Best Benefit Package on Earth

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 the Lord would bring in a new covenant. This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ when he stepped down from His seat by the Father in heaven to accept His sacrificial calling on earth to be the Redeemer of all men.

When Jesus came to earth, He issued an invitation to all men to “Come to Me.” He established Himself as the way, the truth and the life. He did not make it mandatory to accept His invitation, but He did make it clear that accepting His invitation was the only way to become worthy to be in the presence of Almighty God for all eternity.

Because Almighty God knew our frailty so well, the benefits of accepting His Son’s invitation went beyond the eternal reward promised. By accepting His invitation, we were also extended the grace needed for sustaining us during our time on earth while we were preparing for our eternal resting place in heaven.

Our earthly benefit package includes, but is certainly not limited to:
• access to the unimaginable favor of the King of Kings
• the privilege of laying all of our burdens on Him
• the satisfaction of having our thirst for knowing our Maker quenched forever
• 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 Jesus to receive the grace of God that comes through Him. Let us go to Jesus 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.

Bridging the Chasm Created by Sin

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. Let us praise Our Lord for without Him we cannot surrender enough, we cannot labor enough nor can we suffer enough to secure our places in heaven for all eternity.

Let us be forever mindful that there is not a single thing that we can do on our own to pay off the sin debt that we inherited. Let us run to the foot of the Cross to receive the righteousness that is only available to us through Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us insure that our living testimonies reflect the eternal gift that we have been given at an enormous price to Our Savior.

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.

Life Changing Incidents

Galatians 1:1
This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

When Paul was writing and speaking to the Galatians, he made it clear that he was on a completely different path in life when He was touched by the hand of God. Paul emphasized that it was God that changed him and not him who changed himself.

Because of our sin nature, we all begin our lives on an ill conceived path covered by darkness. Until Our Heavenly Father opens our eyes, we can not see the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ. Only when our new path has been made visible to us by the light of the Holy Spirit, can we receive the precious gift of salvation. All who are converted to be new men and women in Christ are called by the grace of God.

Upon accepting our salvation, we begin yet another journey – the journey to become holy. Just as salvation is not a work of our own hand, neither is the working out of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit within us molds our hearts so that we can submit to Jesus as Our Lord, Our Master and Our King. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us to full submission to Our Savior so that God can do the work in us that is pleasing to Him. All the saved in Christ who are working on their sanctification are under the power and grace of the Holy Spirit working in them.

Let us recognize that there is nothing in this world that can bring us to victory over the darkness that the world offers. Let us be certain that we are totally incapable of overcoming the darkness of the world without the light of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us surrender to the urgings of the the Holy Spirit as He carries out the work of sanctification in our lives. Let us rejoice in knowing that our path to holiness was guaranteed on the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace that is expressed to us through the gift of our salvation. We praise You for taking us from the darkness of our lives in the flesh into the light of Your Holy Spirit. We rejoice in being guided into full submission to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ. We pray, Father, that You will strengthen us and regenerate us as we strive to overcome the world in order to live our new lives in Christ. We ask all these things in the name of Our Most Gracious Savior, Jesus Christ.

Delivered From the Condemnation We Deserve

Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

As a result of the disobedience of Adam, we were born with a sin nature. Because of Adam’s disobedience, we naturally put ourselves first in all things. This behavior alone puts us in direct violation of what Jesus taught were God’s greatest commands. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:38-39

The violation of either one of these two commands is enough to condemn us to eternal death. We cannot remove the condemning stain of this sin on our own. There is no escape or recovery from this sin except through the redemption provided through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As a result of the obedience of Jesus to the calling of His Father in heaven, we are made righteous in the eyes of the Father. God removed our sin through the sacrifice of His own Son. He removed our sin in the only way that was acceptable to Him – through the shed blood of His Son which cleanses us. We accept His mercy and eternal atonement through our surrender to His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is important to understand that God does not hold us responsible for inheriting sin. He will not condemn anyone because of the sin that was inherited. He will condemn those that refuse to accept Jesus as the only measure of deliverance from their inherited sin and their ongoing iniquities. He will condemn those who choose to live in submission to the darkness of the flesh rather than under surrender to the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

Let us strive to have those around us see that we love God above all things and that we love them as we love ourselves. Let us show the world what is only possible through Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask forgiveness for the sin in our lives. We pray that You will reveal to us all the places in our lives where we are living in darkness, instead of in the Light. We ask You, Lord, for the grace to be able to repent of all the sin that remains in our lives. We thank You, Father, that through Your mercy You have made a way for us to be delivered from the condemnation that we deserve. We praise Your name, Father God, because through Your perfect love we have been given an eternal inheritance that we did not and cannot earn on our own. We bless the name of Jesus who now dwells within us. We pray that we may become Light to the darkness in world around us through His presence. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

“All things” means ALL Things!!

