Tag: sin

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.

Joy is Ours Today and Forever

Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Paul knew and appreciated something that all Christians should hold dear. We are in a win-win situation. Having been washed clean by the blood of Our Savior, when we die we will be delivered from all the tribulations of life. We will be free of all diseases and free from any concerns about worldly things. We will leave behind forever all sin, all unbelief, all doubts and all fears. We will be absolutely free from the temptations of Satan. More importantly, the benefit of what we gain will be far greater than what we are freed from. We will be in the presence of Almighty God. We will experience continuous communion with Our Savior. We will receive eternal places of rest in the Kingdom of God. We will live in constant light, love, joy, peace and comfort. We will be surrounded by endless pleasure.

If we continue in life, we can confidently meet every affliction, every disappointment, every oppression and every persecution in joy because we are certain of our glorious victory over death. Our certainty of our victory over death will also allow us to enjoy our time on earth without the shadow of death haunting us. While the world struggles when facing death, the followers of Jesus are able to face their death beds with an exuberance that the world cannot understand. We know that Our Savior is waiting to receive us and that He has prepared a place for us that is free from all misery and weakness.

Let us live with the fullness of Christ in our lives. Let each one of our remaining days on earth serve as living testimony to Our Eternal King. Let us proclaim to the world all that He promises us here on earth and in heaven. Let our joy be the reason that those around us seek a relationship with Our Redeemer.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the eternal inheritance that You have set aside for us. We praise the name of Jesus who secured our place with You for all eternity. We rejoice in knowing that only a wisp of time separates us from claiming all the rights of the heirs of Your kingdom. As we wait for that time of glory, we pray that You equip us to be Your laborers in these end days. We ask that You arm us against the attacks of the enemy as we help bring the church to completion. May we show the world the living Christ that is within us. We pray these things in the name of our waiting Savior, Jesus Christ.

Called to Serve the World as Jesus Served the World

1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

The life of Jesus Christ was the epitome of servanthood. He poured Himself out upon the needs of the people, especially the need for salvation from sin. He was willing to be the sacrificial lamb. He was willing to be the door mat under people’s feet. He sought no recognition. He sought to show us what love is. He is the precious Lamb of God. He is love.

More than that, Jesus is the perfect model of love. He represents the ideal standard for us to imitate. As His disciples, we are called to be His bondservants. We are called to serve the will of Our Master. We are called to serve the world as He served the world, sacrificing all that we are and all that we have for the good of all mankind and for the honor and glory of the Father. We are to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. And like Jesus, we must extend ourselves on behalf of others whether or not they merit our services.

Let us define our lives by the continuous extension of ourselves to others. Let the accumulation of our smiles for the downhearted, our encouraging words for the downtrodden and our charitable services for those who are down and out be the ultimate measure of our sacrifice for our brothers and sisters. Let the accumulation of our small sacrifices and acts of love be for the honor and glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the blood sacrifice required to atone for the sins of all mankind. We praise the name of the Precious Lamb of God who gave His life so that we may all have eternal life with You, Father. We pray that the Holy Spirit will take us to the foot of the Cross to seek a life of service to all men. We pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to minister in love to those around us just as Jesus did. We ask, Lord, that you provide the grace that we need to forsake the need for recognition, except in Your eyes. We ask all these things in the holy and mighty name of Our Servant King, Jesus Christ.

Mirroring the Nature and Character of Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 5:14
Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

Had Jesus Christ not died for us, we would be spiritually dead and ruined. We would be slaves to our sin and we would have no power to deliver ourselves from the miserable state that we would be in.

But, indeed, Christ did die for us, so that we could all die to sin and self. As we receive Jesus as Our Savior, we are freed from a spiritually dead life. We are freed to live for Our Redeemer. It is through Christ’s love that we are able to live as Our Redeemer lived in the perfect will of the Father.

It is the love of our beloved, Jesus Christ, that shines forth in us when we submit ourselves to be vessels of His perfect love. The love of Jesus in our lives is what allows us to show the world what living for Christ is all about. With Him and through Him, we will do more for the kingdom of God than we could ever even imagine.

Let us be certain in our faith that Jesus lives inside us today. Let us surrender to Him, giving up our old lives in the flesh and claiming our new lives in the spirit. Let us mirror His nature and His character. Let us live in the fullness of His will and plan for our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son who died for our sins. We praise the name of Jesus for accepting Your will and plan for His life all the way to the Cross. We pray, Father, that the world will see the way, the truth and the life of Jesus through us as we leave our old lives behind in exchange for the our new lives in Christ. We ask, Lord, that the fullness of the life of Your Son, Jesus, be perfected in us. May the world know us as His disciples. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The Ongoing Process of Becoming Holy

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Is it not unimaginable that one day we will stand before Our Father in heaven in the image of His Son? Is it not incomprehensible that one day we will be completely free of sin, holy and pure just as Jesus is holy and pure? Is it not the most wonderful thought to know that one day we will stand before Jesus in honor and glory and we will see His glorious body with our own eyes and we will be like Him? Such are the immutable promises of Our Heavenly Father to us through His Son, Jesus.

