Tag: Savior

Leaving the Old Man Behind Forever

Romans 6:5
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

When Jesus chose to accept the will of His Father, He chose to die on the Cross for the sins of all mankind. Jesus’ death did not come quickly. It was necessary for Jesus to suffer every scourge mark, to suffer every ounce of pain and to suffer the loss of every drop of blood for His sacrifice for mankind to be made complete.

When we chose to accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we chose to let our old sinful man die. Just as Jesus’ death was not carried out quickly, our old sinful nature will not be completely put to rest in short fashion. For the old sinful man in us to die completely, we will have to endure trials, tribulations and sufferings of all type that will transform us to be completely in the will of Our Father in heaven.

With the sacrifice of His human body complete, the Holy Spirit resurrected Jesus’ spirit from His body to return in His glorified body to the Father. When we die in Christ, the same power of His resurrection will lift us from our old lives in the flesh and enable us to stand sinless before the Father in our glorified bodies. It will not be because we became better people. It will be because we will have become completely new people in Christ. It will be because we have been united with Him through His resurrection for all eternity.

Let us joyfully claim our victory over death and sin. Let us exalt the name of Our Resurrected Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for raising Your Son to meet You in heaven after His death on the Cross. Thank You for preparing the way for us to gain our eternal inheritance as Your children through the power of the Resurrection. Father, release the full power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can surrender completely to our new lives in Christ, leaving behind forever the old man that torments us daily. We ask all these things in the name of Our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Bondage to Sin Done Away with Forever

Romans 6:6
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Our corrupt nature, called the old man, is crucified with Jesus Christ by the grace granted from the Cross. Accepting the crucified Christ as Our Savior allows us to accept the crucifixion of our old selves. As Christ submitted totally to the Father, we also submit totally to the Father through the power of the new spirit of Jesus Christ that lives within us.

The power of evil within us was nailed to the Cross by the sacrifice of Our Savior so that the damning power of that evil might be subdued, weakened and put under restraint. But we must recognize that the old man continues to exist in a weakened and dying state, struggling to stay alive within us. So it is important that we develop an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as our ruling King. In doing so, we will shut down any place for the old man to rule. We will see the old man completely destroyed, abolished and done away with. Our bondage to sin will be done away with forever.

Let us claim our freedom from sin. Let us take firm hold of our victory over the callings of the old man. Let us rejoice in knowing that our union with our crucified Savior ensures that one day we will see the complete and total death of our old selves. Let us celebrate our daily walk of sanctification with the Holy Spirit as our guide.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Precious Lamb, Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for our sins. We accept our co-crucifixion with Jesus. We stand before You to ask for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as our old man tries to pull us back into sin. We pray that the Holy Spirit will urge us to keep our eyes on the Cross and not on the world. May it all be for the glory of the Precious Lamb. We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered so much for us, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Wondrous Endowments of Christ

Isaiah 11:2
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

In this passage, Isaiah was prophesying of the nature of our coming Savior. The scripture foretold that Jesus would be given extraordinary endowments through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Because we are indwelled by Jesus Christ when we accept Him as Our Savior, we inherit these same wondrous endowments for ourselves. The inheritance that we receive is not temporary or occasional. It is a permanent and enduring influence on our lives.

With our inheritance, we receive three pairs of spiritual influences to assist us in being holy, pure and wise. Each pairing is made up of a spiritual gift and the resulting impact of that gift in our lives:
1) We are provided wisdom from which comes the understanding to perceive moral and intellectual truths.
2) We are provided counsel from which comes the might that gives us the direction and the power that we need to carry out the plans that emerge from our spiritual insight.
3) We are provided knowledge from which comes the fear of the Lord which establishes the foundation of our relationship with the one true God, Our Father in heaven.

Let us be mindful of all the gifts that Christ made available for us when He died on the Cross. Let us seek the fullness of the Spirit of the Lord to overwhelm us each day. Let us use our gifts to produce great fruit for the Kingdom of Almighty God and bring honor and glory to Our Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wondrous nature that You have given us in Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray that the fullness of the Holy Spirit will rest upon us. We seek Your wisdom so that we may have understanding in all matters. We seek your counsel that we may become mighty warriors for Your kingdom. We ask, Lord, that You inspire us to take the knowledge that we have of You and turn it into a reverent awe that changes how we live every moment of our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives power to the faint and might to those without strength, Jesus Christ.

Responsibility to Rescue the Unworthy

Acts 9:17
So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

And in an instant, Paul not only received his physical sight, he also received the filling of the Holy Spirit. Thus, he received wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge of God and a holy reverence for God. All of these gifts came on him at once. His vision of who He was in Christ, along with all of its associated power, served to allow him to replace the evil man that he had become with the new, righteous man that he was to become.

From this passage, we learn that for those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we become new men and women in Christ, just as the sinner and prosecutor of the early church, Saul, became the new man Paul. As new men and women in Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to us to reveal the lies of this world. The power of the Holy Spirit within us allows us to become new creatures who proclaim the Good News and serve as conduits of God’s love.

