Floodgates of Heaven Devotions: Jesus Christ

Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts

Here is why you NEED Jesus Christ!....

Today’s Reading: Josh. 7-9, Luke 1:21-38

Today’s Reflection: Josh. 7:13b …thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

How often do we forfeit power with God by harboring unconfessed and unrepentant sin? Any time we reach out and take what God has forbidden, we sin and therefore bring the curse of sin with us.

Sin is like a cancer that can only be stopped when it is completely removed. There is truly only one remedy for this today; the blood of Jesus Christ! But before we focus on the remedy, let us first understand the gravity of our condition without it.

Let’s start here; James 1:14-15 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

You see, sin is brought forth as a child of lust. One can describe lust in this context as a longing or desire for what is forbidden. Truthfully, any incident where man takes what God has not given is sin. In fact, after careful observation, I believe all sin is in some way related and connected with taking what God has not given.

Think about it. Adam and Eve committed the very first sin by taking that which was not given. Lucifer, while even in Heaven, sought after a glory and a praise which did not belong to him; it only belonged to God.

Therefore, just as Lucifer suffered the consequences of his sin and was cast out of Heaven, and just as Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, so when we take what is forbidden, we are also faced with the cursed consequences of our actions.

The ultimate consequence of sin is death. This is an ultimate and fatal consequence. This means that when we take what has not rightfully been given us, we ultimately get taken from us all that was rightfully ours to start with.

As the old adage goes, sin will cost you far more than you ever want to pay. Now then, this tells us that the only pursuits we should be interested in are those which God allows, and those things which God GIVES us.

Let us then consider Gal. 3:13-14, which says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

Did you catch that? Christ took the curse of sin on our behalf, so that we could enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings that come when sin is eradicated. The best part? It is a GIFT! When you take Christ, you are taking what God permits, which then cures the curse of sin. Glory!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Floodgates of Heaven, Volume 2, Entry 80 of 365

-------------------------------------------------------------

There are only two ways to take Christ...what's YOUR take? Read more...

Today’s Reading: Deut. 25-27, Mark 14:27-53

Today’s Reflection: Mark 14:49a I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not…

The single-most important question of your lifetime is this; what’s your take on Jesus? Will you take Him seriously, or will you take Him casually? Will you take Him as Lord and Savior of your life, or will you take Him to have Him crucified? The truth is, there is no middle ground; you are either for Christ, or against Him. In our reading today, when the great multitude with swords and staves came to capture Jesus (as if He was a thief, though we know He was not), Jesus pointed out to them that they had opportunity to take him every day while they were hearing him teach in the temple. I would note here that while Jesus was implying that they could have “arrested” him there, that there was another way they could have taken Him. They could have taken Him, not as a falsely accused criminal, but as Savior and Lord. I see the two choices set before them. They chose to take Him the wrong way! A perfect man…the perfect Lamb of God, taken as a thief, to die with thieves, by a crowd who bore the guilt that HE willingly paid! Imagine the weight of judgement facing these men come judgement day. They literally heard Christ teach daily, and they literally took Him at night with ill intent, rather than in the temple, during the day, unashamedly professing faith in Him. Imagine just how accountable they will be for having been guilty of being the ones arranging the death of the only perfect man that had ever lived on this planet! Now, as you imagine that weight of judgement, and that level of accountability, just imagine one more thing; imagine all of that judgement and that accountability resting upon YOUR shoulders as if YOU were the one guilty of His innocent blood. You see, the truth is, ALL OF US were guilty of shedding the innocent blood of Christ. How? Because it was our sin that put Him on the cross. Had we not sinned, there would have been no need for a payment for our sins, but we DID sin. In fact, the Bible says that ALL have sinned, and come short of God’s glory. It says that there is NONE righteous, no, not one! So, we are just as guilty as the ones who literally put Him on the cross. Oh, and one more thing; at first, I was tempted to talk about how they took Christ hostage, but then I discovered that a hostage is one that is involuntarily controlled by an outside influence. Then I was reminded of what Christ said of Himself concerning His life in John 10:18a, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.” Now, once you are taken by His love, you can take Him as Lord!

If you enjoyed this devotion, would you please consider sharing it on Facebook? If so, just scroll down to the bottom and you'll see the blue share button. Thanks for your consideration!!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Floodgates of Heaven, Volume 2, Entry 74 of 365

-------------------------------------------------------------

GUARANTEED Victory!!!

Today’s Reading: Deut. 22-24, Mark 14:1-26

Today’s Reflection: Deut. 23:14 For the LORD they God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

I can get excited about the Lord our God walking among us. I can also get excited about the REASON He chooses to walk in our midst; to deliver us, and to give up our enemies before us! God does not change; He wanted His people to have the victory THEN, and He wants His people to have the victory NOW! Victory over what? Victory over any weapon formed against us; victory over any tongue that rises up against us to condemn us; victory over any sin that threatens to dominate us; victory over any devil that seeks to destroy us; VICTORY, VICTORY, VICTORY!! Now, that said, let us remember the parallel between the Old Testament (henceforth called OT) economy and the New Testament (henceforth called NT) economy. Let us consider, for example, what Romans 8:3-4 says, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Did you see that? In other words, in the OT, God walked in their midst, but demanded that their camp be holy; in other words, keep the law, and when the law was broken, keep the sacrifices going which kept their sins covered before His eyes. Any time uncovered sin was discovered in the camp, God would turn away from his people. Now, in the NT, to offer a solution for the sin problem, God sent His perfect, spotless, sinless Son to be the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all who call upon Him in faith and repentance of their sins. At that moment, He not only walks among them, but MOVES INTO their hearts! Now, what the OT could not offer (which was a perpetual cleansing of sin through the pure and living blood of the resurrected Christ), now the NT covenant offers by Christ alone! Once we are truly born again, we are forgiven of past, present, and future sins, and so He who walks among us, and now lives in us, will NEVER leave us nor forsake us! This is a marvel to consider, is it not? You know what this means, don’t you? This means that the victory God intended for His children under the weak OT economy, is now GUARANTEED through the NT covenant! GREATER is HE who is IN YOU, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)! If you have Christ, you HAVE victory. Use it!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Floodgates of Heaven, Volume 2, Entry 72 of 365

