God's Faithfulness

 

Our faith in God's faithfulness is never disappointed. He will not give us the lusts of our flesh, but He always abundantly provides for more than our needs (Ephesians 3:20).

If we pray anything according to His will, he hears us and supplies (1 John 5:14). We cannot live fully without Christ living within us. Paul realized this truth in his life (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Jesus’ disciples knew the truth of this statement too (John 15:5). Joseph exemplified this when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams (Genesis 41:16). Rebellious Jonah learned to trust the Lord, as the God of heaven who made the sea and earth (Jonah 1:9).

God is always ready to listen to those who worship Him and are willing to live in His will for their life (John 9:31). Blessed and happy is everyone who worships the Lord and walks in His ways (Psalm 128:1).

Due to God's great faithfulness, His steadfast love never ceases; His mercy never ends and is actually fresh with the dawn of each new day (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Even when we fail in our faithfulness, it does not negate the faithfulness of God; although, our poor witness does tarnish His name and ours (Romans 3:3).

Our God is gracious and merciful, patient and full of love and faithfulness (Psalm 86:15). He loves and protects those who keep His commandments, and honors His covenant with them through a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalms 119:90).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our God. We earnestly seek You; our soul thirsts for You, our body longs for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. You always provide us with everything we need to live Godly in Christ Jesus.

I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands" (Psalm 63:1-4).

Thought for the Day:

True disciples long for God more than life itself and seek His love and grace as we glorify Him in all that we think, say and do.

Created for a Purpose

The trend in today's society is to get away with as much sin as we can. We prefer not to limit our expenditure of time, attention and resources to any one focus; so we fill our life with useless activities instead.

We slide toward the mediocre and have little devotion to God, family, country or healthy living. We wear masks to fit each social occasion and even attempt to fool God with our good works.

God offers us His free gift of salvation, but we prefer the road to destruction over a life of service, holiness and dedication to His Kingdom (Romans 3:23, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).

We have our own plans and way of doing things and do not want to be told what to do, have restrictions placed on us or to be dictated to by any one - not even God.

We fail to realize that God created us for a purpose, and our happiest life is found only by living in the center of His will (Ephesians 2:10, 4:1). His Spirit is ever ready to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

When we entirely surrender to the love of God in our life, we draw near to Him and give our life more fully to Him. We walk in His ways and consult Him during each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 12:1).

There is no place for compromised living in the Kingdom of God. He despises any lukewarm efforts on our part and prefers for us to choose whether to be hot or cold instead (Revelation 3:14-22).

Holiness is not a burden, but a privilege that guarantees us a successful life both now and throughout eternity (John 10:10). We live with a commitment to Christ and a trust in God's faithfulness.

As we seek God's face, sit at His feet and walk in His will, we feel His love pouring over us like a waterfall, we experience His peace which is deeper than anything this world has to offer and we walk in joy even through the most horrendous circumstances (Romans 15:13).

Prayer:

Father God, free us from Satan's lies, which hold us in bondage to his will for our life. Teach us to love You with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Strengthen us from within to live a life worthy of Your calling and sanctify us into a new creation (Ephesians 4:24).

Remind us that we are dead to sin, because of our baptism into Christ's death. We contain His resurrection power within us now to live a new life, united with You (Romans 6:2-11). You give us a choice to live life on earth as slaves to our flesh, the devil and the world or to You and Your righteousness (Romans 6:22). Help us to choose You every time.

Thought for the Day:

As a shining light with Christ within, our life penetrates the darkness all around us; we may not see the impact we have on others now, but eternity will reveal how God used our helping hand, encouraging words, smile at random strangers, loving gestures and prayers to work miracles in the lives of people in our sphere of influence.

Surrender Brings Freedom

 

As we walk with the Lord, we learn to submit to His will for our life. We may not like some of the trials we encounter, but He goes through each one of them with us, because He lives within us (Colossians 1:27). As we surrender to His unique will for our life, He works out everything for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). There is no secret formula for success. We simply yield our plans, goals and desires to God, and He leads us and puts His desires in our heart (Psalm 37:4).

When we succumb to Satan’s lies, we reject God’s truth and we end up stressed, anxious and alone. As we humble our pride in the presence of Christ in us, He exalts us in due season. Since He cares for us, He proves to us that if we surrender all of our anxiety and difficulty to Him, He brings us into the peace of His freedom (1 Peter 5:6-7). God is trustworthy; and as He demonstrates His love to us, we learn to have faith in His faithfulness (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Our surrender to Christ brings Him glory; because our human effort and strength is not potent enough to deliver us from all that life imposes on us. We leave our burdens at His feet through prayer, and then we stand back in faith and watch for the salvation of our God, who hears our prayers (Micah 7:7). Surrender turns our thoughts from centering on our self; then God makes us others-conscious and we prefer one another (Romans 12:10).

Even if abuse and violation pepper our past, which makes us think we have to control every aspect of our life now, our only hope of peace is to sacrifice our pain on God’s altar (1 Chronicles 21:24). Then we can totally surrender to the will of God, because the sacrifice, which Christ made for each of us on the cross, overshadows our pain and is ever fixed in the forefront of our mind. Each time we submit to the will of God, our fleshly nature dies a little more, and the peace of God reigns in our mind and heart (Colossians 3:15-17).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us that attempting to control our life actually makes us more vulnerable to attack from Satan and his cruel world (2 Corinthians 4:4). In our moments of extreme fear and hopelessness, You turn our tears of desperation into drops of healing for our soul. Help us to walk in the freedom of completely trusting You and bring us to the place where we feel Your love washing over us like a waterfall each moment of the day.

