We Will See Jesus - Part 3

 

 

God speaks to us in so many ways: His quiet voice, a thought from a friend, a verse from His Word, a song or a sermon, the numbers on the clock, a particular bird, a butterfly, a blooming flower, etc.

He knows exactly how to show His love to each one of us. Jesus is God and a part of the Trinity (John 8:58). He did not steal equality with God (Philippians 2:6). He is an integral part of the great I AM (John 8:24).

The Godhead is eternally present with us all. As Believers, His presences is within us and is our guarantee of experiencing the glory of our Lord (Colossians 1:27). Our life, past and present and future, belongs to Him.

God pardons our yesterdays and gives us hope for our tomorrows. He encourages us to ask for whatever we need through the authority of His name, and He will provide it for us (Matthew 7:7).

God does this in order to insure our joy now and throughout eternity (John 16:24). He turns our mourning into happiness, our need into abundance, our talents into a ministry and our powerlessness into His anointing (Psalm 30:11-12; 1 Peter 4:10; 1 John 2:27).

Jesus is the Bread of Life, who satisfies our longing and fills our hungry soul (John 6: 35; Psalm 107:9). He is the exact representation of the Godhead, purifies us from our sins, sits at the right hand of God and sustains all things by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our peace, and You have broken down every wall, which prevents us from seeing Jesus (Judges 6:24; Ephesians 2:14). You are our rock of refuge, fortress of safety, deliverer from sin and shield from fear and our salvation, when we have no other (Psalm 18:2).

Jesus is the brightness of Your coming and the express image of Your person (2 Thessalonians 2:8; Hebrews 1:3). We want nothing more than to see Jesus arise and shine within us as we reflect His glory (Isaiah 60:1-22; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Thought for the Day:

Once we truly see Jesus, we do not desire anything this world has to offer. He is enough, and He satisfies the longing of our soul (Psalm 107:9). He is our life, and He is all we need (Colossians 3:4; Philippians 4:19).

Long-Range Dividends

 
There are times in our life when Christians might pursue the lusts of the flesh and step outside of their fellowship of God. They eat the bread of idleness and wickedness (Proverbs 31:27, 4:17). Then they reap the bread of affliction and adversity (1 Kings 22:27; Isaiah 30:20). As a result, they end up eating the bitter bread of the tears and sorrows of the mourner (Psalm 80:5, 127:2; Hosea 9:4).

There are consequences of our sins, even as Believers. Sin robs us, and it always inflicts negative, long-range dividends on us. God promises to chastise those whom He loves. We can rejoice when this happens, because it proves that we are sons and not without God's Spirit within us (Hebrews 12:7). We actually learn to forgive others because God forgives us.

Jesus taught His disciples to forgive seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:21-23). This is not a limiting number, but shows the limitless love and forgiveness God has for us. When we come to Christ through salvation, we no longer live life our way, because we are now dead and hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). We live in union with the Father, Son and Spirit (John 10:30).


We are dead and buried with Him, but also raised in Him to a whole new life (Romans 6:4). Jesus took our sin nature and nailed it to the cross, paying the penalty of our sins for us. Now, Christ lives through us and we express His righteousness in our lives (Romans 3:14). We no longer live for our self, but for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15), because Jesus is the source of our spiritual life.


Christ in us unites us with the Kingdom of God, which gives us light and love, even in the darkest trial we may traverse in this world (1 Chronicles 16:34). The will of God should set the course for our life and determine the choices we make (Ephesians 2:10). Christ in us is our hope of living in glory with God both now and throughout eternity (Colossians 1:27), which pays great dividends.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the entire world was created through You (Ephesians 3:9), and only in You does anything exist. You hold everything together (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17). This proves that You are not far from any one of us; especially if we live, move and have our existence in You (Acts 17:27-28). We learn to love, because You first loved us enough to suffer and die for us (1 John 4:19). You died, but You live again both in heaven and in all of Your Saints. This is the most convincing evidence that You are our God.


