Gifted to Serve

1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV) As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Every child of God is given a gift, or gifts, that are to be used to minister to others; both within the body of Christ, and to the unsaved.  There is no greater fulfillment than to know God's Holy Spirit is empowering you to reflect Christ to someone in need.  As we use the gift He has given us, the gift is strengthened, and God's name is glorified.  What a great way to show our gratitude to God for the ultimate gift; our salvation through Jesus Christ!

Fully Acceptable to God

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NASB) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Have you ever considered that your family name is recorded in heaven; that God placed each of us in the family of His choosing?  Some of us may wonder why, but God has His reasons according to His own plan.  In this mystery, God predetermined that you would come to Christ; that you would be set on the foundation of His love; that you would be able to understand the fullness of His love which the world does not understand.  There is no greater fulfillment than that of understanding and accepting the unconditional love of Christ; to bathe in His richness, and to begin each day knowing that you are fully acceptable to God.  Even when people reject you for any reason, God covers you and fills you with His love because He chose you and saved you and forgave you.  The fullness of God's love is more than we can contain, therefore it must spill over and flow out to others who need His love as much as we do.

Commitment to Jesus

Luke 22:54 (NASB) Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance.

The last week of Jesus' life was coming to a close.  Peter had made a commitment to Jesus to stand by Him, even to death, but now the reality of the moment caused Peter to hesitate.  Fear for his own personal safety overcame his earlier commitment.  This scene of the arrest of Jesus should cause us to examine our own commitment to Jesus Christ.  I must ask myself the question, "Do I follow Jesus at a distance or do I stand by Him?"  Are there times when fear for my own personal well-being interferes with my relationship with Jesus?  As we remember the suffering and death of our Savior, let us also remember that He died for us in order that we may live.  And we need His power to stand by Him, for in our own power we are weak.

Growing in Faith

James 1:2-4 (NASB) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Have you ever run or exercised in some way until your muscles cried out in pain?  And, though painful, eventually the muscles grow stronger and are able to tolerate a higher degree of pain. This is endurance.  Endurance is not giving up when circumstances become uncomfortable.  God tests us spiritually; He tests our faith, bringing us to an encounter with spiritual pain in order that we may grow in our faith and in our relationship with Him.  When we are comfortable and relaxed, we do not grow; and our Savior knows this.  God is perfecting us, therefore we can consider it joy when we are placed in difficult situations; being willing to give up our own power, and to call on Christ, our LORD, to receive His power to endure through the trials He has chosen for us.

Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your loving care.  Thank You for Your patience and Your plan to perfect us who believe.  Father, let us see You as You are, and help us to rely on You through Jesus Christ, our Savior.  Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us, and let us count it all joy to know that we are Your children, and that we are eternally joined to You in Christ, who suffered and died to pay the penalty for our sins.  We praise You for His resurrection, and call on Your power to help us endure our trials until the time of our perfection.  Amen.

God’s Steadfast Love

Psalm 90:1-2 (NASB) Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Hebrews 13:8 (NASB) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

How comforting it is to know God does not change.  His nature and His character remain the same for all eternity therefore, we can rely on Him in all things.  He is our solid Rock.  Left alone, our emotions swing back and forth like a pendulum, and Satan is quick to take advantage of our weaknesses, causing doubt and confusion.  There is no doubt about God's written word, the Scriptures; and like feeding our bodies with food to maintain our physical strength and health, we must feed our spirit with His unchanging word.  As we feed upon God's written word our spirit grows stronger in knowledge and wisdom; we begin to see the world through God's eyes; we begin to understand how steadfast He is and that we have no reason to doubt His power, love, mercy and grace. We begin to understand the joy of His eternal salvation; His promise of forgiveness in Christ; His promise to care for us and love us, and the importance of teaching others about God's plan of salvation.

God’s Grace

Isaiah 45:8 (NKJV) "Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation.  And let righteousness spring up together.  I, the LORD, have created it."

Philippians 4:4 (NKJV) Rejoice in the LORD always.  Again I will say, rejoice!

God's grace is not only poured out upon His people, but his common grace is poured out on the entire world.  We are deserving of none of God's blessings, yet He provides us with the beauty of His creation; He provides food from the land and the sea, sunshine and rain, changes in seasons, materials for shelter and clothing.  He leads us, if we are willing to listen, and, best of all, He offers His specific grace to those who will call upon the name of Jesus Christ; bringing salvation; forgiveness of sins, peace with Him, and eternal life with Him in His heaven.  Let us praise Him, and rejoice in Him continually!

Jesus Christ, the Rock

Isaiah 26:4 (NASB) Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

Psalm 18:2 (NASB) The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

In Matthew 16:13-20 (NASB) Jesus asks Peter, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus responds, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."

This is a much misunderstood passage.  If we take care to study the context of the passage, we see that Jesus is responding to the admission from Peter that He is the Christ, and Jesus is saying that it is upon this fact that He will build His church.  Christ is the Rock, not Peter.  Jesus is simply calling Simon by his apostolic name.  It is the power of the Rock that builds the church and holds it together, and the power of the Rock that prevents the devil from overpowering it.  Further, it is the power of God, the Rock, which secures our salvation.  Our God is a solid, everlasting Rock, unmovable, unshakable, and it is this foundation upon which our faith rests.  God's power is manifested in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; unshakable and perfect, and alive forevermore!  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!

May God grant each of you a great day!