Matthew 16:24-27 – “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”  NKJV

Through the years, I have been amazed at the number of “self-help” books that are in print and the soaring sales of those books.  I have found it interesting how the church has gravitated to preaching, teaching, and promoting programs designed to help people feel better about themselves.  I have heard scores of people in church talk about their desire to “find themselves” and discover the “real them.”  People are flocking to conferences and seminars searching for answers and, often, finding none.  It is like the old country song, “Searching for love in all the wrong places” We are searching for answers in the wrong places.

I heard a story (I believe told by Tony Campolo) about the reply a college professor gave to one of his students who had decided he was going to go on a quest to ‘find himself.’  The student informed the professor that he would not return to school the following semester.  The professor inquired about the reason for that decision, and the student informed him that he felt the need to ‘find himself.’ 

He said, “Doc, I’m tired of playing all these roles that society says I must play.  I am tired of being the me my friends expect me to be, the me that my family and church expect me to be.  So, I have to peel away each of these socially prescribed identities.  I feel the need to peel away each of these socially constructed roles society imposes upon me.  I have to come to grips with the core of my being, the essence of my personality.”

The professor mused on that statement momentarily and then gave an incredible response.  He said, “Young man, just suppose that after you peel away each of those socially prescribed identities and you peel away each of those socially prescribed selves, you discover you are an onion!”  That is an incredible response, for when you peel away all of the skins of an onion, what is left?  NOTHING!  An onion is nothing more than the sum total of its skins.

We do not find self; we create a self, and the only real way to create that person, character, or being and meaning in life is GOD or COMMITMENT to God.  The call of God is COMMITMENT in totality to Jesus.  The most real reality that exists is Spiritual Reality and that which we are in God. 

I have used an illustration for years about the tightrope walker Charles Blondin, who, in the late 1890s, strung a cable across Niagara Falls. As thousands of fans gathered to watch, he inched his way from the Canadian side to the U.S. side, and as he completed the task, the crowd was chanting his name.  After a short time, he silenced the crowd and shouted to them, “I am Blondin… Do you believe in me?”  They chanted back, “We believe… We believe… We believe…”  Then he informed the crowd that he was going back across the falls with someone on his back and asked if they believed.  They chanted, “We believe… We believe… We believe…” 

Then, he stunned the crowd with his next question and asked, “Who will be that person?”  There was an eerie silence, and finally, one man stepped out of the crowd and climbed on the shoulders of Charles Blondin, and for the next 3 1/2 hours, he inched his way back across the falls.  One person’s belief was manifested in COMMITMENT! 

It is one thing to declare our belief but often quite another to translate it or demonstrate it in COMMITMENT.  True faith is not simply saying, “I accept the facts.” It is “giving ourselves completely over to what expresses our belief.”   True Believing involves Commitment!  

I believe that one of the most serious and pressing problems in the church today is that while multitudes profess belief, there is a very large void of those who have and will make a total commitment of themselves.  Believers are everywhere, but commitment is not everywhere apparent.  In America, many know about God and believe He is real, but that does not make them Christians.  What makes a person a Christian is not professing to believe the right stuff. It is COMMITMENT to the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is surrendering our lives to the LORD and becoming His disciple.

I want to address more about commitment but will pause for now and pick up next time. 

May the LORD watch over you, guard and guide you as you embark on today’s journey. 

Psalm 8:1-9 –“O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen — Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”  NKJV

Many factors shape who we are, and our ‘World View’ is a definite contributor.  If we believe that all reality is physical and material and life is limited to whatever we experience in this natural body where death ends it all, we will be MATERIALISTIC.  Our focus will be the physical and material in both possessions and pleasure because that is all we will have.  There is no hope of a future beyond the grave. 

Another view is that the Present is Primary, and therefore the focus is on instant gratification.  Yet, another view makes a person willing to postpone some gratification for a richer and more meaningful life later or ‘Delayed Gratification.’ 

Yet another perceives not only the Physical, Material, and Temporal but also the Spiritual and views Eternity as holding paramount significance.  Within that view are two views.  One is Futuristic or “Some Day, Some Way.” 

The other is Eternal Life Now, where the belief is that the Life that we now live in the flesh we live in Christ Jesus, and we are not waiting for Eternal Life. We have experienced it and are living it in the present, waiting for our transition to that other world beyond this one.

Victor Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from man, except the last of human freedoms, his ability to choose his own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose his own way.”  

