Philippians 2:1-11
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
I would ask myself and anyone else the questions in verse 1 on a daily basis. Amy I encouraging others who belong to Christ? Am I comforting those I come into contact with each day with His love? Am I fellowshipping with others in the Spirit? Is my heart tender and compassionate towards all? If I can't answer yes to those questions then I am probably operating in the flesh and not relying on my spirit to guide and direct me.
I truly believe what makes God happy with our actions is what verse 2 says. Agree wholeheartedly with each other, love one another, and work together with one mind and purpose. There are many examples of what happens when people adopt this concept. There is nothing that can stand in their way of accomplishing their goals.
Verse 3 really hits home for myself. My flesh wants its way and it wants it now! My flesh wants others to think I am something special and it thinks more highly of itself than others. Being humble, thinking of others, taking an interest in them and showing them God's love is the path to happiness for anyone. This is the attitude exhibited to us by Christ Jesus Himself.
Verses 6-8 really show us what Jesus did for us. When He was on earth He was not God nor did He have any of His prior Divinity. He had to experience everything we do as humans in order to fully redeem us from everything the devil had destroyed. What allowed Jesus to fulfill His mission was by living in the Spirit.
Because of His obedience to the plan of God for Him verse 9 tells us that God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and His name is above all other names. There is no name under heaven that can make the devil shake like the name of Jesus. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Him as Lord and Savior. What an awesome assurance we have in serving Him because we know that in the end, He is victorious. We win, the devil loses! Thank You Jesus!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Life or Death, Which is Better?
Philippians 1:20-26
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
Today is a day to remember a precious child of Christ who went home to be with Him on Wednesday. When I think of Delores Gavin I think of a tender, caring woman of God who fought battles with the sickness the devil brought on her and she fought valiantly for 6 years. I watched her live verse 20. I see her life bringing honor to Christ down through her sons and through her grandchildren. The lives they live are a direct result of the impact of her walk with Jesus and His love flowing through her.
Verse 21 is one that many people struggle with, especially those who are suffering from life threatening diseases. For to live one lives in Christ and can work faithfully in His mission for us on earth. To die would be even better because then we are with Him forever and don't have the limitations of this physical world to deal with. Delores did not want to leave her husband, children, grandchildren or her friends, but to live any longer would have meant dealing with the limitations of her physical body and the disease that the devil brought on her. Right now she is in a place that is hard to even imagine. She is in a place where there is no sickness, no pain, no sorrow and no devil. She is is heaven with her Savior and her Lord, Jesus. Praise God!
Verse 24 lets me know that she does continue to live here on earth though. She lives through her husband, her children and her grandchildren. She lives through the memories we have of her and of the way she touched our lives. She lives through the way in which those who knew her will continue to exhibit the same love that she showed to each of us. She will continue to live through each person that is touched by those who knew her and saw Christ's love flow through her.
Knowing that she will continue to live through those who knew her verses 25-26 are very appropriate. The love of Jesus that she exhibited will continue to flow through each of us and we will grow in our faith and love for Jesus. When we do see her again it will be in heaven and we will be experience the joy she is experiencing right now. We will be glad to see her and she will be able to show us around and show us new ways of worshipping our Lord. Praise God for her life and for our memories of her.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
Today is a day to remember a precious child of Christ who went home to be with Him on Wednesday. When I think of Delores Gavin I think of a tender, caring woman of God who fought battles with the sickness the devil brought on her and she fought valiantly for 6 years. I watched her live verse 20. I see her life bringing honor to Christ down through her sons and through her grandchildren. The lives they live are a direct result of the impact of her walk with Jesus and His love flowing through her.
Verse 21 is one that many people struggle with, especially those who are suffering from life threatening diseases. For to live one lives in Christ and can work faithfully in His mission for us on earth. To die would be even better because then we are with Him forever and don't have the limitations of this physical world to deal with. Delores did not want to leave her husband, children, grandchildren or her friends, but to live any longer would have meant dealing with the limitations of her physical body and the disease that the devil brought on her. Right now she is in a place that is hard to even imagine. She is in a place where there is no sickness, no pain, no sorrow and no devil. She is is heaven with her Savior and her Lord, Jesus. Praise God!
