Tag: grace

Are We Willing for God to Make Holiness as Real in Us as It Is in His Son?

1 Corinthians 1:30
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Without Jesus Christ in our lives, we are depraved and corrupt. With the regenerating grace of God through His Son, Jesus, we are benefactors of the redemptive process. We are freed from sin and made pure and holy in the eyes of Almighty God. Through this salvation process, we receive all the fullness of the treasures of heaven so that we are fit for the service to which we have been eternally called.

Are we willing for God to make holiness as real in us as it is in His Son, Jesus? The sanctification process begins at the instant that we humbly receive Jesus Christ as Our Redeemer. The sanctification process flourishes as we deny ourselves and rely entirely on Jesus to release His holiness in our lives. The sanctification process is a continuous journey until the day we stand before the Lord in the fullness of our completed holiness.

Sanctification is impossible in our flesh alone. It is only possible with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in full operation in our lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we access all the perfection and holiness that is Jesus Christ. As long as we remain surrendered to Our Savior and seek the ongoing work of His Holy Spirit in our lives, we will live a life of holiness on this earth. It will not be uninterrupted holiness like we will experience in our glorified bodies, but it will be steady and it will be pleasing to the One who is calling us to our eternal place of glory.

Let us strive to be holy as Our Savior is holy. Let us learn to rely entirely on the indwelling Holy Spirit as we battle our tormenting flesh and the attacks of the enemy. Let us show the world around us our freedom from sin that they may be drawn to Our Redeemer.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for taking us from the corruption of our old man into a condition of holiness in our new man in Christ. We worship You and bless Your name from the fount of holiness that Our Savior has created within us. We pray that we will receive the grace that we need to remain steadfast on our journey of sanctification. We seek to have our journey become a living testimony to those who you have placed in our lives. We pray for the wisdom and the courage to share our sanctification story with the flock that you have given us. We ask all these things in the name of the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ.

Sorting Out What Pleases and Displeases God

Hebrews 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Upon receiving Jesus Christ as Our Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means. The job of the Holy Spirit is to show us what is pleasing in the sight of Our Savior. As a result of this process, everything that we do that is displeasing to the Lord also comes to light. Thus begins the struggle of the old man versus the new man.

Jesus became man so that He could die for our sins. When He comes to dwell within us, there is no room for the sins of the old man. We must allow our old selves to die as we assume our new life in Christ. The two cannot abide together. To try and hold on to our old lives once Jesus has arrived is to enter into a struggle that is filled with endless pain. The new life of joy is found only in the death of our old lives.

As we work toward a life that is well pleasing in the sight of Jesus, we must recognize that the work of grace is necessary. Without the good work of grace, we are not capable of overcoming the nature of the old man within us. But be certain, the work of grace is not the work of man. It is the work of God alone. It is an internal work done in the heart of men by Him. It is a gradual and progressive work. It will not be perfected until we stand before Him. But indeed, when we stand before Him all the displeasing things in us will be gone forever and all the pleasing things in His sight will shine brightly for all eternity.

Let us begin each day by asking the Lord for fresh grace. Let us ask the Lord to equip us with everything good that we may do His will for our lives. Let us seek the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us on our paths of sanctification. Let us rejoice in knowing that the victory is ours through Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word that defines the things that please you. We praise You for revealing to us all the things in our lives that displease you. We bless the name of Jesus for giving us victory over the sins that try to defeat us. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our struggles to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us in the areas that the world tries to redefine as acceptable when You have already defined it as sin. May all that we do be acceptable in Your eyes. May it all be for Your glory. We ask all these things in the name of the Captain of Our Salvation, Jesus Christ.

The Awesome Convergence of Salvation and Sanctification

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Every born again believer stands in the same place. We are not what we ought to be, but we are not what we use to be either. This is the awesome convergence of salvation and sanctification. We are at once saved when we accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior. From that moment on, we enter into the process of letting go of who we used to be in order to become who we will be in Christ.

