Month: February 2015

Made Blameless and Holy

1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Once we accept Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells within us to assist us in our journey toward complete sanctification.  We will never reach complete sanctification in this life.  Our full transformation is reserved for the time when we stand in the presence of God and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.
Until that time, the Holy Spirit will take us through an intense narrowing of our interests.  Less and less will the things of the world call us.  More and more we will hear the voice of Our Savior.

Through it all, we can be confident by virtue of the faith given to us by Our Creator that He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  He will keep us from evil as He gives us all that is good and holy.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us blameless and holy in Your sight.  We bless the name of Jesus who washes away all of our sins.  We live our lives full of thanksgiving for the constant presence of the Holy Spirit.  We pray for the grace to walk in the holiness that has been given to us through Our Savior.  May we learn to ignore the world’s agenda and to surrender completely to the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus.  May we leave the green grass of earth to rest forever in the pasture of the Lamb.  We ask all this things in His Holy Name.

Our Ever Present King

Luke 24:21
But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.

For the two men on the road to Emmaus, dejection had set in.  They had hoped for a King that would redeem their land.  They were so consumed by what they sought, they could not recognize their King when He joined them.

For all of us that have grown up in an era where instant gratification has become the norm, waiting on the Lord to answer our prayers is one of the most difficult challenges that we face.  We often feel dejected when we have not seen our prayers answered.  Generally, we are guilty of demanding something from the hand of God without fully seeking the face of God.

Borrowing terminology from the design of the temple, we must move from the outer courts where we deal with all the issues and troubles of the day. We must move from the Holy Place where we struggle to separate our old lives from our new lives in Christ.  We must move to the Holy of Holies where we can live under the anointing and the fullness of the glory of God’s presence.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to live among us so that we could learn about who You are.  We praise the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to enter into Your presence here on earth and forever in Your eternal kingdom.  We pray, Father, that You open our eyes so that we can see You in all the commonplace things that surround us.  We call upon Your Holy Spirit to give us the strength to overcome the depression and oppression that we find in our world.  May we always be mindful of all that is ours because of the price that was paid by Your Son, Jesus.  May the world see our joy as we live in Your constant presence.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, Our Lord and Our King.

Imminent Heirs of the Kingdom

Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

One of the greatest blessings that true Christians receive from The Cross is victory over death.  We are able to face our death bed with an exuberance that the world cannot understand.  We know that Our Savior is waiting to receive us and that He has prepared a place for us that is free from all misery and weakness.

Yet we know that we are called to remain in this world for as long as Our Lord has work for us to do. The longer we remain here to serve Him, the greater will be our reward in heaven.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the eternal inheritance that You have set aside for us.  We praise the name of Jesus who secured our place with You for all eternity.  We rejoice in knowing that only wisp of time separates us from claiming all the rights of the heirs of Your kingdom.  As we wait for that time of glory, we pray that You equip us to be Your laborers in these end days.  We ask that You arm us against the attacks of the enemy as we help bring the church to completion.  May we show show the world the living Christ that is within us.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus, our waiting Savior.  

Servanthood

1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

The life of Jesus Christ was the epitome of servanthood.  He poured Himself out upon the needs of the people, especially the need for salvation from sin.  He was willing to be the sacrificial lamb.  He was willing to be the door mat under people’s feet.  He sought no recognition.  He sought to show us what love is.  He is the precious Lamb of God.  He is love.

As His disciples we are called to be His bondservants.  We are called to serve the will of Our Master.  We are called to serve the world as He served the world, sacrificing all that we are and all that we have for the good of all mankind and for the honor and glory of the Father.  We are to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the blood sacrifice required to atone for the sins of all mankind.  We praise the name of the Precious Lamb of God who gave His life so that we may all have eternal life with You, Father.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will take us to the foot of the Cross to seek a life of service to all men.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to minister in love to those around us.  We ask, Lord, that you provide the grace that we need to forsake the need for recognition, except in Your eyes.  May our lives be a reflection of our Servant King.  We ask all these things in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Our New Lives in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:14
Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

It is the love of our beloved, Jesus Christ, that shines forth in us when we submit ourselves to be vessels of His perfect love.  The love of Jesus in our lives is what allows us to show the world what living for Christ is all about.  If we ever try to show the world Jesus through our own holiness, and not through the righteousness that we have received from Our Savior, we will fail.

Christ died for all, so that we may all die to sin and self.  As we die to self and receive Jesus as Our Savior, we are free to live for Our Redeemer.  We are able to live as Our Redeemer lived in the perfect will of the Father.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son who died for our sins.  We praise the name of Jesus for accepting Your will and plan for His life all the way to the Cross.  We pray, Father, that the world will see the way, the truth and the life of Jesus through us as we leave our old lives behind in exchange for the our new lives in Christ.  We ask, Lord, that the fullness of the life of Your Son, Jesus, be perfected in us.  May the world know us as His disciples.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, the precious Lamb of God.

Escaping the Darkness of Political Correctness

1 Corinthians 4:13

when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world–right up to this moment.

Paul and those who joined with him in spreading the gospel message were attacked viciously by the social media of their day.  How remarkable it is that Paul’s words of 2000 years ago are so accurate today.  The voice of our corrupt world screams out against the gospel message wherever it is presented.  The persecution of Tim Tebow and every other celebrity that speaks out for Christ are all perfect examples.  They, and every other proclaimer of the Gospel, suffer vicious attacks in all forms of media simply because they are willing to express the truth about their Savior. 

Unfortunately, the attacks of the enemy have quieted the voices of most Christians.  We have sat back and watched as prayer has been taken out of our schools and community events.  We have allowed the Ten Commandments to be removed from display in public places.  We have sat idly as the mention of Jesus has basically been banned in any form, unless of course, it is used to ridicule Him.

Now more than ever, as the world spins faster and faster toward total destruction, we must become the lamps on the hill that provide the light to those that are in darkness.  If we don’t, who will?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings that You have bestowed on our nation.  We praise You for granting us the privilege of living in the greatest nation that has ever existed.  We come before You, Lord, and ask for forgiveness for allowing Your Truths to be taken out of our society, to be spit upon and ridiculed just as Your Son was at Calvary.  We ask, Father God, that You shine Your Light upon our land so that the darkness that we have allowed to creep in will be overshadowed.  Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may the laws of our land and the actions of our people come into alignment with Your laws, Your commandments and Your Holy Word.  Once again may we call upon You as the God in whom we trust.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.