Month: December 2015

Hanging on the Cross of Our Savior

Galatians 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
The works of the flesh are many and are manifest throughout the lives of all men and women.  Unfortunately, there is much in the works of the flesh that leads all of mankind into sinful patterns.  If uncontested by the spirit, the affections and lusts of the flesh are the things that will keep each of us out of heaven.  

The endless pursuit of life in the flesh will lead us to a constant and unavoidable destiny that is certain to be deviant from the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ.  Living in the flesh takes us on a path that is not compatible with maintaining a course of positive spiritual growth.  Deterioration and destruction are inevitable.
Only by turning to Our Savior in order to pursue a life in the spirit, can we overcome the inherent flaws of our flesh.  Only by focusing on our relationship with Our Savior, instead of ourselves, are we able to avoid destruction.  Only by hanging on to the Cross of Our Savior are we able to put to death the desires of our flesh.  Only by surrendering completely to the will of the Father will we find supernatural victory over the things that torment us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the sacrifice of Your Son so that we may live in the spirit and not in the flesh.  We praise the name of Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.  We rejoice in knowing that we can overcome all the frailties of our flesh because of the victory that Jesus won for us on the Cross.  We pray for the grace to maintain a constant focus on Our Savior so that we may be freed from the stirrings of the corrupt nature that remains in our flesh.  Father, we seek the fullness of our lives in Christ so that we may bear much fruit for Your glory.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Crucified King, Jesus Christ.

The Only Acceptable Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:14
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Under the law in the old testament, regular sacrifices were required to atone for sins.  The high priests served as mediators, offering up the blood sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people.  The people had no access to their own atonement for sin.  More importantly, they had no way of individually insuring that they would be acceptable to Almighty God.  This all changed when Jesus ushered in the new testament.  Under the new testament, the law was replaced by grace and all men were enabled to access their own atonement through one mediator, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  No man can get into heaven without recognizing the sacrifice of the precious Lamb of God.  No matter who we are or what we have, reinstatement with God the Father is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as Our Savior.  No matter how vile, corrupt and sinful we may be today, we can receive the eternal life that God promised and made available to all men through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Salvation is not earned, but accepted by every man who calls on the name of Jesus as his Savior.  For the shed blood of Jesus has the power to wash away all that separates us from the Father.  There is no other way that is deemed acceptable.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your new covenant which established Your Son as the only sacrifice necessary to fulfill the law for all men to be deemed acceptable before You.  We exalt Your name for providing a way for us to receive the eternal inheritance that we could not earn on our own.  We pray, Lord, that we will always be mindful of the suffering of Our Savior.  May our lives reflect our thanksgiving for His sacrifice.  May our joy in Jesus Christ draw others to Him.   We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

All The Good Things That He Promises

Genesis 9:13
I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.
Almighty God provided the rainbow as a sign to all living creatures that He would never flood the earth again.  When we see a rainbow, we are certainly reminded of His covenant with us.  But why stop with the intermittent rainbow?  We can look at all of creation and be constantly reminded of the many other covenants and promises that Our Heavenly Father has set aside for us.  He has so many promises of provision and protection that are ours to claim.
Unfortunately, we spend more time seeking the good things of the earth instead of the good things that God has in store for us.  While the good things we seek in life may indeed be things that any righteous person would deem good, they will fall short of satisfying us if they are not what God has in His will and plan for our lives.
The irony is that getting the good things from God is so simple.  All we have to do is abide in Him and we will be given all the good things that He promises us.  We need to seek the relationship first and He will provide all the things that He knows will satisfy us perfectly.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many promises that You have made to us through Your Holy Word.  We praise Jesus, who made it possible for us to receive all that You have set aside for us.  We humbly come before You, Father, to proclaim our desire to spend our lives seeking an intimate relationship with Your Son instead of seeking the things of this world.  We pray that Your grace be with us always as we learn to choose the good things of Your kingdom over the good things of this earth.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Exceeding Great Reward, Jesus Christ.

