YOUR QUALIFICATION

POINT TO JESUS, YOUR QUALIFICATION :

1 Corinthians 1:30 - But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

When the devil accuses us of having done wrong and tells us that we don’t deserve God’s blessings, what should we do? Well, the Lord showed me one day what we are to do. We are to point everything back to Jesus, who qualifies us for all of God’s blessings.

So when the devil says, “You are not righteous enough,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my righteousness!”

When the devil says, “You are not holy enough,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my sanctification!”

When the devil says, “You don’t deserve to be healed,” just look to Jesus and declare, “By His stripes I am healed!”

When the devil says, “You don’t qualify for the blessing,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my qualification!”

Each time you point everything back to Jesus, the devil has nothing to say because Jesus qualifies you for all of God’s blessings. In and of yourself, you do not qualify. Without Christ, there is nothing good in you that can qualify you.

But with Christ, your disqualification becomes your qualification for the undeserved, unearned and unmerited blessings of God. And because God puts your life in Christ (Colossians 3:3), who is the all-deserving one, you become all-deserving. Because you are in Christ, you are qualified.

Jesus qualifies you because He died for you and gave you a blood-bought right to every blessing of God. You have a blood-bought right to a life full of meaning, purpose and abundance. You have a blood-bought right to walk in divine health. You have a blood-bought right to God's provision even when the economy is bad. You have a blood-bought right to preferential treatment because God favors you. You have a blood-bought right to the good life!

My friend, you have a right to all these blessings not because you are good, but because Jesus shed His blood and qualified you to have them. So don’t let the devil or anyone tell you that you can’t expect to walk in the blessings of God!

Thought For The Day :
You have a right to all the blessings of God because Jesus shed His blood and qualified you to have them.

A DEVOTED HEART

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. —2 Chronicles 20:32

A successful Christian businessman shared his story with us at church. He was candid about his struggles with faith and abundant wealth. He declared, “Wealth scares me!”

He quoted Jesus’ statement, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25 niv). He cited Luke 16:19-31 about the rich man and Lazarus and how in this story it was the rich man who went to hell. The parable of the “rich fool” (Luke 12:16-21) disturbed him.

“But,” the businessman stated, “I’ve learned a lesson from Solomon’s verdict on the abundance of wealth. It’s all ‘meaningless’ ” (Eccl. 2:11 niv). He determined not to let wealth get in the way of his devotion to God. Rather, he wanted to serve God with his assets and help the needy.

Throughout the centuries, God has blessed some people materially. We read of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17:5, “The Lord established the kingdom . . . so that he had great wealth and honor.” He did not become proud or bully others with his wealth. Instead, “his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord” (v. 6). Also, “he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (20:32).

The Lord is not against wealth for He has blessed some with it—but He’s definitely against the unethical acquisition and wrong use of it. He is worthy of devotion from all His followers.

Giving thanks to God often helps us learn contentment with what we do have. What are you thankful for?

Wealth or no wealth, devoted hearts please the Lord.

 THE GREAT EXCHANGE ...

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV

If you’ve accepted Jesus today, you are the righteousness of God! That means you are an extension of His virtue. You are approved by Him. You are in right standing with Him. Jesus not only paid the punishment for your sins, He actually became sin. He took sin upon Himself and into His being so that you could take God’s righteousness upon yourself and into your being. It’s the great exchange.

Don’t let sin hold you back any longer. Don’t let the enemy lie to you and make you feel guilty and condemned. First John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If there is anything in your life that is holding you back today, confess it to God. Let Him cleanse you and make you new. Remember, He paid a great price so that you could be His righteousness. Receive it by faith and be a reflection of Him!

BEYOND THE MYTHS OF PARENTING (1)
...Children are a gift from the Lord... - Psalm 127:3 CEB

Here are two myths of parenting:

(1) Good parents always keep tidy homes. We think our house should look picture–perfect, so we get upset when our children turn it upside down. However, an obsession with neatness can result in missing precious moments that never come again. Unintentionally, we teach our children that things—not people—are important. We instil the idea that keeping up appearances matters more than enjoying life together. The truth is, the house will be orderly sooner than you think, and quiet, and empty! So enjoy the disarray, the laughter, the spills and scrapes. Let the nicks and scratches on the furniture become memories of precious moments with little people who’ll grow up feeling loved and important to you.

