Every Day with Jesus (31 page)

It is wonderful to be forgiven and cleansed of all sin and unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is a tremendous hope to look forward to eternity in heaven. However, you can enjoy the greatest blessing of your salvation today: the intimate, face-to-face relationship with God the Father and Jesus the Son.

October 25: Seek the Will of God

Luke 22:41-42

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Luke 22:42

Jesus knew it was the Father’s will for Him to be made an offering for the sins of the world. He had prophesied His own death and resurrection many times. But because of His unique relationship with God, Jesus asked Him to accomplish His will some other way. At the same time, He affirmed His commitment to do His Father’s will and not His own.

Jesus knew God’s will and left this time of prayer trusting that whatever the Father deemed best for Him would happen. He knew when He began praying what the Father’s will was, and He knew at the close of His prayer that God’s will could not be accomplished any other way.

For us to pray, “Lord, if it be thy will” in response to a promise God has given us is nothing but unbelief and is not even remotely related to what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. One of the foundational principles of answered prayer is that we must believe that we receive when we pray. (Mark 11:24.) There is no way we can fulfill that condition if we don’t know God’s will in that situation. Praying, “if it be thy will” takes us out of the active position of believing and puts us in the passive position of waiting and letting circumstances rule our lives.

If you are seeking direction in an area where God’s will is not already expressed in His Word, then you should pray James 1:5 and ask for wisdom. You should not be ignorant but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Eph. 5:17.) The only appropriate time to pray, “if it be thy will,” is when you are dedicating yourself to the service of God.

October 26: Always Willing

Matthew 26:36-45

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41

If you are born again, your spirit is not your problem. The Holy Spirit made your spirit new when He came to live in you. Now your spirit is just like Jesus (1 John 4:17) and is always willing to do God’s will. It is your flesh that is your problem.

The flesh, as Jesus describes it here, not only includes your physical body but also your soul. God has given you everything it takes to walk in victory, but you also have the treasure of your born-again spirit housed in an earthen vessel. (2 Cor. 4:7.) That is saying that your spirit, where God has deposited all of His power and glory, resides inside your flesh.

Jesus had asked His disciples to watch and pray with Him in what was His most distressing time. He said to them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,” and asked that they pray for Him. None of them were able to do it. They all fell asleep! We think this is outrageous until we are physically exhausted and the Holy Spirit gives us an unction to pray. Our spirits (and sometimes our souls at first) are so willing, but our flesh is still tired. Eventually we will decide to either persevere in the Spirit or give in to our flesh.

What you need to remember is that you can tap into the power of the Holy Spirit inside your spirit by renewing your mind with God’s Word. The more your mind is renewed, the more the power of God will flow through your soul and physical body. You must exercise your soul, mind, and body unto godliness. (1 Tim. 4:7,8.) Then, when the Holy Spirit asks you to intercede and stand in the gap for someone at three o’clock in the morning, your spirit—that is always willing—will easily dominate your flesh.

October 27: The Importance of Teaching

Matthew 26:55

In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

Matthew 26:55

In this verse, Jesus is being arrested by the Temple guards, and He reminds them that He is the same person who preached and taught among them for the last three years. Even when He is being treated like a common thief, He tells them to remember what He has said to them. The four gospels refer to Him teaching 43 times, preaching 19 times, and preaching and teaching 6 times. This indicates that Jesus spent twice as much time teaching as He did preaching. Preaching brings people to Jesus, but teaching makes disciples out of them. Jesus was making disciples, not just converts.

The Greek word for disciple means “a learner,” and indicates “learning by endeavor” or what we would call “on-the-job training.” Jesus said in John 8:31, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” Anyone who continues to read, study, meditate on, and hear the teaching of God’s Word is Jesus’ disciple.

“Jailhouse religion,” where a person is only sorry they got caught and just wants to get out of a bad situation, will not produce true discipleship. These people give their lives to Jesus, and the moment they leave the jail, they go back to their worldly ways. They are not a disciple of the Lord until they get in church and submit to the teaching of the Word.

