Does God have to move something, or someone, out of the way before we will see Him? Is our attention focused somewhere other than on Him? Our God is a jealous God... He told us so, which begs the question... why do we taunt Him with our inattention? This is my concentration today. I am asking myself if there are people or things in my life that keeps me from Him.
How mature are we as Christians? Have we moved from that stage in our faith where the focus has shifted from learning who Jesus is, and how to live the life of Christ, to that of actually knowing Him and abiding in Him? Are we fully engaged and surrounded by the will of God and in close relationship with His Son Jesus, or are we still battling within ourselves to wrest control from the sinful man that resides there?
Everything in our lives points to Jesus. The greatest and the least of our experiences lead us to Him. Saints haven't achieved some higher plane of self-realization... they have simply come to the understanding that everything in life reveals God, and Jesus Christ. Then, in all of this, nothing trumps the embodiment of God's will and grace in The Son! In this realization comes a relationship of incredible closeness.
Am I working hard for the kingdom of God? 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?
Some say they are unworthy of God's consideration, and they convince themselves that they are not acceptable vessels for God's grace or to do the Lord's will. My response to this is... who are we to judge... even to judge ourselves? By what authority do we determine our worth?
How loyal are we to our Lord Jesus Christ? I am inclined to say "absolutely!", but then I catch myself pausing the television on some terrible show filled with violence, and foul language. Am I really serving God faithfully, or do I walk a fine line between righteousness and serving my base human desires?
Am I working hard enough and practicing my faith with enough diligence and dedication to, at last, be called a mature 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.
Visions and God's will, His plan, for us. This is my contemplation today. God gives us glimpses, and sometimes very detailed insights into what He has planned for us, and then He goes about accomplishing His will through us. The question becomes this... are we totally on board with His plan for us; are we excited about the vision (where He is taking us), or are we reluctant passengers, ready to disembark before the final destination has been reached? Are the goals we have for our lives consistent with His?
Do we include the Lord in all of our plans? Do we consider him in the minutest details of our lives? Is He not only our God in the grand plans of life, but the friend who walks beside us throughout the day, and sits with us in the evenings to talk over the smallest details that have transpired? This is my contemplation today, and I invite you to make it yours.
Today is Independence Day in the United States, and as a citizen of my country I think about the significance of this celebration to me. But what this leads me to is a deeper consideration of the day when I announced my personal independence from all but Jesus Christ... seeking to become a citizen of God’s heavenly realm... a Christian.
We are more than just a sinner in the general sense; we are people who commit very specific sins. It is easy to make the open ended statement "I am a sinner", but God wants to deal with each of us regarding the personal, and specific, sins we have committed. On the day of judgement, as we stand in His presence, we will be shown our individual sins, but will we have already dealt with them, or be ready to answer for each one of them in that faithful moment like Isaiah was?
This morning I am asking myself the same question that the resurrected Jesus asked Peter... “Do you love me?” And, in so doing, I think about what love truly is. Then I measure the depths of my love once more when asked yet again… “Do you love me?” Finally, I explore what Jesus desires of me as He asks one final time... “Do you love me?” Am I committed to worship, obey, and follow what He expects of me when I answer Him? How about with the same type of love He asked Peter if he had?
My devotional reading this morning was titled "Let Us Keep To The Point", and builds on Oswald Chambers' personal challenge of giving "My Utmost for His Highest". It presses the argument that we should yield to God's will always, and in every instance without question. The apostle Paul instructed the Philippians on living in the will of God too as they lived out their lives. He spoke to them of living a life with Jesus and aligning themselves with God's will... without fear of death. Do we do this in our own lives today?
The damage brought by carrying anger or hatred in us for long periods of time is my concentration today. Do we resolve our conflicts and issues quickly, and move to forgive in a timely manner, or do we continue to suffer as we carry that heavy baggage day after day. What does God's Word tell us about this?
I am looking at my life this morning in such a way as to identify those things that are stumbling blocks to my faith. I am asking myself the simple question... "Am I separating myself from those things that stand between God and me?" Is my life focused sufficiently on Him, and cleansed of those encumbrances to my faith?