Eyewitness

Have you ever witnessed something outlandish? Have you witnessed an event that was amazing? Have you witnessed something that you wouldn’t believe if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes? Have you tried to convince someone else that you actually saw it?

We all have seen something during our lifetimes that stunned us. We have seen someone do something amazing, perhaps unbelievable. We have likely told a friend or relative about it and heard their protestations that it couldn’t be true.

Now, imagine you are one of the disciples who traveled with Jesus for three years. Imagine trying to tell someone about the miraculous things He did. How do you convince someone that Jesus walked on water, raised both a man and a little girl from the dead, gave blind men their sight, healed the lame so they could walk, or cured leprosy? How do you convince them that He was crucified on a cross, buried, rose on the third day, walked the earth for forty days, and was lifted to the heavens on clouds?

This was the task of the Apostles. They were witnesses to the most amazing happenings this earth has ever experienced. Their task was bigger than any task we might face. Yet, because they were witnesses, they believe and would not stop attempting to convince people who Jesus is. Is it any wonder that many of them were martyrs?

In our modern times, many don’t want to believe the Bible. In fact, there are many Christians who are not fully convinced that Jesus is who He said He is. Otherwise, they would give Him the same devotion the Apostles did following His resurrection. We have never seen such amazing things happen and can’t fully wrap our minds around them. We want proof. We want to see it happen for ourselves.

We are called to not only believe, but to testify as witnesses ourselves. True, we may not have seen the events the Apostles did. But we can see Him working in our lives in the here and now. It is our personal experiences with God that convince people the eyewitness accounts by the Apostles are true. It is the personal stories we tell that plants the seed of faith in someone else.

I pray we all believe the eyewitness accounts of the Apostles. I pray we examine our lives to see how God has worked for us. I pray each one of us witnesses to others our experiences with God. Believe the eyewitness accounts. Recognize God working. Be a witness. Convince others Jesus is who He says He is.

Acts 10:39-41 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

Executed Will

Have you ever wondered why Jesus needed to die? Why couldn’t God simply provide a means for forgiving our sins without the need for Jesus to die? Have you thought about it? Would you like to have a little deeper understanding?

Many of us have a written will. All of us should have one, though many do not. Why do we write a will? It is to document our desires for what happens to our belongings after we die. We understand this concept. It has been in place for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Let’s look at our questions. First, God did put in place a process by which people could have their sins forgiven—it was the sacrificial system used by the Jews for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, there were some designated times for corporate sacrifices and many of the people only participated at those times. Think of people who only attend church at Christmas or Easter. Therefore, if those people sinned at other times and did not offer a sacrifice for themselves, they died in their sin. That leaves some question concerning whether the persons’ sin was forgiven or not, and whether they were going to heaven or not.

I think we all know God doesn’t want us to guess whether we are going to spend eternity with Him or not. So, His will was to provide a continual covering for our sin, a means for us to ask for forgiveness of our sin at any time, not just at the temple in conjunction with an animal sacrifice. How could He do that? He had to provide a perfect sacrifice that would fulfill His requirement once and for all.

So, why did Jesus need to die? A will is not executed until the writer of the will has died. Since Jesus is God, once He died, His will was executed—meaning the simplest system of all was put in place. We now have the ability to ask for forgiveness at any time, in any place. God’s will is that we seek His forgiveness and He will forgive us. Again, to execute a will, a death must take place.

Here is the best news, Jesus rose on the third day so that we may have hope. He rose as a promise that we will join Him forever. He rose to show us that we live forever, even if we die (John 11:25-26). What does this mean? It means that we have overcome death, just as Jesus overcame it.

I pray we all understand why Jesus had to die? I pray we realize His death was to execute the will of God. I pray each one of us will recognize that we live, even though we die, in Jesus and with Him. Comprehend Jesus’ death. Know that you live forever. Celebrate Jesus’ life. Live for Him and with Him.

Hebrews 9:16-17 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

Everlasting Love

How long does love last? Will it last to the end? Do you wonder where love is? Have you experienced a deep, committed love? Are you looking for a love that will never end? Do you know there is an everlasting love available to you?

We all look for love. We long for someone that will care for us forever. Unfortunately, in some cases, lasting love is being replaced by a temporary and fleeting love. In fact, it may simply be momentary lust rather than love that people settle for.

Yet there is an everlasting love for all of us. It sounds cliché when we hear it. But clichés have developed from truth. It is when we dig deeper into the cliché that we discover the original truth behind the cliché. When we discover the truth, the cliché is no longer a flippant saying for us, it becomes a meaningful truth that we hold on to.

As Jesus was approaching the end of His time on this earth in human form, He reflected on the short life He lived as one of us. One reflection was on the love He showed to those He spent time with. He especially reflected on the love He had for His closest friends and disciples. He knew that He loved them to the very end.

