God of Comfort

God is our comfort no matter what we are experiencing in life. When we persevere through a trial, we conquer the test and receive the crown of life promised by God to those who love Him (James 1:12).

I am not really motivated by rewards, but I am motivated by the thought of casting our crowns, which God gives us, at the feet of Jesus, our King and Lord (Revelation 4:10-11). After all, He deserves them.

When we lay our life down for the cause of Christ, working tirelessly in the service which He calls us to do, we receive His eternal crown of life - the carnal traded for the eternal (Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 9:25).

When we go through trials, we change our focus from the suffering in this present world, knowing that our tested faith provides us with patience; and patience makes us perfect and complete, lacking in no good thing (James 1:2-4).

Through each test, God comforts us. We are faint, our bones are in agony, our soul is in anguish, we are worn out from groaning, we toss and turn and cry into our pillow all night long, our eyes grow weak with sorrow.

Yet, God hears our cries and accepts our prayers. He gives us mercy, delivers us and showers us with His unfailing love (Psalms 6:2-10). He keeps all of our tears in His bottle and will avenge every one of them (Psalm 56:8).

We simply admit our helplessness to our Helper (Psalm 10:12, 40:17). He guards our life, as we devote it to Him, call on Him and trust Him all day long (Psalm 86:1-4). We lift up our soul to Him and He comforts us.

Prayer:

Father God, You are our refuge and strength. You provide us with an ever-present help in times in life when trials seem to pursue us. They come in waves, one right after the other (Psalm 46:1). We take refuge in the shadow of Your wings and You save us and deliver us (Psalm 7:1, 57:1-3).

You are gracious to us in our loneliness and affliction, even when our troubles, infirmities and distress multiply one upon the other (Psalm 25:16-18). As our soul grows faint, we call on You and You lead us to the Rock of Christ, our firm foundation on which we can stand; our strong tower against any enemy (Psalm 61:1-4; Matthew 7:24-27).

Thought for the Day:

God gives us relief from our misery and shows us mercy as He listens to our prayers. - Psalm 4:1

Abiding Fruit - Part 2

As God's Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ, we abide in His abundant love forever. We keep His commandments and love our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors with the love of the Lord (Matthew 22:37-39; John 15:10).

The Vine existed long before the branches ever grew, and He sacrificially shares His love and life with us (1 John 4:19). We choose to fully commit to our relationship with the Vine (John 15:16).

Separated from the Vine, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We display the fruit of the flesh, which is envy, strife, hatred, self-centeredness, criticism, worry, depression, pride, bitterness, complaining, quitting, backbiting, loving our self more than others, loving money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to our parents, ungrateful, unholy, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; inventing ways of doing evil; disobeying our parents; and as adults, we put work and fun ahead of God (2 Timothy 3:2; Romans 1:30).

Abiding in the Vine gradually renews our heart and replaces these negative issues with the fruit of God's Spirit, which we bear through our obedience to Him. This is the evidence of our union with the Vine (John 15:13).

We rest in His grace and renew our strength as we wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31). His Spirit directs us each moment of the day (John 16:13). We increase God's Kingdom by our obedience to Him and His Word (Mark 4:26).

God's fruit in our life is proof of our faith in God (James 2:14-26). We abide in Him, but He also abides in us, completing the sanctifying work of holiness, which He started in us at salvation (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13).

Prayer:

Father God, let us never break our connection with Your Vine. The life we receive through Your presence in our spirit is not paralleled by anything this world has to offer.

Help us to exhibit affection for others, an exuberance about life, serenity through the storms, determination and patience, a compassionate heart, and kindness that pervades our entire being (Galatians 5:22-23).

We trust that You have this world in Your control and have a perfect timetable for its culmination and the renewal of all things. Remind us to live humbly in service to You and others, and continually guide us by Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

Our God, who called us, is faithful to us and will fulfill us and care for us until we abide with Him in eternity. - 1 Thessalonians 5:24