Christ’s Replacement

July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 ~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14: 25-26.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

The Lord informed his disciples that he would soon be taken away from them. In his absence, he promised to send them a replacement; a helper; someone to guide and direct them; a spiritual entity that would remind them of all of his teachings. After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven; having reached His eternal position, he sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of every believer (on the day of Pentecost.) The disciples began to speak in foreign languages; they were given the power and authority to forgive sins; to cast out demons; to raise the dead; and to heal the sick. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was, and is, proof that Jesus Christ did reach his destination; the work of the Spirit today confirms that He is still seated at the right hand of God; a place of honor from which He continues to guide and direct His church.
In the early 20th century a bold and daring explorer named Roald Amundsen set out to reach the remote poles of the earth. He succeeded in reaching the South Pole in 1911, and the North Pole in 1926. As the story goes, during his northern journey, he took along a homing pigeon (homing pigeons mate for life; in turn, when separated from their mates they have a unique ability to return to their nests from anywhere in the world. Before leaving for the North Pole, Amundsen, not wanting his wife to worry, promised to release the pigeon when he reached his destination; when the bird arrived at its nest in Norway, his wife was elated. The pigeon was a symbol; a message proclaiming that although the explorer had arrived in a distant land, he was very much alive.
The Holy Spirit is also a symbol; it is a message and a reminder that Jesus Christ still lives. Many have received the message, many have not. Those who have opened their hearts to God’s messenger have acknowledged that Jesus is their Lord and master. That he is a living God; that He currently guides and directs His church through the power of the Holy Spirit. If you have never received His gift, go somewhere quiet, and ask God to provide you with the Spirit of Truth. The Lord never withholds this wonderful thing from those who genuinely ask Him.
“Lord Heavenly Father, we believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son, and that he is seated at Your right hand. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit; guide and direct us; teach us and remind us of Your ways. May we be faithful believers; may we never waiver; may we never grow weary, and may we never turn away from Your truth. May You continue to use us to fulfill Your will in this place, until the time when we will see You, face to face. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of you.

No Half Way

June 25, 2018June 25, 2018 ~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, doesn’t sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build but was not able to finish?’” (Luke 14: 27 – 30.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

Following Jesus Christ isn’t easy; it requires great sacrifice and tremendous discipline. Uncomfortable changes will inevitably follow every genuine profession of faith. Each believer is called to abandon sin and embrace a life of selflessness and service. Those considering the Christian life are urged by Jesus to “sit down first and count the cost.” Drunkenness, fornication, pornography, adultery, lewdness and idolatry must be discarded. Gossip, foul language, dirty humor, and selfishness are crushed beneath the weight of purity, love, mercy, and truth. Sadly, many who begin following the Lord are unable to finish the journey; abandoning God’s call, some eventually return to their old lives.

Interestingly enough, the longest Bridge in the world is the Danyang—Kunshan Grand Bridge in mainland China. This modern marvel took four years to build and cost approximately 8.5 billion dollars. As it snakes over rice patties, lowlands, and rivers, it measures a whopping 102 miles in length. Bridges are amazing feats of engineering; and yet despite coming in a variety of different shapes and sizes, they all serve one common purpose; they connect two portions of land divided by an obstacle. Although most of these structures are quite useful, an unfinished bridge is of no value whatsoever. Ninety percent of a bridge is as useful as ten percent of a bridge. In order to be valuable the structure must be complete. Much like a bridge, the life of every believer is utterly useless unless it has been completed. Throughout the centuries there have been many genuine disciples who died knowing that they had kept the faith until the very end. Sadly, many other devotees were unable to complete the journey.

In proverbs Chapter 20, verse 25, we read, “It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, and afterward to reconsider his vows.” If you have never made a commitment to following Jesus Christ, then you must not do so rashly. You must first consider fully what God is asking from you. He is asking you to lay down your sins and embrace a life of purity; you must also devote your entire existence to serving and loving others. For those who commit themselves to the Lord, the road is not easy. There are no points for half-way. Once the journey has begun, it must be finished.

“Lord Heavenly Father, some of us have already begun our journey with You. We’ve laid down our worldly ways and embraced purity and love. May we continue moving forward and may we never falter. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit; empower us to complete what we have started, that we may one day enter Your kingdom with great joy. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of you.

Judging Others

June 18, 2018 ~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye” (Mathew 7: 1-3.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

Of all the sins we can possibly commit, hypocrisy is one of the most offensive; Jesus embraced repenting murderers, rapists, and prostitutes; yet he openly loathed unrepentant religious hypocrites. Hypocrisy occurs when someone judges or evaluates another based upon standards they themselves are incapable of achieving. Practicing hypocrisy is dangerous, because God judges his followers based upon the same principles they use to judge others. If we outwardly condemn thievery, yet secretly steal, we are condemning ourselves. Jesus warned his disciples that such unrighteous judgments would serve only to separate us from God. Before we judge anyone, we must make certain that we have been victorious over the sins that have caused others to fall.

Surprisingly, the first attempted extermination of the Jewish people did not occur inside the boundaries of 20^th century Nazi Germany. Nor was Adolf Hitler the first man to attempt such a hideous undertaking. In fact, nearly 2400 years earlier a man named Haman made efforts to execute every Jew living within the Persian Empire. He hated the Hebrews and believed they were troublemakers who deserved to die. Haman was a high ranking official in the court of Artaxerxes the 2^nd (King of the Persia.) He convinced the King to exterminate the Jews; which would have included Haman’s mortal Hebrew enemy, Mordecai (another high ranking official who showed disdain for Haman.) Mordecai had graciously adopted his orphan cousin Esther, who grew in to one of the most beautiful women in all of Persia; the king became enamored with Esther and married her, not knowing that she was a Jew. As the day approached for the extermination, Haman joyfully built a scaffold fifty feet tall near his home, from which he planned to hang Mordicai. Just before the mass murder was to be carried out, Esther came forward and revealed to the king that she was in fact a Jew. She begged him to end the genocidal plan. The king compassionately agreed and her people were spared. The king was also made aware of Haman’s treachery. In a cruel twist of fate, the king ordered Haman to be hung from the very gallows he himself had constructed to kill Mordicai. The judgment he had so eagerly reserved for others, had been visited upon him and his entire household.

Many, like Haman build scaffolds to hang others from. Such people are often hypocrites who incur the wrath of God; they are condemned by the very judgments they use to condemn others. We must examine ourselves daily; and we must ask God to search our hearts and minds; if we find that the sins of others produce in us anger and resentment, then we must ask the question, “Am I guilty of any similar sins?” If the answer is yes, then we need to change; we need to abandon hypocrisy and embrace a right relationship with God.

“Lord Heavenly Father, we recognize that we are unworthy servants; that we are sinners who do not deserve Your forgiveness; yet we thank You that we have received it. Search our hearts; if You find hypocrisy, please reveal it to us; correct us if we have been judging others unjustly. Take away our sinful resentments, that we may more effectively reach those who are lost; and please continue to fill our hearts with gratitude, sincerity, and humility. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of you.