All tagged Jesus Christ
Are we working in unison with the Holy Spirit within us as he washes, transforms, and renews us, or do our human frailties cling to the sins of the old man, and slow to a crawl, or stop, our regeneration? Are we cheerful learners, or do we reluctantly bend to the will of God as His Spirit scrubs us clean?
Have you been drawn, or called, to Jesus Christ? Perhaps you thought it was your Idea, and effort, that brought you to Him, or that it was the culmination of a happy set of circumstances that led you to know Him? Well friend, God is deliberate regarding our faith, and He calls to us for specific reasons, and to glorify Himself through us. For Him to have drawn you to Jesus He had a plan for you, and knew you fit perfectly into His will. How are you responding to His urging, or upholding your end of the promise you once made to Him?
What offering should we bring to God when we enter into His presence? what offering, or sacrifice, does He require of us that would make us pure enough to approach Him? There is none... our offering has already been made for us once and for all, and all we need do is understand that fact. Don’t feel guilty about going empty handed into your prayer closet, but instead, walk into the Lord’s presence knowing that Jesus has already paid your debt. Don’t stay home from church on Sundays because you feel inadequate or undeserving because provision has already been made for you through Christ, and the Lord is waiting for your arrival.
Are you a child that was conceived out of wedlock, perhaps while your parents were engaged... or betrothed? Have you thus carried a burden through life regarding this socially unacceptable occurrence, and felt less than other children who were born “legitimately”? Well, perhaps you should consider yourself fortunate because Jesus faced this same stigma throughout His life, and was looked on in the same manner.
When we first believed we were so certain that our love for Jesus would never falter. In that moment His presence filled us with great joy, and His peace was upon us, but now, after many years, we look back on our life of faith, and realize that although our desire was always to be faithful... it has not always been so. Despite our love for Jesus, and our adoration of the Father, we have not always lived up to our pledge. Oh the times of remorse, and the hours spent in prayerful contrition, but God is faithful, and Jesus ever at our side in forgiveness saying “Go and sin no more.”
Do you love those around you? Do you exude a spirit of love that others can feel, and see when they approach you? If you are a hard person and bitter towards others it is time to let Jesus transform you, and become more like God the Father because love is the essence of God. Do you know the nature of God, and is it obvious on your face, and in your spiritual eyes?
Who wins out for control over our souls? Do we read volume after volume of some empty philosophy, imagined, and written by a man, or do we look to Christ for the understanding of who we are, who He is, and how we interact with the divine, and the world?
How often do we praise the Lord? Do we praise Him with exuberance, and in the presence of our children, our wives, and others? Any time we thank God it is good, even when we do so in the quiet solitude of our prayer closet, but there is something special about praising Him boldly, and openly, and it increases our faith.
Do you want God to think of you in your time of trouble? Do you want Him to remember what you are going through to such a degree that He will place your tears in His bottle, and write an account of it in His book? When we face hardship we call upon the Lord in prayer, and with Him at our side we overcome it... we overcome our suffering by rallying our faith, and trusting in God’s promises. After each such instance we want to do something that will help us remember, and we would like for God to remember as well.
Are we able to earn our own salvation by conforming perfectly to God’s law, living an entirely sin-free life, and doing good works? Well, these are noble pursuits, and doing these things would make us a lot like Jesus was, but unfortunately, even this is beyond our ability.
When following our faith becomes hard, the direction that scripture is taking us becomes a puzzle, or the lure of the world becomes too strong, are we tempted to walk away from our faith? It is one thing to be tempted, because Satan will tempt, but it is quite another to respond to that temptation. God has called us to Him through Jesus much as we choose our friends, because He is confident that we will not desert Him. Are we truly called to Him, or just following the crowd?
Do you need prayer for your faith right now? Are you suffering doubt, or find yourself silent in your belief? Maybe you are loudly proclaiming a faith that is more like the skin of an apple than it’s sweet flesh beneath. Do you need prayer for your faith at this moment, and are you uncertain who will pray for you? In seasons such as this Jesus prays for us, and if our faith is the least bit evident, we obey Him, and pray for those around us who might be struggling in their faith.
Are we satisfied with spending our lives as the immature children of God? Do we wish to be nothing more than His ward, and sit upon His knee? Is this how we envision Jesus; as a juvenile child that the Father sent unwittingly, and without understanding, to His death upon the cross? No, we should desire to be growing and maturing in our faith, and love, longing to be like Christ who is the head of the church... the groom.
Does the sin in your life eat at you? Do you toss and turn at night until you finally wake in a sweat because your sins have followed you into slumber? Do you count this, and other grieving as pure misery when it is actually the Holy Spirit beckoning you to come... to repent? It is not our conscience, but our spirit that is pained.
Our transformation through faith is splendid indeed, but we must grasp hold of it, and claim it for our own. When we first accept Jesus Christ as our savior, are baptized, and the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we find that something miraculous has begun within us... in that moment we realize that we are walking miracles, and consumers of the divine nature; our longing ends for the world’s offering, and begins to be for heavenly fruit.