Do you follow Jesus without a second thought? Do you give your faith free and unquestioned rein to rule your life? These are the questions that face us all and the crux of my morning contemplation today. Peter walked on water by faith, but he sank into the roiling sea out of doubt. I have personally allowed doubt to steal my victory on more than one occasion... have you experienced this in your walk with Jesus?
Does our judgement of others convict our own souls? Don't we feel unclean ourselves after having passed Heavenly judgement on those around us? I can't help but think of the separation from God I have felt after having judged another's righteousness in some way. Have you ever felt distanced spiritually in this manner? Scripture is specific about our role in the judgement of others; it doesn't quibble in its language...
June is the Month that has the most weddings, and since Ann and I just celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary, I thought this would be a good time to talk about marriage and what is takes to stay married till death do us part. Today we will address some of the common questions newlyweds or struggling couples ask… What is the secret to a successful marriage? Will our marriage last? Will the world drive us apart? How should we approach conflicts between us as husband and wife? What happens when the world collapses on us and crushes the love from our relationship?
It's colossal, it's stupendous, it's amazing, but just not what the Lord wants you to do. Do we think we are million-dollar men and women of God who are too good to be doing the minimum wage work of the kingdom? Maybe we need to think twice.
Do I have the serenity in my life that Jesus had in His? Is my life spent settling into constant comfort and peace, and if not... why isn't it? Perhaps I am not truly abiding in Christ. These thoughts were provoked in me by my devotional reading this morning.
Today I invite you to join me as I ask myself if I have truly abandoned my entire self to God and Jesus Christ. Are they the focus and source of my life's energies, or do I simply vocalize their names so that I can feel good as I seek to understand what believing really is, and try to appear righteous before others until I can do so? Am I doing in my faith what Simon and Garfunkel wrote and sang about in their secular song titled “Fakin It” in 1968? Am I faking it until I can make it? Or am I following God and Jesus with a heart that belongs truly and completely to Them?
Where do I make my abode? Where is my place of residence? This morning, I am trying to determine whether I claim my earthly home as my permanent residence, or whether I list my heavenly home as such. Then there are the times in my travels that home becomes the temporary place where I lay my head.
Coming to Jesus; this is my contemplation this morning. Do we come to Him in the physical act of circumcision, baptism, and communion, or something far deeper and more spiritual? What does He mean by these three simple words... "Come unto me."
Am I seeking the Lord as I should? Am I asking Jesus for the things that are right in the eyes of God? This morning, I am asking myself these questions among others and seeking to place Him foremost in my thought-life as I pray and walk this world. How can we pray right if we don’t think right, and how can we think right if we don’t focus right on God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit?
Are we too ashamed to speak to God, much less ask Him for something? Are we too embarrassed by our condition or too ashamed of our sin to reach out to Him for help? When should we bring our needs or our contrition before Him in prayer? When should we ask for forgiveness?
Are we running the race that God has laid out before us, or are we like the horse that never left the gate when the gun sounded? Is the call of the Lord fading into the distance, or are we following His call into an exciting adventure? These are the questions I would like us to ponder today.
Jesus said that He would do anything we asked in His name. What do we think that means? Are we the type people who will get an offer for a free dinner and then place an order for the most expensive thing on the menu? Is the offer that Jesus has extended to us an open invitation to ask for the moon, or something quite different? Why is Jesus making us this promise, and do we really understand its terms?
God’s will and working out our own salvation; this is our contemplation today. What is our role in our redemption and salvation, and has God been working within us willfully to do His good pleasure? Have we conformed ourselves to His will?
Repeat this after me: “I will not be afraid today. My God stands with me, and in trusting this, I fear nothing.” Are we facing the world courageously with Yahweh, our God, or are we fearfully alone? Do we come up against trouble and then begin seeking God and Jesus Christ out of our desperation? Well, try walking with Them before hardship arrives! As human beings, our personal will saddles us with the desire to do things on our own. We find that we are plagued by the desire to face everything ourselves. Does this describe you and how you place your will first as you travel through life? In certain circumstances you might find worldly success on your own, but in the long run you will not… it will become a death sentence.
““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21 ESV
God never forsakes us, but this morning we will contemplate the fear of His abandonment that can drive us. We will think about a particular time of doubt, and the routine nature of our lives that made us feel alone. When we are saved by our Lord Jesus, and God begins to move powerfully in our lives, we feel their grandeur and know intuitively that God has a great plan for us. In times such as this, times of excitement, challenge, and interspersed with suffering, we feel the Lord’s presence in a mighty way. This makes it easy to know God is with us because we feel Him, and are working with Him, but can we handle those times when God desires for us to be still, and why does He ask us to do this? Why is this so important?