Tag: perfection

Delighting in the Living Word of God

Galatians 1:15-16
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.

As human beings, we all attain some level of learning, understanding and wisdom. Too often, however, we are satisfied with gaining this insight through the counsel of men. Is it possible that there is more for us to learn? Is it possible for us to delve deeply into the riches and inconceivable perfection of Almighty God? Is it possible for us to grasp the mind of the Lord?

All the head knowledge in the world cannot prepare us to fully understand the essence of Almighty God and His plan for the world. Let us be aware that we are given the opportunity to be enlightened beyond our normal human capability. Our Heavenly Father reveals the deepest mysteries through His Holy Word and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our challenge is to let go of our reliance on the words of man and grab on to the living words of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

To expose ourselves to the treasures of the mind that await, we need to set aside quiet time if we want to hear what God wants to say to us. We have to prepare ourselves through the reading and study of the Bible. We have to find a time and place where we shut out the clamor of the world and just listen.

Let us seek our counsel from the One who is waiting for us to welcome Him into our lives. Let us ask Him to reveal all of His mysteries to us. Let us go to him daily with a simple question, “Father, what do you want to reveal to me today?”

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are always with us, ever ready to speak to us and ever ready to hear our prayers. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us in finding and setting aside a quiet time and place to study Your Holy Word and to commune with You each day. Lord, may we learn to delight in Your Word and delight in Your presence. We ask that through Your Holy Spirit that we learn how to experience the revelations of who You are. Through Your grace, may we begin to understand all of Your wonderful mysteries. We pray these things in the name of the living revelation of Your Word, Jesus Christ.

How the Bride of Christ is Perfectly Prepared

Ephesians 5:27
so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

When we observe beauty in nature, we are usually not focused on a single object, but on the beauty of a single object or objects within the context of the total surroundings. If we separate out the single objects, we will find that none of them are perfect. But when we consider the single objects as integral parts of their settings, we are treated to sites that we deem to be perfectly beautiful.

In this same way, God creates beauty in our lives. Even though we are not perfect, God can use us perfectly within the environment that He places us. As individuals in the flesh, we have many imperfections, but as spirit-filled members of the Body of Christ we attain the perfect beauty that Jesus is looking for in His bride.

The Lord sees His Church as wonderful and beautiful. He does not see the Church as individuals struggling to be perfect as He is perfect. He does not see the affliction and filth of the individual members living in the flesh. He sees the breathtaking beauty of the Body of Christ clothed in His holiness, glory and perfection. He sees the work in us that was completed on the Cross.

Let us surrender to the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts so that we may repent in preparation for the wedding feast.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we are made perfect through the redemption that Your Son, Jesus, has procured for us. We bless the name of Jesus for allowing us to forget the things that are behind us, both our sins and our labors that are of no value to the kingdom. We pray that we be given the grace to press forward with all of our focus on the holy desires, hopes and endeavors that bring us into union with Our Savior who has made us His own. We rejoice in knowing that our day to be with Him has been set aside for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the One who prepares us to be His bride, Jesus Christ.

Imitating Christ Daily

1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

In Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, he exhorted them to pattern their lives after Jesus Christ. Paul understood that obedience to a creed simply takes us to a proper and higher level of lifestyle. Accepting Jesus Christ as Our Savior and patterning our lives after Him will move us toward a level of perfection, holiness and purity that only He could attain and we can begin to approach through Him.

In truth, it is not good enough to be good. It is not good enough to do great works. The only thing that we can do that is of any eternal value is to submit our lives to Jesus Christ as Our Savior, to die of self and to take on the spirit of the One who dwells within us. Anything less than full submission to Our Lord and Master and anything less than becoming imitators of Jesus Christ as His disciples leaves us short of being true Christians.

What is the goal then? The goal is to imitate Jesus Christ in our daily lives. What is the challenge? The challenge is that we are incapable of achieving our goal without the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. What is the answer then? The answer is to surrender all that we are and all that we have and all that we will ever be and all that we will ever have to Our Lord and Savior. Then we must turn to the Holy Spirit daily to guide us and strengthen us as the natural man within us refuses to surrender. Finally, we should rejoice and praise God for He has provided the unchanging, unfailing way, the truth and the life that will allow us to fulfill our stated goal.

Let us yoke ourselves to Our Redeemer. Let us yield to Him as He guides us on our path of sanctification. Let us surrender to Him as He prepares us to stand in righteousness before the Father for all eternity.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing the Word to become flesh so that we could see the standard to which we are all called. May we stand before You one day in the image of Your Son, washed clean by His blood and perfected by His presence within us. Father God, we pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to become true disciples of Jesus as we spend our time on earth preparing for the glorious day of coming into Your presence. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God.

