He Never Forsakes Us

Praise and thanks to the Lord for He will faithfully fulfill His promise to finish every good work in us that He begins.  He will steadfastly stand by us even as we stumble over and over again.  Just as a loving parent who is training a child to ride a bike will pick up their child over and over again until they get it right, God will pick us up time and time again until we get it right.

Of course, we will never get it completely right until we stand before Him in heaven.  Nonetheless, He never forsakes us as we learn to fulfill His purposes for our lives.  Hallelujah!!

Vessels of His Perfect Love and Forgiveness

We are commanded to love one another as we love ourselves.  How can we be called to that level of love?  Doesn't God know how impossible that is for us to fulfill that level of love for others?  Of course, He does.  That is precisely why He expressed His perfect love and forgiveness toward us through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He indwells in us, giving us the capacity to love as He does.  If we try to relate to others through our own capabilities, our frailties will be exposed.  If we let the power of His Spirit reign in our lives, we are enabled to become vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness.  We are then able to meet the great command to love one another as ourselves.  

The Pathway Through the Storms

We naturally associate the idea of clouds with the idea of storms forming.   If clouds are building up, we think "look out."  As we grow in Christ we come to realize that when storm clouds build in our lives, we need to think "look up."

Just as God used the clouds to guide the Israelites to the promised land, He can use the storm clouds in our lives to cause us to be dependent on Him to provide our protection and our provision.  He provides the perfect pathway through the storms in our lives through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Process of Life

Life is not a game of "who can achieve the most."  Life is the process of preparing ourselves for our eternal resting place.

The process is complete when we seek the Father in everything that we do regardless of our circumstances.  The process is complete when we have surrendered all that we are and all that we have to the Father.  The process is complete when we have surrendered all that we will ever be and all that we will ever have to the Father for all eternity.  The process is complete when we rejoice in knowing that we will serve Him and bring glory to Him forever.

He is Always With Us

When Adam and Eve sinned, they ran and hid from God.  They were ashamed to be in His presence.

God did not leave them.  He was there with them the entire time.  So it is with us.  When we are disobedient, we separate ourselves from God.  He is there, but we are running from Him because of the shame of our sin.

When we turn back toward Our Heavenly Father by recognizing our sin and repenting, we feel ourselves getting back in relationship with Him.  The fact of the matter is that the miraculous cleansing blood of Jesus kept us in God's presence and grace the entire time.

Our Safeguard Against Ourselves

Found at the core of flesh is sin.  To think otherwise is to be ignorant of the Word of God.  We are firmly bound to sin when we operate outside the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We can lead good lives by the world's standards without the Holy Spirit.  We cannot lead Godly lives without the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit.  To avoid the terrible possibilities that are awaiting us if we live by our hardened hearts in the flesh, we must repent and fall to the foot of the Cross for our salvation.

The Way of the Truth

Without the Holy Spirit, the teachings of Jesus are very hard to rationalize.  As the world and our nation have moved away from a Christian foundation, corrupt lifestyles have become common place.  And the corruption has become largely overlooked and even deemed acceptable in many cases.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sent a message to magnify the differences between the way of the Truth and the way of the world.  When we begin to see the power and joy in living a lifestyle fashioned from the Beatitudes, we have begun the process of dying to self.

Entering the Holy of Holies

We are born in sin.  There is no possibility of entering heaven without being washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.  The only way to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus is by receiving Him as Our Savior and allowing His Spirit to dwell within us.

There is nothing that we can do on our own to earn the necessary righteousness to stand in the presence of Our Heavenly Father.  With our cleansing secured in Christ, we are acceptable to enter into the Holy of Holies and go before the Father.  All the Father will see is the perfection and holiness of His Son.

The Unstoppable Sanctification Process

Sanctification is a process.  It is a process that begins with the act of submission.  The act of submission begins when we deny self and rely entirely on Jesus to release His holiness in our lives.

Sanctification is impossible to initiate through the actions of the flesh for it is not achievable without the power of the Holy Spirit in full operation.   Sanctification is impossible to stop once we release the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives by making Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives.  Our Heavenly Father promises to complete the good work that is started in us when we accept Jesus as our Savior.

The Death of Old Self

Jesus became man so that He could die for our sins.  As He comes to dwell within us, we must allow our old lives of sin to die. 

The old self of the flesh and the new self in Christ cannot abide together.  To try to hold on to the old life once Christ has arrived is to enter into a struggle that is filled with endless pain.  The new life of abundant joy is found only in the death of the old life.  

Are The Beatitudes for Today?

