He is the Lord, Our God, the Essence of Everything Good

2 Samuel 7:22
Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

What if a man appeared at your door, a man of immense power and wealth, a man who everyone around the world recognized and praised, how would you greet him? Would you welcome him in? What if he said, “I know you. I have been watching you. I have a plan for you. I want to make you the inheritor of all the riches of my estate.” How would you respond?

This man has knocked on all of our doors. His name is Jesus. He exceeds beyond our imagination any man that walks on this earth. There is no one like Him. He is the way, the truth and the life. There is no other way to the riches of our eternal inheritance except through Him.

He is the Lord, Our God. His name, His nature, His purposes, His promises and His works are all the essence of everything good. He is the one true God, the creator of all things. There is no one like Him. There is no one that even approaches His name. How could anyone not answer when He knocks?

Let us welcome this humble, loving King that knocks on the door to our hearts. Let us receive in faith all that He has prepared for us. Let us be beacons of light to the world around us as we host our Heavenly King in our hearts.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we praise You and exalt You. We thank You for providing Your Son as Our Redeemer. We humbly receive the riches that He has set aside for us through His sacrifice. May we fully submit to Jesus as Our Savior and Lord over our lives as He knocks on our doors and asks us to follow Him. May we become living testimony to His presence in our lives so that others may know Him when He knocks on their doors. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord over all the earth, Jesus Christ.

Helping Others to Claim Their Eternal Inheritance as Children of God

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.

Learning to Pour Ourselves Out in Service to Others

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.

Unimaginable Provision, Day after Day Without End

2 Kings 25:30
Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.

During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, God punished the Jews because of their disobedience and falling away. He allowed the Jews to be overcome by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar exiled the Jews from their land and imprisoned their king, Jehoiachin. When Nebuchadnezzar died, his son Evil-merodach became king of Babylon. Because God loved His children so much, He placed favor for the Jews in the heart of the new Babylonian king. King Jehoiachin of Judah, who had been imprisoned for 37 years, was given a seat of honor in Evil-merodach’s house. Jehoiachin dined regularly with the Babylonian king and was provided an allowance for all his daily needs as long as he lived.

Because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, they were exiled from the land where they walked with Almighty God and each of us that followed them was also exiled by sin to a life outside the presence of Almighty God. But because God loved us so much, He provided His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross to atone for the sins that separated us from Our Creator.

Like Jehoiachin, we received unmerited favor. But while Jehoiachin received a seat of honor at the king’s table, we were provided unlimited access to the throne of the King of Kings. While Jehoiachin was provided an allowance for his daily needs, we received a royal inheritance of all of the unlimited treasures of Our Heavenly King. While Jehoiachin’s privileges ended at his death, we were given the fullness of God’s blessings for all eternity.

Let us be mindful of the eternal treasures that have been prepared for us. Let us rejoice in knowing the seat of honor that awaits us. Let us give thanks for the daily provision that we receive on earth and the unimaginable provision that we will receive, day after day without end, in the eternal kingdom of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You loved us so much that You gave us Your Son, Jesus, to atone for our sins. We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to join You in Your heavenly kingdom. May the Holy Spirit guide us to Your throne to receive the fullness of Your blessings and the ongoing provision for our needs. May our cups overflow with Your love and Your grace. May all the unmerited favor that we receive be poured out on the world around us. We ask all these things in the matchless name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Abundant Life That We Have Been Created For

Ephesians 1:10
And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

This passage teaches that all that was lost with the fall of man will be restored. Jesus Christ will be the Restorer. He will renew the former state, bringing together under His authority all of heaven and earth.

While Our Father has blessed us with the capacity to enjoy all that He has created, He leaves a void in our hearts that can only be filled by His Son. Only when we fill the void with Our Savior are we able to fully experience the abundant life that we have been created for. When we become one with Christ, we inherit everything in heaven and on earth.

When we become one with Christ, we see His glory in every sunrise, every sunset, every full moon, every star, every mountain, every valley, every ocean, every lake, every river, every stream, every tree, every flower, every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every animal, every bird, every fish and in every man and woman. When we surrender to the authority of Jesus Christ, we are in position to experience the fullness of heaven and earth as God intended it before the fall of man.

Let us prepare ourselves to receive all that has been set aside for us. Let us share our joy so that others will come to live under the glorious rule and reign of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us a part of Your creation plan. We bless the name of Jesus, through whom we are able to experience the fullness of Your creation. We long for Jesus to make His home in our hearts. We pray that we may have the wisdom to understand the depths of His love. We ask that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to trust in Him completely. We pray for the humility to surrender totally to His authority. May we experience the joy of being one with Christ in heaven and on earth. We pray these things in the name of Our precious Savior and Restorer, Jesus Christ.