Do we know what love is, and do we understand the depth to which it should be applied to those around us? This is my contemplation this morning, and that I truly show the love of Jesus Christ. Our ability to love is a gift to us, but it is one that we must work at perfecting. The basic attributes of love are felt the minute it erupts within us, but then comes the process of adding depth to it.
Do you practice your faith? Do you add to it each day and make what you had from the day before a reflex? Becoming ingrained in our faith and deepening it over time requires us to practice what we hear preached, and what we have learned.
Does God reveal Himself to you each day? If you are anticipating a revelation of God, you are more than likely going to receive it. Looking for Him implies that He is central to your life, and has replaced yourself as the driving force in your life.
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? Are you holding fast to your faith so that your crown remains secure against any who would seize it from you?
We can be students of theology, and study the bible as if it were literature but still not find our way to Jesus through the scriptures, yet when we are called to Him the scripture brings Him alive in us. Have you found yourself stuck in studying the scripture to the point that you have never truly known the living Christ? Something amazing happens once you have met Him, He brings the Word of God to life in you, and will set you free to enter into a deep and binding relationship with Him.
Placing our relationship with Jesus above all others in our life; is this something that we are willing, or able, to do? Could you walk away from home and family if Jesus asked you to follow Him, and said “I will make you fishers of men."? You might do so if you had nothing there to live for, but what if you had a wonderful family, a life filled with happiness and wealth? What if you were living in complete contentment… would you still leave it all behind and go?
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 God’s judgement and what will become of you? Well, rejoice, because there is hope, and redemption 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 offer 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 them and God? So often we pray our will, and not God’s, and this can happen when we pray for others as well. Do we pray with empathy, or sympathy for others?
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?
Love is many things, but more than just these things we feel and experience, it is spontaneous. We don't set out to love someone, it just happens, and if that spontaneity isn't present then it isn't love. How do we approach God? Is it in love, or out of need?
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 predicted or 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 love and humility above pride and strength. When it comes to strength, He is looking for us to have strength as it relates to our faith and character alone. So, what do we value most as we live out our lives?
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 our morning prayers today contain the words "give me", "make me", or "let me?" God has no desire to make you great unless it just so happens that by doing so it will fulfil His will. As a matter of fact, some of the great disappointments in the Bible have been great people (like Nebuchadnezzar and Delilah) but men like David became great despite themselves because God needed them for that purpose or example. Often (also like David) they were great in spite of themselves. So, do we really want to seek greatness for ourselves?