Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: jesus

Staying On Mission

Salvation, Trust

“Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us; and, God has visited His people.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:16‬

In Luke 7:11-17 Jesus stopped a funeral procession when He saw a widowed woman who was just moments away from laying her only son to rest. This woman had lost her husband and lost all hope of any future because her only son had died. But when Jesus saw her He felt compassion for her. He touched the casket and told the dead man to get up. Immediately and miraculously the man sat up and began speaking. The large crowd was amazed at what they saw but most importantly verse 16 says they glorified God because they recognized Jesus as God.

This passage of Scripture gives us a perfect portrait of how a church is to minister to people. We must realize that the church is who represents Jesus in today’s society. We must see the needs of others and reach out and touch them with compassion and love. When the lost are touched with the love of Jesus, they come alive, spiritually. A church will glorify God when they are on mission and ministering to His people. We can’t miss any opportunities of serving people. And we can never lose our focus of the mission.

An encouraged church congregation can be effective in fulfilling its mission. A discouraged church will not be effective. Every church needs faithful members using their God-given gifts. Members who are not using their gifts are wasting them. Compassion brings people together and to the cross of Jesus. If a church is not loving people it’s not a real church.

Are you fulfilling the command of Jesus and making disciples? We must do the work of Jesus while we still can. The day is soon coming when God will gather His church and it will be too late for the lost to be saved.

Pray

Lord, make your church a place and people who are just like You. Help me to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

God Gives Us What We Need

Encouragement, Salvation, Trust

He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:32‬

Paul asked a question: “If God gave us His Son, then will He not give us everything else He promised us?”  How do we know if God’s goodness and love are going to be given to us?  

To answer that question we must understand that If God has given us His Son, then He will give us everything else we need.

In Genesis 22, in the Old Testament story of Abraham offering his son Isaac, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son. The Bible says Abraham did not spare his only son. Of course, God intervened at the last second and provided a ram for the sacrifice.  

That was a picture of what Jesus Christ would do one day on that same mountain range of Moriah when God would send His only Son, the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world.  Paul was essentially saying, “If God was willing to do that for us, then why wouldn’t He do anything and everything else for us?”

God did not send His own Son into the world because we were good people.  Jesus came to die for us because of our sinfulness.   That’s what makes God’s gift of salvation that much more unbelievable.  

The Bible says that while we were sinners, God sent His Son to die for us.  If while we were sinners, God sent His best and most costly gift, and now that we are His children, don’t you think He will give us everything else?  If God gave you His greatest gift while you were His enemy, what is He going to withhold from you now?  Nothing!

Prayer

Lord, thank You for giving me the best gift I could ever receive. Your love and grace gives me peace and comfort.

Let It Sink In

Encouragement

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5

Jesus was born as a man but if He had been born of Adam, He would have inherited the sin nature of Adam. Hence the reason for the virgin birth. Mary gave birth to a son but He was also the Son of God. Let that sink in for a minute.

Jesus was fully man and fully God at the same time. He was in the form of a man but not of man. God had a plan from the very beginning to save mankind from sin.

Here is an interesting viewpoint. Jesus defeated sin and death as a perfect man not as God. Jesus went to the cross fully man and defeated Satan’s power and authority. He could have done it easily as God but He chose to do it as a man.

God could have spoken a single word and Satan would have fallen in the blink of an eye. But instead, God chose to become man to defeat Satan’s dominion.

Animal sacrifices of the old covenant system were unable to provide complete remission of sins. But the blood of Jesus Christ was the complete atonement of sin.

Here is the point to today’s devotional. Jesus, being fully man and fully God, defeated Satan on your behalf. As a believer in Jesus, you no longer belong to Satan. You belong to God!

You have victory over sin, over temptations, over anything that grips you. You do not have to battle Satan and his demons. They were defeated by your Lord and Savior. Let that sink in!

If Jesus is in you and you are in Jesus, you are one. Let Jesus give you His peace and love so that you can live the “abundant life” today.

Pray

Lord, I know You defeated sin and Satan upon that cross. Give me the mindset of victory today so that I will complete this day with joy. Fill my heart with Your love and compassion.