spiritual

Indebted

“…Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:20 

Happy Thanksgiving! This year has gone by too fast, and here we are, it’s now Thanksgiving, and it will soon be Christmas and New Years. I love that Thanksgiving is the first holiday that kicks starts the season. It is always good to start with being thankful in everything that we do, so that our hearts and minds are focused on gratitude and humility. Even when we pray we are taught by Jesus to be be thankful and praise God before asking for our needs (see the Lord’s Prayer). Even Philippians 4 teaches us, “…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with “thanksgiving”, let your requests be made known to God…”. Really, the reason why is, so we may be humbled before the LORD. 

I am thankful for many things this year. I am thankful that the Lord has never left me nor forsaken me through the trials that this year has brought in. I am thankful that trials, no matter how small or big, have been instrumental in strengthening my faith in Him. He has taught me the true meaning of “…God alone is my refuge” (Psalm 91). 

I am thankful for the family that He gave me. I am thankful for my wife who has displayed in action the description of a Proverbs 31 woman. If you want to know what a strong woman is, watch my wife serve her family with love. I am thankful for having two sons who are healthy and thriving. They both enjoy each other; mama and papa love watching them grow together.

Yes, I am very thankful for the grace and mercy that the Lord has shown me through my life and family, but I need to remind myself of the most important thing that I should be thankful for all the days of my life. Jesus granted me the gift of salvation 7 years ago. That, I am thankful for and will never be able to pay Him back. 

In Luke 10, the disciples came back after being sent out. They were rejoicing because they were able to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. Jesus turned to them and said, yes, that is great, but do not rejoice in this. Rejoice that your names are written in the book of Heaven. I rejoice because Jesus has written my name Himself in the book of heaven. I rejoice because if I were to die today I get to rest my soul beside the Creator. I get to rest in my room that He has prepared in His house. I get to be in the “full” presence of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I imagine being filled with joy that I cannot describe; I imagine being in a perfect body, one with a healthy heart and one that can breathe normally. But I am most excited to be right there, right next to Him that calls me His son.

So if you are a Christian, a follower of The Way, rejoice! Be thankful! That this life is not eternity, and that your eternal life will be spent in the most glorious place you can ever imagine. And you will be where you rightly belong, next to our Abba Father. 

And if you do not know Jesus. I urge you to do so. Heaven and hell are real places. They are not just made up by men. It is written about and described in the Bible, which is the book given to us by God. Believing in Jesus is not a bad thing, it is quite the opposite. It is a good thing in which He makes your life better. He makes it better because He gives you hope and that He grants you entrance into His Kingdom. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). There is no other way to Heaven, knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the only way. 

I pray that you are asking, “How do I get saved?”. It is easy, “Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7). Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins. Repent from your sins; what this really means is that you are tired of being a sinner and want to turn away from it. Proclaim with your lips that Jesus is Christ and believe in your heart that He died for your sins and has risen so that you may be reconciled with God. 

If you are still a skeptic, I pray that you ask God to show you who He is. I pray that you open a Bible up to the book of John and read it with an open mind. Try to understand it and ask Jesus for help. The Lord is at hand! I urge you not to wait. God loves you, I believe that, because it is written all over the Bible. The whole theme of this book is about His love for you. Jesus came to serve, and He did this by sacrificing his life for you. 

By: Luke Adan

Go

Go…spread the word! Or, in this case The Word. Jesus is to be shared to the ends of the world.

Matthew 28:19 (AMP) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

The above verse is not a suggestion, it is a commandment. I have struggled with this for a long time, and honestly, I still do. Am I bold enough? Do I have enough faith? Do I know what to say? I did not go to seminary school, what could I possibly have to say? All this doubting has kept me from obeying this command in the past, but by God’s grace He kept on convicting me and He built up my courage. 

The Christian faith is not based on works; you cannot possibly earn your way to Heaven. It would be impossible. When would you know you have done enough? This is why Jesus had to die on the cross. He was the only way we could meet the requirement for entering God’s Kingdom. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…(John 14:6).” And that is the requirement there, my friends.

Now on the other hand, works are very important to our faith because they are a reflection of our faith (James 2:14-26; Matthew 17:15-20). If we love Jesus then we will follow His commandments (John 14:15). I believe what this means is that if we really believe in God and that Jesus is in fact LORD (someone having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler), then we will follow Him. This also means because of what Jesus (God) did on the cross for us this should be enough of a motive for us to obey His commandments. I recently had a conversation with a good friend who asked the same question I have had myself before,“How do I know if what I am doing is out of my own motivation instead of love for Christ?” God gave me the revelation not too long ago that what we do for Christ should be a reflection of how much God’s love has impacted our lives. It is always about what is going on in our hearts. Are we doing things to promote ourselves or are we doing things to promote Christ?

So now that God helped me figure all that out I started asking Him what is my ministry? How do I share Jesus with the world? God is so good….ask and you shall receive. Through a series of confirmations He told me to evangelize. Scary? Yes, definitely. But the feeling that you get when you know you are doing what God wants you to do? Priceless. So now I walk around with my fanny pack (yes, they are coming back in style, and I’m on that train) full of gospel tracts constantly praying for the Holy Spirit to give me boldness and faith to share Jesus with complete strangers. I have had amazing conversations with people and I have been rejected as well, but man…it is exciting being out there sharing God’s love with His people!

So I would encourage you, Christian, to ask God for a ministry and GO! Do it afraid, do it even if you do not feel credible, all God is looking for is a willing soul and He will provide you with the Holy Spirit to empower you. God gave us the gifts of the Spirit, so let’s use them! Cheeyahoo!!

By: Luke Adan