Month: March 2014

Living by the Faith of the Son of God

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

When we accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we go beyond the knowledge of Jesus and all of His teachings.  We go beyond adhering to the commandments that He gave us.  We give up our rights to our old life in exchange for a renewed life lived in faith through the Son of God.

Our faith is no longer our own faith.  Our faith is the faith that the Son of God has in the Father.  Whatever faith we had before in the flesh was destined to die at some point.  It was burdened by the death sentence associated with all sin.  With the acceptance of our salvation, it died on the Cross with Jesus Christ.  It was replaced by Christ’s living spirit within us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the lives that You have given us.  We embrace each day and live it for Your honor and Your glory.  We thank You for providing Your Son so that we may be freed from the death sentence assigned to our flesh.  We rejoice in our new eternal life in Christ.  May we live each day in the fullness of His Spirit within us.  May we live in obedience to You just as Your Son lives in obedience to You. 

Seeking the Presence of God in Our Lives

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

One of the things that we cling to is our privilege to be able to go to the Throne Room of God with our prayers.  We learn quickly to seek His hand of provision and protection.  If only we would use these occasions to seek His face as well.

God gave us prayer that we might communicate with Him without ceasing.  It was not His intention that we merely run to Him for our needs.  In fact, He teaches us that He knows our needs and has a plan for providing them without us asking.  So why do we put so much energy in our solicitations and not so much in our ongoing communication with Our Heavenly Father.  Our own earthly fathers likely grew weary of the “I wants” when they were not mixed with the “I love yous.”  It is the same with God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus.  We ask forgiveness for coming to You so often with our needs alone accompanied by a stark absence of our professed love for You.  Teach us, Lord, how to seek Your presence in our lives.  Teach us how to seek You throughout each and every day.  Teach us how to use our prayer life to build our relationship with You.  

Our Table Has Been Set

Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Faith is believing that which we cannot see today will be ours one day in accordance with God’s promises.  Faith is taking hold of our blessings even though we have not received them yet.  Faith is overcoming the terror of our circumstances in exchange for the comfort that only God can bring to us.  Faith is following paths that we do not understand yet.  Faith is allowing ourselves to fully accept the what Jesus has to offer when our flesh wants to take it piece by logical piece.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the grace that we need to receive in faith all that You have set aside for us through the sacrifice of the Precious Lamb, Jesus Christ.  We pray that You show us the path of obedience that we need to follow to submit to Your Son as Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.  May Your Holy Spirit aid us in our journey of discovery.  May we leave not a crumb on the table that You have set for us.

Open Our Eyes, Lord

2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

When we accepted Jesus into our lives, it is likely that we were in bondage to one or more things that were of the world and not entirely pleasing to God.  Once we received the Holy Spirit, we began the process of shedding those things that the Lord found unworthy.

We will not change all things in our lives instantly, nor completely.  But we can begin the process of shedding our fleshly bonds one at a time as the Holy Spirit convicts and strengthens us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Your wisdom so that we may understand Your ways and learn to live in awesome reverence for who You are.  We pray that You will open our eyes so that we can see all the ways in our lives that displease You.  Convict us of our sinful nature.  Prepare a path for us to walk in the process of sanctification aided by the power of Your Holy Spirit.

My Soul Waits for You, Lord

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

There is all-sufficient fullness in Our Savior.  He is able to meet every single need of each and everyone of us. As He pours Himself out to us, His storehouse remains full of loving kindness, mercy and grace.  His fount is always open to those who wait on His promises.  

Why then would we choose to run ahead of Him?  Why would we choose to turn to a deteriorating world that is always in short supply when it comes to meeting our real needs?  Why? Why? Why?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the all-sufficient Savior that You have given us through Your perfect love and forgiveness.  Our souls wait for You, longing for Your gifts of grace and the evidence of Your power working in our lives.  Strengthen us Lord through our trials and afflictions. We look forward to Your deliverance in accordance with Your good and perfect plans for our lives.

