Am I steadfast in my faith? Am I allowing God to work in me that I might be perfected and brought to completion? These are my thoughts for this morning and I invite you to join me in them.
All in Holy Spirit
Am I steadfast in my faith? Am I allowing God to work in me that I might be perfected and brought to completion? These are my thoughts for this morning and I invite you to join me in them.
My goal is to live in my faith for this particular moment. Looking into the future distracts me from the here and now, and what God has for me to do right this minute. Do you have long term spiritual plans that take up most of your time and prayer? Well, drop your sail and look at what God has surrounded you with at this particular point in time!
There is a standing argument in the church regarding whether it is better to serve God intellectually or from the heart. We have heard the arguments from each side, but in truth it matters little... what matters most is that we hear God's Word and obey.
Are you a slave to instinctive reflexes... this is a recipe for instant sin, and an avenue for our inner person, the fallen man, to bypass our faith and intellect as it erupts from our mouths. Conquering this ancient creature within each of us requires chains that only the Holy Spirit can bind with.
Am I blessed as Jesus said I would be when He taught the Beatitudes? Do I see them as simple precepts for life, or does their spiritual undercurrent shake me? These very easily followed rules for living can improve the life of an unbeliever, or elevate a person of faith to a dramatically higher spiritual plane.
Have I placed Jesus first and foremost as my teacher? What is the danger in this? Why is it more important that we put Jesus the redeemer before Jesus the teacher?
I am thinking back to the moment I confessed Jesus as my savior, and the events that brought me to that place. I am considering the strength of the gospel that I heard and comparing it to all the preaching I have heard since then. What made the message strike home with me? What have I heard since?
This morning I read of God's provision and gifts to us. I am strengthening myself in the understanding that He is always there, always good, and always hears and answers my prayers. My confidence in these facts forms the basis for my expectation in Him and relieves me of worry.
How far would I walk to hear the the gospel, or to see the grave of a disciple whose hand held the cloak of Jesus? How long would I travel to save the soul of one man or woman who had never heard of my Lord Jesus Christ? Would I walk on Pilgrimage over the Pyrenees and across Spain to Santiago de Compostela? Would I sail across raging seas in a wooden boat to reach one centurion?
Am I working hard for the kingdom? Are my efforts encouraging others in their faith? Do I merely work in a physical sense and neglect the spiritual? These are the questions I encourage each of us to consider this morning as we prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. The coming of our Lord is imminent, are we preparing ourselves, and those around us, for that moment?
We are saved because God loves us, not because we loved Him. Grace is a one sided covenant that is given by God. We don't earn it, and yet we receive it. How wonderful is this gift of grace.
Am I working hard enough and practicing my faith with enough diligence and dedication to, at last, be called a son of God? Is my faith increasing, and my everyday life reflecting that increase by exhibiting the characteristics of Jesus? Life doesn't grow easier for the Christian but it does grow more certain.
This morning I am asking myself the same question that the resurrected Jesus asked Peter... Do I love Jesus? And, in so doing, I think about what love truly is. Then I measure the depths of my love and ask yet again, Do I love Jesus? Finally, I explore what Jesus desires of me and ask one more time... Do I love Jesus? Am I worshiping, obeying, and following what Jesus expects of me out of love? How about the love He asked Peter if he had?
Do I leave a smidgeon of discontent behind when I resolve conflict or forgive others? Am I truly a free man, unbound from sin, if the smallest speck of what brought it on in the first place remains? What does the Word say about doing God's bidding completely?
Am I reluctant to claim the grace of God in all aspects of my Christian life? Do I attempt to walk the Christian way and only call on the grace of God when I stumble or face hardship? If so, then I am not trusting in Him, and my prayers are not without ceasing.