Chosen for God's Purpose

The Ultimate Sacrifice- Once For All In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 , Paul tells us what is the most important aspect of discipleship. He expresses the fullness of the gospel in a few succinct sentences,   “For what I received I passed onto you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”  No Christian really needs anything greater than these three truths:  Christ died. Christ was buried. Christ rose again. But what prompted the gospel story to come to fruition? One word – Sacrifice.  The ultimate sacrifice. The once-for-all sacrifice. The complete sacrifice. The Greek word for sacrifice is thusia , meaning “an offering”. Jesus was the fragrant offering before the Father as remission for our sin.  The necessity of sacrifice dates all the way back to the days of Cain and Abel. And the concept of “proper sac...

The master showed us the concept of true humility, and reminded us that the servant is not above the master Humble. Meek. Modest. Webster’s defines humility as a “modest or low view of one’s own importance”.  How does Scripture define humility? God defines humility as one of the most important character trait a person can possess. This is a trait that will bring you close to Christ – the humble servant – in living out your life.  If you seek to live a life to be seen or to be the greatest in the kingdom of God or even within your own sphere of influence, you are truly missing out on what God is. We see the concept of humility come up so often in Scripture, but a particular story comes to mind.  The disciples have been following Christ for a while. They are seeing great miracles done all the time. Jesus has sent them out to begin to minister apart from Him, and they are moving in the power of His spirit. They come back rejoicing that the demons a...

Great Is Thy Faithfulness!! What is faithfulness to you? Do you see yourself as a faithful person? Faithfulness is something that comes up in so many areas of our lives- in our relationships, in our work place, in society, and especially in relation to God. Faithfulness is a trait that many strive for, but few manage to pull off.  Yes – we can stay faithful to our spouses, faithful to our commitments, and even faithful to the things we agree to do for the Lord. But it is in the heart that true faithfulness is judged. It is not simply faithful actions. It is faithful intentions, faithful motivation, that really matters. Obviously, Jesus is the epitome of faithfulness, but I believe there is another example from Scripture that we can view as well. I believe that Paul the Apostle is a great case study on human faithfulness.  Even in his evil treachery against the early church, he believed he was living out a life in service to God. He was dead set, ...

Are you bold enough to take a leap for Jesus? When you consider people from the Scripture, who would you find to be truly bold ? There are so many to choose from who showed strength amid great travail and adversity; Peter, Paul, Elijah, Ezekiel, Esther, David, and so many more. However, I want to look at someone who  would often be overlooked - Gideon. We see the story of Gideon unfold in chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Judges. Here is a normal, everyday man living in a city struggling against the oppressive forces of the Midianites. He does not see himself as much- in fact when the Angel of the Lord (pre-incarnate Christ) calls him “a mighty man of valor” and informs Gideon that he shall deliver Israel from this current bondage, he responds with a typical statement. He cries out “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15) . On a sidenote, isn’t God awesome - how He alw...

What makes you burn? Passion. What images strike your mind when you hear that word? Is it the intense pull to excel in a certain hobby or talent? Is it an emotion that arises in human relationship? Is it the driving force behind what you achieve- what you do? By definition, passion is “the state of the mind when it is powerfully acted upon and influenced by something external to itself; the state of any particular faculty which, under such conditions, becomes extremely sensitive or uncontrollably excited”. This is often expressed in emotional forms- passions of love, hate, jealously, wrath, ambition, fear, etc. For the disciples of Jesus, every one of these emotions raised their heads during the three years he walked with them on earth, and every day of their lives after His ascension. We see Peter rise up in anger against the Roman guards to defend the Lord, but we also see him cower in fear before the crowds, denying he even knew Jesus. We see James and John vie for posit...

Are you becoming an imitator of Christ, or merely just another follower? True Discipleship - Becoming Imitators of Christ What is a disciple? The common definition is “student” or “follower”. The Greek word mathetes translates as “disciple” , and the NAS Topical Index goes on to state that a deeper meaning is “adherent” or “apprentice”- this is someone who sits under the intense training and watchful eye of a master.  Their whole intent and purpose is to learn to imitate the person they are serving under. I believe that the term “disciple” has taken on a light context in our culture. Not that this blase  approach did not exist in Jesus day as well; there were many people who followed Jesus temporarily, until the going got too rough. These fair-weather followers were quick to jump ship when they felt the heat, when Jesus’ words struck too close to home, and when they were asked to give up more than they were willing to lay down. These were people who simply ...

Where are you abiding (Psalm 91)? Dwell – Abide – these are words with permanence. When we read Scripture, particularly Psalm 91, we see that the Lord did not use terms for “passing through” or “momentarily pausing” in His presence. He uses words with staying power. In the opening verses of Psalm 91, the writer is speaking of someone who finds permanence in God’s presence…in the safe keeping of His shadow, in the secret place with Him. He uses two words, one right after another "He who dwells in the shelter of the most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty". But these are promises with a condition- it is He who DWELLS in the secret place of the most High, that shall ABIDE in the shadow of the Almighty. If we really want to abide with the Lord, we must dwell with Him in the secret places- in the times of prayer and contemplation that draw us closer to Him. The person who does this can truly say that the Lord has become their refuge and fortress...