02/01/2025
Did Jesus live die and rise from the grave, resurrected, to save you from your sins? Of course He did, but that is only part of the picture... the tip of the iceberg. Jesus did all of this to save not just you or me, but the world... and regardless of who we are, any one of us is but a small part of that.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 KJV
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we miss the big picture. In this, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am glad that Jesus put the will of God before Himself, and by virtue of God's will, I am glad He placed the world before His own life too. We like to think of ourselves as being sanctified, but the real goal in our lives is not to be Holy or sanctified, but rather... redeemed. In fact it would be impossible to be sanctified without first going through the process of redemption. A person full of sin can't possibly be holy... atonement must be made and redemption must be rendered before sanctification can be achieved. And for you, me, and the rest of the world, the price of that redemption has been paid... by Jesus.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Romans 3:23-26 KJV
You might be asking why we should suffer given the fact that we have been redeemed. I wondered this too, but even Jesus suffered, each of the apostles died a violent death as a result of their faith (except John), and Paul documented his suffering throughout his writings. Chambers wrote this about Paul...
"The one passion of Paul's life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreaks, disillusionments, tribulations, for one reason only, because these things kept him in unmoved devotion to the gospel of God." - Oswald Chambers
So why should we be any different from Jesus and His apostles? In truth, we don't suffer to imitate Jesus, and we don't suffer because the apostles suffered, but we suffer because it brings faith to the surface of our consciousness where we can touch it and exercise it. Suffering brings us to the feet of God in humility and prayer, then our suffering makes the price of the gospel tangible... it brings value and reality to its revelation.
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,”
Colossians 1:24 ESV
Have you ever been desperate or lost beyond hope? If you have been then you understand the depth of anguish and abandon with which you should seek God's deliverance. This is the level of intensity with which we should also deliver the gospel; unbound by inhibition, and preaching without reservation, for the world’s redemption. We should be willing to do whatever is asked if it will only bring relief to the lost souls of the world. Is this the intensity with which each of us delivers the gospel message?
“For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
Colossians 1:29 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the redemption you delivered to me, and the world, through Jesus Christ your Son. Strengthen me Father, as I seek opportunities to deliver the Gospel of Jesus. Help me Lord as I suffer through pain and hardship while seeking to fulfill this mission you have called me to. Wipe the scales from my eyes and send me out like Jesus sent Paul and so many of His disciples, and never lift your hand from me. From the depths of my despair comes the most honest of prayers; my most humble and sincere plea for salvation... hear my cry Oh Lord. Let your Word flow from my once wounded lips, lips that were made clean by the touch of a burning coal from your altar, then healed by your grace through Jesus Christ. Thank you for his life, death, and resurrection, and for making Him a salve unto the world; the great healer, the redeemer of all, the merciful savior who touches those that need you most and whose gospel continues to bring these lost souls to your feet in supplication through we whom He has sent out. Let me find joy in your service as I deliver His gospel today. Holy Father, never let me stumble, and make my own redemption and salvation equally complete through your Son Jesus so that you might find me worthy to be called your friend, your child, your servant, and offered eternity in your presence. Praised be your name Abba for you are my God, and are Holy, Holy, Holy, in your perfection, love, goodness, and by your Word. I pray these things in the name of your Son Jesus and lift you up before all of creation as I seek to glorify you with all my body, mind, heart, and strength. May the world respond by shouting Hallelujah, and saying Amen, Amen, Amen!
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 KJV
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:3-6 ESV
Rich Forbes