The Merciful Patience of Our Heavenly Father

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Our merciful Lord bears with our wicked world.  He defers His anger as so many, all of us included at some level, turn to idolatry, superstition, heresy, disobedience, profaneness, immorality and general lack of reverence for Almighty God.  Through it all, Our Father in heaven is steadfast in seeking His will that none shall perish.  Having already sacrificed His Son to atone for our sins, He sends His Holy Spirit to set in us a desire to repent of our sins.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins so that we see the desperate need that we have to accept the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.  
Aided by the Holy Spirit to accept the atoning work of Our Savior, we are washed clean of our sins.  We then enter into a new period of repentance as we battle our flesh daily.  God knows that we must still deal with the corrupt nature of our flesh, so He provides the the Holy Spirit to stand beside us.  In our continuous battle against our sin nature, the Holy Spirit will never leave our side.  God’s endless patience is evident.  In the depth of our sin, the Holy Spirit strengthens us as we fall and ultimately leads us to victory over sin, sanctifying us for our eternal place of glory. 
During this daily battle of sanctification, the Holy Spirit shows us our sins in an entirely different light.  Instead of just seeing our sins as the iniquity that damns us, we begin to see our sins in light of the pain and suffering that they caused and continue to cause Our Lord.  The Holy Spirit helps us take the agony we experience when we realize what we have done and turn it into sorrow and repentance as we consider our past, present and future sin.  The Holy Spirit then guides us into a deeper relationship with Our Savior.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love and forgiveness as expressed through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.  We ask for Your forgiveness, Father, for our sins that sent Your Son to the Cross on our behalf.  We praise Your Name for the patience that You have with us as we continue to struggle with our sin natures.  We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to aid and guide us as we battle against our flesh.  We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will strengthens us to turn away from the darkness in our lives today so that we may turn toward the marvelous light of Our Savior for all eternity.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

From Slave of Sin to Bond Servant to the King

Genesis 41:40
You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”
The Pharaoh gave Joseph great power and responsibility in his kingdom.  He proclaimed Joseph to be his equal except in the final level of authority.  In a sudden change of condition, Joseph went from imprisoned slave to a ruler of great standing.

So it will be for us one day as we take our places in the kingdom of God.  We will escape our carnal lives where we are enslaved to sin.  We will then stand before God in the image of His Son with the same glorified body.  We will be given the power and responsibility to rule and reign under the authority of Jesus Christ for all eternity.
Joseph went through many trials and tribulations in his life that prepared him to rule over Egypt.  None of it was easy, nor was it brief.  Joseph went from the pit to the prison to throne room all under the hand of Almighty God.  All of it was necessary for Joseph to be able to handle all that he would be given by the Pharaoh. 
So it is with us.  We have a lifetime of trial and tribulation.  God uses all of it to prepare us for our place in His kingdom.  We will grow in wisdom and discernment just as Joseph did.  All we have to do is submit to the will of God in our lives, just as Joseph did.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us in Your kingdom.  We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to be rescued from the prison that is this earth.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will lead us into submission to Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  May we learn to lean on Him in all things.  May we learn to live under His absolute control.  May we claim our rightful places in Your kingdom.  We rejoice in knowing that one day we will escape our slavery to this world to become bond servants of the King of Kings for all eternity.  We ask all these things in the name of our mighty and holy King, Jesus Christ.

That We May Have Peace in Our Lives

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Jesus prepared his disciples for what was to come.  He forewarned them to expect tribulation in their lives.  He then inspired them by letting them know that in the face of every adversity that He had already secured the victory for them.  So it is with us.

In every element of our lives, we are certain to experience resistance.  Whether our activity is on the physical, emotional or spiritual level, we cannot avoid being challenged.  This is simply a fact of life.  How we handle the resistance that comes against us is dependent upon our level of proficiency in each key area.  Our ability to cope will be determined by our strength, our emotional stability and our holiness.  The good news is that we become more capable in each area every time that we respond successfully to the challenges we face.  Constant successful response to what the world throws at us builds up our proficiency in each area.  The more times that exercise is chosen over idleness, the stronger we will be.  The more times patience is chosen over anger, the more peaceful we will be.  The more times righteousness is chosen over sin, the closer we come to reaching the holiness that Jesus has set aside for us.  The more times we make good choices in any of our activities, the more proficient we become in producing positive results in all areas of our lives. 
But we must be aware of the trap that pride brings upon us.  If our success leads us to lean solely on our own strength and capability, we will be in for some very hard times.  Let us learn to rely on Our Lord.  If we do not lean regularly on the One who promises to overcome the world for us, at some point the world will overcome us.  May all of our choices be made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and under submission to Our Savior who won victory for us on the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we may have peace in our lives no matter what is coming against us.  We bless the name of Jesus who died on the Cross so that we may have victory over all evil.  We rejoice in knowing that we can have comfort when the world is trying to steal it from us.  We pray that our pride will not lead us to believe in our own ability to overcome the world.  We ask, Father, for the wisdom to lean on Our Savior in our times of tribulation.  May we be built up in every area of our lives through our submission to Your Son.  We ask all these things in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. 

