Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Are You Expecting? - Part 1
1 John 2:28 says, "And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may
have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."
Abiding in Christ is one of the Apostle
John's favorite themes. It comes from the little Greek Word "meno" which means "to abide, remain,
continue". John uses it frequently in his epistles and also in his Gospel. He speaks of abiding in the Word,
abiding in the truth, and abiding in the anointing. Most importantly, he speaks of abiding in Jesus Himself. (Compare
John 15:1-12).
To abide in Christ means to intentionally and continually remain in His presence. It
means to stay in intimately close fellowship with Him and His Word.
Did you ever have a dog that wouldn't stay
when you told him to stay? You turn your back one minute and when you turn around again, the dog is gone! Too
often we are like that dog. We are supposed to keep our eyes on our Master, and not to drift away, but unfortunately,
we are so easily distracted and are so prone to drifting away from the presence of our Lord.
The Bible promises
that Jesus will return one day; I believe it will be soon, according to Biblical prophecy. God forbid that when Jesus
does return He does not find us in fellowship with Him; He does not find us in His Word, in His place of worship on Sunday,
in His presence! What an embarassing and shameful experience that would be!
How do we have confidence when
Jesus returns - by being who we are supposed to be, by doing what we are supposed to be doing, and by abiding in Him.
When Jesus returns, will you be ready? Are you living a life of expectancy by abiding in His presence?
Think
on these things....
9:59 pm cdt
Monday, September 29, 2008
Love and Integrity - A Worthy Ambition
In Acts 24:16, Paul says, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void
of offense toward God, and toward men."
Paul endeavored to have a clear conscience - both with God, and
with others. What an admirable ambition! Our lives would have a lot less stress and strife, and a lot more peace
and joy, if we would only strive for the same - a clear conscience - before both God and man! To do so sometimes means
to set aside our own pride and selfishness, being willing to be humble, being willing to shoulder some blame, and asking for
forgiveness of others.
Better yet, strive to not get yourself in the position of needing to ask for forgiveness!
In my travels I always tell the pastors whom I am training to always walk in love and integrity
- to be guided by these two principles. If we will show unselfish love toward others, and be men and women of integrity
- living the life we claim to profess - then ours will be a more peaceful and blessed life.
Paul goes on to say
in Romans , "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."
These
are words of wisdom.
Think on these things....
2:37 pm cdt
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Let Your Light Shine - Part 3
Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
In the past two blogs I addressed letting our light
shine, by dying to ourselves, emptying ourselves of our self, so that the Spirit of Jesus Christ can fully and completely
fill us.
We also spoke of allowing the Lord to produce Christlike character
and Christlike conduct in and through us.
I want today to focus on the final part
of the above verse - that our Christlike character and conduct will result in God receiving glory.
Did you
know that it is possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason? Many, even Christians, do the right things but
their motives for doing so are improper. Face it - isn't it true that even you have sometimes done something because
it would make you look good to others?
But if we have truly died to ourselves, so that Christ can truly and fully
live within us, then we will naturally produce the fruit of Christlike character and conduct, with no concern for how it makes
us look - either good or bad. Consequently, GOD will receive the glory - not us!
Think on these
things....
3:24 pm cdt
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Let Your Light Shine - Part 2
Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
Yesterday I wrote that we must empty ourselves of
our self if we are to be completely filled and saturated with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Light that shines
within and then through us.
When this happens, then the internal change within us is going to create an external
change. We will begin to act, think, and speak like Jesus Christ. Remember Galatians 5:22-23 - the "fruit"
of the Spirit? This is Christian character. The Scriptures also speak of the
"gifts" of the Spirit. This is Christian conduct. Neither of these
is possible without the filling of Christ's Spirit within us, and this cannot happen unless we are emptied of self.
Can others see Jesus in you? Do your character and conduct reflect a life that is surrendered
to Jesus Christ?
Let the light of Jesus shine through you today!
Think on these things....
10:47 am cdt
Friday, September 26, 2008
Let Your Light Shine - Part 1
Can you feel it? God is moving in extraordinary ways - globally!
Wherever I travel I encounter those who are experiencing a renewed hunger for more of the presence and power
of God in their lives. People are desiring a deeper fellowship and greater fruitfulness for Christ!
Recently I have been meditating a lot on Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
Do you know that the moon
has no light of its own? It reflects the light of the sun. We can try to shine ourselves, but we will fail.
It is as we empty ourselves in absolute surrender and yieldedness and obedience that the Spirit of Jesus Christ can saturate
our souls with Himself, overflowing onto those around us. True ministry comes from the overflow of the Spirit of God
in our lives. Let Him splash onto those around you!
Let the light of Jesus the Son shine through
you today!
Think on these things....
12:06 pm cdt
