Can Doubters Be In Christ?

“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”  Luke 24:38

Doubt gripped the disciples when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection.  They had waited in faith and obedience for his return, just as Jesus had told them to; yet, the moment he made his promise good, they questioned who he was.  Jesus showed them his scared hands and feet for proof; and then dared them, “touch me and see”—the coup de gras, similar to a double-dog-dare.     The faithful disciples who had seen signs and wonders, and the dead raised, now doubted the one they had confessed as Savior.  But, they soon became doubtless; and then, they were empowered by the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues and lead 3,000 people to faith in Christ—in one morning!  It seems the disciples doubted the Lord, just before they became great in the Lord.   

In a crisis of doubt, the disciples’ faith had not died, and Christ did not throw them in the trash heap for having doubt.  Instead of rejection, He encouraged them and empowered them to do more.  In turn, they their faith was strengthened.  For you to have doubts is nothing more than being a human, and a follower of Christ is, after all, a human.  Once we doubt, then question, we can learn.  Along with the Bible and the Spirit of God to teach us, we have fellow believers to encourage us, and even objections to our faith can strengthen us.  Doubt leads to finding answers, and I’m confident that a Christ follower will indeed grow stronger in Christ when being open enough to embrace not only doubts, but the Truth that reigns over doubt.  Do you have doubts in the Lord right now, maybe thinking you’ve lost faith in Christ?  Jesus won’t throw you away, but he will encourage you and strengthen you.  Like the disciples, you may have doubts, but it may be in a time just before you are empowered and become great in the Lord.     

Doubting, nonetheless, in Christ,  

Owen <><

Location, Location, Location

Jesus said, “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment's notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.” ~John 12:26, The Message

Have you ever wondered where God was at?  Usually we look for God when we have needs, we experience difficulties and our circumstances overwhelm us.  We haven’t been with him for some time, we’ve lost track of his location.  Have you ever muttered, “Hum, let’s see; where did I put God?”  I’m sure no one has, but we live like we’re trying to locate Him.  We join a local church that is at a convenient location and with programs that entertain and serve us.  If we think the service isn’t allowing us to get fed, we simply leave to be served at another location.  We hope we are in the right church location, so we sit and wait to receive the honor and glory God has for those who serve Christ. 

Could it be, if we truly wanted to locate the Lord that we would want to serve Christ Jesus?  If so, then, we’d want to follow him.  And, yes, then we would know where He is!  As Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be” (John 12:26a NIV).  Jesus told us that our “location” is with Him, when we serve and follow Christ—there is no need look for Jesus’ location, if we’re serving him, we’re at His location.  When Jesus told the disciples, “I am with you always” (Matt 28:20), he was talking to those who served and followed him.  Where are you?  

 Owen <><

Courage

I expect and hope that I will not fail Christ in anything but that I will have the courage now, as always, to show the greatness of Christ in my life here on earth, whether I live or die.

Philippians 1:20 NCV

Courage is an element you may not realize that you have.  Great heroes, individuals of valor, don’t awake one morning with a vision of doing something bold and reckless to win a medal.  No, as they live life, they do what is necessary.  As a Christian, what is necessary?  The necessity is in the “hope that [you, we] will not fail Christ.”  As the hero lives life to do what is necessary, so is a Christian to live life doing, revealing the love and greatness of Jesus Christ.  So, what is courage?  Courage is living life daily, hour by hour, by faith.  Living courageously is how you’ll “show the greatness of Christ in [your] life.”  Courage is a daily witness.  Courage is like breathing, a necessity.  Courage is walking life’s journey in faith and being seen as a light in the darkness—but, have courage, you’ll be exposed.  Courage requires daily faith, the daily walk as a sojourner of light in today’s darkness (Matt 5:14-16).  That’s what we are to do

With Great Courage,

 Owen <><

The Prayer for All Occasions

 Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:18

Prayer is for “all occasions” and when done “in the Spirit” allows you to have “all kinds of prayers and requests” become a reality, having consequence.  Prayer that God hears is not birthed because you join the right church, you follow a lifestyle rulebook, you do complex rituals, you only pray in a certain place, or when you get into an uncomfortable yoga position—only by being in the Spirit do “all kinds of prayers and requests” become heard by God.  As a Christian your prayers are from within God’s Spirit—that makes your prayer different:  your prayer is heard!  (See John 15:5, 7, 14-16)

So, how does prayer benefit you?  The benefits aren’t subject to you praying, the benefits are based upon the fact that you “pray in the Spirit on all occasions”—not sometimes, “on all occasions.”  Then, your prayer is for God’s enjoyment, he will be in fellowship with you, and you and He will build a relationship.  The more you want to talk with God, the more you will actually talk to God, that’s when God’s Spirit will let you know that he is with you—not sometimes, but “on all occasions”! 

