Through Jesus' Love

When the Israelites went in to check out the promised land for the first time, they went in filled with fear.  They did not go in confident, carrying God’s promise that “I will in no wise fail you”.

Instead they entered the promised land cowered under the prospects of their own personal inability to handle their circumstances.  They completely overlooked God’s promises to be their helper and the source of their victory.

How often have we done the same thing?  How often have we let our perception of our own abilities be the sole driver for how we handle our circumstances?  How often have we proceeded forward with our plans in life without involving the wisdom, understanding, counsel and might of Our Heavenly Father?

Do I see the Lord in everything I do?  If I do, there will be no drudgery in any task.  The joy of Jesus will be in all my work.

Do I believe in God’s promise to take all of my burdens?  If I do, there will be no despair in any trials that I may encounter.  The hope of Jesus will be in every circumstance.

Am I certain that the Lord will never forsake me?  If I am, I will live life free of doubts.  Through it all, I will trust the Father’s promise to work all things for my eternal good. 

Our Lord, Jesus, is the fullness of joy that we have been so graciously provided through our salvation.  Once we receive Him as Our Savior, our lives are never the same again.  We come to realize a joy through His presence that surpasses anything that we can receive from earthly things.

It is a shame to see that while we spend countless hours with friends and family discussing all the wonderful things in our lives that we rarely mention our most precious gift, The Provider.  And, probably sadder yet, even though He is readily available and eager to join us, we fail to include Him in the conversation.  Hmmm.

Fear of God is like fear of one’s father.  It is much more and so much deeper than the fear of discipline and punishment.  It is the fear of offending the one that you hold dearest.  It is the fear of disappointing the one that you want to please the most.  It is the fear of not living up to the expectations of the one that is held in the highest place of esteem in your life.  It is the fear of losing closeness with the one you desire to be closest to.  It is the reverent fear that creates eternal bonds.

It is evident that we do not have the power of the Holy Spirit within us, if the full knowledge of the love and power of God has not been revealed to us.  If we are not certain that God can do all things for our eternal good, we are lost.   

If we have the Holy Spirit within us, we will possess the knowledge of and have faith in the power of Jesus’ shed blood to overcome every obstacle in our lives.  We will have certainty in our victory over anything that tries to move us away from relationship with our Heavenly Father.  We will understand fully the nature of God apart from our own failing natures.

Trust in God.  Trust in God above all things.

If we doubt the God in any area, we will fall short of His plans for our lives in all areas.  If we fully trust in God, we will find it easy to love Him above all things, to love our neighbors as ourselves and to give God the glory in all things.  We will also find it easy to tell the world about His Son, Jesus.  Our lives will be blissfully submitted to the Lord.

 

There is often a faith gap that prevents us from really believing in what God is calling us to do.  We usually question the calling because it goes against our own instincts.  We question the calling over and over until we finally see that God is going to do it, not us.

The calling never is about our ability.  It is always about our faith in God.  God’s children listen carefully to His calling and then leap into action with full confidence that God is who He says He is.

To be one in nature with Jesus Christ can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit within us and through our total surrender to Jesus as the Lord of our lives.  This oneness with Christ is absolutely available to us the moment that we accept Him as Our Lord and Savior.  

Unfortunately, we usually do not completely understand and receive the gift at the time that we receive Jesus as Our Savior.  This is generally due to spiritual immaturity.  The fullness of the gift of oneness with Christ awaits us.  It will come when we not only receive Jesus as Our Lord and Savior, but also when we completely surrender to Him as Our Master and Our King.  

Why can’t we believe God’s simple promises to meet our every need and to work out all things for our eternal good?  Why is that we do not have enough faith to believe in all the promises that God has given us?  There is certainly an overwhelming amount of evidence to prove that God has power and authority over all things.

The strength of our faith is directly related to our relationship with Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we become one with Him.  When we become one with Him, we become one with the Father.  When we become one with the Father, we will have sufficient faith to believe in all of His promises.  

Some speak of the power of the Holy Spirit in an individual’s life as the second grace.  Those who hold this position believe salvation to be the first grace with some gap between our salvation and our ability to access the power of the Holy Spirit.

While this may just be a matter of semantics, this position does not represent a true description of the manifestation of Christ in our lives.  When we receive our salvation by accepting Jesus as our Savior, we simultaneously receive the full power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  It may take us a while to recognize and understand the full power and presence of the Holy Spirit, but the power is always there available for us to access.