Tag: eternal inheritance

United with Christ Through His Resurrection

Romans 6:5
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

When Jesus chose to accept the will of His Father, He chose to die on the Cross for the sins of all mankind. Jesus’ death did not come quickly. It was necessary for Jesus to suffer every scourge mark, to suffer every ounce of pain and to suffer the loss of every drop of blood for His sacrifice for mankind to be made complete.

When we chose to accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we chose to let our old sinful man die. Just as Jesus’ death was not carried out quickly, our old sinful nature will not be completely put to rest in short fashion. For the old sinful man in us to die completely, we will have to endure trials, tribulations and sufferings of all type that will transform us to be completely in the will of Our Father in heaven.

With the sacrifice of His human body complete, the Holy Spirit resurrected Jesus’ spirit from His body to return in His glorified body to the Father. When we die in Christ, the same power of His resurrection will lift us from our old lives in the flesh and enable us to stand sinless before the Father in our glorified bodies. It will not be because we became better people. It will be because we will have become completely new people in Christ. It will be because we have been united with Him through His resurrection for all eternity.

Let us joyfully claim our victory over death and sin. Let us exalt the name of Our Resurrected Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for raising Your Son to meet You in heaven after His death on the Cross. Thank You for preparing the way for us to gain our eternal inheritance as Your children through the power of the Resurrection. Father, release the full power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can surrender completely to our new lives in Christ, leaving behind forever the old man that torments us daily. We ask all these things in the name of Our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Modeling the Servant Heart of Jesus

Matthew 20:28
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus Christ, The Son of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords came to earth as the Son of Man. He gave up all of His royal rights to become a servant of every man. His servanthood was so complete that He gave up His own life and He separated Himself from the Father in order to take on all of our sins so that we might have life with the Father.

Once we claim our eternal inheritance as children of God, we accept that which we do not deserve and could not possibly earn except through the grace and mercy of Our Savior. When we recognize that Jesus Christ served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness and our sin, we should exhaust ourselves serving all men for His sake.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, should we not follow the model of Our Master? We should be in constant communion with the Father, just as Jesus was, so that we can determine the will and plan that Our Heavenly Father has for our lives. We should then be servants to all men in accordance to the will and plan that the Father reveals to us.

Let us model the servant heart of Jesus for the world to see. Let us draw those around us to the Son of Man through our living testimonies. Let our modeling of the life of the Son of God be what draws those around us to Our Savior King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to be bond servants in Your kingdom. We praise the name of Jesus who came as Son of Man to show us the model for living in accordance with Your will. We come before You to proclaim how unworthy we are of all that You have set aside for us to do in service to Your kingdom. We bless the name of Jesus who has made us worthy servants through the shedding of His blood. We pray, Father, that You fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may pour ourselves out to all men. May the hearts of those around us be prepared to receive what we have to offer in the name of Our Savior. We pray all these things in the name of Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Living Each Day with New Ends in Mind

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.

By accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are able to do away with all that separates us from our eternal inheritance. The importance of Jesus taking on all sin is that we can become worthy to stand before the Father in a righteous state. But before we reach our eternal resting place in heaven, we begin to prepare ourselves for heaven by living in a new manner on earth. As new creatures in Christ, we live each day by new principles, by new rules, with new brothers and sisters and with new ends in mind. We become the workmanship of Almighty God, changed forever in character and conduct.

Through the marvelous gift of salvation, all of our sins are gone – nonexistent. They have been taken away by the One who knew no sin. The have been washed away by His shed blood. Each one of us new creatures stand before the Father without blemish. Each one of us in Christ stands before the Father is in the image of His own Son. Each one of us is now the essence of everything good and the absence of anything evil. We are worthy to dwell with the Father for all eternity.

Let us prepare ourselves for our eternal inheritance. Let us strive to live here on earth in the fullness of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ. Let us seek to be worthy of all that has been set aside for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us in Your image, heirs to Your kingdom. We ask forgiveness for all those things in our lives that make us unacceptable to stand before You and unable to accept our eternal blessings. We praise the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who took on all of our sin so that we may become righteous in Your eyes. We pray, Father, that You will provide the grace for us to live in accordance with the renewed hearts given to us by Jesus. May we live by new principles, new rules, new ends and in new company. May our outward reformation be living testimony to Your kingdom. We pray that those around us will seek the One who knew no sin. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb without blemish, Jesus Christ.

Living Under the Divine Hand of Almighty God

Luke15:17
But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!”

