December 7th, 2010 by steve
Day 267
“Have we not all one Father?”
Malachi 2:10a
All people are God’s offspring, even the wicked and unjust. His Fatherhood applies to everyone because we are created in His image. He is the Father of spirits and each person’s spirit will return to Him in the end. Matthew tells us that God makes the sunshine on both the evil and good and He sends the rain on the just and unjust. Our Father is a true Father and in love exercises His Fatherhood over all.
This leads to an interesting revelation: our Father has planted eternity in every person’s heart and mind. There is a divinely implanted sense of eternity that brings a longing for God. We long for the eternal in the universe. However, everyone is born separated from God. Fulfilling that longing with the world and other things will not bring satisfaction. Your purpose is only found in Christ; He is the way, the truth and the life.
Now that you know Christ, you can introduce Him to others as your friend, a friend who can fill that longing in their spirit.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time; He also has planted eternity in men’s heart and mind [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun, but only God, can satisfy], yet so man cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end”
Ecclesiastes 3:11, Amplified
Tags: Friend
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December 6th, 2010 by steve
Day 266
“You have been given fullness in Christ,
Who is the head over every power and authority”
Colossians 2:9-15
You are complete in Him and out of His fullness you receive grace upon grace. You have everything when you have Christ. He is the Source of your blessings, provision, strength and all that you need for this life. And above all, He is a Provider that will never fail.
Christ cancelled and blotted out the charges against you. He took your list of sins and destroyed it on the cross. Then He disarmed the powers and authorities and took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin. The victorious Christ became the head over every power and authority.
Listen, Saint; Jesus is God and He surpasses all created beings. He adopted you as His sons and daughters and as such share in His high position. He has blessed you in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. Your enemy has been defeated. He no longer has any power over you. You are free in Christ. Rise up and praise Him and declare His glories.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated
at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:1-2
Tags: Chosen
Posted in Chosen, Deliverance, Forgiven, Freedom, Life | No Comments »
December 5th, 2010 by steve
Day 265
“. . . the friend of the bridegroom . . .”
John 3:29
John was a friend of the bridegroom. When Jesus began His ministry, John not only turned his disciples over to Jesus, he proclaimed that he must decrease in order for Christ to increase. John was the junction between the old and the new. He was a servant and was here for Christ.
This reflects a picture of the Church and Christ. The Church is the bride of Christ, and as members of the church, we fellowship with Christ. Like John, we are a friend of the Bridegroom and are to introduce Him, inviting others to know Him and join this family.
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and
His wife has made herself ready?”
Revelation 19:7
Tags: Friend
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December 4th, 2010 by steve
Day 264
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man”
Revelation 1:12-13
You may never have considered this before; we still live in a dark age. We are surrounded by darkness. One only has to listen to the news to be aware of the darkness and it seems to be increasing. With the advent of literacy and education, we have entered an age of nihilism. Humanity believes it has escaped the ‘dark age’ because it is now educated and has knowledge.
When God chose to reveal Himself He sent His Son to become man. Light came to the earth for the first time since the fall. Jesus revealed the Father and His divine plan. He bore witness to the Light and was the Light. John says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5). When Jesus completed His mission, He ascended into heaven and the earth continued in darkness.
With Christ’s ascension, He made provision for the Light to be here on the earth. The seven golden lampstands is the church and His children are the light in the world. In the midst of the church stands the resurrected Christ. We bear the light, testimony, and the message of reconciliation to those still in darkness. There is hope.
“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests
to serve His God and Father – to Him be glory
and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
Revelation 1:5b-6
Tags: Hope
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December 3rd, 2010 by steve
Day 263
“Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”
2 Chronicles 20:17
A Transjordan coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites formed as an invading army against their common enemy Judah. Jehoshaphat, King, was warned about the invasion and his immediate response was fear. Considering the frailty of our human nature, it is not uncommon for fear to be a first response to threatening situations. We all succumb to it. But, Jehoshaphat knew that God had sovereign dominion over everything.
“Do not fear” is based on God’s sovereignty. Jehoshaphat did not muster his armies, but set himself to seek the Lord. He declared God’s sovereignty, proclaimed a fast and prayed, professing his entire dependence upon God. He sought refuge in Him. He also recognized that he could not fight the enemy under his own power. He needed to have God’s strength.
Jehoshaphat teaches us a great lesson; do not look at the circumstances, but look at the Lord. The word declares that even if a mother forgot her child, our Father would not forget or abandon us. He is sovereign and has dominion over everything. We are far more secure by abandoning ourselves to God’s care than to rely upon the arm of the flesh.
“Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and
Mount Seir, who had come against Judah;
and they were defeated”
2 Chronicles 20:22
Tags: Protector
Posted in Deliverance, Fear, Provision | No Comments »
December 2nd, 2010 by steve
Day 262
“Taste and see that the Lord is good”
Psalm 34:8
Our Father loves us. He values us above all things for we are the pinnacle of His creation. Even in the face of our rebellion, He pursued us and established a relationship with us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The intensity and cost of His Son’s sacrifice stands as an eternal statement of love. He loved us before we loved Him. He is faithful to us even when we are not. His faithfulness is unchangeable.
