And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." - Revelation 5:6-10 (New American Standard Bible)
There are five words that every believer should know and be able to explain. I have defined and discussed all of them many times in sermons and writings, but I am doing so again because they are so essential. Being confident in our beliefs is ever more important as cultures become bolder about persecuting Christians.
Jesus' shed blood redeems believers (1 Peter 1:18-19). This means that we are purchased from a life of slavery to sin. Furthermore, we receive forgiveness—the wrongs of our past, present, and future are totally washed away (Eph. 1:7-8). For the rest of eternity, God views His children through the "veil" of Christ's blood, which makes them pure and holy. Everyone who trusts in Jesus is declared no longer guilty (justified—Rom. 5:8-9) and brought into relationship with God (reconciled—Col. 1:19-22). This unalterable change in status from sinner to saint happens the moment a person receives Christ as Savior.
The final word, sanctified, describes the life-long maturing process that begins when a person trusts in the Savior (Heb. 13:12). A saint is set apart from the rest of humanity for the purpose of making him Christ-like. Through discipleship, testing, and teaching, God "drains out" our old self and pumps the life of Jesus into our heart and life.
These five words tell the story of our faith. Meditate upon the verses related to each one, and pray that God will write the meanings on your heart. When we're confident in our beliefs, we can be a light to others instead of crumbling at the threat of pain.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Have You Heard?
"We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." - John 4:42
When we hear stories of how other people’s relationship with God helped them overcome adversity, it empowers us to persevere through our difficulties. And when God personally helps us to overcome our struggles, it causes our faith in him to be even stronger.
There is nothing like experiencing God first-hand in our lives. It is in those times when God speaks clearly and directly to us that we truly understand his love and faithfulness.
Maybe you know someone who has yet to discover the great benefits of a life yielded to the Savior. Or, you may have heard others talk about the awesome, life-changing power of Jesus Christ but have never experienced it for yourself. Take some time right now to invite him into your life.
Knowing Christ personally will literally transform you from the inside out. If you have a personal relationship with him, share your story with someone who doesn’t yet know the Savior, and encourage them to experience God first-hand. Let your life serve as a bold reminder that Christ really is the Light of the world so that others can be brought out of the darkness and have a new, brighter life with Jesus.
A Prayer for Today
Dear Lord, Thank you so much for coming into my life. Please help me to share my experiences with others so that they can experience your Light in their own lives. Use my life as an illustration of your awesome power at work so that others can experience your love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
When we hear stories of how other people’s relationship with God helped them overcome adversity, it empowers us to persevere through our difficulties. And when God personally helps us to overcome our struggles, it causes our faith in him to be even stronger.
There is nothing like experiencing God first-hand in our lives. It is in those times when God speaks clearly and directly to us that we truly understand his love and faithfulness.
Maybe you know someone who has yet to discover the great benefits of a life yielded to the Savior. Or, you may have heard others talk about the awesome, life-changing power of Jesus Christ but have never experienced it for yourself. Take some time right now to invite him into your life.
Knowing Christ personally will literally transform you from the inside out. If you have a personal relationship with him, share your story with someone who doesn’t yet know the Savior, and encourage them to experience God first-hand. Let your life serve as a bold reminder that Christ really is the Light of the world so that others can be brought out of the darkness and have a new, brighter life with Jesus.
A Prayer for Today
Dear Lord, Thank you so much for coming into my life. Please help me to share my experiences with others so that they can experience your Light in their own lives. Use my life as an illustration of your awesome power at work so that others can experience your love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Extreme - DevoMail with Skip Heitzig
The world looks at Christians celebrating death on Good Friday, and they can't figure it out. They say, "That is so extreme! Why, before God could forgive people, would He require the death of His Son? Why wouldn't He simply, benevolently, forgive people's sin? If I did something against you, you would just forgive me. Why can't God do that?"
But that kind of questioning betrays a sort of ignorance that is two-fold. One is of how heinous our sin is, and the other is of how great and holy our God is.
Nobody speaks of sin anymore. In fact, sin has almost disappeared from the American vocabulary. We speak of "problems" or "hangups" or "issues." It's called a "sickness" or it's called someone else's fault. But the Bible says very plainly that if we say we have no sin, we are liars. (1 John 1:8).
How serious is it? Paul said, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We sin because it's our nature. "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). And we sin by choice. Every day we commit individual acts that are an affront to God.
They are an affront because God is absolutely holy. You see, holy God is wholly incompatible with sin and unrighteousness. "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness" (Habakkuk 1:13). "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).
Perfect, holy God cannot coexist with sinful man. And because of that, we're separated, we're lost. So one of two things must happen. Either holy God must destroy unholiness, or holy God must declare that which is unholy, holy.
And that takes us to the cross. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could never live, and then took all our sins on Himself. So effectively God said, "I'll take the rap. I'll take all of your wickedness and evil and I'll put it on Myself so that when I die on the cross, it's finished, once and for all."
The cross is the only place that God will meet with mankind. The cross is the only place where both God's mercy and God's justice could meet. How can God be a God of love and a God of justice at the same time? How can holy, perfect God meet with sinful, rebellious man? Only at the cross. He came, He took our punishment, and then He declared you and me righteous because of it.
Extreme? Yes! But what a deal that is! It's the deal of a lifetime!
In His strong love,
Skip Heitzig
But that kind of questioning betrays a sort of ignorance that is two-fold. One is of how heinous our sin is, and the other is of how great and holy our God is.
Nobody speaks of sin anymore. In fact, sin has almost disappeared from the American vocabulary. We speak of "problems" or "hangups" or "issues." It's called a "sickness" or it's called someone else's fault. But the Bible says very plainly that if we say we have no sin, we are liars. (1 John 1:8).
How serious is it? Paul said, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We sin because it's our nature. "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). And we sin by choice. Every day we commit individual acts that are an affront to God.
They are an affront because God is absolutely holy. You see, holy God is wholly incompatible with sin and unrighteousness. "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness" (Habakkuk 1:13). "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).
Perfect, holy God cannot coexist with sinful man. And because of that, we're separated, we're lost. So one of two things must happen. Either holy God must destroy unholiness, or holy God must declare that which is unholy, holy.
And that takes us to the cross. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could never live, and then took all our sins on Himself. So effectively God said, "I'll take the rap. I'll take all of your wickedness and evil and I'll put it on Myself so that when I die on the cross, it's finished, once and for all."
The cross is the only place that God will meet with mankind. The cross is the only place where both God's mercy and God's justice could meet. How can God be a God of love and a God of justice at the same time? How can holy, perfect God meet with sinful, rebellious man? Only at the cross. He came, He took our punishment, and then He declared you and me righteous because of it.
Extreme? Yes! But what a deal that is! It's the deal of a lifetime!
In His strong love,
Skip Heitzig
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