Today you can examine your lifestyle and see whether or not you are acting like you have “jailhouse religion” or are a true disciple of the Lord. Every believer can get fired up and inspired by a preacher, but it is your pastor and other teachers that will bring the Word of God to you in ways that your heart will receive it with gladness and be transformed. The teaching of the Word is what will bring real stability and joy to your life in Christ.

October 28: Jesus Wants You Healed

Luke 22:51

And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

Luke 22:51

This verse describes Jesus’ response to Peter’s rash act of cutting off one of the Temple guard’s ears when he was trying to take Jesus into custody. This guard was just doing his job. He may have actually been a follower of Jesus, or he may have hated Jesus like the other religious Jews did. The Bible doesn’t tell us. But regardless of the feelings and beliefs this guard had about Him, Jesus immediately healed him. This demonstrates His great desire for all people to be well and whole, and it also shows one of the many ways He healed people.

Jesus often healed people by touching them, and others received their healing as they touched Jesus. You can transmit the power or the anointing of God through the laying on of hands. (Mark 16:18; Heb. 6:2.) The virtue of God can even be transmitted to objects and then brought to the person who needs healing or deliverance. (Acts 19:12.)

Healing has been purchased for us as part of the atonement of Christ. The Lord would no more refuse to heal us than He would refuse to forgive us. That does not mean we deserve healing—we don’t—but we don’t deserve to be forgiven either! They are both gifts from God. (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8.)

Today you know you are saved by the redemptive work of Jesus, not your good deeds. You are also healed by the blood of Jesus, not your works. You cannot earn salvation or healing, but you can receive both by faith. When you doubt you are worthy of being healed, remember how Jesus healed the guard’s ear. If Jesus healed him without even thinking about it, He fervently desires that you receive your healing as well.

October 29: The Rhema Word

Matthew 26:69-75

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Matthew 26:75

“Peter remembered the word of Jesus” says it all!

There are several Greek words used for word. The Greek word used here is rhema, and it literally means, “a spoken word; an utterance, a saying, but specifically a spoken word appropriate for the situation.” It’s not the Bible lying on your coffee table that makes the enemy flee. It is the Word of God hidden in your heart, activated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and spoken in the appropriate situation that destroys all deception and makes you free.

The word rhema brings to mind what Jesus said in John 6:63, that “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” The words that we speak from the written Word of God are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Word by itself doesn’t make us free. It is the Word we know and speak in faith that will deliver us. (John 8:32.) The Word is effective and powerful because it is God’s Word. His Word supersedes all authority of the church, of reason, of intellect, and of the enemy. When we connect His Word with our heart, and our heart connects His Word to our situation—then we have a rhema word.

This is exactly what Peter was doing just after he denied Jesus the third time. Sometimes a rhema word will come after your worst failures, and that is because the Holy Spirit is reminding you of the only Word that can restore and get you moving again. You can rise above any failure today by listening to the Holy Spirit who will always put you in remembrance of the Word of God—and then that rhema word will set you free.

October 30: All About Miracles

Luke 23:8

And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

Luke 23:8

When Pilate could find no fault in Jesus, He sent Him back to the Jewish king, Herod. Herod was glad because for a long time he had wanted see Jesus perform a miracle. The questions he asked Jesus made this desire obvious, but Jesus did not say or do anything in response. Miracles are one way God meets the needs of those who seek Him in faith. Sometimes He will demonstrate His supernatural ability to inspire faith in people (Mark 2:10,11), but He will not perform a miracle for skeptics who are tempting Him and have no desire for Him. (Luke 4:9-12.)

A miracle is a supernatural intervention of God’s power over natural law. Healings occur within the boundaries of natural law while miracles are not limited to natural law. A person with a high fever who receives prayer and then begins to recover is experiencing a healing. The Lord intervened, but in natural ways. The virus, infection, or whatever was rebuked, left the body (Luke 4:39), and then the natural healing process that the Lord built into people took over. When something totally supernatural happens, like reattaching the guard’s ear and it being instantly whole (Luke 22:51), that is a miracle. It was also a healing, but it was a miraculous healing.

