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So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
John 19:30

God always finishes what He begins

(Phil. 1:6). God never speaks a word without ensuring that it comes to pass (Isa. 55:11). Christ is both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8, 17). Christ is as much at the end of His work as He is at its beginning.

Jesus was given an enormous mandate. He was to live a sinless life, remaining absolutely obedient to His Father. Even the manner of His death was to fulfill numerous prophecies that had been foretold in Scripture (Matt. 26:24, 31, 54, 56; 27:9, 35; 46; John 19:28, 36-37). Yet, despite the extremely complex assignment Jesus received from His Father, He could shout triumphantly from the cross, “It is finished!”

Christ now resides within each believer. His assignment today is to complete God’s will in each Christian. He is just as determined to do this in us as He was to complete God’s will for Himself. You will have to resist Christ in order to remain out of the will of God. What is it God wants to do in you? Have you allowed Him to complete what He has begun? He will not force you to receive all that He has for your life. If God’s work has not been brought to fruition in you, it is not that Christ has not been diligently working toward that end. Rather, you may need to release areas of your life to Him and be as determined to see God’s work in you completed as Christ is. Review the things God has said to you over this last year. Are these promises God has made to you that you have refused to allow Him to complete? If so, commit to yield your will to God today.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Last week, I briefly posted about some potential legal issues coming up.

I just wanted to follow-up that post here, with a Praise to God.

Thanks one and all, but most importantly thank you Lord for blessing and surrounding me with encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

(Edited 20080331)

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

The Christian life is an exchanged life, Jesus’ life for your life. When Christ takes control,your life takes on dimensions you would never have known apart from Him. When you are weak, then Christ demonstrates His strength in your life (2 Cor. 12:9-10). When you face situations that are beyond your comprehension, you have only to ask, and the infinite wisdom of God is available to you (James 1:5). When you are faced with humanly impossible situations, God does the impossible (Luke 18:27). When you encounter people whom you find difficult to love, God expresses His unconditional love through you (1 John 4:7). When Christ takes up residence in the life of a believer, “all the fullness of God” is available to that person (Eph. 3:19).

It is marvelously freeing to know that God controls your life and knows what it can become. Rather than constantly worrying about what you will face, your great challenge is to continually release every area of your life to God’s control. The temptation will be to try to do by yourself what only God can do. Our assignment is to “abide in the vine” and to allow God to do in and through us what only He can do (John 15:5). Only God can be God. Allow Him to live out His divine life through you. He is the only One who can.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

I happened to be listening to ESPN Sports Talk Radio yesterday, & the topic of discussion was on, how we in the West (specifically) tend to be more forgiving of NFL football players, than of NBA or MLB superstars for their legal and moral transgressions; even though there’s a higher percentage of NFL players that have had arrests, convictions & other run-ins with the law (assuming that the broadcaster’s quote is indeed factual).

As one of the millions of Everyday Joe’s that lives paycheck to paycheck, I’ve often wondered how does a person that is so blessed to “work” in a field that they love &, that gets paid extremely well, allow themselves to get into trouble with the law(not all). Seeing things from my side of the fence, it’s easy to assume that if one had things as good as the premiere athlete did financially, that there is no way that I’d be caught up in the legal troubles that some of these guys find themselves.

John 16:8 (KJV)
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment

John 16:8 (NIV)
When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement.

A few nights ago a friend & I were chatting, and part of the conversation led into my friend discussing someone in their life, who claims to be a Christian yet their actions and behavior, indicate otherwise. I lent my two cents worth to the conversation by adding that “sometimes we just have to accept that people are oblivious to sin, and that we have to know that as much as we share the good news, they ultimately have to see their life for what it is until they will change“.

As Children of God, we have been made aware by God’s Holy Spirit, of our sinful ways and nature, however I think that sometimes in an effort to serve God we tend to forget where we came from. We too walked the same path that many of our friends, heroes, family and acquaintances are on. Maybe you’ve shared the good news with a friend or family member, but they aren’t receptive. Or perhaps you have spoken a word of correction into someone’s life, yet they persist in their ways. Have peace in knowing that you have done as The Lord commanded and let His Holy Spirit do His job.

Grace and peace be with you.

Last week has been sort of a setback, nothing too drastic (until Saturday), just felt a little disconnected from the Lord. The disconnect is most likely a result of me not reading my devotionals or studying Scripture nightly, last week.

So I played catch-up again this past Saturday. I’ve got this hang up about bypassing my devotionals, call it a fear of missing a timely message/word. I started with my devotional from the 12th of February titled: “He’s Still Lord of the Wind and the Waves!” (Sparkling Gems by Rick Renner). The devotional was over Mark 4:37-39 (NIV), which covered the crossing of the Sea of Galilee by Jesus and His disciples.

I had read or skimmed this scripture a few times, and admittedly, had only taken in the literal of it. I had merely taken the text as a re-accounting, missing the message completely. Thankfully though we have each other, as well men and women specifically called to be Spiritual leaders to give us insight into the deeper message of Scripture.

Mark 4:37-39 (KJV)
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

In the devotional Rick Renner points out one phrase in particular that stands out, as it relates to this post. Renner explains that the phrase “there arose” comes from the Greek word GINOMAI, which in the case of Mark 4:37 describes something that happens unexpectedly or something that catches one off-guard.

After Jesus and His disciples successfully cross the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encounters a demon possessed man (near the region of the Gerasenes) who goes by the name of Legion. Legion pleads with Jesus to not send him from the region, but instead to send the demons into a herd of pigs that were feeding nearby on a hillside. Jesus agrees, and the demons came out of the man and into the pigs (about 20000), after which the herd rushes down a steep bank and drowns in the lake. Mark 5:1-20.

The two key ideas that stick out are one obviously being faith. The other idea, and this is really more from Renner’s explanation than what I readily picked up on is this:

Renner tells us that Jesus was on the brink of one of the greatest miracles of His ministry, and Satan was in fear of losing his most prized weapon of terrorism. “The occurrence of the storm at this exact moment was no accident. The devil didn’t want Jesus to reclaim one of his most prized captives (the demon possessed man). This was a preemptive strike of the devil to undo the work of God.”

Now, I firmly believe in receiving a timely word from the Lord, sometimes you might get that word by way of someone, other times it’s in a sermon, or Scripture that you just happened to have read. I’ve even gotten a timely “word” from a church marquee before. As I stated earlier, I have a hang up with missing my devotionals, well this was a timely one indeed as you’ll see. To quote Paul Harvey; “Here’s,the rest of the story…”

Grace and peace be with you.