to prioritize things that nourishes my Soul and Spirit, not unnecessarily on things that has no eternal values in Jesus’ name. Amen.    

3.  Pray for others in this regard.