Consider this illustration or description.  There was a fine person who was honest and dependable but incredibly negative and focused on what they do not have rather than what they have.  He focused on what is wrong, not what is right, looked for defects, and noticed flaws and corruption rather than concentrating on the incorruptible.  He had a teenage son who worked in the yard for 2 hours, totally unsolicited.  He came home, changed clothes, and went to work in the yard, criticizing everything the son had done and was doing. He defeated the initiative in the teenager and failed to value the beauty of the development of the investment parenting had achieved in the son. 

Attitudes are a part of our character, and every great achievement comes from a progression of small accomplishments.  We eat a meal one bite at a time, read a book one page at a time, and take a journey one step or mile at a time.  Our attitude, not our aptitude, will determine our altitude. In a very real sense, we are what we think.  We are not necessarily what we think we are but are a direct product of what we think.  We open the door by filling our minds with lovely, wholesome, uplifting thoughts and planting the seeds of peace, joy, and fulfillment. 

There are two primary sources of motivation – FEAR and LOVE.  People find motivation through fear of failure, opinions, rejection, etc.  Through love comes a powerful and healthy source of motivation that brings life.  If we grasp who we are in God, we will learn to value Imagination because that is an ability God gave us that allows the soul to put the mind or the reasoning component of our being in places where we cannot be physically present.  Every designer or artist sees the product and then does it.  Noah saw the Ark and then built it.  Then we will allow our WILL to play the God-designed role and enable us to make the right choices and stick to the prescribed path.

Do You Know Who You Are?  You are created in the Image and Likeness of God and are unlimited in your potential in Him!

God bless you as you enjoy this day’s journey in Christ!

Psalm 8:1-9 – “O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen — Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”  NKJV

I love this Psalm for many reasons, but one of the most significant is that it reveals God’s attitude toward His creatures, made in His image and likeness.  The position afforded to man, and the potential in man are incredibly lofty but often locked inside a misconception and misunderstanding of Who He Really Is.  I remember Kirk Douglas in the “The Rag Man’s Son” where the hitchhiker asked, “Hey, do you know who you are?”  That is an incredibly appropriate question for each of us. 

I have shopped for automobiles and many times looked for a used car.  One of the keys in shopping for a used car is to focus on the internals more than the externals, for that is what makes the car.  The externals can often be updated if the engine, transmission, and drivetrain are good.  The internals, not the chrome, and shine, make the car good.

I am convinced that “First Impressions” are often, if not usually, overinflated in our society.  Truthfully, you cannot know what a person really is by looking at the outside.  Shakespeare said, “Nature with beauteous wall doth oft cloth in pollution.”  Therefore, what the engine is to the automobile, the inner self is to the person.  It is the real you.  Man looks on the exterior, but God always looks at the heart.  Peter speaks of the real person in 1 Peter 3:4 as he speaks of the ‘hidden person of the heart.’  The character is where the true beauty lies. 

Character is a combination of qualities or traits that distinguish an individual.  Personality is reflected in the aggregate of the features and characteristics that form the individual nature of a person.  Morality and ethics are exhibited in the honesty and courage of the person.  Personality is the projection of a person’s inner self or true soul.  Character is the actual state of the inner self or the true soul.  Each of us has basic attitudes, feelings, and emotions.  We all have the capacity for anger, fear, love, or lust.  Those emotions are a part of our being, and whether they are rightly or wrongly controlled reflects the character.

The human soul comprises our values, attitudes, motivations, reasoning, imagination, conscience, and will.  Our value system is reflected in our lives. 

Let me illustrate it this way.  A teenager might work two jobs but see his grades fall.  He might desire to continue working even at the expense of grades for a reason.  He might have something he wants to buy, such as a car, bike, etc.  To the teen, which is a higher priority than education.  We will find a way to have or make room for what we value the most.  Our daily conversations and activities evolve around our value system.  The relative worth or significance we assign to different objects, people, purposes, or objectives determines how we spend our time, money, energy, and lives.  What is your focus?

I want to say a bit more on this subject but will pause for now and pick up next time, focusing on the question, “Do You Know Who You Are?” 

May the LORD richly bless you as you embark on today’s journey in Jesus!

Acts 18:9-11 – “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”   NASB

In this present hour, I am amazed at how many in Christian leadership have become silent on many things.  I am not sure of all the reasons, but I am fully cognizant of the reality that many are willingly silent and aware of the result of that silence.  This is a devotional and not an attempt to make a political statement, but regardless of the issue before us, if we are charged with caring for the flock of God, we must sound the alarm and declare God’s purpose and principles!  Sometimes we have to rock the boat in order to save lives!

