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?
As you look about you today, what are your distractions from faith, and what are those things that bless you as you seek out the Lord? When you begin your prayers this morning what will you thank God for, and what will you ask Him to help you overcome? Sometimes we find that it is the little things in life that bless us most... and it is the little things that trip up our faith.
Are you a serious person? By this I mean, do you present yourself in faith as a stuffy, academically aloof, or “better than you” Christian? If you are like this or are more interested in appearing righteous than actually being righteous, then it is time to wake up. Jesus was born a carpenter’s son and lived a common life, despite being anything but common.
Jesus didn’t come to earth to redeem us because He felt sympathetic love, He came at the Father’s request to do a job, and that job was to defeat sin, and glorify God Himself. His task was to mend the rift between God, and man who He created, by the only way possible... His sacrifice in death.
Do you see God the Father as a gentle old grey haired man who forgives you regardless of what you do and without regard or memory of what you are? Well that isn’t so. Without the horrific and yet wonderful sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ we would be lost, because God’s very nature would prohibit His overlooking our sins. Our forgiveness is a supernatural event without precedent, that cleanses the once permanent stain of sin.
Have you ever received manna from heaven? Maybe you haven’t been the recipient of this heavenly food specifically, but has some form of spiritual or supernatural rescue or provision been provided for you? How about a call from God to be that answer to someone else’s need or prayer? When God uses us in this way we suddenly realize the immenseness of the blessing that comes from being in His service.
What sins do you have in your life that have enslaved you? Do you have an overriding desire for something that drives you to commit sin, or a need in your life that makes you complicit or vulnerable to sinful things? Either way, we have been enslaved, and our sin will rule us until we can find emancipation from it. Sexual predators are in the news again right now... let’s take a look.
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?
Are You a great man or woman of God? Do you have stripes on your sleeve for all to see, as you live the years of your faith for everyone to marvel at? Is your goal for each day to show those around you how mightily you serve, or the pious nature of your calling? If so, then stop the pompous religiosity and seek out humility... seek out Jesus and lose the notoriety of practice.
When God is working in another’s life do you get in His way? Are you one of those people we refer to as a “fixer”, but who lets Himself get out of control on a regular basis? Do you find that in an attempt to repair a situation you come between God and the miracle He is about to perform? Do you let your own will and intellect overreach its bounds? Well if so, get ready to be corrected... and to possibly hurt lives.
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.
If you live according to the commandments, are you owed righteousness and everlasting life? How can we be so bold as to feel this way when into the vile pit of sin, and human debasement Jesus walked, suffered, took on sin, died, and was raised again... all for us in our undeserving state. He loved us first, he chose us in love before the creation of the world, and knew us while we were yet in our mother’s womb. How is it we feel entitled?
Has Jesus changed your life? Has He altered the very core of who you once were, or do you put Him on like a change of clothes each day to cover up the nakedness of sin that still exists underneath? We often portray one thing publicly, and then retreat into a private world that is quite different... is this you? Are there things you hide beneath your veneer of faith?
When God speaks do you answer straightway? When God says “Come” do you immediately go to Him? When Jesus says “Go do...” are you willing to drop whatever you are presently doing and go? By our very nature we are procrastinators, some of us more than others, but all of us have some degree of this trait in us. However, when God reaches out to us He expects action and not excuses., and for us to obey exactly as He has instructed.
Do you look back at your life of faith with regret? Do you look down and feel like a failure because you weren’t a Billy Graham, or made some great theological impact? This happens to pastors, missionaries, and church workers, quite often. How about those of us who are lay people, everyday Christians, and parishioners? Do you think that you have let Jesus down because you weren’t able to contribute a huge amount of money to the church, sit on the board, or head up a committee? Well stop right there!!