Q: Do know the “magnitude” of how much Jesus is in love with “YOU”?.
A: We are told to "give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thes 5:18)." Of course we thank Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead to offer us His life. But, do we live a life in thankfulness? Do we thank Him when we sin for the forgiveness we already have or do we ask God to forgive us again? Jesus told us that in this world we would have "tribulation." But, do we thank Him for preparing us for this, and His faithfulness through it, or do we believe we are being punished for our "lack of faith" or some "unconfessed sin" in our lives? We know that from the moment of salvation "we have eternal life" and are already "seated in the heavenlies." But, as we get older do we focus on our diminishing youthfulness and failing bodies or thank Him that each passing day is one day closer to being at home with the Lord? We are told that love of the world is enmity towards God. But, do we thank Him for allowing us to store up treasure in Heaven or do we chase after the treasures of the world? Jesus has done so much FOR YOU, but do you know all He has done? We have an eternal inheritance, everything we need for life and godliness and have been blessed in the heavenlies realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. If you are not experiencing what God has given you through faith in Jesus, you will be forced to chase after it from the world through sin. Be thankful that you still have time to discover for yourself "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph 3:18-19)."
Q: Which one are you?..Sinner saved by grace or a saint?
A: I am a child of God. And as part of my identity in Christ I am a saint. As a saint it means that I have been set apart by God in order for Him to do through me the works He prepared for me in advance to do. And He could not do that without first taking away my sins for eternity. And all my sins were forgiven forever at the Cross by Jesus Christ. If my sins still came between me and my God He could not indwell me and I would not have eternal life. Furthermore, He could not live His life through me. God is not dealing with Christians on the basis of sin and death. If He were then when we sinned His life would leave us again and we would no longer be saved nor have eternal life. God is dealing with us on the basis of a new life in Christ. We still sin, but when we do we no longer have to seek His forgiveness through a bloodless and unacceptable sacrifice. Rather, we thank Him for taking away my sins in Christ and approach Him in confidence to find out where we weren't trusting Him when we sinned. Saints, if we never settle the forgiveness issue and believe Jesus when He said, "it is finished," we will never experience God's love or grow in our faith. We will always feel as though we are separated from Him. We are not sinners saved by grace. We are children of God who are forgiven, sanctified, holy and blameless in His site. Make today the day you stop focusing on your sins and start trusting in Jesus and all you have in Him!
Q: What is the true meaning of humlity?
A: By definition humility is having an attitude of submission or to not be arrogant. The Bible often describes this by using the phrase "fear and trembling." This means we recognize just how much love and mercy God has shown toward us. We are humbled because we know that we did not deserve anything we have been given in Christ. We don't deserve forgiveness. We don't deserve God's love. We don't deserve eternal life. All we can do is humble ourselves and live in thankfulness. In turn, this humility directly influences how we interact with each other. "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought (Rom 12:3)." "[C]omfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Cor 1:4)." "Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col 3:13)." Notice that our humility is a reflection of the unconditional love God has shown us. Others experience the love of God through us in our lack of pride (Rom 12:3), our ability to understand what they are struggling with (2 Cor 1:4) and our not keeping records of their wrongs (Col 3:13). In other words, humility means we put others before ourselves, not treating them like the world does, because God put us first by not treating us the way we deserved. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11). Amen!
Q: Matthew 6:33 says "seek first" the kingdom of God..What does that mean?
A: We must first realize that as Christians we already have "His Kingdom" and "His righteousness." These words were spoken by Jesus before He died and rose from the grave. He was trying to lead His Jewish audience to Himself by getting their eyes off the things of this world. Not unlike the Jews He was speaking to many Christians focus on clothing, food and the future as though they somehow represent our right standing before God. In fact, some falsely believe that God's blessings are tied to these things. We no longer "seek the kingdom of God" because the "kingdom of God" is within us in form of the indwelling Holy Spirit. God gave us Himself, in Christ, so we would not seek the things of the world in an attempt to give to us what we can only receive in Christ. If you want to "seek" anything seek after the discovery of all you have in Christ. As Hebrews 9:15 refers to, we have a "promised eternal inheritance" as a result of Christ's sacrifice on our part. Part of that inheritance is that we have the righteousness of Christ as a free gift (Rom. 3:22). My prayer is that we stop seeking after what we already have so we can engage the world with what we have to give to it rather than what we hope it will give to us. If you don't believe you already have all you need from the Lord you will have no alternative then to try and get it from the world through some form of sin. Stop seeking and start resting. Amen!
Q: What does Jesus "desire" and "want" from us?
A: Jesus desires for us to rest and He wants us. We too often think that the Lord demands our time, our money and our abilities. For some reason Christians are under the impression that being busy and having our time occupied with all things "Christian" is what our lives are about. In most cases, the motivation for doing so is a mistaken belief that we are required to do so or, worse, that we will miss out on being blessed or punished for not doing so. In Christ, God has given us everything we need so that we would rest from trying to obtain it or maintain it by what we are doing. Ephesians 1:3 and 2 Ptr1:3 describe having everything we need for life and godliness and having every spiritual blessing in Christ. Our inheritance we have been given in Christ includes total forgiveness, unconditional love and meaning and purpose to life. Knowing we have all these things helps us to allow the Lord to have complete control of our lives and to be the "living sacrifices" spoken of in Romans 12:1-2. We need to get our eyes off of hoping for material blessings of the flesh and focus on the fact that we have something greater than that. We have God Himself. God doesn't need your ability, God wants your availabilty. He died for you to give His life to you in order to live His life through you.
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