Friday 13 December 2013

Jesus Challenge

Jesus willingly humbled himself and gave up His position and His wealth in order to serve us. We too ought to be willing to humble ourselves to serve others and to share the love of Christ with them. Because of all Christ has lost for us we too ought to be willing to sacrifice much to share with others.

Look again at the list you made last week of people you know who don't have faith in Christ. Next to each person on the list write how you could humbly serve them this week. Put at least one of these things into practice. As you serve pray that God would give you an opportunity to share the gospel.

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Friday 13 December 2013

Read: John 3:16-21, Romans 8:28-39 We have spent a lot of time this week talking about Christ's great love for us that He would humble Himself to become a man and that He would sacrifice Himself for our sake and to bear our punishment. It is good that we spend time talking about these things. We must always remember the sacrifice which Christ has made on our behalf. However, it is very easy to focus on the sacrifice made for us by Jesus, God the Son, and forget altogether about the sacrifice made by God the Father.

John 3 and Romans 8 give us a powerful picture of the Father's role in our redemption. He is not passive, remaining uninvolved and watching uninterested while His son dies for mankind. He is also not some kind of harsh God who watches on with a scowl as Jesus comes to rescue us from His harsh judgments as some groups have tried to paint Him. Instead He is actively involved, participating in the work of redemption.

Jesus talks about this active role in John 3:16-17. Notice the active party in these verses is the Father himself: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

In this well known passage it is the Father who is seen doing the active work of salvation. He is the one who so loved the world. He is the one who gave up His son. He is the one who sends His son into the world to save it. If you have children I'm sure you can appreciate somewhat the incredible sacrifice that it would be to send your child to certain suffering and death for the sake of others. It is almost unthinkable. This is the incredible extend of the Father's great love for us.

Romans 8:31-34 paints a similar picture. God the Father has done an incredible work and made an unfathomable sacrifice because of His great love for us.

If God made such an incredible sacrifice so that we could have relationship with Him we too ought to sacrifice everything to live for Him and to share Him with others. He has bought us at a tremendous price. We ought to live our lives to worship Him and to share that love with others. Are you willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of God? Are you willing to sacrifice everything to share Him with others? Are you willing to sacrifice your comfort, your possessions, your friends, your family, even your very life for the sake of Christ and His mission? Take a moment to pray that God would do this work in your heart and that you might be willing to give all for Him.

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Praise God for His great love for us. Praise Him that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son so that we could come into relationship with Him. Praise Him that He has been working in our hearts and lives so that we might come to Him in faith. Pray that He would work powerfully in your heart that He might be your greatest prize. Pray that He would help you to be willing to surrender everything to Him and give whatever it takes for the sake of His kingdom.
• Pray that God would give you an opportunity today to share with someone about the true meaning and depth of Christmas. Pray that He would go before you to prepare hearts and to open doors for you to share. Pray that He would fill you with great courage and passion to share and that He would give you the words when the time comes.

My Additional Prayer Points

1. 2.