Called By His Grace

Galatians 1:15-16

...who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me...

When Paul was writing and speaking to the Galatians, he made it clear that he was on a completely different path in life when He was touched by the hand of God.  Paul emphasized that it was God that changed him and not him who changed himself.

Because of our sin nature, we all begin our lives on a path covered by darkness.  Until Our Heavenly Father opens our eyes, we can not see the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ.  Only when our new path has been made visible to us by the light of the Holy Spirit, can we receive the precious gift of salvation.  All who are converted to be new men and women in Christ are called by the grace of God.

Upon accepting our salvation, we begin yet another journey - the journey to work out our salvation.  Just as salvation is not a work of our own hand, neither is the working out of our salvation.  The Holy Spirit within us molds our hearts so that we can submit to Jesus as Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us to full submission to Our Savior so that God can do the work in us that is pleasing to Him.  All the saved in Christ who are working on their sanctification are under the power and grace of the Holy Spirit working in them.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace that is expressed to us through the gift of our salvation.  We praise You for taking us from the darkness of our lives in the flesh into the light of Your Holy Spirit.  We rejoice in being guided into full submission to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.  We pray, Father, that You will strengthen us and regenerate us as we strive to overcome the world in order to live our new lives in Christ.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Most Gracious Savior.

Made Righteous Through the Blood of Jesus

Romans 5:19

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

As a result of the disobedience of Adam, we were born with a sin nature.  Because of Adam's disobedience, we naturally put ourselves first in all things.  We instinctively put ourselves first in violation of the first commandment, "I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no false Gods before me."  The violation of this commandment is enough to condemn us to eternal death.  We cannot remove the condemning stain of this sin on our own.  There is no escape or recovery from this sin except through the redemption provided through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As a result of the obedience of Jesus to the calling of His Father in heaven, we are made righteous in the eyes of the Father.  God removed our sin through the sacrifice of His own Son.  He removed our sin in the only way that was acceptable to Him - through the shed blood of His Son which cleanses us.  We accept His mercy and eternal atonement through our surrender to His Son, Jesus Christ.  

It is important to understand that God does not hold us responsible for inheriting sin.  He will not condemn anyone because of the sin that was inherited.  He will condemn those that refuse to accept Jesus as the only measure of deliverance from their sin.  He will condemn those who choose to live in submission to the darkness of the flesh rather than under surrender to the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we ask forgiveness for the sin in our lives.  We pray that You will reveal to us all the places in our lives where we are living in darkness, instead of in the Light.  We ask You, Lord, for the grace to be able to repent of all the sin that remains in our lives.  We thank You, Father, that through Your mercy You have made a way for us to be delivered from the condemnation that we deserve.  We praise Your name, Father God, because through Your perfect love we have been given an eternal inheritance that we did not and cannot earn on our own.  We bless the name of Jesus who now dwells within us.  We pray that we may become Light to the darkness in world around us through His presence.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The Role of Teachers, Encouragers and Confirmers in the Sanctification Process

1 Corinthians 1:2

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

When Paul addressed the Corinthians, he emphasized their sanctification through Jesus Christ.  He confirmed that they would be among all the saints in heaven who had also called on the name of Our Lord as their Savior.

Our Heavenly Father's hand never leaves us as He prepares us to be His saints.  The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit is always at work in our lives.  God also brings commonplace people and commonplace events into our lives to teach us, to encourage us and to confirm the plans that He has for us. 

Sometimes the commonplace people and events are meant to challenge us.  The challengers are there to test us.  Through the aid of the Holy Spirit, we come through the challenges built-up in our character and strengthened in our will to follow God's plans for our lives. 

By the grace of God, we are all called to be heirs to His kingdom.  It is His will that none shall perish, that all will come to repentance.  He puts a God-size hole in all of our hearts that can only be filled by His Son.  It is according to His perfect plan that He provides His Son as Our Redeemer.  It is for His good pleasure and for His glory that He provides His Holy Spirit to prepare us to be His saints.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect plan to have us join You in heaven for all eternity.  We bless the name of Jesus for His shed blood that washes us clean and makes it possible for us to enter into Your presence.  We pray, Lord, that You will release many teachers, encouragers and confirmers into our lives.  We ask for ears to hear them and the wisdom to follow their counsel.  We pray that we may also become teachers, encouragers and confirmers in the lives of others on their journeys to sainthood.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy and Awesome Lord, Jesus Christ.

Humiliation or Celebration?

Luke15:17

But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!"