Thought for the Day:

Totally surrendering to the Lord prevents us from drowning in uncertainty, chaos and depression. – Psalm 13:3-6

Nothing to Fear

 

God’s faithfulness is our defense and protection (Psalm 91:4). His peace surrounds us with His safety and strength. We come to realize that we are totally dependent upon Him for His goodness and grace. Christ is the head of His Body, the church. Too often, however, we ignore Him and we disobey His Spirit. What we do not realize is that Jesus bought us for a great price and we are no longer our own (1 Corinthians 6:18-19). We neglect our daily devotion and prayer time, and we fail to walk in His Spirit during each moment of our day.

The most wondrous gift God imparts to us is that of His presence within us. During any sinful activity we partake in, we drag Him right through it with us (Proverbs 15:3). Therefore, He calls us to flee immorality and to live a holy life (1 Corinthians 6:18). Let us live in a conscious awareness of His presence in our life and live in submission to Him, so His Spirit may cleanse us from all unholiness (1 John 1:9). We no longer need to live weighted down with the cares of this carnal, earthly world.

As we seek His Kingdom and righteousness, He adds to us everything we need to live a blessed and fulfilled life (Mathew 6:33). God never abandons us nor lets us down (Hebrews 13:5). He provides for all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). If the bills are not paid, perhaps we are not spending our money as God desires. Never go into debt, pay as you go. That means that if you do not have the money for something that you want now, save until you do. By then, you may not even want it any longer!

If we are in ill health, maybe we are not eating, exercising and living as He ordains. If we are sad, possibly we are focusing on, and have certain expectations concerning worldly endeavors and relationships, which He has not ordained for us. If we want something we do not possess, God probably does not want us to have it; otherwise, He would provide it! Christ in us is able to use our spirit, soul and body to accomplish every thing He ordained for us to do (Philippians 4:19).

God watches out for all of those who seek His face. Hagar is an example of a woman who prayed in faith and God answered her (Genesis 16:13). Even if we find our self alone in the world, God is always with us, removing our fears and restoring our confidence (Joshua 1:9). Ezekiel is a man who realized this truth and lived it (Ezekiel 48:35). God will provide you with what He knows will bring you fulfillment in His timing and way. His presence is more special than anything this world offers, because His divinity is love personified.

Prayer:

Father God, Your children can do anything You call us to perform, because You live within us and You give us the strength to do Your will (Philippians 4:13). You are with us every step of our life (Matthew 28:20). You tell us not to fear, because You are with us. We have no need to anxiously scrutinize our life, because You are our God and You live in us. You support us, assist us and lift us up in every situation we encounter along the road of our life (Isaiah 41:10). You are with us through whatever we are afraid of...in the airplane and the darkest woods, the elevator and the escalator, the dentist or the surgery room, the classroom and the jail room, etc. just as you were in the fiery furnace with Your faithful young Hebrew men (Daniel 3:24-25).

Thought for the Day:

The child of God has nothing to fear.

God Loves Inability

 

There is good news for we humans who realize that in our self there resides not one good thing (Romans 7:18). God is not looking for adept, super humans to carry out His will in the earth. He tends to choose the base and foolish to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). As long as we have one ounce of human effort left within us, He cannot use us (John 5:19-20). He does not want our experience, training, knowledge, common sense, abilities, talents or human effort. He simply wants empty vessels to fill (2 Corinthia1ns 4:7).

Without the Spirit of God residing within us, we do not belong to Him (Romans 8:9). As we forsake the corrupt flesh, the earthly realm and the devil’s plan, we enter into the fullness of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Once we realize that without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5), we place our total reliance on Him. We reject all doubt and completely resign our will to His. We totally surrender our goals and desires to His. God’s fire burns in our heart, uniting us to His purpose for our life (Mark 1:15).

We learn obedience through tribulation, just as Jesus did (Hebrews 5:8). We grow by persistently walking in His Spirit, who leads us in God’s perfect will for us each moment of the day. We do not waste our time, resources or efforts partaking in worldly pleasures, but instead we follow the direction of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:6,25).  Rejecting fear’s control, we trust in God’s faithfulness and become like little children, trusting our Father as He furthers the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:15). With Christ in us we trust Him and His hope for our eternal freedom (Colossians 1:27).

We do not have to wait until eternity to live continually in the Spirit. Jesus brought total salvation on the cross for everyone humble enough to accept it. His divinity dwells within our spirit and affects our body and soul – our mind, will and emotions. Even in this world filled with anxiety, we have rest in Him (Hebrews 4:10). We lay down our life and take up Christ’s life instead. In Him we live and move and have our entire being (Acts 17:28). As we boast in our weakness, Christ’s strength is made complete in us (2 Corinthians 11:30).

Christ fills our body, soul and spirit with Himself (Galatians 2:20). Regardless of tribulation or discouragement, we rise above the natural world because Christ lives completely and abundantly in us. The benefit for every Believer is to unceasingly abide in Christ. We no longer focus on the trials and stresses of an earthly existence, but we live every moment in abiding fellowship with Christ by His Spirit. He is able to do infinitely more in and through us than we can even imagine, because of His power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Prayer:

Father God, You faithfully fill each of our moments with the security and love of Your ever-present Spirit. With our whole heart, we accept and enjoy the blessings You prepare for each new day. We will only perform the works, which You created for us before the world began (Ephesians 2:10). When we look for Your blessings, You withhold them from us. Yet, when we praise You for who You are, You flood our life with Your blessings. We enjoy Your presence and grace as You remove our doubts and fill us with Your faith and love.

Thought for the Day:

God gives us fresh manna with each new day.