Our God of Restoration

Daniel 4:14-15

He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field.

King Nebuchadnezzar was at ease in his house and prospering greatly.  In his own words, the Most High God had blessed him in every way.  But because of Nebuchadnezzar's unrighteousness and iniquities, it was all taken away from him.  The Most High God, who had provided it all to Nebuchadnezzar, allowed it all to be taken away.  Ultimately, when Nebuchadnezzar turned his eyes back to the the Lord, all was returned to the King.

In the prophetic words of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar is the tree.  God commands that the tree be stripped of all branches, leaves and fruit. But as the God of all mercy stripped everything away from the tree, he left a stump from which the tree could rise again.

Almighty God is not only the God of all provision, He also the God of all loss.  In some unusual cases, He may order our losses to occur. In most cases, He is simply allowing a loss to occur as a result of our iniquities or as a result of the attacks of the enemy.  Be certain that no loss can occur in our lives without God allowing it.  Be even more certain that our merciful Lord, who is filled with lovingkindness, is also the God of restoration.  So no matter what we are going through, or have gone through, God has commanded that some good remnant be left in us from which He can raise us up according to His perfect plans for our lives.

Let us gird ourselves with the promises that God has made to us when we are going through the greatest of trials.  Let us rejoice in knowing that He is not only prepared to restore us, it is His desire that we be restored.  Let us find comfort in knowing that the loving and merciful hand of the Lord never leaves us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for every provision in our lives.  We give You all the glory and the praise for Your grace and lovingkindness. Teach us, Lord, how to give you all the glory and praise when we are experiencing loss in our lives. Build up our faith so that we may endure while You raise us up from "what is left" in our lives to the good and perfect place that You have planned for us. We ask all these things in the name of our all-sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

Lift Us to a Higher Place

Jeremiah 31:25

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

What a tremendous promise we have from the Lord.  The promise was first spoken to draw the Jews out of bondage back to their homelands and back to Himself.  Through His prophet, Jeremiah, Almighty God was assuring the Jews that they would find a rest and joy in their new settlement if they set aside their idols and returned to Him.

The promise still holds true for all of us today as the Lord encourages us with His extraordinary promise to give us the strength that we need to break away from all the bondage in our lives.  The promise includes drawing us back to Himself when we have separated ourselves from Him by living in the world and taking on personal idols that we have set ahead of the Lord.  The promise includes giving us the spiritual inspiration that we need to renew our devotion to Him when it is lagging.  

Through His incredible promise, He calls us to live in a higher place, a place where His presence brings us complete comfort, peace and satisfaction.  He calls us to a place where the weary find rest and the sorrowful find joy.  There is no other place except in Jesus Christ that we can find such a promise.

Let us take our weary souls before Our Father in heaven.  Let us languish there and be replenished in body, mind and spirit.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Yourself.  We bless the name of Jesus who provides all that we need to be one with You and one with Your Son.  We pray that You raise up in us the desire to bring to You the fullness of love and devotion that You seek from us.  Lift us up, Lord, to a higher place - a place that we cannot reach without You.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us to leave behind the things of the world that we place ahead of our devotion to You.  We ask all these things in the name of our Most High Savior, Jesus Christ.

Walk With Him

Colossians 2:6-7

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

We are called to walk in the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us.  We are to mirror in every way His love, patience, humility, meekness and faithfulness in carrying out His duties.  But more than that, we are to lean on Him.  We are to derive from Him the grace and strength that we need to live under His influence, by His direction and through His assistance.

In Jesus, we find beauty, glory, fullness and everything suitable for living our new lives in Christ.  We should not consider our own plans ever again, unless they are derived by seeking the guidance of Our Savior first.   We must learn not to lean on our own understanding, but to trust in the Lord to make our paths straight.

Once we acknowledge Our Lord and receive the benefit of the good and perfect plans that He sets aside for us, we must express our gratitude for all that He has provided.  For God justly withdraws His provision from those that receive it without thanksgiving.

