Father in heaven, I surrender all to You. Remove the veil that clouds my view. Help me to see more clearly your purpose for me. Guide my steps and take full control of my life. Lord, I am aware that I am nothing without You. Still, I yearn to be something–, not in this world, Lord, but in your Kingdom. I surrender all to you.
As one who strive to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, I try to focus on the big picture–the crown that awaits me at the end of my journey. Still, I realize it is a steep climb, and I cannot do it on my own. Therefore, to be successful, I must pay close attention to Jesus’ teachings, and the things He stood for, and most importantly what He did on the cross at Calvary.
Hence I most certainly cannot allow myself to get distracted by trivialities, like, what is right and what is wrong. Instead, I should attempt to let my life be a mirror that reflects Jesus Christ.
Too often Christian folks get embroiled in social fights that result in heated exchanges. And sometimes these back and forth arguments and name callings get so out of hand that it is hard to differentiate the saved from the unsaved.
The apostle Peter says Christians should
Be tender-hearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it (1 Peter 3:8-9).
I especially like what Paul wrote in one of his letters to the Church in Philippi:
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining as bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, you will be proud that you did not run the race in vain and that your work was not useless (Philippians 2:14-16).
![images[1] (2)](https://gospelmuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/images1-2.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFYAqJAs2d8
“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
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” Colossians 2:11-15).
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 7:21). Even so, one would have to search long and hard to find a professing Christian, who does not think he or she is ready to meet the Bridegroom.
The truth is, Just like unrepentant sinners; many people who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior–are in danger of getting shut out of the banquet hall when the Bridegroom returns. Not that they are bad people, but humans like to do things their way and not God’s way. The prophet, Isaiah, talking to his country men and women, declared: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).
Surely, many of us have intentionally detoured from the path that Jesus walked. We have turned to our own way. Then, we convince ourselves that we can get back on the right path in time to meet the Bridegroom. In fact, the five foolish virgins who went to buy oil for their lamps also thought they could get back in time to meet the Bridegroom. They were wrong..
Of course, one could argue that the five foolish virgins were not bad people. On the surface, it seems they did all the right things, and they were just as excited about meeting the Bridegroom, as the five wise virgins. However, they came up short when it matters most.
There is only one way to prepare for the Bridegroom, and that is, Follow the step-by-step plan that Jesus has laid before you. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Therefore, friends, If one walk as Jesus walked, rest assure that a seat awaits you at the banquet table when the Bridegroom returns.
Acts 12:1-11
New Living Translation (NLT)
James Is Killed and Peter Is Imprisoned
King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison
The night before Peter was to be placed on trial; he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.
So Peter left the cell, after the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
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