Tag: Word of God

Developing an Intimate Relationship with Almighty God

John 14:9
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, “Show us the Father”?

Philip had seen Jesus with His eyes, but he had not fully discovered Him with his heart. We must be aware of the importance of truly seeking a relationship with Almighty God. He is our loving Father. He is eager for us to approach Him as Our Father in heaven. While He is pleased when we study His Word and we sit at the feet of His teachers to learn about Him, He desires for us to have so much more. He longs for us to seek intimacy with Him and He provides the way for us to do so through His salvation plan.

The greatest treasure of all time is ours. The treasure of knowing Almighty God will satisfy our hearts forever. It is ours for the taking. Magnificent gifts of grace and anointing are awaiting us. All we have to do is step beyond being satisfied with head knowledge about our treasure and into the world of a discovery of the heart.

Our Heavenly Father reserved a place in heaven for all who believe in His Son and surrender to Him to rule and reign in their lives, but that was not all that He did. Almighty God also opened up access to His throne when His Son died on the Cross. He gave us access to His Kingdom even while we are on earth.

Let us seek the Holy Spirit to inspire us to be driven by our hunger for a deep personal relationship with Almighty God through His beloved Son. Let us strive to go past head knowledge of the Father and His eternal promises. Let us enter into an intimate relationship with Him and His Son as we walk our paths of sanctification here on this earth.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son as the gateway to Your kingdom. Open our eyes, Lord, that we may not only seek our salvation through Your Son, but that we may also seek the fullness of His presence in our lives. We pray that the Holy Spirit take us beyond the knowledge of Your Son to the high places where we experience an intimate relationship with Him daily. Help us, Father, deepen our relationship withYour Son so that we may know You according to the fullness of heart that You have set aside for us. We ask all these things in the name of Your Living Testimony, Jesus Christ.

The Danger of Bending God’s Holy Word to Make it More Pleasing

1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

When laying tile, one of the first things that is done is snapping a chalk line to establish a true 90 degree angle to the two walls. If the chalk line is one degree off, it is not true. There is no tolerance for this measure. The line is either a true 90 degrees or it is not true. A mistake in setting a true line will doom the project.

The world would like to teach us that there are many ways to heaven besides accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. It is sad to say that Satan has done a remarkable job selling this line of thinking, putting a large portion of mankind in danger of missing the way, the truth and the life that is only found in Jesus.

We Christians must be extremely careful not to bend the Word of God to fit today’s culture. The Word of God is the truth. God’s Word is the same today as it was yesterday and as it will be tomorrow. Jesus Christ alone is the firm, abiding and immovable Rock of Ages. In every way, He is able to bear all the weight of the sins of mankind that has been placed upon Him. He alone can bear this load. He alone is the trustworthy foundation. Anyone who aligns their lives with anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ will find eternal doom in their future.

Making God’s Word more pleasing to others is not being tolerant. It is abandoning what is true. More importantly, massaging God’s Word to make it more acceptable to the world endangers the eternal lives of those that we may be trying to appease.

Let us stand firm on the Word of God. Let us make the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ, our foundation. Let us boldly proclaim the promises that only He can deliver.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Word is true and that Your promises are certain. May You open our hearts to receive the fullness and truth in the precepts that You reveal to us through Your Holy Word. May You embolden us to speak the truth about Your Son as the world around us rejects Him. May You strengthen us to stand firmly on the foundation that only He provides. We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

Waiting on the Hand of God to Move in Our Lives

Habakkuk 2:3
For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

As we wait to see the providence of God in answers to our prayers, we must be careful not to become impatient with God. His ways are greater than our ways. His timing is perfect. He has the perfect appointment set for the resolution of our prayerful solicitations.

The prophet, Habakkuk, was frustrated that God was not dealing with the iniquities that he saw in the world around him. He was impatient because those that he prophesied to were not responding to the Word of God. In this scripture, the Lord reminds Habakkuk that he must be patient because the visions and promises that God gives are sure to come.

