“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search
for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock
when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all
the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in
me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told
you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be
where I am.” – Ezekiel 34:11-12, Romans 6:23, John 14:1-3 NIV
First of all, Jesus Christ is God in the human form; God is
Jesus Christ in the spiritual form:
The Son is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him
and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians
1:15-17)
Anyway, the main point of this devotional is, that we are
ALL sinners from the beginning; we became sinners through Adam, the first-man,
created by God, our heavenly Father (Ephesians
4:6) –“Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin
came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned.
(Romans
5:12)
However, due to God’s abundant grace, He showed us mercy by
coming down from His Kingdom into the world as Jesus Christ to crucify Himself
on the cross as our atonement of our sins:
This is how God showed his love
among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live
through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent
his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1
John 4:9-10)
He crucified Himself on the cross, so that He could cut
every sin that was/is part of our lives:
You were dead because of your sins
and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive
with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges
against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he
disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his
victory over them on the cross. For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be
the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through
Christ. (Colossians
2:13-15, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Therefore, we are made to live as new creations that are in
Christ Jesus (2
Corinthians 5:17), by becoming the righteousness of God that is through
faith (Romans
3:22):
“He himself bore our sins” in his
body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by
his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but
now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1
Peter 2:24-25)
So that we could enter the kingdom of God at the end of the
age:
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who DOES
the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to
me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your
name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then
I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew
7:21-23)
For this reason, God poured out His Spirit, the “Holy Spirit”
into us:
If you love me, keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you
and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with
you and will be in you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I
have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do NOT give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid. (John
14:15-17,26-27)
“Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all
things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things came and through whom we live.” – 1 Corinthians 8:6 NIV
Therefore, let’s repent before God for going through the
wide road rather than narrow road (see
Matthew 7:13-14), and REALLY abide in the Holy Spirit and continue to live
our lives that are filled with the Holy Spirit, by listening & obeying the
Spirit until the end of age.
… I died to the law so that I might
live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians
2:19-20)
Let’s also become the ambassador of Christ, since it is our
great commission; even though God is our shepherd, and we are the sheep, for
the word of God says:
All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age. (Matthew
28:18-20)
You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone
in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. For you
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God. (Matthew
5:14-16, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 5:20)
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