Through Jesus' Love

We often struggle to find the right words to say to others when we know that they fall short of having a relationship with Jesus.  In an effort to avoid offending the other person, we may offer a watered down version of God’s Word.

It is OK to build a relationship with a person before approaching them with God’s Word.  When we do approach them, however, it should be with the full Gospel.   When we choose a diluted version, we do an injustice to the person to whom we are speaking.  

There is no substitute for the perfect Word of God.  We should demonstrate our faith in its power by delivering it in its fullness.

Through the initiating power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are able to accept the salvation available to us and able to enter into the intimate relationship with God that awaits us.  From that point on, it is all about surrender.  

God demands our surrender.  Without surrender there is no salvation.  Without surrender there is no submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Without surrender to Jesus, there is no relationship with Our Heavenly Father.

God understands our weakness.  Through His mercy and His grace, He provides the Holy Spirit to dwell within us after we accept His Son as Our Savior.  Through the Holy Spirit who initiated our first surrender, we are able to subsequently surrender all areas of our lives to the Lord.

God answers all prayer according to His perfect will and timing.  When we do the work of intercessory prayer, we must understand that there is no power in us that brings about the good we seek for another.  We are simply vessels of God’s perfect love and instruments of His good work.  

If we ever start to believe that answered prayers come as a result of our power, our prayers will become ineffective.  All the honor and all the glory must go to the Lord.  It was He alone that provided the way for us to approach His Throne in intercession for others through the holy blood shed by His Son and Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The work of prayerful intercession can be quite confounding.  Have the prayerful needs of the person involved come about as a result of Satan’s desire to destroy them or have the needs come as a direct result of God’s rebuke in the person’s life?

Before praying for anyone, it is important that we pray first for guidance for ourselves.  We must consider the fact that our prayers could actually be working against the plan that God has for the individual’s life, if our prayers are not in alignment with the work of the Holy Spirit.  God’s interest in the individual is more important that our sympathy for their condition.

Once we have received Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior, we spend our remaining days on earth preparing to meet Our Savior in heaven.  Our preparation time with Jesus Christ allows us to be presented to the Father covered by perfect white garments supplied through the sacrifice of His Son.

Before we started our perfecting journey through Christ, we were in filthy rags, wholly unacceptable for presentation to Our Heavenly Father.  We must learn to be patient with the steps in our perfecting journey.  It takes time for the Holy Spirit to reveal each and every sin stain in our lives.  Each one requires confession and repentance so that it can be removed.

Duty has the ring of boredom and tediousness.  Duty is what we feel we must do and not what we want to do.  This is the “duty” of the flesh.

Duty unto God’s will is totally different.  Duty unto God may call for tedious work, but it is always filled with joy.  Duty unto God is never boring for His Spirit fills our being with the satisfaction of knowing that we are pleasing Him.  While duty unto the flesh may not lead to greater things, duty unto God always leads to greater fruit being borne in the life of the believer.

We are able to love God and love others because God loved us first.  He created us with a place in our hearts that desires love and has the capacity to give love.

When we fill the void in our hearts with the perfect love of Jesus Christ, our hearts overflow with love.  We cannot contain the love that Jesus gives us.  It flows from us continuously and in great abundance.  It cannot be stopped as long as the love of Jesus is the source.

The most delightful of all trips are those that are not bound by fixed plans.  They are the trips that end up delighting the heart by one unexpected joy after another.

These types of trips are quite rare in a world where we are so determined to pre-plan every moment of our lives.  We are fearful of what we might miss instead of being joyfully expectant of the unexpected.  When we choose to let God plan our way, the unexpected joys are continuous.

What would we give to be able to wake up every morning excited about the day?   What would we give up if it meant looking forward to every moment in our lives?  Surely, we would be willing to give up much for such a gift.  

How about giving life itself?  That is actually the only thing, once given up to the Lord, that will bring the kind of joy and peace that makes every moment of every day a blessing.  By giving up our old lives to God and accepting our new lives in Jesus Christ, we make the only trade that can bring abundance and joy in every moment of our lives.

Why should we seek things from God when He already promises to meet our every need?  The first part of the answer is easy for us to see.  Our petitions show Our Heavenly Father how much we trust in Him and confirm to Him our faith in His promises.  In the process, He delights in providing for us just as any good father delights in meeting the needs of his children.