Lincoln

I wish to encourage you to look toward your greatest reward, Heaven!

As the children of God, we enjoy many of His graces in this life, having had the love of God lavished upon us (1 John 3:1). However, this earthly life is only the first steps in what Jehovah intends for His redeemed. After all, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

In a believer’s spiritual DNA, is the inclination to “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). The anticipation of having our mortal bodies upgraded to be with and like Christ, develops an ever increasing and compelling hope that enables us to “wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25).

The Wonder of Heaven

However, the most wonderful thing about Heaven is not the relief; it’s not escaping from the pains of this life. It’s not the absence of heart aches, or sickness, or relentless tiredness. No, Heaven’s allurement is the presence of Christ, who, is seated at the Father’s right hand in absolute authority (1 Peter 3:22).

Being in Heaven shall fulfil God’s will, which has always been “according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10). The certainty of this heavenly hope is not self-generated, nor is it wishful thinking. Rather, our hope is entirely because “those whom he (God) predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). This hope is rooted in the certainty of God fulfilling His Word, for “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?” (Numbers 23:19).

Heaven is About God

Therefore, we look forward to that time when “this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). A time when the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying ministry shall bring to completion this stage of work within the redeemed. When eons of sovereign foreknowledge will have been worked out completely, bringing to consummation God’s redemptive mission as the full number of Saints join the heavenly hosts for worship without end. For now however, we Saints long for our final Christ-likeness to be accomplished (2 Corinthians 3:18). We yearn for the time when the years of personal spiritual discipline and training shall culminate in our ultimate elevation. This is the final promotion of redeemed sinners to their eternal place of spiritual citizenship, Heaven.

Looking Forward to Heaven

As we look forward to our eternal home, I encourage you to give “thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12). Our future as Christians is a foregone conclusion, secure in the immutable character of Yahweh.

Today, as I celebrate my 54th year in this world, I’m compelled more than ever to declare the wonders of the certain hope we have in Jesus Christ the Lord. I encourage you to rejoice that Heaven is the believer’s home! Nothing can change the sovereign will of God in this matter. Today, rejoice! Speak well of the Saviour! “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Come Lord Jesus!

 

I wish to encourage you to think of Jesus Christ as your spiritual crutch.

Many Christians have come under the criticism that ‘Christianity is just an emotional crutch for those who can’t handle life’. Well, the good news is, they’re right. Praise God that we have a friend in Jesus who can be leaned on! The intended criticism is actually a wonderful compliment.

You see, a crutch by nature supports someone who cannot support themselves. Anyone suffering a broken leg appreciates the value of a crutch. They can deny their need of a crutch all they want, but the actual need is indisputable. The crutch is vital – not optional, regardless of whether it’s acknowledged or not. So it is with a disbelieving heart which God says is enslaved by sin (Romans 6:16-22).

Instead of resisting God, instead of wishing Him out of existence, and instead of living independent of Him, the Christian leans upon God in dependant trust. Vulnerable surrender is the nature of the true Christian, yielding their entire lives under His authority for every physical, emotional, and spiritual need. First, the greatest of all man’s needs are discovered and fully met at the Cross of Calvary. The cross is where Jesus Christ did what we could not do, making peace with God on our behalf and in our place (Romans 5:1).

Trust self or trust God

The world promotes self-reliance, dependence upon all things tangible, and trust in mankind’s imagined ability to make all things right. Unbelievers “trust in chariots and some in horses (or technology), but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalms 20:7). We turn to the Lord Jesus Christ as our spiritual stay, our immortal, resurrected Saviour, who alone “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Jeremiah explains in 17:7; “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord whose trust is the Lord” (cf. Psalms 40:4). Contrary to the disbelieving inclinations of the natural heart, people of faith look to God to become their actual trust mechanism, which in turn enables them to trust Him. From the very first soft thought we have towards the Lord, we are dependent upon Him for the grace gift of trusting faith (Ephesians 2:8). Without Christ, we were all like “an evil man (who) is ensnared in his transgression” (Proverbs 29:6). But as repentant sinners; “We know that our old self was crucified with him (Christ) in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6).

Lean on self, or lean on Christ

The adage, ‘God helps those who help themselves’ is certainly NOT true when it comes to salvation. The truth is; God helps those who abandon self-effort and run to Christ, believing that which is “of first importance… that Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Because we believe this, leaning our full weight of dependence upon Christ for forgiveness and cleansing, we now accept by faith that our ”life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

The point is this, we can lean fully on Christ for the forgiveness of all sin, and for the gift of eternal life (John 3:16-18). We can also lean on Him for maintaining our security of our eternal life. Not only so, but we can lean on Him to provide our every need while on this earth. Then, ultimately, we lean on Him to transport us into His Glorious presence for eternity.

 

I wish to encourage you to walk in faith.

Faith and belief are spoken of often in today’s world, referring to almost anything that anyone wants to place their confidence in. It can range from a casual thought to a life transforming belief. However, I don’t want to encourage you with the world’s whimsical idea of faith. Rather, I wish to expand your appreciation for a more authentic faith. One that reasons, that evaluates, that builds its beliefs upon God’s truth and not the assumptions made by a disbelieving world. I speak of a faith that produces fruit worthy of its creator, and results in His honour and the believer’s eternal reward.

Faith is a remarkably simply thing, yet able to endure the most complex of life’s circumstances. It fuels the believer with the inner resources required to overcome. However, faith has a definitive starting point, for “without faith it is impossible to please him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). At the most fundamental level, the Christian’s rationale concludes that it is ”by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). From these 3 elemental truths faith grows. Remove these 3 foundations, and the entire faith structure in life will be wonky in its wrong view of God, leading to disastrous consequences.

