GOD'S PARTNERS

 

GOD’S PARTNERS

II Cor. 6:1-2 As God's partners, we beg you not to reject this marvelous message of God's great kindness. For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation. NLT

The Apostle Paul made a very bold statement here. He claimed partnership with God. He knew himself and his relationship with Christ well enough to state he was a partner with Him in His work on earth. Are you confident enough in your relationship with Christ and your service to Him that you can make the same boast?

What were Paul and Jesus partners in? Spreading the Gospel message. It was Paul's passion to tell others about God's great kindness in providing for us salvation. Paul experienced the love and mercy of God in saving his soul, and he was passionate about telling others about it so that they too might be saved. It was Paul's life. I wonder how passionate you are today about your salvation.

Does the fact that Jesus saved you from your sins change you and the way you live? Do you value your relationship with Christ above everything else in life? Do you care enough about others to do your best to lead them to Christ? Are you living more for Jesus today than for yourself?

God wants to be in partnership with you. Do you love Him enough to join Him in His work on earth? The Lord is ready and willing to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation. You may not be given another day to partner up with Him. Will you do it?

A NEW LIFE TO LIVE!

 

A NEW LIFE TO LIVE!

II Cor. 5:17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! NLT

No two believers come to Christ exactly the same way. We all travel down a different path of life and experience life in different ways. The Lord meets each of us on our unique paths and draws us to himself. What may work for me would not necessarily be what you need in order to believe and surrender your heart to Christ. He alone knows how to best touch our souls.

No two believers grow in Christ exactly the same way. Some of us seem to grow up overnight, while some of us take years to grow up. Some of us take root right away and begin to show signs of dramatic change, while for others change happens at a snail's pace.

Regardless of how we are changed or how quickly it may happen, the fact of the matter is, we who are in Christ will all change. Jesus changes me. I cannot be who I was before Jesus entered my life. Everything I was is open to change. I am not who I was, I am a new person in Christ. I am under new ownership. I follow new rules for living. I have a new example to follow. If I don't let Jesus have any part of me, then I am denying Him as my Lord. It may take a while for the Lord to change me, but change me He will if He is indeed my Savior and Lord.

Jesus is both Savior and Lord. We cannot have one without the other if we are going to live lives that are pleasing to God. In other words, God is never pleased with those who claim Jesus as their Savior but refuse to let Him be their Lord. Jesus is both and it is impossible to live in fellowship with Him without both being true in our hearts. If He is not your Lord, you are not moving in the right direction in your life.

If Jesus is your Lord, nothing stays the same. You continue to grow and change. Holiness characterizes who you are. Sin gradually loses its hold on you.

THE OLD HAS TO GO

 

THE OLD HAS TO GO

II Cor. 5:17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! NLT

We say it, but do we mean it? By the way many of us live, I question how much we really mean it. We hang onto our old ways. We don’t let the Lord change us where we need to be changed. We resist getting rid of those things which once brought us meaning and pleasure. We do not take on the new life that is ours in Christ very easily.

When Christ takes up residence in our hearts, things cannot remain the same. He is righteous and holy and cannot dwell where sin dwells. He does not sit idly by and not deal with sinful habits. He deals with sinful motives and attitudes. He changes the way we think and feel. He roots out everything in our hearts that is not pure and holy.

The work of Christ in us is a process. For some of us, it takes a long time for us to get rid of our old ways and for some of us the process is much quicker. One of the strongest hindrances we have to change is the breaking down of our wills. In order for us to grow in Christ, we must have the desire to grow. The Lord will not violate our wills. He wants us to want to change before He sets in motion what needs to be done to make us change.

The goal of Christ in us is to make us holy. It is what we will be if we yield ourselves to His lordship over us. If we resist Him, we will never have the peace and victory that we long for in our walk with Him. Let Him have His way in you and you will be much happier.

COMPELLED BY LOVE

 

COMPELLED BY LOVE

II. Cor. 5:14-15 Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them. NLT

Do you do whatever you do out of your love for Christ? Does His love control you to the point where you treat others as Christ would treat them? It is something to think about. One of our greatest challenges as children of God is to act in a Christ-like way towards each other, even when we are not treated in a loving way. If Christ's love controls us, we will be compelled by His love to treat others with an unconditional and sacrificing heart.

Jesus died for everyone. Regardless of how awful a person may be, Jesus loves them with all His heart and died for them. He does not want anyone to die in their sins and, neither should we. Regardless of how badly we may be treated by someone, we should always long for their salvation. Our prayers should be for their soul's rightness before God, not our revenge. And, it is not our place to sit in judgment over anyone, only the Lord can do that. We may note the wrong done, but let the Lord handle any judging that may need to be done. Pray for the salvation of those who do wrong and leave it at that.