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus: Can you hear Him now?

Day 63 (Category: Jesus)

Today’s Reading: Num. 29-31 & Mark 9:1-29

Today’s Reflection: Mark 9:8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

First, let’s get the backdrop: Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John so that his clothing turned a brilliant white, so excellent and pure that Earth could not produce such brilliance. Also, there was Elijah the Prophet and Moses the lawgiver having a conversation with Jesus. It was a sight to see! Any of us who claim to follow Christ would LOVE to have experienced this moment with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. The disciples were SO excited, and yet so afraid (see verse 6), that they felt this level of glorious revelation required some kind of an attempt to commemorate and honor such an experience for generations to come. So, since they didn’t know what to say, they got what my good friend Scott Boatner calls the “let’s just DO SOMETHING!” mentality. They suggested building three temples, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Sounded good to them! BUT, the Father did not approve. He immediately replied out of a cloud above them, saying in verse seven, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” Then the entire supernatural scenery disappeared and all they were left with was Jesus, in his humble bodily form, with natural earth tone, and possibly earth-marred clothing, just as he was before the revelation. Keep that in mind. Now, looking back at verse one, Jesus said unto them, that there would be some of them that would not die until they “have seen the kingdom of God come with power”. I think it not ironic that it was immediately after this statement that this experience on the mount took place. So, what does all of this mean? Consider this: God decided to give His disciples a glimpse of Christ’s power and glory, from a Heavenly perspective. Up to this point, they had only seen Christ from the natural eye’s point of view, but it was time to elevate their perspective! HOWEVER, once the elevated perspective had been given, God then immediately took it away so that the ONLY focal point from this point forward would be Jesus. Here’s the point: God’s greatest display of the power and glory of His kingdom is embodied in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ! And before you think you need to see what they saw with the natural eye to benefit from their experience, I wish to point out that The Father did not say, “Don’t forget what you SAW!” Instead, He took all the visual stimulation away and simply ended with, “hear him.” Are you listening?

✰✰✰ PURCHASE OUR KINDLE BOOK HERE TO SUPPORT ORPHANS AROUND THE WORLD! ✰✰✰

When your Friends become Critical of your Faith!

Day 53 (Category: Jesus Christ)

Today’s Reading: Num. 3-4 & Mark 3:20-35

Today’s Reflection: Mark 3:21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, he is beside himself.

Here, the earthly ministry of Jesus is in full throttle. He has just picked out and ordained His twelve disciples, and as He is teaching and preaching throughout the countryside, they can’t so much as eat a bite of lunch without being overtaken by massive crowds who are eager to hear Christ preach or to behold His miracles at work. In either case, it has gotten to the point to where Jesus’ very own friends think it’s time for an intervention!! They believe it has gotten out of hand, so to speak. They have said of the Master, “He is beside himself!” They assumed that just because what Jesus was both experiencing and causing others to experience was not normal, must have meant that it was crazy. I am perhaps as fascinated as anyone else concerning the life and ministry accomplishments of Christ our Lord, but I never would have thought to accuse Him of being beside Himself…or being out of His mind! As a matter of fact, I’m frustrated that His FRIENDS of all people would accuse Him of being such! I mean, why go to the extent of saying something so condescending of someone who heals the sick, casts out devils, and raises the dead? I can think of a lot of words to describe Him, but crazy is not one of them! However, to a world full of doubtful onlookers, the supernatural which they don’t understand is often categorized in their minds as that which is insane or crazy. It’s a quick psychological fix for an otherwise complex reality. You will either have to come to the conclusion that Christ was and is exactly who He claimed to be (the Son of God), or that He was absolutely the most insane person that walked the planet. I, for one, choose to believe that He is the former! But that said, what kind of practical lesson can we learn from Christ’s experience with His friends in this text? We can learn that when we operate in the anointing given to us to fulfill God’s call for our lives, many people including our close friends will not understand us! As a matter of fact, some of them will try to stop us, while simultaneously thinking they are doing us a favor. They simply do not understand (and neither did Jesus’ friends at first) what drives us to do what we do. They may have even said the same thing about you that Jesus’ friends said about Him…that you’re crazy! Regardless, as Jesus learned to ignore the pleas of His critic friends to tone it down, in like manner so should we resolve to do the same! The truth is, Jesus loved His friends too much to lower His performance to their limited level of understanding.

Blessed? Email Us! testify@floodgatesofheaven.org

Print and Share!

copyright © by Gary D. Caudill

✰✰✰ PURCHASE OUR KINDLE BOOK HERE TO SUPPORT ORPHANS AROUND THE WORLD! ✰✰✰