Category: Uncategorized

Crushed by Our Trials

Matthew 13:32
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.
The mustard seed is very small.  To look at it, one might assume that this seed could never be anything significant.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  When the mustard seed germinates from the tiniest of beginnings, it blossoms into one of the largest plants in any garden.  But more impressive than its growth is its utility.  As a tree, it provides food and shelter for the birds that it attracts.  But it is as an herb that it provides its greater value as a savory delight for man.  Is it not interesting to note that the true value of the mustard seed is seen only after it has been crushed?
The mustard seed parable was taught by Jesus in order to illustrate the growth, development and power of our faith.  Our faith starts out as a seed planted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  It starts out small at first, but when properly nourished grows into something so large that it changes how we live and how we serve God.  In the early stages of our development as disciples of Jesus Christ, it is likely that we will draw others to us for peace and comfort.  But our greater value to them will come later as we mature in Christ.  When we have been pressed by our trials, perhaps even crushed by them, the best that we have to offer to anyone will be released.  It will be then that those who have been drawn to us will receive the full power of who we are in Christ.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for planting a seed of love within our hearts.  Thank You for the nurturing care of the Holy Spirit in our lives that that stirs our hearts and feeds our faith   We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to nourish and care for the seed of eternal love within us.  We pray for the grace and the strength that we need to endure the trials in our lives which will press the best from us as we mature in our relationship with Our Savior.  May the world be drawn to us to savor the fullness of Christ within us.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb Slain, Jesus Christ.

Obey and Wait to Hear from God

Acts 9:6
But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
Paul’s writings provide the foundational truths upon which our faith in Jesus Christ is built.  But as great as Paul’s writings were, his living testimony may have provided even more valuable teachings to those who are seeking to be disciples of Our Savior.   

In Acts, we read that before Paul was given any responsibility, before he was given any spiritual task, he was simply asked to “rise and enter the city.”  If Paul had failed to be obedient in following this simple command, we would not have all the writings of Paul in the Bible.  Some other obedient man would be there in his place.  But Paul was obedient in this first dramatic calling and to all the others that the Lord issued to Him, so he became one of the greatest men in all of the Bible.  His teachings have been a blessing to generations of people throughout the ages.  His legacy continues to live on today.
The other thing that we learn about Paul is that he never sought the favor he received. He only sought the one who called Him.  So it is with us.  We will receive favor from the Lord, not because we seek favor but because we seek Him.  Let us be mindful of Paul’s example.  All the good things that we receive from the Lord here on earth and in heaven will be because we sought the Lord and we were obedient to his calling.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to Yourself.  We seek You, Lord.  We humbly come before You and ask forgiveness for all the times that we have fallen short in our obedience to You.  We pray that You will strike us down like You did Paul, so that we may see how we have offended You and so that we may turn our lives toward the path that You direct us.  May the Holy Spirit guide us, inspire us and provide our strength to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy.  May we learn to be slaves to Jesus Christ and not slaves to this world.  May Your grace be with us always.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.   

Impossible to Contain What Has Been Given

Romans 1:14
I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
Paul was inspired by his view that Jesus Christ was his spiritual creditor.  He was constantly driven to impart all that he had received from Jesus to the world around him.  It was impossible for him to contain what he had been given through grace.  So it should be with us.

Redeemed by the blood, and converted by the grace of the Lord Jesus, we are altogether His.  For His sake we are debtors to all men.  To serve all men is our duty.  We should readily impart to others what God has trusted to us.  We should rejoice to make others joyful.  We should take pleasure in communing with those who believe the same things with us. 

We cannot contain what has been poured out upon us.  We should prepare ourselves to be founts of living water.  We must let the love of Our Savior spill out from us to the world.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You providing Your Son, Jesus, to cleanse us of our sin debt for all eternity.  Inspire us, Lord, to understand that through the gift of salvation we have become debtors to all men.   Show us how to repay that debt through the services that You call us to do.  Teach us how to impart the joy that You have given us.  Equip us to share the good news with those who You bring into our lives.  We pray that it may all be done for the honor and glory of the Blessed Trinity.  We ask all these things
in the name of Our Glorious Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Standing Against Persecution

James 1:4
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The new testament is littered with stories of the early Christians enduring in the face of hostility, persecution and even the death of their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.  But be assured, the early Christians were not superhuman.  One has to look no further than the apostle Peter to see the weakness of his flesh.  As we examine the trials and failures of these early disciples, we find them persevering against their circumstances, not because of their own strength, but because of the overcoming power of Jesus that provided what they lacked.  


As hostility and persecution rises against Christians around the world, let us be encouraged by Peter’s restoration.  He is a model for our hope in Christ.  And as persecution escalates in America, let us prepare to endure against the hostility that is burgeoning all around us.  Be certain that we are no stronger than Peter in our flesh.  Our first reaction to hostility will be to flee.  We cannot.  We must stand boldly on the truths of our faith.  We must turn to Our Savior for the strength and courage that we will need to stand against those who are defying Almighty God.


