Category: Uncategorized

The Story of Life Through Death

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The cross that became the instrument of death for Jesus Christ had no life in it.  The tree that gave its life, so that the formation of the cross was possible, allowed the lifeless cross to meet its responsibility.  Without taking the life of the tree, there would be no crucifixion story.

In a similar fashion, we who were dead to sin, were able to accept the free gift of salvation that was offered to us by Our Savior.  Jesus Christ gave up His life so we could meet the requirements necessary for us to be children of God. Without the taking of the life of Our Savior, there would be no salvation story.   

Along the same lines, we put our old man to death so that we might shed the ways of wickedness, error and ignorance that are inherent in the will and understanding of our sin nature.  By allowing our old man to be crucified with Christ, we take on our new lives in Jesus Christ in which we rely on Him for everything.  Without the death of our old man, there would be no sanctification story.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the endless grace that You provide us so that we are able to accept Your Son as Our Savior and are able to submit to His rule and reign in our lives.  We bless the name of Jesus who died for our sins to make it all possible.  We praise the name of the Holy Spirit for preparing our hearts to receive Our Savior and for molding our hearts so that we may submit our lives to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.  We pray, Father, that You will empower us to go out and proclaim the good news.  May we bring honor to Your name, the name of Your Son, Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit.     

Only Through the Cross

Galatians 6:14
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Man throughout the ages has always tried to define what creates a better and more satisfying lifestyle.  From a secular standpoint, many different types of programs, processes and religions have taken turns being touted as the new thing that will change lives for the better.  But none of these has stood the test of time, nor will they ever.

No plan except the salvation plan of Our Savior has merit.  As the apostle Paul taught repeatedly, vain and carnal hearts will never come up with a plan that even approaches the way, the truth and the life that is offered to us through the Cross of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

We can read every single book on how to improve ourselves.  We can attend every seminar that promises to make positive changes in how we live our lives.  Life changes that are instituted from any of these will produce nothing.  No matter how much we believe that we have improved ourselves, it will not be sufficient.  Until our minds and hearts are changed supernaturally by the regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit, we will only change the elements of this world.  Only through the Cross will we truly change and claim victory over the foolishness that the world offers and that our flesh demands. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to give us victory over the weakness that is our flesh.  We rejoice in knowing that by accepting Your Son as Our Savior that we can overcome all of the trials and tribulations that the world offers to us.  We pray that we will be given the grace and the wisdom to see the folly that we will undertake if we arrogantly look to our own abilities to secure our future.  We ask that the influence of the Holy Spirit will keep us in humble submission to Our Lord and Savior at the foot of His Cross.  May we deny all riches, praises, honors and pleasures of the world in exchange for our renewed lives in Jesus Christ.

Reliance Upon the Hand of Almighty God

Psalm 123:2
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.

Our focus needs to be on God at all times.  We should be expectant that He will direct our ways and make provision for the fulfillment of our calling.  We should understand that He will set the limits of how high He is ready for us to go and He will set the timing of when we will get there.  We should recognize that He knows exactly what He has planned for our lives and the lives of those around us.  

If we focus on our problem or our vision without including Our Heavenly Father in the process, we will set expectations for ourselves that are outside of God’s will for our lives.  We will be setting ourselves up for burn out or for seeing results that are disappointing to us.  It is almost certain that we will not go as high as God had planned for us or that we will give up on our calling before it is fulfilled because we are not in tune with God’s timing.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to be Your servants.    We rejoice in knowing that just as the slaves go to their master for all of their needs, we can go to You for all of our needs.  We pray, Lord, that just as the slaves wait on their master before they do anything, we will learn to wait on the direction of Your Holy Spirit before we take on anything.  We ask that our entire reliance be in Your hand, Almighty God.  May we reach the heights of the supreme service that You have planned for us. 

Living the Ordained Life

1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Jesus is our model.  He came to earth to do the work that the Father gave Him to do and He did it faithfully so that the Father would be glorified.

So too, we have all been called to serve Our Father in heaven here on earth.  Everything that we do is ordained by God.  Every portion of our lives, even our eating, drinking, walking and talking are all for His glory.  But beyond our daily utilities, God has created each of us to serve Him in accordance to the plan that He has for our lives.