Verse 24 lets me know that she does continue to live here on earth though. She lives through her husband, her children and her grandchildren. She lives through the memories we have of her and of the way she touched our lives. She lives through the way in which those who knew her will continue to exhibit the same love that she showed to each of us. She will continue to live through each person that is touched by those who knew her and saw Christ's love flow through her.
Knowing that she will continue to live through those who knew her verses 25-26 are very appropriate. The love of Jesus that she exhibited will continue to flow through each of us and we will grow in our faith and love for Jesus. When we do see her again it will be in heaven and we will be experience the joy she is experiencing right now. We will be glad to see her and she will be able to show us around and show us new ways of worshipping our Lord. Praise God for her life and for our memories of her.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, March 26, 2009
How Do You Work?
Ephesians 6:5-9
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
If we exchange the word slaves with employee and master with employer how do you fare? Let's see what that looks like.
5 Employees, obey your earthly employers with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As employees of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 Employers, treat your employees in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
How do you as an employee conduct yourself on the job? Do you show up and put your time in and go home? Do you gossip with others in the office about other co-workers or even your boss? Do you gripe and complain every time your boss tells you to do something? Here is an example of a good employee.
Genesis 39:2-6a
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
This is a young man who was almost killed, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. He also had a dream that one day his whole family would bow down to him. Why would he not be walking around talking about his vision and that he shouldn't be treated the way he was? That is the way most people would be inclined to act. He knew that the vision he had from God would not come to pass if he wasn't deserving of it. Here is another example of a quality worker.
Nehemiah 2:1-6
1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”
Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”
With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
Notice that Nehemiah was never sad so when he appeared to be sad his boss, the king, knew it. Also notice that when Nehemiah told the king what he wanted to do the king didn't say any of the following:
"I need to check with HR and see how much PTO time you have."
"Why can't you just stay here?"
"Why should I let you go?"
He said "How can I help you? How long will you be gone? When will you return?" Nehemiah must have been a good employee because the only real concern for the king was when he was going to be back and if he needed anything for his trip. This is a guy who was with the king constantly and in a position of influence and trust.
Hopefully you are learning from this lesson and are not like the following employee.
Matthew 20:1-16
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’
8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
Notice here that the employees who showed up first were upset because they got paid the same as those who showed up last. Why should they have been mad? Didn't they agree to work for a certain wage? This is the mindset of most people in this country. They agree to work for someone for a prescribed wage. They get mad because the boss hires someone else and may pay them the same or even more money then they are currently paid. Why should they get mad? Did they not agree to the amount they are currently getting paid? This is all due to a concern for self above others. Also known as selfishness. God does not like people being selfish. He loves people who are selfless. These are the people who will work as unto the Lord and not be concerned with what others are doing, saying or making. They conduct themselves in a manner worthy of being called one of God's children.
Father I thank You that You continue to reveal Yourself to me new each day. I praise Your holy name for the work You are doing in me, to me and through me. Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
If we exchange the word slaves with employee and master with employer how do you fare? Let's see what that looks like.
5 Employees, obey your earthly employers with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As employees of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 Employers, treat your employees in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
How do you as an employee conduct yourself on the job? Do you show up and put your time in and go home? Do you gossip with others in the office about other co-workers or even your boss? Do you gripe and complain every time your boss tells you to do something? Here is an example of a good employee.
Genesis 39:2-6a
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
This is a young man who was almost killed, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. He also had a dream that one day his whole family would bow down to him. Why would he not be walking around talking about his vision and that he shouldn't be treated the way he was? That is the way most people would be inclined to act. He knew that the vision he had from God would not come to pass if he wasn't deserving of it. Here is another example of a quality worker.
Nehemiah 2:1-6
1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”
Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”
With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
Notice that Nehemiah was never sad so when he appeared to be sad his boss, the king, knew it. Also notice that when Nehemiah told the king what he wanted to do the king didn't say any of the following:
"I need to check with HR and see how much PTO time you have."
"Why can't you just stay here?"
"Why should I let you go?"
He said "How can I help you? How long will you be gone? When will you return?" Nehemiah must have been a good employee because the only real concern for the king was when he was going to be back and if he needed anything for his trip. This is a guy who was with the king constantly and in a position of influence and trust.