Jesus disciples could have asked Him for anything; more money, greater popularity, improved health, a successful world-wide ministry. Instead, they “said to the Lord, Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5). Why faith, and not all the other things which they could have used for Jesus?  Firstly, because thy recognised the connection between Jesus as their Lord, and having Jesus as Lord of their growing faith fuelled by Jesus.

Secondly because, like John the Baptist who said of Jesus; “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), the disciples understood that stuff doesn’t grow faith in the Lord of Lords. Things distract us, they twist our loyalties, and they demand our attention while requiring constant maintenance.

Pretend or Genuine

James, Jesus half-brother, explains the futility of pretend faith; “What good is it …if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14). Obviously, the answer is no! So-called faith in God that does not express itself in God-reflecting behaviour is simply pretend faith. James concludes; “that faith apart from works is useless?” For “as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:20, 26).

James makes it clear, authentic faith in God through Jesus Christ is seen by others, as well as being experienced internally by the believer. When justification takes place at the time of believing in Jesus as Lord, the repentant sinner spontaneously dies to self and lives a new life as evidence of their real faith.  “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). If you want to know whether your faith is from God or simply self-generated, the test is this; is your living characterised by love-styled, Christ dependant, obedience to your God?

Be encouraged, Jesus is NOT an add-on to your existing beliefs, just to ensure that you’ve covered all bases. He is NOT some prophet you get along-side of in order to get what you want from the Almighty. Jesus Christ is the Lord! He alone is the only forgiver of our sin, if we believe in faith!

 

I wish to encourage you to walk in mercy.

The psalmist declares that “the LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalms 145:8-9). Job explained God’s impartial mercy to all mankind in that He “shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands” (Job 34:19).

Mercy is spoken of often in Scripture, mostly as integral to God’s holy character. Generally, mercy speaks of great compassion and deep love, agape styled love. In fact, biblical grace depicts that we who are underserving of God’s love have had mercy shown to us. God’s matchless love and His incomparable compassion motivated Him to sacrificially send His Son from Heaven, to an unworthy and rebellious world of sinners. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been save” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

Walking in mercy begins with the Cross, walking/living daily in dependence upon “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). From that beginning of spiritual rebirth, God’s mercy is established in our souls as the only foundation on which His Holy Spirit builds our sanctifying relationship with the Almighty through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

As God’s people, we should be identifiable by God’s mercy. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” (Zechariah 7:9-10). As recipients of God’s mercy, we are to “be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh” (Jude 1:22-23). God’s mercy, through Christ, should impact us so noticeably that it transforms us to become with ever increasing intensity, believers who dispense mercy to others (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Our prayers should resound with humble certainty, as we “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). The certainty of our eternal hope in Christ enables us to say; “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalms 23:6). Our faith clings to Jesus words; “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Mercy is not weak, it’s not a compromiser, its not indecisive or unreliable. Rather, mercy carries a heavenly focus, a divine reflection of Christ’s character for the purpose of His glory and pleasure. Mercy authenticates the believers evangelistic efforts as we tell the lost of the only compassionate Saviour this world shall ever know. Mercy seeks reconciliation of damaged relationships because mercy “is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Be encouraged today, reach out to God, grasp hold of His mercy found in Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour. Invite the Holy Spirit to make you a vehicle of His mercy for others who so desperately need to experience the soul saving grace of God!

 

I wish to encourage you to use past failings for Christ.

More often than not, we simply want to put our sinful failings behind us and move on with life. While that’s a good attitude to have, we often fail to see the opportunities Christ gives us, where we can use lessons gained from our failings for His glory and the benefit of others.

Scripture is rich with people who, like us, were repeat sinners, through whom God graciously worked to accomplish His will and purpose. Like many, the apostle Paul had a wicked past. Yet in Christ, he could say, “one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul accepted his cleansing through faith in Christ’s substitutional death. Consequently, he looked forward to exalting Christ in the realisation of his past being left behind. Therefore, Paul put his past out of his cognitive thinking, allowing him to stride ahead for Christ more fully focused.

The apostle Paul, following a list of sinful people who will not inherit the kingdom of God, reminds us that; “such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Believers are sinners saved by grace, reborn, regenerated by the Holy Spirit. God cleansed us of past sin “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Praise God for His grace and faithfulness that brought you out of past sin; “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

From failings you learn how you were led into temptation, and then seduced by sin. From that, you can form a strategy to prevent that particular stumbling reoccurring. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).

Part of God’s sanctification for you, is to wisely use the lessons gained in the Christian walk to serve others, for their strengthening. Past failings equip you for rescuing those presently caught in the same sin. Paul puts it plainly; “if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). This is how you can assist other believers from being side tracked from an obedient walk with the Lord. It makes you an effective discipler of other’s on Jesus behalf, maintaining the testimony of believers for Christ. But more importantly, it serves to strengthen the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sin is a messy business! Hypocrisy damages the individual believer, discredits the Body of Christ, and dishonours the name of God. As those who are growing in our faith walk with Christ as Lord, we need to persevere in upskilling ourselves against the seductiveness of sin. Don’t allow yourself, or anyone else, to hold you down in the mud of discouragement with false guilt over past failings and sin that you have repented of.

Today, be encouraged to use past failings for Christ’s glory, for strengthening others, and as a tool to share the gospel of Jesus Christ!