Most of us were not called to be theologians or full time ministers.  Most of us were called to be secular laborers or laborers in our homes.  For some of us, aside from our daily labor, the Lord has placed a calling on our lives for some type of spiritual service such as teaching a Bible study, singing in the choir, visiting prisons or assisted living facilities, etc.  For most of the rest of us, our service beyond our daily labors may be quite mundane service at the church we attend – child care, parking attendant, usher, etc.  Again, all of these things are ordained by God for His glory and all are held in high esteem by Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You allow the least of us in the least of ways to bring glory to Your name.  We rejoice in knowing that You have created us for this purpose.  We bless the name of Jesus, who accepted His calling as Our Savior and fulfilled it completely to the end of His days on earth.  We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will guide us and inspire us in finding all the ways that You have planned for us to serve You.  May our every act be consecrated by our holy motives to glorify You.

God’s Love Expressed Through Divine Decree

John 17:4
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

“God loves us so much that He forgives our sins” is a misstatement in and of itself.  God by His very nature cannot forgive our sins without the redemptive work of the Cross.  Almighty God abhors sin and cannot tolerate even a smidgeon of its stain in His presence.  The proper statement is “God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die on the Cross to atone for our sins so that we could become acceptable to stand before Him”.  

To accept the misstatement as the truth is to make the sacrifice of Jesus Christ unnecessary and to open the doors to heaven to those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.  The misstatement, unfortunately, is the one that Satan uses to dupe many into denying Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Jesus Christ took on our sin on the Cross by divine decree.  His death was the reason that He came to earth. He completed the work that His Father gave Him to do.  His unimaginable accomplishment was crowned by His own words, “It is finished.”  Through His perfect life and His atoning death, He glorified the Father and opened the way for us to become heirs to the kingdom of Almighty God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your Son to die on the Cross to atone for our sins.  We exalt the name of Jesus who accepted His assignment on earth so that He might glorify Your name and open the way to heaven for all men.  We pray, Father, that we may glorify Your name by faithfully completing every good work that You have set aside for us.  In the name of Jesus, we ask for the grace to see and the strength to accept the things that You have called us to do so that others may see the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus.

Supernatural Forgiveness

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

When we think of forgiveness, we usually think of it in terms of how it plays out in our natural interactions with others.  We may find it hard to forgive someone who has offended us, but we can usually find the mercy to forgive them when they come to us and their expression of regret is sufficient for us and their expression that they will never do it again satisfies us.  Conversely, we feel like we should be forgiven if we are willing to express our sorrow for the pain we have caused to another and we are willing to say we will not cause that harm again.  In the natural, among people of good hearts, this process works much of the time.

Almighty God looks at forgiveness in a different light.  He certainly requires the same natural interactions of forgiveness that we are familiar with.  For God to forgive us, He requires us to come before Him humbly and confess our sins.  For God to forgive us, He requires us to repent of our sins.  But Our Father in heaven also requires supernatural interaction.   Because of His holiness, we cannot approach Him with our expressions of sorrow and repentance unless we have accepted Jesus as Our Savior.  For Our Savior must first approach the Father as Our Mediator.  He must identify us as ones who have been cleansed by His atoning blood.  In the supernatural, under these conditions, this process works every time without fail.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect, unconditional love and the mercy plan for forgiveness that You have provided through Your Son, Jesus.  We bless the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to come before You with our confessions and our desire to repent of our sins.  We rejoice in knowing that Our Savior stands before You as Our Mediator and that His atoning blood covers us so that we are acceptable to receive Your forgiveness.  We pray, Lord, that we will always be mindful of what it cost You to You to reinstate us in Your favor.  May the world around us see us in the light of Your favor and be drawn to Your Son to receive the same treasure. 




Thanksgiving in Every Confession

John 6:18
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Jesus instructed His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them after He departed the earth.  He let them know that the Holy Spirit would be their counselor.  He taught them that the Holy Spirit would convince them of their sin and reveal to them the penalty for sin that is required by a righteous and holy God.  He also let the disciples know that the Holy Spirit would be their comforter.  He taught them that the Holy Spirit would be with them to show them the need for their Redeemer and the value of the gift of salvation.

We have been taught through the Holy Word of the promise of Almighty God to forgive our sins if we confess them before Him and repent.  As we go through the process of asking for forgiveness, the Holy Spirit will remind us that the only reason that Our Heavenly Father can forgive us is because Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins and confirm that had Jesus not become sin for us, Almighty God in His righteousness could not forgive our sin.  