We were all created in the image of Our Heavenly Father. We were created to be with Him and be one with Him, one with Jesus Christ and one with the Holy Spirit. Even though we are now burdened by our sins which God cannot accept in His presence, we can still look forward to the day that we will stand in glory in His presence because of the atoning work of His Son, Jesus. As Christians, we can live confidently knowing that the intolerable existence of our sin is removed by the blood of Our Savior for all eternity. We can rejoice in knowing that our transformation is ongoing now and will continue until it is completed when we stand before the Lord.

Yet, day to day, as we seek our transformation, we remain in a battle with our flesh that seeks to remain in sin. We must rely on the strength promised to us by Our Savior.

Let us claim His promise to perfect His strength in our weakness. Let us seek the aid of His Holy Spirit to help us overcome the daily torments of our flesh and the regular attacks of the enemy. Let us submit and fully surrender to the ongoing, sanctifying process of being transformed into the image of Our Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us in Your image. We come before You to confess our sins to You, to repent of our sins and to thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to redeem us from our sins. We pray, Lord, that You will provide the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we may turn away from everything that displeases you and turn toward everything that is pleasing to you. May we stand before You one day in the image of Your Son and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We ask these things in the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When We Drift from Our Relationship with Jesus

Luke 15:8
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

Where will the woman look for her lost coin? This passage infers that she will look everywhere. How long will she look? She will look carefully and extensively until she finds her coin. How will she look? The passage does not specifically reveal how she will look, but it is likely that she would follow the same process that we follow upon losing something. She will go back to the place where she thinks that she lost the coin. If the coin is not there, she will go back to all the other familiar places that she can think of until she finds the coin.

Aren’t we all just as diligent as this woman whenever we lose something that is of value to us? Do we not employ an exhaustive effort to find anything lost that we consider a personal treasure? Of course, we do.

So why do we delay even a second when we recognize that we have lost even a fraction of our zeal for Christ? We should go back immediately to the place where we lost it. Did we lose it because we cut back on our prayer time? We need to return to our most robust prayer habits. Did we lose it because we stopped studying the Word of God? We should return to our diligent studies. Did we lose it because of the sin in our lives? We need to repent and surrender to Christ.

Jesus Christ is our greatest treasure. When the world works overtime to distract us from Our Treasure and our awareness of the presence of Our Treasure dims one iota, let us run quickly to return to the fullness of His Light. If we practice to stay in the fullness of His light, we guard against losing even a portion of Our Treasure.

Let us be fierce protectors of the treasures that we have been given in Jesus Christ. Let us fight mightily against any distraction that comes to diminish the value of the fullness of Our Savior in our lives. Let us seek the Holy Spirit to heighten our awareness of our ever present Treasure and quicken our resolve in keeping Our Treasure above all things in our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the most awesome treasure known to mankind, Your Son, Jesus Christ. In our weakness, Father, we find that we have drifted away from our zeal for Your Son. We pray that You will help us return to the place where we lost Him. We ask that You show us how to invigorate the good discipline in our lives that we once had. We beseech You to give us the strength we need to walk away from the torments of our flesh. Lord, bring us back to the fullness of the Light of Our World, Your Son Jesus. We ask all these things in the precious, precious name of Jesus Christ.

Our Call to Holiness

Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

So what is this new life that we may live? As we struggle to attain a new sanctified life in Christ, we all come to know and experience that the promise for holiness is activated in our spirit, but is hampered by the weakness that remains in our flesh.

In the flesh, we are in a constant struggle to try to attain the holiness that we know has been set aside for us. The struggle is ongoing as we react to our call to holiness and attempt to adjust the way we live as new men and women in Christ. All along, we realize that we have been given the power to walk away from our old sin nature, but our flesh and our new spirit are in a battle. The flesh wants to keep us in the world. The Spirit wants to lead us on our path to sanctification. We find that there is no peace if we try to live in both worlds. We have to get off the proverbial fence to find victory.

Knowing our weaknesses all too well, in His perfect mercy and loving kindness, Our Father in heaven set aside a Helper for us to manage through our daily struggles. He gave us a Counselor to help us overcome the calling of our flesh and the world. We were given the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us and we were given God’s promise that He will perfect His strength in our weakness. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9

Let us call on the promise of Our Father in heaven. Let us rejoice in knowing that His grace is fully and perfectly sufficient to overcome our weaknesses. Let us strive to live new lives that are not conflicted by the world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect plan and provision for us to overcome our sin natures. We praise the name of Jesus for sacrificing His life so that we can have victory over sin. We bless the name of the Holy Spirit who comes alongside us to guide us and strengthen us. We pray, Lord, that You will show us how to end our struggle to balance our lives. May the Holy Spirit assist us and give us the strength to walk away from the world and commit everything in our lives to Jesus Christ, Our Savior. We ask all these things in in the name of our strength and our provision, Jesus Christ.

