Ministers of Reconciliation.

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 
2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.


The ministry of reconciliation.


To be reconciled-


rec·on·cile
verb
past tense: reconciled; past participle: reconciled RESTORE FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN. "she wanted to be reconciled with her father"
• CAUSE TO COEXIST IN HARMONY; MAKE OR SHOW TO BE COMPATIBLE.
  "a landscape in which inner and outer vision were reconciled"


From <https://www.google.com/search?q=reconciled+definition&oq=reconciled+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.12797j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>



We are to be MINISTERS of reconciliation.


God has reconciled US to Himself through our Savior and we need to be ministers of this reconciliation. We need to offer this reconciliation to others.


God IN Christ reconciled the WORLD to HIMSELF.
Our sins will NOT kill us!


Sin kills. Sin separates us from God, and God is life, eternal life. Without God there is NO eternal life. The only way our sins will not kill us is if they are forgiven. Reconciliation has to be made through our Savior. Every single sin needs to be forgiven and we have a Savior who DIED so He could forgive ALL our sins.

Without RECONCILIATION we will not have life.


No one will have eternal life without reconciliation. If we are reconciled to God through Christ, we must let others know they too have a chance for eternal life, they too can be reconciled to God through the Savior. 

Please, Lord, please help us to be reconciled to YOU and to be ministers of reconciliation as YOU will!!!!!!!!!

Joy In God.

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 

Rom 5:11  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 

When we were enemies.  Enemies of God.  What constitute being an enemy of God? We are all enemies of God until we are redeemed by Him because sin rules us and sin separates us from God, and that separation makes us enemies of God.  Redemption reconciles us with God. Redemption through the death of God's only begotten Son. We are SAVED by the life of our Savior- the fact He was born into humanity, raised to give His message to the world, and subjected Himself to dying on the cross so His Father could raise Him from the dead. Raised from the dead our Savior longs to redeem us from our sins, He longs to save us! Our Savior wants us to JOY IN GOD through HIM. Joy because we've received atonement, we are at one with God, no longer separated by sin, no longer enemies!

We must JOY IN GOD through our SAVIOR!

Redemption, salvation, reconciliation, and atonement ...all through Jesus Christ our Lord and we can JOY IN GOD through Him. 

We don’t joy in our lives except how we are saved, first and foremost. As we joy in the moment of the perfect sunset we can have that joy because we have a Savior. I know there are those who will quickly say that those who deny Christ will still find joy in a beautiful sunset, and they're right- they will have a joy but it is a joy grounded in the present not in eternity. Their joy is fleeting ours is the knowledge that the sunset we are finding joy in is amazing yet nothing compared to the joy of eternity with Jesus Christ.  Our joy is found in the wonder of our Heavenly Father!

All glory, praise and honor unto our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!!!!!!!

Precious Blood.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot

Redeemed.

I think we're all familiar with the idea of redeeming coupons, yes? You clip a coupon from a paper, or you download the coupon on your phone and when you go to the checkout you give the coupon or input your phone info to get your savings. You give something and get something in return, that's how redeeming coupons work.

With our Savior, He gave His life and in return we get eternal life, we are redeemed.

A 25 cents off coupon saves me 25 cents, NOTHING compared to my Savior giving His life for my life.

A life for a life.

The precious blood of Christ was shed- a whipping tore apart His flesh and blood flowed. The crown of thorns was placed on His head and the thorns dug into His flesh and his blood flowed. Nails pierced his feet and hands, blood poured forth.  Our Savior's blood was spilled as He hung upon that cross bleeding down the wood that held Him up. That precious blood was shed to redeem us. How exceedingly precious was that blood of our Savior, that blood of Christ. Innocent blood, pure blood without any corruption at all whatsoever. Godly blood, the blood of God and mankind. Christ took on human form, a form filled with life blood. That blood was royal blood, the blood of God. The blood of the power of God.

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

The power of our Savior's blood JUSTIFIES us!  We are SAVED through the blood of Jesus Christ! Such power! 

We are REDEEMED by the PRECIOUS BLOOD of CHRIST.

Nothing else redeems us, not a single thing!

You cannot be saved by anything else, nothing else exists that offers us eternal life, nothing.