Let us move swiftly to the yoke of Jesus Christ.  Let us receive the fullness of all of His promises as we pour out our burdens upon Him.  Let us tell the world of the peace and comfort that He provides us.  May it all be for the glory of Our Lord and Servant King.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to dwell within us.  Make us mindful of His presence at all times.  Teach us to gladly, joyfully and willingly seek the plans that have been set aside for us through Our Savior.   Mold our hearts so that we will be ready to receive the fullness of Christ into our lives.  We pray that You fill our hearts with continuous gratitude and thanksgiving for our ever present King.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who transforms us through His indwelling presence, Jesus Christ.

God Will Test Each of Us

Genesis 22:2

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Did anyone, other than Jesus Himself, have to endure a greater test than Abraham?  Can you imagine yourself standing over a loved one, especially your child, with knife in hand?  Can you picture yourself ready to offer him or her as a living sacrifice?  Can you even conceive of the idea that you would have gotten as far as picking up the knife?  

To have to end the life of your child by the act of your own hand, who could endure such a test?  Only a person of unfathomable faith in the promises of God could stand up to such a trial.  When Abraham headed up the mountain with Isaac, he held the promise from God that God would make Abraham a great nation.  Abraham believed that the promise could not be fulfilled without Isaac.

Abraham makes two comments that indicate that he faced his trial girded by faith in God's promises. The first confirmation of his faith came when he saw the place of sacrifice from afar.  He told the servants that had joined him and Isaac, "Stay here with the donkey.  I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you."  The second confirmation of his faith came when Isaac asked where was the lamb for the sacrifice.  Abraham responded, "God will provide the lamb for Himself for the burnt offering, my son."  And so it was that Abraham became a great nation as he stood with his knife ready, waiting in faith for His God to fulfill His promises.

God will test each of us. He wants us to build up our faith in Him.  He wants us to live with complete confidence that He will provide all that we need to endure that which we may feel is unbearable.

Let us take strength from the story of Abraham and Isaac.  Let us rejoice in knowing that God will always provide a way for us to fulfill the plan that He has for our lives and for the lives of those that we serve. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for covering us in the many promises of comfort, provision and strength that You have revealed to us in Your Holy Word.  Test us, O Lord, to build our faith in who You are.  Strengthen us, O Lord, that we may pass the tests that prepare us for our place in Your eternal kingdom. Comfort us as we endure the trials. Build up in us the faith of Abraham.  May we rejoice in seeing the fruits of our faith.  We ask all these things in the name of the Author of Our Faith, Jesus Christ.

A Springtime Anointing is Upon Us

Song of Solomon 2:11

For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

Just as the earth goes through seasons, so do we.  Remarkably, our supernatural seasons tend to coincide with the natural seasons.  As we respond to the gloominess of the dark winter days, we tend to become inactive like the flowers and the trees.  As the spring arrives, we tend to become more lively. We enjoy a sense of calmness and peace accompanied by a sense of expectation.  We look forward to a fruitfulness in our works.

We should be alert in the spring of the year to seek the new things that God is trying to release into our lives.  If we are growing in Christ, we will always be taken to higher levels in service, praise, worship and fellowship with Our Savior.  May we turn away from the darkness of the winter past and turn toward the light of Jesus Christ.  May we look for the arrival of the harvest around us as the cold, hard ground of winter becomes the fertile, soft soil of the spring.

Let us dust off any complacency that has arisen in our winter time.  Let us shake off the things that have us stuck in one place.  Let us claim the breakthrough anointing that Our Father has prepared for us as we draw nearer to Our Savior who is anxious to release new fruit in our lives.  Let us rejoice in knowing that the One who releases us into our new springtime anointing for fruitfulness and intimacy is the same One who promises never to forsake us during our journey into the new season.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the seasons in our lives.  We thank You for taking us through the dark of the winter so we can see You more clearly in the light of the spring.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will inspire us to seek the newness and boldness in Christ that You have planned to release in us this spring.  We pray that You will use us to harvest the souls of the men and women surrounding us as You prepare their hearts to be fertile grounds for Your Good News.  May new fruit come from our growth as Jesus' disciples this year.  We ask all these things in the name of the eternal spring, Jesus Christ.