Owen <>< 

Public Sinner Number One

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.   

1 Tim 1:15

The Apostle Paul sometimes wrote as if he were depressed or negative.  He thought of himself as the “worst sinner” Jesus had come to save, or as the Message paraphrases him, “I'm proof — Public Sinner Number One.”

If you read Paul’s autobiography, he reveals that he “was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (v13).  Paul did indeed persecute Christians and he was present for the murder of a deacon named Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1, 3). 

Then, a miracle happened.  The Holy Spirit transformed a bitter Saul into a humble Paul.  By living in the Spirit, Paul began to live in divine love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).  In humility, Paul recognized what he had been, but more importantly, saw the miracle Christ had done in him.  Paul was expressing with thankful joy, that he was a, “has been—Public Sinner Number One.”

   

Yes you and I will remember what we were.  If you have been transformed (Rom 12:2, 2 Cor 2:15, Eph 4:22-24) like Paul, then as a Christ follower, a follower of the Way (Acts 24:14; see John 14:6), you will rejoice in thankfulness that you’re a “HAS BEEN—Public Sinner Number One.”

A Has Been In Christ,

Owen <><

RSVP

Matthew 22:11-14 (From the Parable of the Wedding Feast, Matthew 22:1-14)

But when the king came in to see the guests,

he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.

"Friend,” he asked, “how did you get in here without wedding clothes?”

The man was speechless.

Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside,

into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

For many are invited, but few are chosen.

This is a hard truth from the teachings of Jesus Christ.  How could a person get into Christ’s wedding celebration and dinner unless invited?  Why would bouncers toss someone out the door, simply because of wearing the wrong cloths?  Doesn’t the Bible say, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Rev 19:9)?

Yes, everyone is invited, but invitations need a response.  The King ordered his servants to go everywhere and invite everyone (v 9), good and bad people alike, no one is left uninvited.  We must respond to the invitation, the invitation came with a RSVP.  The term RSVP is a French expression "répondez s'il vous plait," meaning “respond please.”  Only by giving a RSVP to God’s invitation can we become an official part of the wedding, and receive the King's gift, the proper wedding cloths.  It is crucial that we accept and reply to the Lord—we must RSVP.

  

You’ve been invited, now, “please respond” to the invitation. God does not want “anyone to perish” (to perish is to be thrown into darkness and weeping (v13), or hell), God wants, “everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).  To RSVP is to repent or turn to God by faith in Christ, to confess by mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and that he rose from the dead (Rom 10:9-10, Eph 2:8).  Without that, without the RSVP, you will not have received the right cloths to wear to the wedding.  Wanting to be part of the wedding is not the same as giving a RSVP to the wedding invitation.  Let God clean and dress you in His glory.  

RSVP,

Owen <><

No Fear In Love

A moment of fear can quench love.  Seemingly, we have a fear of needing God.  Fear is void of God’s grace.  Fear pushes love away, leaving us empty. 

There is no fear in love. 1 John 4:18

While praying with a young woman, a disheartened countenance was transparent as she shared her fears with me, then, with what seemed to take all of her strength, she said, “I am so empty.”  With an aching heart, I told her of Christ and how his love would fill her.  After a prayer, she looked up with a gentle expression that was dressed with a delicate smile, and she whispered, “I’m not empty.”  In a moment of faith the Lord saved her, filled her eternally.  And, he gained my attention for a lifetime.  That day, God let me know that fear and emptiness is not from Him, and that it is necessary that “we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). 

Emptiness, as the young lady learned, is filled by God’s Spirit—in a moment of faith, fear is quenched.  If you or I are truly in Christ, then there is a daily renewal (2 Cor 4:16), a continual filling by God’s love.  That is when your daily life is to reflect that God lives in you, then, it is obvious that Christ’s Spirit in pouring into you and continually filling you.  That is when you continually pour God’s love out to others, yet, you will never become empty.  Then you will “know and rely on the love God has for” you!  

Filled,

Owen <><