Many people find God after the failure of all of their
hopes and dreams, health and wealth, loss of family and friends, etc. How much
better it is to come to Christ humbly, without any loss at all.
If we seek God for our own rewards, we have not found Him.
We find a false Christ, the devil in disguise, and our works will burn up in
the Day of Judgment like wood, hay and stubble (1 Corinthians 3:12-13; Matthew
24:24).
If we resent the work we do for the Lord, it is clearly
birthed from our human efforts and not by obedience to His Spirit. For where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty and peace (2 Corinthians 3:17).
God has no fellowship with darkness (1 John 1:6); so, when we indulge in sin, we separate our self from His life-giving
presence (Romans 3:11). Yet, God became man to reconcile us back to Himself (Romans
5:10).
God humbled Himself and became lower than the angels in
order to unite us forever with Himself (Hebrews 2:7). Turning in repentance
from our carnal ways and walking in obedience to God's Spirit is the guarantee
that we will see Jesus (John 12:23).
In the disfiguring scourging, Christ no longer resembled a
man. On the cross, He willingly gave His life for us all. Only in the life,
death, resurrection and ascension of Christ can we see the manifest essence of
God (John 10:30).
Whatever we do, even as mundane as what we eat and drink,
we do to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). No illicit sexual
relationship, no intoxicating drink and no unwholesome food enters our body,
which is the temple of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Our ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God and to
enjoy His attention on a continual basis as we walk in obedience with our
entire body, soul and spirit. We find fulfillment in no other pursuit on this
earth.
Prayer:
Father God, unless we become as little children, with
simple trust and adoration for You, we will not enter Your Kingdom (Matthew
18:3). Our relationship with You is not some mystical union, but real and
tangible in our spirit and soul (1 Corinthians 6:17).
As sinners, we recognize our need for salvation, and that
redemption and sanctification only come through the presence of Christ in us
(Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3). Our powerful revelation of who You are stirs
our heart with joy and our tongue with praise (Psalm 126:2).
Thought for the Day:
We achieve the most for God in acts of obedience, rather
than sacrifice.
- Ecclesiastes 5:1; Ephesians 2:10