Jesus loves us just as we are, but He loves us so much that He cannot allow us to stay where we are. With His indwelling, we find ourselves in the constant battle of our flesh and our new spirit in Christ. We must let go of everything old – guilt, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, addiction, depression, despair, fear. These are the things of the flesh. These are the things that hinder us in our process of sanctification. These are the things that Jesus Christ freed us from when He died on the Cross.

The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more, and living to righteousness more and more, is the work of the renewal of our minds. This work will continue until the day we stand before Almighty God as He sees us in the image of His Son.

Let us discern the will of God in our lives and learn to live the good and acceptable and perfect lifestyles that Jesus Christ won for us on the Cross. Let us renew our minds and free ourselves from the chains of the flesh. Let us claim the victorious spirit-filled lives that Jesus has secured for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son to die for our sins so that we may be free from the corruption of our flesh. We praise You for giving us the Holy Spirit to help us live as new men in Christ instead of men and women of the world. Help us, Lord, to let go of everything in the old man that is hindering our relationship with You. We pray that You strengthen us so that we may cling to Your grace as we continue in our journey of sanctification. We ask all these things in the name of Our Refiner and Our Purifier, Jesus Christ.

Releasing the Full Power of Who We Are in Christ

Matthew 13:32
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

The mustard seed germinates from the tiniest of beginnings. Yet it blossoms into one of the largest plants in any garden. It’s utility is quite impressive. As a tree, it provides food and shelter for the birds that it attracts. As an herb it provides its greater value as a savory delight for man. It is noteworthy that the true and highest value of the mustard seed is seen only after it has been crushed by the master of the garden.

The mustard seed parable was taught by Jesus in order to illustrate the growth, development and power of our faith. Our faith starts out as a seed planted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It starts out small at first, but when properly nourished grows into something so large that it changes how we live and how we serve God. In the early stages of our development as disciples of Jesus Christ, it is likely that we will draw others to us for peace and comfort. But our greater value to them will come later as we mature in Christ. When we have been pressed by our trials, perhaps even crushed by them, the best that we have to offer to anyone will be released. It will be then that those who have been drawn to us will receive the full power of who we are in Christ.

Let us turn to the nurturing care of the Holy Spirit as we are crushed by the trials of life. Let us surrender to the process of having the old man pressed out of our lives and having the new man in Christ released to the world around us. Let us strive to reach our highest value in the kingdom by our submission to the hand of the Master.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for planting the seed of faith within our hearts. We pray that the Holy Spirit will aid us the continuous growth of our faith. We humbly ask for the grace and the strength that we need to endure the trials in our lives which will press the best from us as we mature in our relationship with Our Savior. May the world be drawn to us to savor the fullness of Christ within us. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb Slain, Jesus Christ.

The Favor God Pours Upon Us When We Answer His Call

Acts 9:6
But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.

Paul’s writings provide the foundational truths upon which our faith in Jesus Christ is built. But as great as Paul’s writings were, his living testimony may have provided even more valuable teachings to those who are seeking to be disciples of Our Savior.

In Acts, we read that before Paul was given any specific spiritual task to accomplish, he was simply asked to “rise and enter the city.” If Paul had failed to be obedient in following this simple command, we would not have all the writings of Paul in the Bible. Some other obedient man would be there in his place. But Paul was obedient in this first dramatic calling and to all the others that the Lord issued to Him, so he became one of the greatest men in all of the Bible. His teachings have been a blessing to generations of people throughout the ages. His legacy continues to live on today.

The other thing that we learn about Paul is that he never sought the favor he received. He only sought the one who called Him. So it is with us. We will receive favor from the Lord, not because we seek favor but because we seek Him.

