Tag: gospel

Realizing the Bounty that Christ has Prepared for Us

John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

In one brief statement, Jesus gave the disciples the peace that they needed to overcome the fear that had them gathered in a hiding place and the power and authority that they needed to be successful in their calling. So it is for us.

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by all that the world throws at us. It is so easy to become discouraged, even fearful of the outcome ahead of us. It is so easy to withdraw to a hiding place where doing nothing seems comfortable. Yet the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you,” are just as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.

Are we giving back to the Lord as He has given to us? He has given us the peace, the power and the authority to do what He has called us to do. Much has been given to us. Are we doing all we can do with what we have been given? Surely we will not leave on the table the feast that He has set before us.

Let us set aside all fear and uncertainty. Let us claim the power and authority that has been promised to us. Let us go out boldly and proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing all that we need to be good and faithful servants. We rejoice in knowing that there is nothing in the world that can stop us from bringing to harvest the seeds that You have given us to plant. Father, we pray that You give us the wisdom to see the bounty that You have planned for us. We ask for the grace and the strength that we need to thrive under the power and authority that we have through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Letting Christ be Revealed by the Way that We Live Our Lives

1 Corinthians 9:22
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

Paul shared with the Corinthians his passion to carry out the good work of delivering the message of salvation to all men. He emphasized that this required him to be a servant to all men, regardless of their stature or their spiritual state. In doing so, he was also teaching them that carrying the gospel to all men was their calling also.

God calls people to all walks of life to insure that His gospel message is spread to the world. He calls some to full time ministry, but most are not. Most of us are called to traditional occupations and lifestyles where the Lord wants us to let Christ be revealed by the way we live and by the way we treat others.

God wishes for our messages of love, compassion and forgiveness to be the same whether we are in a boardroom or in a maintenance shop, whether we are in a health club or in a hospital, whether we are at a church function or in the visiting room of a prison. He wants our messaging system to be on non-stop.

Let us surrender our lives to Our Savior. Let us allow the gentle urgings of the Holy Spirit to draw spiritual production from us within the structure of our natural lives. Let us strive to have our living testimonies become pathways to salvation for others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the perfect love, compassion and forgiveness that You pour out onto each of us. We praise the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to become vessels of Your grace. We pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten us and invigorate us to carry the salvation message with us as we walk through our daily lives. May we bear fruit for Your kingdom wherever our paths on earth lead us. We ask all these things in the name of the Tower of Salvation, Jesus Christ.

The Vessel That Receives Without Pouring Out Will Become Stagnant

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are mere vessels on this earth. Whatever we receive from the Lord, whether we are in good times or in bad times, needs to be released into the world. We will find that we are particularly effective in glorifying Our Father in heaven when our good works are evident during the times that we are under burdensome trials.

Upon receiving His Living Water, we must share what we have received with the thirsty amongst us. To dam up the outpouring that we receive can actually damage us. The vessel that receives and receives without pouring out will eventually burst or, at the very least, fill to the point of being unable to receive any more. Then upon being filled without flow, the vessel will become stagnant.

Upon receiving His Light, we must let His Light flow through us to the darkness in the world around us. Jesus taught that we are the light of the world and emphasized that no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but places it on a stand so that all can share the light. It is our responsibility to allow others to be exposed to the Light that is within us.

Let us strive to allow our light to shine before men even when we find ourselves in our darkest trials. Let us insure that the light of the Gospel and the knowledge of the mysteries of God’s grace are openly declared and manifested in the world. Let us be known for our zeal and our fervency, our sincerity and our openness and our integrity and our persistence even under trial. Let us endure in our trials so that the Father is glorified in all that we do.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings that You pour into our lives. We pray that You will protect us from clinging to our blessings to satisfy ourselves. May we freely take our blessings, whether they be things of this world or portions from Your heavenly treasure, and pour them out before You. May the Holy Spirit guide us so that our sacrifice and our works are suitable and pleasing to You. May the world receive Your Light and Your Living Water through us. May it be for Your glory. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.

The Author, the Preacher and the Subject of the Bible is too Precious Not to Share

Colossians 1:27
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God has chosen to reveal to us the riches that are available to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The fullness of all of God’s riches are complete in Jesus. Jesus Christ is the glory of the Gospel. He is the author, the preacher and the subject of the Bible. The glory of His wisdom and power, His truth and faithfulness, His justice and holiness and His love, grace and mercy are forever manifested in the Holy Word.

Yet all of this was a mystery to men for thousands of years. The hope of glory for those living in earlier times was reliant on the offerings of their high priests. How privileged we are as we live in a time when the hope of our glory has been fully disclosed to us. Our hope is in the form of Our Savior who comes and dwells within us. He is our high priest. We need no other.

With His indwelling, we take on the role of priests ourselves. The blessed hope and assurance that is Jesus Christ is too precious not to share.