Thank the Lord for His salvation promise to complete every good work that He starts in us.  He will let nothing in our lives escape His attention.  He will steadfastly stand by us even as we stumble over and over.  Just as He changed Peter from a fleeing coward into the rock of the church, He will do the same for us in our time of need.  We will lack nothing in our time of trial if we are resting on Our Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, blessed be the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.  Thank You for His steadfast work in our lives.  May we completely surrender our lives to the perfect ways of Your Son.  We pray, Lord, for the courage and the strength to defend our faith against those who seek to destroy it.  May we proclaim the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus.  As we rise and fall in our frailty, may we rejoice in knowing that Your presence is always with us and You will not leave us before Your perfecting work is done.  The victory is ours through Jesus Christ.  We ask all these things in His precious and holy name.

Aligning Our Vision with God’s Plan for Our Lives

Isaiah 6:1
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 
As we read in this scripture, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord after the death of a major figure in his life, King Uzziah.  We, too, often get visions that are brought on by life changing moments – passing of family members or close friends, brokenness in personal relationships, challenging financial times or significant injury or illness.  It is natural for us to question our direction when these life altering events occur.
Too often we try to rebuild our lives based on our earthly vision of our work, our family or some particular passion (maybe even a ministerial one) that we have for this world.  All is for naught until we realize that there is only one vision of substance and value – the unique vision created by Almighty God that aligns with His will and purpose for our lives.
Only when we cast our visions through His focus, can we become truly fruitful.  We must go to the Throne Room and seek to learn God’s perfect plan for our lives. Until then we are building stacks of stubble and hay.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing events in our lives that force us to seek You first.  Help us, Father, to keep our eyes on Your Throne and Your Glory.  May the trappings of the world never again form the foundations of our visions.   May You alone be our blessed hope and assurance.  We ask all these things in the name of the Strength of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.

The Cornerstones of Our Faith

Romans 4:16
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 

God’s Word contains literally thousands of promises waiting to be claimed by faith.  Everyone of them are fulfilled in Jesus Christ and everyone of them can be fulfilled in our lives as we come into agreement with Our Savior.
Each of the promises of God are meant for our good.  All of His promises are waiting for us to discover and claim in His Holy Word.  Each promise as we find them, delights us and strengthens us.  Yet within the thousands of promises, we are sure to delight most in the seven promises below which might be regarded as the cornerstones of our faith.
  1. God has promised to supply every need we have. Phillipians 4:19.
  2. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. 2 Corinthians 12:9
  3. God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13
  4. God has promised us victory over death. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
  5. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28).
  6. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized will be saved. Mark 16:16
  7. God has promised His people eternal life. John 10:28

The Body of Christ, resting on the cornerstones of faith, is made alive through all of the promises and power made available through Jesus Christ.  As we cling to Our Savior, all of the promises of heaven pour out on us and we become a living vessel created to deliver on the promises of Almighty God.
When we do not use what God has given us to contribute to the Body of Christ and when we do not reach out to receive from the Body of Christ what God has prepared for us, we miss out on much in our lives.  We end up living below all that has been set aside for us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that all of Your promises to us have been secured by Your Son, Jesus.  We ask that the Holy Spirit may inspire us to search Your Holy Word for all the promises that have been set aside for us.  We seek to wield the power of these promises in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  May the Holy Spirit show us how to claim our eternal privileges by proclaiming Your Holy Word.  May the Body of Christ be truly alive because we are alive in Christ.  We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Both a Student and a Teacher

Ephesians 4:13
This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Paul teaches that Jesus gave His church these gifts: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers.  He provided these gifts so that the Body of Christ could be prepared to be His perfect bride.  We are all called to learn from the gifted ministers that are placed in our lives.  At some level, we are also called to express the gifts given to us so that we may fulfill our responsibilities in the Body of Christ.

God in His sovereign rule placed each of us exactly where He wants us.  He did not place us where we are to stand alone.  He placed each of us in a place that is linked perfectly with the world around us for the good of the Body of Christ.
Each one of us is called to be both a receptor of light and a beacon of light.  It is our individual responsibility to let God work in us by seeking out and receiving the ministerial gifts offered by the Body of Christ.  It then becomes our responsibility to let God work through us as we become active vessels of His perfect gifts to build up the Body of Christ .  

We must continually ask ourselves, “Am I building myself up in Christ?   Am I also building up the Body of Christ?  We will be measuring up to the complete and full standard of Our Savior when we are maturing in Christ as both a student and as a teacher.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for placing us among family, friends, neighbors and co-workers who, through Your handiwork, will help perfect us in Christ.  We thank You for giving us the opportunity to help perfect them by following the urgings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.   We praise Your name for giving us this magnificent Body of Christ here on earth so that we can learn to measure up to the full and complete standard of Our Savior.  May we live our lives for Your glory and for the good of Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our King and Our Master, Jesus Christ.