The prodigal son left home thinking he could conquer the world on his own.  His journey turned out much different than he had imagined.  It did not take him long to exhaust the resources that he had.  It then became painfully obvious to him that all that he ever needed was available to him at his father's house.

We all experience a journey similar to the prodigal son when we try to take on the world on our own.  We set up ourselves for failure and frustration when we try to make our way independent of the resources that Our Heavenly Father has set aside for us.  Our skepticism of God's plan results in us landing in a places of humiliation.

With each failure and with each moment of mounting frustration and humiliation, Our Father in heaven awaits our turning to Him.  All of heaven prepares to celebrate our return.  When we realize the foolishness of living our lives in the flesh instead of under the divine hand of Almighty God and return to the riches of Our Father, He calls for a celebration on our behalf.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the inheritance that You have prepared for us.  We rejoice in knowing that Your abundant riches await us when we join You in our permanent home.  We ask forgiveness for living our lives in the foolish arrogance of our flesh.  We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will guide us in repenting of all of the things in our lives that are displeasing to You.  May we live our lives in the fullness of the way, the truth and the life that is ours through Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in His precious name. 

Precious Moments with Our Savior

Mark 9:2

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain so that they could experience the fullness of His glory.  Jesus wanted His disciples to be prepared for the bitter agony that was ahead.  He wanted them to have the strength of the promise of the kingdom experience to carry them through the suffering that they would also experience in the future. 

Each of us will experience moments in the presence of God.  It may be through a vision, a dream, a visitation or perhaps a quiet word whispered in our spirit when we are in prayer or worshiping Him.  Each such moment is meant to lift us from our day-to-day lives in the flesh to our eternal lives in the kingdom of God.

Just as the disciples were not allowed to remain in the presence of the glorified Christ, neither are we allowed to stay in the precious moments of Our Lord's visitation.  The Lord simply uses these precious moments to show us the unimaginable promise of our futures in His kingdom and to give us the strength to endure the suffering we will encounter as we prepare to be with Him for all eternity.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the treasured moments that You grant us in Your presence.  We praise You for those times that You become so real to us.  We exalt Your name for the grace that You provide during these intimate exchanges that are beyond our normal earthly expectations.  We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will stand by us as we leave the high mountain of Your presence and return to the valley where we struggle in our ways of the flesh. May Our Comforter help us keep the fullness of the joy and the hope of Your presence with us always.  May the world know that we are living in the fullness of the presence of Our Savior.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Ever Present Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prepared To Be A Comforter

2 Corinthians 1:5

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

In the Bible, we are taught that we should rejoice in our trials because they are the building blocks of character in our lives.  They certainly do build character and perseverance in our lives if we turn to the Lord to get us through the challenges we face.

But beyond the character building in our trials, there is an entirely different dimension that we benefit from.  We not only gain in character, but we gain more - much more.  We gain life experiences that we are able to share with others who find themselves going through the same thing.  God prepares us to be comforters for others in their time of need.

Our past experiences give us the foundation for offering faith and hope.  It is our obligation to make suitable returns for what we received by comforting others.  It is our duty to join them in prayer, praise and thanksgiving as we seek a good end to our trials through Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the consolations and comfort that we find when we turn to Your Son, Jesus, in our times of need.  We bless the name of Jesus for the abundance of all of the fruits of His sufferings that are poured out in a greater amount than our own suffering, providing us relief from our distress and trouble.  Lord, we pray that You build our faith and hope through our trials, so that we may be comforters for those in our lives who are going through their own trials.  May it all be for the glory of Jesus.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered all on our behalf, Jesus Christ.

Taking Hold of the Kingdom of God

Mark 10:21

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

On earth, only Jesus has achieved absolute abandonment to The Father.  Only He could.  Yet He commanded His disciples to follow Him.  He was asking them to follow the lead of their Master.  He was asking them to release their hold on the things of this earth and take hold of His kingdom.

As disciples of Jesus Christ in this age, we are also called to follow the lead of Our Master.  We are therefore called to be diligent in the constant process of releasing all of our carnal desires as we fully surrender to the will of the Father in our lives.  This is an ongoing and arduous process for each of us.  