How can we stand before God and explain why we opted to remain silent in areas where God’s heart, word, precepts, and principles were violated, ignored, or trampled underfoot?  How can we stand before our people and explain to them why we have been silent? 

You are not silent when it comes to your own children when you see them heading for difficulty, trouble, or disaster because you love them too much to remain silent.  Do we not love people enough to take a position that might be viewed negatively by human authorities and those opposed to God and His purposes? 

Do we not believe that God’s Word is true, and that God is the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Creator of all things?  If we do, then we must realize that we have a mandate from Him to “Sound the Alarm” when the alarm needs to be sounded.  Is God not God over all matters of life?  Does God not have authority in both spiritual matters and political matters? 

Paul was undergoing severe trials and facing severe persecution, including the threat of death, and the vision indicates there was trepidation in his heart.  When God comes to anyone as He did with Joshua and says, “Do not be afraid,” there is fear lurking or attempting to take root in the heart and mind.  When God says, “Do not be silent,” He means, “Do not be silent!” but proclaim that which is true and right.  We have a mission and a commission to take the message of the Gospel to the entire world.  We are also charged with sounding the alarm when danger is present or possible. 

I speak to the under-shepherds watching over local flocks of God’s sheep; this is a love and obedience matter.  Your silence is sometimes disobedience and could be viewed as a lack of love.  A lack of love for the flock and a lack of love for the LORD!  Before you become angry with me, consider how God and people might view your silence.  If your child were about to step into a busy street and you sat silently watching that act, would that demonstrate love?  If you could give a word of advice to another and failed to do so, do you suppose they would look back on that event and say, “I’m so glad you loved me enough to be silent?”  NO, they would wonder if you loved them as much as you said you did.

As Christians, we have the benefit of God’s Truth revealed to our hearts, and we are responsible for handling and distributing that truth.  We can fear man, or we can demonstrate confidence in God.  Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:26-29 – “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  27 ” What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.  28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” NASB

May the Lord be with you as you experience the Holy Boldness to say what needs to be said on all matters of life for God and good.   Blessings!

Ephesians 4:15-16 – “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  NASB

God has an end game or purpose for all He has and is doing in His children, the Body of Christ.  LOVE is not just a major factor; it is the central element in the purposes of God.  Paul wrote to the Philippians, saying, “This I pray.  That your Agape (God’s Nature) may abound still more and more….”  The word abound indicates overflow.  Paul says, “I am praying for you that there will be such a surge within you that you spill over in your Agape!”  He says in all “knowledge/discernment.” 

Considering the context, we must find that he is praying that they and we grow in our knowledge of how to live with each other and how the world needs that!  We need constant surges of power and need to be empowered by the Spirit of God from whom that Agape flows and overflows from us to our fellow man and all in the Body of Christ.

Until we overflow in Love, the Gifts of the Spirit cannot function to their perfection and in their designed purpose.  Because I love you, I see your need and realize that I need a gift to meet that need so I can help you.  That is Body Ministry! 

Paul’s words to the Thessalonians about increasing and abounding in love are interesting.  The word “increase” is a banking term.  You put money in, and it accrues interest; there is more than when you began.  The word “abound” implies a desire for more and more, and in those moments of need, there will be a supernatural surge of Agape and the need supplied.

For example, we do not always need divine help to forgive, but when we meet people who are mean-spirited, evil, and with words or deeds that seek to harm us, we need the power to forgive.  We need a surge of Agape to enable us to forgive! 

I heard an illustration that is apropos here and germane to our discussion.  Suppose you were sitting in a field under a shade tree, enjoying God’s creation’s beauty and almost nodding off in incredible peace. Suddenly you hear the snort of a raging bull, and he begins to charge at you.  You have a surge of energy rush through your being, and you run faster than you have ever run and leap over the fence higher than you have ever leaped.  Can you always do that?  Obviously not, but that surge of energy and power enabled you at the moment of need.  That is Agape overflowing to will allow you to BE.

Before focusing on loving the world, I suggest you focus on loving each other in the Body of Christ.  Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you have a love for ONE ANOTHER….”  Until we get that right, we will be like rain on a tin roof, trying to love the world.  You can rest assured that the world is not impressed when you say, “I love you.”  They just do not care! 

