Found in Christ

Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Many are lost in the perception that they are good people because they go to church and follow a set of liturgical rituals. Their righteousness, or sense of goodness is founded in keeping rules that govern behavior. Following a code of conduct is good, but one can still be spiritually lost if they have not come to knowledge of faith in Christ. To be found in Christ is to have fellowship with Him. Good meaning people often say, “It is not a religion, but a relationship”. Good theology, is better worded, “My religion is having a relationship with Christ, and daily fellowship with Him”. Our relationship with Christ will influence our behavior. The commandments of God are not disregarded, but they now take on a new meaning. We now keep His commandment to love Him with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves because that is how Christ lived His life. To be found in Christ is to live in Christ and follow His example of pleasing the Father. Perfection is not found in what we do, but in whom we place our faith. We are lost without Him, but can be found in Him when we put our faith in God.

Prodigal Son

Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”-

The story of the prodigal son exemplifies that God never gives up on us. That He is constantly pursuing us with His love and grace. Our hearts are broken when we see our children leave the Father’s house. Children who stray away from the teaching of God’s word and leave the fold of God do so of their own free will. The story of the prodigal son conveys to us that even if you are raised in a good godly home that their is no guarantee that one will follow God. Sin is enticing, and Satan will do his best to lead people away from truth. The Father never ceased to love His son, It shows that no matter what we do in sin that God will not forsake us. As long as we have breath, we can choose to rise up and return to the Father’s house. He will not turn us away. Eternity is forever, and living this life wandering in sin will have eternal consequences. It is a matter of choice, we can live in our sin, or rise up and head on home. The Father awaits with open arms.

4:00am-

My Salvation

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation”-

My salvation comes from God. When I needed to be rescued from the wages of sin, it was the salvation of God that saved me from what I deserved. I was lost and undone without Him. I found my salvation at the cross of Jesus. He who loved me and took my sin and bore it on the cross, died to save me. He became my Savior, my Salvation. I no longer have to be afraid when faced with eternity. My sins have been forgiven, He has put in my heart a new song. I now depend on Him for my strength and help in time of trouble. He is my Salvation, my Rock, I will praise you, for you are my God!

Seeking the Lost

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”-

Seeking the lost is what Jesus came to do. Human nature seeks to fill the void in its heart, Christ puts the desire in each person to seek for purpose and meaning. We seek that the heart may be satisfied and that peace may rest the trouble heart from sin. Christ came to provide a way that we can be fulfilled. Sin does all it can to keep us from responding to the Savior’s call. We all like sheep have gone astray and need help from wandering our own way. It would appear that Zacchaeus went out to seek Christ. He climbed the tree because he sought to see Him, but Jesus already knew the heart of Zacchaeus, and made plans to have an encounter with him. God desires that we seek Him, for in the day we seek Him, we will find Him. For Christ is already seeking us, and desires to dine with us. Whether we realize it or not, we were all lost and headed in the wrong direction. The grace of God is reaching us where we are, and bringing us out of sin. He sought us, and bought us. He found us and knocks at our doors heart wanting to come in. He seeks to save the lost, but we must want to be saved. “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wrench like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see“.  This is why He came!

People Need the Lord

Roman 9:2 “that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.”-

Sorrow often causes us to weep. Jesus wept when Lazarus died. He wept for the sorrow that Mary and Martha were going through. Weeping is a release of emotions that can either come from sadness or joy. It is not certain that Paul wept when he had sorrow of heart as he wrote how his people were rejecting the gospel of Christ. But it is certain that he was very sad and it weight heavy on his heart. Carrying a burden for a lost soul is one of the greatest responsibilities that we have as Christians. In all of our life’s struggles and times of laughter, there is a time to think of those who are without Christ. Our family members, our friends, and neighbors who have not experiences the love of God. Part of living for Christ is to pray for those who are lost and without Him. Sorrow comes knowing that people are rejecting the only hope for eternal life. That all will die and stand before God and give an account for the life they lived, coming to the judgement of God without the blood of Christ, all can bring a heaviness to the heart. It is sad to see someone trapped in their sin and not being able to get out, they turn to more sin and wickedness to drown out their misery. If they would only see that Jesus is the answer to all their problems and He has the remedy for all that is wrong. People need the Lord, and we need to pray and show the love of Christ to people we come in contact with. Asked God to put some soul on our heart and carry that soul to the throne of God. He will not reject the cry of those who pray for the souls of others. This is the will of God, that all will come to Him. Let us pray in earnest that others may know Him.