Hopefully you are learning from this lesson and are not like the following employee.
Matthew 20:1-16
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’
8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
Notice here that the employees who showed up first were upset because they got paid the same as those who showed up last. Why should they have been mad? Didn't they agree to work for a certain wage? This is the mindset of most people in this country. They agree to work for someone for a prescribed wage. They get mad because the boss hires someone else and may pay them the same or even more money then they are currently paid. Why should they get mad? Did they not agree to the amount they are currently getting paid? This is all due to a concern for self above others. Also known as selfishness. God does not like people being selfish. He loves people who are selfless. These are the people who will work as unto the Lord and not be concerned with what others are doing, saying or making. They conduct themselves in a manner worthy of being called one of God's children.
Father I thank You that You continue to reveal Yourself to me new each day. I praise Your holy name for the work You are doing in me, to me and through me. Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Live by the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 5:15-20
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These six verses really capture how we are to live in order to please God. Be prudent and wise. Make use of your resources to their fullest extent. Think before you act by knowing what God wants you to do and when He wants you to do it. Don't get physically drunk, but be drunk in the Holy Spirit. Sing praises to God and give thanks to Him for everything He has given you. Enough said.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These six verses really capture how we are to live in order to please God. Be prudent and wise. Make use of your resources to their fullest extent. Think before you act by knowing what God wants you to do and when He wants you to do it. Don't get physically drunk, but be drunk in the Holy Spirit. Sing praises to God and give thanks to Him for everything He has given you. Enough said.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Unity is Needed for Victory
Ephesians 4:1-15
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
What I see in these verses should be enough evidence to anyone with any intellectual honesty to say that there should be no denominational churches, no differences in what is taught from the pulpit and no different titles than what is given by the Holy Spirit and that each church works together with the others to complete the tasks given to us by Jesus, the head of the church.
In verses 1-6 i see that each of us is individualy called by God and that what ever that calling is on our life that we are to lead our life worth of that call. I was not called to be a pastor in the traditional sense of the word. I have been called to be a pastor in the marketplace and to be amongst the people on a daily basis to spread the Good News to those I come into contact with. My clients are my congregation and how I perform the duties of my calling will be a witness to those clients. They know that there is something different about me and they like what they see.
Verse 2 is probably the biggest area of struggle for most people in the body of Christ. Our flesh does not like the words humble and gentle, nor does it like the word patience. Our flesh wants results, it wants it now and it wants what it wants and doesn't care is people are hurt in the process. If we remember what the word says in 1 Corinthians 13 it tells us what love is. In case you can't remember, here it is:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Verse 3 in our main text is the key to victory for every Christian on the planet. Unity in Spirit and bound together with peace. It is evident what can happen when people get together and are unified in their efforts. Here is an example from the Word.
Joshua 6:15-21
15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.
18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”
20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
As we see here these people were following God's commands and they were unified in Spirit and peace and they experienced a total victory against a town that was impossible for them to get on their own. This is what God wants for us, His children. Verse 4 really gets to the point that their is one body and one Spirit. Not 12 bodies and 12 Spirits. Not thousands of bodies and thousands of Spirits. Does this mean there is only one church for everyone? Not at all. What this means is that the body should act together under the direction of the one Holy Spirit. If each pastor of each congregation was actually born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, the message that is preached would be the same. That message is the message of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.
Verses 5-6 show us that there is only ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and ONE Father. There are not multiple gods and multiple faiths nor are the multiple baptisms. This is the part of the scriptures that the devil has deceived the body of Christ into believing the opposite the most. There are at least 33,800 different denominations that have been started by man since Christ died. Here is a partial list.