Careful: Fruit Filled Service Can Be Intoxicating

Luke 10:20

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, they all came back with stories of victory against the enemy. Jesus had to forewarn them not to be overcome by their success.

When following the Lord's calling on our lives, the blessing and power of Jesus Christ will be ours to use to overcome the enemy in our lives and the lives of those that we serve. We must be alert to the fact that victory over the enemy and any type of fruitful service for the kingdom of God can be quite intoxicating.  We must be careful not to call our victories our own for all the glory is for Our Savior. If our pride allows us to claim the glory, our fall is certain.

Further, we must not let ourselves take a commercial view of the things that we do for Jesus.  That is, we cannot measure ourselves by the results of our work.  Our work for the Lord is not about success.  It is about the deepening relationship that we are forming with Him as His disciples. It is about the deepening relationship that we are forming with the Father.  It is about our preparation to join Our Savior in His heavenly kingdom. As we rightly relate to our success in serving God, we shall become more useful in our service for Him.

Let us grab hold of the power given to us by Our Savior to overcome the enemy who attacks us and our loved ones.  Let us give all the glory to the One who made the power available to us, Jesus Christ.  Let us rejoice in knowing that our eternal resting places in heaven have been secured for us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the power and blessings that You release in our lives through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus.  We ask You, Lord Jesus, to show us how to become Your true disciples.  We ask You to give us the power to overcome the enemy in our lives and in the lives of those to whom we bring the salvation message.   We ask that You open the eyes of those around us that they may see and seek Your Spirit that lives within us.  May we all be prepared for the time that we stand before You to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  We ask all these things in the name of the One whose kingdom and power and glory are forever, Jesus Christ.

We Have a Co-Laborer in Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 3:9

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

The first day on any job is generally very exciting and also somewhat stressful.  Immediately, we are naturally concerned about the results that we are going to be able to produce in our new job.  Consider how liberating it would be if the first thing our new boss told us was, "Just follow my instruction and do not worry about the results. I will be responsible for the results. You will be richly rewarded for following my instruction no matter what happens."

If the boss we choose to serve is Our Father in heaven, then we have found the liberating boss that we have always longed for.  More importantly, this is where God wants us.  He wants us to serve Him without any concern about the outcome other than to have the faith that He will fulfill what He asks us to do for Him.  He simply wants us to be instruments of His work, living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness.

It may be entirely possible that we are taking on work for which no man is sufficient.  Yet in submission to the Father, we are only asked to be diligent and faithful in carrying out our calling.  We are certain to find that we have a co-laborer in Christ. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, will look over us, direct us and strengthen us as we do our part in bringing in His harvest.

Let us humbly sit at the feet of Our Master, Jesus Christ.  Let us join Him in the work that He does for His Father in heaven.  Let us rejoice in the service that we are called to do.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to join You in Your work.  We rejoice in knowing that You receive great honor and glory when Your children surrender to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in their lives. Open our eyes so that we may see what You are calling us to do in Your kingdom. Release in us all the power and authority that is ours through Jesus Christ.  Shield us from taking on destructive personal pride as we see success when doing Your work.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who saved us and called us to join Him in serving His Father in heaven, Jesus Christ.

The Origin, Provision and Application of All Blessings

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

In this passage we are given the summation of all of our blessings.  God the Father is the author and giver of all blessings.  Jesus Christ is the medium that God the Father uses to dispense His blessings.  The sphere of coverage is every single blessing in heavenly places.

The fullness of everything that we need and the fullness of everything that will satisfy us originates with God the Father.  Every iota of these blessings is held in the hands of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. And His Holy Spirit dwells in us as the dispensing fount that we may draw on at any time.

Why should we ever look elsewhere?  Man can never be counted on to stand by us through all circumstances.  At some point, all men will fail one another.  The Lord, Jesus, never fails us.  He is with us even under the direst circumstances, even the ones that we have created ourselves.