When first reading The Beatitudes, it seems like they are out of touch with the world we live in.  When looking closer we see just the opposite.  The Beatitudes reveal to us why we need to accept Jesus as Our Savior to get us through this world we live in and on to living in the Kingdom of God.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit," reminds us how far we fall short of the glory that God has planned for us.  "Blessed are those that mourn," reminds to us the sorrow caused by our sins.  "Blessed are the meek," reminds us of our need to humble ourselves before Our Savior.  "Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness," reminds of our need to seek Jesus in all that we do.  "Blessed are the merciful," reminds us of our need to forgive others just as the Lord forgives us.  "Blessed are the pure in heart," reminds us of our need to cling to our new lives in Christ and leave behind all the things of the old man.  "Blessed are the peacemakers," reminds us of our purpose of helping others to find a life of peace in Jesus.  "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake," reminds us that the unsaved will be challenged by our new lives and will come against us for revealing the truth to them.  

Faith that Protects

God is with us always.  The presence of His Holy Spirit never leaves us.  The protection of His angelic force continuously surrounds us.  We need fear nothing.  There is nothing that can come upon us that we cannot handle with confidence.  We have the security of God's hand upon our lives.

We need not pray for the strength to protect ourselves.  God promises His protection to those that abide in Him.  We are better served to pray for the strength to keep our faith which keeps us bound to Him.

Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ

We have reached a right relationship with Jesus when we serve Him out of our love for Him and not out of our desire to meet the requirements of the law.  Once we have been saved, we can go through life in obedience to the law or we can go through life under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Life under the lordship of Jesus Christ will be distinctly more joyous.  And ultimately, we will see greater abundance here on earth and for all eternity in heaven by serving in love at the feet of our Savior.

All of His Kingdom is Ours

In Deutoronomy 28:1, Our Heavenly Father promises that we will reign over much, if we are obedient to His law.  This favor is gained, not by seeking it, but by seeking the One who grants it.  

If we try to seek any of God's promised rewards through our own power for our own purposes, we will fail.  On the other hand, if we obey God's laws through the love and power of His Son in our lives, all of His kingdom is ours for the taking. 

Pride that Limits the Work of God

Why is it that when we pray in public that we are so concerned about how we sound?  It is this type of pride that limits the power of God.  We can actually block the power of the Holy Spirit by allowing our acts of pride to put ourselves in His way .

When our efforts are directed at impressing others rather than pleasing our Heavenly Father, we can surely hinder His movement in the lives of others and in our own lives.  Salvation, after all, is the work of God and not the work of men.

Living in Total Peace

It is very easy to become frustrated, concerned, depressed or even angry when everything seems to being going against us.  It is part of our growing relationship with God to learn to understand that He is always with us and always in control.

We will live in total peace when we come to the place of understanding where we are completely comfortable in our circumstances because we know that God has willed or allowed us to be where we are.  Our peace will come from knowing that He promises that He will work out all things for our eternal good.

The Unlimited Flow of God's Love

God pours out His never ending love upon us.  If we receive His gift of love, we cannot contain it.  His love must spill out from us to the world around us.

From the depths of His never ending love, He provided His Son to die on the Cross for us.  If we receive Jesus as our Savior, we cannot keep Him to ourselves.  The presence of His Spirit within us will flow into the lives of those around us.  It is our responsibility to live in such a way that we facilitate the flow of God's love.  To limit this flow is to grieve the Holy Spirit.

Perfect Love and Forgiveness

The flesh is capable of doing all things that are evil.  God sent His Son into this world to atone for the depths of human depravity.

As God recognizes the evil of the flesh, so should we.  We should recognize the nature of its existence and react to it in the same way as our Heavenly Father.  As the Father sent the Son into the world, we should send the Spirit of Jesus out into the world by the way that we live our lives.  

We must, however, allow all judgement to be God's alone.  Our purpose is not to judge any man or woman.  Our purpose is to let the world see the perfect love and forgiveness of Jesus in our lives, so that they may be drawn to the Cross.

Visions of Substance

We have been taught by our environment to seek visions in our lives.  We seek them and build on them by focusing on our work, our family and our friends.  

All is for nought, however, until we realize that the only visions of real substance and value are those that are originated through our focus on our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  When we learn to cast our visions through His focus, then we develop visions that allow us to be truly fruitful.  Until then we are only building on stubble and hay.

We Are Beacons

God, in His sovereign rule, has placed each one of us exactly where He wants us.  He did not place us where we are to stand alone.  He places each one of us in a location among others where we are perfectly linked together for the good of the entire body of Christ.

Each one of us is a beacon extending it's light 360 degrees.  It is our individual responsibility to let God work through us so that the fullness and abundance of His Son can flow through us to the world that surrounds us.

The Fruits of Our Work

The fruits of our work are the outpouring of the Spirit of Jesus Christ within us.  They are not the proof of our goodness.  They are the proof of our submission to Jesus in every aspect of our lives.