Christianity
-Non-Denominational
-The Chosen Elect
-Charismatic
-Neo-Charismatic
-Catholic
-Penacostal
-Baptist
-Southern Baptist
-Southern Conservative
-Strict Baptist
-Independent Baptist
-National Baptist
-Black Primitive Baptist
-Conservative Baptist
-Dunker
-Salvationist
-Eschatological
-Theosophist
-Evangelical
-Episcopal
-Methodist
-African Methodist
-Chinese Methodist
-Christian Methodist
-British Methodist
-Primitive Methodist
-Calvinist
-Congregationalism
-Lutheran
-Lutheran Orthodox
-Taborites
-Moravian
-Utaquists
-Wycliffites
-Waldensians
-Jehovah's Witnesses
-Mormonism
-Aaronic Order
-Latter Day
-Remnant
-Conservative
-Fundamentalist
-Seventh-day Adventist
-Congregationalist
-Anglican
-Monophysite
-Quaker
-Nominal
-Protestants
-Roman Catholic
-Latin Catholic
-Coptic Catholic
-Antiochian
-Maronite
-Syro-Malankara
-Syriac
-Armenian
-Chaldean
-Syro-Malabar
-Byzantine (Constantinopolitan)
-Ukrainian Greek Catholic
-Melkite Greek Catholic
-Romanian
-Hungarian Greek
-Ruthenian Catholic
-Belarusian Greek Catholic
-Bulgarian Greek Catholic
-Slovak Greek Catholic
-Croatian Greek Catholic
-Italo-Albanian Catholic
-Greek Byzantine Catholic
-Macedonian Greek Catholic
-Russian Byzantine Catholic
-Georgian Byzantine Catholic
-Brazilian Catholic
-Mexican National Catholic
-Celtic Catholic
-Ancient Apostolic
-True Catholic
-Polish National Catholic
-Free Catholic
-Liberal Catholic
-Palmarian Catholic
-Spiritus Christi
-Russian Orthodox
-Eastern Orthodox
-Oriental Orthodox
-Nestorians
-Anabaptism
-Restorationism
-Apostolic
-Presbyterian
-Unitarian
-Transcendentalism
-Anabaptist
-Amish
-Beachy Amish
-Nebraska Amish
-Old Order Amish
-Swartzendruber Amish
-Mennonite
-Nontrinitarian
-Greek Orthodox
-Liberal Catholic
-Orthodox Catholic
-Brethren
-Open Brethren
-Exclusive Brethren
-Indian Brethren
-Kerala Brethren
-River Brethren
-Social Brethren
-Anglo-Israelism
-Reformed
-United
-Independent
Islam
-Sunni
-Shi'a
-Ahmadiyya
-Sufism
Hinduism
-Shaivism
-Shaktism
-Vaishnavism
-Smartha
-Balinese
No Religion
-Evolutionist
-Naturalist
-Agnosticism
-Freethinkers
-Secular Humanism
Chinese Folk
-Animism
-Feng Shui
-Xiantianism
-Way of Former Heaven
-Falun Gong
-I-Kuan Tao (Way of Unity)
-T'ung-shan She (Society of Goodness)
-Tien-te Sheng-chiao (Sacred Religion of Celestial Virtue)
-Dao-yuan (Sanctuary of the Dao)
-Tz'u-hui Tang (Compassion Society)
Buddhism
-Thervavada
-Mahayana
-Nichiren
-Pure Land
-Tendai/T'ien Tai
-Zen/Ch'an
-Vajrayana
-Tibetan
Tribal Religions
African Traditional & Diasporic
Sikhism
Juche
Shamanism
Animism
Atheist
New Religions
-Sciencetology
Sikhism
Judaism
-Orthodox Judaism (was the only branch of Judaism till the late 1880's when Reform Judaism, and later Conservative Judaism developed)
-Conservative Judaism
-Reform Judaism
Spiritism
-Astrology
Baha'i Faith
Confucianism
Jainism
-Digambaras (Sky Clad)
-Shvetambaras (White Clad)
Zoroastrianism
Neo-Paganism
-Asatru (Norse)
-Druidism
-Goddess Worship
-Wicca
-Witchcraft
Unitarian-Universalism
Rastafarianism
Shinto
-Koshitsu Shinto (of the Imperial House)
-Jinja (Shrine)
-Kyoha (Sectarian)
-Minzoku (Folk)
Taoism
-Orthodox
-Spirit Claud
Other
-Anago
-Batuque
-Candomble
-Idigene
-Lukumi/Santeria
-Oyontunji
-Umbanda
-Voodoo
-Santo Daime
-Monism
-Pantheistic Monism
-Monotheism
This is just a portion of what is out there. That is the saddest stat that anyone could come up with. Why is there so much division? Deception. Different denominations start because someone doesn't like what is being preached so they start preaching what they want to hear. This is the main tool of the devil to keep the body of Christ ineffective and weak. He gets people to focus on differences and personal tastes or pride and not on what the Word is saying.
