Message of the Month
ONE THING MISSING
Jesus looked at him and loved him."One thing you lack," he said.
(Mark 10:21)
By Maldwyn Holland
After a lovely Christmas dinner, I settled down to eat my Christmas pudding with white sauce. It was delicious but it left me with a thought that something was missing. I love cherry cake and over the years I’ve acquired a taste for it. No-one else noticed the missing ingredient but me, there was just one thing missing and that was the cherries. For me it was a Christmas pudding that lacked just one thing, it was the essential ingredient that makes a Christmas pudding, for without the cherry in the cake it was incomplete.
HE LACKED ONE THING
Jesus came across a man who outwardly seemed to have all the ingredients necessary to have eternal life after all he was a good moral upright man who kept God’s commandants, that is all except one. Jesus looked at Him and loved Him, “One thing you lack,” He said. This guy had it all except one thing, that one thing caused Him to forsake his eternal happiness. He went away sad, he turned away from Jesus and followed money instead.
ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED
Since I became a Christian over 27 years ago, I’ve met many people who have lacked the one essential ingredient in believing, following and serving the Lord. Not only hundreds of professing believers, but also ministers and Pastors across the UK and abroad. They once walked with the Lord, but now no more. Some blame circumstances, other people, the church even themselves, but the truth is that they lacked one thing. That lack of one thing has caused many to turn away from the Lord. For the rich man it was money, for Esau it was a bowl of broth, for Judas it was just 30 pieces of silver, what about you? Do you lack one thing? Jesus said to Martha, ‘You are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed.’
THE LACK OF ONE THING
The lack of this one thing has caused and will cause a believer in Christ to become, unreliable, undependable and uncommitted to become fainthearted and half-hearted. The lack of it causes people to fall into temptation, to backslide, to withdraw from God, to turn away from following Jesus, to leave the church (the body of Christ). The lack of it causes people to go off in wrong directions, to become sexually immoral, and many other things as well, including the forsaking of faith and fellowship. It causes peoples faith to collapse during a trial, test, temptation or storm.
ONE THING ENABLE’S YOU TO OVERCOME
However with this one thing you will come through every and any adversity. In fact adversity will help you develop it, just like storms cause trees to put down deeper roots and become like oaks and not tumble weed which is rootless and fruitless and is blown all over the place. This one thing will cause you to have an unshakable faith in Christ Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and forever. No matter what happens you will become dependable, loyal, constant, steady, dedicated, reliable, persevering, enduring, stable, unwavering, immovable, unflinching and unfaltering in your knowing, following and serving the Lord.
BE STEADFAST
Steadfastness is the one thing that many believers lack. Here are a few areas of our lives we need to be steadfast in 1) Our minds: “He will keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is steadfast towards you.” (Isaiah 26:3) 2) Our Hearts: King David fell into temptation with Bathsheba, but then cried out to the Lord, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me….Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a steadfast spirit to sustain me.” ( Psalm 51:10 & 12) God answered his prayer and He will answer yours too if you ask Him for a steadfast spirit. Just 7 Psalms later he said, “My heart is steadfast, Oh God, my heart is steadfast;” ( Psalm 57:7)
3)Our Bodies: Faith with actions is dead, it’s worthless. We need to be steadfast in our actions. We need to put our faith into steadfast actions in following Jesus and not just in belief or words alone. 4)Our service: Other people can think, say and do what they like, “ But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” I’m often encouraged by (1Cor 15:58) Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm, always be steadfast in your service to the Lord, because you know, your service in the Lord is not in vain.”
5) Our enemy: The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, picking people off one at a time, separating them from a flock and then devouring them and immobilising their faith. The bible says resist him steadfastly in the faith because you know your brothers throughout the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.
HIS LOVE FOR YOU IS STEADFAST
God’s love for you and me is a steadfast love, the steadfastness of the Lord never ceases. His mercies are new every morning. The big question is, are you steadfastly in love with Him? Are you steadfastly following and serving Him, or have you turned your back on Him like the rich man and many others, because you lack one thing? Is your faith in Him and service to Him incomplete? Do you lack this one thing? Are you steadfast in your faith? Or are you lacking it? If so ask God for it, and steadfastly follow Him no matter what happens. Don’t be like unbelieving Israel whose hearts were not steadfast to him and died in a desert, but be like Joshua and Caleb who were steadfast, they entered and dwelt in the promised land, or better still be like Jesus who steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and did the will of God
THE WORD OF THE LORD TO YOU IS, BE STEADFAST UNTIL HE RETURNS, AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU STEADFASTLY THROUGHOUT 2010
May God bless you, Maldwyn.
Gosen Christian Centre
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