LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, July 11, 2019

In Luke’s version of the sermon on the mount, Jesus spends a substantial amount of time speaking about doing good. But Jesus did more than just talk about it – He did good. When testifying to the integrity of Jesus’ life, Peter proclaimed in Acts 10:38, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good. Jesus not only preached the good news, but he also practiced it.

For our words to be truly believable they must be substantiated by our actions. In fact, our actions should be the first form of witnessing that the world sees. That is why Jesus spent so much time challenging His followers to do good and charging His adversaries with hypocrisy. People who say one thing and do another are not credible. People who have been transformed by the Spirit of God so that their hearts are filled with the good things of God producing good works are incredible. People like you and me. People who have been touched by the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. People who have been forgiven for their sins. People who have been accepted into the family of God. People who are overflowing with the love of God. People whose actions are the product of the good God has stored up in their hearts.

But for good works to be a truly powerful testimony of the Good News, those works must go beyond what is ordinary and become supernatural. It is ordinary for all humans to do good works. If it were not, then the Scriptures would not tell us that our works of righteousness are as filthy rags. We can all do works of righteousness, but if they are done outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they are worthless. Just look around at all the good that is being done by all kinds of people who respond to human tragedies. Man is capable of doing good.

But for good works to be a testimony to the Good News they must go beyond what is ordinary and humanly possible.

Luke 6:27-36 But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Good works that are the product of the good news will reflect the nature and character of God as modeled in Jesus Christ.

1. God’s work will be acts of true love with no “friend or foe” qualification. The ordinary works of the world meet the needs of friends. The supernatural works of God’s people meet the needs of enemies in a spirit of true love.
2. God’s work will be done unconditionally, demanding no repayment or reward. The ordinary works of the world are done to people who have the potential to return the favor. The supernatural works of God’s people are done for God with people as the benefactors, so nothing from people is needed in return.
3. God’s works will be merciful works, done to the most undeserving. The ordinary works of the world are done to people qualified as those who didn’t deserve to suffer. The supernatural works of God’s people are done to those who deserve to suffer.

As born-again believers in Jesus Christ, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go around doing good, just like Jesus did. Then when the world notices true good being done, we will have the opportunity to tell them the Good News, and it will make sense to them because they have witnessed the transforming power of God in action.

Let’s spread the good news by doing good.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Historically, only a few weeks have passed since Jesus preached His first sermon of good news to the people.  He already has a following that totals well more than 12 disciples. A disciple is one who is a learner, or pupil, seeking to know and understand the spiritual philosophy of a teacher or rabbi. Out of all these eager learners Jesus needed to select a few who would be designated as apostles, or commissioned messengers of the good news. This was an incredibly important decision, and Christ models for us the one-step plan of how to make such choices – PRAY!

Luke 6:12-13 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.

Every day we are confronted with choices in such areas as finances, health, relationships, and recreation. While all those things are important, none is so important as this – to whom will I tell the good news today? As we pass people in the mall, in checkout lines, or communicate with them at work, who will God have us talk to about His Son? We have no greater resource with which to answer that question than the direction of the Holy Spirit available through prayer.

I’m sure that most of us spend time daily taking personal needs to God in prayer. Interruptions and inconveniences that arise throughout the day cause us to send up a quick request to our heavenly Father to give us the strength to carry on. We probably even ask Him for a specific outcome, hoping He will respond positively to our request for our objectives to be met. (Isn’t that amazing, that before we even ask Him to reveal His will and purpose we are asking Him for our outcomes.  That’s another issue for another day.)

But how many of us take the time every day to ask God to use us in a specific way to accomplish what He has already revealed to be his will and purpose – to share the good news? God has prepared people to be brought across our path every day so that we might touch them with His grace and love. Yet we tend to pass this off as insignificant when compared to our jobs or finances or health or pleasure.

Jesus didn’t. He spent the whole night in prayer asking God for specific direction in choosing those men who would become apostles. That should be our model also. Maybe you don’t need to stay up all night praying, but why not try this – make the last thing you pray before you go to sleep and the first thing you pray when you wake up a request to be directed to the person that God wants to call into His Kingdom. You can still pray about all the other things, as you should and as God desires, but make the prayer for the unsaved your priority. Followed it with a prayer for spiritual sensitivity and strength to share the good news with the people God brings you.