Let us make it our duty to share the hope that is within us. Let us joyously share that which naturally flows from us without end.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Blessed Hope and Assurance that is Your Son, Jesus. We praise You for revealing to us the riches that are available through Your Son, our ever present high priest. Help us Lord to faithfully share the hope of glory that is within us. We pray His presence will be manifested in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Our Glorious Lord, Jesus Christ.

Judged and Forgiven in Advance by Our Savior

1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

For each of us that have been washed clean of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, the keys to the kingdom of God will be given. Our sins will have been judged and forgiven in advance by Our Savior. Our sins will no longer stain us in the eyes of Almighty God. We will appear in the likeness of Jesus Christ before Our Father in heaven. We will be worthy to become heirs to the kingdom of Almighty God for all eternity.

Yet Our Just and Holy Father requires that all sin must be punished. So those of us that have received the grace of salvation will experience rebuking for our sins in this lifetime. The Holy Spirit will reveal to us the past and current sins in our lives. We will be required to ask forgiveness for our sins and turn away from them. Until we completely surrender to Jesus, we will suffer trials and tribulations in accordance with our iniquities. Our suffering will serve as both the measured punishment required for our sins and the enlightenment needed to facilitate our reliance on Our Savior. Our suffering will continue until every element of our self reliance is slain at the Cross.

For every man and every woman that does not accept the offer of salvation, their time of judgement will also come. It will be at the Throne of God. Sadly, they will have no defense for their sins. They will be deemed unacceptable to enter in to the eternal home of Almighty God. There will be no comfort for those that come before the Lord on their final day still covered in the filth of their sins. They will face endless torment.

Let us rejoice in the knowledge that our salvation separates us from our sins and their required eternal damnation. Let us completely surrender ourselves to the sanctification process that the Lord has set aside for us on this earth. Let us prepare ourselves to hear the sweet words “well done good and faithful servant” when we stand before Our Heavenly Father at His Throne.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace in our lives. We thank You for opening our eyes so that we may see the sin in our lives that separates us from You. We thank You for preparing our hearts so that we could receive Your Son, Jesus, as Our Savior. We pray that You mold our hearts, Lord, so that we fully surrender to Your Son each and every day of our lives. Prepare us, Lord, to stand before You in the image of Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Father God Provides Hope for the World Through His Incomparable Love

1 Corinthians 13:7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

God is love. His love is unconditional and without end. His love for us is expressed explicitly through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

God’s love bears all things. Through His love for us, He provides the blood of His Son to wash away all of our iniquities. He forgives all of our sins.

God’s love believes all things to be good in accordance with His promises in His Holy Word. He views all His children in the best and the kindest manner. Because of the victory of the Cross, He does not accept the lies of the enemy against us.

God’s love provides us with hope in all things. Through His loving promises, we are given hope through all of our circumstances for a future that we cannot see. We are given hope that we will one day live in glory in His presence in His house. We are given hope that all will be right and well with us for all eternity.

God’s love endures all things. With patience and a loving spirit, He endures all of our failures in the flesh for the sake of the Gospel and the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God expresses His love to us in all these ways so that we may love Him in return and share His love with the world around us. As vessels of the love that He has given us, we are capable of extraordinary service to those around us. We are capable of bearing all things that others bring against us. We are capable of enduring all of the attacks of the enemy. We are capable of believing in the eternal good of every man. We are capable of proclaiming hope to the world that is expressed through the perfect love and forgiveness that we have received from the Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Let us become vessels of the perfect love given to us by the Father through His Son. Let us show those around us how His love has changed our lives. Let us have the world know us by our expressions of His love.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love. We thank You that Your love flows to us without end. We exalt the name of Jesus, who is the complete expression of Your love. We pray, Father, for the Holy Spirit to guide us, instruct us and prepare our hearts so that we may be living testimonies of the character of Your love. May the world have hope because they hear us proclaim Your Good News and see the fullness of Your love in us. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The Process of Understanding and Assimilating What God Has Prepared for Us

John 16:12
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

Almighty God has created each of us to fulfill a unique need in His kingdom. His plan for our lives is much, much bigger than anything that we have ever imagined. We are just not ready to take it all in. Our flesh simply gets in the way with what the Holy Spirit has to teach us. And of course, for many of us, we dig our own holes which makes the process even harder. Nonetheless, for those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, His spirit will provide our strength where we are weak.

Even the apostles were not ready to receive and understand all the teachings of Jesus. Without the filling of the Holy Spirit, their flesh simply could not handle what was going to be revealed to them in the spirit. It was only after Pentecost that the apostles were able to boldly proclaim the full gospel.

What a wonderful transformation when the Holy Spirit opens our minds to receive and understand the things that made no sense to us or had no value for us before. In the blink of an eye, our blinders are removed. Without even being cognizant of the process, we begin to assimilate truths that had been unavailable to us before. Then, just as suddenly we are able to share them with those who have been prepared to receive them.