Verses 7-10 let us know just how complete our gifts are that were bought through Christ. He had to conquer the entire universe, not just earth. Christ really did pay a heavy price for us.
Verses 11-15 really tie up this message of unity. It doesn't day anything about bishops or arch bishops or deacons. This lists apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers as the roles for people to attain to in the body of Christ. Those who hold these positions are held accountable to the Father because their roles are described in verse 12. They are to equip God's people to do His work and build up the body of Christ. This doesn't say that they are to press their own agenda or put their spin on what the Word says so that it fits their world view. They are to equip using the Word so that people know what is His work to be completed before He returns. When we do that in unity then people grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus and that we won't be wavering or unstable in our ways. We will know when people are trying to trick us because we know the Holy One.
It is said that the special agents who work for the Secret Service that are in charge of forgery attempts of our currency never study what the forgeries are. They study the real thing and know it so intimately that they can spot a fake from a mile away. This is what we are to do in Christ. We are to study Him and His message so intimately that when someone comes along to try and deceive us we know that what they are saying is a lie. We we see in verse 16 the outcome of doing this is that the whole body fits together perfectly. No missing pieces or nothing out of place. When we each do our special work it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. That is the mission. Are you up to the challenge? I hope so, for Christ's sake.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
What I see in these verses should be enough evidence to anyone with any intellectual honesty to say that there should be no denominational churches, no differences in what is taught from the pulpit and no different titles than what is given by the Holy Spirit and that each church works together with the others to complete the tasks given to us by Jesus, the head of the church.
In verses 1-6 i see that each of us is individualy called by God and that what ever that calling is on our life that we are to lead our life worth of that call. I was not called to be a pastor in the traditional sense of the word. I have been called to be a pastor in the marketplace and to be amongst the people on a daily basis to spread the Good News to those I come into contact with. My clients are my congregation and how I perform the duties of my calling will be a witness to those clients. They know that there is something different about me and they like what they see.
Verse 2 is probably the biggest area of struggle for most people in the body of Christ. Our flesh does not like the words humble and gentle, nor does it like the word patience. Our flesh wants results, it wants it now and it wants what it wants and doesn't care is people are hurt in the process. If we remember what the word says in 1 Corinthians 13 it tells us what love is. In case you can't remember, here it is:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Verse 3 in our main text is the key to victory for every Christian on the planet. Unity in Spirit and bound together with peace. It is evident what can happen when people get together and are unified in their efforts. Here is an example from the Word.
Joshua 6:15-21
15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.
18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”
20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
As we see here these people were following God's commands and they were unified in Spirit and peace and they experienced a total victory against a town that was impossible for them to get on their own. This is what God wants for us, His children. Verse 4 really gets to the point that their is one body and one Spirit. Not 12 bodies and 12 Spirits. Not thousands of bodies and thousands of Spirits. Does this mean there is only one church for everyone? Not at all. What this means is that the body should act together under the direction of the one Holy Spirit. If each pastor of each congregation was actually born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, the message that is preached would be the same. That message is the message of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.
Verses 5-6 show us that there is only ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and ONE Father. There are not multiple gods and multiple faiths nor are the multiple baptisms. This is the part of the scriptures that the devil has deceived the body of Christ into believing the opposite the most. There are at least 33,800 different denominations that have been started by man since Christ died. Here is a partial list.