On the other hand, when they see a group of people professing to be followers of Christ demonstrating Agape to each other, they take notice and are frequently impressed enough to check you out.  I recall when I was lost, and the one thing that kept drawing me back and puzzled me was the love I sensed and saw in the people in that little church in Palestine, Texas.  I could not shake the drawing power of Love.

Let me suggest that when any cell in the Body of Christ ministers to another cell, it truly ministers to itself.  Also, every time you serve one another, you are directly serving Jesus!  “In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these… you have done it unto Me.”  We need to learn to become ‘supply routes’ ministering to others.  Agape refuses to be rejected.  It is love for the long haul.  It is not fickle and is not conditional. 

When you encounter someone who is difficult to love and feel no compassion for them, you love and forgive!  Agape is not based on feeling or emotion.  Yet, resentment rises within your being, and you struggle.  You resist and reject them, but if you think you are somehow going to be rid of them completely, think again.  That is a battle you will have until the resurrection, so the key is not trying never to have them but allowing the Agape of God to overpower and overrule them.  Remember, we are told that Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are…  He was tempted but did not sin or succumb to those temptations or feelings. 

Never let the devil enslave you to a mental image that if you ever have negative feelings or thoughts, you are somehow a failure as a Christian.  Simply remind him of the Cross and come boldly before God’s throne and receive that surge of Agape so you can forgive and banish those thoughts and feelings.  You have not arrived but are pressing toward the mark and will reap in due season if you do not quit.  We must learn to look into people rather than at them.  Jesus never saw a prostitute or tax collector; He saw a person.  He saw their need, never the package they were wrapped up in.  Out of or in and through Love, the Body is built up!

God help us become a fully functioning cell in the Body of Christ through which the power surges of Agape can flow to other cells, strengthen feeble hands, and lift them up. 

Blessings as you embark on this leg of life’s journey!

Ephesians 4:15-16 – “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  NASB

“God is Love!”  I suggest that God is not controlled by love; HE Is LOVE!  He does not have love; HE is LOVE and loves by choice.  He does not set his love on demons, but He chose to love us while we were still firmly entrenched in the camp of the enemy of God. 

His Love seeks our highest and best good.  He works in us to bring us to completeness in Him and total fulfillment.  He is working to bring us to our purpose and destiny and enable us to achieve our greatest potential in life.  He has been committed to that purpose even if it kills Him.  (The Cross).  God does not have casual affairs; He never lives with someone; He marries for eternity!  That is God’s Love!

What is man’s highest or best good?  What is man’s highest potential?  What are we when we are in that position and condition?  We are manifesting His life and being what He created us to be.  What is that?  A receptacle for His incredible Agape Love.  We are to live in the complete consciousness of that Love and express that love to the world.  That is what we are at our highest potential. 

One definition of sin could be “failing to fulfill that potential.”  Before you protest that sin is ‘missing the mark,’ is that not missing the mark of God’s purpose?  The Bible tells us that “…all have sinned and come short of the glory (LOVE) of God….”  A man has failed when he has cut himself off from that incredible Love!

Man did that in the Garden with Adam and Eve and has been doing it for centuries.  The Good News is that does not deter God. He keeps coming, loving, and calling us.  Nothing separates us from or causes Him to stop loving us. 

When we genuinely see the Love that is demonstrated at the Cross and comprehend that God Loves us so much that He gave His Son for us, then faith rises inside our being, and we cry, “Abba Father!”  We turn from rebellion, repent, and commit to obeying and following Him.  We are then transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of God’s Light and become cells in the Body of Christ.  We are then united and joined to every other cell in the Body in Love.

Paul, in Romans, declared regarding salvation, “The Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts….”  In Thessalonians, he spoke to new converts and said, “You have been taught of God to Love one another….”  

That is the key characteristic of the Body of Christ – LOVE!  It is not your brand of Christianity that identifies you as a Christian. It is God’s Love shed abroad in your heart and the manifestation of that Love!  You will never be the same as any other believer or sect.  Just like we all have different fingerprints in the natural, we are all unique in the spiritual, but the one thing we all have is LOVE! 

Remember what Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you have Love, one for another….”  Some would argue, “Well, there is more to Christianity than just love.” True, but without that Love, there is nothing else!  That is the bedrock foundational principle of being In Christ!

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul powerfully addresses the importance and power of love.  He says that without it, we are nothing more than noisy gongs and clanging cymbals.  He goes even further and declares that without love, we are Nothing! 