Let us surrender ourselves to the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us prepare to receive all that He can bestow, all that His Son can provide and all that the Holy Spirit can apply in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You provide to us through Your Son.  We pray that You show us how to turn to Jesus first in all things.  Strengthen us, Lord, so that we may leave behind our reliance on a fallen world.  Prepare us, Father, to stand before You one day and receive the fullness of Your kingdom in heaven.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Mediator, Jesus Christ.

Magnificent Gifts of Grace and Anointing Await

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.

In Complete Obedience to God's Calling

Matthew 16:21

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Jesus fulfilled everything that He was called to do.  Even though He was tested beyond human imagination, He never faltered once in His obedience to the plans of God for His life.  Through the process, it was a blessing to us all that Jesus did not listen to the voice of others around Him.  Peter specifically rebuked Jesus for proclaiming such a tragic ending to His life. Jesus let Peter know that he spoke Satan's language when he suggested that Jesus step away from His mission.

It is very easy to say, "I give up.  I cannot do it."  This is especially true when we allow others in our lives to suggest that the values of man should be given more weight than the callings of God upon our lives.  In essence, if what we are pursuing is of God, then giving up is denying the promises of God Himself.

Jesus overcame all of His trials because He was one with the Father and He trusted in the promises of the Father.  And indeed, He did rise on the third day, fulfilling all of God's promises for mankind. In the same way, we are to be anxious in nothing for God promises to take care of our every need and He promises to finish anything that He has called us to do.  Our victories are in fact complete before we are even aware of our calling to their pursuit.  

Let us stand firmly on the promises of God Almighty.  Just as Jesus did, let us surrender in complete obedience to God's calling on our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son to be the guarantor of Your promise of eternal life available to each of us.  We exalt the name of Jesus for His complete obedience to His calling as Our Savior. We pray for the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we may be obedient to the completed purpose and plans that You have set aside for our lives.  May we stand firmly on Your promises.  We ask these things in the name of the One who secured our victories on the Cross, Jesus Christ.

Let Us Expect to be Surprised by Him

Exodus 3:4

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Moses was going about his normal business of shepherding the flock when he came upon the burning bush. He could not see anyone who might have started the fire.  Moses could have run away in fear or he could have simply walked away thinking that this is no concern of mine.  Instead, Moses approached the bush to discover more of this mystery unfolding before him.  He heard a voice but there was no human there speaking it.  But it was unmistakeable to Moses, He was being addressed by someone who knew him and knew His name.  When the Lord saw that He had Moses' attention, He called out to him and Moses responded, "Here I am."

As noted, the first appearance of God to Moses was while he was tending his sheep.  This seems poor employment for someone who was raised as a prince in the Pharaoh's court. Yet Moses was well satisfied and God was pleased with him.  God was pleased with Moses because he was learning the meekness and contentment that he would need in the calling that was awaiting him.  He was also pleased with Moses because Moses was seeking God in his life.

Moses is a great model for each of us.  He looked for God in his daily life and, more importantly, Moses was ready to hear and act upon whatever the Lord asked him to do.  So it should be with us.  

Let us look for God at all times.  Let us expect to be surprised by Him showing up in the smallest details of our everyday lives.  Let us be ready to respond to His calling.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for always being present with us.  We exalt Your Name for being our ever present God.  We pray that You will open our eyes so that we can see You in every detail of our lives, from the grandest places and moments to the lowliest of places and moments.  May Your Holy Spirit prepare us to be alert to see Your presence and to hear Your calling. May we always be eager to be instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  We ask all these things in the name of our ever present Lord, Jesus Christ.

There is No Tolerance in the Line of Truth

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.

Loving God with Our Whole Heart, Soul and Mind

Matthew 22:37

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

To love God with all of our heart, soul and mind requires that all of our physical strength and all of our intellect and understanding be fully engaged in turning all of our affections toward our heavenly Father.  May we always be mindful that God provided His Son to die for our sins because we can not measure up to this command from Almighty God.  We simply do not have the capacity, except through Christ in us, to love God to the extent that our love consumes our whole heart, soul and mind.

