Month: April 2015

Suddenly Able to Serve

John 16:12
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Almighty God has created each of us to fulfill a unique need in His kingdom.  His plan for our lives is much, much bigger than anything that we have ever imagined.   We are just not ready to take it all in. Our flesh simply gets in the way with what the Holy Spirit has to teach us.  And of course, for many of us, we dig our own holes which makes the process even harder.  Nonetheless, for those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, His spirit will provide our strength where we are weak.

Even the apostles were not ready to receive and understand all the teachings of Jesus.  Without the filling of the Holy Spirit, their flesh simply could not handle what was going to be revealed to them in the spirit.  It was only after Pentecost that the apostles were able to boldly proclaim the full gospel.
What a wonderful transformation when the Holy Spirit opens our minds to receive and understand the things that made no sense to us or had no value for us before.  In the blink of an eye, our blinders are removed.  Without even being cognizant of the process, we begin to assimilate truths that had been unavailable to us before.  Then, just as suddenly we are able to share them with those who have been prepared to receive them.

Let us prepare our hearts to receive all that the Holy Spirit has for us.  Let us fulfill the plans that Almighty God has created us to fulfill.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Wonderful Counselor that You have provided to guide and instruct us.  We humbly ask that You prepare us to receive all that the Holy Spirit has to teach us.  May we become willing vessels – ready to take on the fullness of Your living water and eager to have the living water pass through us to bring life and enlightenment to those around us.  We ask these things in the name of the Living Water, Jesus Christ.

Knowledge Is Not Enough

James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
How many times have you asked someone if they knew the answer to something and got the following response.  “I don’t know.  Just google it.”

We are amazed at what we can find and delighted in how the googling process often yields the exact information that we are looking for.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this process, if used appropriately.  It provides us with knowledge that we do not have…fast.
As amazing and effective as googling can be, there is a much faster source of knowledge that is instantly available to us without the aid of any man-made device.  Our Heavenly Father teaches us that all we have to do is ask and He will give us wisdom.   

Google can provide knowledge, but does not provide wisdom.  Wisdom is much better than knowledge.  Wisdom provides insight into how we should use the knowledge that we have accumulated.  Wisdom from God deepens our insight into how we should apply our skills and our knowledge in ways that are pleasing to Him.

Google will always provide an answer to the question that we asked.  The answers are predetermined by the search engine programming.  God will not always answer the question we asked.  Omnisciently, He will answer the question that we should have asked.  He will uniquely tailor His response to our real needs and to His will and plan for our lives.  
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have inspired and equipped others to provide us with knowledge to help us through our daily activities.  We come to You to seek wisdom, so that we may use our knowledge in ways that are pleasing to You and in ways that are used to bear fruit for Your kingdom and bring honor and glory to Your name.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to always turn to You first when we are seeking answers.  May the world know us and be drawn to Your Son through the wisdom that You provide.  We ask these things in the the name of Our Wonderful Counselor, Jesus Christ.

The Offer of Eternal Life

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?
As the women were weeping for the suffering of Jesus, He prophesied the terrible judgement that awaits those that do not accept the new life that He offers them.  He emphasized the message of His prophecy by using Himself as the standard against which judgement will be made.  

Jesus compared Himself to a green tree, full of life, flourishing in every aspect of its existence.  Such a tree is not proper to be cut down before its time, nor is it fit to be fuel for the fire.  The metaphor was designed to express the righteousness and innocence of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, Jesus was comparing the sinner to dry, dead wood.  Such wood is rotten and deserving to be fuel for the fire.  The metaphor was designed to express the depravity and worthlessness of the sinner.

If He, who is pure and perfect in every measure and is the essence of life itself, had to suffer beyond the human capacity for pain and then die for our sins, why then should we, the driest of woods, not expect to die for our sins?  We can only escape the punishment for our sins and claim our inheritance as children of God by accepting the offer of eternal life through Our Savior.  

May we become vessels of the life of Christ within us.   May we look deep inside and make sure that we are not dry wood, bearing no fruit, showing no sign of allowing the life of Christ within us to be released to the world around us.  Indeed, may we seek out the dead wood around us and present the offer of eternal life.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is found only in Your Son, Jesus.  We praise the name of Jesus for all that He suffered on our behalf.  We rejoice in the inheritance that awaits us.  We pray that You will raise us up to be living testimonies to the new life that we have in Christ so that others may join us in our eternal places in Your kingdom.  We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.

