I long for people to know Jesus. I want to say so often, if you only knew. If you just knew. And, yes, what he’d do for you. Yes, yes, of course! The gracing, saving, redeeming, cleansing, restoring, healing, transforming, gifting and on and on, beyond our imaginings.
But more than that, to know who Jesus is.
To grasp the truth of his preeminence. To understand that there is no one like him. No one who loves like him. No one who stays like him. No one who is holy like him. Righteous and just. And GOOD. He is so good.
No one who is compassionate and merciful like him. No one who knows what he knows. And forgives what he forgives.
Jesus is a stand-alone.
I long for those who do not yet know him like this to know him well enough that you may be astonished by people who represent him poorly or inadequately but you do not confuse them/us with Jesus. He will prove true when everyone else proves a liar.
I’m moved every time I get to the part of Philippians 3 where Paul states his entire aim in life and death: “I want to know Christ!”
This is what I want. This is what I long for in my living and my dying. This is my longing this morning for both of us, my sister. For both of us, my brother. Oh, that we would know the true Christ. He is the one and only.
This is to you Jesus followers who are also in ministry from your big sister who has seen a lot, read a lot, heard a lot and experienced a lot. I don’t believe people surrender to a calling with impure motives. They may not know what they’re getting themselves into but it’s not the kind of thing most people imagine at that point making them rich or powerful and able to manipulate and exploit and perform.
But Satan uses every possible scheme to lead us “astray from [our] sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor 11:3) I can’t say this strongly enough. Be relentless in your protection of your own relationship with Jesus. Let no one—and I do mean no one—get between you and Jesus. This is not only for your benefit. It is for theirs.
Do not let your own time of prayer and Bible reading turn into preparation for messages. If you do not have regular times of prayer and Bible reading, Saint, you are already cooperating with the enemy’s scheme to lead you astray. Return to the spiritual disciplines. Nothing replaces them and you are not the exception.
Do not let what you are pouring out exceed what you have invited Jesus to pour in. In the powerful words of the apostle Paul, “having begun in the Spirit, will we now finish in the flesh??”
Do not hand over your prayer life to intercessors. Let your thorn in the flesh which you no doubt have and I certainly have continue to pop the balloon of an inflated ego. That’s what it’s for. Serve with humility.
One word. Jesus.
Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus.
This ONE is all that will matter at the end of the day. At the end of our lives. Every single one of us has the capacity to lose our way and exploit the work and the gifts God has given us to make a show of our flesh.
We are quick to talk about people who fall into scandalous sins but there is something much more sinister that can go on for years and everyone see it in us…but us. There is simply falling away from sincere devotion and somewhere along the way replacing our first love.
We can do this, Saints. But we will not do it by accident.
This kid is 10 year old Faith Chunga and we are helping her to travel to India to have a surgery. She was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot when she was 6, a heart condition that makes her have difficulties in breathing. We are raising MK17,000,000 for her.
Please like/RT.
My favourite moment in politics was 2020 when the court annulled the elections and SKC left the court that day with the full Vice President's entourage while Chimulirenji's 7 month term never existed
Rest well Mr President
MDF commander General Paul Valentino Phiri says the missing plane has not yet been found and the search is ongoing.
He says 200 plus soldiers are on the ground. The police, forestry officers and others are also part of the search