Tag: heaven

Prepare to Receive All that He Has Prepared for Us Through His Son

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

In this passage we are given the summation of all of our blessings.  God the Father is the author and giver of all blessings.  Jesus Christ is the medium that God the Father uses to dispense His blessings.  The sphere of coverage is every single blessing in heavenly places.

The fullness of everything that we need and the fullness of everything that will satisfy us originates with God the Father.  Every iota of these blessings is held in the hands of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. And His Holy Spirit dwells in us as the dispensing fount that we may draw on at any time.

Why should we ever look elsewhere?  Man can never be counted on to stand by us through all circumstances.  At some point, all men will fail one another.  The Lord, Jesus, never fails us.  He is with us even under the direst circumstances, even the ones that we have created ourselves.

Let us surrender ourselves to the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us prepare to receive all that He can bestow, all that His Son can provide and all that the Holy Spirit can apply in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You provide to us through Your Son.  We pray that You show us how to turn to Jesus first in all things.  Strengthen us, Lord, so that we may leave behind our reliance on a fallen world.  Prepare us, Father, to stand before You one day and receive the fullness of Your kingdom in heaven.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Mediator, Jesus Christ.

An Act of Supernatural Love and Endowment

1 John 4:9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

Christmas is the celebration of a spectacular supernatural event. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to this earth so that we might have eternal life through Him. This event was one that could not be accomplished by the efforts of man. Only God could orchestrate such an act of love and supernatural endowment.

There are scoffers around each Christmas season who try to deny the great gift that has been provided for all mankind to receive. They try to logically dissuade others from having faith in the true story of Christmas. Yet to do so, they must try to make others believe that the God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun and who upholds the entire universe itself will prove unable to fulfill His own promises.

Is it possible that the One who hangs the world on nothing is unable to deliver on His promises to His children? Does He not hold the winds and the clouds and the oceans themselves in His hand? How can He fail His children? We have every reason to be absolutely firm in our faith.

Let us celebrate openly and with great fervor the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Let us freely share the love that He has manifest in us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to live in this world so that we may be supernaturally endowed with His presence in our lives and we may become heirs to Your eternal kingdom. We bless the name of Your Son, Jesus, who became poor so that we may have all the treasures of heaven. We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit is with us each day to provide us with the peace that only Jesus can offer. We pray that as we receive these wondrous gifts that we surrender to the reign of Our Savior in our lives. May our lives become our love gifts to You, Father. May the world know us by our fervor for Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of Our New Born King, Jesus Christ.

God Bestows Spiritual Good When We Seek Him

1 Corinthians 1:19
God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

At one time or another we have all heard someone say, “I am not worried. Everything always works out for the best.” Were they counting on God’s promise to work all things out for good or were they just feeling lucky?

There is temporal good and there is spiritual good. Temporal good is what men usually seek. The more complete spiritual good is what God bestows when men seek God. Through His grace both the temporal and spiritual needs of the men who seek Him are worked out perfectly.

Through the grace of God, we as followers of Jesus Christ do not have to wonder or worry about whether good things are coming our way. We have been promised by Almighty God that if we love Him and follow the calling that He has placed on our lives that all things will work together for good in our lives.

Does this mean that we will always live in riches? Does this mean that we will always live without illness? Does this mean that we will live trouble free lives? No it does not. What it does mean is that we will be broken from sin, we will be drawn closer and closer to Our Savior and in the end we will be made fit to stand before Our Heavenly Father and dwell with Him in our eternal place in heaven. That is Our Heavenly Father’s idea of everything always working things out for the best.

Let us put our full trust in the One who always does what He promises. Let us rejoice in knowing that His plan for our lives is based on working out our temporal and eternal needs perfectly.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us unto Yourself. We exalt Your name for the perfect love and forgiveness that we receive through Your grace and Your mercy. We thank You for the eternal blessings that are ours through the redemptive work of Your Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray that the world may know Your Son because we boldly proclaim the name of the One who brings us our eternal riches. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Over All, Jesus Christ.

Approaching Every Trial with Boldness

Romans 5:2
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

One of the greatest gifts that we receive through faith is the ability to approach our death beds with peace and joy, not with fear and trembling. Through our faith, we know that at our death we will be set free of every pain and challenge that life has brought to us. Through our faith we know that we will spend eternity in the presence of Almighty God and we will be worthy to be there. Through our faith, we know that what awaits us in heaven is beyond our imagination.

This kind of faith is actually worked out in us on this earth. This kind of faith by its nature must be tried. This kind of faith is built up through all of the trials that we face seemingly alone. This kind of faith is built up when we realize we were never alone. We know we have this kind of faith when we can approach every trial in our lives with boldness, courage and confidence knowing that Jesus is always right beside us to carry us through.

Let us live every day confidently, knowing that we are not alone. Let us approach every trial with boldness, knowing that Our Strength is always with us. Let us rejoice, knowing that our place in heaven with Almighty God is prepared for our arrival.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the faith that brought us to receive Your Son, Jesus, as Our Savior. We thank You for the faith to believe in Your Holy Word and reject all that contradicts it. We praise the name of Jesus for standing by us as we enjoy all the blessings that You bring us and as we endure all the trials that life throws at us. We pray, Father, for the grace and the strength to live every day of our lives in the conscious delight of who we are in Christ. We ask all these things in the name of our joy triumphant, Jesus Christ.

