Month: October 2016

The Ability to Love and Forgive

1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for the sins of all of mankind.  In this one act, we see the perfect love and the perfect forgiveness of both the Father and the Son.  The advocacy of the Son is limited to believers, but the propitiation for sin extends as far and as wide and as deep as the evidence of sin in all people.   

When we receive the Son, Jesus Christ, as Our Savior, we are receiving the fullness of His perfect love and forgiveness.  We also receive the indwelling Holy Spirit who instills in us this perfect love and forgiveness to share with the world around us.  As it is with the Father and the Son, we are to withhold love and forgiveness from no man.  

With all the anger and bitterness that is spewed every day in our society, we should not withhold even the smallest portion of love and forgiveness from any man anywhere.  Our ability to love and forgive under all circumstances is what marks us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the unlimited flow of love and forgiveness that comes from Your Throne. We bless the name of Jesus for becoming sin for every man so that we all could receive the eternal gift of salvation.  We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we learn to become free flowing vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  We ask for the grace to overcome all bitterness, anger and unforgiveness in our lives so that we may in no way hinder the provision of Your love to the world around us.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord Our Redeemer.

Defined By Our Obedience

Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Jesus proclaimed His authority over all things before He told His disciples to go out to all nations.  He wanted them to know that He was with them every step of the way.  He wanted them to know that there would be no day nor hour in which He was not present with them.  He wanted them to know that He wanted to accomplish His work through them.  He wanted them to know that there was nothing that could not be accomplished through Him.  
What He did not say to the disciples was, “Thanks, I could not do this without you.”  God can accomplish His plans without any help from us.  If we are not obedient in doing the things that He asks us to do, the loss is not His.  He will find a replacement to do His good work because He loves to use His children to accomplish His work.  It brings Him great pleasure and glory.
But if we are not obedient to the things that He asks us to do, it is our loss.  The work that we do for the Lord is more about our sanctification process than the results of our work.  Who we are in Christ is defined by our obedience to His calling.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege of serving You on this earth.  We rejoice in knowing that we bring You great pleasure and glory when we do Your good work.  We pray, Father, that You will open our eyes so that we may see the ways in which You are calling us to serve You.  We pray, Lord, that You will prepare our hearts to surrender to Your will for our lives.  May all that we do be for Your pleasure and Your glory.  We ask all these things in the name of the Great King Over All the Earth, Jesus Christ.

Time in the Wilderness Defines the Harvest

Exodus 2:11
One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.
Moses had a calling on his life and he knew it.  He just did not know how to handle it.  Although he was tuned in to his calling, he was not spiritually prepared yet to handle the assignment.  God took Moses through 40 years in the wilderness to prepare him for his God-appointed place among the Israelites.
We are all called to lead our families spiritually.  We are all called to lead others spiritually in some manner.  When the fullness of the calling hits, we soon realize how ill equipped we are for the work and how ill prepared those around us are to receive us.
At this point when we have received God’s calling and are responding to it, God begins to do His good work in us.   Then something strange happens.  We have the vision and a very clear understanding of what needs to be done, but like Moses, we feel like we have been left out in the wilderness.  It seems as if God is ignoring us.
In actuality, the opposite is true.  God is fully and perfectly engaged in our lives.  His plan is to discipline us so that we are focused on Him and not on our vision.  When our focus is corrected, the fruit of the vision is released.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfectly patient hand in our lives.  We thank You for taking us through our wilderness experiences in order to draw us closer to You.  We bless the name of Jesus who carries us through our discouragement.  We praise His Holy Name as He releases the fruit of our lives when we are mature enough in our relationship with Him to handle the harvest.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Over All, Jesus Christ.

Practicing the Presence of God

Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked with God;
“Enoch walked with God.”  Good for old Enoch, but what about us?  Does it seem possible that at any given time that the ruler and creator of the universe would dial us up and invite us for a walk or we could dial Him and ask Him to join us for a walk?  In the flesh, it certainly seems impossible, perhaps even unimaginable.

