Made for Him

September 13

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him …
Colossians 1:16

This, gang, is the secret of life. Jesus is not the created one, He is the Creator. ‘This is the day the Lord hath made,’ we sing. What does that mean? It means this day is made for Him, and the only way it will work is if I live for Him because, in so doing, I will be fulfilling the only reason it was created.

‘I don’t like that,’ you might say. ‘I don’t like the implications or the restriction.’

And the Lord would say to you, ‘Tough. That’s the way life works. And when you live your life to know Me, you’ll find your life working. But if you don’t, you’re sure to crash …’

I could say, ‘I’d like to see the valley tonight. So I’ll just rev up my Montero, drive up a mountain, hit the accelerator, and fly over the valley. It’ll be great!’ But the fact is, my Montero was not made to fly.

So too, people say, ‘I’m going to fly high and live for myself.’ But they crash because they weren’t made for any other purpose than to glorify God. That’s why they exist. All things were made by and for Jesus. And that includes us.

This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book “A Days Journey” by Pastor Jon. “A Days Journey” is a collection of 365 short devotions from the New Testament. If you would like your own copy of “A Days Journey” you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store

God and War

God brings wars to an end
all over the world.
He breaks the arrows,
shatters the spears,
and burns the shields.
Our God says, “Calm down,
and learn that I am God!
All nations on earth
will honor me.” (PSALMS 46:9, 10 CEV)

A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully. (JOHN 10:10 CEV)

Raised to live with Him

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. (Romans 6:5-10 NLT)

The victorious stroke of life

It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three-sin, guilt, death-are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. (1 Corinthians 15:56-58 MSG)

Raised to life

This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body-but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural-same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality! (1 Corinthians 15:42-44 MSG)

Jesus, The Bread of Life

February 27

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:51

Human beings can survive longer on bread than on any other substance. Although it is baked in different ways and fixed in different forms, bread is truly cross-cultural. It’s also extremely palatable, for most of us eat some sort of bread every day.

But the most intriguing aspect about Jesus’ identification with bread is the process by which bread is made: A seed of grain is planted in the ground. After some weeks, it springs up and grows into maturity. Then it is cut down, ground up, and placed in the fire. After it has thoroughly baked, it is enjoyed by humanity.

That’s exactly what happened to Jesus. A seed was planted in the womb of Mary miraculously. God Incarnate came forth, and grew to maturity. He was cut down as He was pinned to the Cross; ground up as He was cursed and spat upon; and placed in the fire of God’s wrath as all of our sin was absorbed by Him personally.

And because He had been planted, cut down, ground up, and burned in the very fire of God’s wrath, you and I have the opportunity to eat of Him daily — never tiring of Him, always receiving strength and sustenance for the challenges of any given day. Truly, Jesus is the Bread of Life. The analogy is perfect.

This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book “A Days Journey” by Pastor Jon. “A Days Journey” is a collection of 365 short devotions from the New Testament. If you would like your own copy of “A Days Journey” you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store

God’ heart, plan and will

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

‘In twenty-five words or less, tell us why your mother should be Mother of the Year’, reads the contest rules.

‘In twenty-five words or less, explain the importance of the French Revolution upon the economic and social structures of the thirteen colonies,’ reads the test question.

Now, although I might not have much trouble with the second question, the first one would be extremely difficult for me because the more we know about any given subject, the harder it is to communicate our thoughts succinctly.

Not so with Jesus. John 3:16 is exactly twenty-five words long, and in these twenty-five words, Jesus communicates the Father’s heart, the Father’s plan, and the Father’s will …

His heart: He loved the world.
His plan: He gave His only begotten Son.
His will: Whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I find it interesting, although I know it is somewhat coincidental, that in our English translation of this verse, the middle word is Son. It is no coincidence, however, that those who have experienced God’s presence most powerfully are those who have made the Son the center of their lives, for just as Jesus is the center of the greatest verse in all Scripture, He must be central in our hearts and lives if they are to have meaning, purpose, and impact.

This means that any person, pursuit, or passion in my life which cannot be centered on Jesus Christ has no place in my life, for it is God’s plan to gather together everything in the heavens and on earth in His Son (Ephesians 1:10).

Surrounding the word ‘Son’ in this verse, there are nine other key words: God, loved, world, gave, whosoever, believeth, perish, have, and life.

If you want to be really blessed, meditate on John 3:16 every day for ten days, giving emphasis to a different word each day …

For God so loved the world …
For God so loved the world …
For God so loved the world …

Perhaps you memorized this verse when you were three years old, but I believe it will come alive for you in new ways, as you contemplate its enormity.

This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book “A Days Journey” by Pastor Jon. “A Days Journey” is a collection of 365 short devotions from the New Testament. If you would like your own copy of “A Days Journey” you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store

Life-gift

There’s no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? (Romans 5:16, 17 MSG)

Jesus is life!!!

This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. (1 John 1:2 NLT)
-Jesus is life. Jesus is eternal life. It is Him

Living God’s way

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” (Romans 12:11-19 MSG)