Mat_26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Rom_3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God

Eph_1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace

Eph_2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ

Col_1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven

Jesus' Joy- Eternal Salvation for Us.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

The joy set before Jesus. What was the joy set before Jesus?

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him

The AUTHOR of ETERNAL SALVATION.

What JOY! Jesus could endure the cross, Jesus could despise the shame because after all He suffered He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God- the AUTHOR of ETERNAL SALVATION.

Had Jesus NOT endured the cross He would NOT have become the Author of Eternal Salvation.

Jesus looked BEYOND the suffering. No one can say He didn't suffer, that He didn't feel pain. Jesus felt every single bit of the pain given to Him. Jesus didn’t live in a magical bubble that made Him feel the horrors of the world less than others. Jesus wasn't given super-human flesh that could bleed yet feel no hurt. If Jesus suffered to obtain Eternal Salvation for us, why do we believe we shouldn't suffer? Did Jesus complain about His suffering? Did our Savior say these words--

Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 

Is that a complaint? If not a complaint it was a recognition about what was to come, what needed to be endured. The cup Jesus had been given was filled with agony- mental, emotional, and physical torture. Clearly no one would WANT to drink from that cup, and if there were any other way surely they would seek that other less torturous way. Jesus asked His Father to remove the cup from Him if He was willing, but the Father wasn't willing. The atonement had to be made if the humans were to be offered eternal salvation. If that cup had been removed from Jesus as He willed it to be removed, He would NOT have become the Author of Eternal Salvation. More than His own will, Jesus wanted the Father's will to be done.

Joh_10:30  I and my Father are one.

Jesus and His Father were one in agreement- they BOTH agreed on the plan of salvation long before it was implemented.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

Before the foundation of the world Jesus and the Father agreed that Jesus would take on flesh and in that flesh He would suffer and die to redeem mankind should they choose to be separated from them through sin. The plan of salvation was one that was made long before Jesus came to earth to suffer. This "cup" Jesus willed would be removed from Him was a "cup" He knew He had to drink from for thousands of years.  Herein again we have to remind ourselves that a day is as a thousand years with God, still, Jesus knew the plan of redemption wouldn't be a pleasant one and He agreed to the plan before the world even had a foundation. Jesus and God agreed on the plan and still Jesus prayed that if God the Father willed, that the plan be stopped.  Jesus' will seemed to have gone down another path away from God's and yet in the same breath of asking, Jesus relented- saying NOT HIS WILL, but GOD'S WILL BE DONE. As much as Jesus asked for something He knew He couldn't receive, He revealed that even HE was subject to the Father's will- even though He and His Father had already agreed as one. Jesus WANTED the Father's will to be done because He knew He agreed with His Father's will. The agony of the beginning of Jesus' end on the cross was terrifying and not something any human should have wanted.

Jesus was looking to the JOY of Eternal Salvation that He could author into existence by His sacrifice.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

For the JOY SET BEFORE HIM,  HE ENDURED!

For the JOY set before us THROUGH HIM, we must endure!

Eternal Salvation- this wondrous, joyous gift to us came at an incalculable price. One of our three Gods-  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit- DIED to give this gift to us-- let us never forget.

Suffering For His Sake.

Php 1:28  And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

Php 1:30  Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me

Terrified by our adversaries- they view our terror as evidence of our not holding fast to salvation in our Savior.  We know that we will be confronted by our adversaries, flesh and spiritual adversaries. And we know how terrifying it can be when we are under attack. As we fight the very real Christian fight, the spiritual fight, we feel the pain, the horror of the viciousness of Satan. We have to realize as we suffer that it is for our Savior, to believe on Him, suffering for Him.

Why do people tell others they won't suffer? 

