No Higher Honor

 

Have you ever met a "control freak"? They attempt to subjugate the people and events around them. Some of them desire to wield power. Others are insecure and endeavor to control their environment to ensure their safety. A third type of control freak was oppressed as a child; and, as an adult, vowed never to allow that to happen again.

The greatest problem with control freaks is that they are rebellious to God's authority in their life. They do not seek His will, but they make their own plans and move mountains to attain them. Some of them manipulate, demand, steal and finagle to get their own way. Their motivation is to preserve their concept of their own self-worth, because their value comes from their achievements (Colossians 2:8).

Control freaks actually believe that God let them down; therefore, they must make their own way in life. Satan reinforces this confusion by using commercials, billboards, social media, office politics, family expectations and a host of other worldly standards to force the unwitting to base their value on earthly concepts.

The problem is that even the richest, most powerful, successful and beautiful people in the world never really believe they have attained the pinnacle of acceptance they so crave. The devil convinces them that they are actually unlovable and unacceptable in order to keep them on the rungs of that illusive ladder of success.

They even perceive rejection from others when it is not there. A muddle of inferiority, hopelessness, insignificance and self-criticism overwhelms them. It is only in the very center of God's will that we find our true joy and contentment (Philippians 4:11-13). He redeemed us from our sinful lifestyle and adopted us into His very own family (1 John 3:1). There is no honor in life higher than this.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for creating us with Your purpose in mind (Psalm 139:13; Ephesians 2:10). You gave each of us gifts and talents, which we need in order to accomplish Your will for our life (Romans 12:6). There is no need for us to strive to achieve success that is out of Your will for us. Even when we accomplish our goals, they will ring empty and hollow. Thank You for adopting us as Your children. Help us to find our worth only in our relationship with You.

Thought for the Day:

God's Biblical principles are our standard and give us wisdom for living; apart from Him we are nothing. - John 15:5

The Greatest Gift of All

 

 

When we judge our self according to the scale, which the world uses to measure popularity and success, we may come up lacking. Life seems unfair, because other people have greater advantages than we do when we consider the temporal blessing they may receive. Yet, no matter how many possession we acquire, they never satisfy us.

Spiritually, the children of God have the richest of all blessings. We have Christ in us, who is both our hope and our greatest gift (Colossians 1:27). God is the hope of all people, from the ends of the earth and to the farthest seas (Psalm 65:6). He gives us more than this world could ever offer us (Psalm77:11-15). He gives us Himself (Psalm 89:1-2, 5-8).

We may fear giving up control of our life to God, because He may require things from us, which would further tarnish our earthly popularity and reputation. However, if we actually gain our personal identity and status for success from Christ in us, rather from our personal talents and achievements, we realize that our real worth is based on the love of Christ (John 3:16-17; Romans 8:35-39).

God’s greatest gift to us is His sacrifice of His own Son (Revelation 13:8). Jesus paid the price of our redemption and freed us from a worthless life of sin, giving us His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23; Psalm 2:4). Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High God will rest in Him. He is our refuge and our strength in whom we can always trust (Psalm 91:1-2).

Prayer:

Father God, because we love You, You will deliver us. You protect us as we acknowledge You. You answer us when we call on You. You deliver us from trouble and honor us. You satisfy us with a long life of salvation (Psalm 91:14-16). We give You thanks for Your loving kindness, which endures forever. Your unfailing love produces wonderful blessings for us. You satisfy our thirsty soul and You fill our hungry soul with many good things (Psalm 107:1, 8-9).

Thought for the Day:

God gives us the greatest gifts of all; never forget His benefits and bless His holy name. – Psalm 103:1

Success in Life

 

We all have a different definition of the meaning of success. It can relate to everything from a multi-billion dollar bank account, a sports car, control of a company, good health, a loving family, a mansion home, a thriving career, a home in another country, building the largest church in the world, or a Christian heritage, as well as everything in between. We all want to feel good about our self and our lifetime achievements. We want immortality through our success. We use everything and everyone else to make us happy, but every relationship, accomplishment or possession simply disappoints us.

Some people will follow someone else’s aspirations for them. They want to attain the love, respect and pride of their parent or mentor and they strive toward objectives to achieve this goal, but it never really makes them feel happy or successful. They go to college to get a job to earn money, but they are miserable because they hate their work. They are not doing God’s will for them. There is an ache in the most successful life that can only be filled by a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, followed by doing only His will for our life.

When we come to the end of our self, we will either give up and wander homelessly, or commit suicide to end it all, or turn our life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Pursuing a sinful lifestyle can only bring us ultimate ruin and death, but allowing the Spirit of God to control our existence will bring us life and peace (Romans 8:6). We are all sinners. Our conduct may be better than our neighbor’s or a family member’s behavior, but we all fall short of the glory of God, which is the true standard for morality (Romans 3:23).

