Category: The Better Offering

“We have never been” at this place and in this time “before.” “Time is short.” By the Lord’s grace, may we fix our eyes on Jesus and consider him as we “persevere in the race marked out for us” as we have been called in our Agapé churches. Together, let’s proclaim aloud these passages and prayer.

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Revelations 12:10-12 NIV –
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may we “throw off” anything that hinders us from running the race that you have “marked out for us.”  We fix our eyes on you, Jesus and trust in and depend on your faithfulness to persevere.  As time is short and the time is now, may you empower us to stand firm in your calling to declare your salvation, your power and your kingdom to our cities, to our campuses and to all whom you have called us to love.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let’s praise to the song, “Flames” by Matt Redman (click here).

– EK

 

“How can you find out whether the One you believe in is believable? By knowing and experiencing Him. Picture a child climbing up on her daddy’s back for a piggyback ride. She doesn’t ask herself whether he can hold her or if he is going to drop her. She simply asks, ‘Do you have me?’ as she wiggles and adjusts her legs into place. By asking her daddy, ‘Do you have me?’ she is affirming her confidence that he is trustworthy. When he says, ‘Yes, I have you’ and they enjoy a safe ride, she will have even more confidence in him the next time. But what if she is unsure her daddy will keep her safe? She can say all day long that she believes he can carry her, but saying it a thousand times won’t reduce the hesitation she feels. She will never experience the full pleasure of his presence until she takes that first climb of faith and discovers that he is more than able to support her. Faith becomes real when it is experienced…But faith is not based on your feelings. Faith is experienced in your feet. That’s why the Bible calls it ‘walking by faith’ rather than ‘feeling by faith.’” (Tony Evans, “Experiencing Faith,” Called for a Purpose: Daily Devotions to Help You Pursue God’s Plan)

2 Corinthians 1:20-21 NIV – For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, I say “yes” and “amen” to however and whatever new steps I am to take to grow and to follow you.  I trust in your calling and leading and that with each step that I will experience your faithful presence enabling me to stand firm in you.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let’s continue in our response of “yes” and “amen” to the Lord as we praise to the song, “Hymn of Surrender” by Matt Redman (click here).

– EK

Hebrews 11:4 NIV – By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

“The story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 tells much more about Cain than Abel. In fact, not one word is recorded from living Abel. But the author of Hebrews says that, ‘through [Abel’s] faith, though he died, he still speaks’ (Hebrews 11:4). So what is dead Abel speaking to us? In the story, though we’d rather see ourselves as Abel, we are all Cain. We were at one time cursed, ‘hostile to God’ and alienated from him (Romans 8:7; Ephesians 4:18). Abel, the first martyr of faith, is a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus, whose ‘blood… speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’ (Hebrews 12:24). For though Abel’s innocent blood cried out for justice against sin, Jesus’s innocent blood cried out for mercy for sinners. Abel’s blood exposed Cain in his wretchedness. Jesus’s blood covers our wretchedness and cleanses us from all sin (Romans 7:24; 1 John 1:9). So now as we seek to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, let us remember that the only thing that makes this acceptable to God, the only thing that makes it a spiritual service of worship, is our childlike faith in Jesus (Romans 12:1; 3:26).” (Jon Bloom, “What Dead Abel Speaks to Us”, Desiring God)

“Jesus’ blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. This blood still speaks! Don’t refuse this blood. Don’t refuse this blood that’s still speaking today.” (From Pastor Jason Park’s Message)

Let’s proclaim that there is “nothing but the blood of Jesus” that cleanses and makes us whole as we praise to the song, “Nothing But The Blood” by Matt Redman (click here).

Prayer: King Jesus, we believe in your blood shed for us on the cross that has washed away all our sins and made us whole. Thank you for the blood. May our lives be worship to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

– EK

 

“Not only is your salvation a gift of God, but the faith to embrace it is his gift as well. But here is what you need to understand: God not only gives you the grace to believe for your salvation, but he also works to enable you to live by faith. If you are living by faith, you know that you have been visited by powerful transforming grace, because that way of living just isn’t normal for you and me. If your way of living is no longer based on what your eyes can see and your mind can understand, but on God’s presence, promises, principles, and provisions, it is because God has crafted faith in you.

By progressive transforming grace, he is enabling you to live the brand-new life he calls all of his children to live—the Godward life for which you were created. You don’t have to hide in guilt when weak faith gets you off the path, because your hope in life isn’t your faithfulness, but his. You can run in weakness and once again seek his strength. And you can know that in zealous grace he will not leave his craftwork until faith fully rules your heart unchallenged. He always gives freely what we need in order to do what he has called us to do.” (Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies, pp. 97-98)

Let’s proclaim these verses:

Ephesians 2:8 NIV – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…

2 Peter 1:3 NIV – His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the grace to believe so I can live the new normal of walking by faith.  I depend on your divine power to enable and strengthen me to overcome my struggles, weaknesses and doubts and to live fully as you have called me as a child of God.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

May we be filled with fresh faith as we praise to “There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do” sung by Kristian Stanfill (Passion). Click here.

– EK

2 Timothy 1:12 NIV – That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

“Does Christianity work? Does anything really happen when a person repents of sin and receives Christ by faith? I can only tell you that it worked in my own life. I was reared during the Depression on a farm in North Carolina. My parents weren’t able to give me the advantages most young people enjoy today. I grew up in a Christian home, but by the time I was fifteen, I was in full revolt against all religion—against God, the Bible, the Church. But one night I committed my life to Jesus Christ, and He gave me a whole new direction. My grades picked up. My attitude toward others changed. I began to seek God’s will instead of my own way. No, I didn’t become perfect, but my life was changed. I have been all over the world, and I have never met anyone who regretted giving his or her life to Christ. And neither will you.”  (Billy Graham, “Life in Christ Works,” Hope for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions)

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I confess my faith in you in the new today.  Jesus, I believe in you!  I am so thankful for the new life that I now have and live in you. The old is gone and the new has come. You are truly worthy of all my heart and worship!  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let’s worship in thankfulness with this song, “Divine Exchange,” by Charity Gayle (click here).

– EK