All tagged jesus
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 wake up in the morning to a life of freedom, or have we given control of ourselves to something or someone else? Are we independently ruling our lives, or have we given ourselves over to a grand idea or something else such as our family, job, perhaps drugs, or some other thing… how about God? Is being free really a choice we can make, or are we owned, and just being rebellious by considering ourselves free? Let's explore our freedom as it relates to God, Jesus Christ, and faith.
Has Jesus given you a joy like His, or do you anticipate that one day you will have a joy like that of Jesus? Well, I am going to burst your bubble and then give you a new hope regarding joy. Our anticipation should never be to have a joy like Jesus because we won't have one like His! I apologize for having done this, but I have toyed with you a bit. You are truly not going to have a joy "like" Jesus... no you are going to have “the joy” of Jesus. Not similar, not an imitation, not even an exact replica, but the actual joy that fills Jesus Christ; "my joy may be in you."
How is your life in Christ? Before you answer this question I would like you to answer another... "How often do I pray?" If we think that our life with Christ is robust because of the things we do, and yet we have not humbled ourselves before Him in prayer; then our relationship with the Lord isn’t robust at all… it is starving.
Have you experienced the peace of Jesus Christ? When your life is being torn apart by calamity do you find rest and peace in Him? In Jesus we find a peace like none other; I am not talking about the carefree blue sky feeling of someone who is trouble free and having a good day, but the deep and abiding peace that can exist and comfort us in the midst of calamity and chaos. A sense of peace that defies all understanding.
Would you recognize the voice of Jesus if you heard it? If He called your name, would you know from the sound of His voice that it was Him who was calling you? Probably not, but if, in an instant He were to reveal every moment in which He had spoken to you and come to you in your life, perhaps then you would know His voice… don’t you think? Wouldn’t you? Maybe?
Are we ready to step forward in our faith and enter into a new role of servitude? Our inclination as new Christians is to go only so far and then fall dutifully behind a spiritual mentor, allowing them to teach and lead us on from there. However, God would have use step through that spiritual season, move beyond being mentored, and cross into a larger life with Him. This is an inevitable event.
Is our relationship with God all we have of real value in our life? Have we given up ourselves to Him, or do we think that we are a bargain for God at any price? The least of our thoughts, in which we consider ourselves to be of value or to be a necessity to our Heavenly Father, removes us from His hand and casts us spiraling downward by having believed ourselves to be worthy as He is of glory.
Has God called you to Himself, or is He calling you this morning? By virtue of the fact that you have chosen to read this devotional lesson today I would say He has. Maybe you thought you were choosing Him, but in fact He has chosen you. Does this thought surprise you, or even frighten you?
Are we holding back from opening our hearts up to God until we have perfected ourselves? Are we waiting for a time when we have become perfectly pure in thought before we will seek to have a relationship with Jesus? If so, then we will never know Him or God. But thankfully they understand what and who we are, and they love us in spite of ourselves. Let’s face this truth that God already knows and let Him begin the process of reshaping us into righteous creatures who can stand confident in Christ before His throne of judgement.
Are there clouds in your life, and if so, what do they look like? Are they the big billowy white ones that we typically see on a bright summer day? How about the thin wispy ones that stretch out as if forever? Or are they the dark churning clouds that tower into the sky and are filled with lightning and ominous rolls of thunder? God is in the clouds, all clouds, and how does He come to you in them today?
There is a standing argument in the Church regarding whether it is better to serve God intellectually or from our hearts. We have heard the arguments from each side, but in truth our determination matters little. Whether we are right brain people or left brain people, what matters most is that we hear God's Word and obey Him.
Do we follow Jesus for the reward of eternal life? Do we serve Him for the blessings He bestows on us? Is our fear of God because we might be judged and thrown into a pit of fire? If our answer to any of these questions is yes, then our faith might just be an illusion, and our love for Him far less than He deserves. This morning, I am reading Psalm 84. This is a declaration of love, and the language is incredible. There is no doubt of the psalmist's intense love for God as he begins by writing about his longing to be in the Lord’s presence…
Are we prepared to walk in the desert? Can we tolerate the loneliness that will test us there? When there is nothing left but ourselves and God will we find that we are prepared for death and to join Him? Will we accept sanctification in Christ just as His apostles did? These are questions to consider regarding our being alone and the sanctity that results from it.
Do we accept the teaching of a college professor who we don’t believe in? Would we allow a surgeon to operate on us if we didn’t believe in his ability to successfully perform the operation? What about applying this to our faith? Have we placed Jesus first and foremost in our lives as our teacher, and what is the danger in doing this? Why is it more important that we should put “Jesus the Redeemer” before “Jesus the Teacher” in our lives?