The wages of that sin is death, but God gives us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). Once we admit our sinful lifestyle and make up our mind to turn our life over to God for redemption, He rescues us from the realm of darkness and gives us His life (John 8:12). We are a city set on a hill and His light in us shines out to draw everyone to Him (Matthew 5:14). All we need to do is to trim our lamp through Bible study and prayer, and then be a friend and neighbor to those God puts in our life.

God gives us supernatural joy and peace. We have no need to be afraid of what we should eat or drink or wear, because as we seek God first, He cares for us and supplies all of our needs (Matthew 6:33). Then, we live with gratitude in our heart as we give God all of our concerns through prayer. His peace, which surpasses all human reasoning, will keep our soul in health and will lead us through each moment of our day (John 14:27; Philippians 4:4-7; 3 John 1:2).

Prayer:

Father God, allow us to be a good example of a Believer in what we say, how we live and in our love, faith and holiness (1 Timothy 4:12). Help us to find success one minute at a time as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let us share a smile, a kind word and a helping hand. Help us to be a diligent employee, a serving church member and a dedicated part of our family. Show us what true success is in this life; not as the world gives, but as You give it to us. Shed Your peace throughout our soul – our mind, will and emotions - and fill us with Your love now and for eternity (Philippians 4:7; Romans 5:5).

Thought for the Day:

Worldly success is temporal and fleeting, but spiritual success lasts for eternity.

Longing for God

Read: Psalm 63

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” - Psalm 63:1b

Sometimes we feel separated from God, like a child who loses a parent to death or gets lost from them in a retail store. They feel frightened and angry, and so do we. This sense of separation from God may come as a result of a loss or crisis in our life, which leaves us feeling forgotten or uncared for by God. We may feel alienated from God during a time of personal sin or failure; and we struggle with fear that God may condemn or reject us. Or we may feel segregated from Him if we move from our church to a new community, and the people and worship style are different from what we are used to experiencing.

Most people turn to relationships to fill their need for love, acceptance and security. We also use material possessions, financial gains and accomplishments at work to feel powerful and successful. We put too much emphasis on these superfluous aspects of life, trying to extract happiness, fulfillment, peace and security from them. These temporal achievements are a hollow victory that soon crumbles at our feet. This contaminated water cannot quench our thirst and this junk food will never gratify our hunger.

These weak substitutes only cause mental and emotional illness and they never fully satisfy our needs. We have no one other than the Lord in heaven or earth that will bring health to our flesh and strength to our bones (Proverbs 3:8). He is the only true and living being who will perfectly nurture to our soul – our mind, will and emotions (Psalm 42:5,11). Only the Lord strengthens our heart and is our fulfilling portion forever (Psalm 73: 25-26). His words are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). He satisfies our longing and He fills our empty soul (Psalm 107:9).

It is only as we free our soul from dependence on these carnal surrogates, that we are liberated to find fulfillment in the one place most people look to as a last resort. The only truly rewarding association a human being is capable of having is with the Creator of our soul. Only God knows what our deepest needs are and how to satisfy them completely. The reason so many people never develop a relationship with God, however, is because we can only find Him if we search for Him with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

When we surrender our life to God, He bestows upon us His unconditional love (Jeremiah 29:11). God is patient with us and kind. He does not envy, nor boast and is not proud. He does not dishonor us, and is not self-seeking. He is not easily angered, and He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil, but He rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). When we come to Him, He works His loving character and the fruit of His Spirit into our soul (Galatians 5:22-23).

In the words of Psalm 63, the psalmist helps us to verbalize our longing for God and our relationship with Him. He is our one, true God and we earnestly seek Him, thirst for Him and long for Him with our whole being. Without His presence in our life, we feel like a traveler in a dry, parched land without any water (vs1). God offers us a safe sanctuary and exhibits His power and glory to protect and provide for us (vs2). God’s love for us is better than life. His love causes us to break out in spontaneous praise and to lift our hands in adoration because of all He does for us (vs3-4). We praise Him for His provision of our daily needs (vs5).

Even in our bed at night we remember what He does for us and we keep Him company during the night watches (vs6). He is our help and He hides us under the shadow of His wings and encourages us with His blessings (vs7). We cling to Him throughout life and He makes us strong in times of adversity (vs8). He takes vengeance on our enemies and vanquishes them from before us (vs9-10). We rejoice in Him and glory in Him. Those who oppose God and come against us for our beliefs will be silenced (vs11).

Prayer:

Lord God, my soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You (Isaiah 26:9a). Who among us fears You anymore and who obeys Your word? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in Your name, O Lord, and rely on You, my God (Isaiah 50:10). Teach us to seek You, LORD, while we may find You, and to call on You while You are near (Isaiah 55:6).

Thought for the Day:

“The time is surely coming," says the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine on the land--not a famine of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” - Amos 8:11