All In One

Saved by grace. It is a pure gift from our God, who sent Jesus to die in our place. Serving Him in response is a true blessing and a true calling for each of us.  Is He calling you to be His feet as you travel around the world? Is he asking you to be His hands as you share your gift of hospitality? God may be guiding you to be on your knees as an intercessor in prayer for others. Do you have His heart to listen and to encourage others? Are you using your mouth to witness to others with His mighty Word?

     We make up the body of Christ, and each member plays an important role.

All those are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just  as He determines. Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts from one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:11-12

     Our gifts, our passions, our personalities are beautiful and unique. No comparisons necessary. Each part is vital and valuable to Jesus. And we are all made one in Him. What an amazing God! Listen for His voice and follow His lead into the places He has called you to serve. Spread the message of the Gospel of grace to a hurting world. Jesus is the answer.

Lord,

We thank You for Your saving grace, for Your love and care throughout our lives and for using us. What a privilege is it to be Your child, beloved and useful. We don’t know how, but it is all to Your glory.

In Jesus name,

Amen

You Are Wonderfully Made

     We are saved by grace, not by works, but God has plenty for us to do. Yesterday we talked about becoming more aware of Jesus, making Him a part of EVERY part of our lives, not just an hour a week. He has planned the perfect places for which each one of us to serve.

     Each of us has natural abilities, spiritual gifts and diverse personality types. You will find just the right places, people and purposes unique to the way you are made! The spiritual gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and Romans 12. The gifts include everything from administration to hospitality, from encouragement to teaching, from pastoral gifts to writing and building.

     Pray about where God wants you to serve and watch for doors to open and for others to close. You will know with the help of the Holy Spirit. God wants our service to be a true blessing to others and to give us joy and peace as we serve

Lord,

We thank You that each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139) You have chosen each one of us for a time such as this to serve in a particular way in a darkening world. We want our lights to shine; to glorify You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Every Minute Every Day

     The work of Christ is a work from the inside out. As our souls fill with more and more truth, with more and more of His light, with more and more of His wisdom, and more and more of His unconditional love and heavenly blessings, it begins to show on the outside, both in our countenance and in the way we react to the world and our circumstances.

     Trust builds. We know we can trust Him with everything even unto our final moments. We know He can help us with the tough decisions, with the dangerous storms, with the deep grief as well as showering us with many blessings. We can always have a grateful heart, because we have Jesus.

     I’ve come to realize that there is no dividing our “church life,” and our “ordinary life.” All of it is holy. If we know Jesus is within us and alongside of us, before us and behind us, we know everything we do is because of Him. Our lives are now set apart to worship, to follow and to glorify God. That is our purpose.

Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3

Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. Psalm 63:3

I will praise You, Lord my God, with all my heart. I will glorify Your name forever. Psalm 86:12

     Continue to praise Him for being our Savior, for taking care of our lives, for giving us good works to do in His name.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5;16

Father,

Thank You for being a part of every minute of our lives. Please don’t let us forget that You don’t want a Sunday morning relationship, but an ongoing relationship, day by day, minute by minute, that will last forever.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Saved! Now What?

     Now that we are saved for eternal life, can we sit back and relax and do whatever we want, however we want, until we go to heaven? The short answer is, Yep. But Jesus offers more. He offers an amazing life, an abundant life. He offers us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that takes up residence when we first believe.

     You are not saved by works. But you ARE saved FOR good works. God has a plan for His saved believers. For you and me. Each one’s purpose, unique and beautiful. Each person has varied gifts and and each one takes his/her place in the world to make up the full body of Christ. He needs us and He uses us. We started yesterday with saving grace, the free gift of Christ, as seen in verses 8 and 9 in Ephesians 2. Let’s take a look at the next verse today.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

     God has loved you before the foundation of the world. He sees you, once you believe, as His child, forever sealed for heaven.  Now, He desires relationship. He is our Father, our friend, our guide, our teacher and the One to show us what’s next. He left us His holy word in the Bible. It is our plum line for life. When we follow His instruction, He will bless us with the inner workings of the Holy Spirit.

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. John 10:10b

     Not until heaven comes, but right now, the abundant life on earth is offered to us. Let’s find it.

Jesus,

You offer us the full and abundant life right now. Fill us with that deep joy and peace no matter our circumstances, no matter the world around us, no matter what. You are enough.

Amen

Saved By Grace

     Serving others in the name of Jesus is a part of who we are in Christ. Are we defined by “what we do?” Does it matter? Our salvation is a free gift of grace. We cannot do anything to earn our way into heaven. Jesus did it for us. He took the punishment for sin and paid the price with His shed blood. All we can do is receive the gift of grace He offers.

     But then what? We’ll talk about just that this week. First, if you haven’t received Jesus as Savior, why not? God came down to earth for you. He willingly suffered more than any human being as He was separated from His Father for the first time and felt our pain, our humiliation, our diseases, our lost hope and He rose again after His death. He conquered death for you! He loves you! Accept His gift and see what He will do with your life. It just takes faith. Saving faith.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

     No works necessary. Only faith. Believe in Him.

Jesus,

We have no words to thank You for offering Yourself in our place. We take You as Savior through our faith. Your grace gives us what we do not deserve. We praise You today.

Amen

Look Up

Today,, after reading the horrendous signs of the end of the age, we read about our future home. Forever and ever is a long time. Let’s make our short journeys on earth count for our Lord. For more on heaven, see the full chapters of Revelation 21 and 22.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  Revelation 21:1-4

     A new heaven and a new earth. Can you imagine the earth redeemed as well as us? No more tears or crying or mourning or pain? Forever? Hang onto the hope of eternity. Jesus promises us we will be with Him. He is our Savior and He will be the lamp of heaven. Forever.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14;3

     Someday soon, we will be with Jesus and He is preparing a place for me and for you! It will be made perfectly and give us just what we need.

Father,

Thank You for hope in a dark world. Your light exposes darkness and the world does not want to hear. We pray the Gospel of grace will be believed by many and we can dwell with You forever.

In Jesus name,

Amen

    

Look Up!

     Before the worst 7 years of earth’s history the church of Jesus Christ will be raptured to be with Him for the wedding feast of the Lamb. After the 7 years we will return with Him (on horses!) as He finishes His work at the battle of Armageddon and sets up the new heaven and the new earth.

     How wonderful to know we will be protected, just as Noah was from the flood and just as Jesus took Enoch up in the clouds. Here is a verse to bring hope.

After that, we who are still alive and are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

     Encourage one another with these words. Whether we die in our earthly bodies or are caught up with Christ to be with Him forever, we will be in eternity with Him. Talk about encouraging! There is no longer fear in death. Jesus won the battle over death on the cross. He is our victory.

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But, thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:56:57

Jesus,

Death no longer holds us captive. You overcame it for us. Whether we die or are lifted up in the clouds when the trumpet sounds, we will live forever. Thanks be to God!

Amen