(2) Good parents must always be ‘right’. Writer and mother Ann Peterson shares an insight that struck while she was engaged in a run–in with her son. ‘Finally, through clenched teeth I managed to ask him, “Why must you always be right?” He responded through clenched teeth (must have learned that from his father), “Because you always have to be right.” I sensed God watching that moment. Words were unnecessary. I got the message loud and clear. From that moment on, being “right” lacked the lustre it once held for me.’ The relationship with her son became less resistant, ‘Something I’d have missed, had I not conceded the need to be always right.’ So choose your battles carefully! Good parenting isn’t about racking up ‘victories’ and dishing out ‘defeats’; it’s about enjoying your family.

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP ...

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? - Luke 14:25-35

The parable of the man building a tower is a continuation of the teaching regarding what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus. This parable stresses commitment. "Jailhouse religion," where a person is only sorry he got caught and is trying to get out of a bad situation, will not produce true discipleship. It takes a forsaking of all to be Jesus' disciple. Jesus is simply saying, "count the cost."

Jesus' teaching on discipleship emphasizes commitment. Just as a king wouldn't engage in war without thoroughly considering all the possible outcomes, so no one should attempt to become a disciple of Jesus without counting the cost. It would be better not to start following Jesus than to start and then turn back.

When a person first comes to Jesus, it is impossible to know everything that following Jesus might entail. No one, however, should be fearful of making a total commitment because of some imagined problem that may never come to pass. There should be a willingness to forsake everything to follow Jesus.

Once we make that decision, then Christ begins to live through us (Gal. 2:20) and we find a strength that is not our own, equal to whatever test we may encounter.

JESUS IS THE WAY

-- NOT AN ADD ON, AN EXTRA, AN OPTION, OR A SUPPLEMENT.

In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no other way.

Yet many people think that they can be saved through other ways. Religion is not the way; your pastor is not the way; baptism is not the way; church membership is not the way; doing good things is not the way. There is only one way to be saved: Jesus.

As a well-known song proclaims: There is only "one name under heaven whereby we must be saved" -- Jesus!

Salvation comes down to this: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

Similarly, 1 John 5:12 says, He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. It is clear that Jesus is the only way.

INTEGRITY

ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO HIDE TO DO IS PROBABLY SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING AT ALL.

It can be difficult to find people of integrity, because so many people make mediocre compromises. At work, such people take every shortcut possible in order to finish the task as quickly as possible, even though they do a terrible job in the process. At school, mediocre people copy homework from friends and copy essays from the Internet just in order to avoid work while hoping to get a good grade, even though they're cheating and don't learn the material.

Unfortunately, many of the people who lack integrity are Christians. Yet, this is clearly not how God wants us to live. He desires that we be people of integrity.

Integrity means doing what is right when no one is looking, and it means going the extra mile, knowing that God sees everything and that what he sees in secret he will reward in the open (Matthew 6:4,6,18). Jesus told his disciples, "What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs" (Luke 12:3).

Whatever you do now, even if it is hidden from others, will be brought out into the open and made public. If you are wondering whether or not to do something, consider whether or not you'd be willing to do it in front of your boss, your teacher, your parents, or your pastor. If you have to hide what you're doing to feel comfortable, then there's a good chance you shouldn't be doing it at all.

FORGIVENESS BEGINS THE HEALING PROCESS

...If you hold anything against anyone, forgive them...' Mark11:25 NIV

The hardest offences to forgive are committed by the people who are closest to us. Why? Because we have to live with them every day! When we’re young, our emotions are so intense that wounds and injuries may stay with us for a lifetime. The pain is worse when the one who wronged us was a parent. Perhaps a mother rejected us instead of providing the love we needed, or an alcoholic father was sexually abusive in the midnight hours. Victims of such horror may still be consumed with resentment and anger many decades later. This can cause you to ‘act out’, and hurt the people you now love and need most. What’s the answer? Forgiveness. Dr. Archibald Hart defines forgiveness as ‘giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.’ Only when you find the emotional maturity to release those who’ve wronged you, whether they have repented or not, will your wounds begin to heal. Jesus put it this way: ‘When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in Heaven may forgive you your sins.’ (Mark 11:25 NIV) Here’s something you may not have considered: God’s willingness to forgive you depends on your willingness to forgive others. You say, ‘But if I forgive them, I’m letting them off the hook.’ No, you’re letting yourself off the hook! You’re setting yourself free of pain and resentment, and positioning yourself to walk in God’s blessing. Leave the offence and the offender with God; He’s the only one who understands what they did and why they did it. As far as you are concerned—forgiveness begins the healing process.

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