NEVER GIVE UP

 

NEVER GIVE UP

II Cor. 4:1-2 And so, since God in his mercy has given us this wonderful ministry, we never give up. We reject all shameful and underhanded methods. We do not try to trick anyone, and we do not distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know that. NLT

If you are in a ministry be sure that it is from God and not something you decided to do on your own. If you are doing all you do to honor and glorify Christ, then certainly what you do is of God. It should be our constant desire to do what the Lord lays on our hearts to do. It is a wonderful thing to know that what you are doing is of God and not you.

Don’t give up. The Lord is the object of your ministry, not you. You serve for Jesus’ sake, not your own. There is much work that needs to be done, and the Lord is counting on you to do your part. If you quit trying, then you are depriving others of the opportunity to learn and grow through you. You may be the key the Lord wants to use to unlock the door to someone’s heart.

Be sure that you do things God’s way. Don’t resort to using methods that are self-serving or that gives the Lord a black eye. The goal is to lift up Christ before the world in an honorable way. We should always strive to draw people to Him, not give them reason to shun Him.

Be careful how you use God’s Word. It is tempting at times to use it wrongly for selfish purposes. It is easy to distort the Word to get people to follow us instead of Christ. It is tempting to distort the Word so that sin is not exposed and dealt with. It is tempting at times to distort the Word to put ourselves in a positive light. Be careful how you use God’s Word.

Remember, God knows at all times what you are doing and why you do what you do. Always tell the truth in love. Conduct yourself in such a way that no one will be able to accuse you of not being honest in your dealings.

REMOVE THE VEIL

 

REMOVE THE VEIL

II Cor. 3:15-18 Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away. Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. NLT

Until Jesus removes the veil, a dark cloud hangs over our heads that prevents us from seeing clearly the light. The veil confines our sight to a very small world that is corrupt and distorts truth. The veil prevents us from being seen for who we really are, wonderfully and uniquely made people in His image. No one can remove the veil that hangs over us except Jesus.

Once the veil is removed, everything changes. We are able to see the Lord: who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing. We are able to see who we are as seen through His eyes. We are able to see why we live and what happens when we die.

When the veil is removed, we experience for the first time in our lives true freedom. The Lord releases us to become the person He created us to be. He frees us to become mirrors that reflect the glory and goodness of God. He frees us to become more and more like Him so all can see Him in us.

Some of us have a hard time letting go of the veil. We become comfortable living in a very confined space and we lose sight of the bigger picture of God's grace and love. We resist the effort of God to remove our veil. We hang on as tightly as we can, convinced that it is better to live in our own little world than it is to explore the glory of God's world. We settle for so little when the Lord wants to give us so much.

What about you? Have you allowed the Lord to remove the veil from off your heart? Are you letting Him take you where you have never gone before? Are you living in the freedom He has provided for you, or are you still lingering in the bondage of sin? Are you a pure reflection of God in His holiness, or are you a tarnished mirror?

The Lord wants us to be more and more like Him. There is no better time than right now to let Him help you do it.

A SWEET PERFUME

 

A SWEET PERFUME

II Cor. 2:14-15 But thanks be to God, who made us his captives and leads us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume. NLT

The Apostle Paul understood what the Lord had done for him and was now doing in his life. He knew the Lord was with him and was using him to tell others about Him. He knew his service to Christ was like a sweet perfume that ascended up to God.

We too are like a sweet perfume before God when we faithfully seek Him out and serve Him. God is well-pleased with all who are faithfully telling others about the Lord and are spreading the Good News. You may not think you are much or are accomplishing much as you faithfully serve the Lord, but make no mistake about it, the Lord sees you and is well-pleased with you. You don't have to be noticed by man in order to be noticed by God. God does not measure our successes like we do. He just calls us to faithfulness. Let your light shine wherever you go and tell as many people as you can about the Lord, and you will be like a sweet perfume to God.

Growing up we often had what we called a testimony time in our services. It was a time set aside for the saints to share what the Lord had been doing in their lives. More and more churches these days are doing away with it, and that is a tragedy. We need those times to bear witness of our Lord. We need to be able to share our love for our Lord in public and talk about Him. It too is a sweet perfume that ascends to the throne of God.

A CLEAR CONSCIOUS

 

A CLEAR CONSCIOUS

II Cor. 1:12 We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have been honest and sincere in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own earthly wisdom. That is how we have acted toward everyone, and especially toward you. NLT

Paul was honest in his self-examination. Because he always sought to do what was right before God, he was sure that he had not done anything wrong before the church at Corinth. Paul humbly declared his innocence. He was absolutely certain that he had been honest with them about their spiritual condition and that he had dealt with them out of a heart of love.

How could Paul be so sure of himself? He totally depended on God’s grace and not on any wisdom of man. Whatever Paul preached and taught, he learned it from the Lord. He spent much time in fellowship with God and he listened intently to what the Lord taught him. Paul was consistent in his living and treated everyone everywhere he went the same way. Paul’s only agenda was to do what God had given him to do God’s way.

