Where is Jesus?

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If you serve me, you must go with me. My servants will be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.

John 12:26

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then what you are is simply that a "follower." Jesus does not follow you, you follow Him!

We are sometimes tempted to think that when Jesus said, "I am with you always," He meant that it doesn't matter where we go or what we do because Jesus will be there with us. If you serve Jesus, then you go with Him. Look around and ask yourself, "Did I follow Jesus to this place?"

Is Jesus in the place where you are right now? Or do you know for sure that the Lord is not with you in what you are doing?

Have you stopped along the road in your walk with Jesus and said "Jesus, You stay here while I go in there and in a little while I will come back?" Maybe the first time or two when you come back He is there and you continue on your walk with Him. But then one day you linger longer in a place without Jesus and you forget that He is waiting for you. Then when you come out and look for Him, He has moved on without you, and you begin to question whether or not He was really there in the first place. For some who have such an experience it is years before they start walking with Jesus again.

The great lesson for me to learn is this: Never go anywhere that Jesus will not go with you! Don't separate yourself from Jesus even for a moment. When you walk away from Jesus you are like an alcoholic who takes "just one" drink. One minute away from Jesus can be a tragic experience for any follower of Him.

"Lord Jesus, convict my heart today every time I am tempted to step away from You for even a minute. Give me the courage and strength to say "No" every time my feet want to wander from You. And Lord show me now where You are leading me today! Praise Your Holy Name. Amen."

Greatest Love Story!

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Then the Lord told me to say:

People of Israel, I, the Lord, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation, and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.

If I promise to make a nation strong, but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.

So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won't change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.

But I know you won't listen. You might as well answer, “We don't care what you say. We have made plans to sin, and we are going to be stubborn and do as we please!”

Jeremiah 18:5-12

So we sit like a lump of clay on the wheel of a potter waiting for the Lord to make us into the vessel He has chosen. The difference between a man and a lump of clay is that we can stubbornly refuse to be shaped as God wishes.

When men choose to disobey God, He has promised that He will not help them at all! It doesn't matter how much you fervently cry out to God for help if you are walking in disobedience to Him. In your heart you say "I have made plans to sin, and I am going to be stubborn and do as I please!"

The essence of "Free Will" is that God gives us the ability to reject Him and go our own way. He will not force us to be faithful to Him and He will not trap us into yielding to His will. God wants us to choose Him and to love Him like a young woman gives her heart to a young man! It is indeed the greatest love story ever told!

Are you in a "love relationship" with Jesus Christ or do you obey Him so you won't go to Hell? Do you desire Him like no one else and nothing else in this life? And when Jesus touches your heart is it the most memorable of moments? Is your life yielded to the hands of the Potter as He forms you into the vessel that He desires?

"Lord Jesus, this day I want to say "Yes" to You in everything and in every way. I want Your touch on every breath I take and every thought in my mind. May I be completely Yours now and forever. Amen."

Total Dependence!

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Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses.  God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.  But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.   God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus.

What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith.

Romans 3:21-27

What is the difference between believing in Jesus and having faith in Him? The Bible says that even demons believe and tremble, but they certainly don't have "Faith!"

The first step of Faith is, of course belief, but unless you take the other steps of Faith you are no better off than the demons.

The second step of Faith is Trust. When you have Faith in Jesus you can rest peacefully in what He says. You don't spend your life trying to "verify" everything you read about in the Bible and you are not amazed when someone tells you that an archaeological "find" confirms the truth of Scripture.

The final step of Faith is total dependence. So the man or woman of Faith believes in Jesus, trusts His every Word and comes to depend on Him for everything in this life as well as the next! That is the point where "the Peace of God rules your mind and heart." And that Peace shines on your face. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, the next time you are in a public place with lots of people you have never seen before, look at their faces. Look for the Peace of God shining on the face of a stranger. If you want to know for sure, you will have to ask, but total dependence on Jesus Christ is hard to hide from your face!

"Lord Jesus, help me to step beyond the belief that even demons have to the state of total dependence on You for everything. And Lord help me to let that Peace that comes from You shine on my face today. Praise Your Holy Name. Amen."

God Treasures People

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The Lord said:

Heaven is my throne;

the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house

could you build for me?

In what place will I rest?

 

I have made everything;

that's how it all came to be.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

The people I treasure most

are the humble—

they depend only on me

and tremble when I speak.

Isaiah 66:1-2

God's treasures people who are humble and depend only on Him. These are the people that tremble when God speaks. I have often in my life said that I want to hear the voice of God. But have I really considered what that means? The voice of God created the world and in fact the voice of God is awesome beyond our imagination.

God said, "Let there be light and there was light." When God speaks every molecule in the universe conforms itself to His Word and Will. It really is amazing that God gave men the ability to argue with Him about anything. But when you come to truly believe that God is who He says He is and that Jesus Christ actually came to this earth and died for you it seems utterly foolish to disagree with God.

If you hear the voice of God and do not tremble, then you need to find out more about who He really is. Don't take God lightly. He is not a figment of your imagination.

