Tag: joy

Believing in the Fullness of Our Redemption

Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,”

The words in Luke 4:18 were spoken by Jesus himself in the synagogue. He was confirming all the things that the Scripture said that He was anointed to do on earth. Later, before He left them, Jesus told the disciples that they would be able to do and should do more than He did. He let them know that where they were weak in the flesh that He would send the Holy Spirit to perfect His strength in their weaknesses. As Jesus instructed His disciples, He was also instructing us. All these things have been set aside for us as well.

How shortsighted we are when we accept Our Savior’s invitation for salvation, but do not believe in the fullness of our redemption. Not only did Our Lord come to redeem us from our sins, but He also came in His power and grace to free us from all the bondages of this world. Though we may currently suffer in the flesh, He released us into the world with freedom and joy in the spirit so that the world may know Him through our living testimonies.

The fullness of our redemption is not just for our own benefit. We have each been anointed in different ways to do all the things that Jesus Himself was called to do as the Son of Man.

Let us boldly seek the Holy Spirit to guide us in joining Jesus in carrying out His work for the Father. Let us experience the fullness of our redemption. Let us allow the world see the love and power of Jesus through our daily lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for anointing us to do Your good work. We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to receive our anointing. We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells within us to insure that where we are weak in our flesh, we will be made strong in Christ. We pray, Lord, that You show us how to take claim of the fullness of our redemption. Whatever our current situation may be, may we take on the joy and comfort of Your completed promises. May we find peace knowing that Your power is working in us. May the world see the anointing that is upon us because Our Savior is within us. We pray all these things in the name of our Blessed Hope and Assurance, 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.

Understanding How God Intends to Rule and Reign in Our Lives

Luke 24:21
But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.

For the two men on the road to Emmaus, dejection had set in. They had heard the reports that Jesus had risen from the grave and was alive, but they were perplexed as to why Israel had not been redeemed. Their expectation was of a redemption of a temporal kind – a redemption that would free Israel from bondage to Rome. Jesus reproved them for the weakness in their faith and their lack of understanding of the prophetic Scripture.

For all of us that have grown up in an era where instant gratification has become the norm, waiting on the Lord to answer our prayers is one of the most difficult challenges that we face. We often feel dejected, perhaps even feel rejected, when we have not seen our prayers answered quickly or in a manner that we wished for. We suffer the same weakness as the men on the road to Emmaus. We are weak in our faith and we lack understanding of how God intends to rule and reign in our lives. We tend to seek things from the hand of God without fully seeking the presence of God in our lives.

Let us learn from the men on the way to Emmaus. Let us refuse to have our hopes dashed because God’s work in our lives does not meet our expectations of immediate gratification. Let us separate ourselves from our old ways of living in the flesh and not in the spirit. Let us learn to move away from dealing with the issues of our day through our own strength alone. Let us move to higher ground where we rely on Almighty God to settle our issues. Let us graduate to the highest ground where we seek the continual presence and impact of Our Savior in our lives and we experience the anointing of living in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to live among us so that we could learn about who You are. We praise the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to enter into Your presence here on earth and forever in Your eternal kingdom. We pray, Father, that You open our eyes so that we can see You in all the commonplace things that surround us. We call upon Your Holy Spirit to give us the strength to overcome the depression and oppression that we find in our world. May we always be mindful of all that is promised to us because of the price that was paid by Your Son, Jesus. May the world see our joy as we live in Your constant presence. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Delight in Him as He Delights in Us

Zephaniah 3:17
For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Who is Our Lord? Surely this is a question we must all ask before we can decide to surrender our lives to Him for all eternity. With the question unanswered, it is easy to understand why we struggle to pick up our crosses to follow Jesus. How can we sacrifice so much for someone we do not know well?

This one simple passage from Zephaniah provides all we need to know about the character and the heartbeat of Jesus Christ. Zephaniah prophesied about the mighty one who was coming to save us from destruction. Zephaniah told of how He would dwell within us. And Zephaniah emphasized how He would rejoice over us in gladness and bring us eternal comfort through His love for us. Zephaniah added that His joy would be so great that He would celebrate over us with song.

Let us strive to know Our Savior and delight in Him as He delights in us. Let us learn to trust Him completely with our lives. Let us learn to celebrate Him as He celebrates us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son to save us from eternal destruction. We bless the name of Jesus who comes to dwell within us when we receive Him as Our Savior. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us the perfection in the character of Your Son. May the Holy Spirit show us how Your Son’s heart beats for us. May the depth of our understanding lead us to pick up our crosses and completely surrender to the fullness of a life in Christ. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You day after day without end. May we join You in the celebration of life. We ask all these things in the name of the One who rejoices over us in gladness, Jesus Christ.