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

The apostle Paul knew what it was to receive God’s grace. Through his great faith he delighted in his weaknesses, he delighted in the insults that were tossed his way, he delighted in his hardships and he delighted in his persecutions. Paul knew the secret. He rested on God’s promises to perfect His strength in Paul’s weaknesses, in Paul’s trials and in Paul’s tribulations.

Our God in heaven is ready to do the same for us. Our Heavenly Father promises to provide all that we need to overcome every hard thing that we face and to provide all that we need to gain victory over the evil that surrounds us. He does not promise to take us out of the battle. Just as He used Paul’s thorn to keep him mindful of his needs in Christ, He will allow things in our lives to keep us mindful of how needy we are.

We will find victory when we learn to surrender like Paul did. We will find peace in all circumstances when we recognize God’s grace is sufficient. We will become stronger than we ever imagined when we allow the grace of God to be manifested and magnified in our lives.

Let us cast all of our cares upon the Lord. Let us trust in Him completely. Let us exalt His name as we confidently wait on our victory.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the all-sufficient grace that You promise us. We bless the name of Jesus who insured our victory on the Cross. We rejoice in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who guides us, instructs us and strengthens us through our trials. We pray, Father, that we will learn to have faith in You as Paul had faith in You. We ask for the courage to surrender to Your Holy Spirit through all the trials that we face. We pray that world will see and be drawn to the manifestation and magnification of Your grace in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Mighty in Battle, Jesus Christ.

Empowered to Do Greater Works

Mark 9:29
And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Jesus taught us, “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.” He emphasized that this was the greatest commandment. It is the highest order in the kingdom. Our number one purpose on earth and in heaven is to love God, to praise Him and to bring glory to His name. One of the foremost ways that we can meet the requirements of this commandment is through our prayers.

When we are engaged in work that we consider to be the work of the Lord, we can lose sight of the fact that the work is being done out of the loving relationship that we have with Our Lord. If we let our relationship with God slip, He will withdraw the power that He gives us to do His good work. He is far more interested in our relationship with Him than He is in the result of our work. Our relationship with the Father is built and sustained through our prayer life.

We may be able to manipulate some things in the flesh, but all the things that provide real kingdom value will not endure under the burden of broken fellowship with the Father. Through regular prayer, we build on our relationship with Our Father and we insure that we are empowered to do the greatest works that He has called us to do, even to cast out evil.

Let us take our positions as anointed children of Almighty God. Let us claim our authority as those who have been set apart to do the work of the Father in heaven. Let us release our prayers to overcome all calamities, catastrophes and any hidden dangers that would attempt to come against us and our families.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love in our lives. We thank You for allowing us the privilege of returning our love, our praise and our worship to You through our prayers. We bless the name of Jesus, who dwells within us, for making it possible for us to have victory over evil. Father, we pray that all that we do is born out of the intimacy of our relationship with You. We humbly ask for the grace to stay in constant fellowship with You through our prayers. We beseech You to grant us the power over the evil in our lives and the lives of those that surround us. May it all be for Your glory. We ask all these things in the name of the One who has has victory over all evil, Jesus Christ.

Leveraging the Power of His Presence

Mark 9:2
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain so that they could experience the fullness of His glory. Jesus wanted His disciples to be prepared for the bitter agony that was ahead. He wanted them to have the strength of the promise of the kingdom experience to carry them through the suffering that they would also experience in the future.

Each of us will experience moments in the presence of God. It may be through a vision, a dream, a visitation or perhaps a quiet word whispered in our spirit when we are in prayer or worshiping Him. Each such moment is meant to lift us from our day-to-day lives in the flesh to our eternal lives in the kingdom of God.

Just as the disciples were not allowed to remain in the presence of the glorified Christ, neither are we allowed to stay in the precious moments of Our Lord’s visitation. The Lord simply uses these precious moments to show us the unimaginable promise of our futures in His kingdom and to give us the strength to endure the suffering we will encounter as we prepare to be with Him for all eternity.

