All tagged Redemption
Do we thirst after the water of the world that satisfies our body alone, and that must be replenished each day, or do we long for the living water that is Jesus Christ, and wells up in us for eternity? Which do we cater to, and place most value in, our earthly body that begins a journey towards death from the moment it is conceived, or our soul that will live on in either salvation or damnation forever?
Have you ever overslept and then suddenly jolted from sleep to a feeling of panic? Were you supposed to be somewhere at a specific time, but realized that you weren’t going to make it now? What did you do? I would suppose that you started scurrying around in haste washing your face, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, and then calling to inform who you were to meet that you were going to be late. Well, if your meeting is with Jesus He will not be upset, irritated with you, or cancel the meeting altogether... He will give you peaceful reprieve and say “It’s alright, I will hold my appointments, I am waiting for you!”
For most of us it is unsettling that God would search our hearts, and few, if any, would honestly invite Him to do so without some trepidation. Our natures, and personalities, incline us towards certain temptations and sins, and we have become so comfortable in our weaknesses that we scarcely visit these places within our hearts intent on confronting them. Are we bold enough to invite God To know our hearts? Do we have the courage ourselves to visit these innermost places that we find uncomfortable to our faith?
The world is writhing under the torment of Coronavirus, and other plagues, yet those known as men of God are remiss in mentioning His name In association with these times. Perhaps this explains why the call for every soul to return to God in the places of worship is so faint. Are the believers praying fervently as if they trust in God’s ability to save us in these times of plague, or has their faith become so watered down and weak as to be useless? Have we turned to other men, and governments, as we cry out “Save us!“, when we should be looking to God and saying such things as “Forgive us Lord!”, “Rescue us from this scourge!”, “Strengthen our faith!”, “Heal our land!”, and “Jesus is worthy! Hear our prayers in His name!”?
We go to our knees, and accept Jesus Christ as our savior, and in so doing we acknowledge God as our Father, and thus we have taken the single greatest step in our lives. We immediately feel the exhilaration, and the joy, as we lift our arms towards heaven, and feeling the Holy Spirit as He surrounds us we think “it is done”, when in fact it has just begun. Now that we are standing atop the mountain we find that we must struggle mightily to remain there. We must keep ourselves in the love of God despite the efforts of Satan, and the sin that desires to blow us from the summit of Mt. Zion.
Is there anything of yourself that out of love you have given to, or for, another? Is there anything you consider so valuable, or so dear to you, that you wouldn’t consider parting with? We often think that the most precious possession we have is our life, but is that true? Jesus gave up His life for us, and for the love He felt for God. He valued these two so completely that His life was considered less, and thus, at His Father’s request, He gave it in horrific fashion to redeem mankind... even for those who would wound Him. He loved, and He loved something He considered more precious than His own life.
We have no idea what the innocence of Adam and Eve was like before the fall. Oh, we can try to imagine it, but every thought we have is tainted by the flavor of sin. The knowledge of good came to them as promised by the serpent, but had evil as its dark shadow, and changed them, and us, forever. So now we work, and we suffer as we seek to recover in Christ what was lost in the Garden that day.
Are you just beginning your search for God? Maybe you are already somewhere along the way? Well, whether you are just beginning, or in the midst of your pilgrimage, there will be dark nights of the soul. These are times when You will collapse in the silence of God, and ask in loud voice “why have you forsaken me?” but rest assured that you are not alone, and He will never abandon you.
We are in the midst of the Christmas season, and there is a great deal of hustle and bustle that goes along with it... are you stressed? Do all of the parties, family obligations, the gift buying, wrapping gifts, and putting up of decorations wear you down to the point where you long for the season to come to an end? Well, if that is true then you, like the secular world, have lost the truth in Christmas, the coming of Jesus; the arrival of the Christ Child. He didn’t come to burden us, but to redeem us, and give us rest, peace, and joy.
When God called you to Himself, and introduced you to His Son Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, did you feel inclined to consult with those around you regarding your acceptance of His invitation? Did you place your salvation, and future in the hands of those who hadn’t heard His call as you had, or did your spirit cry out “Here am I Lord!”, as you fell humbly before Him?
What leads us to Church today, or perhaps to read this devotional message? Is it because we are suffering through a trial we can’t conquer alone, maybe a feeling of loneliness, or a sense of emptiness in our life that we need to quench? No? Then perhaps it is Advent, and the anticipated celebration of the coming Christ? Still you say no? Then just maybe you are in search of something you can’t quite put your finger on, but that you know exists, and is missing from your life, something good... the longing for a love that is much needed by your soul. Whatever the reason, God satisfies our hungry soul, and calls us.
Have you strayed from God, and Jesus? Do you think your wandering is irreversible? Well it is not! There is no place too dark, that God will lose sight of you, and no wallow so disgusting that He will abandon you there. Do not give in to the lies of Satan when he tells you that there is no hope, and that God has turned his back on you. Remember always that Jesus took on the sins of the world, and many of those were far greater than yours.
Are we like the scribes of old? Do we question Jesus, and His authority, within our hearts? Sometimes we are tempted to doubt His ability, or question our faith in His power, but are there times when we question the authority of Jesus himself, and look to God in fear and trembling asking “Is this truly your Son?” Even in our minds, for just an instant, does Satan’s lie seem plausible?
Are we happy in our service of God? Does His Son Jesus give us delight as we go about our days? The world can bring us sorrow and unhappiness, but when we turn, or return, to the Lord, and concentrate on His righteousness, we are immediately filled with His peace and joy. God gives reason for all the earth to rejoice in Him.
We talk a great deal about being like Jesus, but we rarely speak of those instances when He was most like us; those moments when His humanity was most evident. Perhaps we are afraid that by doing so we might denigrate Him, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Man called Jesus was just as important to our redemption as the divinity of Christ. Crucifying either one alone would not have been sufficient.