We may judge the actions of others and hold them accountable for their actions, but that is as far as we dare go. Only God is able to judge the heart and condemn someone to hell.

We have died to the old life we once lived if Jesus is in our hearts. There is no part of our old life that we should hang onto or that should characterize who we are when we become children of God. Jesus changes our character and our desires. We no longer live to please ourselves, we live to please God. Period. If you are still trying to please yourself, you are not pleasing God. If you are more concerned about who others think you are than who God thinks you are, you are not pleasing God.

In Christ, we have new identities. We are not our own, we are His. Pleasing God should be the primary motivation of our lives, always.

CONTROLLED BE LOVE

 

CONTROLLED BY LOVE

II Cor. 5:14-15 Whatever we do, it is because Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. NLT

We cannot do anything of eternal worth without the love of Christ controlling us. His love is what motivates us to do for others instead of doing only for ourselves. His love stirs up within us hearts of gratitude that moves us to want to serve the Lord.

Jesus did not die for just some of us. He died for all people everywhere for all time. He died so that all who have a desire to be right with God may do so. He died so that we can have the power within us to change. He died to change the desires within us from being sin-driven to being God-driven. He died so that we would seek to please Christ and not ourselves.

We cannot have it our way and still be in Christ’s way. We cannot please God when our priorities are all messed up. We are compelled by Christ to love Him more than anything or anyone else in life and then to love others as much as we do ourselves.

What do you do daily out of your love for Christ? What do you do for others because you love them? What do you do for yourself? How much time and energy do you give to each of these? What does it say about your priorities to love and be driven by love? Be honest with yourself. Shouldn’t the fact that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead for us move us to live to please Him first and foremost in our lives?

If we truly love the Lord, we will be driven away from sin and drawn to Him. We will want to please Him in all we do and bring Him honor and glory in all things.

OUR JUST JUDGEMENT

 

OUR JUST JUDGMENT

II Cor. 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. NLT

We know that it is true, that each of us will stand before God someday to be judged, but often we don’t act like it. Many of us don’t take our walk with the Lord seriously. There are many who are not too concerned about how they live out their faith. They say and do things that please themselves rather than the Lord. They act as if there is all the time in the world to live rightly before God. They don’t pursue godliness. They don’t seek out the Lord through Bible study and prayer. They have an agenda in life, but it is not the Lord.

We reap what we sow. When we live loosely before God, it shows and we will be held responsible for it. The Lord will not play games with us on Judgment Day. There justice will overrule His compassion. There will be no more chances, no more mercy. On Judgment Day we will get exactly what we deserve for the life we have lived.

Don’t mess around with God, because He won’t mess around with you. Each one will receive whatever he deserves for the good or evil he has done in this life. We will be judged by the standards of His righteousness.

STAY FOCUSED

 

STAY FOCUSED

II Cor. 4:16-18 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. NLT

Are you weary of the battles you have to fight in your life? Does it seem like you have more than you can handle on your plate? Do you wonder whether or not it is even worth it? Do you wonder if the Lord even cares about your struggles? Do you wonder if it is even true?

DON'T GIVE UP! Take a moment and try to look beyond your circumstances. I know it's hard, but take a moment and consider what God has promised to do for the faithful. Think about it. Life as we know it today won't last very long. There is unending life ahead of us. God declares very loud and clear that there is a heaven and a hell. We cannot see them now, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Nothing in life makes any sense at all if it wasn't true.

By faith we know that heaven awaits those who believe and are faithful to Him. Hang in there! God is leading you through this life to prepare you for life with Him. He knows what you need to go through in order for you to become stronger. He knows how to help you through your moment so that you can be better equipped to live for Him both now and for eternity.

What you face in this life doesn't last long, no matter how untrue that may seem. What is ahead of you will make what is behind you seem so trivial. As you gaze upon the Lord you will grow to understand and appreciate your earthly struggles. As you keep your eyes focused on Jesus you will see more and more of what lies ahead. You will get a taste of the glory that awaits you and your appetite for it will get stronger and stronger. What joy awaits those who don't give up!

Stay focused on that which lies before us. Stay focused on Christ, the author and finisher of our salvation. Stay focused on what the Lord has given you to do in this life. Stay focused on what you need to do daily to stay spiritually fit. Stay focused and you will never lose your way home. Stay focused and someday soon you will be with Jesus for all of eternity. Stay focused; whatever you may go through in this life will be worth it all when you see Jesus face-to-face.