Let us treasure those precious moments when the Lord reveals Himself to us. Let us hold on to and learn to leverage the power of His presence even though the experience seems to fade away from us over time.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the treasured moments that You grant us in Your presence. We praise You for those times that You become so real to us. We exalt Your name for the grace that You provide during these intimate exchanges that are beyond our normal earthly expectations. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will stand by us as we leave the high mountain of Your presence and return to the valley where we struggle in our ways of the flesh. May Our Comforter help us keep the fullness of the joy and the hope of Your presence with us always. May the world know that we are living in the fullness of the presence of Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of Our Ever Present Savior, Jesus Christ.

Learning to Share from Our Cup of Trembling

2 Corinthians 1:4
who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

God’s Holy Word teaches us that we should rejoice in our trials because they are the building blocks of character in our lives. They certainly do build character and perseverance in our lives if we turn to the Lord to get us through the challenges we face.

But beyond the character building in our trials, there is an entirely different dimension that we benefit from. We not only gain in character, but we gain more – much more. We gain life experiences that we are able to share with others who find themselves going through the same thing. God prepares us to be comforters for others in their time of need.

Our past experiences give us the foundation for offering faith and hope. It is our obligation to make suitable returns for what we received by comforting others. It is our duty to join them in prayer, praise and thanksgiving as we seek a good end to their trials and ours through Jesus Christ.

Let us turn to our model, our suffering King, Jesus Christ as we face the trials of life. Let us grasp our cup of trembling with the same resolve and confident hope that Jesus did as He faced the Cross. Let us learn to rejoice in the face of suffering for we are being prepared to comfort others in their suffering.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the consolations and comfort that we find when we turn to Your Son, Jesus, in our times of need. We bless the name of Jesus for the abundance of all of the fruits of His sufferings that are poured out in a greater amount than our own suffering, providing us relief from our distress and trouble. Lord, we pray that You build our faith and hope through our trials, so that we may be comforters for those in our lives who are going through their own trials. May it all be for the glory of Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered all on our behalf, Jesus Christ.

Surrendering All for Christ

Mark 10:21
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

On earth, only Jesus has achieved absolute abandonment to The Father. Only He could. Yet He commanded His disciples to follow Him. He was asking them to follow the lead of their Master. He was asking them to release their hold on the things of this earth and take hold of His kingdom.

As disciples of Jesus Christ in this age, we are also called to follow the lead of Our Master. We are therefore called to be diligent in the constant process of releasing all of our carnal desires as we fully surrender to the will of the Father in our lives. This is an ongoing and arduous process for each of us.

In our time on earth, none of us will reach the point of absolute abandonment to the Father as Jesus did. Only when we reach our place in heaven with Jesus, will we have completed the process and stand before the Father in the perfect and pure image of Our Savior.

Let us continuously recognize and renounce our earthly desires through the inspiring work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us begin shedding all of our shortcomings one by one through the grace of Almighty God and the saving work of Jesus Christ. Let us commit ourselves to unconditional identification with Our Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your precious love and provision. We proclaim our love for You and humbly offer to You all that You have given us. Father, we pray that we will be led by the Holy Spirit to surrender all that we have, all that we will every have, all that we are and all that we will ever be to You. May we exchange the things of this earth for the treasures of Your kingdom. May we take hold of the fullness of the eternal life in Jesus as we release our hold on our worldly possessions and desires. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our Eternal King, Jesus Christ.

The Cost of Discipleship

Luke 9:57
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

As pointed out in this passage and other passages, some of the early followers of Jesus were boasting, “I will follow You wherever You go.” But Jesus was quick to point out to them that following Him was more costly that many were willing to pay. It is the same for us.

Once we commit to fully surrender to Our Savior and follow Him, we can be certain that there will be attacks and trials that will surely challenge our resolve. Every consideration that we give to continuing as true disciples of Jesus will lead us down a decision path that is predominantly supported by human logic. Without faith in the Word of God and the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit, we will follow the callings of our flesh which are never ready to be laid down at the feet of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When we examine the costs, we are likely to end up stalling or passing all together on our calling as disciples. Praise God that He knows us so well, loves us still, has mercy on us and provides His Son for our salvation, His Word for our direction and His Holy Spirit for our strengthening.

Let us claim all that He has set aside for us because He sees us, not in the flesh, but in the image of His Son. Let us follow Our Savior King wherever He leads us. Let us stand firm in our commitment.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for accepting us as heirs to Your kingdom. We rejoice in knowing that You see us only in the image of Your Son who has washed away all of our iniquity with His precious blood. We pray, Lord, that You open our minds and hearts to the fullness of Your Holy Word. We ask that You show us how to surrender completely to the direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We beseech You, Father, to give us the grace to fall at the feet of the Cross so that we may walk in the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.