In the New Testament, we learn that the first act upon entering the Family of God and the Body of Christ is to be Empowered by the Holy Spirit.  That indicates we are given the ability, strength, and energy to Be!   Have you ever considered that the number one concern of the Holy Spirit in producing the New Testament was the Empowering of the Body of Christ? 

The question must be, what are we empowered for if we are empowered?  I believe this is where the modern church has gotten off track a bit.  In my understanding, the purpose of this empowering is that we might Love or manifest Agape!  We have focused on ministry, building, numbers, gifts, etc., and failed to realize that those things are beginnings, not ends. Gifts do not function to perfection without Love! They become dangerous, noisy gongs clanging and drawing attention to themselves, not producing life.

I want to move at least one step further into this, so I will pause again and pick up next time as we consider the Power and Purpose of Love in the Body of Christ.  

God, bless you richly is my prayer and desire!

Ephesians 4:15-16 – “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  NASB

Let me offer some definitions or identifications regarding the body using a couple of words in this text.  The two words to which I refer are:

• JOINT – The nervous system or the nerve paths that run through the body. 
• SUPPLIES – The full supply for any part of the body in its moment of need comes through the ‘paths’ within the body or through the nervous system. 

Why is that important?  It is essential because Paul frequently used analogies and comparisons to the human body in understanding the Body of Christ.  But that is only a part of the picture.

We are told by the apostle that The Body is built up in Love or that it builds itself up in or through Love.  The supply spoken of here is abundant and is sufficient to satisfy the need of any part of the body regardless of what or where that part is.  That supply flows through the body’s cells, bringing the needed supply, producing life, and making it whole. 

The result is that the Body, through its cells ministering to each other, builds itself up in Love!  Thus, a perfectly functioning Body, human or the Body of Christ, is where every cell is ministered to fully, completely, and according to need.  Body Ministry, a term we have probably heard frequently, is when all the supply lines are open and functioning as designed.  It would behoove us to remember that we are individual cells within the Body of Christ, not isolated entities. 

Our relationship with Jesus, the Head of the Body, is the same as the rest of our human body relates to the human head on that body (brain).  We are Christ’s Body!  That is not a hope, wish, or objective we are striving to attain – We are the Body of Christ if we are In Christ.  You did not originate the Body, and your inclusion did not cause it to begin; it was there before you were included. 

Since you have been included, you are a part of the Body of Christ and have a specific function.  One of those functions is to be a nerve path, a connecting cell, a supply route where other cells within the Body can receive what they need to function completely and wholly. 

Someone said, “There are only two bodies in the world, and greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.”  Therefore, we can see there is the Body of the World and the Body of Christ.  The head of the Body of Christ is Jesus, and the head of the Body of this World is Satan.  You were adopted, grafted, or born into the Body of Christ at conversion or salvation.  In the human body, the head and the rest of the body are one.  The head is the brain, the control center of the body.  The life that the body flows from the brain or head, and the life we have spiritually flows from the Head, JESUS!

Scientists and biologists tell me that from the brain, energy, life, and electrical current or Power come!  So, inside each of us is a pulsating power flowing from the brain to every cell or life.  It is not a matter of which church you belong to, the religious rituals you practice, or even the doctrine you believe it is being a living cell in the Body of Christ.  In Him, we live and move and have our being.  This supernatural life can only be manifested through our connection with the head being supplied through the nerve paths of the Body.  We are living His Life, and that life is LOVE!

William Shakespeare popularized ‘romantic love’; ever since the human race has been captivated by the idea of “Falling in Love.”  God does not fall in love; He is love and loves!  You fall in ‘mud puddles,’ and if you ‘fall in love,’ you can be rescued or ‘fall out of love’ as easily as you fell into it. 

God’s love is Unconditional; human love is conditional.  God’s love is spontaneous; it does not have to be earned, courted, or wooed. It is an extension of Who He Is.  It is Agape, and that Agape is what builds up the Body and transforms it into the Glorious Church Jesus said He was building and would return for.  God’s love is a premeditated choice, not the fire of emotion.  He decided to love us because that is who and what He is – Love!

I want to press deeper into this, so we will pause here and pick up next time, considering the Body of Christ and its building itself up in LOVE!   

Until next time may the richest and best of the blessing of the Lord be yours in all things and at all times.

