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Loving to the point of loosing

Loving to the point of loosing

Luke 9:23-24 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Christ was speaking to “them all”; all that desired to become his disciples. He was not only addressing the chosen 12, but the crowds that followed him in that day, and even to this day. He spoke of denying ourselves daily, and following him with abandonment. Loosing our lives to a life of becoming a slave to him. There must come a point in your life as a Christian that you realize what becoming a Christian truly means. You must come to the point of the realization of the ultimate sacrifice; you must come to the realization of your need for a Savior; you must remove the pride that builds the wall between; you must be drawn to sacrifice your temporal life here for that Savior to reap the eternal rewards. It is as simple as honoring the sacrifice that He gave you.

If you spending your time pursuing earthy rewards, would you say that you are loosing your life here for Christ? If you work 80hrs per week to pay for those rewards, and give Christ maybe a couple hours on Sunday, where is that sacrifice? How will you answer that question when you stand before Him and God asks “What did you do with my Son?” There comes a time of question; there comes a time for growth; there comes a time for commitment of your life in serving Him. His last words to you before ascending into Heaven was to become a disciple and to make disciples; to spread his name throughout the earth. Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

God has placed you and gifted you where you find yourself today. He has put you in a circle of influence to share your heart for Him. He may have blessed you financially so that you may bless others who are not so fortunate. In these acts of kindness and giving people who may not know Christ, may come to know Christ. How glorious it appears when you give to or for something that is unexpected. That is the heart of a Christian; a sacrificial gift that is bound up in their love for Christ. Loving to the point of loosing their lives to the One whom gave them life.

Time management 101

20 Aug

Time management 101

Mark 13:33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

We all have the “to do” lists. There are multiple lists for work, play, and even the dreaded ‘honey do’ lists at home. We are bombarded continuously in every arena for precious amounts of our time. We are expected to pack eight days into a seven day week in todays society. And mostly because of the instantaneous satisfaction this world demands, we are expected to do it now. Time management is at the top of every to do lists. I have to explain my time management as a ‘triage’ list like the TV show MASH many times: consistently re-prioritizing. This does not fair well in a self centered society.

Does God and the things of God make your lists? Do you make time for Him? What will you say before Him when He asks you how you managed your time? How will you explain all the things that were more important than Him? His return could be at any time, but His return will be a surprise and not predicted as some have tried and failed. Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. In the book of Revelation Christ is speaking to John about the church at Sardis and of their dead faith. Many had backslidden away from their church and into the world. Their focus was not on Christ and He strongly warned them of their hypocrisy. Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

God knows your heart and there is nothing you can hide from Him. There is a day coming that everything will be refined by fire. We all must account for our every action, word, deed, and thought. I dread that day, but I rest in the assurance of that day that Christ has covered all my sin at Calvary by sacrificing Himself for me, and you. How can we not seek to honor the ultimate sacrifice by sacrificing our time and putting Him at the top of all lists? I would hope to stand before God and say I tried, rather than ‘well you see I had to _______” . Make today a day you manage some time to spend seeking Him in His Word and prayer.

On a curve or a scale?

30 Jan

A great morning with God. I was actually researching another verse when this verse grabbed me, and I felt God speaking to me here. I know I have, and I think we all do to some degree, get confident about ourselves because we think in some way “well at least I am not doing that.” Then when we were watching the news, and all the mayhem that goes with it, we feel better about ourselves. Satan is instilling those thoughts. We are told that if we break one of The Commandments, we have broken them all. Uh ho,,,,,,,that puts us all in big trouble. I loved Pastor Jack’s story yesterday that culminated in him hearing God speak directly to him about another sins “Jack, that guys sins were just more visible.” Very convicting, and very true for all of us. But continue to press on to growing your relationship with Christ, and don’t let your enemy steal your security and peace that you possess through the Atonement of the Cross.

On a curve or a scale?

Romans 3:23,24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Undeniably you inherently have, and will continue to sin. Romans is the apostle Paul’s pinnacle book, full of deep theology, and even verse 23 goes back to Genesis and the beginning of sin in the garden of Eden. It is so hard for some to realize our depravity, and that we all are sinners by birth, We cannot live thinking that because of our good deeds, or lack of bad deeds, that God judges on a curve.We feel as though we are above the drudgery of society, we will make the scale, for we are not really that bad.

He is a God of perfection, and demands such. Their are no imperfections in heaven, no scale, no “you just made it.” We cannot ever obtain perfection, and realistically would never make His scale if there was one. Only through the washing of Christ’s blood, the ultimate sacrifice that was given for us, are we justified in attaining paradise for eternity through Christ alone. The free gift that we must humble ourselves to accept as the only Way, grasping our depravity and Romans 5:1 says “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” You can have this too, it is free, and it lasts an eternity.

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Tag Archives: ultimate sacrifice

Loving to the point of loosing

Time management 101

On a curve or a scale?

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