We probably have not had a vision like Habakkuk had. But if we have been diligent in seeking the Lord’s hand in our lives, we are likely to have found some type of confirmation of God’s providence through His Word, through urgings of His Holy Spirit or through the progress we see in our own lives or in the lives of those that we have been praying for. Let us be joyful. The things that we pray for in the will of God and in accordance with His promises will come to us. Though the fruit of our prayers may be deferred for a time, whether long or short our wait may be, the fruit will come at last. And, hallelujah, the longer wait usually means a greater harvest.

Let us pray in confidence and wait with faith for the perfect answer to our prayers. Let us rejoice for Almighty God hears and answers ever single prayer – perfectly.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your providence in our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus who has insured that the favor of Your promises will never be withheld from us. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will teach us how to rest on Your Word and that He will strengthen us when the promise of the Word is long in coming. May we persevere to the end through the graces that You provide. We ask all these things in the name of the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ.

Standing for Christ When Challenged

John 16:32
Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

The apostles and disciples of Jesus scattered as He began His journey to the Cross. They returned to their homes and their old jobs. Their faith was real, but without the Holy Spirit they were not strong enough to stand against those that were persecuting their Master. They left Jesus to stand alone. Fortunately for us, Jesus did not stand alone as the Father remained with Him and provided Him with all He needed to accept His place on the Cross.

Jesus calls us from different times and places in our lives, just as the apostles were called. At some point in time, we will all be called to stand up for our faith. In today’s anti-Christian environment, this challenge is more real than any of us could have ever imagined that it could be. Will we scatter to our old lives when the trials of persecution, the trials of trouble or perhaps the trials of political correctness challenge us? Or will we surrender all to Our Savior?

The answer lies in Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with our own strength, capability nor merit. We must recognize our weakness. If we think we can stand against the world, especially against the enemy, we will certainly fall. We must recognize how weak we are and take our brokenness – all our wounds, all our frailties, all our fears – to Our Savior. We must allow His goodness, His love, His mercy and His kindness to become the essence of our lives. If we accept His free gift of love and life and surrender to Him, we will never stand alone against what the world tosses our way.

Let us stand our ground as the world tries to get us to accept changes that are directly against the Word of God. Let us call on the Holy Spirit to provide the strength that we need. Let us rejoice for we never stand alone.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we have been called to follow Your Son. We exalt the name of Jesus who gained victory over all sin and all evil on our behalf. We praise His precious name as He stands forever by our sides. We pray, Father, that we may have the wisdom and the strength to recognize and face our brokenness. We ask that the Holy Spirit guide us in surrendering everything to Jesus. As we are challenged by the darkness of the world, my we call on the name of Jesus to stand up for our beliefs. We beseech You, Lord, to complete Your work in us so that we have the courage and the faith to choose Your Kingdom and defend it against the world. We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives grace to the humble, Jesus Christ.

The Waiting and Working Servants of the King of Kings

Luke 12:40
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

God’s Holy Word inspires us to turn our thoughts toward the day that Jesus will return to the earth. This will be a great and magnificent day for which all of us need to make ourselves ready. On His arrival day, the Lord will separate those who knew Him and served Him from those who did not. We certainly want to be in the group that He separates for life in His Kingdom.

Our preparation for an uncertain time and date can be complicated. Our human nature makes it difficult for us to prepare for a time in the future that we cannot clearly mark on our calendars. We may even be uncertain about how we should prepare for the arrival of the King of Kings. To further complicate our preparation, we can get lost in all the demanding needs of this world and lose sight of the right way to prepare for our coming King. It is important for us to understand that we can simplify the process of making ourselves ready for Our Coming King. All we need to do is examine whether we are pursuing this world or the kingdom of God. Then we must be aware of and committed to the precept that we are not only waiting servants, but that we are also working servants as we wait.

The Lord in His mercy, by His Word, directly instructed us in the following simple ways to prepare for His coming. He taught us that those who feed Him when He is hungry, give Him drink when He is thirsty, clothe Him when He is in need and visit Him when He is sick or in prison will be the ones that inherit His Kingdom. He added that even though we may not see Him in these conditions that when we serve those who are in these conditions, we are serving Him.