The Promise of His Word and the Power of His Presence

2 Timothy 2:1

Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote to his helper, Timothy, to prepare him for everything that the world was going to throw at him.  Paul alerted him that there would be many trials that he would endure.  He encouraged him by reminding him that he would be strengthened by the One who sent them out to preach to the people.  Paul exhorted Timothy to rely completely on the grace of God and not to turn to his own ways to find his strength.

As we find ourselves challenged by life, we can be comforted by Paul’s instruction to Timothy.  Jesus Christ never leaves us.  When we turn to Him for our direction and our strength, our path is secure.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing our understanding of who You are through the teachings in Your Holy Word.  Raise up a desire in us to devour Your Holy Word so that we may find the comfort, peace and strength that we need in our lives daily.  Free us, Lord, from our inclinations to rely on ourselves instead of Our Savior.

Slaves to the One that Strengthens Us

1 Corinthians 10:12

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

The Christian’s security against sin rests in Jesus Christ alone.  He provides ample supply of the oil that we need for our lamps to light our way.  He gives freely of the strength that we will need to overcome the callings of our flesh.

It is our responsibility to maintain the flow of His strength in our weakness.  The “Prince of Preachers”, Charles Spurgeon, offers the following guidance for maintaining our strength in the Lord:

Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for promising to perfect Your strength in our weakness.  We thank You that You will never allow us to be tested beyond the strength that You provide.  We pray that You will show us how to draw near to You through our prayers, our worship and our study of Your Holy Word.  Help us to be constantly vigilant that we are slaves to Our Lord and not to our flesh. 

The Exchange for a New Life

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God’s immeasurable, inexhaustible, divine love was required to save a sin ravished world.  He gave His Son, Jesus, to be the Prophet, the Priest and the King for all mankind.  

In order to avoid eternal damnation for our sins, we must submit to Jesus Christ as our teacher, our ruler and Our Savior.  Our duty is to proclaim His name.  Our benefit is everlasting life in His Kingdom.

Jesus sacrificed His life for us.  He is asking us to sacrifice our old lives in exchange for a new life under His stewardship.  There is really no sacrifice on our parts.  What we receive is eternally greater than what we leave behind.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing a way for us to escape eternal damnation because of our sins. We thank You for providing Your Son as our sacrificial lamb and as our living, ever present Good Shepherd.  We humbly submit to You all that we are and all that we have in the name of Jesus Christ.  May the presence of Your Holy Spirit strengthen us as we walk the pathway of sanctification that You have set aside for us.  We rejoice in knowing that one day we will stand before You in the image of Your Son.

All for the Glory of God

Mark 10:12

Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The rich young man came to Jesus to inquire how he could inherit eternal life.  The young man proclaimed knowledge of the commandments and his complete compliance to the commandments, assuming this to be enough.  Jesus responded, 
“You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 
 The young man could not part with the things of this world.  He chose the world over the kingdom of God.

Our Heavenly Father has nothing against our possessions or our money.  Abraham, Moses and David all had great wealth.  Yet they all did what God asked them to do.  They placed their relationship with Almighty God above all else.  They used their wealth to help meet the needs of their people so that God would receive the glory.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the provision that You have given us.  We pray that You will show us how to exalt You each day above all the things of the world. We ask that You teach us how to use the provision that You have given us to meet the needs of those around us.  May it all be for Your glory and the gain of Your kingdom.

Waiting on Your Vision

Acts 26:19

And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.

The apostle Paul was brought before the Judean Monarch, King Agrippa, to defend himself and his gospel.  In his defense, he told the king why he was doing what he was doing, “I obeyed the vision from heaven.”

Paul was not driven by a well thought out plan based on practicality or his own competence.  He went out and proclaimed the gospel against all hindrances imaginable, many of which could not be overcome without the hand of God.  He also went where God told him to go at the time that God told him to go.

Paul is our model for following visions.  We should move forward without regard for our own capabilities for God always provides what is needed to complete His good work.  We should not rush ahead in consideration of our current skills and circumstances.  We should only move when and where He urges us to move.  

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You allowing us to serve You.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity.  We pray that You will show us Your plans for our lives.  We ask that You teach us how to turn to You alone for our direction.  We ask that You teach us how to wait on You to prepare the way before we move.