The Only Way to a Righteous Life

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.  This behavior alone puts us in direct violation of what Jesus taught were God's greatest commands.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

The violation of either one of these two commands 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 inherited sin and their ongoing iniquities.  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.

Let us strive to have those around us see that we love God above all things and that we love them as we love ourselves.  Let us show the world what is only possible through 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 the Challengers and the Challenged

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.  He stressed that they would all be part of the Body of Christ.

By the grace of God, we are all called to be heirs to His kingdom.  Our Heavenly Father's hand never leaves us as He prepares us to be His saints.  It is for His good pleasure and for His glory that He provides His Holy Spirit to prepare us to be His saints.  But 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.  He may at times use extraordinary people and extremely uncommon events when He needs to drive a message home.

Let us take careful consideration of the people that God places in our lives.  Let us be aware of the challengers who are there to test us on an ongoing basis in order to stimulate our spiritual growth.   Let us also be aware of the challenged who are there for us to encourage, build up and serve.

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.

Living in the Richness and Fullness of the Father's House

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.

Let us run to the Father now.  Let us claim all that He has set aside for us.  Let us live now in the richness and fullness that is in Jesus Christ.

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 the name of the One who rewards those that seek Him, Jesus Christ.

Leveraging the Power of His Presence

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.

Let us treasure those precious moments when the Lord reveals Himself to us.  Let us hold on to and learn to leverage the power of His presence even though the experience seems to fade away from us over time.

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.

Grasping Our Cup of Trembling with Hope

2 Corinthians 1:4

who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

God's Holy Word teaches us 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 their trials and ours through Jesus Christ.

Let us turn to our model, our suffering King, Jesus Christ as we face the trials of life.  Let us grasp our cup of trembling with the same resolve and confident hope that Jesus did as He faced the Cross.  Let us learn to rejoice in the face of suffering for we are being prepared to comfort others in their suffering.  

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.

Absolute Abandonment to the Father

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.  Only when we reach our place in heaven with Jesus, will we have completed the process and stand before the Father in the perfect and pure image of Our Savior.

Through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, let us continuously recognize and renounce our earthly desires.  Through the grace of Almighty God and the saving work of Jesus Christ, let us begin shedding all of our shortcomings one by one.   Let us commit ourselves to unconditional identification with 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.

Our Flesh Is Never Ready

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 stalling or passing all together on our calling as disciples.  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.  

Let us 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.  Let us 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 the precious, holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Reconciling Our Differences 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 absolutely crystal clear in defining His position about forgiving others.  He taught that 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.  Otherwise, our prayers will be ineffective.

Let us recognize our shortcomings in reconciling our differences with others.  Let us be quick to forgive and just as quick to ask for forgiveness.  Let us share the perfect love and forgiveness of Jesus with the world around us as we grow as disciples of Jesus.  Let us prepare to receive the fullness of His love and forgiveness in our own lives so that we may be 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.   We ask all these things in the name of Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord of Our Peace, Jesus Christ.

Spirit Filled and Fully Empowered

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.

Let us relinquish all the power that we think we have in the flesh in exchange for the supernatural power that we receive in the spirit through Jesus Christ.  Let us strive to be spirit-filled, fully empowered disciples of Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.

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.

Having the Attitude of Christ in All Things

1 John 2:6

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

No matter where we are in life, no matter what season we are in, no matter what circumstances surround us, we must choose to live our lives as Jesus did.  We must have the attitude of Christ in all things.

Jesus was willing to leave His seat of glory in heaven in order to come to earth and fulfill the plan of the Father for His life.  He humbled Himself by giving up His heavenly stature and taking on the form of a man.  He willingly accepted all the scorn, all the mockery and all the suffering, even unto death.  He always put the interest of others first.  He told us Himself that, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Let us ask ourselves with what attitude do we approach all things in life.  Let us undertake serious self-examination.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine us and let us know whether we are truly living as Jesus did.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us Your Son as the perfect model for our lives.  We exalt the name of Jesus who was the only man who ever led a life that was without sin.  We lift our hands in praise and worship as we bow before Our Savior with a grateful heart.  We pray, Father, that You will show us how to live the Kingdom life on earth like Jesus did.  We ask that the Holy Spirit lead us to live our lives with the attitude of Christ.  May we be humble, gentle and obedient in all things as He was.  We ask all these things in the name of spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

All Grievances Must Be Released

Mark 11:25

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Nothing we do has value in the eyes of the Lord unless it has been put in proper order in our lives.  The Heavenly Father must be our first consideration in all things.  If there is anything or any person the comes before the Father, He will not hear our prayers.

This is why unforgiveness hurts us so much.  When we come before the Father in prayer with anger, uncharitable feelings and unforgiveness toward another, He cannot grant us spiritual power.  We have supplanted His place as The First by coming to Him with our grievances against another mixed in with our prayer offering. 

These grievances must be set aside through the same perfect process of loving forgiveness that we receive from the wondrous workings of the Cross.  Jesus died for the forgiveness of all men, not just certain ones that met His expectations.

God's Holy Word makes it abundantly clear that the forgiveness of the Father is not possible if we are not first able to forgive those who have given us reason to feel injured by them.  Truly we cannot be forgiven if we are not willing to forgive others.

