Considering the joy set before us!

As Christians we are called to be those that live in hope, walk by faith and demonstrate genuine love in all circumstances.

For me, and I'm sure it is for many others, this is a massive challenge!

How do you respond when those close to you let you down?

How do you confront wrong thinking and deconstruct false wisdom in your own life & in the lives of those around you?

Often we can fall into the trap of thinking we must have all the answers, that within our own strength we can solve every wrong and lift up every head.

The stark reality however is that we can't sustain it - All the goodwill & well meaning intention that we can muster up can only serve us so long until eventually we come to the end of ourselves, to the end if our capacity, and realize we just can't sustain a Christ-like lifestyle!

The great news is that we were never intended to try and reveal the nature of God on our own in the first place!

God designed each one of us with a destiny, a redemptive purpose, a mandate from God, one that would be backed up with everything needed for the task of affecting change in our own streets, towns, cities, our nation & beyond to the ends of the earth so that the world would look on and see the power of God demonstrated in and through your life.

"So why don't I see it?" we might ask, "why is the area where I live so oppressive?", "Why do I feel that I'm not effective?"

The answer, I believe (but don't brand me a heretic if you disagree!) is that perhaps you haven't fully grasped the work that God has accomplished in your life. Perhaps you have not fully understood the Lordship of Christ to the point where He has become your everything.

Sure, Jesus may very well be your Saviour - He performed the most selfless act in human history by laying His life down to free all those that would believe in Him from the snare of sin & death, but often that's where it stops.

Sometimes we never move on from the cross into resurrection life, a way of life that calls us to be devoted, described in Scripture in an almost slavish way, to following Christ and being obedient to His teaching.

Forgive me for using the word 'slavish' but there is a biblical precept of being obedient to the teaching of Christ, as a slave would do to a master!

One of the biggest pitfalls facing the church today is the failure of many Christians to understand the Lordship of Christ and how He has called them out of darkness (as their Saviour) to then be faithful and obedient and to pick up their cross and follow Him (as their Lord).

How can we fulfil the great commission of going to the ends of the earth to make disciples of all peoples unless we too know what it is to be authentic disciples ourselves?

It's my firm belief that many believers today are satisfied with the eternal hope they find in Christ - This is a good thing! But i also believe that many are living unaware and without any concept of the calling upon their life to die to themselves and to live for Christ. Unaware of the destiny of relational unity, joy, freedom and power that awaits them as they rise up from the cross at Calvary to receive and experience the wealth of spiritual blessing that comes from being united in both the death and the risen work of Christ.

There has to be a willingness to pursue God, to desire Him like nothing else, to choose Him above every other and to follow Him & trust Him as He calls us into a new life that looks very different than the one we lived in our own strength at the foot of the cross.

That's my prayer today; that God would open our eyes and our hearts to catch a glimpse of the prize of Christ in a new way. He is the one that will never spoil, falter or fail and has chosen a path that is based on genuine relationship that can only ever be made possible through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

Consider the joy set before you, press on, persevere, truly lay hold of that which Christ has graced in your life and shine like a beacon in the darkness under the knowledge and power of divine Sonship.

God is for you! Lovingly choose Him just as He has chosen you. Lovingly lay your life down like He has done for you & the transformation that will be demonstrated as you become one with the Father will be undeniable.

Live in step with the Spirit & enter into your destiny as a co-heir of the Kingdom, understanding and revealing the governmental mandate of the King to tear down & destroy the works of the enemy, all to the Glory of God.

Be encouraged!

Gordon