Realizing Our Full Potential in Christ

Psalm 139:23
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

It is hard to understand, but we are in many ways strangers to ourselves. We may hate sin and we may repent of all the sin in our lives, yet our natural eye is unable to see the depths of our iniquities. Our human nature with its sin stained flesh is simply incapable of making an unbiased assessment of the darkness within us. We must do as the psalmist did. We must ask God to search our hearts and reveal to us everything that is displeasing to Him.

Jesus Christ died on the Cross so that we could stand blameless before the Father. To prepare us for this time, the Holy Spirit dwells within us to guide us through the sanctification process. The Holy Spirit takes us beyond the carnal limits of our own understanding. Inspired by the light of Our Savior, we are allowed to see the full depth of the darkness of our sin and the full height of our potential in Christ. Rest assured that we would never properly examine ourselves without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Let us report for full inspection in humble recognition of our need. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will search our hearts. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to uncover every speck of darkness in our hearts, especially those that we do not see ourselves. Let us faithfully repent of what is revealed to us so that we may live in the fullness of a life in Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us righteous through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus. We thank You for providing the grace that we need and the ever present assistance of the Holy Spirit so that we may submit to the transformation process from sinner to saint. We pray that You open the gateways of our minds so that we may see and repent of all of the shackles of sin on our lives. We pray that we may see and grasp the fullness of your plans for our lives as revealed to us by Your Holy Spirit. We ask these things in the name of the purifier of our souls, Jesus Christ.

Missing What God Has in Store for Us

Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

A true disciple of Jesus is one that walks in the same anointed way that Jesus walked. A true disciple follows His Master’s example on a daily basis. A true disciple is energetic and passionate about every task assigned by the Master. A true disciple of Jesus Christ is one that denies self and takes up the Cross that Jesus has prepared for him or her.

During our toddler ages, we are already beginning to express our own individuality and independence. It is during this time that most of us realize for the first time that we are our own person and can make choices for ourselves. Unfortunately, one of our favorite words during these early ages is “no.” Our rebellious nature wants to reject all the good counsel of our parents in order to fully express our own independence. This independent behavior has a tendency to carry over into our relationship with Almighty God. We set a pattern early for ourselves which establishes the importance of our desires over loving authority. We establish lifestyles in which our decisions are made based on the needs of our flesh and not on the desires of Almighty God for our lives. Ultimately, we miss much that God has in store of us.

Let us shake loose from the independence that we have strived so hard to attain throughout our lives. Let us learn to deny ourselves and surrender completely to the will of Our Savior. Let us follow the path that Our Redeemer laid out for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that You provide so that we are able to take up the Cross of Your Son and follow Him. We thank You for Your patience with us as we learn to deny our sinful natures, our ungodliness and our worldly lusts. We pray, Lord, for the strength to exercise the humility, zeal, patience and self-denial that the Cross demands. May we carry out every duty for Your glory and for the gain of Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, Jesus Christ.

Only One Way to Heaven is Deemed Acceptable

Hebrews 10:14
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Under the law in the old testament, regular sacrifices were required to atone for sins. The high priests served as mediators, offering up the blood sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. The people had no access to their own atonement for sin. More importantly, they had no way of individually insuring that they would be acceptable to Almighty God. This all changed when Jesus ushered in the new testament. Under the new testament, the law was replaced by grace and all men were enabled to access their own atonement through one mediator, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No man can get into heaven without recognizing the sacrifice of the precious Lamb of God. No matter who we are or what we have, reinstatement with God the Father is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as Our Savior. No matter how vile, corrupt and sinful we may be today, we can receive the eternal life that God promised and made available to all men through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Salvation is not earned, but accepted by every man who calls on the name of Jesus as his Savior. For the shed blood of Jesus has the power to wash away all that separates us from the Father. There is no other way that is deemed acceptable.

Let us live in continuous thanksgiving for the One who exchanged His divine station in heaven for a lowly station on earth so that He could fulfill His Father’s plan for salvation for all men. Let us live in continuous praise for the Lamb of God who was the necessary sacrifice for us to be able to exchange our carnal station on earth for a sanctified place with Him in heaven for all eternity. Let us boldly proclaim what He has done for us so that those around us may know Him and claim Him as their Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your new covenant which established Your Son as the only sacrifice necessary to fulfill the law for all men to be deemed acceptable before You. We exalt Your name for providing a way for us to receive the eternal inheritance that we could not earn on our own. We pray, Lord, that we will always be mindful of the suffering of Our Savior. May our lives reflect our thanksgiving for His sacrifice. May our joy in Jesus Christ draw others to Him. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.