The Way, the Truth and the Life

Jeremiah 31:31
“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

Jeremiah foretold of a time when the Lord would bring in a new covenant. This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ when he stepped down from His seat by the Father in heaven to accept His sacrificial calling on earth to be the Redeemer of all men.

When Jesus came to earth, He issued an invitation to all men to “Come to Me.” He established Himself as the way, the truth and the life. He did not make it mandatory to accept His invitation, but He did make it clear that accepting His invitation was the only way to become worthy to be in the presence of Almighty God for all eternity.

Because Almighty God knew our frailty so well, the benefits of accepting His Son’s invitation went beyond the eternal reward promised. By accepting His invitation, we were also extended the grace needed for sustaining us during our time on earth while we were preparing for our eternal resting place in heaven.

Our earthly benefit package includes, but is certainly not limited to:

  • access to the unimaginable favor of the King of Kings,
  • the privilege of laying all of our burdens on Him,
  • the satisfaction of having our thirst for knowing our Maker quenched forever
  • and the treasure of being able to learn from Our Master all that is good and pleasing to Almighty God.

Why should we go to any other quarter to have our needs met?

Let us go to Jesus to receive the grace of God that comes through Him. Let us go to Jesus for the peace, comfort, joy and salvation that He holds in His hands. Let us respond without delay to His invitation.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us Your Son to reveal to us Your will and Your love. We bless the name of Jesus for providing the yoke that joins us to Him for the purpose of having all of our burdens lifted from us. We rejoice in knowing that we live in Your constant shadow protected from evil and supplied with our needs. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us to release all of our cares into the arms of the One who invites us to come to Him. We ask all these things in the name of the Yoke of Our Burdens, Jesus Christ.

The Righteousness Found Only at the Foot of the Cross

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.

When we hear the word sin, we usually think of a single transgression or specific transgressions which go against God’s law. Sin defined in this manner only captures an aspect of sin. In reality, sin is much more. Sin is a complete, damning condition that separates us from God. It is a chasm that we cannot cross on our own. The chasm was created when Adam and Eve sinned. At the moment of their sin, we inherited a condition that separated us from God for all eternity.

Thankfully, our merciful Father in heaven provided a way for us to bridge the chasm created by sin. He provided His Son to take on the burden of all of our sin. He allowed His Son’s blood to be shed so that we may be cleansed of all of the unrighteousness that separates us from the presence of Almighty God. God made His own Son take on our sin so that we might become saints in heaven.

Jesus was not a sinner. He never sinned, yet He was made sin by the Father. He became a sin offering, a sacrifice for the sins of all men. The supernatural plan for all of this was that we might be made righteous in the eyes of God. Let us praise Our Lord for without Him we cannot surrender enough, we cannot labor enough nor can we suffer enough to secure our places in heaven for all eternity.

Let us be forever mindful that there is not a single thing that we can do on our own to pay off the sin debt that we inherited. Let us run to the foot of the Cross to receive the righteousness that is only available to us through Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us insure that our living testimonies reflect the eternal gift that we have been given at an enormous price to Our Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, our thanks are inadequate to cover the redemptive work that cleanses us of our unrighteousness and allows us to stand in Your Holy Presence. There is no manner of word or worship that we could bring before You that would be sufficient to cover the debt that has been paid for us. We bless the name of Jesus who left His throne in heaven to come to earth to redeem us from the debt we could not pay on our own. We humble ourselves before You, Lord. We kneel at the foot of Your Cross and submit ourselves to a life in Your service here on earth and in heaven. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You forever. We pray that our lives in Christ here on earth will lead others to the foot of Your Cross to receive their salvation. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord of Our Righteousness, Jesus Christ.

The Treasure of Immeasurable Worth

Matthew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Every period in history has been marked by people who set out in expectation of finding hidden treasures. All of these treasure hunters have had the same goal. They sought to become suddenly rich. They also shared something else. Their passion to become rich drove them to give up all that they had in order to pursue their treasure.

Like these treasure hunters of times gone by, we would do well to find a passion for seeking the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven. We should be willing to give up all that we have in order to pursue this treasure of immeasurable worth. Our efforts to attain this treasure must be the most important thing in our lives. We cannot be undecided or unsure about what we are seeking. We will only find the kingdom of heaven if we are desperate and passionate to receive it.

When we recognize Jesus Christ as the Pearl of Great Price, all other things should become worthless to us. As we recognize what Jesus Christ gave up for us, should we not be willing to give up everything for Him? In truth, there is no valuable consideration that can be given up for Him. It is our willingness to part with our sinful nature that provides all the honors, riches and profits of the kingdom of heaven.