Christianity
-Non-Denominational
-The Chosen Elect
-Charismatic
-Neo-Charismatic
-Catholic
-Penacostal
-Baptist
-Southern Baptist
-Southern Conservative
-Strict Baptist
-Independent Baptist
-National Baptist
-Black Primitive Baptist
-Conservative Baptist
-Dunker
-Salvationist
-Eschatological
-Theosophist
-Evangelical
-Episcopal
-Methodist
-African Methodist
-Chinese Methodist
-Christian Methodist
-British Methodist
-Primitive Methodist
-Calvinist
-Congregationalism
-Lutheran
-Lutheran Orthodox
-Taborites
-Moravian
-Utaquists
-Wycliffites
-Waldensians
-Jehovah's Witnesses
-Mormonism
-Aaronic Order
-Latter Day
-Remnant
-Conservative
-Fundamentalist
-Seventh-day Adventist
-Congregationalist
-Anglican
-Monophysite
-Quaker
-Nominal
-Protestants
-Roman Catholic
-Latin Catholic
-Coptic Catholic
-Antiochian
-Maronite
-Syro-Malankara
-Syriac
-Armenian
-Chaldean
-Syro-Malabar
-Byzantine (Constantinopolitan)
-Ukrainian Greek Catholic
-Melkite Greek Catholic
-Romanian
-Hungarian Greek
-Ruthenian Catholic
-Belarusian Greek Catholic
-Bulgarian Greek Catholic
-Slovak Greek Catholic
-Croatian Greek Catholic
-Italo-Albanian Catholic
-Greek Byzantine Catholic
-Macedonian Greek Catholic
-Russian Byzantine Catholic
-Georgian Byzantine Catholic
-Brazilian Catholic
-Mexican National Catholic
-Celtic Catholic
-Ancient Apostolic
-True Catholic
-Polish National Catholic
-Free Catholic
-Liberal Catholic
-Palmarian Catholic
-Spiritus Christi
-Russian Orthodox
-Eastern Orthodox
-Oriental Orthodox
-Nestorians
-Anabaptism
-Restorationism
-Apostolic
-Presbyterian
-Unitarian
-Transcendentalism
-Anabaptist
-Amish
-Beachy Amish
-Nebraska Amish
-Old Order Amish
-Swartzendruber Amish
-Mennonite
-Nontrinitarian
-Greek Orthodox
-Liberal Catholic
-Orthodox Catholic
-Brethren
-Open Brethren
-Exclusive Brethren
-Indian Brethren
-Kerala Brethren
-River Brethren
-Social Brethren
-Anglo-Israelism
-Reformed
-United
-Independent
Islam
-Sunni
-Shi'a
-Ahmadiyya
-Sufism
Hinduism
-Shaivism
-Shaktism
-Vaishnavism
-Smartha
-Balinese
No Religion
-Evolutionist
-Naturalist
-Agnosticism
-Freethinkers
-Secular Humanism
Chinese Folk
-Animism
-Feng Shui
-Xiantianism
-Way of Former Heaven
-Falun Gong
-I-Kuan Tao (Way of Unity)
-T'ung-shan She (Society of Goodness)
-Tien-te Sheng-chiao (Sacred Religion of Celestial Virtue)
-Dao-yuan (Sanctuary of the Dao)
-Tz'u-hui Tang (Compassion Society)
Buddhism
-Thervavada
-Mahayana
-Nichiren
-Pure Land
-Tendai/T'ien Tai
-Zen/Ch'an
-Vajrayana
-Tibetan
Tribal Religions
African Traditional & Diasporic
Sikhism
Juche
Shamanism
Animism
Atheist
New Religions
-Sciencetology
Sikhism
Judaism
-Orthodox Judaism (was the only branch of Judaism till the late 1880's when Reform Judaism, and later Conservative Judaism developed)
-Conservative Judaism
-Reform Judaism
Spiritism
-Astrology
Baha'i Faith
Confucianism
Jainism
-Digambaras (Sky Clad)
-Shvetambaras (White Clad)
Zoroastrianism
Neo-Paganism
-Asatru (Norse)
-Druidism
-Goddess Worship
-Wicca
-Witchcraft
Unitarian-Universalism
Rastafarianism
Shinto
-Koshitsu Shinto (of the Imperial House)
-Jinja (Shrine)
-Kyoha (Sectarian)
-Minzoku (Folk)
Taoism
-Orthodox
-Spirit Claud
Other
-Anago
-Batuque
-Candomble
-Idigene
-Lukumi/Santeria
-Oyontunji
-Umbanda
-Voodoo
-Santo Daime
-Monism
-Pantheistic Monism
-Monotheism
This is just a portion of what is out there. That is the saddest stat that anyone could come up with. Why is there so much division? Deception. Different denominations start because someone doesn't like what is being preached so they start preaching what they want to hear. This is the main tool of the devil to keep the body of Christ ineffective and weak. He gets people to focus on differences and personal tastes or pride and not on what the Word is saying.