Let us recognize and understand that our forgiveness must extend to all.  Let us learn to love and forgive in the same unconditional manner that Jesus did and the Father does.  Let us be ever so mindful that we must release all grievances against others before we go the Father in prayer.

  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your promise to hear our prayers when we come before You without claims against any other person.  We praise the name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who made it possible for us to stand before You as righteous men and women, free from unforgiveness.  We pray for the wisdom and strength to forgive others as You have forgiven us.  May we humble ourselves and kneel at the Cross daily so that we may receive the grace that we need to remain worthy to receive Your mercy.  We ask all these things in the name of our merciful Savior, Jesus Christ.

We Are Going Up to Jerusalem

Luke 18:31

And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.

Jesus was perfectly attuned to the work that He was called to do.  He spent His entire time on earth completely focused on doing the will of His Father.  He did not care if He preached to one or to ten thousand.  He was not seeking recognition for the good work that He was doing in the sense that we would seek recognition for ourselves.  There is so much that we need to learn from Jesus about how we approach our work.

Jesus was only concerned with pleasing the Father.  Nothing could discourage Our Lord on His way to Jerusalem to meet His fate at Calvary.  No amount of suffering could deter Him.  No distraction could lead Him to hurry to the next task.  The only task that Jesus was concerned with was the one that the Father put before Him.  There is so much that we need to learn from Jesus about persevering through our trials.

It is important that we tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit directs our attention to Our Savior.  The Holy Spirit works in our lives so that we can learn to align our personal plans with the plans that God has for our lives.  Just as Jesus aligned His plans with the Father's plans so that He would find His way to Jerusalem, we must align ourselves with God's plan for our lives so that we can find our way to our Jerusalem, New Jerusalem.  We must not let anything or any circumstance take us off our path.  

Let us please Our Father in heaven.  Let us surrender completely to the One who was completely surrendered to the will of His Father.  Through Him, let us accomplish all that was set aside for us on the Cross.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing for our eternal resting place in New Jerusalem.  We praise Our Savior, Jesus, for clearing our path to get there.  We ask for the Holy Spirit to direct us to our path and prepare us for the journey.  We pray that we may be strengthened so that we may be steadfast in doing only the things that are pleasing to You, Father.  May all that we accomplish be for Your glory.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Spiritual Rock, Jesus Christ.

Sitting Confidently Under the Master

John 13:13

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.

In every other religion in the world, except Christianity, the final goal is to have done enough to satisfy a god who provides eternal rewards for those who fulfill the demands.  The followers of these gods live under a task master who has nothing to offer to those who bow before him.

For followers of Jesus Christ, the servitude to the Master is totally different.  The Master has taken care of everything that is necessary for the servant to be worthy of eternal reward with Almighty God.  The Master promises to perfect His strength in the weaknesses of every follower so that they are healed of their wounds, redeemed from their transgressions and made holy and worthy to stand before The Father for all eternity.

Sitting under this Teacher and Lord, Jesus Christ, means that we have someone who knows us better than ourselves, who is closer to us than our friends and family, who understands the deepest desires of our hearts and fulfills them.  Through this Master, the Son of God, we have the security that our eternal destination is settled.  There is no need to question whether we have done enough.  In the words of Jesus himself, "It is finished."

Let us follow closely the teaching of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Let us receive in faith every promise that He reveals to us in His Holy Word.  Let us rejoice in all the eternal provision that He has made for us.  Let us show the world our joy.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that everything that was required for us to meet You in heaven for all eternity was finished on the Cross.  We bless the name of Jesus who completed it all on our behalf.  We pray, Lord, that we may sit humbly at the feet of Your Son and surrender to the way, the truth and the life that is in Him.  May we become vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness.  May we become instruments of His good work.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Created and Commissioned by God

Isaiah 49:5

And now the LORD speaks--the one who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The LORD has honored me, and my God has given me strength.

We learn three important things from the prophet Isaiah that pertains to each of us:

1) God created us.  The entire human race was created to serve and glorify God forever.   Through God's grace we were given life so that we may be one of His servants here on earth.  Through God's mercy we were granted eternal life so that we may praise and glorify Him in His eternal kingdom forever.

2) He commissioned all of us to serve Him.  While our calling may be different from the commission of Isaiah, it is just as important in God's eyes.  We have all been uniquely gifted to fulfill the will of Our Heavenly Father and His plan for our lives.  Our unique service to Him will be on earth as it will be in heaven.

3) He will give us all we need to fulfill our commission.  Through Our Savior, Jesus Christ, we shall have the strength and capability to do the work that we have been called to do.  We shall have the protection that we need to overcome our enemies.  We shall have the comfort that we need to rise above our discouragements.  It will all be fulfilled according to His promises and His indwelling in us.  Through it all, He will complete His work in us so that we are prepared for our heavenly duties.

Let us seek the Holy Spirit to reveal God's unique plan for our lives.  Let us cling to Our Savior who waits to prepare us, protect us and strengthen us so that our lives may glorify the Father.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You have bestowed on us through Your Son, Jesus.  We rejoice in knowing that You have a wonderful plan for our lives that will bring praise and glory to You forever.  We pray, Lord, that You will bring us to a place of repentance so that we may turn away from all the things in our lives that displease You and turn toward all the things that Your Holy Spirit reveals to us.  May it all be for Your eternal glory.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who strengthens us, Jesus Christ.