All tagged god
Have you ever received manna from heaven? Maybe you haven’t been the recipient of this heavenly food specifically, but perhaps some form of spiritual or supernatural rescue or provision has been provided for you? How about a call from God telling you to be the answer to someone else’s need or prayer? When God uses us in this way we suddenly realize the immensity of the blessing that comes from giving, and our being in His service.
If you were to look around right now would you see God in everything around you? Could you look at the items in the room, or the trees in your backyard and say “God, how magnificent you are!”, or would you struggle to find Him? Seeing God in every aspect of our life, and in every scene, thing, or occurrence that makes up our lives, requires spiritual training, and a circumcised heart. How sensitive is our spiritual radar?
If we live according to the commandments, are we owed righteousness and everlasting life? How can we be so bold as to feel this way after Jesus walked into the vile pit of worldly sin and human debasement, suffered for us there, took on our sin, died, and was raised again... all for us in our undeserving and fallen state. He loved us first; he chose us in love before the creation of the world and knew us while we were yet in our mother’s womb. So, how is it then that by simply being moral or working at following God’s commandments that we feel entitled to redemption and eternity?
When God speaks do we answer Him straightway? When He says “Come” do we immediately go to Him? When Jesus says “Go do this...” are we willing to drop whatever we are presently doing and go? By our very nature we are procrastinators, some of us more than others, but all of us have some degree of this trait within us. When God reaches out to us He expects action and not excuses and asks for us to obey His will exactly as He has instructed us without delay. Are we able to do this?
How deep is our faith in Jesus Christ? Have we believed all our lives that Jesus is the Son of God, and yet never been intimate with Him? Have we walked down to the altar weeping and confessing He is the Lord of our life, and then continued along with the reins of life held tight in our own hands? Maybe we spend a lot of time trying to make ourselves righteous by doing those things Jesus taught while doing them without ever having met our living Savior. In faith, true faith, we must release the reins and allow Him to make us righteous, and holy.
How often do we commit a sin, confess it, and ask for forgiveness only to find purification before retreating once again into that selfsame sin? How many battles must we fight with an adversary before they are at last declared defeated? Do we ask God to heal the wounds of our sin, but neglect to ask that He fight and claim victory for us?
Do we have a plan for our life? Have we set everything before ourselves and determined what pieces of the puzzle go where, and started the process of fitting them perfectly together? If so, there is probably a nice spot for God, another for Jesus, and oh yes, let’s not forget the Holy Spirit, but is that really how our life is formed, and our faith is shaped?
Are we someone who prides ourselves on common sense and morality? Do we believe it to be a substitute for faith in God? Throughout our lives we have most certainly heard people say, “that man is a good person and he does good things.” about someone who is of good character and is morally sound. But is being a good and moral person enough to satisfy God? Is it enough to earn us eternal life?
Are we in search of the “things” of our lives; you know, the thrill of our life, the job of our life, the experience of our life, and if we are so fortunate, the love of our life? These are all examples of the “things” that we seek after every day. These are the “things” that we believe will make us happy, and let’s be honest with ourselves... we all do this to some degree, and once we think we have found them are we ever completely happy? Have we found the true and full joy of our lives in them? No, I’m afraid not… our only hope for true joy and life is in Jesus Christ.
Where do we hide when we are frightened, and why? Are we afraid of failure, of displeasing God, of our sin, or the everyday pain of living? Why do we feel inclined to seek out a hiding place at all? Perhaps we are fearful by nature and simply shelter ourselves from the difficult things in our lives? But even if we don’t hide we may know people who do; those who attempt to hide themselves from the world and quite possibly from God.
Here are a couple of questions for us to ponder today... do we hear Jesus calling us, and if so, are we prepared to come to Him when He beckons? As disciples we should be listening to His voice and always ready to go to Him... he gives us much more than something to do… He gives us rest.
Who is Jesus in relation to God? Is He a servant, a slave, a son, a prophet, a high priest, a tool, or all these things? If you are having trouble answering this question then perhaps you can more easily answer the same question regarding yourself and your relationship to Jesus... No? Well, Jesus is before all else the Son of God. We read the account of Mary and the birth of Jesus, but then at His baptism God Himself speaks and calls Him Son in proclamation to all in attendance...
When we pray the Lord's Prayer and say the words "lead us not into temptation", what do we think that means? Do we think we are asking God to keep us from experiencing temptation? Do we understand it to mean that we are asking God Himself not to tempt us? Do we think it literally means that God should not purposely lead us into tempting situations? Or do we feel we are asking God to lead us away from our natural inclination to be tempted by sin?
Have you prepared yourself for the challenges of faith ahead? Are you ready for the trials that lie before you, or are you totally out of spiritual shape? Be as Jesus was... ready for the moment of God's calling... be ready to join the Father in the race of your life.
Do we claim the glory of God for ourselves? Have we done this while doing great things that He has called and gifted us to do? Have we puffed out our chests and swaggered as if they were all about us? We are tempted by our nature as men and women of the world to claim personal responsibility for God's work when it moves through us to be performed in the physical world, but we must defeat that temptation lest we be humbled.