What we believe of God sets the basis of how we see Him. Out of this are many misconceptions about God. These perceptions may be crippling in our relationship and destroy an inner freedom. It should not be this way. We need to see God as He really is. He is good, upright and instructs us in our ways. He loves righteousness and justice, and the earth is full of His unfailing love (Psalms 25:8; 33:5). We are surrounded by His unfailing love.
The psalmist declared, “You are good, and what You do is good; teach me your ways.” That should be the cry of our heart. His goodness covers us and makes us right. Are you discouraged, tired, in trouble, need help? Cry out to your Father, “Show me Yourself and Your ways.” He is a refuge in time of trouble. He cares for those who trust Him (Nahum 1:7).
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And being with You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart fail, but God
is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”
Psalm 34:25-26
Tags: Goodness
Posted in Divine Love | No Comments »
December 1st, 2010 by steve
Day 261
“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me,
O God! How great is the sum of them!”
Psalm 139:17
You are continually in the thoughts of our heavenly Father. There is not one moment He does not consider you; so much so that those thoughts are many. That God should think about us is our treasure. He knew us before the foundations of the earth, knows us now and unto eternity with Him.
Proverbs gives us another glimpse of our Father when it reveals He is “delighting in mankind.” He takes pleasure in His people. We are His vineyard and He is interested in everything we do. As a parent delights in His children, so our Father delights in us.
How great is the sum of Your thoughts towards us, O Lord.
“Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” (Psalm 31:19). Yes, it seems impossible that God would continually hold us before Him, but He is our Father. This is our inheritance in Christ.
“How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I cannot even count how many times
a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken
in the morning, you are still thinking of me!”
Psalm 139:17-18
Tags: Father
Posted in Faithfulness, Fatherhood, Fellowship | No Comments »
November 30th, 2010 by steve
Day 260
“And these three men, firmly tied,
fell into the blazing furnace”
Daniel 3:1-30
It is a well-known story: Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego refused to bow before King Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold that he had made. The King also had given an order that anyone not falling down to worship the image would be thrown into a blazing furnace. He was so furious over the three men’s refusal that he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. The three were bound with their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes on and thrown in the furnace by three of the strongest soldiers. The three soldiers were killed when they threw the three men in the furnace because the flames were so hot
Viewing the fierce fire, the King saw four men walking around; unbound and unharmed. He approached the furnace and called them out. The account tells us they were not harmed and “there was no smell of smoke on them.” The King then gave recognition and honor to God, and promoted the three men.
There are many trials and tribulations in life. Note that God intervened only after the flames surrounded them. God did not save them from accusation, sentencing, and being cast into the flames. Christ did not come to Lazarus’ bedside when he was sick. He died and then Christ came and raised him from the dead. In both incidents, there was a greater purpose in the suffering. We seek God’s intervention the minute we enter a crises, but He responds when He responds, which is in His time. In the end, He is there with us and His glory will be seen.
“When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze”
Isaiah 43:2
Tags: Tribulation
Posted in Afflictions, Deliverance, Testing, Tribulation | No Comments »
November 29th, 2010 by steve
Day 259
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness”
2 Corinthians 12:9
Many Christians wonder about besetting sins in their lives. In addition to besetting sins, Christians face character flaws, poor judgement with important issues (getting themselves into bad situations like financial or job loss, hurting relationships, etc.), and other maladies that beset them. They believe that God cannot use them, they are defeated and surely will not see eternal salvation.
There is a power greater than sin and failures. When you consider God’s people, it is very evident that many of them struggled with sin throughout their lives. Moses murdered a man, was a coward, and expressed great anger. David was adulterous, murdered a man, and never invested in his children leading to rebellious and wickedness in some of them. Peter attempted to hinder the Lord and denied Him three times. Martin Luther expressed anger continually, was anti-Semitic, filled with resentment and quit preaching for a while and didn’t want to be pastoring. Recent famous saints in the past hundred plus years suffered from constant depression, had massive business failures, were cold towards their wives, etc. The list is endless.
Francis Fenelon, a French mystic, wrote, “I have found God leaves, even in the most spiritual people, certain weaknesses which seem entirely out of place.” We do not understand this except to know that God has a long history of redeeming our sinful failures and most terrible and botched messes and turning them into opportunities for His kingdom. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
“I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not
be disqualified for the prize”
1 Corinthians 9:27
Tags: Grace
Posted in Failure, Grace, Mercy | No Comments »
November 28th, 2010 by steve
Day 258
“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all”
1 John 1:5
One of the final declarations in Revelation says, “There will be no more night.” The entire character of God is light. His light purifies us from all sin and we have true fellowship with Him when we walk in the light. We also have fellowship with all others that walk in His light.
What is this light? It is the very Word of God reflecting His glory and character to us. His Word gives us guidance and wisdom, instructing us in His ways. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Light shows us how to know Him, how to be in conformity with the very character and heart of God.
There is no darkness in Him. He is pure, righteous and holy. There is no mixture of evil, sin or flesh, as it is with us. His very character is light and in saving us, He has chosen to dwell in us and make us part of Him (2 Peter 1:4). This is the glorious nature of our Father. He loves us and His love is known not only by our salvation but also by His sealing of our inheritance and dwelling with us on our earthly journey. With all this, how can we fail?
“We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. . . God is love”
1 John 4:13, 16a
Tags: Light
Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Light | No Comments »