Yes, we are to count it all Joy-

Jas_1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 

We are to count it joy when we suffer afflictions yet when we are in the throes of suffering it's so hard to do so. Joy in pain, joy in heartache, joy in sorrow, joy in loss, joy in abandonment, joy in sickness, joy in betrayal, and the list goes on and on. Joy- Jesus- salvation-eternity.  This is the joy we have to have. We can't place our joy in things of the here and now as if we can't lose everything.  Yes, we need to be JOYFUL, and our joy must be in CHRIST first and foremost!  We can joy in our family, joy in our blessings, but we have to do so because we've been given these joys by Christ, through Christ. If our family falls apart, our joy still must be in Christ that somehow, some way it will all work for good. We won't be able to comprehend how the awfulness of a torn apart family can work for good, but it's not for us to comprehend. We must trust in our Savior, we must have faith in Him and know that His ways are far above and beyond ours. As our health deteriorates and we feel pain beyond our ability to even think, we still need to find our hope, our joy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Our hope is in eternity with the love of our Lord, not in ANYTHING here and now. Please Lord, bless us with joy in YOU. Help us to find our joy IN YOU, now and always!

Paul- An Example of Suffering.

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 

1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Paul's suffering is a pattern for all of us.

Paul who assented to killing Christ followers, Paul who once He was shown the Light of the Savior Jesus Christ and the truth was revealed to Him, followed Christ with His whole heart.

Paul suffered terribly. If you think for one second He didn't suffer horrifically you are deluding yourself.  We read things and sometimes we don't comprehend the full truth of what we're reading.  When we read that Paul was whipped do we feel the pain of each strike across his flesh? Do we feel the skin of his back being split open, blood spraying from the whip as it is yanked back coiling for yet another blow? Do we cry out in agony as the whip cuts through muscle all the way to the bone? Thirty nine vicious strikes with the whip, and what? We don't imagine the true horror of how it felt? What about having stones whipped at you? Can you imagine the pain of that? Paul was stoned, and that doesn't mean a single little pebble was thrown at him. Stones rained down upon him, cutting him, bruising him, making him bleed profusely. These physical assaults Paul endured over and over never stopped him from loving the LORD, it never turned him from his belief in the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Paul was an example to us all.

No, we all may not face physical abuse for our faith, but Satan will assault us viciously with the spiritual weapons he possesses.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

We suffered as Christ followers. Our lives are NOT meant to be easy, not when we stand for the truth.

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

Don't fool yourself into believing your life should be easy, expect suffering in whatever form it may take and don't be discouraged. Hold fast to our Savior!

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Is Your Affliction Light?

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory

Did someone who said these words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, say them haphazardly? Were they written without real knowledge of 'light affliction'?

Let's find out-

2Co 11:23  …I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 

He was in prisons frequently. He faced death often.

2Co 11:24  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 

Five times he received thirty-nine whippings.

2Co 11:25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 

Three times he was beaten with rods. 

One time he was stoned.

Three times he was in shipwrecks.

One night and one day he was in the water.

2Co 11:26  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 

He journeyed often.

He was in danger with water.

He was in danger with robbers.

He was in danger by his fellow countrymen.

He was in danger by the heathen.

He was in danger in the city, the wilderness, and in the sea.

He was in danger from false fellow followers.

2Co 11:27  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 

He was weary, in pain, watching often, hungry, thirsty, fasting, cold and naked.

And this man could say his afflictions were light.  LIGHT AFFLICTION- beaten, stoned, whipped, imprisoned… just to name a few of his afflictions.

I've never been beaten, I've never been whipped, I've never been stoned, I've never been imprisoned, I've never been confronted by robbers, I've never starved. I've never had those particular 'light' afflictions.

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory

The afflictions I have had are nothing like Paul's afflictions, not at all. Yet, not to diminish anyone's afflictions, we ALL experience our afflictions to our own degree. What I mean is I can't make light of your afflictions if I think they are nothing compared to mine, that's not truth, that's not acceptable at all. Your heart maybe so deeply hurt by something that wouldn't hurt mine much at all. I can't know another's heart. Our afflictions are ours to endure through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  No MATTER the affliction though, the greatest to the least, they are ALL but for a moment when you compare them to eternity. Seventy, eighty, ninety years of affliction is still but a moment next to time eternal.  All the afflictions we are called to endure will work in us, drawing us ever closer to our Savior. The exceeding and eternal weight of glory this is our hope through our Savior! This is something we need to cling through during all our afflictions. It's not easy, it's horrible what we suffer, but it is temporary to eternity! Praise the LORD! Please, Lord, help us to keep our eyes on YOU through ALL life's many, many horrors! 

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!