EACH ONE—of US
“Submit therefore to God.
(The Letter of James 4: 7-8 NASB)
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
We can follow the crowd & go along, walking in the mass of people, being lost in the press of individuals. Truly, we can stand among the hundreds, thousands even, thinking how ‘if we stand with this particular crowd, then we are doing what is best.’
However, that’s just stinky thinking.
Jesus never called us to be silent Christians.
Jesus never called us to be seat-sitters.
Unfortunately, with the devil’s lies, we can talk ourselves into believing anything—even untruth.
Jesus never called us to ‘just go along’ because Jesus called us INDIVIDUALLY—
TO WALK IN THE WAY THE LORD WOULD HAVE US TO GO—EACH ONE—of US.
Yes, Jesus calls each person.
Think about this last statement.
For sure, Jesus called you by YOUR NAME.
The name given to us by our parents is known by the Lord.
Without a doubt, the Lord Jesus calls us, all of us, by name.
& then, when we individually say, “Yes, Lord.”
It is Jesus Himself who changes EACH ONE—of US—changing our names.
- Sally becomes a “child of God.”
- Ben becomes a “son of God.”
- Mavis becomes a “daughter of God.”
- Phil becomes a “son of the King of kings.”
- Rebecca becomes a “daughter of the Lord of lords.”
- Dan is changed from ‘lost’ to “found by Jesus Christ.”
EACH ONE—of US have been called by the Savior to accept God’s free gift of Grace.
EACH ONE—of US, when we say, “Yes, Lord” receive forgiveness for our sins & the extraordinarily rich gift of God’s Grace that He lavishes on us.
We can believe it because the Word of God says it is so!
- Over 300 verses in the New Testament speak of the resurrection of Jesus.
- This single, historical event affects the entire world of people.
“In Him we have redemption through His blood,
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1: 7-8a NASB)
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace
which He lavished on us . . . .”
Just because someone suffers in life, this does not mean his sin is worse. No, that’s a travesty of thought. True, a person can sin and then suffer the consequences for that particular sin, but that’s not the suffering we are discussing.
Each child of God (EACH ONE—of US) is called to ‘SUFFER for the CAUSE of CHRIST.’
- When we suffer in our faith-walk—
- Whenever we are persecuted for our stand on God’s promises— &
- When we face trials for our witness—
Sing praises to the King!
&
Lift our hands & praise the Lord!
&
Shout ‘Hallelujah’ to the Father!
How do we know this to be true?
Jesus Himself spoke of the testing His disciples must endure, a costly discipleship.
“If anyone comes to Me,
(The Gospel According to Luke 14: 26-30 NASB)
[when a person believes in Jesus & accepts God’s free gift of salvation]
and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,
yes, and even his own life,
he cannot be My disciple.
[Jesus calls us to forsake ALL and follow HIM ALONE]
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
[May we ponder deeply what this means to EACH ONE—of US]
For which one of you,
when he wants to build a tower,
does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish,
all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “
When we become children of God, we are changed from the inside out, to become a new creature in Christ. This means:
- There is a change in the inner self.
- There is a change in the old way of thinking.
- We experience remorse and walk away from our past sins.
- We live life in a way that proves the repentance we have received in Jesus. &
- We, EACH ONE—of US—Are to seek God’s purpose for our lives.
Long before we were born, God planned for us.
Long before we became born-again Christians, God planned the ministry He would have us do for Him.
God wants to share an intimate relationship with EACH ONE—of US!
However, God never intended for us to walk alone—in our faith walk, in our witness of Him, in our testing, in our life-struggles, in our strife, in our persecution for the cause of Christ.
- We can submit to the Lord.
- We can walk in the way of the Lord.
- We can resist the devil.
- We can draw near to the Lord, knowing He will draw near to us.
- Even though we are sinners, through & through, we can receive forgiveness & receive God’s cleansing.
- We can live for Jesus & not be “double-minded.”
All of this is possible!
How do we know this to be true?
We can know it is possible because God placed the power of His Holy Spirit within us at the exact moment of our salvation.
It is possible because the Word of God says it is so!
“Finally,
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 6:10 NASB)
be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”