"Lord Jesus, I want to hear Your voice, but I also want to be changed by what I hear You say. Help me to be humble and depend only on You so that I may be part of Your treasure here on earth. Praise Your Name forever. Amen."

Cross Reference

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I saw a great white throne with someone sitting on it. Earth and heaven tried to run away, but there was no place for them to go.  I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done.

The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  Anyone whose name wasn't written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15

The Bible clearly says that everyone who has ever lived will be judged by what they have done on this earth. And those deeds are written in books that God will use on the day of judgment. God is just and fair. No one will be sent to Hell who does not deserve it. There is one exception to God's justice. If your name is written in the Book of Life then you will go to Heaven even if you deserve to go to Hell!

That is the simple and amazing truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though you have done plenty of evil deeds that show up in the Books that God will use to judge all of mankind, every one of those deeds will be "Cross-Referenced" to the Book of Life! And if your name is in the Book of Life you will not go to Hell.

Then why should you be concerned with living a good life on this earth? If you can go to Heaven in spite of the bad things you have done what is the purpose in living a life of righteousness? Well even though Jesus takes away the eternal consequences of your sin, it is for you to suffer the earthly ones. There are many people in prisons today whose sins have been covered and forgiven by Jesus, but the earthly authorities still demand punishment. So don't be foolish. There are many earthly blessings for avoiding sin!

Remember, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then your name is written in the Book of Life and all your sins which are listed in the other Books are "Cross-Referenced" to the Book of Life. When Jesus died on the Cross He put all of the names of His followers in the Book of Life!

"Lord Jesus, thank You for the Book of Life and the truth that my sins are cancelled out by Your sacrifice on the Cross. Praise Your Holy Name forever. Amen."

Obey Like Jesus Did

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But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law,  so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God's children.  Now that we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And his Spirit tells us that God is our Father. You are no longer slaves. You are God's children, and you will be given what he has promised.

Galatians 4:4-7

Obeying the Law of Moses was a human impossibility. Try as you may you cannot perfectly obey the Law that God gave and is recorded in the Old Testament.

Here is an amazing truth! What other men could not and cannot do, Jesus did! Jesus conformed His life in absolute obedience to the Law. That in itself is beyond impressive.

We spend most of our focus on the fact that Jesus went to the Cross and died in my place for my sins! And we should, but don't forget that Jesus was able to do that because for more than 30 years He never broke a law of God!

So why must I pay attention to the "Law of God?" Why should I try to be obedient to everything God has said? The answer to that is simple and yet very profound. When I obey God I am like Jesus. When I don't obey I am not living like my Lord.

I don't obey the Law in order to be saved, but I am obedient so I can be like Jesus! I am not saved by my obedience, but rather by His! If I have even one moment of disobeying God, then that moment is one in which I am not living as Jesus did!

If you want to be like Jesus you will see the miraculous power of God in the world around you and also have a cross to bear, but you will also be obedient to God!

Is there something still on your list of "Things God told me to do but I have not yet done?" If there is then begin today to be obedient to God so that even in that thing you will be like Jesus!

"Lord Jesus, I want to be like You in the complete way You were obedient to God. Show me one more desire that God has for me so that I may be obedient to it! Thank You Jesus. Amen."

Amazing Events!

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Our Lord, how long must I beg

for your help

before you listen?

How long before you save us

from all this violence?

 

Why do you make me watch

such terrible injustice?

Why do you allow violence,

lawlessness, crime, and cruelty

to spread everywhere?

 

Laws cannot be enforced;

justice is always the loser;

criminals crowd out honest people

and twist the laws around.

The Lord Answers Habakkuk

 

Look and be amazed

at what's happening

among the nations!

Even if you were told,

you would never believe

what's taking place now.

Habakkuk 1:2-5

One of the blessings or maybe it is a curse of being old is that you can see clearly how the world has changed over the years. But these words from Habakkuk the prophet sound like something that you might hear or even say after reading today's news.

The top news of this day is that the Russians are moving troops into the Ukraine. No one knows if this is just a temporary incursion that will not stir up further trouble in the world or the beginning of a tremendous escalation of hostilities.

But God told Habakkuk to "Look and be amazed at what's happening among the nations!" And we would be wise to do the same thing. God is still deeply involved in the life of every nation, whether or not that nation outwardly accepts God and seeks to follow Him. The movements of nations around the world are taking us toward that final day when Jesus will return. All the prophecies will be fulfilled and the purpose of God will reign triumphant over all!

When a storm comes some people want to hide their eyes and cover their heads waiting for the storm to pass. Other people want to find a "safe" place to watch the storm, see the lightning crashes and hear the thunder roar, trusting God to protect them from the storm or take them home by means of the storm. Either way they are safe with Jesus.

The display of God's power around the world today is the same. God will either protect you from it, or He will use it to take you to Glory! Either way you will be safe.

"Lord Jesus I am amazed at what is happening right now in the world. I see things happening that have never happened before. I see the world rushing toward a final conclusion even though they don't know that You are the Beginning and End of everything! May You Lord Jesus be glorified and praised today and forever more. Amen."