Victory Through His Resurrection

Romans 6:5
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
When we chose to accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we chose to let our old sinful man die.  But just as the completeness of death did not overcome Jesus quickly, neither will our old sinful nature be put to rest in short fashion.  And just as the power of His Spirit gave Jesus victory over His death, so will His Spirit within us give us victory over our sinful nature.
And just as the resurrection lifted Jesus’ spirit from His body to return to the Father, so too will the power of His resurrection lift us from our old lives and enable us to stand sinless in victory before the Father.  It will not be because we became better people.  It will be because we became completely new people in Christ.  It will be because Jesus Christ has taken residence within us, never to be separated.  It will be because we share in the benefits and feel and enjoy the effects of His resurrection.  It will because we are regenerated by virtue of His resurrection so that we may walk in newness of life.  It will be because we are sealed by His Spirit for all eternity.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for raising Your Son to meet You in heaven after His death on the Cross.  Thank You for preparing the way for us to gain our eternal inheritance as Your children through the power of the Resurrection.  Father, release the full power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can surrender completely to our new lives in Christ, leaving behind forever the old man that torments us daily.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, Our Risen Lord!!

The Cross Reveals the Salvation Message

Mark 15:33-38
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” … And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
The story at the Cross, as written in this sequence of verses provided by Mark, paints a picture of the salvation message.  The darkness over the entire world represents our personal sin and the sin that engulfs all of mankind.  Jesus crying out to the Father, “why have you forsaken me?”, indicates that in taking on the sins of the world Jesus was separated from the Father – who cannot have sin in His presence.  And then, the tearing away of the veil reveals that the death of Christ opened up heaven to all of us.  The veil of the old covenant had represented the separation of God from the people, except through the intercession of the assigned high priests.  Instantly and gloriously, the new covenant of salvation was opened up to all mankind with Jesus Christ as our perpetual High Priest before the Father.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for establishing the blessed hope and assurance of the new covenant through Your Son, Jesus.  May the eyes of the world be opened to see the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son.  May the hearts of the world be prepared to receive Your Son as their Savior.  May the hearts of the world be molded so that they may surrender to Your Son as their Lord, Master, and King.  May it all be for Your honor and glory, for the honor and glory of Your Son, Jesus, and for the honor and glory of the Holy Spirit.  Father, we pray that You will allow our lives to be living testimony to this glorious message.  We ask these things in the name of Our Deliver, Jesus Christ.

Bondage to Sin is Done Away With Forever

Romans 6:6
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Our corrupt nature, called the old man, is crucified with Jesus Christ by the grace granted from the Cross.  Accepting the crucified Christ as Our Savior allows us to accept the crucifixion of our old selves.  As Christ submitted totally to the Father, we also submit totally to the Father through the power of the new spirit of Jesus Christ that lives within us.
With Jesus Christ as our King, there is no place for the old man to rule.  Our bondage to sin is done away with forever.  The callings of the old man are not gone completely, however.  They exist in a weakened and dying state, struggling to stay alive within us.  

Rejoice!!  We shall be victorious against the callings of the old man.  Our union with our crucified Savior insures it. 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Precious Lamb, Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for our sins.  We accept our co-crucifixion with Jesus.  We stand before You to ask for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as our old man tries to pull us back into sin.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will urge us to keep our eyes on the Cross and not on the world.  May it all be for the glory of the Precious Lamb.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered so much for us, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Taking Our Brokenness to the Cross

John 16:32
Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.
The apostles and disciples of Jesus scattered as He began His journey to the Cross.  They returned to their homes and their old jobs.  Their faith was real, but without the Holy Spirit they were not strong enough to stand up to the Cross.
Jesus calls us from different times and places in our lives, just as the apostles were called.  At some point in time, we will all be called to stand up for our faith.  In today’s anti-Christian environment, this challenge is more real than any of us could have ever imagined that it could be.  Will we scatter to our old lives when the trials of persecution, the trials of trouble or perhaps the trials of political correctness challenge us? Or will we surrender all to Our Savior?

The answer lies in Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with our own strength, capability nor merit.  We must recognize our weakness.  If we think we can stand against the world, especially against the enemy, we will certainly fall.  We must recognize how weak we are and take our brokenness – all our wounds, all our frailties, all our fears – to Our Savior.  We must allow His goodness, His love, His mercy and His kindness to become the essence of our lives.  If we accept His free gift of love and life and surrender to Him, we will never stand alone against what the world tosses our way.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we have been called to follow Your Son.  We exalt the name of Jesus who gained victory over all sin and all evil on our behalf.  We praise His precious name as He stands forever by our sides.  We pray, Father, that we may have the wisdom and the strength to recognize and face our brokenness.  We ask that the Holy Spirit guide us in surrendering everything to Jesus.  As we are challenged by the darkness, my we call on the name of Jesus to stand up for our beliefs.  We beseech You, Lord, to complete Your work in us so that we have the courage and the faith to choose Your Kingdom and defend it against the world.  We ask all these things in the name of the perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.