All in Daily Devotional
When we rise in the morning, and first open our eyes, are we awakening to the world, or to God? Is our first thought of getting a cup of coffee (or juice) and beginning another day at work, or is it in thanksgiving to the Lord for this day with Him? What do our checklists look like, are they our own personal lists, or are they written for two (ourselves and the divine)? These answers depend on who you think you are.
Are we bearing spiritual fruit, and is that fruit glorifying God? Is it just tasty and pleasing to His palette, or is there more to the idea of fruit in the Bible, and in our relationship with God? I believe there is more, and all we must do to realize this is to look around us at nature... God’s creation, and then read scripture once more.
Who do we glorify with our prayers? Is our aim to glorify God, or is it to bring glory upon ourselves? This is especially a danger when we are interceding in prayer for others because it is easy for them to attribute the success of a prayer to the intercessor himself, and thus assign the glory to them incorrectly. In the secret privacy of our prayer closets this same issue arises, however it has more to do with the motive behind our prayers... who do we glorify, and who do we allow others to assign glory to when we pray for them?
Are we sanctified, Holy, and doing the work of the Lord, or just working hard at religious things? Are we serving the church we attend, and other institutions around us, because they do holy things, and yet we ourselves have not been sanctified? To be considered Holy in the eyes of God as we do God’s will we must first sanctify ourselves, otherwise the works we do are just good deeds in the eyes of men. So, who are we serving, and in what capacity?
Do you seek to be holy as God is? Do you long to live a life of righteousness and abhor sin because that is how He would have you live? If so, you are pursuing God’s desire for us and the stakes are high. This is an aspiration without degree because we are either found to be with sin... or without it; this is a race in which there is no second place, but fear not.
Do we weep in our prayer closets and ask for a certain thing day, after day, after day? Does our heart break while in the midst of our supplication, and yet we still have faith in God to answer? Are our prayers lifted up yet again, and the tears run down our faces once more? Do those around us say “stop praying, it isn’t going to happen”, but we continue to cling to hope, and trust in God? This is what Jesus taught us to do. This is the true evidence of our faith.
Do you practice your faith? Practice is one of those words with more than a single meaning, but I am talking about our doing something repetitively in order to improve how well we do it, or to do something regularly. If this is how you approach your faith, is that really enough? By way of example, how did Noah, or Abraham approach their faith? Did they simply practice it, or did they live it... walk in it...and trust it completely?
It is expected that we will wait upon the Lord, and we know that during our waiting there will be those who will ask us, “Where is your Lord?”, but we should never lose faith, and never ask this question of ourselves. In those times when we pray for something and God provides it right away, it is easy for us to be a saint, but when we must wait, it is then that we find our faith being tested and its true state.
Do you perform the work that Jesus left for us to do? Maybe you are doing so and don’t even know it. Do you go to help someone and pray for them along the way? Do you go to a soup kitchen and begin the evening with a prayer for all those that will come there that evening, and the meal they will receive? Do you visit someone in the hospital or pray over a sick friend? These are the works of Jesus... are you praying them in His name, and trusting in The Father to do them? I mean really trusting in Him.
We have accepted Jesus as our savior, and we have separated ourselves from the sinful life we once led, but are we righteous? More than that, are we Holy? When asked, many Christians will define holy as being dedicated, or separated, to God, but this is only part of the equation... it also means that we are meant to be for His use, righteous, and divine. These are not qualities that are part of separation, but are the things that fill us once we have been set apart, emptied, and purified in preparation for His use.
Have we ever received an invitation to a grand and magnificent party? Did we send the RSVP indicating that we would be attending? Perhaps we are hesitating because we don’t feel that we have anything to wear; maybe the splendor of it makes us worry that we will be out of place, or perhaps we have convinced ourselves that we are too busy... or even above it! God has extended each of us an invitation to the grand wedding celebration of His Son, and His conquest over sin and death... how will we respond?
Have your prayers been stale lately? Are you having a tough time in your prayer closet and it is as if there is a sheet of glass between you and God? Oh, you can see Him, and you know exactly how you ought to pray, but this invisible wall of glass is preventing you from getting there? You are not alone in this regard, and there is a way to overcome this prayerful malaise.
Do miracles scare you? How about miracles performed by a man? We are inclined to trust in God and His divine goodness when it comes to healing us, forgiving us, or the other amazing things that we associate with Him by our belief in His Word, and His promises. Yet, do we have confidence, and does it bother us when a man lays his hands on someone, or us, and a healing occurs? What if that man was Jesus Christ?
Do you lean on your own understanding when you read scripture? Do you try to discern the meaning of God’s Word by your own insufficient intellect? The apostles had Jesus right there with them, and yet they were so often confused by what He said, and had to have it repeated and explained. It was not until the Holy Spirit came to help them that they were truly enlightened.
Love is central to our faith as Christians, and not just our agape love for God nor a personal love that is limited to family, friends, and self, but a love that flows into all the world, and beyond. The love we exhibit is meant to be so profound that it is witnessed and considered a spectacle in heaven itself! Are we living such a life of love today? Has our love become spiritual and heavenly?