How great was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Have you ever stopped to consider the unfathomable depth of His accomplishment? Maybe you can get a glimpse in your mother’s loving eyes.
All in Jesus
How great was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Have you ever stopped to consider the unfathomable depth of His accomplishment? Maybe you can get a glimpse in your mother’s loving eyes.
Are you a Saint? Are you Holy and assured of heaven after death? If so, that is wonderful, and if not... why not? We are all called to be saints, but what do we do with our exalted calling? Is that where God’s vision for us is complete, or is there more?
Many devout Christians will reach a place in their faith where they will call out to the Lord asking that they join Him in the suffering He experienced. One feels that if God breaks our bread and pours out our wine that the relationship we have with Him will grow all the closer, but something unexpected happens... it isn't God who breaks us and pours us out.
Am I willing to abandon myself to Jesus Christ? Can I put down my own self interests and pick up the cross? If I can't answer "Yes" to these questions then I am confined, at best, to being an onlooker in the audience as Jesus teaches, and not a disciple that follows Him wherever He leads...
Do you have a gift to offer God, but you just can't find the right moment to give it to Him? Are you standing before the altar with doubt in your mind wondering if He will receive your offering? Is your spirit unsettled and in a state that keeps you at arm's distance from God's will in some matter? In moments like this there is something not right... there is emptiness of spirit... listen as the Holy Spirit directs you in clearing away the obstruction.
Jesus is without sin, and perfect, but is there any hope for us to be perfect as He is? Is perfection something that we are even capable of? The glorious surprise of faith is that we are transformed not into men seeking to behave as God, but into God flowing from man.
God never leads us by the ear into salvation. He never forces us to acknowledge Him against our will, or badgers us until we finally give in. No, a tiny seed is planted within us and it becomes our responsibility to tend and grow it, or let it lie dormant and eventually whither away.
Are we prepared to do the Father's bidding? I am not talking about the things you consider to be the grand tasks of heaven, but rather the trivial and menial jobs. Those that occur every day as we live out our lives; the ones that humble us and define us as servants.
Do you claim the glory of God for yourself? When doing great things you have been called and gifted to do, do you puff out your chest and swagger as if they were about you? We are tempted as men and women of the world to claim rights over God's work when it moves through us into the physical world, but we must defeat that inclination lest we be humbled.
Do you feel particularly unworthy this morning? When you arose did you feel dulled by the world as if you had lost your spiritual sheen? Well, cast that off because you are a living stone... a piece of heaven. When you look into the mirror rejoice, and see yourself a reflection of the Kingdom to come.
How do you pray when you're broken? What do you pray for when you have nothing left, and your life is a shambles? How do you lift your spirit high enough that you can face God with your desires? We are often embarrassed when we have totally failed in life; we cover ourselves in leaves and hide as Adam and Eve did. Is that really what we should do? Is our faith that shallow? Has our God given us up to our despair?
What do you do with fruit of great sacrifices that have been made for you? Do you take them like provisions into your larder? Do you consume them like a fine wine? Or, perhaps you distribute them among the deserving? This begs the question... what do we do with the great sacrifices, what do we do with the blood offering of Jesus?
Are you satisfied with what God has done in you? When you look in the mirror in the morning are you pleased and at ease with the fact that Jesus has filled you with His teaching and that the Holy Spirit has expanded you to the point of popping at the seams? All of this is wonderful, but what is really asked of us isn't to reach self-fufilment, but rather that we Channel all we are given to those around us. Our measure is in service, not in volume.
How strong is your belief in Christ? Have you grown in your faith to the place where those things that are not seen leave shadows before you? Is heaven as real as the home you return to each night? When Jesus holds your hand can you feel the warmth of the blood coursing through it?
How is your life in Christ? Before you answer this question answer another... "how often do I pray?" We think that our life with Christ is robust because of the things we do, and yet we have not humbled ourselves before Him in prayer; our relationship is starving.