All in Daily Devotion
Are we confused when asked to both love and hate those around us? Let's take a few moments and consider our own lives and the faith we proclaim. Let’s consider what it means when we are told to hate and love our families in various passages of scripture and then come to realize that we are also a family in our church.
Do you follow Jesus without a second thought? Do you give your faith free and unquestioned rein to rule your life? These are the questions that face us all and the crux of my morning contemplation today. Peter walked on water by faith, but he sank into the roiling sea out of doubt. I have personally allowed doubt to steal my victory on more than one occasion... have you experienced this in your walk with Jesus?
Does our judgement of others convict our own souls? Don't we feel unclean ourselves after having passed Heavenly judgement on those around us? I can't help but think of the separation from God I have felt after having judged another's righteousness in some way. Have you ever felt distanced spiritually in this manner? Scripture is specific about our role in the judgement of others; it doesn't quibble in its language...
Today I invite you to join me as I ask myself if I have truly abandoned my entire self to God and Jesus Christ. Are they the focus and source of my life's energies, or do I simply vocalize their names so that I can feel good as I seek to understand what believing really is, and try to appear righteous before others until I can do so? Am I doing in my faith what Simon and Garfunkel wrote and sang about in their secular song titled “Fakin It” in 1968? Am I faking it until I can make it? Or am I following God and Jesus with a heart that belongs truly and completely to Them?
Salvation... We question ourselves by asking how we can achieve this and live our lives as God expects... obeying Him is just too hard and it can be difficult to believe that anyone could possibly accomplish such a thing. Satan whispers to us “You can never be saved!”, but that is a lie.
Judgement… does the uncertainty of our success in obeying or pleasing God challenge us? Does the complexity and mystery of God cause us to wonder if we will be judged worthy? Well, if we trust in His Word and the gospel of Jesus, believe in Jesus, and ask forgiveness for those things we feel we have failed at, then we can rest assured that we are indeed worthy.
And finally there is Fear… This is what we feel when we face Satan’s lie concerning our salvation, and the doubt that confronts us regarding our own worthiness. Fear causes so many of us to run away from the challenges we face in life and the greatest of these is believing and having faith in God and Jesus Christ. Until we overcome fear, as scripture tells us repeatedly to do by saying “Fear Not”, then we can never truly rest in the Lord, experience His peace, and walk eternally in His presence.
Let’s study these things.
Do we command that the promises of God be fulfilled? Is our assurance in God's Word more than humble trust and faith in it? Is our expectation that He must honor His contract with us down to every letter and term as we have come to understand them? Well, perhaps we should take a step back, and rethink how we approach God and conduct ourselves in prayer.
My thoughts this morning are centered on the state of purity. What does it mean to be pure of heart, and how is it possible to reach this level of righteousness? By becoming pure we know that we will see God, so it’s a very important subject for us to explore.
This morning, I have been mulling over the fact that we should always put Jesus ahead of our own wants and self-interests. My mind has wandered to those times when I have placed my name first and didn't allow Him to take the lead in my life... or had ignored Him all together. Jesus has been declared by God Himself to be the name above all names, and yet sometimes we take it upon ourselves to subvert His rule and pursue our own interests as if we hold a higher office than He does. We don't do this so much as a coup d'état but we do it in answer to our own pride and selfishness. Does the thought of this cause our faces to flush with embarrassment and shame?
This morning our devotional message is on the very subject of devotion. E.M. Bounds referred to it as "the spirit of reverence and Godly fear." He then spoke about an attribute of devotion that is very familiar to us when he said, "devotion dwells in the realm of quietness and is still before God. It is thoughtful, serious and meditative." There is a wonderful scripture that I have hanging on my closet door. I read it every morning as I prepare for my day, and every evening as I prepare to retire; it is Psalm 46:10.
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.
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.
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?
Do you ever find yourself worrying about being inadequate in the eyes of God? Do you recall all of your human shortcomings, and think “How can God, the creator of the universe, possibly tolerate me; much less love me?” Then, In your despair, He takes your hand, fills you with His Spirit, and you find yourself amazed to realize that despite all your faults He does love you... so deeply that He sent His Son, and His Spirit to redeem, and transform you? This is more than mercy, it is more than grace, it is a love that conquers all things, forgets all your faults, and forgives the bitterness of every sin.
Do we listen for the voice of the Lord in our daily lives? Do we look for opportunities to serve God as we go about our days? When we do these things we are blessing God, and bringing Him glory. So I ask, are we being attentive, and obedient... are we praising His Holy Name as we provide continuous service to His will?
We get up in the morning, say a quick prayer, wash ourselves, and then prepare to dress, but now the decisions of the day begin... we must decide what we should wear. We can easily decide which shirt to put on, or between blue jeans or slacks, but the one choice that determines how our day will really go is this... will we put on the armor of God? Will we wear just the breastplate, or the full suit of armor today? Perhaps at this point in our daily routine we fool ourselves completely, and wear nothing at all.