We should also be mindful that God is completely aware of our weakness.  He provides His Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us along our path of sanctification.  The Holy Spirit will not rest when we depart from making God the love above all loves in our lives.  The Holy Spirit will not accept us living with one foot in God's kingdom and one foot in the world.  It is all or nothing with the Holy Spirit.  The good news is that the Holy Spirit's job is to follow through on God's promise to perfect His strength in our weakness.

Let us, who have no virtue or value without the work of salvation in our lives, allow ourselves to be overtaken by the overwhelming love of Christ in our lives.  Let us become vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness.

Let us, who fall far short of loving Our Lord with all of our hearts, all of our souls and all of our minds, surrender to the urgings of the Holy Spirit.  Let us be consumed by His pentecostal fire.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the mercy and the endless grace that You provide to each of us.  We bless the name of Jesus who allows us to fulfill the law that we cannot fulfill on our own.  Help us, Lord, to be keenly aware of the urgings of the Holy Spirit. Help us to humbly accept the corrections that the Holy Spirit is asking us to make in our lives.  We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will take us to the high places that can only be reached when our hearts are fully consumed by Your love.  We ask all these things in the name of the Exalted One, Jesus Christ.

When the Cup is Bitter

Matthew 26:39

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus fully accepted His assignment of death on the Cross.  He knew that His sacrifice was necessary for the salvation of all men. He knew that His death on the Cross was the reason He was sent to earth.  The thing that overwhelmed Jesus was the impending separation from the Father when He would take on the sins of all men.  Yet Jesus was fully obedient to the will of the Father for the good of all mankind.  And He was received in all His glory by the Father.

According to this example of Christ, we must drink of the most bitter cup which God puts into our hands. Even though our flesh will seek immediate relief from all trial in our lives, we must recognize and accept the will of Our Father as we go through our trials.  For, as God allowed the unspeakable trial of the Cross for the benefit of all mankind, He allows each of us to go through our trials for our ultimate eternal gain.  Through our faithful obedience, one day we will be standing sinless before Almighty God and we will be received into glory by Him.

Let us face each cup of bitterness in our lives with hope and confidence in the promises of the Cross. Let us rejoice that Almighty God loves us so much that He works every detail in our lives for our eternal good. Let us exalt the name of Jesus for accepting His cup of bitterness so that we may have victory over every trial in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You allow the trials in our lives that prepare us to be received by You.  May You provide the grace we need for our spiritual maturation so that we are able to take our cup of bitterness and rejoice in our submission to Your will and plan for our lives.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us and strengthen us so that we may overcome the weakness of our flesh.  We surrender to Our Savior and ask that we live in the fullness that He has made available to us through His sacrifice on the Cross.  We ask all these things in the name of the Word made flesh on our eternal behalf, Jesus Christ.

The Final Hours That Told the Salvation Story

Mark 15:33-38

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ... And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

The story at the Cross, as written in this sequence of verses provided by Mark, paints a perfect picture of the salvation message.  The supernatural darkness that came over the entire world in the middle of the day represents our personal sin and the sin that engulfs all of mankind. 

Jesus' crying out to the Father "why have you forsaken me?" was sure confirmation of what had been prophesied in the old testament in Psalm 22.  The combination of these fearful words and the darkness that ensued illustrates Jesus being separated from the Father, who cannot have sin in His presence. Perhaps poetically speaking, the sun withdrew its rays because the Father could not bear to watch what was being done to His Son.

And then, the tearing away of the veil reveals that the death of Christ opened up heaven to all of us. The veil of the old covenant had represented the separation of God from the people, except through the intercession of the assigned high priests.  Instantly and gloriously, the new covenant of salvation was opened up to all mankind with Jesus Christ as our perpetual High Priest before the Father.  A heaven that had been closed to all was laid open to all for all eternity.

