I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… they will not sweep Over you….you are precious and honoured In my sight … I love you. ISAIAH 43;1 – 4 NIV How I need this promise, Lord …. I will take It with me all through the day. And I thank you for the dear comfort of you love and care. December 7, 2014 Johnny’s Race By Dave Branon Read: Hebrews 10:19-25 Comfort each other and edify one another. —1 Thessalonians 5:11 Bible in a Year: Daniel 5-7; 2 John When 19-year-old Johnny Agar finished the 5k race, he had a lot of people behind him—family members and friends who were celebrating his accomplishment. Johnny has cerebral palsy, which makes physical activity difficult. But he and his dad, Jeff, have teamed up to compete in many races—Dad pushing and Johnny riding. But one day, Johnny wanted to finish by himself. Halfway through the race, his dad took him out of his cart, helped him to his walker, and assisted Johnny as he completed the race on his own two feet. That led to a major celebration as friends and family cheered his accomplishment. “It made it easier for me to do it with them behind me,” Johnny told a reporter. “The encouragement is what drove me.” Isn’t that what Christ-followers are meant to do? Hebrews 10:24 reminds us, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (NIV). As we model the love of our Savior (John 13:34-35), imagine the difference it could make if we all set out to encourage each other—if we always knew that behind us we had a group of friends cheering us on. If we took the words “comfort each other and edify one another” (1 Thess. 5:11) seriously, the race would be easier for all of us. Help us, Lord, not to think that we can go through life without others. Cure us of our independent spirit. Use us to bless others and humble us to accept encouragement. A word of encouragement can make the difference between giving up or going on. Insight The “Holiest” (Heb. 10:19) was a reference to the Holy of Holies in ancient Israel’s tabernacle and temple. It was viewed as the dwelling place of God among His people and could only be entered once a year, and then only by the high priest. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would take the blood of the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies to atone for the people’s sins for another year. However, the work of our High Priest, Jesus, is so complete that we now have the freedom to enter into God’s presence at any time. In fact, we can enter boldly because as a result of Christ’s sacrifice we are welcomed into the Father’s presence. This intimate relationship we have with our Father causes us to want to share His grace with others. Bob Hoekstra :: Day By Day By Grace :: December 7th Grace for Serving the Lord Acceptably Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (Hebrews 12:28) We who follow Jesus dwell in a unique kingdom, the kingdom of God. For our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). In order to serve the Lord acceptably, we must learn to serve in a unique, heavenly manner-by grace. We all began in a different kingdom than the Lords. We were under the powerful influence of spiritual darkness. We existed in a realm devoid of true love. Then, our great God rescued us, bringing us into a kingdom of light and love: giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:12-13). Furthermore, in that former kingdom, we were easily threatened by every manner of instability. Our lives were built upon the sand of philosophical speculations and human inadequacies. Now we are in a kingdom which cannot be shaken. We entered this kingdom by the rock solid provision of grace, and we stand in this same grace today: justified freely by His grace…we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand (Rom 3:24; 5:2). When circumstances change, we need not be shaken. Our King and His grace are constantly available and always sufficient. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). When we received the King as our Lord and Savior (see John 1:12), the full resources of His kingdom became our portion forever. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Yet, in a profound sense, we are still receiving His kingdom. We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken. This process of receiving involves the daily appropriation of His kingdom provisions, by faith. The provision of grace is especially strategic, since this is how we serve God acceptably. Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably. We are called to serve our King. We cannot serve Him by merely attempting to do the best we can. That would be law performance, energized by the flesh. We need to have grace as our empowering resource, just as the early church had. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:33). Desiring to minister by grace allows our service to flow forth acceptably as worship unto the Lord: with reverence and godly fear. Lord Jesus, my King, I praise You for bringing me into Your unshakable kingdom. I want to serve You acceptably—having my service arise to You from a worshiping heart. So, I humbly look to You to fill my life with Your grace, in Your name, Amen. ________________________________________ Repentance December 7, 2014 Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… —2 Corinthians 7:10 Conviction of sin is best described in the words: My sins, my sins, my Savior, How sad on Thee they fall. Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust. The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 04:01:54 +0000
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