Prayer is the one-step plan to personal evangelism. Start praying.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Everything Jesus did was motivated by His desire for people to hear the good news of salvation. Early in His ministry He addressed the issue of a religious society that was attempting to earn the favor of God. People needed to hear the good news of the grace of God that provides salvation and freedom from the law.

Jesus is still in the first few months of His public ministry and He is already making waves of tsunami proportions. The Pharisees were big on obedience to the law, and Jesus wanted to confront the condition of their hearts. While the Pharisees measured their spiritual value by their methods, Jesus measured it by their motives.

When we dig into a person’s heart and get beyond the outward appearance of righteousness we have touched a very sensitive nerve in most people. We are all experts at creating a visible force field of holiness based on good works. We hope it will protect us from the scrutiny of true heart searching that may reveal impure or selfish motives. That was the case with the Pharisees, and Jesus wanted to get that out in the open.

Luke 6:1-9 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

The Pharisees were so entrenched in their legalistic ways that they looked for ways to accuse Jesus of doing wrong. It says that they watched Him closely (the Greek word here means to inspect closely for the purpose of finding fault). It is so sad to see people who are energized by the fuel of faultfinding. But Jesus would not let them get away with it. He confronted them directly and healed the man with the shriveled hand right in front of them – and on the Sabbath day besides.

There’s a lesson from this story about sharing the good news. The good news is not a new set of laws. The good news is not obedience to the old set of laws. The good news does not give us permission to judge everyone else by their conformity or non-conformity to the law. The good news does not make us better than anyone else because we understand and obey the law.

No, the good news is that there is freedom from the law, and what the world needs to see is people who live that way. Our witness to the saving grace of God will only be so effective as our ability to live by grace and model it to the unsaved.

Jesus modeled grace from the beginning of His ministry. He would not give in to the temptation to be acceptable to the legalists of His day. Instead, He modeled grace and acceptance, not based on obedience to the law but based on faith in the Giver of the law. When we share the good news, we must not simply offer a person a transfer of bondage from one law to another, but rather we must offer them freedom from the bondage of all law so that by grace they freely submit to the law of Christ. That is God’s love. We are not in bondage to Christ, but we are compelled by His love to serve Him.

Let the world see Christianity for what it really is – loving acceptance of all people based on the grace of God. They do not need to hear about their evil and their unworthiness compared to our righteousness. We have only the righteousness of Christ, and they can have it also.  Anyone can! Let your life of grace show them the way.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Here’s a challenge to you. Read one chapter of Proverbs every day for thirty-one days and write down one or two things in a daily journal that the Lord uses to renew and refresh you in your faith.

Beginning today, I want to share some of the things God is teaching me through doing this.  Also, with their permission, I want to share what others are learning from this spiritual exercise as well.

We begin at the beginning, which is always a good place to begin. I am the type of person that likes to know the goal before I start out on any adventure. God’s call of Abraham to simply go east would really be a test for me. I am thankful that Solomon sets forth the goal of Proverbs right at the beginning.

Proverbs 1:1-4  The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: ² for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; ³ for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; ⁴ for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—

Solomon says that these proverbs have five primary purposes:

1. They are the learning center of wisdom and discipline;
2. They teach us how to think clearly;
3. They produce a God-honoring lifestyle;
4. They enhance one’s common sense;
5. And they help even the young to make good decisions.

WOW! Just think, by reading, studying, and applying these Proverbs to our lives we will tap into the eternal Source of all wisdom. The result will be that our lives will become more disciplined. We will be able to think clearly about every circumstance in our lives. We will be transformed into people who obey God and love doing His will because we understand our eternal purpose. We will no longer be simple-minded but be blessed with an abundance of common sense. We will be confident in our ability to make good decisions no matter what the choice may be.

That sounds like the kind of person I want to be. How about you?

Let’s start studying.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, July 8, 2019

In the Gospels of Luke and John we read three different accounts of the calling of the first disciples to follow Jesus. Luke tells us the story of Levi, better known as Matthew. John tells us the story of Andrew and Philip. There is a common theme in each of these stories: the men who responded to the call of Jesus to follow Him immediately went out and invited someone else to come and meet Jesus.

Luke 5:27-31 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

 I see three types of invitations to meet Jesus.

Matthew planned a dinner party with Jesus as the guest of honor. Matthew was not prepared to go out and tell the good news to his friends, but he did use the resources he had available to introduce both friends and business acquaintances to the Author of the good news. Matthew had financial resources, a home that was big enough for entertaining large groups of people, and a network of personal contacts. Everything he had was immediately available for spreading the good news of Jesus the Messiah.