Let us surrender all that we are and all that we have to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us exchange all of the treasures of this world for the immeasurable treasures of the kingdom of God. May we let our passion for Jesus be the foundation of our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great treasure that You have set aside for us in heaven. We exalt the name of Jesus Christ, the Pearl of Great Price, who has made it possible for us to live for all eternity in Your kingdom. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will guide us to experience the fullness of Your kingdom here on earth. May the blessings and the lessons that Your Holy Spirit brings to us for our joy and our enlightenment help us to find our passion for Jesus Christ. May we live our lives entirely for the honor and glory of You, Father, Your Son and Your Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the Treasure of all treasures, Jesus Christ.

Sharing in Jesus’ Delight in Pleasing the Father

Psalm 40:8
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.

When David spoke of his desire to follow God’s will for his life, he was patterning himself after Jesus. Jesus did nothing without giving full consideration to the will of the Father. Both Jesus’ and David’s hearts were set on pleasing the Father. Each complied cheerfully.

If we start a new exercise regimen because we want the quick body changes “guaranteed” in the rave reviews, we may find ourselves struggling to maintain the new regimen for any extended period of time. On the other hand, if we start the new exercise program because we have a passion for a happier, extended life to enjoy with our loved ones, we are more likely to get into the new regimen eagerly and consistently because of the higher purpose that drives our success.

When we seek to be faithful in following all of the commandments with the single purpose of avoiding sin, we are certain to struggle because our purpose is not high enough. We must find our passion in the higher purpose of establishing our covenant with Jesus not with the law.

Let us seek to know Jesus so intimately that we can enjoy His peace, His beauty, His mercy, His loving kindness and most of all share in His delight in pleasing His Father in heaven. Let us learn to count it as joy to give up the things of the world for the glory of Our Heavenly Father.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so much that You gave us Your Son to come down from heaven to fulfill the law. We bless the name of Jesus for His perfect obedience in doing Your will. We ask that the Holy Spirit will help us to set our hearts upon Jesus instead of upon the law. Oh Lord, we pray that we may take up our crosses daily with the same delight and pleasure that Jesus did when He fulfilled Your will for His life. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is faithful and true, Jesus Christ.

The Perfect Pathway Through the Storms of Life

Revelation 1:7
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

This passage calls attention to that great day when all will see the wisdom and happiness of the friends of Christ and the madness and misery of His enemies. Great sorrow and suffering will be ahead for those who wound and crucify Him by their non-belief. Those who have not accepted Jesus as the way, the truth and the life will find out that He is the only way to eternity with the Father in heaven.

Isn’t it ironic that Jesus will arrive in the clouds? It is quite natural to associate the idea of clouds with storm clouds. When storm clouds are building we are likely to think that defeat is near. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we come to realize that when storm clouds begin to build in our lives that our victory is near.

Just as God used the clouds to guide the Israelites to the promised land, He can use the storm clouds in our lives to turn our focus to Him for guidance. Through this process, He teaches us dependence on Him for providing the pathway through the storms of our lives. Paradoxically, without the storm clouds, we would never develop the faith that we need to completely surrender to Our Savior. The perfect pathway through the storms of life lies in a relationship with Jesus Christ. The only pathway from this life into eternal life is through Jesus Christ.

Let us look to heaven and not to earth for our support when we find storm clouds building in our lives. Let us turn to the Light of the World for our victory when the clouds become the darkest. Let us share each victory with those still in the darkness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Light of the World, Your Son Jesus, to save us from the darkness that comes to devour us. We praise You for the faith that You build in us as Jesus carries us and comforts us through our trials. We pray that we may learn from the trials that we pass through so that we may comfort others who pass the same way. Through the light of our living testimony, may we draw others through the darkness to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. We ask all these things in the name of the Judge of the Living and the Dead, Jesus Christ.

Truths That are Critical to Our Faith

John 14:31
But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

This passage represents the culmination of what could be considered the last will and testament of Jesus given to the His disciples before He left them. In the prior verses of John 14, Jesus promised many things to comfort His disciples. He also revealed a number of truths critical to their faith.

He encouraged His disciples as He told them that He was leaving them to prepare a place for them with Him in heaven. He emphasized the He is the way, the truth and life and that the only way that anyone enters into a prepared place in heaven is through Him.

Jesus confirmed the Godhead to the apostles as He commanded them to “believe in Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Later He comforted the disciples when He told them that the Holy Spirit would be sent in His name by the Father to be their Helper in His absence.

Jesus provided the disciples with more encouragement as He told them that they would do greater works than He had done because He was going to the Father to represent them. He emphasized that anyone that believes in Him will also be able to do greater works than He did.

Jesus promised them His peace and commanded them not to be troubled or afraid of the evil that would come against them. He emphasized that the victory was theirs because He has power over the enemy.

Jesus’ final command to them was, “Rise, let us go from here.” This is our command as well.

Let us receive the supernatural power that we are promised through the presence of Our Savior in our lives. Let us live a life without trouble in our hearts because of the promises of Our Redeemer. Let us rise from whatever circumstances that we find ourselves and let us show the world the peace that we have in Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the peace that reigns in our lives. We thank You, Jesus, for the peace that You brought us through Your shed blood. We praise You, Lord, for providing the supernatural power that we need to live our lives without fear of any man or any circumstance. We pray that You will equip us, embolden us and strengthen us so that we may be instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect peace. We ask all these things in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.