Tag: lost
Joy in heaven!
Scripture reading for March 31st: Joshua 5-8, Psalm 14, Luke 15
Key Scriptures: Joshua 6:23-25 “So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”
Joshua entered the promised land and faced Jericho. God gave him a plan to take the city. But the spies had been hidden by Rahab and she had tied the scarlet cord on her window and gathered her family inside. Joshua give instructions to the spies to go and bring her and her family out before destroying the city. God delights in saving the lost who come to Him by faith!
Psalm 14:7 “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of His people, Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord, thank You for Your great compassion for the lost sinner and for making provision through faith. Help me to bring many out of strongholds of sin into the safety of Your covenant through the Gospel!
Luke 15:6-7 “. . ., rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Preachers that smell!
Scripture reading for August 28th: 2nd Corinthians 2:9-17
Paul was a man sent by God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He had a personal encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road that turned his life around. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and sent out by a confirming prophetic word to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. He also loved his own brothers, the Jews, and preached in synagogues everywhere. He wasn’t always received with open arms and some were hostile to the message he presented. Others welcomed the message and were gloriously saved.
Paul described his ministry to the Corinthians. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” (2nd Corinthians 2:14-17) Paul was led by Christ to the places he should preach. Even when it did not look like a victory, Paul knew the scope of his calling and that Christ would give him victory. Some would hear and receive and his message would be the fragrance of life. Others would not hear or receive and to them his message would smell like death and produce conflict. Paul’s job was to preach the message and leave the results up to God. He was only a servant of Christ, sent by Him to humbly share.
God has commissioned each of us to go into our world and preach the Gospel to every creature. (Matthew 28:18-20) Those who hear and believe will be saved and given eternal life. Those who refuse to hear and reject the Gospel will be damned. The call to us is to obediently preach, leaving the results up to God. Each person must respond! Who is adequate for this ministry? Christ works with us and He brings the fragrance of life to all who will hear! He wants none to perish in death, but all to receive His glorious gift of life! What a wonderful God we serve!