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“But God, being rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved me, even when I was dead through my trespasses, made me alive together with Christ (by grace I have been saved) and raised me up with Him, and made me to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6 (myBible: Standing on the Promises, page 128)
Greetings, Friend! Right now I’m writing from 36,000 feet in the air, traveling 450 miles an hour toward the west coast of the United States. My heart is stirred by the incredible view of the clouds that rest beneath my feet and the glimpses of the plains below that resemble a patchwork quilt; pieced together and individually meshed with one another.
As the plane levels off I was thinking about the people around, rows of strangers traveling to the same destination. This may be the only time in our individual histories our paths cross.
As I look around I wonder who is saved and who is not. If these were the final hours of our lives, would they go “up” or down?” Would they have a joyous exit from this life into their eternal life with God the Father or exit in anguish into eternal damnation and terror?
Everyday our lives cross the paths of strangers whose time on this earth is as limited as ours. Moment by moment people just like us pass on into their eternal destinies. Eternal destinies determined by a simple question: “Who is Jesus Christ to you?”
I have a feeling an airplane is a great place to get people saved. I feel like jumping up and shouting, “if we were to die in the next hour would you go to Heaven? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Are you at peace with your Maker?”
Dramatic, I know. I tend to lean towards the dramatic, and sometimes morbid or dry sense of humor. I’m sure ‘d be silenced quickly and sentenced to my seat for the rest of the trip or tackled by heroic zealots.
But it is a thought. What am I responsible to do in this instant? In this moment of time? What are you responsible to do?
I believe God merely asks that we tell. That our affection for Him be so present in our thoughts and overflowing in our hearts that it works up in conversations even in passing.
Many people are strangers to God’s goodness. Unaware that He is really a loving and merciful Heavenly Father. If people know of God” they tend to think He makes you sick to teach you things or takes people’s lives from them to spare them from the future . . . sorry. God’s not that way. And if you think He is — stop it.
He needs you to fulfill your part of the Kingdom plan. He has “hidden” huge blessing for you in the midst of His will. Your part is important, regardless of what spectators may think.
Success is there. Happiness is there. Blessing is there. Provision is there. We all play different parts, but can enjoy the same fringe benefits by being in the center of God’s will for our lives.
While I’ll sit here and “behave” for now, I intend to open my mouth more often to offer a friend or a stranger a piece of the God in me. Will you join me? We’re representatives everywhere we go. We are the light in a very dark place. It will irritate the eyes of some who have lived long in the darkness and will draw others through curiosity. And then there are those that will be relieved to find refuge in the Son.
As you go through your week, I pray that you will love someone around you enough to intercept them as they trek toward eternal damnation. Some plant, some water, but God gets the increase. Let’s take as many with us as we can!
“Now He who established me in Christ, and anointed me, is God;
who also sealed me, and gave me the down payment of the
Spirit in my heart.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, myBible: Standing
On the Promises, page 74.
I’ve been studying to acquire my commercial driver’s license.
Our community has a shortage of bus drivers and it really works
well with my schedule to drive a bus for a few hours a day. So,
I’ve been riding along as part of my preliminary training.
A few days ago, a cute little girl boarded the bus. She had big,
beautiful green eyes and her curly hair bounced on her shoulders.
She was a well-mannered and timid little creature.
As she sat down in her seat, the bus driver complimented her new
dress and shoes, “You look very pretty.” A smile crept across
her face as she took the words to heart.
Another little girl across the aisle heard her. She ducked down
behind the seat so the driver couldn’t hear her and said, “You
look like a bad girl.” When she saw I was looking, she quickly
turned away.
Now what she meant by that, I don’t know. But it wasn’t nice.
And as I observed the interaction, I realized that’s what the
devil does to a lot of people.
God comes to us in His Word and says, “this is who I say you
are . . . ” and when we read it, we’re excited. But the devil
comes along (through thoughts or other people) and whispers
something to the contrary, maybe even something believable,
and we sink down in our hearts.
Or maybe, you’ve heard or read about the promises that are yours
through Jesus Christ. You take them to heart, but a whisper, a
doubt, a nay-sayer, or nincompoop comes to steal the promise.
If you don’t fight that doubt, if you don’t evict the whisper
from your heart and mind, you will abandon the promise.
You will lose out, surrender, and forfeit what God has already
given you, what Jesus purchased with His own blood.
I don’t know how those words affected that little girl. The kind
words were true. She did look very nice. However, would she allow
the poison words from another to suffocate and silence the truth?
Right now, someone or something is trying to persuade you subtly
or by force, that God’s Word, His promises, or even His love is
not enough. Maybe the voice says, “you’re not deserving,” or “you
can’t do it,” or “you’re bad.”
But let this resound in your heart, the Giver of Breath and
Source of all life has something to say to YOU:
“Now He who established me in Christ, and anointed me, is God;
who also sealed me, and gave me the down payment of the Spirit
in my heart.”
God Himself has established YOU in Christ.
The All-Powerful God has anointed YOU.
The Almighty God has sealed YOU, marked YOU for Himself, His
very own.
Our Loving Father gave you a down payment, a portion of what He
has in store for YOU right now.
He has already put a healthy serving of His own Spirit, a piece
of Himself, in YOUR heart, to live in YOU all the days of YOUR
life. To help YOU and to guide YOU. How personal is that?
Don’t let anyone or anything steal the promises of God from you. Don’t let some bully steal from you.
A sinner doesn’t need to hear that sin is wrong. They need to hear their sins have been forgiven by a compassionate and loving God, by the bloody sacrifice and dynamic resurrection of a Savior. We need to approach people with the answer, not the problem.
Ultimately, the problem is not that sin abounds in their life but that they have not taken hold of the free gift of salvation and let it wash them clean. It is not sin that separates us eternally from the Father, but refusing to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. For salvation is the remedy to sin and eternal separation from the Lord of all.
Flourish 
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