Let us prepare our hearts to receive all that the Holy Spirit has for us. Let us fulfill the plans that Almighty God has created us to fulfill. Let us become all that God has created us to be.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Wonderful Counselor that You have provided to guide and instruct us. We humbly ask that You prepare us to receive all that the Holy Spirit has to teach us. May we become willing vessels, ready to take on the fullness of Your living water. We pray that we will be eager to have the living water pass through us to bring life and enlightenment to those around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Living Water, Jesus Christ.

Moving Forward in Faith Without Regard for Our Own Capabilities

Acts 26:19
And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.

The apostle Paul was brought before the Judean Monarch, King Agrippa, to defend himself and his gospel. In his defense, he told the king why he was doing what he was doing, “I obeyed the vision from heaven.” Paul was not driven by a well thought out plan based on practicality or his own competence. He went out and proclaimed the gospel against all hindrances imaginable, many of which could not be overcome without the hand of God. He also went where God told him to go at the time that God told him to go.

Paul is our model for following visions. When urged by the Holy Spirit to do so, we should move forward without regard for our own capabilities for God always provides what is needed to complete His good work. Just as important, we should not rush ahead in consideration of our current skills and circumstances. We should only move when and where the Holy Spirit urges us to move.

While we are not likely to have a vision for our lives delivered to us in a dramatic encounter with Jesus like the apostle Paul did, we are all called to respond to the plan that Almighty God has willed for our lives. If we are diligent in seeking “our vision”, it will be revealed to us in a manner that will be sufficient to guide us and inspire us to pursue our vision. It will be given to us when the way has been prepared in advance for our success.

Let us seek God’s will and plan for our lives. Let us obey the urgings of the Holy Spirit as we fully surrender to a life of service to Our King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You allowing us to serve You. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us to seek and discover Your plans for our lives. We ask that You teach us how to turn to You alone for our direction. We ask that You teach us how to wait on You to prepare the way before we move. We ask all these things in the name of Our Wonderful Counselor, Jesus Christ.

The Power of Letting the World See Our Joy

2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

We are commanded to preach the Word of God. We are commanded to be prepared to preach the Word. Are we ready?

Jesus Christ, the Living Word, came to earth to teach about His Father in heaven and to reveal the salvation plan. A large portion of His message was presented through the way that He lived and loved among the people. He used His miracles to exhibit His love and to gain attention for His message – especially for those that would not listen to His message otherwise.

So it is with us. Because most of the world now has hardened hearts for the spoken Word, we must draw them to the Word by the way that we live our lives. Our living testimony of the miracle that occurred in our lives through Jesus Christ must be the message that those around us see day in and day out. Once they see the miraculous way that our lives have changed and they see the joy that we have regardless of circumstances, the comfort we have regardless of our trials and the love that we share through good times and bad, they will be drawn to the fount that sustains us. The way we live will say more and teach more than we could convey with eloquent speech. To preach the Word is more about how we live than how we orate.

Let us live in the fullness and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let the world be drawn to Our Savior by our living testimonies.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the living presence of Your Son in our lives. We bless the name of Jesus who dwells within us so that we may be vessels of His perfect love. We pray that we may become broken vessels, surrendered to Our Savior, so that the world may be drawn to Him by the Light that lives within us and shines forth from us. Once those around us have been drawn to us by the lives in Christ that we are living, we pray that You give us the strength and the boldness to proclaim the gospel. We ask that You open the ears of those around us and prepare their hearts to receive their Savior. We ask all these things in the mighty name of the One who gives grace to the humble, Jesus Christ.

Joining Jesus in Doing the Work of the Father

John 14:31
But I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.

What an succinct invitation that Jesus offered to His disciples, “Come let’s be going.” He offers us the same invitation to join Him in doing the work of the Father.

We cannot possibly find a better model for life, nor a better partner for our work, than the only man who lived without sin. And what was it that this man without sin did? He loved His Father and He did what His Father asked of Him. Then He asked others to join Him in His work.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are asked to be obedient to the Father as He was. We are asked to share the Gospel as He did. We are asked to suffer for the sake of the kingdom as He did. We are asked to fully surrender to the will of the Father as He did. We are asked to find others who will join in the work of the kingdom, just as the Son of Man did. In doing so, we join Jesus in doing the work that the Father called Him to do.

Let us be obedient to the call of Jesus. Let us join the Son of God in doing the Father’s work. Let us show the Father and the Son how much we love them by joining them in their good work.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so that we are empowered to show the world how much we love You. We bless the name of Jesus for surrendering His life to You so that we can surrender to You. We thank You, Father, for the privilege of joining Your Son, Jesus, in His work. We pray, Lord, that You will raise us up as instruments of Your good work. We ask that You use us as vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We seek the wisdom, grace and the strength to be able to gather others to unite with us in union with Our Savior. We ask all these things in the holy name of One who invites us to join Him, Jesus Christ.