Let us be mindful of Paul’s example. Let us seek the Lord first. Let us be obedient to His calling on our lives. Let us rejoice in how he uses us. Let us celebrate the favor that He pours upon us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to Yourself. We seek You, Lord. We humbly come before You and ask forgiveness for all the times that we have fallen short in our obedience to You. We pray that You will strike us down like You did Paul, so that we may see how we have offended You and so that we may turn our lives toward the path that You direct us. May the Holy Spirit guide us, inspire us and provide our strength to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy. May we learn to be slaves to Jesus Christ and not slaves to this world. May Your grace be with us always. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Our Omnipresent Lord Sculpts Us During Our Times of Trial

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

It is very easy to become frustrated, concerned, depressed, or even angry, when things seem to be piling up against us. We must recognize and celebrate that God works in all things. He is not absent during the bad times. He is taking every element of our circumstances and using them to sculpt who we are. As we mature in our relationship with God, we learn to understand that the work that He does in us during the times of trial defines who we are in Jesus Christ. Even more so as we grow in Christ, we learn to find comfort, even joy, in every step that we take under the divine care of Almighty God.

This supernatural joyful comfort that we come to experience in the face of the pressures of the world defies the emotion that our flesh demands. Through our trials, our faith carries us and builds us up where carnal men lose hope and are broken down. We come to learn that God has allowed us to be where we are and even though we cannot see it at times, He is controlling all things in our lives. Ultimately, regardless of what external ministry to which He may call any of us, He calls each of us by His special grace from darkness to light and from bondage to liberty according to the eternal purpose that He has set aside for us.

Let us find peace in the Lord when the world offers none. Let us rejoice in the victory that is ours even though we don’t see it yet. Let us hold firm to our faith which carries us through all trials and ultimately builds us up.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your sovereign rule over our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we can find peace in You no matter what is going on around us. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will will strengthen us when the world tries to weaken us. We pray that the Holy Spirit will turn us back to the light of victory when the world is trying to turn us to the darkness of defeat. We pray that through it all our trust in You will be complete as we are delivered into Your will and plan for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Mighty in Battle, Jesus Christ.

Let Us Allow the Love of Jesus to Spill Out from Us Into the World

Romans 1:14
I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Paul was inspired by his view that Jesus Christ was his spiritual creditor. He was constantly driven to impart all that he had received from Jesus to the world around him. It was impossible for him to contain what he had been given through grace. So it should be with us.

Redeemed by the blood, and converted by the grace of the Lord Jesus, we are altogether His. For His sake we are debtors to all men. To serve all men is our duty. We should readily impart to others what God has trusted to us. We should rejoice to make others joyful. We should take pleasure in communing with those who believe the same things with us. We should be ready to serve those who are not yet believers.

Let us be careful not to contain what has been poured out upon us. Let us prepare ourselves to be founts of living water. Let us allow the love of Our Savior to spill out from us to the world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You providing Your Son, Jesus, to cleanse us of our sin debt for all eternity. Inspire us, Lord, to understand that through the gift of salvation we have become debtors to all men. Show us how to repay that debt through the services that You call us to do. Teach us how to impart the joy that You have given us. Equip us to share the good news with those who You bring into our lives. We pray that it may all be done for the honor and glory of the Blessed Trinity. We ask all these things in the name of Our Glorious Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

The 7 Promises of God that Make Up the Foundation of Our Faith

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

God’s Word contains literally thousands of promises waiting to be claimed by faith. Everyone of them are fulfilled in Jesus Christ and everyone of them can be fulfilled in our lives as we come into agreement with Our Savior.

Each of the promises of God are meant for our good. All of His promises are waiting for us to discover and claim in His Holy Word. Each promise, as we find them, delights us and strengthens us. Yet within the thousands of promises in God’s Word, the seven promises below could be given consideration as the basis for our faith in the hope and assurance that is ours in Jesus Christ.

  • God has promised to supply every need we have. Philippians 4:19
  • God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. 2 Corinthians 12:9
  • God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13
  • God has promised us victory over sin and death. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
  • God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully. Romans 8:28
  • God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized will be saved. Mark 16:16
  • God has promised His people eternal life. John 10:28

As we cling to Our Savior, all of the promises of heaven pour out on us. We then become living vessels created to deliver on the promises of Almighty God.