The good news for us is that He loves us to the end as well. He won’t stop loving us, nor will the Father. We may not have His physical arms wrapped around us, but His love is wrapped around us. When His love becomes more to us than intellectual knowledge, we find peace that goes beyond understanding.

The love of Jesus includes His willingness to die for us. But that isn’t all it included. He lived for us! He experienced life just as we do. He was tempted. He argued with Satan. He obeyed political leaders. He reprimanded religious leaders. He corrected erroneous teachings. Jesus knows from personal experience what we are going through. Having left heaven to spend a life on earth, He showed His love for us and has become our perfect mediator before the Father.

We often hear or say, “been there, done that.” Jesus has as well. His love understands what we are going through. His love is His motivation to continue to care for us. Jesus loves us now and will continue to love us until this world passes away and we join Him in heaven.

I pray we all discover the truth behind the cliché of everlasting love. I pray we recognize the love Jesus has for us. I pray each one of us will accept His love into our lives. Know that Jesus loves you. Accept His love. Realize He will love you forever. Experience His everlasting love.

John 13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Destiny Versus Choice

Do you sometimes wonder if your life has been predicted? Do you wonder if you are simply living out your destiny? Have you thought through that line of questioning? Do think about what it would be like to have your life laid out as a roadmap for you?

Many, if not most, of us will think about our life at some point and wonder why certain things happen. Our line of thinking will take us down the road of wondering if we are destined to continue down a specific path. It is at this point, we either succumb to it or make a drastic change.

The good news for us is God gave us the ability to choose. We can choose to change our lives. We can choose to follow a different path. We can choose to follow God or deny Him and go our own way. It is our choice. Only we can make it.

In one respect, Jesus had the same choice. Being fully man, He had a choice. On the other hand, being fully God, He had no choice. He had to follow the plan. God had laid out the plan hundreds of years in advance. He sent messages to the prophets through the Holy Spirit, providing clues to His plan.

When Jesus started fulfilling His ministry, He knew the end. He knew what had to be done and when it would happen. He knew the message the Holy Spirit had provided to the prophets. He knew the expectation that was set by the Father. He knew the circumstances and sufferings He was going to face.

Can you imagine if you knew what was going to happen in your life, including the moment and way in which you would die? Some will foolishly say they wish they knew. Yet when we take a peek on those who have been told they X months to live due to cancer, we find the vast majority wish they didn’t know. It becomes a black cloud hanging over their head. They go into denial. They fight. They do everything they can to extend their life.

For those of us who follow Christ, we don’t need to fear dying. Though Jesus didn’t want to experience the pain, He had no fear of death and neither should we. He knew He would spend eternity on the throne of God. We know we will spend eternity with Him. Jesus is our example in both life and death, resulting in eternal life with God.

I pray we all spend some time thinking about our choices. I pray we decide to evaluate our past and plan our future based on God’s viewpoint—to the best of our ability. I pray each one of us choose to follow Jesus. Contemplate your choices. Make a plan for your life. Base your choices on God’s desire for you. Trust God to provide. Choose to follow Jesus.

1 Peter 1:10-11 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

A Good Worker

Are you a person who does your work cheerfully? Or do you grumble about the tasks assigned to you? Do you willingly chip in to help others? Or do you attempt to get out of helping? Have you thought how that reflects, not only on you, but on God as well?

We all have days when we just don’t feel like doing anything. That is human nature. Yet we can’t be like that every day. In fact, that should not be our normal attitude about work. If it is, we are presenting a bad image of God’s people to others.

I’m sure many of us have known at least one person who puts more time and energy into avoiding work than they would have to if they simply did the task. They spend time making excuses, thinking up reasons, and going somewhere to hide from doing their work or helping someone else. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we that person?”

That question is not an easy one to answer for ourselves. Why? We often fool ourselves into thinking we are great at our job; we are a wonderful employee. To honestly answer the question, we must take a hard look at ourselves. We must recognize when we are avoiding the task and make a conscious effort to change our attitude toward it.

Why is this important? As stated earlier, it is a bad reflection on God as well as us. Whether you think people know or not, they know you claim to be a child of God. When we don’t go about our work with a good attitude, people take notice. When we argue and grumble with one another, people take notice.

Our negative attitude tells those who are also followers of Christ that we are not really taking on His teachings and applying them in our lives. It tells those who aren’t Christ followers that we are no different than them and it gives them no reason to become a follower of Christ.

I have personally experienced the results of being a positive example in the workplace and a good friend. I have seen it cause someone who was not a Christ follower to become a Christ follower. I have seen that person become an active member in the church he attends.

Folks, our attitude makes all the difference in the world. We can develop a much better attitude by learning more about Jesus and taking on His personality. Jesus is the Word of life. He is our perfect example. His teachings will guide us to be the person God desires us to be.