The prodigal son left home thinking he could conquer the world on his own. His journey turned out much different than he had imagined. It did not take him long to exhaust the resources that he had. It then became painfully obvious to him that all that he ever needed was available to him at his father’s house.

We all experience a journey similar to the prodigal son when we try to take on the world on our own. We set up ourselves for failure and frustration when we try to make our way independent of the resources that Our Heavenly Father has set aside for us. Our skepticism of God’s plan results in us landing in a places of humiliation.

With each failure and with each moment of mounting frustration and humiliation, Our Father in heaven awaits our turning to Him. All of heaven prepares to celebrate our return. When we realize the foolishness of living our lives in the flesh instead of under the divine hand of Almighty God and return to the riches of Our Father, He calls for a celebration on our behalf.

Let us run to the Father now. Let us claim all that He has set aside for us. Let us live now in the richness and fullness that is in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the inheritance that You have prepared for us. We rejoice in knowing that Your abundant riches await us when we join You in our permanent home. We ask forgiveness for living our lives in the foolish arrogance of our flesh. We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will guide us in repenting of all of the things in our lives that are displeasing to You. May we live our lives in the fullness of the way, the truth and the life that is ours through Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the One who rewards those that seek Him, Jesus Christ.

The Fountain of Life that is Jesus Christ

Psalm 90:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

There is nothing on this earth that satisfies like the love of Our Heavenly Father. He created a void in our hearts that can only be filled by the presence of Jesus in our lives. When we allow Jesus to be our sustenance, there is nothing that the world can offer that measures up.

Living under the fountain of life that is Jesus Christ is to have a future filled with joy. It is to have sufficient balance against all of our griefs and sorrows. It is the enlightenment that steers us away from wasting our precious time pursuing the things of this earth. It is the light that produces good works in us. It is what prepares us for our inheritance in the kingdom of Our Lord.

Unfortunately, too often we chase every type of earthly pleasure in efforts to fill the void in our hearts. We choose to live in darkness instead of in the light of the One who loves us perfectly. May our eyes be opened so that we see what Our Savior has set aside for us. May our hearts be prepared to receive all that Jesus holds for us. The fullness of our joy will never be reached until we turn to Our Savior for completion. He, and He alone, is the one who satisfies every desire of our hearts.

Let us satisfy ourselves in the wondrous presence of Our Savior. Let us rejoice in His perfect love and forgiveness. Let us show the world our joy.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unfailing love. We rejoice in the joy in our hearts that You have provided by allowing us to receive Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to fill our days with the sweet presence of Our Savior and that the Holy Spirit will provide us with the wisdom to turn away from the offerings of this world. We ask, Father, that as we receive all that has been set aside of us that the world will be drawn to Your Son by our joyful countenance. We ask all these things in the name of the Joy of the World, Jesus Christ.

Faithfully Completing the Work Given to Us by God

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 Marvelous Gift of Salvation

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.

By accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are able to do away with all that separates us from our eternal inheritance. The importance of Jesus taking on all sin is that we can become worthy to stand before the Father in a righteous state. But before we reach our eternal resting place in heaven, we begin to prepare ourselves for heaven by living in a new manner on earth. As new creatures in Christ, we live each day by new principles, by new rules, with new brothers and sisters and with new ends in mind. We become the workmanship of Almighty God, changed forever in character and conduct.

Through the marvelous gift of salvation, all of our sins are gone – nonexistent. They have been taken away by the One who knew no sin. The have been washed away by His shed blood. Each one of us new creatures stand before the Father without blemish. Each one of us in Christ stands before the Father is in the image of His own Son. Each one of us is now the essence of everything good and the absence of anything evil. We are worthy to dwell with the Father for all eternity.

Let us prepare ourselves for our eternal inheritance. Let us strive to live here on earth in the fullness of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ. Let us seek to be worthy of all that has been set aside for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us in Your image, heirs to Your kingdom. We ask forgiveness for all those things in our lives that make us unacceptable to stand before You and unable to accept our eternal blessings. We praise the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who took on all of our sin so that we may become righteous in Your eyes. We pray, Father, that You will provide the grace for us to live in accordance with the renewed hearts given to us by Jesus. May we live by new principles, new rules, new ends and in new company. May our outward reformation be living testimony to Your kingdom. We pray that those around us will seek the One who knew no sin. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb without blemish, Jesus Christ.

