Modern society fails to surrender their life to God
because they think He requires too much of us. They do not want to relinquish
their covetousness, pride, pet sins and humanistic ideals and goal to anyone.
However, God took on human form in order to pay our sin
debt for us and to give us His everlasting life (John 3:16). All that He
actually requires from us is to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly
with Him (Micah 6:8). He considers this as right, and it pleases Him.
We exchange our lofty opinion
of our self for humility in Jesus (John 3:30), just as He humbled Himself and
suffered death on a cross for us. We do not seek worldly acclaim for our
accomplishments, and God's opinion of us is the only one that really matters.
God's Spirit takes all of the guesswork out of our
decisions and gives us stability, fulfillment and composure. We adopt a
faith-filled walk and mimic Jesus' life and mindset as our own.
As a child of God, we love righteousness (1 John 3:10).
We do what is right and holy, rejecting carnal thoughts, practices and living.
We learn to love our self and to love our neighbor (Mark 12:31).
Receiving God's mercy, we
live with compassion and mercy toward others (James 2:13), rather than judgment
and unforgiveness. We consider the needs of our mate, children, extended family
and church family as well as our community and the world.
We find our worth in Christ
and our esteem is derived from our unity with the Trinity. We burst forth in
praise to God for all of His benefits and for saving us from eternal damnation,
which we would have earned if we failed to believe in His grace towards us
(John 3:18).
Prayer:
Father God, You reveal
to us the completeness of Your love for us and You call us to totally trust our
life to Your wisdom and power. We do this by entering Your rest and by
following Your Spirit's guidance through each moment of our day. You call us to
share Your love with those You bring into our life - both the lovable and the
unlovable, regardless of their earthly stature or what we can gain from nurturing
a relationship with them.
Thank You for ordering our steps and showing what is Your
good and acceptable will for us. We decrease daily as You increase in our life.
We put Your desires as foremost in our heart and mind. We seek justice and
mercy all the days of our life. We give You all of the praise and glory, which
You deserve.
Thought for the Day:
Everything that we have in
this life comes from the Father of Lights who gives us all good things to enjoy,
and He deserves all of our praise and glory for the benefits that He showers on
us both day and night.
- James 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:17
