Remember His Words

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” And they remembered His words. (Luke 24:5-8)

 

There is nothing more important for us to believe than Jesus died and rose victoriously from the grave. That fact is the most important truth of all because it transcends history and opens the door to eternal life for those who believe. If we keep this in mind, we will stay focused on Jesus, overcome every enemy, and thrive even in trying times. Our faith will not fail in the crucial hour, because it is based on the glorious truth that Jesus is alive, and now He lives in us!

 

And they remembered His words.

 

We must make a determined practice of calling to mind the words of our Lord. The difference between heaven or hell coming to bear in our lives are the words that come to mind when we are tested. Encouragement or discouragement? Light and life, or darkness and death? Earthly wisdom or godly counsel? The choice is ours.

 

Are we developing the disciplines of the Spirit by prayer, worship, and meditating on the Scriptures? Be sure to take the Lord's instructions to heart and to receive and believe His words. Let God’s words be the words you remember, and the words you obey.

 

Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You. (Psalms 119:11)

 

Let's Pray - Lord, may we remember Your words in the crucial hour. Whenever we are perplexed, may we harken back to Your words. We look only to You. Amen.

Wait for Him

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;" (Acts 1:4)

The Lord instructed His disciples to wait. Wait for what? Wait for who? They were to wait for the Holy Spirit, who would come upon them and take up residence in them. The Kingdom they were to receive would not manifest around them, but in their hearts and minds. Only then would they be fit to be witnesses to Him, to make up His Church, and to show the world His glory. They could not earn or purchase this Kingdom. They could not discover or invent it. They simply had to wait for it and wait they did! We, too, must wait. 

Many have gone out into ministry without waiting, only to find that they do not have the "stuff" it takes to endure and complete the work. That is because no man or woman is sufficient for the task apart from the commission and power of the Holy Spirit. Oh, we can do church, preach, meet, and perform all the duties and tasks one might expect of a minister or a church; and there is more than enough dead religion in the world to prove that point.

 

If the Lord is going to work through us, we must first wait, receive the Holy Spirit, and then go forward in His strength. Jesus will give us the power to do what He commands, and that power is ours in the Spirit, and in Him alone. We may not like to wait, and we may not want to wait, but woe to us if we do not wait. 

 

Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! (Psalms 27:14)

Let's Pray - Lord, may I not move until I am filled and sent by Your Holy Spirit. Then I will be a witness to Your glory and grace. Thank you for every opportunity to bless Your name. Amen.

Rejoice in This

"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20)

 

It is unwise to want great things on this earth, especially great  “Christian" works. Jesus was not concerned or impressed with any of those things, and He did not want His disciples to be either. They were to be focused on their relationship to the Father, just as Jesus was. The greatest thing a saint can do is to be found in Christ. Life in Christ is the paramount thing, so let us rejoice in Him and Him alone!

 

God's love is not like ours; it is not based on emotion or affinity, but it is holy, and that is a different kind of love altogether. His love is righteous and pure, and it is perfectly and exclusively expressed in Jesus. Any understanding of love not founded in Jesus is counterfeit and illegitimate, for Jesus is God, and God is love. The Father loves all that pertains to His Son, and nothing else, and we make a grave mistake to think He loves anyone or anything apart from Jesus.

 

For those of us who love the Lord, our names are written in heaven, and in blood — the precious Blood of the Lamb. That is why we rejoice in Him alone, and we will continuously do so until He returns.

 

Let's Pray - Precious King, it is a joy to be found in You, to be led by You, and to glorify You. That is why I live, and that is why I rejoice. In Jesus, Amen.

A Heavenly Kingdom

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

The disciples still did not get it. Even after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, they were still clueless about the kingdom of God, and it showed by the question they asked. They did not yet understand that the kingdom they would inherit is not of this world, but a heavenly kingdom. Even today, many Christians are trying to set up heaven's rule on earth through their activities, strivings, and religion; but the Lord desires to place His Kingdom in our hearts, if we will receive it. That is where He looks to rule. Does He rule in your heart?