The Inspired Word of God Delivered by His Servants

1 Corinthians 2:4
And my message and my preaching were very plain.  Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied on the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Persuasion is man’s means of swaying the thoughts of other fellow men and women.  By nature and certainly by cultural pressure, when most of us try to persuade anyone on any topic, we are usually careful not to offend anyone if we can avoid it.  One of the biggest mistakes that we make as Christians is to carry over this mindset when we talk about the salvation message with non-believers.  If we are not careful, we end up manipulating the salvation message to please the ears of the listener.  All the while, we are actually withholding from them the truth and the power that is in the Word of God.
The apostle Paul in his teachings to the Corinthians emphasized the point that the power to convert was not in fanciful speech.  He knew that the people would not be stable in their faith if they were resting on the words of men and not on the power of God’s words.  He also knew and taught that His teaching had no power without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Be certain that Jesus did not come to earth worried about His message being politically correct.  In fact, He stated clearly that His teachings would be sure to divide households.  Know that politically correct messages will get no one into heaven, nor will they keep anyone out of hell.  Only the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit and delivered by His servants produces the supernatural power that leads to real persuasion and conversion.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the power that Your Holy Word has in transforming our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that we are serving You and pleasing You when we share Your inerrant Word with others.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to be bold in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and direct us in choosing the right message for each time we are in a position to share our testimony.  We ask, Father, that You prepare the hearts of those around us to receive the truth and respond to Your message of salvation.  We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ. 

The Breathtaking Beauty of the Body of Christ

Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
When we observe beauty in nature, we are usually not focused on a single object, but on the beauty of a single object or objects within the context of the total surroundings.  If we separate out the single objects, we will find that none of them are perfect.  But when we consider the single objects as integral parts of their settings, we are treated to sites that we deem to be perfectly beautiful.
In this same way, God creates beauty in our lives.  Even though we are not perfect, God can use us perfectly within the environment that He places us.  As individuals in the flesh, we have many imperfections, but as spirit-filled members of the Body of Christ we attain the perfect beauty that Jesus is looking for in His bride. 
The Lord sees His Church as wonderful and beautiful.  He does not see the Church as individuals struggling to be perfect as He is perfect.  He does not see the affliction and filth of the individual members living in the flesh.  He sees the breathtaking beauty of the Body of Christ clothed in His holiness, glory and perfection.  He sees the work in us that was completed on the Cross. 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we are made perfect through the redemption that Your Son, Jesus, has procured for us.  We bless the name of Jesus for allowing us to forget the things that are behind us, both our sins and our labors that are of no value to the kingdom.  We pray that we be given the grace to press forward with all of our focus on the holy desires, hopes and endeavors that bring us into union with Our Savior who has made us His own.   We rejoice in knowing that our day to be with Him has been set aside for all eternity.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who prepares us to be His bride, Jesus Christ.

Only Perfect is Acceptable

James 2:10

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
The garment is not acceptable if there is one snag in the fabric.  The tune is no longer in harmony if there is one note out of key.  The chain is broken if one link does not hold.  The law is not kept if one point is not held.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30  STOP!!  There it is…the first and greatest commandment.  We need not go any further to realize that we are incapable of meeting the requirements of getting into heaven.  We simply cannot earn our way in.  We cannot get past the first requirement.  It is impossible for us to love the Lord in the manner that He requires.
Remember, God demands perfect, not partial obedience.  A good effort is not good enough.  Good enough is only found on the Cross.  The only way that we can meet the requirements that God demands is to have the blood of His Son wash us clean of all of our sins so that we may stand before Him in the image of His Son.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for demanding perfection concerning Your laws.  We rejoice in knowing that Your kingdom, which we will inherit, will be void of anything that is less than perfect.   We thank You for providing an eternal resting place for us that will be the essence of everything good.  We bless the name of Jesus, whose shed blood allows us to stand spotless before You.  Father, we claim Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness.  We pray for the grace to live in the fullness of Jesus Christ as You prepare us to love You with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds and with all our strength for all eternity.  We ask all these things in the name of the One, and only one without fault, Jesus Christ.

Guided to All Truth and Transformation by the Holy Spirit

John 16:13
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  
When we receive Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we are indwelled by His Holy Spirit.  As the Holy Spirit fulfills His calling to glorify Jesus, He declares the things that are to come into our lives through our relationship with Jesus.  Thus, we enter into a new phase of our lives.  We move from whatever natural level of piety, prayer and devotion that we might have had into a new supernatural level of devotion.  We enter into a personal, passionate relationship with Jesus.
Simultaneously, we begin to undergo the sanctification process.  From that first moment of accepting Jesus and until our death, the Holy Spirit is shaping us into the person that God created us to be.  As we go through the sanctification process, we go through a supernatural transformation.  As we respond to the urgings of the Holy Spirit, our spiritual faculty is quickened so that we may understand and respond to unfathomed treasures that are in Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the treasures that are ours through Your Son, Jesus.  We rejoice as the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus to lean on Him for every good thing through time and for all eternity.   We pray, Lord, that we may join the Holy Spirit as He glorifies the name of Our Savior.  May our work be derived from our devotion to Your Son.  May those around us know us by our calling and may they be called in the same manner.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our Sanctifier, Jesus Christ.