The Inexhaustible Treasure of Grace

John 1:16
And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

There is nothing more complete, more sufficient or more perfect than the fullness of Jesus Christ. To borrow from the teachings of Charles Spurgeon, the fullness of Christ is reflected in His Deity, His manhood, the atoning power of His Blood, His righteousness, His power over death and His endless grace to pardon, to regenerate, to sanctify, to preserve and to perfect.

The fullness of what we have received from God can be summed up in one word grace. It is the great gift that we receive through His Son, Jesus, that we do not deserve and could never earn. It is the unmerited good will of God directed toward us. It is the gift that cannot be received by unrepentant sinners. It can only be received by those that have been washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. It is all that has been perfectly and completely prepared for all men by Our Savior.

And finally, a perhaps most importantly, God’s grace through Jesus Christ is cumulative and never ending. When we live in the fullness of Savior, we receive goodness upon goodness, joy upon joy and abundance upon abundance. It is the good will of God towards us and the work of God in us.

Let us humble ourselves before Our Savior. Let us surrender to His presence in our lives. Let us prepare ourselves to receive the fullness of His amazing grace.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the unmerited favor that You bestow on us through Your Son, Jesus. We bless the name of Our Savior for making it possible for us to receive Your unlimited flow of grace in our lives. We pray, Father, that You will open our hearts to receive the fullness of Your Son, Jesus. We ask that You show us how to tap into the inexhaustible treasure that He holds in His hands for us. We ask all these things in the name of the source of all grace, Jesus Christ.

Returning to the Fervor of the Early Days of Our Christian Journey

Jeremiah 2:2
Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.

First, Our Heavenly Father extended His perfect love, forgiveness and pardoning grace to us through His Son, Jesus. Then, as we accepted Our Savior, we were welcomed into an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son. Their love was implanted in us. We returned that love in a very ardent manner of worship. We constantly built on that relationship by fervently following the ordinances given to us. Even through difficulties and discouragements, we clung passionately to our new life in Christ. Then something happened. Somehow our love and our passion waned. But He remembered how we first loved Him. His love for us never changed.

Any parent who has grown kids has fond memories of how their young children delighted in being in their presence. They also remember how the zeal of the children being with them diminished as the children grew older and formed their network of friends. What parent at some point doesn’t say, “how I miss those early years.”

So it is with Our Heavenly Father. He remembers how hungry we were to know Him when we first received His Son as Our Savior. He feels sorrow when He sees our knowledge of Him increasing while our zeal for Him is becoming stale. He is sad when He sees us spending so much time in the world and so little time with Him. He longs for us to return to the energy and enthusiasm that we showed Him when we were first born again in Christ.

Let us return to the joyous and fervent moments in Christ that we enjoyed when we were first born again. Let us turn those memorable moments into the foundation of our ever increasing intimacy with Our Savior. Let us proclaim our joy so that the world can become a witness to our abundant life in Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for pouring out Your perfect love to us so that we are able to return that love to You. We rejoice in knowing that Your throne is always open to us and You eagerly wait for us to come to be in Your presence. We pray, Father, that you will fill us with the zeal of young children who run to their earthly parents to express their love and their joy in being in their presence. May the fire of Your Holy Spirit rekindle our devotion and fervency for You. We pray these things in the name of the One who loved us so much that He died for us, Jesus Christ.

Finding Delight and Joy in the Lord Every Day

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

When we accept Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior, we are given a new heart. We are given a heart that senses sin and danger. We are given a penitent heart, keenly aware of the things that offend our Lord. We are given a sanctified heart, submissive to the will of God. We are born again into a renewed life.

We are renewed by the Spirit and the grace of God. New light is given to us. A new will filled with new purposes and resolutions is provided to us. In our renewed spirit, we find new affections and desires for God and all things holy. As new men and women in Christ, we find new delights and joys in the Lord every day.

Being born again is the unmistakeable work of the Holy Spirit. We are given a new vision of life – kingdom vs. carnal. We are taught, directed and sanctified by the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are equipped to walk in the ways of Our Savior. We are given ongoing access to the One who replaced our heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

Let us be aware of the presence of Our Lord in our lives. Let us seek Him for He is infinitely superior to anything that the world has to offer. Let us refresh ourselves regularly in the Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the new hearts that You have given us through the redeeming work of Your Son, Jesus. We praise the name of Jesus for the renewed lives we are given through His sacrifice. We pray, Lord, that You will keep our hearts soft. We beseech you to protect us against the world that tries to harden our hearts. We humbly ask that You give us the grace that we need that we may stay refreshed in Christ and be vessels of refreshing to those around us. We pray these things in the name of the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.

Confirming the Divine Truth of Who God Is

John 8:19
Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

During the time of Jesus, the collaboration of one or more witnesses was required to establish the truth in any matter. The Pharisees were taunting Jesus, insinuating that He had no witness to the truth that He was the Son of God. They were blindly calling for a testimony in the flesh to confirm a divine truth.