The Holy Spirit will also lead us to relish and savor the gift that we have been given.  The Holy Spirit will begin a new work in our hearts so that we may understand the treasure that is ours through the Cross.  May we bring our thanksgiving with us to each confession that we make as we revel in the completed work of Our Redeemer. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of the folly, fault and filth of our sins and to teach us the only way that we can avoid the penalty of separation from You for all eternity because of our sins.  We exalt the name of Jesus, who took on all of our sins, so that we may stand before You one day in His image.  We pray, Lord, that we will be forever mindful and eternally thankful for the love gift that You have provided through Your endless grace and mercy.

From Slaves of Sin to Bondservants of Jesus Christ

John 8:34
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

Jesus used the adulteress to teach the Pharisees that He is the way to a life that is free from the bondage of sin.  Through the Holy Word, we are taught that Jesus is the only way that we can attain freedom from the slavery of sin that we have been born into. 

It is through Jesus Christ that we have victory over our sins.  Once we have accepted Jesus as Our Savior, He comes to dwell within us.  With the presence of His Holy Spirit within us, we are set free from the bonds of slavery of sin.  Sin is no longer the ruler in our house, Jesus Christ is.

Because our freedom of choice is never taken away, our flesh constantly battles to take control and make us slaves to sin again.  But Jesus Christ stands with us and, in accordance with His promises, He perfects His strength in our weaknesses.  He provides all that we need to overcome our sins.  If we choose to submit to His urgings, we shall be free indeed.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love that provided Your Son to free us from the slavery of sin.  We praise the name of Jesus for taking on all sin so that we may become heirs to Your holy kingdom.  We ask forgiveness for all the times that we have chosen to offend You through our sins.  We repent of these sins and ask for the fullness of the promise of Jesus to perfect His strength in our weakness.  We pray for the grace to surrender today and live forever as bondservants to Our Savior, Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Faithful in the Smallest Things

Luke 16:10
One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

While it is generally understood that this passage is about money management, it is can be used to bring light on every resource that we have been given.  It also can be taken down to the very basic level of how obedient we are in carrying out even the smallest of tasks that the Lord has put on our hearts to do.

As a parent or an employer, the assessment of how our children or employees carry out their assignments is the basis for our decisions concerning assigning them greater responsibilities in the future. As a good parent or employer, we want the best for those under our care.  We want to see them succeed.  Because we view their position from a higher level, we know that we should only give them greater responsibility when they have shown that they are ready to handle it.

It is in this same way that Almighty God gives us more of anything, whether it be material things or greater responsibility.  He will only bless us to the extent that we have proven through our obedience that we are ready to handle more.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving patience with us as we struggle to properly manage all that You have given us.  We ask forgiveness for the times that we have squandered the gifts that we have been provided. We rejoice in knowing that with every act of obedience that You are ready to graciously release more to us.  We pray, Father, that we will come to a place where we are obedient in every small thing that You place before us.  May our eyes be opened that we may see Your ways, and not our own, in all that surrounds us.   

Living for the Glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If life were a business, it would be all about the bottom line results.  In truth, this is how most people approach life.  We are too often focused on getting everything we can out of life from a physical and material standpoint.  So focused in fact, that we do not even take a moment to consider God’s perspective of what we are doing, how we are doing it, or why we are doing it.

Even people in ministry often get caught up in the numbers.   Their focus turns toward man’s measurement of what they are doing and not God’s.

In God’s eyes, it is not about how much or how many.  God takes full responsibility for the bottom line.  What He is concerned about it is the “how” and “why” behind our efforts.  Are we leaning on Him for our accomplishments and not on our own abilities or the capabilities of the world?  Are we doing what we are doing for our own personal gain and recognition or are we doing it for the gain of God’s kingdom and for His glory?

Our model for life is Our Savior.  Through His obedience, His suffering and His death, He lived to make intercession for us.  He lived in accordance with the will of His Father.  He lived to bring glory to His Father in heaven.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us living proof of Your ways through Your Son, Jesus.  We bless His name for the way, the truth and the life that He revealed to us through His time on earth.  We pray, Lord, that You will prepare us to walk this earth in the same manner as Our Savior.  May we love You above all things.  May we seek You in all things.  May we love our neighbors unconditionally as we love ourselves.  May it all be for Your glory.