Tag: Jesus

Allowing the Life Giving Stream of Our Savior to Flow in Our Lives

John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

By faith, we receive Jesus into our lives. When we receive Our Savior, we receive His living water. This life giving stream has flowed from Our Redeemer throughout all time to every place and person. The same life giving stream can flow continuously from our hearts if we are in submission to the Cross and not to ourselves.

Through the fount that is Jesus Christ, we also receive the sanctifying and comforting presence of the Holy Spirit flowing into and through our lives. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the flow can manifest itself in many ways. It can range from the smallest, unseen kindness to a magnificent production on the grandest of stages. The flow is as a fountain of living, running water that is providing continuous streams that are all at once cooling, calming, refreshing and cleansing. The flow is plentiful, constant as a river. It is a continuous stream of the fullness of Jesus Christ and His grace.

Let us prepare ourselves to be willing vessels. Let us submit fully to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that God’s goodness may be poured out through us to the world around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for using us as founts of Your living water. We praise You for the refreshing and cleansing that it brings into our own lives as we allow the waters to pass through us. We humbly and anxiously submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We pray that we come into the fullness of the flow so that the thirst of those around us may be quenched as we are quenched. We ask all these things in the name of the Life Giving Spirit, Jesus Christ.

Pursuing the Treasure of Immeasurable Worth – Heaven

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 unmeasurable 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.

Having a Higher Purpose Leads to Greater Stick-to-itiveness

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.

Promises to Those That Pray in a Secret Place

Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Without question, one of Satan’s greatest skills is his ability to keep us distracted from building our relationship with God by keeping us focused on the business of life. One of his greatest lies is planting the seed in our minds that God does not want to hear about everything in our lives. Through the perfect work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can turn both of Satan’s tactics against him.

The first thing that we should do each day in the privacy of the morning is to invite the Holy Spirit to join us throughout the day. Then everything public in our busy lives will be marked by His presence. Everything that comes our way as a challenge or a trial can be handed to Him immediately through brief and constant prayer.

Because through the Holy Spirit, we have already given Jesus the burdens of life throughout the day, in the evening we can shut the door on all the cares of the day. Those cares are no longer there to distract us as we try to pray at night because they are in Jesus’ hands, not ours. Instead of focusing on our cares, we are free to focus on Our God. We can worship Him, we can praise Him and we can soak in His love. We can grow in our relationship with Him according to His good and perfect plan for our lives.

Let us learn to slam the door on the daily trials and distractions that life brings our way. Let us claim the rewards that Our Father in heaven promises us for going to Him in secret. Let us give all of our burdens to Jesus in the morning and thank Him and praise Him in the evening.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Holy Spirit to be the helper that we can call on to make our burdens light. We rejoice in His presence with us throughout the day and night. We pray for the wisdom and the grace to release our cares and concerns to Our Savior throughout the day. With our burdens in Jesus mighty hands, we ask, Lord, that You teach us how to come to You without distraction in the evening. May we learn to spend our private prayer time in the evening growing in our relationship with You and refreshing ourselves for the next day to be spent in the yoke of Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of the One who lightens our burdens, Jesus Christ.

For to Suffer for Christ’s Sake is to Have Joy in All Things.

2 Timothy 2:3
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

There is no happiness in suffering. No sane person chooses to suffer. But even when we are under the heaviest of burdens, it is possible to maintain the joy in our lives. For to suffer for Christ’s sake is to have joy in all things. To embrace Our Comforter during the times of our suffering is to have constant joy in the midst of our trials. If we continuously seek the comfort of Our Savior as our suffering goes on, our joy will increase even though our happiness may be in decline. Through it all, our resolution to suffer for Christ’s sake will become stronger and our love of God and Jesus Christ will grow.

If we view our suffering in any other way than through the will of God, our lives are guaranteed to be roller coaster rides with many highs and many lows. On the other hand, if we keep our focus on Jesus through our suffering, our lives will be on steadied paths toward completed sainthood in heaven for all eternity. Our lives will be filled with joy even in unhappy circumstances. The world will know us by our peace through Jesus Christ.

Let us seek the joy of Christ in every event in our lives, whether they be easy or challenging. Let us seek the peace of Our Comforter in all of our trials. Let us endure in accordance with the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to overcome the suffering that the world brings us. We bless the name of Jesus for bringing us joy even when everything around us in the world brings some level of unhappiness. We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to endure our trials so that our love for You and for Our Savior, Jesus, becomes greater with each moment that we endure our suffering. As we find joy in Christ, we pray that our example will make others strong and mature in their relationship with You. We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered for us, Jesus Christ.

All the Powers of the Universe Form Within Us When We Receive Christ as Our Savior

Luke 1:35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Just as the Blessed Virgin Mary had the Son of God placed in her womb when the Holy Spirit came upon her, the Son of God is placed within each of us by the power of the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus as Our Savior. Just as Mary carried Jesus Christ alive in her body, we carry Jesus as a living fount of holiness, righteousness, loving kindness, mercy and forgiveness. All that He is and all the powers of the universe have been formed within us.