Sharing in the Sufferings of Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 1:5
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
As the Body of Christ, we identify with Christ’s suffering on the Cross.  We are crucified with Him.  We share in the physical sufferings of Christ because we suffer for the same cause.  He endured the highest level of suffering for the remission of our sins.  We suffer with Him as we confess our culpability for putting Him on the Cross.  As result of His suffering and ours, we are given the abundant comfort of eternal life.

On a different level, Jesus Christ considers the sufferings of His corporate body to be His own personal suffering.  He identifies Himself completely and directly with His church.  So everything that we suffer in life, Jesus shares in.  This is especially true of those things that we suffer for His name’s sake.  But as we suffer with Christ, we receive the abounding comfort of His love. 

Whether we are dealing with the physical or personal suffering of Jesus Christ, He provides the strength and comfort that we need to overcome the suffering that we endure.  He supplies it abundantly so that we are never asked to suffer more than we can handle.  Through His grace we are provided hope and joy under the heaviest of sorrows and suffering.  Ultimately, we are made cheerful in our suffering so that we may be made useful and comforting to others.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to comfort us in all of our suffering.  We humbly ask forgiveness for putting Your Son on the Cross because of our inequity.  We ask that we may suffer crucifixion with Jesus as we die to our old selves and take on our new lives in Christ.  We pray that everything that we suffer in life be for the glory of Our Savior.  May we always be cognizant of His personal and physical suffering.  May we suffer as He suffered for the same cause.  May both the suffering we go through and the abundant comfort that we receive result in eternal good for ourselves and for those around us.  We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Increase in the Body of Christ

1 Thessalonians 3:12
And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word increase means to become or make greater in size, amount, intensity or degree.  It can be assumed that Paul was speaking to all these nuances held in the definition of the word increase when He was writing to the Thessalonians.

It is certain that Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians to continue to increase in numbers just as all the other early Christian churches were doing.  It was his prayer that the Lord would cause them to increase through the abounding love that they would have for one another and for the world around them.

It is just as certain that Paul was also teaching that as the Lord provided for their increase in numbers that He would necessarily provide them with an increase in the intensity and fullness of His love.  Thus these early Christians would have the increase in the amount of love that they would need to win the world for Jesus Christ.  It would, in fact, be their cup spilling over with His perfect love that would draw others to their church and to Christ Himself.  

And it would also be in accordance with all of Paul’s other teachings for him to be praying that the Lord would increase the Thessalonians in one other area.  Paul was surely praying that there would be an increase in the degree of holiness, humility, knowledge and spiritual joy that would be poured out upon the Thessalonians in the form of the grace of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Their increase as individuals was critical to the growth of the Body of Christ.

And so it is with us.  God calls us to serve Him.  He calls each of us to pour out His perfect love to the world around us so that the Body of Christ may increase.  Subsequent to our obedience, He adds to us and grows us according to His good and perfect will and purpose for our lives.  This process of individual and corporate increase is continuous throughout our lifetimes. 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the good and perfect purposes that You have for our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that we will be able to continually serve You, not only on this earth, but also on into eternity.  We pray that You will show us where You are calling us to pour out Your perfect love.  Father, we ask that we never tire of the service that is at hand.  May we always increase in our service to Your kingdom.  We pray, Lord, that we may also increase in our holiness as we serve You.  We ask all these things in the name of our holy and awesome Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Last Will and Testament of Jesus

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
This passage represents the culmination of what could be considered the last will and testament of Jesus given to the His disciples before He left them.  In the prior verses of John 14, Jesus promised many things to comfort His disciples.  He also revealed a number of truths critical to our faith.

He encouraged His disciples as He told them that He was leaving them to prepare a place for them with Him in heaven.  He emphasized the He was the way, the truth and life and that the only way to heaven was through Him.

Jesus confirmed the Godhead to the apostles as He commanded them to “believe in Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”  Later He comforted the disciples when He told them that the Holy Spirit would be sent in His name by the Father to be their Helper in His absence.  He emphasized that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because they do not know Him.

More encouragement was given to the disciples as they were told that they would do greater works than He had done because He was going to the Father to represent them.  He emphasized that anyone that believes in Him will also be able to do greater works than He did.

Jesus promised them His peace and commanded them not to be troubled or afraid of the evil that would come against them.  He emphasized that the victory was theirs because He has power over the enemy. 

Jesus’ final command to them was, “Rise, let us go from here.”  This is our command as well.  We have been given all the things that the disciples were given.  As we work and live in the presence of Our Savior, we are filled with supernatural power.  Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are able to share the peace of the Lord with those that come into our lives.  We are able to live a life without fear because we know that Our God is in control of our circumstances.  And we are also able to live a life without trouble in our hearts because of the promises of Our Redeemer. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the peace that reigns in our lives.  We thank You, Jesus, for the peace that You brought us through Your shed blood.  We praise You, Lord, for providing the supernatural power that we need to live our lives without fear of any man or any circumstance.  We pray that You will equip us, embolden us and strengthen us so that we may be instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect peace.  We ask all these things in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.