Verses 7-10 let us know just how complete our gifts are that were bought through Christ. He had to conquer the entire universe, not just earth. Christ really did pay a heavy price for us.
Verses 11-15 really tie up this message of unity. It doesn't day anything about bishops or arch bishops or deacons. This lists apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers as the roles for people to attain to in the body of Christ. Those who hold these positions are held accountable to the Father because their roles are described in verse 12. They are to equip God's people to do His work and build up the body of Christ. This doesn't say that they are to press their own agenda or put their spin on what the Word says so that it fits their world view. They are to equip using the Word so that people know what is His work to be completed before He returns. When we do that in unity then people grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus and that we won't be wavering or unstable in our ways. We will know when people are trying to trick us because we know the Holy One.
It is said that the special agents who work for the Secret Service that are in charge of forgery attempts of our currency never study what the forgeries are. They study the real thing and know it so intimately that they can spot a fake from a mile away. This is what we are to do in Christ. We are to study Him and His message so intimately that when someone comes along to try and deceive us we know that what they are saying is a lie. We we see in verse 16 the outcome of doing this is that the whole body fits together perfectly. No missing pieces or nothing out of place. When we each do our special work it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. That is the mission. Are you up to the challenge? I hope so, for Christ's sake.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Mysterious Plan Revealed
Ephesians 3:6-12
6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. 7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
I love verse 6! Because God revealed His plan to us through Jesus and because I have accepted that plan I get an equal share of God's riches and blessing. Praise God! I concur with Paul's account of feeling privileged to be serving Him by being able to tell others about the Good News of Jesus.
Verse 10 really speaks volumes as to what the purpose of the church is and why I think the church as a whole is not as effective as it should be. The church battles the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms by effectively doing verse 7. If the church would be more evengelistic in its role in the communities in which they are placed then there would be more of an effect overall. It has been said that 95% of the body of Christ will never lead anyone to a relationship with the Lord. That is a sad commentary on what the church should be doing. I am so thankful that I go to a church that does share the Good News with people on a consistent basis. Our church is approaching 1,000,000 souls being led to the Lord through street evangelism since 1986. PRAISE GOD FOREVER! That is an impact of eternal proportions. I am glad to say that I have prayed with over 50 people myself and my son, who was 6 at the time, has prayed with 9 kids to receive Jesus. We are proud of what Jesus has done in our lives and want to share it with others.
I am borrowing this from a friend and it can be used by anyone.
“God in Heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need Your help. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is Your Son, that He died on the cross for my sins and God raised Him from the dead. Jesus, right now I open my heart and invite You to come in. Make Yourself real to me. Take control of my life. Keep me from evil and make me the person You want me to be. Be my Lord and Saviour.”
This is the extent of what you need to pray with someone to accept Jesus. If you pray and ask for opportunities He will provide them to you. I love how Paul finishes this chapter and will leave you with this:
Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. 7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
I love verse 6! Because God revealed His plan to us through Jesus and because I have accepted that plan I get an equal share of God's riches and blessing. Praise God! I concur with Paul's account of feeling privileged to be serving Him by being able to tell others about the Good News of Jesus.
Verse 10 really speaks volumes as to what the purpose of the church is and why I think the church as a whole is not as effective as it should be. The church battles the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms by effectively doing verse 7. If the church would be more evengelistic in its role in the communities in which they are placed then there would be more of an effect overall. It has been said that 95% of the body of Christ will never lead anyone to a relationship with the Lord. That is a sad commentary on what the church should be doing. I am so thankful that I go to a church that does share the Good News with people on a consistent basis. Our church is approaching 1,000,000 souls being led to the Lord through street evangelism since 1986. PRAISE GOD FOREVER! That is an impact of eternal proportions. I am glad to say that I have prayed with over 50 people myself and my son, who was 6 at the time, has prayed with 9 kids to receive Jesus. We are proud of what Jesus has done in our lives and want to share it with others.
I am borrowing this from a friend and it can be used by anyone.