 

Those who are close to Jesus are prepared spiritually for the challenges and opportunities before them, and they faithfully and patiently carry out the will of God on the earth. It is not for us to know times and seasons, but to know our God, and His abiding presence gives us the power to walk wisely in the world. 

 

That is what it means to be His witnesses, and our lives are the undeniable proof that His Word is true. Yes, the King is alive, the Kingdom is restored, and it has taken up residence in us. Long live the King!

 

Let's Pray - Father, give me eyes to see and ears to hear heavenly things. Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.

A Better Plan

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7)

There were things that Jesus' disciples could not do while He was with them. Had Jesus remained on the earth, the Holy Spirit would never have come to abide with them and dwell in their hearts. They would not have received the power and ministry of the living Christ, and they would have never taken their eyes off Him to see the needy souls all around them.

 

Still, it did not seem right to them that Jesus would leave. After all, He promised never to leave or forsake them, and He always keeps His promises — yet He was going away. They did not realize He was preparing their hearts to be the temple He would dwell in by His Spirit. He would come again; this time to dwell within and remain forever.

 

Sometimes it seems we have been left in this mean and cruel world to fend for ourselves, but that is not true. Jesus has gone to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit, and now He is present throughout the world in our hearts and His church. While He was on earth, His presence limited to His physical body — but through us, Jesus is everywhere, and the Gospel is preached everywhere we go.

 

Today, Jesus sits at the right hand of God; and yet, He is alive and well on earth — that is, in us who have His Spirit. That is the advantage Christ spoke of when He said it was best that He went away, so that He could send His Spirit, who will never go away.

 

If He abides in our hearts, His love abounds through us, and there is hope for this dark and desperate world. That is the Good News, and that is God's plan. His plan is a good plan. 

 

Let's Pray - Father, thank You for the gift of that Holy Spirit, who is given to me as a guarantee of all You promised me -- life everlasting. In Jesus alone, Amen.

Begotten of Him

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. (1 John 5:1)

Believing God's Word is the most important thing we will ever do. Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and the faithful saint is filled with the joy and Spirit of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we will overcome the world, all its temptations and lusts, and all preoccupation with that which is perishing, because we are settled and focused on our new life Jesus. Faith points us upward and forward, and God gives us the power to live victoriously, to love our brothers and sisters, and to rejoice in His goodness.

 

Jesus is the only obsession a saint can afford to have. We must not be overtaken by a passion for ministry or souls, and we must be careful lest we are overwhelmed by the desperate plight and needs of men. Remember, "The poor you have with you always . . ." 

 

Our faces must be set like flint toward the Savior, and we must refuse to get lost in the futility of the world around us. Remember, Jesus has not only set us free from sin, but from the pervasive powers of darkness that exercise sway in the world system of things. Ours is a new and better world, and a new and better focus; that is, the Kingdom of God which has come and lives within us. We are the ones "born of God," who set our minds on things above, not things below. We are the ones who believe.

 

Let's Pray - Dear Father, I believe! Help me to believe even more. I want all the benefits of trusting in Christ. Amen.

Your Own Affections

You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. (2 Corinthians 6:12)

In other words, you cannot go any farther with God until you lay your life down. This is where formal Christianity goes to die. Instead of dying to ourselves and learning to see things as our Father sees them, we cling to our selfish, religious views of God and miss the relationship available to us when we humbly surrender to Him. If we hold on to our preferences and prejudices, we limit what the Lord can do in us. Help us, Father.

 

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

 

The Christian life is one of freedom and creativity. The Holy Spirit will show us things we never imagined unless we limit Him with our own knowledge and agenda. Any day might be the day the Lord teaches you a valuable truth that changes everything. But if we cling to the old, the new thing is lost to us.

 

There is always much more to know than we know, much more to see than we have seen, and much more to be than we have been. So, the Spirit desires to bring us to a place of unbroken fellowship and deeper understanding; a place where we are unrestricted. That is what it truly means to be free. 

Let's Pray - Dear Lord, thank You for the freedom to say, "No," to myself. I want to love what You love, see what You see, and agree with You at every turn. Thank You and Amen.