All tagged God
Sometimes, when we have been serving the LORD for a while, we find ourselves going about the things He has called us to do without keeping in mind that this is the will of the LORD. When we fall victim to this snare of familiarity, it will bring discipline upon us. Going through the motions of our calling without honoring God, and seeing the blessings He intends to bestow on us as we do His will, is placing our desires before His.
Do we tell God what we want, or need, when we come to Him in prayer? Perhaps we don’t really know ourselves, we may know that we are hurting, or that we are in distress but can’t say why. Depression is such a mysterious illness. We don’t know why we feel the way we do, but we think we know. Most of the time though, when we believe we know what it is that is depressing us we are wrong, and that is why God always wants us to tell Him what the problem is. He wants us to take the time to understand our own needs, and to determine if what we desire is truly what we need and is something within His will for us... then, once we know, we can call out to Him correctly.
Whether we believe it will be true or not, rest assured that this world will come to an end, and whether we are believers or not... we will all meet God face to face. So how do we prepare ourselves for this meeting? Should we be perfect in our recitation of scripture, or study diligently the nuances of faith? No, any scholar can do such things; we call them theologians. We should be doing those things we read in scripture, and are told to do by God... we should live holy lives, and conduct ourselves in a godly manner, just as Jesus did.
Do we stand at the ready, listening for God’s voice? Do we wait upon the Lord in this manner? We know instinctively that God is with us always, but sometimes we forget that He isn’t just there to serve us... He is also waiting to hear our voice. When we cry out to Him, when we joyfully sing to Him, when our pain and suffering leave our mouths like sorrowful moans... He waits for us. As we speak to Him in proper prayer He responds with mercy, grace, and yes, judgement too.
As you move through your day do you feel God’s presence there with you? And, as you work to obey and perfect the character of Christ in your life can you sense Him abiding inside you as well? If you listen carefully you will find that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you of this closeness. Is your fear relieved at the very thought that all three of these are there with you right now? These questions should guide you, and the mere thought of the divine closeness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, should change how you live your life today, and cause you to refocus your priorities, and restructure your life, from this moment on.
04/28/2026
Giving God the glory for those things He does through us can be a difficult thing to accomplish, and has been the undoing of many... including pastors. It seems the more gifts we have been given, and especially the more our natural gifts are, the harder it becomes for us to reflect the fullness of light back to its rightful star. You see, no matter how brightly a planet shines in the night sky, it is never truly the origin of the light... and likewise, no matter how great God’s will is manifest in us... we too are just His reflection.
How do we deal with sins that we have fallen into? Do we wallow in despair, and think there is no rescue, or forgiveness? Where is our heart in the midst of our transgression, and have we been convinced by a dark world that our sin has forever damned us in the eyes of God? Well, that is the ploy of Satan, but we are provided forgiveness, and escape, if we will only believe, and come to God in contrition, asking for mercy and forgiveness. In this way we are forgiven completely.
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?
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.
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.
Are you in the middle of a situation that perplexes you? Are you overwhelmed by adversity and don’t know what to do next? Sometimes we find life to be more than we can handle, or circumstances to be new to us, and in such times we are uncertain what our next step should be. In times like these we should seek the presence of God, and the intercession of Jesus; then obey As they instruct us. The apostle Paul found himself in just such a confusing circumstance as he travelled to Damascus.
There is a difference between faith, and imagination. Both dwell in our minds, but faith springs from trusting the Word of God, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas imagination is founded on fantasy, and the concoctions of our own mind. Some who say “I am a Christian“ are guilty of folding the two into one way of worshiping as they seek what is easy or pleasing to them in God’s will, while imagining the hardships and suffering to be useless, and not of the Lord.
How content are we in our spiritual lives? Are we satisfied with what the Lord provides us, or do we approach our faith like we do our earthly labor; driven by dissatisfaction, and an unending need for more? If we climb mountains isn’t there always another peak to summit, or if we are a fisherman isn’t there one more cast of our net to make? Yet as believers, we should be happy with where God is taking us, and content with His daily provision... our lives should be lived peacefully each day in the presence of God.
When we first hear God calling us to follow Jesus Christ, or later as Christians to do His will, and we ignore Him... do we think that He just goes away and that this is the end of it? Sometimes we attempt to treat God as if He were one of our fantasies, and if we ignore Him then He will vanish, but nothing could be further from the truth. Even in our faithlessness, our disobedience, or when we turn our back on Him... He is there, and He remains God.