I pray we all look to Jesus as our role model. I pray we take time to know more about Him. I pray each one of us will honestly evaluate our attitudes and make positive changes. Give up the bad attitude. Be a cheerful worker. Be a helper. Willingly pitch in to help others. Follow Jesus’ example. Ask God to make the changes in you. Trust God.

Philippians 2:14-16a Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.

Wonderful Transformation

How will you be transformed? How will you change? Do you ever think about that? Do you realize when you die you will change? Do you know your earthly body will become a heavenly body?

All who believe in Jesus will be changed. We will give up our corruptible earthly body and put on a heavenly body that is incorruptible. Our fallible earthly body will be exchanged for a perfect heavenly body.

God has provided a glimpse of this transformation in the seeds and plants of this earth. We know the seeds that are planted have one form and become something completely different as they grow. Tiny seeds of wheat grow into stalks that produce heads of grain. The small seeds of flowers grow into bushes producing beautifully colored flowers. An acorn, about the size of the end of your thumb, grows into a mighty oak tree.

Though these are not perfect parallels to what will happen to us when we die, they are a representation to give us a glimpse. The significant difference is this—we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). We may not fully understand how this will happen, but God works in ways that we can’t comprehend in the here and now. Our faith trusts that God will fulfill His promises. We trust God can do what is impossible for us (Luke 18:27).

It is sad that many people around us do not think about their eternal life. They either don’t believe or won’t plan for eternal life. Their focus is only on the moment they are living. Oh, perhaps they will plan for a future, but the future they plan for is an earthly future not an eternal future. They may not believe they will be raised from the dead and live forever. They may believe all they will ever experience is the life they have on this earth. Unfortunately, they are sadly mistaken.

We will all live forever. Those of us who believe in Jesus will live forever in God’s presence. We will be with Jesus, our Brother, for eternity. Our earthly bodies may pass away, but they do so that we may be given our heavenly body. Take heart in this wonderful promise of transformation.

I pray we all keep in mind our eternal life. I pray we spend are earthly life preparing for our heavenly life. I pray each of us trust God to fulfill His promise. Prepare for transformation. Look forward to the change. Trust God. Put your faith in Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:35-38 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

Disciple of Jesus

Do you struggle with your identity? Do you wonder who you are? Have you wrestled with how to let others know who you are? Have you convinced yourself whose you are? Do you know that you belong to someone?

We all wrestle with our identity as we grow up. Some of us continue to wrestle with our identity far into adulthood. I daresay some wrestle with it into old age. Not fully understanding who you are and whose you are is tough. It makes life much harder than it needs to be.

Life is difficult. We all face challenges and struggles. We all have times when we feel there is no way to go but up. Sometimes that is true. At other times it is not, it just feels that way. These difficult times are more difficult when we have no one to lean on, no one we can trust.

It is especially in difficult times we need a rock-solid person in our life. We have access to that person, if we will only reach out to Him. Jesus is our rock. He is trustworthy. He provides for and takes care of His disciples. How do we know if we are His disciples?

Jesus gave us a measuring stick by which we can determine if we are His disciples. He stated we are to love one another. It really is that simple. Yet, it is not so simple either. Loving one another requires us to forgive, demonstrate patience, show grace and mercy, demonstrating forbearance, and often giving up our own preferences and desires for someone else.

As we see in today’s passage, loving one another is not optional. It is a command from Jesus. It is one of only a handful of commands He gave us. In fact, it is one of two that Jesus said the law of God and the prophets are wrapped up in (Matthew 22:37-40).

The love Jesus mentions in this passage is not a fleeting emotional love. It is a convicted, deep love. It is what we often call unconditional love. This includes the ability to see people as Jesus sees them—a child of God. It includes caring for them on emotional and spiritual levels.

I pray we all follow Jesus’ command. I pray we decide to love one another. I pray each of us will commit to showing our love and proving we are His disciples. Love one another. Demonstrate your love openly. Follow Jesus’ command. Be a disciple of His.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Water Flowing Over A Rock

What is your life’s ambition? Do you have high and lofty goals? Are you planning to change the world? Do you want to have a positive impact in your community? Are you willing to be like water rolling over a rock?

When we are young, and sometimes not so young, we have big aspirations to change the world. We may even play the game of, “if I were in charge for a day…” Sometimes we fantasize about how we will make changes as we gain in power and influence.

For many of us, we never realize our dreams of making the changes we dream of. This doesn’t mean we can’t have a positive influence on the world around us. What it does mean is we must change our approach. We need to be like water flowing over a rock. What do I mean by this?

As water flows over a rock, it slow eats away at it. It eats away at the minerals making up the rock, cutting small grooves that change its shape. What was once a large, non-descript rock becomes a beautiful piece of art. Haven’t we all seen a rock that has been carved like that?

