Reminder to C'mon Over

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Revelation 3:20-21 NKJV

You may be going through the trial of your life... a desert season of life that seems as scorched and dry as an Indian summer in West Texas. A night so long you almost despair of ever seeing the SON rise with healing in His wings. 

I don't know what you're facing, or why you're facing it, but I do know that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I also know that we ARE able to OVERCOME by the Blood of the Lamb (His part - already done!) and the Word of OUR Testimony.  So let's be clear about one thing - it's NOT over until the Father says it's over!

Just a few reminders. You've probably seen or heard them before:

• If you never went through the fire, how would you become pure?
• If I [God] never corrected you, how would you know that I [God] love you?
• If you never made a mistake, how would you know that I [God] am a Forgiver - your Redeemer?
  
• If you never had trials to overcome, how could you be an overcomer? 

Jesus speaking in Revelation 3:21, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." 

I can't wait for Jesus to say, "C'mon over!"

Prayer:

Father,
             We thank You for the provision You have made for every possible scenario of our lives. How merciful and full of grace You are! I know the peace in the midst of the storm comes from knowing that nothing is a surprise to You, and You have already made provision for us to BE overcomers in everything that does come our way. We humbly ask that You keep us ever mindful of this. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Advent Day 12 - Jesus is Not Afraid of Our Mess

This year's Advent devotionals are from A Celebration of Advent:
A 25-Day Devotional by New Spring Church of Anderson, SC

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“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:6-7

Despite what nativities convey, Jesus’ birth was anything but picturesque. Imagine a barn or even a cave complete with farming implements, feeding troughs, and manure. This dark and dirty place is hardly what we’d expect for our Messiah’s royal birthplace. The location of Jesus’ birth says so much about the kind of life Jesus would lead.

In His thirty-three years, Jesus never shied away from messy situations or messy people. Sinners of all kinds found Jesus’ love and grace readily available. Jesus’ birth reminds us that God isn’t afraid to enter a mess. Again and again, Jesus meets people in their mess and turns their mess into a message.

Reflect: Read Luke 2:1-7
How did Jesus turn the Samaritan Woman’s mess into a message? (John 4)
What does it mean to be a minister of reconciliation? (1 Corinthians 5)
How have you seen God meet you in messy situations?
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Prayer:

Father,
           The only thing pure and spotless in our lives is You. Everything we've ever brought to You has been used, bruised or confused. How can we possibly express the depth of our gratitude for all You've done and all You're doing for us? You alone can give us clean hands and a pure heart so we may climb Your mountain and stand in Your Holy place. Keep our hearts and minds steadfast before You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Work Hard

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:12c-13 NLT

That statement - Work hard to show the results of your salvation - is NOT about having to do works to earn our salvation. Our hard work is walking in obedience. Yes, God gives us the desire and power to be able to do what pleases Him, but we still have to work hard to bring our bodies into submission to His will and ways and not our own will and ways.

Paul continues: Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.  We are not the light, but rather we live our lives so that we can be the reflection of the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. As the world becomes darker in its sin and greed, God's light will shine brighter. Let us work hard to make sure there is nothing in our lives that will get in the way of reflecting Christ to those around us.

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for the desire and power to do what pleases You. Give us Your strength so that we can walk pure before You, doing all without complaining and arguing. Give us clean hands and pure hearts, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The Man Said So

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

This isn't my writing. It's an excerpt from a sermon preached by Reverend Alistair Begg. It is GREAT news for everyone, but especially for those who think they have to earn their way into Heaven. (We cannot.) This story from God's Word is irrefutable proof. Read on...

...without the preaching of the Cross, without preaching the Cross to ourselves all day and every day, we will very, very quickly revert to faith plus works as the ground of our salvation. So that to go to the old Fort Lauderdale question, 'If you were to die tonight and you were getting entry into Heaven, what would you say?'

If you answer that and if I answer it in the first person, we've immediately gone wrong.

Because "I", ...because "I" believed, ...because "I" have faith, ...because "I" am this,  ...because "I" am continuing...

Loved ones, the only proper answer is in the third person - because He! Because He! Think about the thief on the cross. What an immense (pause), I can't wait to find that fellow one day to ask him, "How did that shake out for you?!? Because you were cussing the guy out with your friend... You've never been in a Bible study and never got baptized. You didn't know a thing about church membership and yet, and yet, you made it. You made it!  How did you make it?!?"

That's what the angel must have said, you know, like 'What are you doing here?'

[thief] Well, I don't know

[angel] What do you mean you don't know?!?

[thief] Well, because I don't know!

{angel] Well, you know...were you (stuttering) did you... (pause) Excuse me, let me get my supervisor.

So they go get the supervisor angel.

[supervisor] Sir, just a few questions for you. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?

The guy said, I never heard of it in my life.

[supervisor] And what about - let's just go to the doctrine of Scripture immediately...

The guy is just staring, and eventually, in frustration, he [supervisor] says, Then on what basis are you here?

And the thief said, "The Man on the middle cross said I can come."

Now, that is the only answer. That is the only answer. And if I don't preach the Gospel to myself all day and every day, then I will find myself beginning to trust myself, trust my experience, which is part of my fallenness as a man. If I take my eyes off the cross, I can then give only lip service to its efficacy while at the same time living as if my salvation depends upon me.

And as soon as you go there, it will lead you either to abject despair or a horrible kind of arrogance. And it is only the cross of Christ that deals both with the dreadful depths of despair and the pretentious arrogance of the pride of man that says, "You know, I can figure this out and I'm doing wonderfully well." No! "Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me." (from Before the Throne of God) That's why Luther said that most of your Christian life is outside of you - in this sense, that we know we are not saved by good works, We are not saved as a result of our professions, but we're saved as a result of what Christ has achieved.

The Man on the middle cross said so.

Prayer:

Father, 

           O the beauty of Your Grace, the depth of Your love to provide salvation for us - to make the way when there is nothing we could do in our own self-righteousness to earn our way to Heaven. Thank you seems hardly adequate and yet, we are so grateful. Help us to ALWAYS be aware that it is You and Your work on Calvary's Cross that gives us access and entrance to Your presence. Give us clean hands and grateful and pure hearts. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Alistair Begg - The Message of the Cross

Pure Promises

The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.
Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.

Psalm 12:6-8 NLT

Several truths pierced my heart while reading this psalm. The first is that no matter the lies and deception going on in the world around us, the Lord's promises are pure. They have always been and will always be. God's Word will surround us and protect us and lead us in the way we should go. Psalm 119:105 assures us His Word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path even in this dark world with its seemingly overwhelming obstacles.

The second revelation was how this particular psalm (written sometime around 3,000 years ago) could just as easily have been written about the world's situation today. Lying neighbors, how fast the godly are disappearing, people say or post whatever lies they want to with no repercussions, the wicked strut about like they've earned the right, and evil is praised throughout the land... And yet, in the middle of it all, we are reminded that the Lord's promises are pure. The evil of mankind does not and cannot defile His promises.

Peter reminds us in 1st Peter 1:24-25 of the truth in Isaiah 40:8,  As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. Pure...

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You that Your Word is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Give us a fresh anointing to embrace Your Word, to keep our thoughts and intents pure before You, and to shine Your Light until You return to take us Home with You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.