But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God... For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:12,14
As a born again, God sees you with now flaw, spot or imperfection, so honor His Word and the finished work of His Son by saying, “Amen!” Don’t doubt your perfection in Christ. To see yourself as being far from perfect is not modesty, but a failure to understand the perfect sacrifice that Jesus has made for you. The Bible tells us, “For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” You have not only been sanctified, that is, made holy, but by the same offering of His body, you have been perfected. You are both holy and perfect in God’s eyes! Your sins have been purged perfectly. Today, Jesus is seated at His Father’s right hand not because He is the Son of God (although that is true), but because His work of purging your sins is completely finished and perfect! So instead of being conscious of your sins, which is to have an evil conscience (Heb 10:22), you can have a perfect conscience, a conscience that is free from the guilt and condemnation of sins. When you find yourself conscious of your sins, just say, “Thank You Lord Jesus, for Your wonderful work at the cross. It is a perfect work that has removed all my sins completely.” “Holy Spirit, thank You for convicting me of righteousness, not my own, but God’s righteousness given to me as a gift. Keep on convicting me in the days to come, reminding me especially when I fail that I am still the righteousness of God in Christ.” God sees you perfect without any spot of sin. He sees you covered in the beautiful white robes of His own righteousness. He treats you as a righteous man because that is what He has made you. So expect good things to happen to you because blessings are on the head of the righteous! (Proverbs 10:6) Charles Spurgeon and his wife, according to a story in a magazine, would sell, but refused to give away, the eggs their chickens laid.
Even close relatives were told, "You may have them if you pay for them." As a result some people labeled the Spurgeons greedy. The couple accepted the criticism without defending themselves. It was only after Mrs. Spurgeon died that the full story was revealed. All the profits from the sale of eggs went to support two elderly widows. Because the Spurgeons were unwilling to let their "left hand" know what the "right hand" was doing (see Matthew 6:3), they endured the attacks in silence. We'd all like a reputation for generosity, and we'd all like to buy it cheap. -- Anonymous A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the minister decided to visit him.
It was a chilly day. That evening, the minister found the man at home all alone sitting by a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his minister's visit, the man welcomed him, and led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The minister made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, he took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The minister glanced at his watch and chose this time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more, with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the minister reached the door to leave, his host said, with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday". I asked for strength that I might achieve;
He made me weak that I might obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things; I was given grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God; I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing that I asked for, all that I hoped for, My prayer was answered. There once was a bunch of tiny frogs, who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants... The race began... Honestly: No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as: "Oh, WAY too difficult!! They will NEVER make it to the top." or: "Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!" The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one Except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher... The crowd continued to yell "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!" More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But ONE continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who after a big effort was the only one who reached the top! THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal? It turned out. That the winner was DEAF!!!! The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic cause they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you. The ones you have in your heart! Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions! Therefore: ALWAYS be… POSITIVE! And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that YOU can not fulfil YOUR dreams! Always think: I can do this! "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not
in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2 Cor. 4:8-10). It's hard to find anyone in Christian history who became a great leader without earning an advanced degree at the University of Adversity. John Bunyan (1628-1688), the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, grew up in poverty and taught himself to read. As a young man, he struggled with feelings of not being forgiven by God and was tortured by visions of eternal punishment. His devout wife helped him to overcome his fear, but then, while she was still in her twenties, she died of a sudden illness. In his grief, Bunyan devoted himself to preaching. The English government, however, repeatedly imprisoned him for preaching without a license. On one occasion, Bunyan was sentenced to three months in prison, but when he told the officials he intended to go on preaching, his sentence was extended to 12 years. John Bunyan experienced God's presence in a special way while he was in prison. In fact, it was in his cell that he penned his enduring classic, The Pilgrim's Progress. It's a book that could only have been written by a soul that was refined by the fires of adversity. A. W. Tozer once wrote, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." God has a mission for your life and mine. But before we can carry out that mission, we will often go through the boot camp of adversity. If this is where you find yourself today, ask God to give you His grace to walk through this time with you. He promised He would never leave or forsake us. Some people think that courtship is when a man spoons, and marriage is when he must fork over. It is tragic to realize that in the church of Christ there are constant marital difficulties. Christian mates ought to be among the happiest of people on the face of the planet! Why should a man and woman who profess to be in love with the Lord continue in misery because of a rocky marital relationship?
The closer husbands and wives walk with Christ the easier their lives together will become. But show me a husband and wife who are unfaithful to the Bridegroom, Jesus, and I will show you a couple in deep trouble. Will a Christian wife nag and complain and bemoan everything or will she be a radiant help-meet for the man with whom she chose to live out her life? Will a husband come home and sequester himself behind the evening newspaper if he really wants to demonstrate Christian love? Once a housewife asked her husband if he minded escorting her out to the garbage can. He asked why she would make such a silly request. She replied, "I just want to be able to tell the neighbors that we go out together once in a while." Marriage is a give-and-take proposition, and a wise couple soon realizes that each must give more than was thought during courtship. Too many mates fritter their lives away and burden others by supposing they have insurmountable problems within their marriages. But Paul reminds us: "Wives, submit to you husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them" (Col_3:18-19). Unselfish love is the key to successful Christian marriages." Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5
While walking down a street in Long Beach, California, I was reminded how a person's behavior can misrepresent the message of the gospel and cause an unbelieving world to be confused. I met a man who asked what I had to show for myself in life. When I referred to my confidence in the Son of God, he became very excited. He said he also knew Christ as his Savior and quoted some Bible verses about eternal life. As we parted, the man reminded me to preach the Word. I had a problem accepting his admonition, though, for he was roaring drunk. With slurred speech, several times he bounced "Praise the Lord!" off the concrete around us, drawing stares from passersby. His inebriated condition shouted a loud protest to the sober truths that echoed through the streets. As I walked away, I was struck with the stark reality of how Christian credibility is lost when our behavior reveals that we are controlled by sinful desires rather than the Holy Spirit. We can't expect others to believe a message that is contradicted by our actions. Every day we must "put to death" those actions that would tarnish our testimony Colossians 3:5). Only then can we be sure of offering "dying proof" of living faith. May all I am and do and say Give glory to my Lord always, And may no act of mine cause shame Nor bring reproach upon His name. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:17
Some people disregard the power of prayer because their urgent calls to God have gone unanswered. They may have been serious and devoted in their pleas, but seemingly it was all for nothing. The outcome of such an experience is often a weakening of one’s faith in the power of prayer. Genuine prayer in itself is an act of faith. It is not just a matter of telling God what you need and then sitting back and waiting for something to happen – the hoped-for am miracle! Effective prayer means laying your plea before God, seeking His will and then acting in faith, in obedience to the will of the Lord. No one can possibly believe that Jesus wanted to endure the humiliation and suffering of Golgotha, but His prayer to His Father is an enduring and eternal example of faith and obedience, for all time and for all people, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). Christ sought the will of God and accepted it in faith, to God’s glory. Follow Jesus’ example in you prayer life and God will answer your prayers in the manner that He knows is the absolute best for your. Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.
His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved. The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my dad wouldn't let go." You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril- and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go. Please pass this on to those you love. God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing to others. You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through. Never judge another persons scars, because you don't know how they got them. Also, it is so important that we are not selfish to receive the blessings of these messages without forwarding them to someone else. Right now, someone needs to know that God loves them, and you love them too enough to not let them go. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
All
Archives
June 2015
|