Today’s Bible Journaling study is from Luke 10:20, “But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” (NLT) The disciples had gone out witnessing as Jesus told them to do, and He gave them instructions on how to minister. When they returned, they were rejoicing about the great things they were able to do, they had healed the sick, cast demons out of people, and did the same things Jesus did as He ministered to people. Jesus reminded them that the greatest miracle is not being able to make the demons subject to them, but the fact that their names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in Heaven…they were redeemed by Jesus’ blood and saved from the penalty of sin.
In this month of Thanksgiving, this is the greatest blessing…our salvation. Nothing compares to the peace and joy we receive once we have asked Jesus to be the Lord and Master of our lives. The blessing of knowing our sins are forgiven, we are washed in the blood of Jesus and are looking forward to an eternal life in Heaven with Him, is more than we can comprehend!
As awesome as that is, we are still living on planet earth, and God has given each of us a job to do, and it is up to us to fulfill that mandate. What is that job? Collectively, our job is to reach the lost! That is our primary focus. We aren’t meant to arrive in Heaven without bringing someone we have led to Jesus as well. That is the primary purpose of these posts. My hope is that someone will read these and realize their need of Jesus. The second purpose is to encourage Believers as they walk out their faith in Jesus daily.
Our first response to the question, “What will you do with Jesus?” is to take an account of our life. Have we accepted His sacrifice on the cross for our sins? Have we made a conscious decision to live for Him and allow Him to have total control of our lives? If not, today is a good day to do just that. II Corinthians 6:2 says, “…behold, now is the accepted time behold, now is the day of salvation.” Don’t wait, make your decision now. My first husband used to say, “Put your finger on your wrist and feel your pulse. We are only certain of this very moment that our heart will beat…we don’t know what the next minute will bring, or if we’ll even take our next breath!” Once our life is over, there is no more opportunity to make that decision. When we pray and ask Jesus to save us, come into our hearts and lives, and the ask forgiveness for our sins and promise to live for Him, He takes us into His family. We become a Child of God, and we inherit all that God has to offer us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We become new creatures in Christ, (II Corinthians 5:17), we are changed! The process is so simple even a child can do it!
Once we have decided to follow Christ, then our responsibility is to live for Him, let Him have complete control of our lives, and then witness…tell others about what Jesus has done for us, and offer encouragement to others. God also gives us gifts, talents, avenues of ministry to reach the lost. For me, God has gifted me the ability to play and sing music. He also has directed me to reach out through my posts and my Bible Journaling. For each one, the gift is designed to be specific to what they are the best at doing, to reach others for Jesus. For some it is the gift of hospitality. I know ladies that can put together a bash that would make a White House dinner look dim in comparison! Some are given the gifting of administration…our Pastor’s wife has this gift…she is the ultimate organizer, director, and planner! She keeps our church going on an even keel, everything is planned out and rolls smoothly! She’s a super access to our Pastor! Some are given the gift of teaching. They minister to the Body of Christ through teaching the Scriptures, helping us to understand concepts and principles in the Bible. Once you have found your gifting, pursue it with all diligence.
So, my encouragement to you, my dear readers, is to take stock of your life, is your name written in Heaven? If not, today is a good day to be sure that it is. Then live your life so that others may know that Jesus reigns in your heart and bring others to the foot of the cross to be redeemed.
donnasmusings 