While it all may seem illogical to us, it is absolutely within the plans that Almighty God has for each of us.  He is always ready to hear from us.  He is eager to come along side of us.  His line is always open.  The only issue is that to connect we have to be on the same line.  We can only get on the same line by disconnecting from all the other lines of distraction that we are dialed into.  A lot of work to be done there, but well worth the effort.  Spiritual truth awaits.
Let us be inspired by Nicolas Herman, an early 1600’s gentleman who became a monk and took on the name of Brother Lawrence.  He later wrote the book, “The Practice of the Presence of God.”  It seems that Brother Lawrence became known for the profound peace and joy in his life.  His demeanor became so well known that people of all walks began coming to him for spiritual guidance.  His conversations and his letters to those he communicated with became the basis for his book.
Brother Lawrence’s secret was that he made devotion to the Lord part of every task, no matter how mundane. By his own admission, the process was difficult and tedious.  Even so, his perseverance paid off.  He gradually began to experience the presence of the Lord in all that he did.  Bottom line is that he treated all of his labor as sacred, as done unto the Lord, and as a result he walked with God each day.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for granting us the privilege to be alone in Your presence.  We praise You for making Your throne accessible to us.  We bless the name of Jesus for dying on the cross for us so that we are worthy to come before You.  We pray, Lord, that You would teach us how to shed the distractions of the world and make You the center of all that we do.  May we all learn to rejoice in complete comfort in Your sweet presence.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Ever Present Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Withholding Today What Will Be Better Tomorrow

John 11:6
So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
“All my friends are driving, I want to now.”  “All my friends are dating, I want to now.” “I want something right now and it is the biggest deal in the whole world,” is the common cry of all children.  The response of the loving, thoughtful and prayerful parent may sound like this, “You will be able to do this, Dear, but not now.  I will allow it later when I see that you are mature enough to handle this.”  To the child, the wait will seem painful.  To the loving parent, everything is right and in perfect order.
It is common place for those whom Jesus loves to be afflicted with pain or disease, to be in financial need or to find themselves in a very dry place spiritually.  Almighty God has every intention of meeting the needs of those that accept His Son as their Savior.  Just as it was for Lazarus and his family, when His work of temporal or spiritual deliverance is delayed, it is only on hold for the right time and the maximum good for all.
Just as the loving parent responds to the child, so does our loving Father in heaven respond to us.  His plans for us are perfect for us and our needs.  He hears our prayers and He answers them.  He does not rush to provide the answer, even though He could.  He waits not for a good solution to our problems, but the best solution.   He wants to prepare only “the best” for us – just like the parent whose love is great enough to withhold today what will be better tomorrow.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for always giving us what is best for us and not what we ask for and certainly not what we deserve.  We exalt You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You extend to us endlessly.  We pray, Lord, that You will show us how to wait confidently in faith for all that You have prepared for us and those around us.  We rejoice in knowing that Your timing is perfect.  We ask all these things in the name of the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ.

Childlike Obedience for All Ages

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.
Jesus was well aware that the mindset of the individuals around Him was a critical determinant in their ability and desire to accept His teaching.  Jesus knew that many of the people that He was trying to reach set up blockades to learning because they granted authority only to their logic, tradition, culture and emotional feelings.  They would not accept the truth and authority of the King of Kings.  Thus they closed the door on the truth in His teaching.   Ultimately, He closed the door on them.
As parents, teachers or caretakers, we understand the joy and the pleasure of an obedient and respectful child.  The obedient child’s constant compliance to our instruction melts our hearts.  Their demeanor invites instruction.  It is easy and very natural for us to give compliant and respectful children greater responsibility because we are confident that they will handle the responsibility appropriately. 
So it is when we become new born babes in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Almighty God rejoices when we are obedient and we demonstrate our faithful compliance to His laws, His commands, His Holy Word and His callings on our lives.  When we come to Him humbly and in awe of who He is, He rewards us with more knowledge, more wisdom and more responsibility in His kingdom.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for receiving us as innocent babes in Christ.  We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible that we could stand before You in righteousness.  We bless the name of the Holy Spirit who inspires us to come to You as expectant as young children who go to their fathers eager to learn about the world and anxious for their dreams to be fulfilled.  We pray for the grace to please You in all that we do.  We ask that You release to us the knowledge that we do not have and the wisdom we seek.  May it all be for Your glory and the gain of Your kingdom.  We ask all these things in the name of the Author of Our Faith, Jesus Christ.