How about you? Do you have a clear conscious that you are doing everything right before God? Are you honest and sincere in all your dealings with others? Are you spending adequate time with the Lord in fellowship through His Word and in prayer to make it happen? Are you sincerely striving to do your best to obey and serve the Lord?

May the Lord give you a quiet confidence in all you do that you are doing it right as you walk amongst men. May your walk be a walk of grace. May others know that your wisdom comes from God and not man.

PASS IT ON

 

PASS IT ON

II Cor. 1:3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. NLT

We have a mandate from God to pass it on. As we are blessed by God, we are to be a blessing to others. As we experience God's amazing grace, we are to come alongside those who are in need of the same grace in their hour of need and help them. Nothing in life that we go through is without purpose or value. God allows us to discover His ability to help us through all of life's circumstances so that we in turn can help others as they go through them. No one is unique in what they live through. Others have gone through it before them and others will go through it after they do.

See the importance of your life experiences. What have they taught you about God? How have they helped you to become who you are today in Him? Pass it on. You have a story to tell that will help others. Someone must hear what you have to say. Someone's faith may very well hinge on your testimony.

Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace in bringing you this far in life. Praise Him for seeing you through the harsh circumstances of life. Praise Him for all He has taught you about life, faith, and Him. Praise Him and pass it on.

Praise the Lord today for His wonderful promise. No matter how tough life may get, no matter how much we may have to suffer, there is an abundance of God's help to see us through. Let not your heart be troubled. Don't fret over those things you cannot control. Don't let life overwhelm you. Our God is able to see us through whatever life may bring our way. Let this wonderful truth comfort you. Press on in the all sufficient power and grace of our God. Bring it on, for our God is able to deliver us!

Praise the Lord for all those who have helped us in our times of need. Praise Him for those who came alongside of us to help us get back on our feet and moving once again. Praise the Lord, and pass it on.

When you suffer and find comfort in the love of Jesus and the Word of God, pass it on. God allows us to experience a wide variety of things in life so that we will learn a lot about faith and ourselves and so that we can share with others how the Lord has helped us when we experience what they are experiencing. Those who know best what another is going through is he who has personally lived through it himself.

Let the Lord use you to comfort and strengthen others through their times of need. Let Him use you to draw others to Him for the comfort and strength He alone can give.

DO NOT WAVER

 

DO NOT WAVER

I Cor. 16:13-14 Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done in love. NLT

Strong words. Mighty words. Inspiring words. Words that will change your life forever if you will but do them. Be on your guard. You can never go off duty guarding your soul. Your soul is always under attack and the moment you quit watching over it to protect you, you will be assaulted and hurt. Satan is very patient and he will pounce on you the very first chance he gets.

Stand true to what you believe. Do not waver on what you know to be true. Unless it is the Lord who teaches you otherwise, don’t let Satan trick you into believing what isn’t true. Take a stand for that which is true. Don’t sit on it and let others defend it. Know what and why you believe. Get grounded in the Word itself and not just what others tell you it says. Be sure what you believe can be verified as true by the Spirit of God who is the author of the Word.

Be courageous. One of the greatest needs the Church has today is for the children of God to be courageous. We don’t want to ruffle feathers. We want to be politically correct so we don’t offend anybody. We water down what we know to be true so that everybody can embrace us. We have lost our voice because we no longer are bold enough to withstand the forces of evil around us and speak out against them.

Be strong. Our strength goes away so easily. We fail to exercise discipline in spiritual matters. We become too busy and excuse ourselves for not exercising our spiritual muscles. We justify ourselves and become convinced that all we need is an hour or two of church a week to stay in tune with God. We feed on spiritual junk food and expect it to satisfy our needs. We feast on milk when we need some meat and potatoes. We neglect God’s Word, prayer, witnessing, and service and think it’s okay.

And everything must be done in love. People are drawn to love. We earn the right to speak out when we do it in love. People will listen when they know we truly do love them. And, the most loving thing we can do for others is to: stand true to what we believe, be courageous, and be strong.

DON'T FALL ASLEEP

 

DON’T FALL ASLEEP

I Cor. 16:13-14 Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love. NLT

Be on guard. It is a very dangerous thing to let down your guard when it comes to your soul. All Satan needs is a little crack and he will squeeze in and wreak havoc in you. Satan is always on the watch for opportunities, so we must be always alert and on duty to protect our souls.

Stand true to what you believe. Don’t cave in when opposition comes. Know what you believe and why you believe it based on God’s Word so that you will be able to stand. Knowing what you believe comes from diligent and faithful study and prayer. Fellowship with other believers in worship and service are essential. If you don’t stand on what you believe, you will fall.

Be courageous and strong. Don’t avoid opportunities to take a stand for Christ. Boldly let your light shine in the darkness of the world. You have a message within you that must be told. Seize every opportunity you can to let the world know about the Lord.

As you stand strong and serve the Lord, always do it in love. Don’t let pride or self-righteousness get a foothold in you. Live and speak compassionately. Let a genuine concern for the souls of others drive you. People can dismiss the arguments of the head, but they can’t easily dismiss the love that comes from a heart genuinely in love with Jesus.