In John 1:35-51, Jesus called two more disciples and they also invited others to meet Him. After spending a day with Jesus, Andrew immediately went out and found his brother Simon and brought him to meet Jesus. His first words to his brother were, “We have found the Messiah!” Simon already knew of the promised Messiah from his Jewish heritage, but it took Andrew to inform him of the fulfillment of the promise.

The next day Philip became a follower of Jesus and immediately found Nathanael, who also had a Jewish heritage but had a serious attitude problem. He would not believe that the Messiah could come from Nazareth. Rather than start a theological argument with him, Philip simply said, “Come and see.” Philip challenged Nathanael to investigate the evidence for himself and make a decision. He didn’t try to convince him, but rather left the convincing to Jesus.

There are three principles we can learn from these three situations that will make us more effective at bringing people to Jesus:

1. Use your resources and network of relationships to create opportunities for people to hear the good news and meet Jesus. The church helps us accomplish this by developing consistent ministries like AWANA, Life Groups, Tables of 8, sports and recreation events, and Bible studies. But don’t rely on the church to fulfill your personal goal of sharing the good news with your neighbors and friends. Be creative and provide opportunities using your own resources. Have a neighborhood barbecue at your house. You don’t have to specifically witness to anyone; just let them see the visible evidence of Jesus Christ in your life by how you live and relate to them. God will provide the opportunities to tell them the good news. Be a Matthew and create opportunities for people to meet Jesus.
2. Some people are ready to follow Christ if only someone would tell them they can. Even though our culture is fast turning its back on Christ and becoming a nation of humanists rather than God-fearers, there are still many people who have a knowledge of God and a desire to know Him personally. They just haven’t been shown the way. Be an Andrew and invite the spiritually sensitive to meet Jesus.
3. Let Jesus handle the tough cases. It is not our responsibility to win a debate and convince others that we are right. Challenge the critical thinker to thoroughly investigate the evidence and trust the Holy Spirit to teach them the truth. Our part in that process is to simply tell them the good news – not to try and prove the good news. Be a Philip and ask people to “Come and see.”

Each of these men was a brand-new follower of Jesus with no personal evangelism training. They simply went out and invited people to meet their Lord. You are fully qualified to do the same. Let’s start inviting!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, July 5, 2019

For the past few weeks we have laid the foundation for joining the incredible adventure of sharing the Good News with people so that they can be saved from their sin. Now it’s time to learn some of the basic principles of witnessing. There is no better place to learn them than from the Master Himself.

Luke 5:1-11 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

In today’s story, which takes place near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, I see five things that are foundational to our efforts to evangelize the world. Let’s briefly look at them:

1. Jesus used whatever resources were available to Him to accomplish His purpose. In this case he used someone’s fishing boat as a pulpit from which to preach. This is a great model for us in the church: whatever we have is to be shared with whomever needs it to accomplish God’s purpose.
2. Jesus gave specific instructions as to where the “fish” could be found. He told Simon Peter to move the boat out to deep water and let down the nets. God’s direction for where we go with the gospel may seem humanly unwise, may take us out of our comfort zone, may be an inconvenience to us and may test our endurance, but God knows where the fish are and when they are ready to be caught.
3. Simon Peter obeyed Jesus. Despite his objections, Simon took Jesus at His word. He demonstrated great faith in what Jesus said and he trusted the outcome to the Lord. He set aside his personal preferences for the sake of following the Lord’s commands.
4. Jesus produced incredible results. When we follow God’s directions we experience God’s deliverance. Jesus delivered up to them a huge catch of fish, and He will deliver up to us a huge harvest of souls if we faithfully follow His guidance.
5. Jesus never expects us to do it alone. Simon signaled his partners to come and help him. We have partners also in this work of spreading the good news, and we need to call out to them to join us in what God is asking us to do.

After fishing, Jesus invited Simon to apply the principles he learned while catching all of those fish to a new fishing adventure – fishing for the souls of men. We should do the same. Here they care again:

1. Use your resources for God’s glory
2. Listen carefully to God’s directions
3. Obey God’s directions
4. Be ready for great results
5. Include others in your outreach

Jesus showed us how it worked with fish and He wants to show us how it works with people.

