Hold your spiritual ground. Do you have the patience to wait as God prepares you to be used by Him to complete His will? Do you exhibit the endurance of Sardis in keeping God's commandments and Word?
Hold your spiritual ground. Do you have the patience to wait as God prepares you to be used by Him to complete His will? Do you exhibit the endurance of Sardis in keeping God's commandments and Word?
Placing our relationship with Jesus above all others in our life. Is this something that you are willing, or able, to do? Could you walk away from home and family if Jesus asked you to "follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"?
You don't so much find Jesus through scripture, but rather the scripture through Jesus. Have you been stuck in studying the scripture to the point that you have never truly meet the living Christ? Once you have met Him, He will bring the scripture alive, and set you free.
Salvation... living our lives as God expects... this is just too hard and no one can possibly accomplish such a thing. I can never be saved! Is this the way you think about judgement and what will become of you? Well, rejoice, because there is hope and judgement lies just ahead.
Do you command the promises of God be fulfilled? Is your assurance in God's word more than humble faith in His Word? Is your expectation that He honor His contract with you by the terms as you understand them? Well, perhaps you should take a step back.
When we make intercessory prayer for those around us, is our own sympathy for them getting in the way of effective prayer? Are we putting our own desires for them between ourselves and God?
When we follow God are we close enough to actually see Him? When we look ahead can we see Him walking with Jesus as He leads us on? Paul spoke of seeing "Him who is invisible", do we?
This morning I am contemplating a rather convicting subject. I am asking myself a couple of questions regarding my ability to serve the Lord in obscurity. Can I do the work of my calling without a grand moment of inspiration from God? And, is my work dependent on His making a show of my service?
When we make intercessory prayer for those around us, is our own sympathy for them getting in the way of effective prayer? Are we putting our own desires for them between ourselves and God?
What will we become when Jesus returns? What awaits us in faith when we rise from slumber tomorrow, or for that matter, what does the next hour have in store for us? Our faith is not something that can be calculated and God awaits around every bend with a new treasure.
We live in a culture that honors self-assuredness and strength in pursuit of fame and fortune over all else, but God, on the other hand, places humility above pride and strength. When it comes to strength, He is looking for strength as it relates to our faith and character alone.
Do we want to be great men and women of faith? Is our goal to be like Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, or Martin Luther King? Is working quietly in the trenches unappealing to us? Did the first sentence of your prayer this morning contain "give me", "make me", or "let me?"
Are there things in our life that the Lord must remove by fire? Do we hold on so tightly to them, or have they become so deeply rooted, that the only way to remove them is to burn them out?
We are all inclined to work for the kingdom when we are in the middle of a calling, but how do we spend our time after God has called us out, after a calling is complete, and we are waiting for God to reinsert us into his service? Is this simply a time of rest?
In what do we rejoice? Are we taking personal satisfaction in the number of souls we bring to God? Are we celebrating God's victories or the power He has Given us? Would it surprise you that Jesus said don't do these things?