Let us repent of the darkness in our lives so that we may live in the light of the Resurrected King. Let us take up our crosses and move forward boldly.  Let us surrender to the Light in our lives so that we may reveal the covenant of salvation to those who surround us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for establishing the blessed hope and assurance of the new covenant through Your Son, Jesus.  May the eyes of the world be opened to see the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son.  May the hearts of the world be prepared to receive Your Son as their Savior.  May the hearts of the world be molded so that they may surrender to Your Son as their Lord, Master, and King.  May it all be for Your honor and glory, for the honor and glory of Your Son, Jesus, and for the honor and glory of the Holy Spirit. Father, we pray that You will allow our lives to be living testimony to this glorious message.  We ask these things in the name of the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus Christ.

Receiving All That the Holy Spirit Has Prepared for Us

John 16:12

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

Almighty God has created each of us to fulfill a unique need in His kingdom.  His plan for our lives is much, much bigger than anything that we have ever imagined.   We are just not ready to take it all in. Our flesh simply gets in the way with what the Holy Spirit has to teach us.  And of course, for many of us, we dig our own holes which makes the process even harder. Nonetheless, for those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, His spirit will provide our strength where we are weak.

Even the apostles were not ready to receive and understand all the teachings of Jesus.  Without the filling of the Holy Spirit, their flesh simply could not handle what was going to be revealed to them in the spirit.  It was only after Pentecost that the apostles were able to boldly proclaim the full gospel.

What a wonderful transformation when the Holy Spirit opens our minds to receive and understand the things that made no sense to us or had no value for us before.  In the blink of an eye, our blinders are removed. Without even being cognizant of the process, we begin to assimilate truths that had been unavailable to us before. Then, just as suddenly we are able to share them with those who have been prepared to receive them.

Let us prepare our hearts to receive all that the Holy Spirit has for us.  Let us fulfill the plans that Almighty God has created us to fulfill.  Let us become all that God has created us to be.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Wonderful Counselor that You have provided to guide and instruct us.  We humbly ask that You prepare us to receive all that the Holy Spirit has to teach us. May we become willing vessels, ready to take on the fullness of Your living water.  We pray that we will be eager to have the living water pass through us to bring life and enlightenment to those around us.  We ask all these things in the name of the Living Water, Jesus Christ.

Strength When We Would Have None Otherwise

Matthew 11:29

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

In days of old, the yoke was used to pair field animals together.  The yoke enabled the pair to work together more efficiently.  In this passage, Jesus invites us to join Him in His yoke. He then points out that He is gentle and lowly in heart.  Thus, He is telling us that He is a willing servant that welcomes us along side, where He will teach us about His demeanor and bring us rest.  How could we pass on such an offer from our Servant King?  How could we pass on the opportunity to learn from the only man who ever lived in perfection?  How could we pass on being paired side by side in all things with the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ?

And consider this...to make the offer even greater, Jesus places no limits on the time He will allow us to come along side of Him.  Nor does He place any limits on the burdens that He would share with us.  His invitation to be at His side is available 24-7 regardless of the burden we are carrying. He is always along side us to bring us comfort when we are under the greatest level of stress or experiencing pain at the limits of our ability to endure.  Truly He offers us the endless joy that He shares with the Father.  When we surrender to the yoke of Our Lord, the joy of the Lord is our strength when we would have none otherwise. When we take up His yoke, we take on His meekness, His humility, His lowliness and, most of all, His complete subjection to His Father.

Let us free ourselves from being yoked to anything of this earth.  Let us humble ourselves and seek to be yoked to Our Servant King.  Let us join Our Savior in His complete submission to His Father.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing all that we need to get through our troubles.  We rejoice in knowing that we can find joy in the heaviest of burdens when we accept the yoke that is offered by Your Son, Jesus. We pray that You teach us how to be lowly in heart so that we readily accept our place in the yoke. We ask all these things in the name of Our Comforter who rescues those who are crushed in spirit, Jesus Christ.

Becoming Vessels of Living Water

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.

Dealing With Cups of Suffering and Sorrow

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

It is obvious from this verse that we are to have burdens in our lives.  But God in His mercy promises us that He will not give a burden that is larger that the provision that He will grant to overcome the burden.