If our works ever become a way in which we seek to gratify ourselves, they will become a burden that will drag us away from the Cross.  Our works must be an outpouring of our spirit-filled love.  Then they will flow with great ease and draw us to the Cross in complete thanksgiving.

Fullness and Growth in Christ

Life in Jesus Christ is about fullness and growth.  It is never about reduction and decline.  God places us where we are in life just as sovereignly as He rules over any aspect of His kingdom.

He calls us to be obedient to serve the needs around us at any given time in our lives.  Then He, subsequent to our obedience, adds to us and grows us according to His perfect will and plan for our lives.

All is Complete

When Jesus died on the Cross, every evil was defeated for all eternity and every good work was completed.  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, every evil that is in our lives is dead and every good work in us is completed through Christ.

All we have to do is believe in the one who made it all possible to receive it all.  Unfortunately, we cling to our old lives all too long.  We hinder our ability to receive all that is freely and completely available to us.

Making Perfect Choices

"My grace is sufficient.  My strength is perfected in your weakness."  This is God's promise that is available to each of us through our salvation.  

When we receive Jesus as our Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit within us to counsel us.  Then each day, moment by moment, we make choices.  With each decision, we either choose to act according to guidance of the Holy Spirit or we choose to act according to the guidance of our flesh.

The perfect choice, as provided by the Holy Spirit, is always readily available.  We simply have to access the perfect gift that we have been given.

Standing in His Will

As children of God, we are all going to be tested by difficult circumstances to see if we will remain in the will of the Father for our lives.  Just as Jesus stayed with His Father's plan when He was called to die on the Cross, we will be called to stick with our calling during difficult challenges.

Jesus was able to meet the His test because He had a life filled with events where He abided in the will of the Father.  We will be victorious through all trials if we make it a life practice to abide in the will of the Father in all matters. 

We Are His Work

To have a vision is to see the completed work before the first step is taken.   God had a vision for each of us before we were born.

True visionaries are able to see the completed work and then are capable of devising ways to reach the desired end.  God is the truest of visionaries.  He always has the perfect plans for the completion of His visions. He never fails to complete His work.  He never rushes to complete His work.  He always moves continuously toward the perfect completion of His work.  We are His work.

Experiencing the Fullness of His Grace

Jesus tells us to give all of our burdens to Him and He will give us rest.  God promises to meet all of our needs if we simply seek His kingdom first.

The ease of the Christian life will be determined by our belief and trust in God's Word and His promises.  If we choose to submit our troubles to the Lord on a selective basis, then we can expect that our needs will be only partially met.  It is in the full submission to God's lordship in our lives that we experience the fullness of His grace.

Worry Not

God has a perfect plan and purpose for our lives, even though we may not be able to see it during difficult times.  He commands us not to fret or worry over our circumstances.  He can overcome anything in our lives, no matter how insurmountable we think our circumstances may be.  According to His Word, He promises that He will work out all things for our eternal good.

One of our most important lessons to learn in life is to learn to rejoice in our circumstances and trust that God is fulfilling His promise to us even when we cannot see the results.  We should never see ourselves as being trapped by our circumstances.  Instead we need to learn to see ourselves as being firmly gripped in the hand of God - the only secure place in the universe.

The Holy Spirit Will Show Us Our Sin

Where is the sin in our lives?  Surely we know if we have gone before the Lord.  His Spirit will not let us rest with anything that is not pleasing to Him.

Peter thought he was so faithful.  Jesus told Peter how shallow his faith really was.  Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times.  And Peter did.  With his sin revealed to him, Peter wept.  Through it all, Peter was able to move on to become the "rock" of Christianity.

If we will let the Holy Spirit show us our sin, we can repent and move forward in being what God is calling us to be.  What a merciful Lord we have.

Followers of Jesus Christ

Obedience to laws simply takes us to a level of proper lifestyle.  Obedience to Jesus Christ takes us to a level of perfection, holiness and purity that only Jesus could attain.

It is not good enough to be good.  It is not enough to do great works.  The only thing that we can do that is of true value is to submit our lives to Jesus Christ, to die of self and to take on the new life that dwells within us.  To do anything short of fully submitting our lives to Jesus falls short of being able to call ourselves Christians.

Our Struggles

Once we receive Jesus as Our Lord and Savior, turning away from obvious sin is generally easy through the power of the Holy Spirit within us.  We are likely, however, to struggle with those areas of sin that were hardened within us prior to our renewal.

We also will battle with those areas in our lives that are not necessarily sinful, but are separating us from the perfection that we will reach in heaven.  It is through these struggles toward perfection in Christ that God reinforces our dependence on Him and draws us closer to Himself.