In our time on earth, none of us will reach the point of absolute abandonment to the Father as Jesus did.  But all of us can commit ourselves to unconditional identification with Our Savior.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can continuously recognize and renounce our earthly desires.  Through the grace of Almighty God and the saving work of Jesus Christ, we can begin shedding all of our shortcomings one by one.  When we reach our place in heaven with Jesus, we will have completed the process and we will stand before the Father in the perfect and pure image of Our Savior. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your precious love and provision.  We proclaim our love for You and humbly offer to You all that You have given us.  Father, we pray that we will be led by the Holy Spirit to surrender all that we have, all that we will every have, all that we are and all that we will ever be to You.  May we exchange the things of this earth for the treasures of Your kingdom.  May we take hold of the fullness of the eternal life in Jesus as we release our hold on our worldly possessions and desires.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our Eternal King, Jesus Christ.

When We Examine the Costs

Luke 9:57

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

As pointed out in this passage and other passages, some of the early followers of Jesus were boasting, "I will follow You wherever You go."  But Jesus was quick to point out to them that following Him was more costly that many were willing to pay.  It is the same for us.

Once we commit to fully surrender to Our Savior and follow Him, we can be certain that there will be attacks and trials that will challenge our resolve.  Every consideration that we give to continuing as true disciples of Jesus will lead us down a decision path that is predominantly supported by human logic.  Without faith in the Word of God and the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit, we will follow the callings of our flesh which are never ready to be laid down at the feet of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   When we examine the costs, we are likely to end up in a decision of "no" or "not now."  

Praise God that He knows us so well, loves us still, has mercy on us and provides His Son for our salvation, His Word for our direction and His Holy Spirit for our strengthening.  May we claim all that He has set aside for us because He sees us, not in the flesh, but in the image of His Son.  Let us follow Our Savior King wherever He leads us.  May we stand firm in our commitment.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for accepting us as heirs to Your kingdom.  We rejoice in knowing that You see us only in the image of Your Son who has washed away all of our iniquity with His precious blood.  We pray, Lord, that You open our minds and hearts to the fullness of Your Holy Word.  We ask that You show us how to surrender completely to the direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We beseech You, Father, to give us the grace to fall at the feet of the Cross so that we may walk in the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son, Jesus.  We ask all these things in His precious, holy and mighty name.

Setting Aside Anger with Others

Matthew 5:22

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Jesus was very clear on His position about forgiving others.  There is no leeway given for those who are unwilling to forgive.  Whoever is angry with another without cause is in danger of judgement themselves.

When we consider whether we are justified to be angry with another, we need to look to Jesus Christ who is the essence of perfect love and forgiveness.  Jesus' anger was limited to those who took away from the glory of the Father.  He set aside His anger and replaced it with love and forgiveness when any other lesser offense was involved, whether it be directed toward Him or not.  His perfect standard is the same standard that we are all called to meet.  When we fall short of this standard in our daily lives, we are commanded to right ourselves before we come to Him with our offerings and our prayers. 

The process of recognizing, reconciling and asking forgiveness for our shortcomings in sharing the perfect love and forgiveness of Jesus with the world around us is essential to our growth as disciples of Jesus.  It also prepares us to receive the fullness of His love and forgiveness in our own lives and makes us worthy to bring our prayers and offerings to the Father.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You have shown us.  We bless the name of Jesus who is the essence of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  We pray, Father, that we may become instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  May the world know us by our ability to set aside our anger unless it involves an action which takes away Your glory.  We ask all these things in the name of Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord of Our Peace, Jesus Christ.

Disciples of the Prince of Peace

Matthew 5:40

And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Jesus' instructions to His disciples was simple enough.  It just does not make sense to us and it probably did not make sense to them.  It is not natural for us to bear an injury for the sake of peace.  In the flesh, it is difficult for us to meet this standard. 

As we become disciples of Jesus Christ, we learn to commit our concerns to the Lord.  We learn to avoid the disputes that our flesh would demand.  We come to recognize through the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit that our flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Only our spirit will find its resting place with the Father.  And it will be our spirit that will find supernatural peace and comfort on this earth when we follow the principles that Our Lord teaches.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ cannot be carried out in the flesh.  God does not start with our natural ability and build on it.  He only asks that we rely on His grace and submit to the presence and the supernatural work of the One that dwells within us.  And as He promises, His grace is sufficient.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the all-sufficient grace that You provide that allows us to live as disciples of Your Son, Jesus.  We humbly acknowledge, Father, that You do not see us as who we are today or who we have been.  We rejoice in knowing that You see us as who we are in Christ.  We pray, Lord Jesus, that You will walk by our side and lead us to the way of peace.  We ask that You show us how to draw the world to You through our living testimony as Your disciples.  We ask all these things in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.