When do we bless the Lord? Are we only meant to bless, and praise Him, in the righteous times, or for the holy things in our life? How about the everyday routine things that most of us don’t consider worthy, and which don’t appear to be good or bad? I assume your answer is “yes“ in all of these things? So how about the sin that we find in our lives, the evil that comes against us, suffering, torment, and all forms of tribulation? Do you still answer “yes”? Well you should.
How should our day begin each morning, and In what way should each of our prayers continue to open throughout our day? Praise is good, but It is my custom to thank God for all His many blessings that have proceeded this moment before I begin to praise Him, and finally to convey any need, or desire, I might have. How do you begin your day, and your next breath of prayer? Do you thank Him enough?
Do we confess our sins, repent, and ask God for forgiveness? Do we walk with Jesus each day and bare every transgression to Him so that He can intercede for us regarding it, and we can face it head on? Do we do all these things and neglect to talk with Him about the condition of our faith? Hiding our problems in dealing with life, our doubts, the times when we feel alone, and yes, our personal grappling with faith, does us no good, doesn’t give aid to those around us who similarly struggle, and hides nothing from God who knows our heart.
Are we meant to be content in our godliness over all that the world has to offer? When faith in Jesus has led us, and the Holy Spirit has revealed to us the character of God, do we find ourselves living at ease in our godliness? Though Satan tempts us with wealth, power, and a life founded in the world, there is no true happiness in them, and we are never content in all that we have. We flit like hummingbirds from blossom to blossom all the days of our lives. However, godliness breeds contentment, and a lasting peace, that instills in us an overwhelming joy... each of these being eternal.
As you started your day today could you feel the loving prayers of Jesus flowing over you as He offered them to strengthen your faith? Do you know that He intercedes for you all day long so that not only will you be saved from temptation, and strengthened in faith, but that you will join him in praying for others? Jesus loves us, and is our example in how to love and pray for one another.
How much time do we spend in the grey area between what is sin, and what is not? When we are in doubt as to whether something is sin or not, how do we approach that thing, or action? Well, this was a trick question because in fact there is no grey area when it comes to sin. If we doubt then we have no faith, and if we have no faith then it is sin to us.
By our faith in Jesus Christ, and His desire that we take His gospel, and the Word of God, into all of the world, we have become the glory of God. We, as the varied and amazing Church, have become an example before all of heaven of the immense diversity and creativity of our Heavenly Father. So now in this present age it is meant for us to come together in all our many colors, and various fabrics, to become the beautiful tapestry of God’s design which bears the perfect image of Jesus Christ... His Son.
Have we ever wished that someone would face harm, or been happy when calamity struck them? Does watching a powerful person fall, or a politician we dislike meet with some terrible misfortune, bring us satisfaction? This is the nature of the world today, and sorrowfully it is an indictment of many Christian hearts as well. We wish that not only harm, but great harm, would befall those who don’t agree with us, and either openly, or deep in our hearts, we don’t want them to be conformed to Christian thinking, but to face disaster. We neglect God’s desire to redeem them as we long for their demise.
Do we claim to be Christians, saying that we value The Word of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but keep being led astray by our past passions, and the desires of the flesh? Are we receiving manna from heaven, but continue to think, and dream, about the way our old lives smelled or tasted? We can successfully resist making a meal of the great sins we once knew, but what tempts us most is the lingering scent of them... the small tastes, and pleasures that lead us time and again to the physical doorway of those sins. We crucify the sin, but do we nail the temptation of them to the cross as well?
Are we growing more Intense, and diligent, in our faith with each passing day, or do we approach it like children who become tired with the same toys over time? When we allow ourselves to simply go through the motions of faith, and to lose sight of the immediacy of it, then we can’t possibly experience the fullness of God’s joy, or feel the love that radiates from Calvary. Do we rise each morning in wonder, that is, do we lift our faces towards the heavens thinking that we are a day closer to the coming of Jesus?
We are tempted to believe that it is by our own efforts we have come to know God, and Jesus Christ, but in fact we have been sought out. No, we didn’t invite that divine knock at our door, nor God’s call to us. We might believe that we stumbled upon the idea of God, or by some stroke of luck heard about Jesus Christ, but that is a deception we have concocted to serve our vanity. God calls us, woos us, receives us through Jesus Christ, and then guards us in our faith to be with Him in eternity.
God diligently keeps His eye upon us, but our worldly life can often distract us from looking to Him as we should. There is not a second in the day when we turn towards Him that His eyes aren’t watching us. Furthermore, He is not merely looking at us, but there is a loving interest and intensity to His gaze that makes us want to please Him more. So what are we doing to deserve those moments when we notice His eyes, and our hearts fill to overflowing, not with the love we have for Him, but that He Has for us. Have we earned the lessons He teaches us, or the love He has towards us? What is it that He sees in us as we are led towards eternity with Him that links us so completely?
If you were taking a walk, and a voice suddenly told you to “cry out“, what would you say? Would you pick some arbitrary exclamation, and shout it, or perhaps tremble, and ask, “Who is this?”, or, “Lord, what would you have me cry out?”. Some believers feel that it is always presumptuous to ask questions of Jesus, or God, but as we read scripture we find that if we ask, and do so in the proper way, it doesn’t bother either of them at all. God wants us to understand what He would have us do, and to ask Him questions until we do; Jesus feels the same.
We live in a sin-filled world, and in such a place as this God sent His precious Son Jesus to redeem us; to save the lost souls that we are. Into the very dwelling place of sin, evil, corruption, and death, He sent His child, a baby, His gift of life. His love was manifest in grace for you and me, and His perfect Son was made imperfect on the cross, being given over to sinners, taking on our sin, and sacrificing Himself, so that we might have life everlasting through Him. So, how are we receiving God’s love, His grace, and such a gift as this... His Son?