Set Apart to Serve Him

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

As it was with Jeremiah, so it is with each of us. God created us and has a plan for our lives. He has set us apart to serve Him in a way that only we can do because of the unique nature and capabilities that He has given to each of us. God draws each of us into a relationship with Him so that we can understand what He has prepared us to do. We do the things that we are called to do in response to the outpouring of love and forgiveness that we receive from Our Creator.

As we seek our place in God’s kingdom, we must be careful not to think too highly or too lowly of ourselves. We should maintain a keen sense of our weaknesses and our insufficiencies, but we should not let our weaknesses keep us back from our calling. We should fear no man and go about our work humbly as we grow in our relationship with Our Heavenly Father. Our primary focus needs to be on seeking God’s will for our lives and discovering the appointment that Our Creator has set aside for us. Once we confirm our appointment, we need to respond accordingly.

The good news is that we do not have to discover our appointment or respond to it on our own. Our Heavenly Father has given us a Helper to guide us through the process of finding and accepting the calling that He has placed on our lives. As long as we set aside time to be in the presence of Almighty God and surrender to the urgings of the Holy Spirit, we will discover our appointed role in the kingdom and rejoice in our opportunity to serve Our King.

Let us first seek an intimate relationship with Our Savior. Then let us earnestly seek the aid of the Holy Spirit to reveal the calling that Our Lord has set aside for us. Under the guidance of Our Counselor, let us move in faith one step at a time toward our appointment.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating each of us to fill a specific need on this earth and in Your eternal kingdom. We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to help us separate our own carnal desires from the will and plan that You have for our lives. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. We ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit teach us how to be vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We ask all these things in the name of the One who makes it possible for us to become Your good and faithful servants, Your Most Faithful Son, Jesus Christ.

Unmistakeable Work of the Holy Spirit

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

When we accept Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior, we are given a new heart. We are given a heart that senses sin and danger. We are given a penitent heart, keenly aware of the things that offend our Lord. We are given a sanctified heart, submissive to the will of God. We are born again into a renewed life.

We are renewed by the Spirit and the grace of God. New light is given to us. A new will filled with new purposes and resolutions is provided to us. In our renewed spirit, we find new affections and desires for God and all things holy. As new men and women in Christ, we find new delights and joys in the Lord every day.

Being born again is the unmistakeable work of the Holy Spirit. We are given a new vision of life – kingdom vs. carnal. We are taught, directed and sanctified by the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are equipped to walk in the ways of Our Savior. We are given ongoing access to the One who replaced our heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

Let us be aware of the presence of Our Lord in our lives. Let us seek Him for He is infinitely superior to anything that the world has to offer. Let us refresh ourselves regularly in the Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the new hearts that You have given us through the redeeming work of Your Son, Jesus. We praise the name of Jesus for the renewed lives we are given through His sacrifice. We pray, Lord, that You will keep our hearts soft. We beseech you to protect us against the world that tries to harden our hearts. We humbly ask that You give us the grace that we need that we may stay refreshed in Christ and be vessels of refreshing to those around us. We pray these things in the name of the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.

Taking Back Our Voice in the World

1 Corinthians 4:13
We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash–right up to the present moment.

Paul and those who joined with him in spreading the gospel message were attacked viciously by the social media of their day. How remarkable it is that Paul’s words of 2000 years ago are so accurate today. The voice of our corrupt world screams out against the gospel message wherever it is presented. The media persecution of celebrities and public figures that speak out for Christ is a perfect example of this growing trend. All who are public proclaimers of the Gospel can expect to suffer vicious attacks in all forms of media simply because they are willing to express the truth about their Savior.

Unfortunately, the attacks of the enemy have quieted the voices of many Christians. We have sat back and watched as prayer has been taken out of our schools and community events. We have allowed the Ten Commandments to be removed from display in public places. We have sat idly as the mention of Jesus has basically been banned in any form, unless of course, it is used to ridicule Him. Now more than ever, as the world spins faster and faster toward total destruction, we must become the lamps on the hill that provide the light to those that are in darkness. If we don’t, who will?

Let us take up our positions as beacons on the hill. Let us stand up against those that decry Our Lord. Let us boldly proclaim our faith in Our Redeemer King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings that You have bestowed on our nation. We come before You, Lord, and ask for forgiveness for allowing Your Truths to be taken out of our society, to be spit upon and ridiculed just as Your Son was at Calvary. We ask, Father God, that You shine Your Light upon our land so that the darkness that we have allowed to creep in will be overshadowed. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may the laws of our land and the actions of our people come into alignment with Your laws, Your commandments and Your Holy Word. Once again may we call upon You as the God in whom we trust. We pray these things in the name of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

The Crucifixion Story – A Life Taken

Romans 6:6
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

The tree that gave its life, so that the formation of the cross was possible, allowed the Cross to meet its responsibility. Without taking the life of the tree, there would be no crucifixion story.

In a similar fashion, 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 us giving up the life of our sin nature, there would be no sanctification story.

Let us embrace the sanctification process. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to look into our hearts and reveal everything that the old man is trying to hang on to. Let us repent of everything the Holy Spirit shows us so that we may walk in the fullness of our new nature in Christ.