But do not miss the second message of this passage. There would have been no conversion for Paul without the obedience of Ananias to got out and deliver the message of God, even though He questioned the righteousness of the one that he was called to minister to. We must be careful not to withhold the message of hope from anyone because we feel they are not worthy.

Let us make ourselves seekers of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us learn to overcome the world through the power of Our Wonderful Counselor. Let us make ourselves deliverers of the truth to others who God places around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the anointing that we receive as disciples of Jesus Christ. We pray that You will open our eyes to the things of the world that are creating ignorance and pride in our lives so that we may turn away from them. We ask that You release the gifts of the Holy Spirit into our lives so that we may see the vision that You have for our lives and be empowered to go out as messengers of hope in the world that surrounds us. We pray that our hearts are prepared to view every person as worthy to receive the Good News that we possess. We ask all these things in the name of the One who rescues those whose spirits are crushed, Jesus Christ.

May the Presence of the Lord be With Us

Isaiah 52:12
For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

As the glorious Easter celebration approaches, our thoughts are likely to turn toward a new path ahead in our lives. Let us not rush out to make decisions. Let us move forward toward our new path, not in a disorderly fashion, but under the leading hand, instruction and protection of the Holy Spirit.

Let us move on to our new path knowing that God will be with us. Through His Son, His Holy Spirit has been sent to guide us. Under submission to Our Savior, we can let loose of the things of this earth and grasp on to the things of God’s kingdom. We can shake ourselves from the dust of our doubts and our fears. Our victory was settled on the Cross. May the presence of the Lord be constantly before us and behind us.

Let us live each day knowing that the Lord Jesus reigns in our lives. Let us live in the fullness of the good tidings that came in with His birth and move ahead confidently under the promises of His death and Resurrection. Let us place our futures firmly in His hand. Let us live today in freedom, in peace and in service to His calling on our lives. Let us move forward boldly into our manifest destiny in Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your constant presence in our lives. We thank You that You go before us to prepare our path forward and that You stand behind us to protect us on our journey. We bless the name of Jesus whose victory on the Cross allows us to live our lives without fears or doubts. We pray that the Holy Spirt will guide us as we seek the new lives that You have set aside for us. May those around us in the world be drawn to Your Son as they see us living our lives under His reign. We ask all these things in the name of our ever present shield, Jesus Christ.

By the Fullness of His Grace

2 Timothy 2:1
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote the words in this passage to his helper, Timothy, to prepare him for everything that the world was going to throw at him. Paul alerted Timothy that there would be many trials that he would endure. He encouraged him by reminding him that he would be strengthened by the One who sent them out to preach to the people. Paul exhorted Timothy to rely completely on the grace of God and not to turn to his own ways to find his strength.

When the worst that the world can throw at us comes along, we need to be rooted and grounded in our faith in the grace that is provided to us. Our strength and our security will rest upon the faith that we build in the strong, immovable, unalterable love of God that is provided through His grace that is in His Son, Jesus.

As we find ourselves challenged by life, we can be comforted by Paul’s instruction to Timothy. Jesus Christ will never leaves us. When we turn to Him for our direction and our strength, our path is secure. By the fullness of His grace, we are enabled to fulfill our ministries, bear all trials and afflictions and stand against all persecution.

Let us march boldly forward in our walk with Our Savior. Let us open our minds and hearts to receive the abundant grace that He has set aside for us. May His power to overcome all that comes against us be released in our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that we receive through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus. We exalt the name of Jesus, who provides the strength that we need to overcome all of the trials and issues in our lives. We ask, Lord, that the Holy Spirit teach us how to rely solely on the fullness of the grace available to us through our relationship with Our Savior. We pray that our firm reliance on Your Son will release His power and His Spirit into our lives and our ministries. We ask all these things in the name of the One who became flesh so that we might receive Your endless grace, Jesus Christ.

A New Life Under His Stewardship

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

While we may be able to recite John 3:16, do we really take the time to examine what this powerful verse means to us? Do we fully understand that God’s immeasurable, inexhaustible, divine love was required to save a sin ravished world. He gave His Son, Jesus, to be the Prophet, the Priest, the King and, most importantly, the Savior for all mankind. This was an unequivocal necessity for our eternal good.

Through His unlimited mercy, Our Heavenly Father provides a plan for each of us to avoid eternal damnation for our sins. His plan is simple. We must submit to Jesus Christ as our teacher, our ruler and Our Savior. Our duty is to proclaim His name. Our benefit is everlasting life in His Kingdom.

Jesus sacrificed His life for us. He is asking us to sacrifice our old lives in exchange for a new life under His stewardship. There is really no sacrifice on our parts. What we receive is eternally greater than what we leave behind – what an awesome offer! Yet many do not accept it.

To further understand the full value of the gift that we have received, we need to understand that we would not make the right choice if it were not for the grace of God. We choose salvation because the Holy Spirit does a work in us that we could not do for ourselves. What a loving, forgiving, merciful God we serve!

