All in Faith, Prayer, Work
We don’t enter into heaven to live an eternal life because we deserve it. That kind of thinking is based upon our own vanity and arrogance. Our salvation and ever lasting life is sealed by covenant, and that covenant comes by God’s acceptance of the death of Jesus Christ as our blood sacrifice. Only through Him can we be redeemed, perfected, and sanctified. Only through Him can we claim the covenant of grace.
Are you concerned because you are constantly at war within yourself? Does it bother you that there is a struggle going on inside you between good and evil, holy and unholy, or salvation and damnation? Well, take heart because although this conflict is the natural state of man, we have a champion who not only helps us realize the good within ourselves, but helps us to achieve it by defeating sin.
Do you depend on your intellect to search out the wisdom of God? Do you study and ponder His Word to find truth there, or do you alternatively use your intellect to spoon feed yourself the Word, while your spirit seeks and sifts it for those things that are of God? When we depend upon our intellect it brings us very few of those wonderful revelations that we recognize as being of Him, but when our spirit is engaged, it finds treasure for us in His most glorious depths.
For a God who created the universe, breathed life into man, and on more than one occasion raised the dead... what is death? We are so small, and our experience so limited to this body, and this existence, that all of our judgements have become founded on this little slice of reality that we inhabit. As we look at life and death through a drinking straw we convince ourselves we know what it is; do we? Let’s take a high level look at death...
God works in us each day. He brings us to the doorstep of His will, and then perfects us as our efforts join with His in accomplishing it. However, none of this achievement is possible without His efforts in us, and none is possible by our own doing. So when His will is done, in some manner, how do you respond to others when they acknowledge it in gratitude or amazement?
Do you understand that Jesus Christ had to die in order to secure your redemption, or do you think He was just a mythological character meant to describe morality to us in a how-to book called the Bible? Friends, the account is real, and not a story; it is the single greatest event to occur since creation... complete with all the miracles, wonders, suffering, awe, and yes, death.
When we first meet Him, God doesn’t just rush into our lives, He treats us much like I learned to treat stray or feral dogs and cats when I was a boy. When I meet an animal for the first time I approach it very slowly, and when I get close I stop, and all the while I just talk to it in a soft reassuring voice.
Do we let the happenings of the world trouble us and destroy the faith and tranquility we have in Jesus Christ? Are we so worried about what is occurring in our day to day lives that we can no longer see or feel the eternal truth, which is that Jesus suffered so we should be redeemed; that we should have peace and rest? If so it is time we started stripping the meaningless outer layers away from our life of faith, and get down to the one thing that truly matters... the Cross.
When the Lord gives us a specific calling, or mission, that He wants us to accomplish, how do we know when it is complete? Have you ever left spiritual business unfinished because you took your eyes off of the lord? Whether it is praying for someone each day, being a loving spouse, serving in a far off land, or simply mowing the yard of a sick neighbor; when does stopping become a matter of God, as opposed to our own lack of desire to continue on?
Do you search for God with all your heart, and in so doing are you seeking Him by His terms, or is your motivation your own self-gratification? As you pray and call His name are you continuously obeying His beckoning voice “come”, or are you calling Him to where you are, and asking Him for favors on your own terms?
If you were to look around right now would you see God in everything about you? Could you look at the items in the room, or the trees in your backyard and say “God, how magnificent you are!”, or would you struggle to find him? Seeing God in every aspect of our lives, and in every scene, thing, or occurrence that makes up our lives, takes spiritual training.
How deep is your faith in Jesus Christ? Have you believed all your life that Jesus is the Son of God, and yet never been intimate with Him? Have you walked down the aisle weeping and confessing He is the Lord of your life, and then continued along with the reins of life held tight in your hands? Maybe you spend a lot of time trying to make yourself righteous by doing those things Jesus taught, but do them without ever having met our living Savior. In faith, true faith, we allow Him to make us righteous, and holy.
Do you go about rationalizing your own actions while claiming to be a servant of God and follower of Jesus? Do you use the good nature of God as an excuse for disobedience? If so, then you need to re-evaluate your faith. God may not be forcing you to do His will, but that doesn’t diminish it in the least.
Are You Facing trials in your life right now? Does it feel like God has abandoned you and let the world have its way with you? Well praise God for where you are right now because in your misery God is expanding the beam of our faith. It is in such times that our faith isn’t tested... it is stretched as we reach desperately for His hand.
Are you someone who prides themselves on common sense and morality? Do you believe it to be a substitute for faith in God? Throughout my life I have heard people say about someone, “they are a good person and do good things.” Is that enough to please God? Is that enough to earn you eternal life?