Let us go out and be working servants as we wait on the arrival of Our King, Jesus. Let us find His presence and serve Him in the faces of the world that surrounds us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Word prepares us to receive Our King, Jesus Christ. Open our eyes, Lord, so that we may see the opportunities to serve Our King every day. Prepare our hearts, Lord, to freely give of ourselves to others just as we would if we were serving Jesus Himself. May the presence of the Holy Spirit within us be Our Guiding Light. We ask all these things in the name of the One who rewards those that seek and serve Him, Jesus Christ.

God Perfects His Strength in Our Weakness

Matthew 26:56
But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophet might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him and fled.

When the time of testing comes in our lives, where will we stand? Will we stand on the promises of Jesus or will we try to stand on our own strength and capability? Scripture reveals to us that we will be just like the apostles if we rely on our own strength.

The men who had lived with Jesus for three years, sat under His teaching and witnessed all the signs and wonders of His ministry abandoned Him in His time of trial and their time of testing. How could this happen? It is the weakness of the flesh that failed the disciples. They did not yet have the strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome their weaknesses. What a dramatic difference the Holy Spirit made in their lives. After their baptism of the Holy Spirit, all of the apostles boldly proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ. All but one, John, died as a martyr while sharing the salvation plan.

We can be sure that in the flesh we are no stronger than the apostles. If we try to live by the flesh without calling on the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us, we will fail in following Our Savior. Thankfully, God promises us in His Holy Word that He will perfect His strength in our weakness if we abide in Him. He secures this promise through His Holy Spirit who continuously stands with us so that we will not fail in the times of our testing.

Let us be strong when the world tries to weaken us. Let us be bold when the world tries to shut us down. Let us stand on the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have provided Your Wonderful Counselor to be with us, to guide us and to strengthen us in our weaknesses. We proclaim our weakness before You, Lord. We ask forgiveness for straying from You. We boldly claim Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness as we surrender to Your reign in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives grace to the humble, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As if Christ Himself is Speaking to Us

Luke 24:32
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Two men walking on the road to Emmaus were met by Jesus, who accompanied them on the journey and joined them in their discussions about the recent events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. They did not recognize Him, but marveled in His knowledge of the events. Later Jesus revealed Himself to the men, resulting in their realization of how stirring that His words had been earlier.

The Scriptures can be a sealed book. The very identity of Jesus Christ and His salvation message can be hidden from us. The power and the truth are unveiled only through Jesus Christ. With Christ as Our Savior, we receive the words in Scripture as if Christ Himself is speaking them to us.

To aid us in our study of the Bible, we are joined in each reading by the Holy Spirit who directs us to focus on Jesus. The Holy Spirit whispers gentle urgings into our hearts as He reveals the truths and promises given to us through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit directs us to abide in Christ so that we may follow the path of salvation and sanctification that the Word of God provides us. If we are obedient in following the urgings of the Holy Spirit our hearts will burn with a fervent love for Our Savior and we will live in the fullness of His presence.

Let us surrender ourselves to the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit. Let our hearts burn within us with the knowledge of Our Risen Savior. Let our lives reflect the burning passion of Our King and our burning passion for Our King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us the Living Word, Your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank You for inspiring the writers of the Bible who made the Living Word readily available to us for reading and study. We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit joins us as we seek to make Your Word the fire that fuels our love for Your Son. As the Word comes to us with evidence, power and sweetness, may our hearts burn with eagerness to be transformed by our relationship with Our Lord. We pray that our fire be so strong and so bright that others will be drawn to surrender their lives to Our Savior King. We ask all these things in the name of the eternal flame, Jesus Christ.

Putting Our Faith in Christ and Not in Fallible Men

Psalm 119:19
I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.

God’s commandments have been given to us. They are not new and there is no revised edition. The Lord’s commandments have been the same for thousands of years and will be the same as long as time exists. They are pure enlightenment, so needful for our journey in time on this earth.

Along with His commandments, Our Heavenly Father also has given us His inerrant Holy Word to confirm His guidelines for our lives. There is nothing hidden from us except what we manage to hide from ourselves. We have allowed our fellow man to take the laws of Almighty God and hide them from us by replacing them with the laws of fallible men.