Esther 4:13-14 – “And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  NKJV

The story of Esther, Mordecai, Haman, King Ahasuerus, and the Jews is gripping.  It is filled with pictures of evil, corruption, intercession, and willingness to accept responsibility.  The plight of the Jews was dire, and while Esther had the favor of the King, she was placing her life on the line in answering the challenge issued by Mordecai to intercede for her people. 

The question of Mordecai is gripping, and multitudes of sermons have been preached, using it as the catalyst to speak for dedication, commitment, and recognizing the call of God.  He said, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

I have witnessed and experienced the detail and care with which God ordains events, orchestrates situations, and moves people into positions for His purposes.  He had elevated Esther to the palace and given her favor with the king to save her people in their darkest hour.  God has divine appointments for us if we can recognize them and if we will walk in willing obedience to the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

You may view your life as meaningless or of lesser importance than some prominent figure spiritually or politically, which is a mistake.  You may never see your name in lights, and multitudes may never know your name, but that does not mean your place in the purposes of God is unimportant. 

I heard Evangelist James Robison, founder of LIFE Outreach International, tell his story, and it is inspirational.  He was born in the charity ward of a Houston hospital, the product of a forced sexual encounter.  His 41-year-old mother initially sought to have an abortion, but the doctor would not comply.  She gave birth to this child, put an ad in the newspaper, and gave him up for adoption to Reverend and Mrs. H.D. Hale, pastors in Pasadena, Texas. 

Later his mother reclaimed him while he was a teenager.  He returned to her home in Austin, Texas, where they lived in extreme poverty.  His biological father came back into their lives, and after some volatile times, James almost shot his father, an alcoholic and ill-tempered.  He returned to his adoptive parents in Houston, and Mrs. Hale led him to Christ during a revival service. 

The ministry of James and Betty Robison has touched untold thousands, if not millions, around the world for God.  Who was that obscure doctor who refused to perform an abortion?  I do not know, and few probably do, but the reality is that his obedience to conscience and conviction allowed James to be born. He is now a powerful voice for God internationally.

Who knows if that next person you touch in kindness or through a word of witness will become the next Billy Graham, Billy Sunday, D.L. Moody, W.J. Seymour, Charles Finney, or James Robison?  Who knows if that life you touch becomes a mighty person in the world of finance and, through their prosperity, impacts the Kingdom of God mightily?  Who knows if that person you influence for God and good might become the next mighty statesman for America and the world? 

You are not insignificant!  You were significant enough for Jesus to go to the Cross for you!  You could have been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this when you speak to that isolated, lonely soul who becomes mighty for God and good. But let us take a giant step forward and declare that who can say you were not brought into the kingdom to be the next voice to the world or statesman to bring reconciliation to nations? 

Listen to the Holy Spirit and never consider your worth, value, and importance insignificant.  You might have come into the kingdom for this very time and purpose! 

May God bless richly is my prayer!

John 3:3, 18-21 – “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”  NKJV

I truly believe that God wants everyone to go to heaven, but I also realize that everyone will not.  Some teachings suggest that everyone will go to heaven without meeting the qualifications the Bible lists and going through God’s door of being “born again.”  Jesus made it clear here and in other places in Scripture that being Born Again was a requirement for salvation and citizenship in Heaven.

When He uttered those words to Nicodemus, it was beyond the ability of this Jewish teacher to comprehend.  Nicodemus’ focus was the natural and physical.  He questioned how this could become a reality.  How could a man be reborn?  In the natural, he could not, so our Lord answered his questions beginning in (v.18). 

If we back up a few verses, we find the Gift of God’s Love in Salvation.  In John 3:14-17 – “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” 

In 2 Peter 3:9, we find an incredibly powerful and comforting word regarding the attitude of God toward humanity.  He is “not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  Does that mean everyone is saved?  No!  Sadly, man does not always do what God wants; this is no exception. 

God wants everyone to become members of the Family of God and citizens of Heaven, but there will come a day when they stand before the Great White Throne and hear the words, “Depart from Me, for I never knew you.”  That is more than tragic!  God wants everyone to have their sins forgiven and receive the Abundant Life Jesus lived, died, and arose for. 

A pressing question today must be, “Are you Born Again?”  If you are not, I plead with you to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and “confess your sins, repent, and believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  Jesus said, “If any man comes to Me, I will not cast out.”  (John 6:36).  He promises that “IF” we confess our sins, He will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all our iniquities.  If you know Him, rejoice; if you do not know Him, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and call upon His name.

God bless you richly, is my prayer!