Anyone up for a fishing trip?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday July 4, 2019

It’s not up to me! Those are liberating words when it comes to seeing results from witnessing. For a long time, I thought I needed to measure my effectiveness as a witness by the results. If no one was repenting and coming to Christ, then there had to be something wrong with my method or my message, or so I thought. Then I was reminded of this simple truth – I am not the Holy Spirit, and He alone is in charge of conviction and conversion. I am simply the vessel through which the gospel of Christ flows in word and deed. I am only responsible for making sure the vessel is full and overflowing to others. The vessel is not filled with itself but with God.

Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

It is good for us to critique our methods of witnessing and to sharpen our communication skills, but none of that can compensate for the ineffectiveness caused by a loss of intimacy with Jesus Christ. If the vessel of my life is primarily filled with methods, techniques, and strategies then I will be constantly looking for improved methods, techniques, and strategies. My focus will be on improved methods for increased productivity, rather than the Person of Jesus Christ. There is no power in process. There is power in the Presence of the Holy Spirit.

When we maintain an emphasis on personal spiritual health we become the fertile soil in which God can cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations of the earth. You and I are to be living and growing testimonies to the power of the gospel. That will happen when we are determined to be filled with the Presence of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that the life of Christ is confirmed in ours.

When that happens, witnessing becomes an expression of God’s activity in our lives rather than a technique to tell others what God should be doing in their lives. What a refreshing approach to evangelism – stop telling people what’s wrong with them and start telling them what’s right with God. Let the world see God’s righteousness in how we live, and let them hear God’s praise in how we talk. Then, release the responsibility for conviction and conversion to the Holy Spirit.

Try it! Instead of trying so hard to witness and “win” someone to Christ, include statements of praise to God in your conversations with people and let the Holy Spirit “win” them over. When we empty our ourselves of our methods and our determination to be a success there will be more room for the Presence of God, which is what people really need to see.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

When I was in high school I always disliked other schools that had chosen black as their primary school color. It is the color of fear for me. No matter how good our team was, and no matter how bad the other team was, there was something intimidating about the attitude of a team that wore black. They appeared more united in their cause and more energized to accomplish their goal. They always seemed to have no fear of the opposition, and that meant I should be afraid.

We as Christians are not to intimidate the unsaved like those teams intimidated me, but we are to be the ones who have no fear!

Philippians 1:27-28 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.

There is a direct connection between the strength of one’s beliefs and the presence of fear. My dad used to tell a true story of a man who had strung a tight wire across Niagara Falls and to the amazement of the onlookers would walk across the wire pushing a wheelbarrow. When he would return he would ask the crowd if they believed in his ability to not fall. They would all applaud loudly and shout their belief in him. Then he would approach one of the cheering people and state, “Then get in the wheelbarrow.” No one ever did. Their belief in him was not strong enough to overcome their fear.

It is the same way with us as Christians when we consider our witness for the gospel. We claim to believe in the power of God to save, protect, and provide, yet we are frightened by the opposition we may face.  We claim to stand firm in the Spirit of Christ, but we fail to witness about Christ to the lost.

Paul gives us the key to overcoming that fear – unity with other Christians to accomplish a common goal. There is safety in numbers.

When the whole body of believers comes together to contend for the faith of the gospel, we become the team that has no fear. When we stand strong during opposition and persecution we display the power of God to protect.

Paul does not state that opposition will be eliminated. In fact, in the very next verse he states, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” No, persecution will actually get worse as we stand more united for Christ in a world that is ever-increasingly rejecting Him. However, our hearts are not to be building treasures in this life, but in eternity. Our personal fulfillment is not to be found in the acceptance of this world. Our need for immediate gratification is to be replaced with the promise of total glorification. We must not fear what the world will do to us because our belief in Christ is so complete that we are focused on His cause and not ours.

My friends, get intimately involved in your local church, and surround yourself with people who boldly and proudly wear the team colors of Christ. Discover the wonderful truth of God’s love that conquers all fear because the punishment for sin is gone.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).

Then you will be prepared to be the kind of witness Peter describes when he writes,

“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:13-14).

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

I love the word “partner”. It is so much more meaningful to me than “friend” or “co-worker”. It conveys to me the idea of a common goal and a shared commitment. A partner doesn’t have to have the same talents or abilities, and in fact the best partners are ones that compliment my weaknesses with their strengths. Partners have a long-term approach to a big picture purpose and don’t get hung up on the short-term setbacks or inconveniences. I love having partners, and I love being a partner.