Unfortunately, making an impact like that takes time. In fact, it takes a lifetime. There are no shortcuts, no easy way around it, nor do most of us have the ability to make a major impact like a chisel and hammer carving the rock. Yet, we know people who make an impact in just this way. We don’t recognize it until we look back over their life of seventy or eighty or ninety years.

Jesus tells us that making this type of impact is exactly the work He wants us to do. As we serve others, the least of our brothers and sisters, we are serving God. As we feed, clothe, care for, visit, listen to, or give a cool cup of water to them, we are doing it for God. It is the small things that add up to big changes.

As you read the complete parable in Matthew 25:31-46, you will notice one thing missing from the list Jesus provides—preaching. This is not to say we should not have preachers or pastors or priests in our churches. It is to say that our general approach is not to preach to those we are trying to reach. It is also to say we cannot rely on one person to do all the reaching out to our communities. As the old saying goes, it takes a community…,meaning we all need to be like the water flowing over the rock to make our communities into beautiful places.

I pray we all determine to do the little things for someone in need. I pray we all decide to serve the least of our brothers and sisters. I pray each one of us will take up the challenge of having a positive impact one minute, one hour, one day at a time. Serve one another. Serve those in need. Be the hands of God. Make a positive impact.

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Confident Life

Where do you live? Is your life full of worry, anxiety, and fear? Or do you live in peace, calm, and confidence? Are you living a worldly life? Or are you living a life of faith? Do you know the two types of living are opposing lives?

All of us face situations at various points in our lives that cause us some level of worry, anxiety, or fear. It is natural for us to wrestle with these feelings. It is when we are overwhelmed and remain driven by these feelings that we have succumbed to the evil of this world.

There is a better life for us. Jesus stated He came to give us this better life (John 10:10). Yet so many of us fail to take Him up on His offer. We continue to swim in the cesspool of evil that surrounds us rather than allowing Jesus to lift us out of it. Living in Jesus doesn’t mean we will never encounter tough situation. However, by living in Jesus, we are given a completely different way of looking at the situation. A viewpoint of what is truly important.

By looking to Jesus and experiencing Him working in our lives, we gain confidence in Him. Jesus calms our nerves, allows us to hear Him, and He provides guidance for us to move forward. His Spirit guides our spirit. We experience new thoughts coming to us that are totally unexpected. We may even say we become enlightened, though not necessarily in the way some may use that term.

Our faith grows in Jesus as we experience Him working in our lives. As our faith grows, we come to rely on Him even more. We live more and more by faith and less by sight. We realize that God is working in ways that we don’t understand. We know that He is working for our good.

The result is we start working for Him. Our goal is to please Him, doing the work He has set out for us to do. Our lives are transformed. Though we live in the world physically, we no longer live by the world’s rules, but by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We live in true freedom.

I pray we all experience the working of God in our lives. I pray we recognize God working for our good. I pray each of us grows in our faith and start working for God. Be confident in Jesus. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead you. Experience God’s goodness. Make working for Him your goal.

2 Corinthians 5:6-9 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

Unmerited Inheritance

Do you know what your inheritance will be? Have you thought about it? Will you inherit a family business? Will your inheritance be a life insurance policy? Will you have no inheritance at all? There is one inheritance that can be guaranteed.

Some of us will receive a large inheritance. Others of us may receive a small inheritance. While some will receive no inheritance at all. There is a sadness that comes with the inheritance. Our inheritance only comes to us when someone dies.

Most of us either don’t think about our inheritance or don’t want to think about our inheritance. We don’t typically want to think about losing a loved one. We would much rather have them with us than gain the monetary value of an inheritance.

Much like our earthly inheritance, our eternal inheritance required a death. Jesus was required to leave heaven, come to earth, and die for our sins. The good news is He, being our perfect sacrifice, also rose again to take the throne of God and be our perfect advocate in heaven.

As stated in our passage today, we are saved through a rebirth by the Holy Spirit who is poured out on us by God. This is the fulfillment of the promise Jesus made while He walked this earth (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit is not only poured out on us, but he lives within us. He is the Spirit of God. Jesus is God. Therefore, we say that Jesus (or God) is always with us.

God justifies us by his grace. He does this through the working of the Holy Spirit within us and the sacrifice of Jesus. His grace is a gift. God grants us His grace out of His amazing love for us. We cannot earn it and we do not deserve it. Yet God gives it to us freely when we accept His Son as our Lord and Savior.

Through our rebirth and the gift of God’s grace, we are given an inheritance that money cannot buy—eternal life with God. Only God has the power to grant this inheritance. We must decide to accept it or deny it. May we decide to accept the wonderful gift God is willing to give us.

I pray we all decide to accept God’s gift. I pray we are reborn through the Holy Spirit. I pray each one of us accepts Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Accept God’s gift. Be reborn. Carry God with you at all times. Gain an eternal inheritance.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.