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 revealing the darkness in our hearts so that we may submit our old lives for crucifixion with Our Savior. We pray, Father, that You will empower us to go out to tell the world about our salvation story. May we bring honor to Your name, the name of Your Son, Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

A New Work in Our Hearts

John 16:8
And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God’s righteousness and of the coming 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 convict 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 received Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit in the Holy Word of God. We have been taught through the Bible of the role of the Holy Spirit in inspiring us with 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 that had Jesus not become sin for us, Almighty God in His righteousness could not forgive our sin.

Let us praise the Lord for the work of completion that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. Let us celebrate anew each time that the Holy Spirit leads us to relish and savor the gift that we have been given. Let us rejoice and give thanks each time that the Holy Spirit begins a new work in our hearts so that we may fully value the treasure that is ours through the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of the folly, fault and filth of our sins. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who leads us to Your Son, Jesus. We bless the name of Jesus for He is the only way that we can avoid the penalty of separation from You for all eternity because of our sins. We pray, Lord, that we will be forever mindful and eternally thankful for the Holy Spirit that You have provided to be Our Comforter and Our Counselor. We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy and Righteous Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Myth of Self-Improvement

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 have stood the test of time, nor will they ever. In the end, the secular programs and processes are about as effective as New Year’s resolutions.

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 of real and lasting value. 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.

Let us claim the promise of Our Savior to perfect His strength in our weakness. Let us call on the Holy Spirit to guide us on our path of sanctification. Let us rejoice as God reveals His plans for our lives.

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. We ask all these things in name of Our Savior King, Jesus Christ.

In Tune with God’s Timing

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Through His love, His grace and His mercy, we are called to be servants of Almighty God here on earth and in heaven for all eternity. We were created in His image for this purpose in order to bring Him praise and glory. Being conscious of our own weakness, we should wait on and look to Our Master for our direction and our strength.

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 problems or our visions 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.

Let us make Jesus Christ the Master over our lives. Let us seek the will of Our Master in everything that we do. Let us lean not on our personal plans. Let us serve Our Lord and Our King in accordance with the perfectly timed, perfect plans that He has set aside for us.

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 their direction and all of their needs, we can go to You for everything in our lives. 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 we learn to rely on Your hand, Almighty God. May we reach the fullness of service that You have planned for us. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Handling Contempt with Loving Care

Psalm 123:3
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.

Every day the world around us seems to get more contentious and contemptuous. Webster defines contempt as “feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.” We see dramatic outpourings of contempt in the news and throughout social media. We certainly recognize the contempt that unbelievers often have for our faith as disciples of Jesus Christ. As a result of the contempt that we encounter, hopefully we are quick to ask the Lord to open the eyes of those around us so that their scorn for us is replaced by a desire to learn from us the way, the truth and the life that we have in Jesus. But is that the case?

When we are out in the world, how are we reacting to those that annoy us? Are we taking an intercessory path or are we treating them with contempt? Are we losing our testimony because of an ugly glare or quick nasty comment that destroys our message of salvation? Are we leaving the world with a taste of our nasty attitude instead of the love of the One who we have accepted as Our Savior?

Let us be fully aware that the world is filled with contempt, but as Christians we are not of this world. Let us refuse to be swamped by the cares and challenges of life. Let us turn over the annoyances that we run into in the world and let God handle them in the courts of heaven. Let us ask the Lord to give us discernment in all things so that we are known by our intercession and not by our criticism. Let us exchange our contempt for others with our loving care for others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy that You have extended to us so that we may be able to extend mercy to others. We praise the name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is our Mediator who stands for us to correct every wrong and every injury as any good master would do for his slave. We pray, Lord, that we will not faint under our trials in this world, but we will look unto the name of Jesus in faith and in prayer so that we may be vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness so that the world may know Him by our actions. We ask all these things in the name of Our Merciful Lord, Jesus Christ.

Completing Every Good Work

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

Jesus Christ spent every day of His life on earth fueled by the desire to fulfill the work that He had been given by His Father. It was the Father’s will that all of His children could become heirs to His kingdom in heaven. The sacrificial death of Jesus was required for any man or woman to be deemed acceptable to claim the inheritance that the Father had prepared for them. Jesus took on the sin of all men on the Cross by divine decree. It was the reason that He came to earth. He faithfully 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 all men to become heirs to the kingdom of Almighty God.

With His work complete, Jesus called on His disciples to join Him in fulfilling His Father’s plan for mankind. He warned them that they would suffer many trials in carrying out the Father’s will in their own lives. He explained that each of them would have to pick up their own crosses. He encouraged them by telling them that He was going to provide them with a helper to give them the strength that they would need to bring the salvation plan to all men. As it was with the disciples, Jesus is calling each of us to join Him in a lifetime of obedience to the will of Almighty God.

Let us cling to the Cross – the supernatural bridge that provides the only way to Our Father in heaven. Let us pick up our own crosses to do what is necessary so that we may help the world around us find the way, the truth and the life that is Jesus Christ. Let us be fueled by our desire to do the will of the Father.

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. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb slain for our sin, Jesus Christ.

The Least of Ways Bring Glory

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

God’s glory should be the reason for all that we do. Jesus is our model. In every doctrine that Jesus taught, in every miracle that He performed, in every suffering that He endured and certainly in His death, Jesus Christ lived unto the glory of His Father in heaven. 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 simple 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.

Let us strive to find ways to join Jesus in doing the work of the Father. Let us find pleasure in all works, no matter how big or small they may be. Let all our works be done for the glory of Our Heavenly Father.

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. We ask all these things in the name of Our Glorious Lord, Jesus Christ.