Amen, Let It Be So!

“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in Him it has always been ‘Yes.’  For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”  -2 Corinthians 1:19-20

What a marvelous Savior we serve!  “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.”  This reminds me of my post, He Is Able, He Is Willing.  Christ is able (Romans 14:3-4), and Christ is willing (Matthew 8:1-4), and because of this “in Him is has always been ‘Yes,’” and it will always be “Yes.”  Amen to that!

Lord,

Thank You for Your willingness to save us.  Thank You that Your “Yes” means “Yes.”  Thank You that Your promises are guaranteed.  Thank You that through You we can say “Amen” and be assured of Your response.  We love You Lord, for You are a great God!

Amen

Unrecognizable

 “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” -1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Perishable to imperishable.  Dishonor to glory.  Weakness to power.  Natural body to spiritual body.

Lord,

You are a mysterious and amazing God.  Thank you for the awesome gift of knowing You. Thank You for the hope of salvation.

Amen

There Is More Work To Be Done!

“Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?” 
-1 Corinthians 14:36

Lord,
The word of God did not originate with me, it originated with You Lord.  And in Your mercy You have reached out to us and made it known to us.  Lord we are not the “only people” Your word has reached, nor are we the “only people” it is yet to reach.  Teach us to look at Your word this way.  Teach us to see Your word as Your word and not our own.  Lord help us to get rid of our own agendas and to pick up Yours.  The nations are waiting to hear You speak, and Your words are just as much for those who have not yet heard as they are for us.  Teach us to be good stewards of the gift You have given us. Help us to spread Your word across the earth!

Amen

Lord Teach Us To Love

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”  
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Knowledge, power, success, respect, influence, acknowledgment, etc. mean nothing and get you nowhere if they are not accompanied with love.

Our Identity In Christ

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  -1 Corinthians 6:9-11

“And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.” Amen!  What powerful words these are, what holy truths to live by!  Let’s take a closer look at what this means:

Are We Caught In The Middle?

I listened to this song today and thought of my previous post, especially the quote from the missionary: “missions isn’t my thing guys.  It’s my savior’s thing.  And because of that it has become my thing.”

Break Our Hearts Lord, We Want To Share In Your Pain

Two good songs to remind ourselves to live with Christ’s heart:

What Breaks Your Heart, by Scott Krippayne

Want to get to know You better
I want to understand what matters to You
I want to know what moves You deeply
I want to see the world the way You do

(chorus)

What breaks Your heart
What makes You cry
What would I see
If I looked through Your eyes
I want to grow closer and closer to You
'Til what breaks Your heart
Will break mine too

Don't want to be numb to injustice
Don't want to get used to the evil I see
Don't want to grow cold to those who wander
Or forget about those who don't believe

(chorus)

Sometimes You weep with us
In the things that we go through
I long for tenderness
So that I might weep with You

(chorus)

What Does It Mean To Share In Christ’s Pain?

We sang the song Surrender in church last Sunday and as we sang the last line of the last verse I thought about what it means to share in Christ’s pain. 

Here are the lyrics:

I'm giving You my heart, and all that is within

I lay it all down, for the sake of You my king

I'm giving You my dreams, I'm laying down my rights

I'm giving up my pride, for the promise of new Life

(Chorus)

And I Surrender all to You, all to You

And I surrender all to You, Lord, all to You

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross

And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss

For the sake of knowing You, for the glory of Your name

To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain

(Chorus)

So many times I read verses like Romans 8:17 (“Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we also share in His glory”) or Philippians 1:29 (“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.”) and view suffering for Christ as merely a physical experience.  However as I sang “even sharing in Your pain” I couldn’t help but think of people like the apostle Paul or Hudson Taylor who didn’t only suffer physically for Christ but emotionally as well.  Their bodies weren’t the only thing in turmoil, but their hearts were torn apart as well because of their love for God’s people.