Tag: vessels of His love

Jesus is the Standard

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?

As the women were weeping for the suffering of Jesus as He was on His way to be crucified, He prophesied the terrible judgement that awaits those that do not accept the new life that He offers them. He emphasized the message of His prophecy by using Himself as the standard against which judgement will be made.

Jesus compared Himself to a green tree, full of life, flourishing in every aspect of its existence. Such a tree is not proper to be cut down before its time, nor is it fit to be fuel for the fire. The metaphor was designed to express the righteousness and innocence of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, Jesus was comparing the sinner to dry, dead wood. Such wood is rotten and deserving to be fuel for the fire. The metaphor was designed to express the depravity and worthlessness of the sinner.

If He, who is pure and perfect in every measure and is the essence of life itself, had to suffer beyond the human capacity for pain and then die for our sins, why then should we, the driest of woods, not expect to die for our sins? We should expect death for the wages of sins is death. We can only escape the punishment for our sins and claim our inheritance as children of God by accepting the offer of eternal life through Our Savior.

Let us become vessels of the life of Christ within us. Let us look deep inside and make sure that we are not dry wood, bearing no fruit, showing no sign of allowing the life of Christ within us to be released to the world around us. Let us submit and surrender to the abundant life that dwells within us. Let us then seek out those around us who are living in the driest places. Let us present them with the Living Water that has taken us out of our dry places so that they might also experience life in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is found only in Your Son, Jesus. We praise the name of Jesus for all that He suffered on our behalf. We rejoice in the inheritance that awaits us. We pray that You will raise us up to be living testimonies to the new life that we have in Christ so that others may join us in our eternal places in Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of the life giving spirit, Jesus Christ.

The Incomparable Love of Jesus

Ephesians 3:19
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Jesus loves each one of us unconditionally. He loves us so much that He gave up His position as Son of God to become Son of Man. He endured the pain and shame of the Cross so that He could become the sacrificial lamb that was necessary to provide the blood to wash away our sins, to make us acceptable to the Father.

He extended His unconditional love by sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, so that we would understand His offer of salvation and accept it. He continues to extend His unconditional love by dwelling within each of us that have accepted Him as Our Savior, so that we may have the strength and the power to overcome the sinful nature that still tries to rule in our lives.

He continuously pours out His perfect love and forgiveness to each of us. He places no limit on the love that He pours into us because He wants it to overflow our cups. He wants us to become living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness so that the world will know Him and know the fullness of His love.

Let us lift the name of Jesus above all other names. Let us rejoice in His incomparable love. Let us claim the fullness of life and power that comes from a relationship with the Son of God. May our changed lives proclaim His immeasurable love, so that others may be drawn to Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the perfect love and forgiveness that You have poured out into our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus who became the Son of Man in order to fulfill our need for a perfect sacrificial lamb. We thank You, Father, for the blood of Your Son that washes away our sin and makes it possible for us to receive and share Your perfect love. We ask that we may become instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness for the world around us. We pray that we will live in the fullness of the life and power that is offered by You through Your Son. We ask all these things in the incomparable name of the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Celebrating the Love of God

1 Corinthians 13:7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

God is love. His love is unconditional and without end. His love for us is expressed explicitly through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

God’s love bears all things. Through His love for us, He provides the blood of His Son to wash away all of our iniquities. He forgives all of our sins.

God’s love believes all things to be good in accordance with His promises in His Holy Word. He views all His children in the best and the kindest manner. Because of the victory of the Cross, He does not accept the lies of the enemy against us.

God’s love provides us with hope in all things. Through His loving promises, we are given hope through all of our circumstances for a future that we cannot see. We are given hope that we will one day live in glory in His presence in His house. We are given hope that all will be right and well with us for all eternity.

God’s love endures all things. With patience and a loving spirit, He endures all of our failures in the flesh for the sake of the Gospel and the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God expresses His love to us in all these ways so that we may love Him in return and share His love with the world around us. As vessels of the love that He has given us, we are capable of extraordinary service to those around us. We are capable of bearing all things that others bring against us. We are capable of enduring all of the attacks of the enemy. We are capable of believing in the eternal good of every man. We are capable of proclaiming hope to the world that is expressed through the perfect love and forgiveness that we have received from the Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Let us become vessels of the perfect love given to us by the Father through His Son. Let us show those around us how His love has changed our lives. Let us have the world know us by our expressions of His love.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love. We thank You that Your love flows to us without end. We exalt the name of Jesus, who is the complete expression of Your love. We pray, Father, for the Holy Spirit to guide us, instruct us and prepare our hearts so that we may be living testimonies of the character of Your love. May the world have hope because they hear us proclaim Your Good News and see the fullness of Your love in us. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Pouring Out Our Blessings

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are mere vessels on this earth. Whatever we receive from the Lord, whether we are in good times or in bad times, needs to be released into the world. We will find that we are particularly effective in glorifying Our Father in heaven when our good works are evident during the times that we are under burdensome trials.

Upon receiving His Living Water, we must share what we have received with the thirsty amongst us. To dam up the outpouring that we receive can actually damage us. The vessel that receives and receives without pouring out will eventually burst or, at the very least, fill to the point of being unable to receive any more. Then upon being filled without flow, the vessel will become stagnant.

Upon receiving His Light, we must let His Light flow through us to the darkness in the world around us. Jesus taught that we are the light of the world and emphasized that no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but places it on a stand so that all can share the light. It is our responsibility to allow others to be exposed to the Light that is within us.

Let us strive to allow our light to shine before men even when we find ourselves in our darkest trials. Let us insure that the light of the Gospel and the knowledge of the mysteries of God’s grace are openly declared and manifested in the world. Let us be known for our zeal and our fervency, our sincerity and our openness and our integrity and our persistence even under trial. Let us endure in our trials so that the Father is glorified in all that we do.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings that You pour into our lives. We pray that You will protect us from clinging to our blessings to satisfy ourselves. May we freely take our blessings, whether they be things of this world or portions from Your heavenly treasure, and pour them out before You. May the Holy Spirit guide us so that our sacrifice and our works are suitable and pleasing to You. May the world receive Your Light and Your Living Water through us. May it be for Your glory. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.