Moved to Harvest

Matt 9: 36 “...He was moved with compassion for them...”

Jesus looked across the land and saw the faces of hurting people. He looked beyond the facial expressions and saw the pain in each individual's heart. He who desires to gather His own and draw them close is moved with love for the lost. As a follower of Christ and one who lives "in the Vine", Christ wants us also to reach out to those who are hurting and need someone to love them. We get so busy with life and the cares that surround us that we forget that there is a world that needs a Savior. It is not that we don’t care, but the call of Christ to go out into the harvest is often pushed aside for more pressing matters. Life is full of priorities, and we do what we think is most important to us. Not everyone is called to full-time ministry as a laborer to harvest, but each one of us has a calling to fulfill. He calls us all in some way to find a way to reach out to people in need, to those who have not heard that Jesus came to bring peace to the heart. In a world of mass communication, many have heard the claims of Christ, but we are His arms and hands that He uses to minister in a special way. God does not need us, but He chooses and desires to use us in the field of harvest. May we be willing to open our eyes to the harvest and be moved into action, to put aside what we are doing and take time to labor for Him.

My Redeemer Lives

Job 19:25 “ For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;”-

Lost and without hope we were once children of light, but sin blinded us. We now live in darkness, in slaved by darkness and Satan. By creation we were children of God, but Satan tempted man to forsake the laws of God and satisfy their own selfish desires. The wages of sin is death. We are all sinners in need of someone to save us from hell and darkness. God in His love for humanity and desire to fellowship with His creation, provided a way of escape. He sent His Son to redeem us and regain possession of His creation. Jesus Christ, came to die for our sins, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life. He is our Redeemer! “Redeemed and how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.” It is the message we shout out to the world, Christ is the answer to all that is wrong in this world. He wants to redeem those who are lost and living in sin. We are no longer children of darkness living a life of sin, but now we belong to Christ who gave us the Holy Spirit that we may walk in light. We are redeemed and set free from sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Because my Redeemer lives we can live free from sin, knowing that He shall stand in our place giving us access to the throne of God.

On His Shoulders

Luke 15: “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on His shoulders, rejoicing.”-

 Often when am in a large crowd where there are thousands of people, I ask myself, “Does God really care about every single person on this earth?” History has recorded tens of millions of people have come and gone from this world, and to think that God took interest in each one of them. Humanity born into this world lost in sin are like sheep who have gone astray to do their own thing. Christ came to seek all who are lost in sin, to bring them into the kingdom of God. It matters not who you are or how insignificant you may feel, Jesus cares about your life and the problems you face. He desires to pick you up and carry you on His shoulders and bring you safely home. 

There are times as Christians that we need Jesus to take special notice of our situation, and we may wonder if this is just “life” and like everyone else we need to deal with it. We start to look at our circumstances and wonder how we will find our way out. Everyone has problems, and what makes us so special that God will take the time to rescue us. But, Jesus who is omnipresent and all knowing reaches down into our little world and carries us on His shoulders. On His shoulders, we can rejoice that He loves and cares for us individually and knows exactly what we need. Yes, it may seem at times that we are all alone and no one around to help, but I’m so glad we serve a God who take special note of our needs and He rejoices when we call on Him for help. Thank God, He carries us on His shoulders.