Thought for the Day:

When we love the basest person on earth; we are, in fact, loving Christ, and reaping His rewards. – Matthew 25:31-46

 

Oil of Gladness

In some instances in life, we feel like we will never live again. It is hard to breathe and all we want to do is to sleep. The grief and devastation are so acute that they constantly prick our soul. We whither up inside and we desire nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. We resent it when people reach out to us; yet, we also resent it when they fail to extend their sympathy and help. There is a real temptation to withdraw from life and to use our grief as an excuse. Nothing brings us joy, and all of our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling and mock us.

God has a plan and purpose for your life in this very moment, as well as in all of the moments of your future. No person, place or thing can give us more joy than our relationship with Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:8). If they do, then they are idols in our life. If the lack of some person, place or thing robs you of the joy that Jesus provides by His presence in your life, then that is also an idol in your life. God is a jealous God, and He will not tolerate any idols before Him in our heart (Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:15).

The goal is to come to the place in your walk with Him where you can honestly say, “God’s love is enough. Period.” We need nothing else this world has to offer, because we actually believe and live in the fact that God’s love is all we need. Allow God’s Spirit to pour His oil of gladness over your wounds to heal you (Isaiah 61:3). God has a future for you, which does not include the people, the job or the circumstances, which you lost. However, His future for you does include limitless hope and very special promises (Jeremiah 29:11).

Biblical Saints lost everything they owned and loved; yet, in their helpless state, God gave them the oil of gladness, because they loved righteousness and hated wickedness (Psalm 45:7). Jesus is our example. He loved righteousness and hated wickedness also, and He received from God the oil of gladness in His life as well (Hebrews 1:9). The original word for gladness in these texts means to jump for joy with exceeding excitement! Now that’s true happiness! God gives everyone the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3).

Are you in mourning today? Receive the oil of gladness from God’s Spirit within you. There is no calamity too great from which God’s Spirit cannot deliver you, if you willingly surrender your will, plans and expectation totally to Him and receive the plans that He has in store for you. I guarantee that it will be greater than anything you could ever even imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). Do you hate wickedness and love righteousness? Then, receive the oil of gladness for your reward.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that You set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). You gave His disciples Your joy as well (Acts 13:52). Jesus shared Your truth with His disciples, so their joy would be full (John 15:11). We also receive joy as the fruit of Your Spirit. We thank You for this joy that transcends our circumstances and lot in life. It causes us to make melody in our heart to You (Ephesians 5:19). We serve you during our earthly life with gladness (Psalm 100:2); and with gladness and rejoicing we will enter Your presence when You are ready to call us home (Psalm 45:15). We look forward to dwelling with You in eternity.

Thought for the Day:
Serve the Lord and you will receive His oil of gladness, which will cause you to come before His presence with rejoicing. – Psalm 100:2

Transformation

Read: John 16:20-22

“To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.” Isa 61:3 (TLB)

This morning, I thought about many things that bring joy into my life: butterflies in my garden, a humorous story, scenic beauty, receiving a desire of my heart, a tender and meaningful interaction, life-long friendships and miraculous moments. I used to find it hard to feel joyful, because God created me with a melancholy personality. However, over my lifetime, God’s Holy Spirit replaced the negative, pessimistic aspects of my personality with the fruit of His Spirit.

He replaced hatred with love, discontentment with peace, irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, worry with faith, pride with meekness and depression with true joy as His Spirit guided me moment by moment throughout the day.

What do the words of the fruit of the Spirit mean? Love is affection for others; Joy is exuberance about life; Peace is abiding serenity; Patience is a willingness to stick with the task; Gentleness is compassion from the heart; Goodness is kindness that pervades our entire being; Meekness is humility in service; Self-Control is living a life guided by the Spirit of God; Faith is trusting that God knows what He’s doing.

Prayer:

Lord, rebirth in me a new heart and regenerate Your spirit within me. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

God is in the transforming business.