Let us use what God has given us to contribute to the Body of Christ. Let us receive from the Body of Christ what God has prepared for us. Let us live in the fullness of all that has been set aside for us through Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that all of Your promises to us have been secured by Your Son, Jesus. We ask that the Holy Spirit may inspire us to search Your Holy Word for all the promises that have been set aside for us. We seek to wield the power of these promises in our lives and in the lives of those around us. May the Holy Spirit show us how to claim our eternal privileges by proclaiming Your Holy Word. May the Body of Christ be truly alive because we are alive in Christ. We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Through His Grace We are Provided Hope and Joy Under the Heaviest Sorrows

2 Corinthians 1:5
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

As the Body of Christ, we identify with Christ’s suffering on the Cross. We are crucified with Him. He endured the highest level of suffering for the remission of our sins. We suffer with Him as we confess our culpability for putting Him on the Cross. As result of His suffering and ours, we are given the abundant comfort of eternal life.

On a different level, Jesus Christ considers the sufferings of His corporate body to be His own personal suffering. He identifies Himself completely and directly with His church. So everything that we suffer in life, Jesus shares in. This is especially true of those things that we suffer for His name’s sake. But as we suffer with Christ, we receive the abounding comfort of His love.

Whether we are dealing with the physical or emotional suffering, Jesus provides the strength and comfort that we need to overcome the suffering that we endure. He supplies it abundantly so that we are never asked to suffer more than we can handle. Through His grace we are provided hope and joy under the heaviest of sorrows and suffering.

Let us humble ourselves at the Cross of our suffering King, Jesus Christ. Let us exalt His name for what He suffered on our behalf. Let us repent of all that we have done that put Him on the Cross. Let us accept our personal suffering, knowing that through Him we will be strengthened and even made cheerful so that we may be made useful and comforting to others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to comfort us in all of our suffering. We humbly ask forgiveness for putting Your Son on the Cross because of our inequity. We ask that we may suffer crucifixion with Jesus as we die to our old selves and take on our new lives in Christ. We pray that everything that we suffer in life be for the glory of Our Savior. May we always be cognizant of His personal and physical suffering. May both the suffering we go through and the abundant comfort that we receive result in eternal good for ourselves and for those around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

The Good and Perfect Purposes That God Has for Each of Us

1 Thessalonians 3:12
And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word increase means to become or make greater in size, amount, intensity or degree. It can be assumed that Paul was speaking to all these nuances held in the definition of the word increase when He was writing to the Thessalonians.

It is certain that Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians to continue to increase in numbers just as all the other early Christian churches were doing. It was his prayer that the Lord would cause them to increase through the abounding love that they would have for one another and for the world around them.

It is just as certain that Paul was also teaching that as the Lord provided for their increase in numbers that He would necessarily provide them with an increase in the intensity and fullness of His love. Thus these early Christians would have the increase in the amount of love that they would need to win the world for Jesus Christ. It would, in fact, be their cup spilling over with His perfect love that would draw others to their church and to Christ Himself.

And it would also be in accordance with all of Paul’s other teachings for him to be praying that the Lord would increase the Thessalonians in one other area. Paul was surely praying that there would be an increase in the degree of holiness, humility, knowledge and spiritual joy that would be poured out upon the Thessalonians in the form of the grace of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Their increase as individuals was critical to the growth of the Body of Christ.

And so it is with us. God calls us to serve Him. He calls each of us to pour out His perfect love to the world around us so that the Body of Christ may increase. Subsequent to our obedience, He adds to us and grows us according to His good and perfect will and purpose for our lives. This process of individual and corporate increase is continuous throughout our lifetimes.

Let us abound in love for one another. Let us share our love for Christ so that others may be drawn to Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the good and perfect purposes that You have for our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we will be able to continually serve You, not only on this earth, but also on into eternity. We pray that You will show us where You are calling us to pour out Your perfect love. Father, we ask that we never tire of the service that is at hand. May we always increase in our service to Your kingdom. We pray, Lord, that we may also increase in our holiness as we serve You. We ask all these things in the name of our holy and awesome Savior, Jesus Christ.