Reflecting the Character of the One within Us

Matthew 5:48
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He knew full well that they were incapable of being perfect. He was asking them to consider the manner in which they represented Him. He wanted their behavior to distinguish them from others in the world around them. He wanted them to be living examples of the good character of the representatives of His kingdom.

We are most comfortable in life when we are around people we like. We also feel comfortable when we are asked to do things that we know that we are capable of doing successfully. In these times of ease, our personality and our capabilities often shine and our performance appears to be nearly perfect, at least from a secular standpoint. While this type of behavior is certainly good, it generally will not separate us from the secular crowd. We are likely to rely on our own strengths, resulting in us just blending into society without reflecting the presence and character of the One who dwells within us.

On the other hand, when we are challenged by our circumstances and we purposely follow the perfect example of Jesus and draw on Him for our strength, our behavior as His representatives will draw the others to Our Savior. When we seek and allow the fruits of the Holy Spirit to flow through us, the world around us will see us modeling the life of Our Savior and be drawn to Him.

Jesus commands us to make it our duty to desire to press forward in grace and holiness, so that we may conform ourselves to His example under even the most difficult circumstances. He desires for us to be perfect like the Father.

Let us lean on the Son of God as our model and submit to His indwelling Spirit in our lives. Let us strive for the perfection that He is calling us to. Let us draw the world to Our Savior as they see us modeling Jesus Christ in our daily lives regardless of our circumstances.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to be our perfect model for life. We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to guide us to follow Jesus’ example. We rejoice in knowing that our obedience will result in the gifts of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the world around us. We pray that we may exhibit unusual love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as we are being taxed by our situations. May You receive all the praise and glory, Lord. We ask all these things in the name of the perfect Son of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.

The One and Only Requirement

James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

The garment is not acceptable if there is one snag in the fabric. The tune is no longer in harmony if there is one note out of key. The chain is broken if one link does not hold. The law is not kept if one point is not held.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 STOP!! There it is…the first and greatest commandment. We need not go any further to realize that we are incapable of meeting the requirements of getting into heaven. We simply cannot earn our way in. We cannot get past the first requirement. It is impossible for us to love the Lord in the manner that He requires.

Remember, God demands perfect, not partial obedience. A good effort is not good enough. Good enough is only found on the Cross. The only way that we can meet the requirements that God demands is to have the blood of His Son wash us clean of all of our sins so that we may stand before Him in the image of His Son.

Let us wake each day seeking the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and reveal to us the darkness that still resides there. Let us receive the counsel of the Holy Spirit with the thought of taking His insight to the Throne of God and asking Him to “wash me O Lord, purify me O Lord. Cleanse me with the precious blood of Your Son, Jesus”.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for demanding perfection concerning Your laws. We rejoice in knowing that Your kingdom, which we will inherit, will be void of anything that is less than perfect. We thank You for providing an eternal resting place for us that will be the essence of everything good. We bless the name of Jesus, whose shed blood allows us to stand spotless before You. Father, we claim Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness. We pray for the grace to live in the fullness of Jesus Christ as You prepare us to love You with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds and with all our strength for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the only One without fault, Jesus Christ.

Reflecting the Character and Presence of Jesus

Matthew 5:48
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He knew full well that they were incapable of being perfect. He was asking them to consider the manner in which they represented Him. He wanted their behavior to distinguish them from others in the world around them. He wanted them to be living examples of the good character of the representatives of His kingdom.

We are most comfortable in life when we are around people we like. We also feel comfortable when we are asked to do things that we know that we are capable of doing successfully. In these times of ease, our personality and our capabilities often shine and our performance appears to be nearly perfect, at least from a secular standpoint. While this type of behavior is certainly good, it generally will not separate us from the secular crowd. We are likely to rely on our own strengths, resulting in us just blending into society without reflecting the presence and character of the One who dwells within us.

On the other hand, when we are challenged by our circumstances and we purposely follow the perfect example of Jesus and draw on Him for our strength, our behavior as His representatives will draw the others to Our Savior. When we seek and allow the fruits of the Holy Spirit to flow through us, the world around us will see us modeling the life of Our Savior and be drawn to Him.

Jesus commands us to make it our duty to desire to press forward in grace and holiness, so that we may conform ourselves to His example under even the most difficult circumstances. He desires for us to be perfect like the Father.

Let us lean on the Son of God as our model and submit to His indwelling Spirit in our lives. Let us strive for the perfection that He is calling us to. Let us draw the world to Our Savior as they see us modeling Jesus Christ in our daily lives regardless of our circumstances.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to be our perfect model for life. We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to guide us to follow Jesus’ example. We rejoice in knowing that our obedience will result in the gifts of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the world around us. We pray that we may exhibit unusual love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as we are being taxed by our situations. May You receive all the praise and glory, Lord. We ask all these things in the name of the perfect Son of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.