Feeding the five thousand (Matt. 14:19,20), walking on the water (Matt. 14:25), translating a ship and all aboard to the other side of the sea (John 6:21)—all these are miracles—and you, being in Christ, can do them too! Today you have the full authority of the name of Jesus, which means that anything He did, you can do also. As long as your heart is in the right place and you desire a miracle to reveal Jesus to someone, you should have no hesitancy in believing God for one.

October 31: Jesus—the Name Above All Names

Luke 23:9

Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

Luke 23:9

When Herod questioned Jesus, he revealed how humble He was. He refused to defend Himself, and He refrained from venting His wrath against the man who had senselessly killed John the Baptist, who was His cousin and probably one of His closest friends. Because of His humility and obedience to the Father, God gave Him a name that is above every name in heaven, earth, and under the earth. (Phil. 2:9-11.) There is no exemption for anyone or anything from coming under the Lordship of Jesus. He is Lord of ALL.

Jesus has not only been exalted above every “being” that has a name, but He is also highly exalted above any “thing” that has a name. If you can put a name on it, Jesus is above it. Sickness, poverty, depression, anger, your car, your job, your family—everything has to bow its knee to the name of Jesus.

The day is coming when every knee of men, women, children, angels, and demons will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Every being from all ages will ultimately bow and acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ. This is the extent of the power and authority of the name of Jesus.

If you have already bowed your knee to Him today, you will not only look forward to eternity with Him in heaven, but you can enjoy a wonderful life here on earth because you can walk in the power of His name. Whatever you are facing, it must bow to the name of Jesus!

November

November 1: Pilate Violates the Truth

Matthew 27:11-17

Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

Matthew 27:17

Although Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, he looked for some diplomatic way to release Jesus that would not cause him to lose favor with the Jewish leaders. This is why he sent Jesus to Herod. He hoped that Herod would pass judgment on Jesus and save him the trouble. When that scheme failed, Pilate drew on an old custom of releasing a prisoner to the people during a feast. It was time for Passover, and he gave them a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, who was a murderer. Pilate thought the crowd would certainly choose Jesus. However, through the insistence of the chief priests and scribes, the people chose Barabbas to be released.

Pilate was now out of ideas as to how to let Jesus go and still save face with the Jews, so he condemned Jesus to death. Pilate violated what he knew to be true in his heart because of the fear of men (Prov. 29:25) and what he thought they might do to him. Without the chief priests’ cooperation, he ran the risk of unrest among the Jews, which could bring punishment by Caesar for failing to govern well.

As it turned out, Pilate was deposed a few years later anyway by Tiberius Caesar, and he died in exile in Gaul in AD 41. At the most, sentencing Jesus to death gave Pilate a five-year extension of his troubled rule and damned his soul in the process. What a person compromises to keep, they will always lose. Going against the truth is never worth the price.

As you make decisions and evaluate situations today, set your heart to stand with the truth of God’s Word and to be led of His Holy Spirit. You have no reason to fear what people will do when you follow after the Lord’s will.

November 2: Jesus Set You Free

Luke 23:18

And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas.

Luke 23:18

What happened to Barabbas is a picture of what happens when we are born again. Barabbas was guilty; Jesus was innocent. Jesus suffered the death that Barabbas deserved, and Barabbas went free. Likewise, we were guilty (Rom. 3:23) and condemned to death (Rom. 6:23), yet Jesus suffered our punishment so that we could go free. (2 Cor. 5:21.) Just as Barabbas didn’t ask for this substitution, so “God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Jesus’ death set Barabbas free, but he had to choose whether to accept this new freedom or to continue in his old selfish ways and come under the judgment of Rome again. In the same way, we have all been freed through the substitutionary death of Jesus, but we have to choose whether to accept our freedom by putting our faith in Him and surrendering our lives to Him.

As Christians, we need to develop a continual awareness that our lives are not our own. We do not have the liberty to do as we please; we have the liberty to love, serve, and worship God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We should present our bodies as living sacrifices unto God, recognizing that this is just our reasonable duty to the one who gave His life for us. (Rom. 12:1.)