If we had any natural resource of such incredible value within us, would we ever allow our attentions to be diverted from this precious resource? Would we ever hesitate to share the fruits of our resource with the world around us? Would we ever put aside for even a moment the thought of the magnificent power that we held?

Let us not overlook the power that dwells within us. Let us recognize and proclaim Christ Jesus. Let us strive to have His nature within us be as real and as fruitful as the seed received by the Virgin Mary.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to be the fruit of the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We bless the name of Jesus as we rejoice in His presence within us. We pray, Father, that we will never set Jesus aside. We ask that the Holy Spirit aid us in allowing Jesus to pour His life into ours every single moment that we live and breath. May we clamor for His attention. May our holy communion with Our Savior lead others to be drawn to Him. We ask all these things in the name of the Son of God, 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.

Humble Yourself Before Jesus and Open the Way to His Perfecting Work in You

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

At times, we all experience things in our lives that make us feel like we are not strong enough to overcome. At times, we all are tempted in such a way that it feels like we are near faltering. Rejoice!! We are in the perfect position to have Jesus provide all that we need for victory. He is just waiting for us to recognize our weakness and call on Him to draw on His resources.

The apostle Paul was told by Jesus that Jesus’ strength was sufficient for all of Paul’s needs. Jesus emphasized to Paul that His power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Paul recognized this truth and leaned upon it through all of his trials. He became the most prolific writer in the bible and led the way of evangelizing the gentile world to Christianity.

When we come to recognize that there is nothing in us that is worthy without Jesus Christ, we open the way for His perfecting work in our lives. When we humble ourselves before Our Savior, we build on our relationship with the One who seeks to perfect us. Through it all, in spite of our weaknesses, the evidence of His presence in our lives becomes visible for all to see. We must be ever mindful that it is not about the work that we do for ourselves. It is about the relationship we have with Jesus that releases victory in our lives.

Let us surrender to Our Savior King. Let us present our weaknesses to Him so that He may perfect His strengths in our lives. Let us become living testimonies to His power.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that You pour into our lives through Your Son, Jesus. We seek the power of Your grace in our lives. We ask forgiveness for the times that we by-passed Your grace in order to operate out of our own perceived strength. We pray that Holy Spirit will aid us in leaning on You for all of our needs and guiding us in all that we do. May Your strength be perfected in our weakness. We ask all these things in the name of the Strength of the Needy, Jesus Christ.

Becoming Living Testimonies of the One Who Dwells Within Us

1 John 3:18
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

There is an old adage that states that actions speaker louder than words. Nowhere is the old adage more applicable than in our living testimony. No one wants to learn about Jesus from us if they have not seen Jesus in our lives.

Our greatest orations will never win a soul without a visible expression in our lives that we are living what we are preaching and teaching. Let those around us see the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When others see these things, they will seek the source. We will not have to say a word to entice them.

Jesus understood human nature completely. Thus He labored constantly among the people, showing them His perfect love and forgiveness. His living testimony drew people to the message that He had come to deliver. We can do the same if we labor in deed and in truth.

Let us serve one another and bear one another’s burdens. Let us build up one another in faith and minister to those around us with cheerfulness. Let us draw others to Jesus through our living testimony.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Your Son as a living example of the way, the truth and the life that You intend for us to accept and to proclaim. Blessed is the name of Jesus who surrendered all so that we may be drawn to Him, receive Him as Our Savior and allow His presence to flow through us to the world around us. We pray that our lives will become living testimonies of the One who dwells within us. We ask all these things in the name of the Prince of Life and Peace, Jesus Christ.

Making Jesus the Supreme Authority Over Our Hearts

Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Have you ever stubbed your toe on a piece of furniture or perhaps leaned up quickly and hit your head on something? I am sure you have. We all have. Did the unexpected jolt of pain result in words of love and praise flowing from your mouth? For most of us, the answer would most certainly be no. More likely, we may have let out a few words that we were not too proud of.

Found in the core structure of the flesh is sin. Thus our response to trials can often be categorized as something less than holy. To think that we are capable of avoiding the trappings of our flesh on our own would be spiritually naive. In fact, we would be thinking contrary to the Word of God if we thought we had such control over ourselves. We are firmly bound to sin without the indwelling of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We can lead good lives by worldly standards, but we cannot lead Godly lives without the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Purity is too deep down for man to get to naturally. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us in surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ so that we may live in accordance with His unsullied purity.

Let us surrender our hearts to Jesus Christ. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to show us how to make our lives completely pleasing to Our Lord. Let us rejoice in knowing that His grace is sufficient.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Son, Jesus, to be the supreme authority over our hearts. We pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our battle to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to You. By Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace, may we repent of everything in our lives that displeases You. We pray that we may surrender all that we have and all that we are to You. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You in purity and perfection for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is Perfect and Holy, Jesus Christ.