God gave His own Son a cup of sorrow and suffering that was so intense that Jesus sweat blood as He faced His upcoming crucifixion.  But Jesus did as the verse commands, He cast His burden upon the Father.  Thus He was provided with all He needed to face the Cross and rise from His trial in victory.

No affliction or tribulation is joyous.  They are all troublesome.  Some are much heavier than others.  At times they even seem to gather together or to extend much longer that we would care to bear.  The total of it all adds up to the burden we face.  Our relief is to look to Jesus Christ who bore it all on the Cross and took it away from us.

Let us cast our burdens upon the Lord.  Let us claim the promise of Our Heavenly Father that He will not let His righteous children fail.  Let us rest upon His providence and promise.  Let us rejoice in His faithfulness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your promises that we can lean on as we deal with the cups of sorrow and suffering that we must swallow.   We thank You for using our trials to build our faith in who You are.  We thank You for insuring our victory through Your Son, Jesus.  We thank You for insuring our righteousness through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We pray for Your mercies to be granted us each day as You release fresh supplies of strength and comfort just as we need them to overcome our trials. We ask these things in the name of the One who gave His life for the ransom of many, our all sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

Our Victory Over Death and Sin

Romans 6:5

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

When Jesus chose to accept the will of His Father, He chose to die on the Cross for the sins of all mankind.  Jesus' death did not come quickly.  It was necessary for Jesus to suffer every scourge mark, to suffer every ounce of pain and to suffer the loss of every drop of blood for His sacrifice for mankind to be made complete. 

When we chose to accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we chose to let our old sinful man die.  Just as Jesus' death was not carried out quickly, our old sinful nature will not be completely put to rest in short fashion.  For the old sinful man in us to die completely, we will have to endure trials, tribulations and sufferings of all type that will transform us to be completely in the will of Our Father in heaven.  

With the sacrifice of His human body complete, the Holy Spirit resurrected Jesus' spirit from His body to return in His glorified body to the Father.  When we die in Christ, the same power of His resurrection will lift us from our old lives in the flesh and enable us to stand sinless before the Father in our glorified bodies.  It will not be because we became better people.  It will be because we will have become completely new people in Christ. It will be because we have been united with Him through His resurrection for all eternity.

Let us joyfully claim our victory over death and sin.  Let us exalt the name of Our Resurrected Savior.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for raising Your Son to meet You in heaven after His death on the Cross. Thank You for preparing the way for us to gain our eternal inheritance as Your children through the power of the Resurrection.  Father, release the full power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can surrender completely to our new lives in Christ, leaving behind forever the old man that torments us daily.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Celebrating Our Daily Walk of Sanctification

Romans 6:6

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Our corrupt nature, called the old man, is crucified with Jesus Christ by the grace granted from the Cross.  Accepting the crucified Christ as Our Savior allows us to accept the crucifixion of our old selves.  As Christ submitted totally to the Father, we also submit totally to the Father through the power of the new spirit of Jesus Christ that lives within us.

The power of evil within us was nailed to the Cross by the sacrifice of Our Savior so that the damning power of that evil might be subdued, weakened and put under restraint. But we must recognize that the old man continues to exist in a weakened and dying state, struggling to stay alive within us.   So it is important that we develop an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as our ruling King.  In doing so, we will shut down any place for the old man to rule.  We will see the old man completely destroyed, abolished and done away with.  Our bondage to sin will be done away with forever.

Let us claim our freedom from sin.  Let us take firm hold of our victory over the callings of the old man.  Let us rejoice in knowing that our union with our crucified Savior ensures that one day we will see the complete and total death of our old selves.  Let us celebrate our daily walk of sanctification with the Holy Spirit as our guide.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Precious Lamb, Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for our sins.  We accept our co-crucifixion with Jesus.  We stand before You to ask for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as our old man tries to pull us back into sin.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will urge us to keep our eyes on the Cross and not on the world.  May it all be for the glory of the Precious Lamb.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered so much for us, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.