The laws of fallible men invariably turn toward tolerance of things that are not pleasing to God and these same laws are used to pressure one another into accepting wrongful behavior as truth. We must guard against becoming citizens of this earth and foreigners in God’s kingdom. In this day and time, we must dare to be strangers in our own land.

Let us follow the commandments and the inerrant Word provided to us by Almighty God. Let us guard against being drawn into the thinking of those who wish to deviate from God’s plan. Let us live in Christ and not in this world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is revealed to us in Your Holy Word. We bless the name of Jesus who is the Word made flesh. Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit may direct us to repent of the things in our lives that are not pleasing to You. We ask for the strength to turn away from these displeasing things and the grace to turn toward all that is pleasing to You. We beseech You that all of our faith will be in Jesus Christ and not in the world. As we surrender to Your will, equip us, Lord, to reveal Your kingdom to those around us. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.

The Power of Letting the World See Our Joy

2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

We are commanded to preach the Word of God. We are commanded to be prepared to preach the Word. Are we ready?

Jesus Christ, the Living Word, came to earth to teach about His Father in heaven and to reveal the salvation plan. A large portion of His message was presented through the way that He lived and loved among the people. He used His miracles to exhibit His love and to gain attention for His message – especially for those that would not listen to His message otherwise.

So it is with us. Because most of the world now has hardened hearts for the spoken Word, we must draw them to the Word by the way that we live our lives. Our living testimony of the miracle that occurred in our lives through Jesus Christ must be the message that those around us see day in and day out. Once they see the miraculous way that our lives have changed and they see the joy that we have regardless of circumstances, the comfort we have regardless of our trials and the love that we share through good times and bad, they will be drawn to the fount that sustains us. The way we live will say more and teach more than we could convey with eloquent speech. To preach the Word is more about how we live than how we orate.

Let us live in the fullness and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let the world be drawn to Our Savior by our living testimonies.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the living presence of Your Son in our lives. We bless the name of Jesus who dwells within us so that we may be vessels of His perfect love. We pray that we may become broken vessels, surrendered to Our Savior, so that the world may be drawn to Him by the Light that lives within us and shines forth from us. Once those around us have been drawn to us by the lives in Christ that we are living, we pray that You give us the strength and the boldness to proclaim the gospel. We ask that You open the ears of those around us and prepare their hearts to receive their Savior. We ask all these things in the mighty name of the One who gives grace to the humble, Jesus Christ.

Standing on the Word of God

John 6:67
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

After teaching a particularly difficult lesson, many of the early disciples that had been following Jesus turned away from Him. At that point Jesus inquired of His apostles, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” If the apostles had chosen to walk away from Jesus because His teaching was too hard, where would the church be today? Fortunately, the apostles were grounded in the way, the truth and the life that was Jesus Christ. They chose to stand firm. They went on to build the foundation of the Church for the benefit of all mankind.

Today, pastors and evangelists are being challenged to answer the same question that Jesus presented to His apostles. Unfortunately, too many of them are quick to create new standards when their beliefs are different from the clear directives of God’s Holy Word. The arguments presented by these misguided pastors and evangelists seem so eloquent and enticing. Their teachings provide a pathway that seems easier and more attuned to our fleshly desires or, at the very least, is more compliant with what we are willing to tolerate. Unfortunately, these errant teachers who have decided to listen to the world, instead of the inerrant Word of God, are destroying the foundation of the Church.

We must decide how we will answer Jesus’ question. Are we going to walk away from His Holy Word and seek out and accept our own new version of Scripture? Are we going to choose not to follow God’s Holy Word as it is written? In effect, are we going to walk away from Jesus because His lessons are too hard for us to follow?

Let us stand with the apostles. Let us stand with Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ. Let us cling to the inerrant Word of Almighty God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have provided Your inerrant Word for us to follow. We pray that You enlighten us. We ask that You open our minds so that we may understand the exact standard to which You are calling us. We beseech You that You may perfect Your strength in our weakness so that we may be steadfast in following the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the Rock upon whom we stand, Jesus Christ.