With pity and patience, Jesus convicted them of their own shortcoming. He pointed out to them that He was all the proof that they needed that He was the Son of God. He emphasized that if they could not see that He was who He said He was, they would never know His Father. This was a claim that enraged the self-righteous Pharisees.

If we try to have head knowledge of who God is and define our relationship with Him without a relationship with His Son, we will end up in the same place as the Pharisees. If we try to use our own logic and the testimony of what the world offers to determine our relationship with Almighty God, we will miss out entirely on having an intimate relationship with Our Creator.

Fortunately, Our Creator is completely aware of our weakness. Through His grace, His loving kindness and His mercy, He provides the Holy Spirit to leads us into an intimate relationship with His Son, Our Savior. If we follow the supernatural guidance and urgings of the Holy Spirit and surrender completely to a relationship with Jesus Christ, we will experience the unimaginable peace and joy of an eternal relationship with the Father and the Son.

Let us quit trying to define God by our own logic. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us dig deeply into our relationship with Our Creator. Let us truly discover who God is by developing an intimate relationship with His Son.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to know You through Your Son, Jesus. May we learn to reject the need to define You and our relationship with You by the world’s standards. We pray that our minds will be transformed by the Holy Spirit so that we will come to know you intimately through our relationship with Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of the brightness of Your glory, Jesus Christ.

“Kingdom First” Plans for the New Year

Matthew 25:23
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

The start of the New Year is often kicked off with many articles and speeches about new beginnings, new year’s resolutions and plans to start anew. What if we focused on the finish instead of the start? After all, when life comes to the finish line, who does not want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

We work our entire lives for rewards here on earth, yet ultimately our greatest rewards will come in the eternal place that has been prepared for us by Our Savior King. Almighty God reserves special reward and special honor for that day when “each man’s work will become evident” and “he shall receive a reward.” 1 Cor 3:13-14

These rewards are referred to as “crowns” that are being set aside for God’s servants. The Bible speaks of at least five crowns:

  • The imperishable crown awarded to those believers who consistently bring the flesh under the Holy Spirit’s control. (1 Cor 9:25)
  • The crown of exultation awarded to those servants who are faithful to declare the gospel. (Phil 4:1,1 Thess 2:19-20)
  • The crown of righteousness awarded to those who live each day with eternity’s values in view. (2 Tim 4:7-8)
  • The crown of life awarded to those who endure trials, loving the Savior all the way. (James 1:12)
  • The crown of glory awarded to those who faithfully shepherd the flock. (1 Peter 5:1-4)

There is no reward on earth that can compare to earning crowns from Almighty God that we can lay at the feet of Jesus when we enter our eternal homes. There is no joy on earth that can compare to the joy of being in heaven with Our Lord.

Let us set our hearts on finishing well. Let us place our earthly desires for rewards in proper relationship with our desires to have Almighty God recognize us for the evidence or our works as we put His kingdom first in all matters of the heart. Let us make our New Year’s plans around joining the joy of Our Master.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for setting aside special rewards for us in Your kingdom. We thank you, Jesus, for making it possible for us to stand before the Father to receive our rewards. Precious Savior, we long for the time when we will be able to place our crowns at Your feet and join You in Your joy. As we move into our new year, may Your grace, O Lord, provide the wisdom and strength that we need to seek Your kingdom first in all things that concern us in this world. We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to set our minds on finishing well. We ask all these things in the name of Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Our Final Destination is a Testimony to God’s Faithfulness

Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

As we move toward the new year, let us follow the instruction of God’s Holy Word and set our minds on things that are above in heaven where Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. Let us intentionally replace the images of sorrow, suffering, personal horror and overwhelming struggles continuing to pile up in the daily news from the world, and perhaps even in our own personal worlds, with images of goodness such as the the joyous images of the Christmas season that are fresh in our minds. Let us recognize that our current reality is in God’s future plan for us and not in today’s news. Let us grasp with hope and faith that God has a good and perfect plan for every broken person and for every painful situation. Let us reorder our thinking so that the power of Heaven can be released in our lives.

Know that it will not be easy to take the higher path. The pathway to fear and despair are easy roads directed downward by emotion and logic. Certainly the world will be ready to mock us if we dare to take the higher road when our destination cannot be seen with the natural eye.

Let us be strengthened by the knowledge that we are always secure in Jesus Christ no matter what is happening around us. Let us rejoice in knowing that our final destination will be our testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the blessed hope and assurance that we have in Your Son, Jesus Christ. We bless His name for He is our anchor, firm and secure. We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we may see Your goodness in the dark world that surrounds us. We ask that the Holy Spirit renew and reorder our thinking so that we may align our thinking with Your heart and Your kingdom purpose. We ask all these things in the name of Our Hope that springs eternal, Jesus Christ.