Compassion for Those Who are Burdened

Matthew 14:14
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Jesus has great compassion for all people. During His time on earth, He poured out His compassion on all of the people whom He encountered. He did not go out condemning them, even though many deserved His condemnation. No matter what condition He found them in, He offered help. He came to heal them all in mind, body and spirit. In each case, He forgave them of their sins and offered them the hope of an eternal inheritance.

Today He does the very same thing for us. He does not care what condition we are in now or what condition we come from. His offer is always the same. He pours out His loving kindness on us. He offers us the opportunity to be healed in mind, body and spirit and to receive our eternal inheritance through His mercy and grace. His offer is always accompanied by His perfect love and forgiveness.

In turn, He expects us to reflect His love and forgiveness by having compassion on the people that He places in our lives. We should be alert to those around us that are burdened by afflictions, addictions and iniquities.

Let us raise our awareness for the need to show mercy and compassion for those who are burdened. Let us prepare ourselves to provide for the needs of their minds, their bodies and their souls. Let us willingly and purposely serve them in the same manner that Jesus would have served them, compassionately without condemnation.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing for our every need and offering us the keys to Your kingdom through Your Son, Jesus. We exalt the name of Jesus for the sacrifice He endured for us to be able to accept His loving kindness and mercy. Remind us, Lord, that we are Jesus’ ambassadors of compassion today. May we be living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness. We pray that through Your grace we will serve the world around us compassionately without condemnation. We ask all these things in the name of our eternally compassionate king, Jesus Christ.

The Abundant Life that Dwells Within Us

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?

As the women were weeping for the suffering of Jesus as He was on His way to be crucified, He prophesied the terrible judgement that awaits those that do not accept the new life that He offers them. He emphasized the message of His prophecy by using Himself as the standard against which judgement will be made.

Jesus compared Himself to a green tree, full of life, flourishing in every aspect of its existence. Such a tree is not proper to be cut down before its time, nor is it fit to be fuel for the fire. The metaphor was designed to express the righteousness and innocence of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, Jesus was comparing the sinner to dry, dead wood. Such wood is rotten and deserving to be fuel for the fire. The metaphor was designed to express the depravity and worthlessness of the sinner.

If He, who is pure and perfect in every measure and is the essence of life itself, had to suffer beyond the human capacity for pain and then die for our sins, why then should we, the driest of woods, not expect to die for our sins? We should expect death for the wages of sins is death. We can only escape the punishment for our sins and claim our inheritance as children of God by accepting the offer of eternal life through Our Savior.

Let us become vessels of the life of Christ within us. Let us look deep inside and make sure that we are not dry wood, bearing no fruit, showing no sign of allowing the life of Christ within us to be released to the world around us. Let us submit and surrender to the abundant life that dwells within us. Let us then seek out those around us who are living in the driest places. Let us present them with the Living Water that has taken us out of our dry places so that they might also experience life in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is found only in Your Son, Jesus. We praise the name of Jesus for all that He suffered on our behalf. We rejoice in the inheritance that awaits us. We pray that You will raise us up to be living testimonies to the new life that we have in Christ so that others may join us in our eternal places in Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of the life giving spirit, Jesus Christ.

Doubting Our Provider

Matthew 6:30
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you–you of little faith?

Gorgeous are the wild flowers that fill our fields in the spring and the summer. They pop up everywhere without a hint of human intervention. They are here with us for only a brief time before succumbing to the seasons. Yet year after year, God raises them up and displays them spectacularly as just one tiny example of His loving providence. How is it possible that we doubt the provision and protection of Our Father in heaven when He is so loyal to even the small plants with their limited life cycles? Do we not have enough faith to see how much more He would provide for His children who He holds so dear as to grant them eternal life?

We have allowed the cares of the world to come in and diminish our faith in the promises of Almighty God. We have followed the world’s lead and put our faith in our own independence instead of in the hands of Our Creator. We have tried to satisfy ourselves in all the things of the world instead of the perfect provision of Our Loving Father in heaven. In the process, we have complicated our lives to the point that we cannot be satisfied.

Let us seek the simplicity and satisfaction of the promised provision that is ours to claim from the One who never breaks His promises. Let us trust that His planned provision for us is more than sufficient and is far more satisfying than anything that the world has to offer.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing for our every need. We rejoice in knowing that all the treasures of Your kingdom are ours through the eternal inheritance secured for us by Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Father, that you will help us break our worldly appetites that are impossible to satisfy. Strengthen us, O Lord, that we may bear up to our daily troubles, stand up against our temptations and allow none of these things to move us away from You. Help us to seek You, Father God. We pray all these things in the name of our endless fount of provision, Jesus Christ.