“No one is good—except God alone."

Luke 18:19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone."

I am so guilty of considering myself as a good person...better than many...better than I used to be...I could be worse.  Yet Jesus did not have these opinions of himself, so why should I?  I want people to look at me and see me as a good person; someone they respect, admire, trust, enjoy, and want to be around.  I want to project myself as "good".

This high opinion of myself is evident in my prayer life.  I approach God with gratitude for how he has blessed me and made me a better person and then I  proceed to tell God how he can be a "good god" by doing good things like healing, forgiving, supplying, helping, and fixing.  I petition God in prayer as if Love, Goodness, Righteousness, Mercy, and Grace were not His Nature.  God, by His nature Loves beyond measure, Forgives Mercifully and Graciously, Heals perfectly, and Supplies in abundance.  In prayer, I am asking God to be who He already is.

I need to remember and go to God in prayer in the full realization of His Goodness.  By His Spirit leading me in prayer, my petitions will become praises and His nature will become my own.  I will want  what He wants.  I will see the healing that glorifies Him.  I will be thankful for the abundance of His supply.  I will receive the forgiveness that he so graciously offers.  I will love as he loves; loving people who seem unlovable and those who have hurt me.  I will be joyful, generous, patient, kind, peace loving, faithful, gentle, and have self-control (reject temptation).  (Galatians 5: 22-23...Fruit of the Spirit)

As I grow closer to God through prayer...seeking and desiring to be more Like Christ...I will want people to see His nature and not my own when they look at me.  That is what Jesus showed the world when He came and died and that is what He has entrusted to us, His followers and believers.

"For God So Loved The World..." John 3: 16

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

These words, spoken by Jesus, are the gospel message...the Good News....which the world needs to hear.  Jesus did not come to give us a To-Do list to get into heaven; He gave Himself and the promise that by believing that He is the Son of God, we will be saved and we will receive the gift of eternal life. 

When I proclaimed my belief in Him, I immediately knew that I had recieved this gift.  Over the years, I confess that at times my belief seemed weak and uncertain, but I never fell into unbelief.  It was at those low points when His Holy Spirit, a gift to help me, carried me, loved me, and assured me that His promise of eternity was mine.  Jesus relates to us because He walked this earth  as a man and experienced the same trials and temptations that we face.  That is why he sends His Spirit to abide with believers,  With His help, we feel His love and compassion when we are at our lowest.  He overcomes this world daily as we live this life and he overcomes death with eternal life.

There is power in the name of Jesus and that power is fueled by the love of God for all who believe that He is the Son of God.

Christmas Season Recap

As I look back over the Sermon series during the month of December and we look at Joseph and Mary's journey and the roles of Elizabeth, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels, we see that God had a mission for all whom he called upon and enabled them to complete their missions (roles) so that His plan could unfold.  The good news is that His plan is still unfolding as He assigns missions to Christ's followers today.  We  must not look back on the birth story as an end event, but must look at it as a beginning of God's redemptive plan for the world. 

As I look forward to a new year, I quite honestly feel somewhat depressed.  I look back and recognize an end of another year and have trouble looking forward to a new year filled with uncertainty.  I think that is the real message we need to embrace from the Christmas story...God sent a chosen few on an uncertain journey to  accomplish what He had already planned.  He is doing the same thing today with us.  The Good News is that He has given us a Counsellor/ Guide; the Holy Spirit, to accompany us on His journey.  Instead of looking back or looking at the uncertainty of the future, we need to crave the voice and the leading of His Holy Spirit.  That is when the certainty of purpose and promise of success will replace the depression and fear that uncertainty brings.