The lordship of Jesus should be the determining factor in every action of your life today. (Rom. 14:7-10.) Every thought, word, and deed should pass the test, “Is this what Jesus wants?” This is the key to having a great day!

November 3: Is It the Truth?

Matthew 27:4

Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

Matthew 27:4

The religious Jews who had courted Judas’ favor to obtain his cooperation in arresting Jesus cared nothing for him. They simply used him. The devil’s crowd will flatter you and see that you prosper as long as they can use you, but when there is no longer anything in it for them, they will forsake you just as the chief priests did Judas.

The serpent didn’t come to Eve in the Garden threatening to bite her if she didn’t eat of the forbidden fruit. Instead, he came with deception, presenting himself as being concerned for her welfare. Satan’s greatest weapon is deceit, which is bending the truth, using half-truths, and outright lying. He will take the Word of God and twist it just a little, add to it, and eventually he will say the exact opposite of what God originally said.

Just as an athlete or military person’s success depends partly on how well they know their opponent, believers must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. (2 Cor. 2:11.) Jesus stripped Satan of all his authority (Matt. 28:18), and the only influence Satan has over us now is deception. If he can get us to believe a lie, something that does not line up with God’s Word, he can get us to use our own power and authority against us. The thing that makes deception so deadly is that those who are deceived don’t know it. Once they realize they are deceived, they aren’t deceived any more.

The best defense against the devil’s deception is to be so Word-centered that you give no place to him. Whenever you sense the presence of evil or discern an idea or thought that might be evil, run to the Word of God to check it out. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is the truth.

November 4: God’s Forgiveness Is for All Sins

Luke 23:34

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Luke 23:34

Forgiveness of sins is one of the great themes of the Bible, which says so much about it that it would take volumes to adequately deal with the subject. It will suffice to say that the blood of Jesus is what provided us with forgiveness of sins. His sacrifice was so great that it outweighed all our sins for all time. It covered all the sins of the world—past, present, and future.

Most Christians have the concept that the sins they committed before they professed faith in Christ are forgiven at salvation, but any sins they commit after salvation are not forgiven until they repent and ask for forgiveness. This is not the case. All our sins—past, present, and future—were forgiven through the one offering of Jesus. If God can’t forgive future sins, then none of us can be saved because Jesus only died once, nearly two thousand years ago, before we had committed any sins. All our sins have been forgiven.

Being forgiven for all time is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children. We can proceed with our lives in confidence that even if we do miss it or fall to temptation, He still loves us and forgives us. All we have to do is turn to Him, be washed by His Word, and begin to walk in the Spirit again. A lot of people hear this and say, “Well, you’re just telling Christians it’s all right to sin.” On the contrary, when believers understand the full extent of God’s forgiveness, it gives them an even greater desire not to sin.

It is through the riches of God’s grace that you received forgiveness for your sins and continue to receive that forgiveness when you need it. That is one of the great blessings and the strong confidence you can walk in today.

November 5: Paradise

Luke 23:39-43

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Luke 23:43

Paradise was also called “Abraham’s bosom,” which He mentioned in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. (Luke 16:22.) After His death, Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9), and John 20:17 shows that it was some time after His resurrection before Jesus ascended to His Father. Therefore, Paradise was “Abraham’s bosom,” located in sheol in the lower parts of the earth.

The phrase “led captivity captive” from Ephesians 4:8, refers to Jesus liberating the Old Testament saints from a part of hell called sheol in Hebrew. It is this Hebrew word that is translated hell in Psalm 16:10, which prophesies Jesus saying, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:27-30).

The ungodly dead also went to sheol, or hell, but Jesus taught in Luke 16:19-31 that there was a great gulf fixed between the godly and the ungodly. Those in the torment of hell envied those who were enjoying the blessings of the Lord in Abraham’s bosom or Paradise.

Even though these Old Testament saints were blessed, they were not able to enter into the presence of the Lord because the atonement of Jesus Christ had not been completed. In that sense, they were captives. When Jesus died, He descended into sheol and took the captives captive. He took them to heaven, into the very presence of God, and vacated Paradise. After that, all that remained was the torment of hell.