Choosing and Working Toward Our Eternal Resting Place

Romans 6:13
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
When we were born, we inherited a sin nature through the bloodlines of Adam and Eve.  Through the grace of Almighty God, we were given the choice to keep the sin that separates us from Him for all eternity or receive the atonement for our sin provided by the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is a choice that must be made.  There is no place for indecision in selecting where we want to spend eternity.
When we accept Jesus as Our Savior, we are washed clean of all of the sin in our lives.  Nonetheless, the sin nature remains.  It then becomes the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us away from the iniquity in our lives and toward the eternal, holy resting place that we will one day find in the presence of Almighty God.  Yet again with the grace of God, we are provided all that we need to overcome the sin in our lives.  To receive the fullness of our eternal reward, we must measure every experience in our lives by the standards of Jesus Christ and not by our own standards.  We must do right for the glory of God.
The things of darkness that perplex and distress us will persist throughout our lifetime on earth.  Regardless of the trials, the grace that we receive for these days will be sufficient.  But let us be encouraged, for in the blink of an eye on one glorious day, we will stand before the Father in the image of His Son.   And we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask Your forgiveness for our sins.  We rejoice in knowing that Your forgiveness is certain and complete through the redemptive work of Your Son, Jesus.  We thank You for allowing us to atone for the sin in our lives through Our Savior. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who stands by us as we continue to struggle with our sin natures.  We pray for the grace and the strength to repent and turn away from all the sin that the Holy Spirit reveals to us.  May our bodies be used to do only those things that are pleasing to You, bring glory to You and bear fruit for Your kingdom.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

The Day of the New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31
“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

Jeremiah foretold of a time when Jesus would bring in a new covenant.  This covenant would be based on the ultimate invitation, “Come to me”.  The invitation of the new covenant is always valid.  It has no expiration date.  It allows access to the greatest person in the universe on a 24-7 basis.  There is no requirement to accept the invitation, but it is exclusive to those of us who will acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Savior and acknowledge themselves as sinners in need of His cleansing blood.  The requirement is necessary in order to make us worthy to be in the presence of Almighty God.
When we accept the invitation, we then have access to the unimaginable favor of the King of Kings for all eternity.  As invited, we have the privilege of laying allof our burdens on Him so that we may be refreshed when we are faint.  We have the satisfaction of having our thirst for knowing our Maker quenched forever.  We have the treasure of being able to learn from Our Master all that is good and pleasing to Almighty God.
Why should we go to any other quarter to have our needs met?  Let us go to Him for the mysteries and the grace of God that come through Him.  Let us go to Him for the peace, comfort, joy and salvation that He holds in His hands.  Let us respond without delay to His invitation. 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us Your Son to reveal to us Your will and Your love.  We bless the name of Jesus for providing the yoke that joins us to Him for the purpose of having all of our burdens lifted from us.  We rejoice in knowing that we live in Your constant shadow protected from evil and supplied with our needs.  We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us to release all of our cares into the arms of the One who invites us to come to Him.  We ask all these things in the name of the Yoke of Our Burdens, Jesus Christ.

The Supernatural Plan for Our Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
When we hear the word sin, we usually think of a single transgression or specific transgressions which go against God’s law.  Sin defined in this manner only captures an aspect of sin.  In reality, sin is much more.  Sin is a complete, damning condition that separates us from God.  It is a chasm that we cannot cross on our own.  The chasm was created when Adam and Eve sinned.  At the moment of their sin, we inherited a condition that separated us from God for all eternity.
Thankfully, our merciful Father in heaven provided a way for us to bridge the chasm created by sin.  He provided His Son to take on the burden of all of our sin.  He allowed His Son’s blood to be shed so that we may be cleansed of all of the unrighteousness that separates us from the presence of Almighty God.  God made His own Son take on our sin so that we might become saints in heaven.
Jesus was not a sinner.  He never sinned, yet He was made sin by the Father.  He became a sin offering, a sacrifice for the sins of all men.  The supernatural plan for all of this was that we might be made righteous in the eyes of God.  Can we surrender too much, labor too much or suffer too much for the One who has made us righteous before Our Heavenly Father and secured our place with Him for all eternity?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, our thanks are inadequate to cover the redemptive work that cleanses us of our unrighteousness and allows us to stand in Your Holy Presence.  There is no manner of word or worship that we could bring before You that would be sufficient to cover the debt that has been paid for us.  We bless the name of Jesus who left His throne in heaven to come to earth to redeem us from the debt we could not pay on our own.  We humble ourselves before You, Lord.  We kneel at the foot of Your Cross and submit ourselves to a life in Your service here on earth and in heaven.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You forever.  We pray that our lives in Christ here on earth will lead others to the foot of Your Cross to receive their salvation.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lord of Our Righteousness, Jesus Christ.