All in Daily Devotion
Do you suffer and not understand why God allows it to happen? Do you experience misery in your life, or see it in others, and ask God in prayer to remove this from you, or from those you intercede for in prayer? Well, as men it is natural for us to wince and withdraw from pain, but as faithful creatures it brings us to perfection in our faith, obedience, and prayers for the suffering and afflicted. How perfect are you being made? How perfect are your prayers?
Do you wake up every morning feeling like you are trapped in a dying body, a body steeped in death? How is it that a war so violently rages within you between the spiritual within and the physical that is without? You are not alone in this conflict between righteousness and sin, but there is assurance of your victory in Jesus. Do not feel like a prisoner of the world when our savior Jesus Christ has set all captives free.
When things get tough regarding your faith how do you go about handling the situation? If challenged or threatened because you are a Christian do you stand by your faith, go to your prayer closet, or run away from it altogether? Not all threats are of bodily violence or death; some are merely the fear of being ostracized, made fun of, or maybe being passed over for promotion at work. Fear of ridicule and failure can be just as effective as bodily harm to the steadfastness of our faith. Are you one of the apostles that ran away, or more like Peter who denied Jesus?
Jesus gave himself up for his disciples, and then on the cross He did the same for us. We often speak of the meekness and humility of Christ, but those characteristics cloaked the strength He held within. Do you look at His sacrifice as weakness, or strength? What about the Christlike behavior of those around you?
How do we kiss One another, and how will we kiss Jesus? Are our kisses sincere, or are they something altogether different? We can tell a great deal about how we will kiss Jesus by how we kiss each other today.
Are your pastors arrogant men? Do they lift themselves up in their godliness, or tout their righteousness? Those who are filled with such characteristics might be earthly kings, great scholars, or mighty men, but they are not high priests because there are two traits that none have except a pastor. To be called by God to His service, and to reflect Christ.
Do you struggle with the will of God? Does He ask you to do something you feel you can’t, or that you really don’t want to do? In times such as this how are we to behave? In the moments of decision what forces must be drawn together so that we don’t falter in our faith? In such times of incredible struggle between our bodies, minds, and souls, where do we look for help... how do we choose?
How do you pray in the time of great sorrow, or imminent death? If you, or a loved one, is facing near certain demise how do you go before God in prayer? Most often when situations are dire, and danger is near, our emotions cause us to reach a point of near panic, but as men and women of Faith is that how we should enter into the presence of God in prayer?
Are there times when you feel alone? Loneliness doesn’t mean that you are necessarily by yourself... we can feel it in a crowded room. We can be in a sports arena surrounded by thousands of people, and yet suffer the pangs of loneliness as if we were abandoned on an uninhabited island. This feeling isn’t a physical one, but a mental, and spiritual one; yet in Jesus, and before our God we are never alone. The Holy Spirit was given to us for this very reason... so that we would not be alone in our faith.
A married man says he loves his wife, and I hope that is true, but how do we gauge whether we are honestly loving her as we should? The only true measure is to compare our love for her against the love of Jesus for His bride... the Church. Comparing ourselves against other men is to make a flawed comparison; only when we go to scripture and use Jesus as our model are we able to truthfully understand the love we should have.
How strong is your faith? You might pray for a miracle, but without faith it stalls before it can rise before the throne of God. No prayer is heard and acted upon without the wings of our faith having been attached to it. Are we like Peter in our prayers? Do we begin to walk on water, but look around us, falter in our fear and wavering faith, and then begin to sink?
What is the litmus test for our faith in God? Is there one thing that we can use when looking at someone which will tell us the truth about their faith, and reveal the status of their relationship with our Heavenly Father? The answer is yes, and that test is for the presence of their love... a love for each of their brothers. If someone were to dip a test strip into you how would they find you; positive, or negative for love?
Has God provided you with ample wealth and provision? Do you lack for nothing, and thank Him for it each day? Do you go about your work, and ask Him to bless you even more? Well this is good, and some will prosper in this world, but if you look in the shadow that you cast there are many who are in need, and want for the very basic necessities of life... what have you done for them? What is the will of God for you, and how do you manage the wealth He has entrusted you with?
As believers in Jesus Christ are we strangers to the world? Do we separate ourselves in our faith and behavior to the point where those who once called us friend can no longer recognize us? Our faith sets us apart from the sin that is in the earth, and although it pursues us like wolves; we are strangers to its pack. Jesus was like a foreigner to His own, just as we should be to ours.
Are you confident that you are saved? Do you walk towards that moment when you will face judgement without hesitation in your step, or falling to the ground in the midst of an anxiety attack? If we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then the grace of God will flow through Him, and without our having earned the right to our own salvation we will be saved... not by anything we have done, but simply by our faith in Jesus, and the mercy and grace of God Himself.