Preparing to Receive That Which We Cannot Bear

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.

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 these things in the name of the Living Water, Jesus Christ.

Google or God?

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

How many times have you asked someone if they knew the answer to something and got the following response.  "I don't know.  Just google it."

We are amazed at what we can find and delighted in how the googling process often yields the exact information that we are looking for.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this process, if used appropriately.  It provides us with knowledge that we do not have...fast.

As amazing and effective as googling can be, there is a much faster source of knowledge that is instantly available to us without the aid of any man-made device.  Our Heavenly Father teaches us that all we have to do is ask and He will give us wisdom.  

Google can provide knowledge, but does not provide wisdom.  Wisdom is far superior to knowledge alone.  Wisdom provides insight into how we should use the knowledge that we have accumulated.  Wisdom from God deepens our insight into how we should apply our skills and our knowledge in ways that are pleasing to Him.

Google will always provide an answer to the question that we asked.  The answers are predetermined by the search engine programming.  God will not always answer the question we asked.  Omnisciently, He will answer the question that we should have asked.  He will uniquely tailor His response to our real needs and to His will and plan for our lives. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have inspired and equipped others to provide us with knowledge to help us through our daily activities.  We come to You to seek wisdom, so that we may use our knowledge in ways that are pleasing to You and in ways that are used to bear fruit for Your kingdom and bring honor and glory to Your name.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to always turn to You first when we are seeking answers.  May the world know us and be drawn to Your Son through the wisdom that You provide.  We ask these things in the the name of Our Wonderful Counselor, Jesus Christ.

Shall We Flourish or Shall We Perish?

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, 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 not.  The wages of our 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. 

May we become vessels of the life of Christ within us.   May we 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.  Indeed, may we submit and surrender to the abundant life that dwells within us and then seek out the dead wood around us in order to present the offer of eternal life to them.

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.

Shutting Down the Rule of the Old Man

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.

Rejoice!!  We shall be victorious against the callings of the old man.  Our union with our crucified Savior insures it.

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, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Accepting the Cup of Bitterness

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.

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.

We Will Never Have to Stand Alone

John 16:32

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

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

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

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

Prayer

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

The Essence of God's Love in Our Lives

1 John 4:16

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

God is love.  His love is unconditional and without end.  His love for us is expressed explicitly through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.  His love for us is reinforced daily by the counsel of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Through His love, Almighty God gives us an unfailing hope for our future.  Let us not lose sight of the truth that our hope for our future is so much more than how we feel about our future or what the world tells us about our future.  Our hope rests upon a very special love gift from God.  Our hope is built upon the Good News of God for the world that He loves us so much that He gave us His Son so that we may have eternal life.

Through His love, Almighty God also gives us His Holy Spirit to stand by us, to give us the strength to bear all things that come against us and the spiritual maturity to endure all the tribulations that make up life on this earth.  His grace is poured out on us in this manner so that we may overcome the world.

Most importantly, Almighty God created a spot in our hearts so that we could receive His love and return it to Him.  He gave us the capacity to share His love with the world around us.  He gave us the Holy Spirit so that our love could be an endless spring.  When we are living in accordance with the Holy Spirit within us, we are capable of extraordinary service to those around us.  By returning our love to the Father through our service to those around us, we become living testimonies of His perfect love.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us unconditionally.  We thank You that Your love flows to us endlessly.  Prepare our hearts, Lord, so that we may become vessels of Your perfect love.  Cleanse us, Lord, of anything in our hearts that would restrict the flow of Your love in our lives.  May we bear much fruit for Your kingdom through the spontaneous release of Your love to the world around us.  We pray, Father, that the world will be drawn to Your Son when they see Your love at work in us.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who delights in our steadfast love, Jesus Christ.