As we accept the precious eternal offer from Almighty God, let us exalt the name of His Son, Jesus, who sacrificed everything for us. Let us sacrifice everything for Him so others may know Him and accept His eternal offer of salvation.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing a way for us to escape eternal damnation because of our sins. We thank You for providing Your Son as our sacrificial lamb and as our living, ever present Good Shepherd. We humbly submit to You all that we are and all that we have in the name of Jesus Christ. We pray that the presence of Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us as we walk the pathway of sanctification that You have set aside for us. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will prepare the hearts of those around us to receive Your Son as their Savior. May our changed lives help draw them to Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Taking the Nature of the One Who Dwells within Us

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

When we accept our salvation, we join Jesus Christ in crucifixion. Just as He accepted death on the Cross to wash away our sins, we accept the crucifixion of our own flesh in order to set aside our old nature and take on the nature of the One who dwells within us.

Our new nature rises through the indwelling spirit of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, to bring us victory over our sin stained flesh. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves mortified by the sin in our lives. By the grace, that is not of ourselves, we are made fully aware of our iniquities. We even can find comfort in knowing that what once ruled over us is now under control.

Unfortunately, our flesh does not go without a fight and the enemy will ramp up his efforts to turn us away from our new life in Christ. But rest assured, Our Savior put sin to death on the Cross and ushered in His endless grace for those that accept His gift of unconditional love. Even though our flesh will call us to go back to our old nature, we are equipped to overcome that call. If we learn to live in dependence upon Our Savior, we are freed to lead holy lives. By faith, not in ourselves, but by faith in Jesus Christ, we are able to relinquish our old lives in the flesh in exchange for our new lives in spiritual union with the One who loved us so much that He was willing to die for us.

Let us live by faith in the Son of God. Let us learn to live in victory over the callings of our flesh. Let us rejoice in knowing that sin in our lives was put to death on the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the new lives that You have given us through the sacrifice of Your Son on the Cross. We exalt the name of Jesus who shed His blood for all men. We rejoice in knowing that we are conquerors over our flesh through the endless flow of grace provided by Our Savior. We pray, Lord, that You will hold us steadfast in Your grace. We ask, Father, that You will give us the wisdom to toss aside any claim to our own merit and the strength to take hold of, and never let loose of, the faith in Christ that sustains us as heirs to Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our King, Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In All These Things We Will Be More Than Conquerors

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

You just found out that your company is planning massive layoffs and your department will be hit hard. Or maybe the school called to let you know that your child is being bullied. Or perhaps you discovered that your family is being ostracized because of your Christian beliefs. How are you responding to your circumstances? Are you depressed? Are you in despair? Are you fearful?

Jesus teaches us that we should expect these types of trials in our lives. To think that we will not have challenges or trials because we are children of God is in direct opposition to what Jesus teaches us. So expect tribulation, but take courage for in all theses things we are more than conquerors through Our Savior.

Do not miss the importance of Jesus teaching us that “in all these things” we will be more than conquerors. Because Jesus Christ has paid the price in full for each of us, we can and will rise up and find joy in the midst of all of our troubles. The undaunted presence of Jesus Christ makes the world’s challenges impotent. No thing nor no power can put a wedge between us and the love of God that provides our resilience. Not only will we overcome, but our faith, our trust in God and our joy will increase through the experience.

Let us stand tall against the enemy. Let us rejoice and have faith for the victory is ours.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for liberating us from our present sufferings by providing the hope that comes from the freedom and glory that has been set aside for us through Your Son, Jesus. We exalt His precious name for making us conquerors over evil and our own flesh. We pray for the courage and the strength to face and defeat every trial that the enemy throws our way. We rejoice in knowing that the victory is ours because it was first won on the Cross. We ask all these things in the name of Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Broken Vessels That Pour Out the Glory of God

Mark 14:6
But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

When Jesus was dining with a group at Simon’s home, a woman with an alabaster jar full of very expensive perfume came up to Jesus, broke the jar open and poured it’s costly contents on Him. She was criticized by the group at the table for such an extravagant gesture. Jesus quickly scolded the group for not seeing the value of what she was doing.

When we become broken vessels and pour out everything we have to glorify Our Savior, we can be assured that the world will demean us for our efforts. We can find comfort in knowing that Our Lord is greatly pleased and glorified by our expressions of love. He will honor us and commend us for our efforts just as He did for the woman.

We should pour out unto Him all the best of our adorations. We should love Him with all our heart, never fearful of how our zeal and affection will be misunderstood. After all, Jesus poured out all that He had for us. Is there anything too precious for us to give to Him? Surely there is not.

Let us make a love offering to Our Savior. Let us surrender to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King all that we are and all that we have. Let us rejoice in knowing that our love offering will be an eternal offering made day after day without end.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Son who poured out all that He had for us. We exalt the name of Jesus for spilling His blood on our behalf. We come before You to bring all of our love, our praises and our blessings to bestow them upon Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to pour out all that we are, all that we will ever be, all that we have and all that we will ever have in joyous thanksgiving for all that Our Savior has done for us. May we never hold back a single thing in expressing our love for Jesus. We pray all these things in the name of our precious Deliverer, Jesus Christ.