The Exchanged Life

2 Corinthians 5:14

Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

It is the righteousness of our beloved, Jesus Christ, that shines forth in us when we submit ourselves to be vessels of His perfect love.  The love of Jesus in our lives is what allows us to show the world what living for Christ is all about.  If we ever try to show the world Jesus through our own holiness, and not through the righteousness that we have received from Our Savior, we will fail.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we pray that our living testimony will be anchored by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  May Your strength be perfected in us so that our weaknesses may be overcome.  May the world see the way, the truth and the life of Jesus through us as we leave our old lives behind in exchange for the our new lives in Christ.

The God in Whom We Trust

1 Corinthians 4:13
when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world–right up to this 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 persecution of Tim Tebow is a perfect example.  He has suffered vicious attacks in all forms of media simply because he is willing to express the truth about His Savior. 

Unfortunately, the attacks of the enemy have quieted the voices of most Christians.  We have sat back and watched as prayer has been taken out of our schools and community events, the Ten Commandments have been removed from display in public places and the mention of Jesus has basically been banned in any form, unless of course, it is used to ridicule Him.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we pray that You will shine Your Light upon our land and our people so that we may exalt You as Almighty God, so that we may turn to You as Our Rock and Our Foundation.  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.

Vessels of Your Redemptive Power

1 Corinthians 1:17

For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News–and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

Surely Paul served the emerging church in a number of ways, but he understood that God had called him and equipped him specifically to preach the Good News.  Paul teaches us that, as we serve our churches and communities, it is important that we call on the Holy Spirit to help us to find out what God has specifically equipped us to do in service to His Kingdom.  No role is too big, nor is any role too small, when we are doing what Our Creator called us to do.

Then Paul expands his message to make sure that we recognize that the redemptive power of the Cross does not rely on anything that we do.  It is not our enticing words or the strength of our presentation that wins hearts.  We are simply vessels of the divine truth of God’s mercy on all of us.  We should never consider ourselves to be the reason that a soul came to Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that you open our eyes so that we can see the unique ways that you have endowed us to serve you.  We pray that you will prepare our hearts so that we serve you as humble vessels of Your divine, redemptive power.

A Double Portion of Fervor

Acts 9:4
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

Just like Paul, as Christians we have all faced the day when the Lord challenged us.  Just like Paul, Our Lord had grounds to accuse us.  Perhaps not of persecution, but He certainly had grounds to rebuke us for the obstinacy and self-will of our sinful nature.  

Just like Paul, we all decided to denounce our old lives and accept our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, unlike Paul, most of us have not taken our calling with the same fervency that Paul did.  We have allowed our own plans to overshadow God’s plans for our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that we will not be directed by our own ambitions, but be led by Your Holy Spirit.  May Your strength be perfected in our weakness.  May you grant us a double portion of Paul’s fervor for proclaiming Your Good News to the world.

Your Throne Alone

Isaiah 45:22

Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.

Just as small children rush to their parents’ laps to find joy, they rush to them with the same fervor for all of their needs.  They would not think of going anywhere else to satisfy what they are seeking.  They go without an ounce of hesitation whether they are seeking comfort, seeking a basic need or seeking the fantasy of their dreams.  They approach their parents with absolute faith that their every need will be met.  No wonder Jesus taught that we need to be like the little children.  

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we pray that you show us how to come to you at all times…not just our times of need.  Show us how to come to you in the fullness of our blessings to seek to go deeper in our relationship with you.  Show us how to find the fullness of who we are in Christ through our visits to Your throne.  Release all that You are in us to the world around us.  Help us to understand that it is Your throne alone that holds all that we will ever need.

The Zeal of Children for Their Father

Jeremiah 2:2

Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.

God remembers each day that we delight in His presence in our lives.  He remembers how hungry we were to know Him when we first received His Son as Our Savior.  He feels sorrow when He sees our knowledge of Him increasing while our zeal for Him is becoming stale.  He longs for us to return to the energy and enthusiasm that we showed Him when we were first born again in Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that you will fill us with the zeal of young children who run to their earthly Father to express their love and their joy in being in his presence.  May the fire of Your Holy Spirit rekindle our devotion and fervency for You.   

Returning to the Light

Luke 15:8

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

Where will the woman look first.  She will go back to the places where she thinks that she lost the coin.

So it is with us when we have lost our zeal for Christ.  We should go back to the place where we lost it.  Did we lose it because we cut back on our prayer time?  We need to return to our most robust prayer habits.  Did we lose it because we stopped studying the Word of God?  We should return to our diligent studies.  Did we lose it because of our habitual sin?  We need to repent and surrender to Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I have drifted away from my zeal for Your Son.  Help me return to the place where I lost Him.  Show me how to invigorate the good discipline in my life and give me the strength to walk away from the torments of my flesh. Bring me back to the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.  

The Source of Comfort and Provision

Isaiah 41:14

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Why is it that we ever doubt for a second that the Lord has a plan already set in place to relieve us of whatever burden that troubles us?  Did He not set aside His own glory to become man to have a plan for our salvation?  Did He not shed His own blood so that the plan could be executed on our behalf?  Does He not hold all power and wisdom in His hand?  When He has done so much already, why would He withhold any good thing from us now?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that you forgive us for being so weak in our faith.  Strengthen our spiritual nature so that we are seeking our comfort and provision from You and not from this world.  Let us always be mindful that all things are possible through You.

Security for Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Praise God.  He is so good.  Through the sacrifice of His Son, He provides our security for yesterday, today and tomorrow.  

He forgives our sins, providing propitiation for our past.  He sets our future securely in His hand.  He allows us to live today in freedom, in peace and in service to His calling on our lives.  We can move into every new year knowing that God will be with us and that His Holy Spirit will help us let loose of the things of this world so that we can grasp the things of His kingdom.

The Humbling Process of Sanctification

The sanctification process is not for the proud.  It is a humbling experience as God reveals to us everything in our lives that falls short of His perfect plan for our lives.  As we mature as Christians, it is generally not the “don’t do” sins that are most often exposed.   It is the revelation that we are falling short of what God has called us to do that really comes to light.

Jesus only did in His life what the Father called Him to do.  So it will be in our lives as we die of self and become like the one that dwells within us.