His Resurrection Power

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Romans 8:11

The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, if you have trusted Christ to be your Savior. That quickening of His Spirit within us can bring healing to our bodies. It can heal us of inner wounds of the heart. It can set us free from bondages and addictions. We can put our trust in Christ to bring His deliverance in our lives. We are raised spiritually because He was raised from the dead.

Jesus died an awful death, but it was not without purpose. He was the propitiation of our sin. In other words, He took our place on the cross so that we could have our sin debt paid for. Jesus paid it all; we can truly be forgiven of our sins, if we will only trust Him for the gift of salvation. We will never be able to earn our way to heaven. The truth is we can never be good enough through our own efforts. We also cannot be disqualified for the prize of heaven because we sin too much. The thief on the cross found salvation in Christ, but he was not deserving of it. Jesus told him that today you will be with me in paradise.

When we rely on Christ's sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, we die with Christ, and the Scripture says that we are also raised with Him. And there will be a day when our corruptible bodies will be transformed into incorruptible ones. We will be forever raised on that day.

Let's not just go through the motions this Easter holiday. Let's rely on the saving and resurrecting power of Jesus. Let's trust Him to quicken our mortal bodies. He wants to live in us and through us. The quickening power of Jesus enables us to display His character in our daily lives.

If You don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, won't you pray with me. Here is a simple prayer that when spoken from the heart, will bring Jesus into the center of your life...

Dear Father God,

I know that I have sinned. I understand that I fall far short of your holy way of living. I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins. I ask you, Jesus, to come and live in me through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come Lord, come alive within me. Quicken my body. Live your life through me. Deliver me from anything that displeases you. I choose to live for you from this moment on. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

In Your Place

They lashed My back

With whips of bone and leather

Ripped hair from My beard

The sight was gruesome – all together

They beat a crown of thorns into My head

I bled and bled

Crimson poured down My face

I suffered in your place

They nailed Me to a tree

Can’t you see?

I hung in your place

For the sin of the human race

I died so you’d find life

Once and for all I forgave

Silence was My response to strife

I rose again from the grave

Those that trust me all go free

Their sin forgiven all because of Me

Born a second time to live for eternity

Born twice to experience

Life under the gentle rule of the King of Kings

Hearing the Shepherd's Voice

Dear Father,

What would You say to me?

My son, I have chosen you. I have called you. Rise up and be strong. Strong in my power. Strong in my might. My hand is on you my son. You are an ambassador for me. Tom, I love you, and my love is not based on your performance. I love you because you are my child. You have been brought back from the dead. You were dead in your sins, now you are are alive unto Me. Come and worship me. Come and receive my great love for you. My blessings are all yours - bought with My Son's blood.

You too can hear God's voice. It's not as impossible as it seems. If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit living in you. He wants to talk to you. We have been given the Bible as our number one means of hearing God's voice, but our Lord also wants to have intimate conversation with all of his children. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice (John 10:4). He also said that the voice of a stranger His sheep would not follow. Our Lord wants to speak to us, and He will help us to test what we've heard (what we hear must always align itself with Scripture, and it will always lead us to peace and not confusion).

One good way of learning to hear God's voice is journaling. Journaling is writing down our conversations with the Lord. Habakkuk 2:1-3 says, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

We can write down a comment or a question and then wait for His response. God's response to us usually comes in the form of a picture in our mind or a spontaneous thought in our heart.  He will not tell us all we desire to know but He does want to speak with us.  Sometimes we hear messages of affirmation. At other times He may compassionately correct us or give us direction. The Lord loves His children. It is His desire to speak to us. Another helpful scripture along these lines is 1 Corinthians 14:3 which states, “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. This is the spirit with which our Lord will always speak with us.

I understand that this may be a new concept for some of you, but I hope you will start the adventure of learning to hear the Shepherd's voice. Please let me know if you have any questions concerning this.

Blessings,

Tom Toya

Lesson from a Dandelion

 Here is a post from the past that I believe will encourage you to make a difference in the world...

“The sower sows the word.”  Mark 4:14

As a child in the summertime, I loved to pluck up dried dandelions – the ones that held the white seedlings set in the form of a globe – and blow.  I would watch the wind escort these seedlings to faraway places.  My father discouraged me from doing this, so I practiced this pastime away from our own yard.

I did not realize that when I blew these seeds into the atmosphere, I was acting out a principle of the word of God. Jesus said, “The sower sows the word.”  Like farmers we are to scatter the seed of God’s word all around us.  We are to tell others about the goodness of God. 

Each of us has a story to tell about how we received Christ into our hearts.  And directly or indirectly, someone sowed the word of God into each of our lives to bring about the miracle of salvation within us.

When I was a new believer, I would look at a crowd of people and feel guilty because I was not reaching them for Christ.  I am more grounded now in God’s love for me and I realize that I can’t reach everyone with the gospel, but I can do my part.  One of the things I have done is to create my own tracts.  I pass them out at restaurants and places of business.  I simply hand them out with a smile and say, “I’d like to give you this.  It is something I have written and I believe it will be an encouragement to you.” 90% of the time they receive it gladly.

Jesus told us to go and preach the gospel to all creation.  He wants us to be encouraged in the unique ways that He has made us.  We each have gifts and talents that God wants us to use to win the unsaved.  Won’t you pray and ask God to show you what your part is in the Great Commission?  He is waiting for you to draw near to Him.  He desires to use you to scatter the seed of God’s word in your sphere of influence.  Who knows, He may even use you to reach those in far away places. 

Grace Gets the Prize

As gentle as a wisp in the wind

Alighting on my shoulder

Grace like a perfect fitting coat

Lifted me from the mire

Untied me free from many strongholds

Set me high upon a rock

I return back to that foundation after many falls

When I rise to authority

It is Your grace that wins the medal

When I learn to succeed

Grace gets the prize

Praise be to Jesus!

Full of grace and truth

Marching for the King

Some of my devotions have appeared in christiandevotions.us. Here is my latest entitled "Marching for the King".  http://www.christiandevotions.us/viewblogentry/580 . I encourage you to read other devotions at this website.  You can even subscribe for a daily devotion email.  You can look up other devotions of mine on their website by looking up my name under Author List.  I hope you have an excellent day!

Blessings,

Tom

The Sacrifice was Made

The sacrifice was made.  My blood was shed.  The day turned dark.  I was separated from my Father.  "My God, my God why did you forsake me.”  These were the words I spoke.  I was in such agony but for the joy set before me I endured the cross.  You are that joy.  I died to redeem mankind.  When I rose again from the grave, I defeated death and brought eternal life to all who would believe.  Come to me all that labor.  All that are heavily laden come to me.  The poor, the distraught, the sick can all come to Me, and I will give you rest.

I died for you.  Your victory was paid with my blood.  Come and abide with me.  Come and have a relationship with Me Jesus and with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit.  The three of us are One.  We love the world.  That is why I came.  I came because I love you.  So receive your blessing.  Receive your peace.  Receive your salvation.  They are gifts from me.  Turn to me and find hope, hope eternal.  Turn to me and find peace.  Find everlasting love.  For I am with you, when you turn to me.  When you come to me, I will not leave you or forsake you.  Forever I’ll be yours.  

Yes, the sacrifice was made; come now and receive all that I have in store for you.