Devotional
A JOURNEY NAMED MATURITY
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Hebrews 11:13
Most Christians are familiar with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Benjamin Franklin said he supposed it to be “more generally read than any other book except, perhaps, the Bible.” While most know the book, fewer are familiar with the complete title: The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come.
Pilgrim’s Progress is about an “everyman” who makes his way from earth to heaven by varied and difficult paths. But it is on the path that he discovers salvation and grows to maturity. In other words, because God’s goal for us is Christlikeness (Romans 8:29), the journey becomes the destination. It is on the journey toward heaven that we encounter the trials, tribulations, and blessings that conform our inner persons to the character of Christ. Heaven is our home, but being like Jesus is our goal.
The next time the journey seems difficult, remember: it’s supposed to be! If Christ learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8), it is likely we will learn it the same way.
The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON[1]
Scriptures:
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [2] (Romans 8:29)
8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered[3] (Hebrews 5:8)
[1] David Jeremiah, Turning Points with God: 365 Daily Devotions (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2014), 239.
[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ro 8:29.
[3] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Heb 5:8.
Pray This Prayer Until Resurrection Sunday Everyday
I pray Father in heaven thank you “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give me the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of my heart enlightened, that I may know what is the hope to which he has called me, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in me, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward me which I believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Ephesians 1:17-23 ESV as my daily prayer.
“For this reason I pray before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant me to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith—that I, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
In Jesus Name Amen
Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV
Vision
To develop people with the Word of God making them more like Christ.
To tear down the walls of misinformation in people lives, which will cause a change in their life and affect the people around them.
To create an environment of worship for all people.
To see God’s people live an overcoming abundant life.
Faith
Faith is a spiritual principle that taps into the creative power of God made available through man, so that man can transform conditions, circumstances and situations in the natural realm over which he has been given authority.
Great Commission
The most important missional conversation, the most compelling, the most invigorating, missional conversation, the one that our Lord Jesus Christ is the most interested in, is the missional conversation that you and I will have with those who don't know Him yet those who are lost, those who are last, those who are least, and those who are lonely.
Dedication
To love and serve the Lord with all of your heart, mind, strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.
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