There once was a church that understood partnership with God in the big picture of His purpose. This church was willing to sacrifice its own short-term comforts and security for the sake of accomplishing a long-term God-honoring purpose. They were convinced that their highest calling was to build the universal kingdom of God to His glory, not to build a local church to their own glory. Yes, their church was a part of the big picture, but their focus was on the bigger kingdom and not on themselves. This was a church that modeled sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are commended in a letter from the Apostle Paul.

Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I saw this modeled in another church recently. This church had faithfully proclaimed the truth of God’s Word. They were steadily growing, forcing them to look at a new facility in which to carry on God’s work. From the very beginning of the process the goal was to create a ministry center where partnerships with other ministries could be established so that the whole kingdom of God was growing. A faith decision was made that God had a unique and wonderful plan in place, and the first step of the plan was to sell their current facility. Human wisdom and logic said they were nuts, but the wisdom of man is foolishness to God, and He knew what He was doing. Within five weeks the church had an accepted offer on their building and 22 days later it was done.

Human reason raised questions about the wisdom of their decision, because they now had no building of their own, and no immediate prospects for one. The only option was to rent back their own building from the new owners and work out a worship service schedule. This would seem to be a huge predicament if it were not for the partnership mentality of the people of the church. You see, the new owners of the building were a congregation of Christian people of another culture and language, and the gospel of Jesus Christ would be preached to a whole new segment of the community that the previous church did not reach.  The kingdom of God would grow, and that is worth any sacrifice or inconvenience.

God had His purpose and perfect timing for every decision that was made by this church, and because they are partners in God’s kingdom purpose they willingly obeyed His call to action. Just think of the incredible partnership that is going to be developed between these two congregations in the days ahead. People from the first church training people from the second church to use modern technology to enhance their ministry outreach by sharing their equipment until they have a new home for it. People modeling humility with a servant attitude by being willing to make any sacrifice necessary to see this new congregation accomplish God’s purpose for their ministry. It was all possible because they understand what it meant to be partners with God and to be called by God to a long-term vision.

It would have been easy for them to become focused on the short-term needs and inconveniences. But that was not the heart of these people. They had a kingdom mindset, and God would honor that by carrying out to completion the work that He had begun in them. They knew the day was coming when God would provide for their ministry needs. In the meantime, they focused on providing for the ministry needs of others, and that attitude reflects the heart of God with Whom they are partners.

As God’s partner in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with whom are you partnering to accomplish His redemptive purpose for the world?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, July 1, 2019

Twenty-six years ago, I received a call from a member of the church I was pastoring at the time. He told me to come out to his house because 4 weeks earlier his registered Yellow Lab had puppies and he wanted me to see them. I grabbed the kids and we headed out to his house. When we arrived, there was a flurry of activity as 8 rambunctious puppies all tried to get our attention at the same time. Then the owner of the dogs turned to me and said, “Which one do you want when they are ready?” I was overwhelmed. He was allowing me to have the pick of the litter and he was giving me this very well-bred and expensive hunting dog absolutely free.

The kids and I starting watching each puppy carefully, looking for the best blend of strength, form, hunting instinct and personality that we could find. When we found him, we told the owner which puppy it would be, and he put a mark on him, sealing him as our dog until the day we would come back and pick him up. He had some growing up to do, and we had some preparations to make at his new home. We quickly got to work to make sure everything was ready for the day we would get the call and be able to go get our dog. We made sure that everything from food to play area to sleep area was going to be perfect for him. But most importantly we chose a name for him – a name that described him and fit him – a name that became his identity.

This event in our lives serves as an analogy of the story of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:13  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

We are like that nameless puppy, seeking to befriend and please any visitor so that they might accept us. One day we are visited by Jesus Christ and He chooses us to be His. When we believe the gospel of truth, we are marked as His permanent possession with the seal of the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing that we will receive our inheritance, which is to live in the place He has prepared for us for all eternity. Then we are given a new name – a heavenly name – that becomes our identity.

Jesus says this in Revelation 2:17.   I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

In Revelation 3:12 Jesus says, Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

God Himself gives us our identity. How special is this identity? Look at Revelation 22:4 – They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

We are identified as God’s forever. Hallelujah!

The world is filled with unselected puppies with no identity. They are seeking to please anyone who will pay attention to them. The challenge for us as we wait for our Master to come and take us home is to visit as many of those puppies as possible and tell them the Good News that Jesus Christ has redeemed them, and they can have a new and meaningful identity in a permanent home where every need is supplied.

I’m sure you know a couple of puppies who need to hear that.  Go visit them.

Pastor John