The thief next to Jesus, when they were being crucified, asked Jesus to remember him, and Jesus assured him they would meet shortly in Paradise. Today, whether you are raptured to meet Jesus in the air or simply pass from your body in old age, you have nothing but heaven to look forward to also.

November 6: The Veil Is Torn

Luke 23:45

And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

Luke 23:45

The veil reached from the ceiling to the floor, from wall to wall, and separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the Temple. Solomon’s Temple was thirty cubits high (1 Kings 6:2), but Herod increased the height to forty cubits according to the writings of Josephus, a first-century historian. Therefore, depending on what standard you use to convert cubits to feet (there is uncertainty as to exactly what a cubit equaled in feet and inches), this veil was somewhere between sixty and ninety feet high.

It is significant that this veil was rent from top to bottom. (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38.) No man could have torn the veil in this fashion. It was definitely God who rent the veil. It is also significant that the time this veil tore down the middle corresponds exactly to the moment Jesus died on the Cross.

Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that the veil separated the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt, from the rest of the Temple, where people dwelt. This signified that mankind was separated from God by sin. (Isa. 59:1,2.) Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil and only once each year. (Ex. 30:10; Heb. 9:7.) This symbolized the Messiah, who would enter into God’s presence for us and make an atonement for our sin.

The moment Jesus Christ died, the veil was torn in two, revealing that the sacrifice had been made and there was no longer a separation between God and you. Jesus tore the veil, that is to say His flesh (Heb. 10:20), in two and opened up the way to the Father through Himself—the way you are walking in today. Rejoice and be glad in it!

November 7: Honor Your Parents

John 19:26

When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

John 19:26

John is the only gospel writer to give this account of Jesus’ last ministry to His mother, perhaps because Jesus gave Mary to John. Even during His extreme suffering, Jesus thought of His mother and honored her by giving her into John’s care. In this way, Jesus was fulfilling the second commandment of the Law, which said to honor His parents.

Christians are to honor their parents even after they are adults. However, the command to obey is temporary. (Gal. 4:1,2.) Honor naturally leads to obedience if nothing is asked contrary to God’s laws, but honor and obedience are not synonymous. The Scriptures teach that when a man marries, he is to leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. (Gen. 2:24.) This is why parental interference in their son’s or daughter’s marriage is the source of many divorces and much marital strife. Yet, a believer is to honor their parents.

The definition of the word honor means “to esteem, respect,” and the Greek word from which honor is translated means “to prize, i.e., to fix a valuation upon.” When we are young, it is good to esteem and prize the opinions of our parents over our peers. The attitude that parents are out-of-date and out of touch dishonors them and deprives us of their wisdom and comfort. When we are older, we may disagree with our parents, especially if they are unbelievers, but we should never dishonor or show disrespect to them. If they have been abusive or ungodly, honoring them does not mean believing or acting like them. Honor is simply an attitude of respect for the position they hold as those who gave us life.

It says in Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, and Ephesians 6:1-3 that honoring your father and mother is the first commandment with a promise. This command is the first one of the Ten Commandments that gives a promise of blessing to those who obey it. Honor your parents as Jesus honored His, and you will live a long, prosperous life.

November 8: The Meaning of the Sabbath

John 19:31-37

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

John 19:31

Prophecies about the Messiah continued to be fulfilled after Jesus died on the Cross, and one of these happened because of the Sabbath. No work could be done on the Sabbath, which meant Jesus had to die and be buried before it began. That is why the Jews asked Pilate to break His legs. Breaking the legs of those being crucified hastened death. Verse thirty-three says that Jesus was already dead, so the Scripture was fulfilled: “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken” (Ps. 34:20)—all because of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was first mentioned in Scripture in Exodus 16, then shortly after, the Lord commanded the observance of the Sabbath day in the Ten Commandments. (Ex. 20:8-11.) God connected the Sabbath with the rest He took on the seventh day of creation. According to Exodus 23:12, one of the purposes of the Sabbath was to give God’s people and their animals one day of physical rest each week. Today’s medical science has proven that our bodies need at least one day of rest each week to function at our peak.