God was in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19) reconciling the world to Himself. Now Christ is in us (Philippians 1:6) to work in and through us and use us to continue in the redemptive purpose of God. The Lord has already set the amount of time (Luke 22:53) that He would allow for the power that darkness gives. In the present darkness of the world now, we Christians are to (1 Corinthians 10:31) glorify God in everything we do. We are appointed to live (Ephesians 1:12) for the purpose of God’s glory.
Billy Graham’s daughter Anne, fainted from pain on the platform where she was speaking to thousands of people. An ambulance was called to take her to the hospital but she refused to go. When she became conscious, she said she must go back to the platform and finish the message God had given her for that audience or else she would be disobeying the Lord. She was living to the praise of God’s glory and I praised the glory of God in what He accomplished through His obedient servant. Everything God tells us to do, He always enables and fully equips us to do. (Oswald Chambers) “When we see Jesus, not just what He has done for us, but see Him as He is - - we are invincible in Him, because we see Him Who is invincible.” We could never fathom the physical, emotional and spiritual agony Jesus suffered in Gethsemane and on the Cross of Calvary. Abandoned, alone and left available to Satan’s hordes of screaming demons. Of course (Mark 15:30) Jesus could have taken Himself off the Cross, but He endured it all for (Hebrews 12:2) the joy that was set before Him. His joy was to redeem you and me and put within us Incarnate Deity.
God’s Life within us is in the process of restoring us to the original perfection of the Divine Image.
The man was blind, he had been born blind and had never seen his mother’s face. It was impossible for him to see anything. But what made the life-changing difference was (John 9:1) that Jesus saw him. Saliva and mud cannot cure anything but (John 9:6-7) in the hands of Jesus, saliva and mud work miracles for the glory of God. Once this man was totally blind but when the hand of Jesus touched him, he could see everything clearly. Take time to fully absorb this important fact - - when his eyes were opened, the first Person he saw was Jesus, his Creator, his Healer, his Redeemer. We who have received spiritual sight are surrounded by people who are spiritually blind and we have an obligation to tell them how they can receive sight. When a spiritually blind person receives spiritual sight, the first Person they see is Jesus and they behold (Psalms 27:4) His Beauty.
The Christian Life is not hard, it is impossible. Only Jesus can live the Life (John 8:29) that always pleases God. But the risen glorified Christ Jesus lives in born-again believers; and if we let His Resurrection Life dominate in us, we will consistently be God’s will in action by our identification with Jesus. His will for us will be what we think pray, desire, say and do, wherever we are at all times. Even the ‘inevitables’ of an aging body of crumbling dust in a fallen world, God will work into His purpose (Romans 8:28-29) to make us like Jesus. If we put ourselves and everything we are and have into the hand of Jesus, we will be amazed at what He will do through us. God will use us to bring spiritually blind people to receive spiritual sight. All who have seen Jesus (John 12:45, John 14:9) have seen the Father. Now in our world, those who see us (Galatians 1:16) should see Jesus. Everything about us should proclaim this Truth about Jesus so that at all times, in all ways and in all circumstances - - it is never about us but always about Jesus. That is why God has saved us. Not to be concerned or caught up with temporary things of earth but to make an eternal difference in the lives of those in our world who are spiritually blind.
He was just a regular guy, very self-confident and self-assured. He didn’t need God; he was positive that he could handle anything. One day while strolling in the forest, he was filled with pride as he let his mind recount what he had achieved. Suddenly, he encountered a lion but he escaped. Then a bear met him and began to chase him. He ran with all his strength and made it safely to his house. Then being exhausted, he leaned his hand against the wall to recover his breath. But, on that wall there was a deadly scorpion which bit him and killed him. The prophet Amos (Amos 5:19) used a lion, bear, scorpion and wall to illustrate the absolute folly of trusting in yourself or anything other than the One True God. The darkness of judgment is just ahead.
If you are trusting in anyone, or anything, or religion, rather than the one and only God and Saviour, you are leaning on a façade. A tottering wall, where the deadly scorpions are poised and waiting.
You can be sincere in your misplaced trust but you will be sincerely wrong. Sincerity cannot save anyone. Jesus is (John 14:6) the only Way, The only Truth and the only Life.
Without the Way there is no going, without the Truth there is no knowing, without the Life there is no living. The lion and the bear could represent the temptations and circumstances of your life, but if you face them in the Resurrection victory of the invincible Lord Jesus, you will be (Romans 8:37) more than a conqueror.
When a particular little song begins in my heart before I am scarcely aware of it and this bounces into my mind for me to sing, the thought comes to me that within me the Holy Spirit of God (Zephaniah 3:17) is singing. The Holy Spirit never gives us power. He Himself within us is the power energizing us to achieve God’s purpose.
Several months ago, I wrote an equation in one of my meditations. I think it is timely and well worth repeating.
Everything minus Jesus equals nothing
BUT
Nothing plus Jesus equals EVERYTHING
While I was drying the breakfast dishes, the Lord gave me this GIC reminder. I have a life-long GIC which guarantees that every need I will have during my lifetime will be fully supplied. My GIC (Matthew 6:33) spells God In Charge.
The promises of Jesus in just this one chapter, John 14, fuel my desire and determination to love and obey Him with all my heart because His promises are for deepening personal intimacy with Himself and our heavenly Father.