December 31st, 2021 – It Is Finished!
Experiencing God Devotional
John 19:30 – So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
God always finishes what He begins (Phil. 1:6). God never speaks a word without ensuring that it comes to pass (Isa. 55:11). Christ is both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8, 17). Christ is as much at the end of His work as He is at its beginning.
Jesus was given an enormous mandate. He was to live a sinless life, remaining absolutely obedient to His Father. Even the manner of His death was to fulfill numerous prophecies that had been foretold in Scripture (Matt. 26:24, 31, 54, 56; 27:9, 35, 46; John 19:28, 36–37). Yet, despite the extremely complex assignment Jesus received from His Father, He could shout triumphantly from the cross, “It is finished!”
Christ now resides within each believer. His assignment today is to complete God’s will in each Christian. He is just as determined to do this in us as He was to complete God’s will for Himself. You will have to resist Christ in order to remain out of the will of God. What is it God wants to do in you? Have you allowed Him to complete what He has begun? He will not force you to receive all that He has for your life. If God’s work has not been brought to fruition in you, it is not that Christ has not been diligently working toward that end. Rather, you may need to release areas of your life to Him and be as determined to see God ‘s work in you completed as Christ is. Review the things God has said to you over this last year. Are there promises God has made to you that you have refused to allow Him to complete? If so, commit to yield your will to God today.
Blackaby, Richard. Experiencing God Day By Day (p. 382). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Pastor’s Thoughts
“Review the things God has said to you over this last year. Are there promises God has made to you that you have refused to allow Him to complete? If so, commit to yield your will to God today.”
We often like to blame God when things are not going how we wanted them to go. We get upset when we feel distant from Him. We get frustrated when He doesn’t feel as close as He once did.
The truth is simple, you are as close to God as you choose to be.
God wants to be close to you. He wants you to experience His many good gifts. But He will not force those gifts on you. He will allow you to choose to receive them or reject them.
Often to receive the gifts that God has for us we must grow/mature in a specific area in our lives. If the gift were merely growing and maturing more into the image of Jesus Christ, that would be enough. But God is so much more generous than that. As we grow, we are given more opportunities to serve Him and to receive His good gifts.
It is one thing to want God’s good gifts. It is an entirely different thing to put the work in to receive them.
Becoming more like Jesus requires work. It will not happen by accident. And remember you are to be doing this work not for the gifts or for your glory, but for God’s glory!
Have a blessed Friday everyone and have a great New Year’s Eve!
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