“God in Heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need Your help. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is Your Son, that He died on the cross for my sins and God raised Him from the dead. Jesus, right now I open my heart and invite You to come in. Make Yourself real to me. Take control of my life. Keep me from evil and make me the person You want me to be. Be my Lord and Saviour.”
This is the extent of what you need to pray with someone to accept Jesus. If you pray and ask for opportunities He will provide them to you. I love how Paul finishes this chapter and will leave you with this:
Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Best Gift Ever
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Verses 1-3 are a wake up call to us to remind us of where we came from, or for those not in Christ where they currently are. Verse 4 starts off with a word that we most commonly associate with something bad is going to be said after. In this case, though, what comes after is Good News to all who believe. The great part about what is relayed to us here is that it is not something we did to deserve it or nothing we did to earn it. It happened only because of God's love for us and Christ's obedience to His Father's plan for Him.
Verse 8 reminds us that it is not because of anything we did and we can't take credit for what was done. It is purely a gift from God. How many gifts do you know of that sit unopened on Christmas or on someone's birthday? Why do people not want the gift that God has for them that will change their eternal destiny? I am so thankful that God has this plan for everyone, not just me or Billy Graham or CS Lewis. This is for everyone including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Adolf Hitler. They had every opportunity to hear the Good News and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior like everyone else but only two of the three accepted it. Obviously those three did not do anyting to deserve that gift nor did they do anything to earn that gift, but the gift was given to them just like everyone else.
You may be wondering why I would use them as examples it is simply to exercise the Word and its application to everyday life. God was able to reach both Mr. Dahmer and Mr. Bundy in the lowest point of their lives and they bent their knees in submission to Jesus and accepted the gift He had for them. No one is beyond the reach of Christ's blood. Christ's blood can either cover ALL sins or it can't. There is no inbetween with God. Christ's sacrifice has to be good enough to cover anything that we could do otherwise it wouldn't be good enough to cover even the smallest transgression. The Bible says His sacrifice was complete and totally acceptable to save ALL who believe.
Father I thank You that Your love for us was great enough to send Jesus to die on the cross for those sins that I commit. I thank You that His sacrifice is total and complete. I thank You that it is not by anyting that I can do or I have done, but only by Christ's sacrifice that I can come to You boldly and totally righteous. Jesus I am eternally grateful for what You did for me and will do whatever You call me to do. I praise Your name forever and ever. Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Verses 1-3 are a wake up call to us to remind us of where we came from, or for those not in Christ where they currently are. Verse 4 starts off with a word that we most commonly associate with something bad is going to be said after. In this case, though, what comes after is Good News to all who believe. The great part about what is relayed to us here is that it is not something we did to deserve it or nothing we did to earn it. It happened only because of God's love for us and Christ's obedience to His Father's plan for Him.
Verse 8 reminds us that it is not because of anything we did and we can't take credit for what was done. It is purely a gift from God. How many gifts do you know of that sit unopened on Christmas or on someone's birthday? Why do people not want the gift that God has for them that will change their eternal destiny? I am so thankful that God has this plan for everyone, not just me or Billy Graham or CS Lewis. This is for everyone including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Adolf Hitler. They had every opportunity to hear the Good News and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior like everyone else but only two of the three accepted it. Obviously those three did not do anyting to deserve that gift nor did they do anything to earn that gift, but the gift was given to them just like everyone else.
You may be wondering why I would use them as examples it is simply to exercise the Word and its application to everyday life. God was able to reach both Mr. Dahmer and Mr. Bundy in the lowest point of their lives and they bent their knees in submission to Jesus and accepted the gift He had for them. No one is beyond the reach of Christ's blood. Christ's blood can either cover ALL sins or it can't. There is no inbetween with God. Christ's sacrifice has to be good enough to cover anything that we could do otherwise it wouldn't be good enough to cover even the smallest transgression. The Bible says His sacrifice was complete and totally acceptable to save ALL who believe.
Father I thank You that Your love for us was great enough to send Jesus to die on the cross for those sins that I commit. I thank You that His sacrifice is total and complete. I thank You that it is not by anyting that I can do or I have done, but only by Christ's sacrifice that I can come to You boldly and totally righteous. Jesus I am eternally grateful for what You did for me and will do whatever You call me to do. I praise Your name forever and ever. Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
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