Pure and Undefiled Religion

Too often we "play" church and treat it like a cruise ship rather than a battleship. We like to socialize with our friends and make new friends who will treat us nicely and care about us.

Yet, we waste our time on the flesh and the world, which makes us too busy to serve in church ministries, to care for the sick and infirmed in our church family, or to reach out into our community to make a friend and lead them to Christ.

When the offering plate comes around, we give God a tip from the change in our pocket rather than to give a tithe of our income, and we feel no remorse when we fail to give in the benevolence offering to help the needy in our church family and community.

We will not even bring canned goods to donate to the food bank in our area, or to join service organizations in our community who help to serve those less fortunate than we are.

We ignore those who are aliens in our community, who move here to find work to support their family; not knowing that if we did care for the needy, God could bless us in all the works which we find for our hands to do (Deuteronomy 14:29).

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is to take care of orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep our self from being polluted by the world (James 1:27).

We can help the poor by meeting their need for food, shelter and clothing (1 Timothy 6:8); aid the widows by meeting their medical bills and doing chores that overwhelm them; and we can visit the imprisoned (Job 31:16; Matthew 25:36).

We can give Christmas presents to children at local group homes, take some of them to our home for monthly visits or out on a picnic, or we can take them to the pizza parlor for supper once a month (Job 31:17).

The possibilities for ministry in our church family and out in our community are endless, and ignoring these needs is unconscionable and despicable in the sight of the Lord (Matthew 7:24).

Prayer:

Father God, help us to learn to do good, to seek justice, to defend the orphan and to plead the case for our widows (Isaiah 1:17). Teach us to reprove the ruthless who take bribes or look for a reward for their service (Isaiah 1:23). Remind us that when we clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the imprisoned, we do it as our ministry to You (Matthew 25:36). 

We do not want to live as hearers of Your Word only, but we want to put feet to our faith and to earn our righteous rewards by keeping Your law and serving our church family and community (James 1:22; Romans 2:13). Let us prove our faith in You by our works for You (James 2:14).

Thought for the Day:

The Lord protects strangers, supports single mom's and their children, and cares for the needs of widows; but He resists the wicked and thwarts those who "play" church rather than minister to the needy in their community. Let us join Him in His Kingdom work. - Psalm 146:9

Clinging to God

We tend to cling to God more during trials than when things are running smoothly. God uses the negative aspects of life to strengthen our soul, to increase our spiritual vision and to give us His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

As we take the focus of life off our self and place it on Christ in us, we are much less earthly minded and much more spiritually minded. God's influence increases in us as we decrease and get out of His way (John 3:30).

God replaces the negative character traits of our personality with the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We are no longer self-reliant, but we depend on the Holy Spirit to direct our steps.

We learn to depend on God instead of our human understanding and reasoning. People will fail us, but God never leaves or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). He never changes and He is always reliable (Hebrews 13:8).

Pursuing peace, which the world gives, is elusive and fleeting. Only peace found in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is deep and dependable (John 14:27).

There is no requirement in order to form this personal relationship. We simply sit at His feet (Luke 10:42). We abide, motionless and clearing our mind and heart of clutter.

We give Him praise and glory for all He does for us each day. We pour out our gratitude to Him for His benevolence, grace and love.

Prayer:

Father God, let us follow the example of the psalmist and sing of Your excellent love and impartiality (Psalm 89:1), Your power (Psalm 59:16) and Your goodness (Psalm 100:5). As we give You a more intimate place in our heart and life, we gain more intimacy with You.

Remind us to have fun as Your child and to enjoy spending time with You. Our soul thirsts for You, our Living God (Psalm 42:2). Our flesh cries out for You and we attentively seek You (Psalm 63:1). You are so real to us that we can almost taste and see that You are good (Psalm 34:8). We love you with our whole heart.

Thought for the Day:

We can chat with God throughout our day even about the mundane issues we are facing or the most boring of chores or responsibilities; we ask His advice about hurdles we encounter, the best way to perform a task and for wisdom about issues with our personal relationships.

I Want More Intimacy with God

 

I want more intimacy with God. I do not want more of His power to do great works, or more of His blessings to enjoy a better life, or more of His authority to hold a position of importance. I just want more intimacy with God Himself. As Desert Skies sings, “I want to feel His hands on my soul, molding me into grace, to be a reflection of His holy face.” The key is to spend continual, uninterrupted and undivided time with Him.

We do not have to perform some task, but simply sit at His feet (Luke 10:38-42). We can “be” instead of “do”. We look into God’s benevolent face and whisper words of love or shout our gratitude from the rooftops. We praise Him and give Him all the glory. We follow the example of the psalmists and sing of His excellence (Psalm 89:1, 59:16, 100:5). The list is endless.

We live in continual gratitude for all that He did, is doing and will do for us (Psalm 100:4). We note specific things, and before we know it, the list is several pages long. We also spend time interceding for others, praying for our country and world issues and asking God to fulfill His will and purpose in the earth, using us as He deems best (Ephesians 2:10). We can also pray the Psalms and other key Bible verses.

One way to have more of God is to give God more of our self. We can have fun as a child of our Father and enjoy spending time with Him. We chat with Him throughout our day even about the mundane issues we are facing or the most boring of chores or responsibilities. We ask His advice about hurdles we encounter, the best way to perform a task and about personal relationships.

As we follow the leading of God’s Spirit, even our most insignificant acts of kindness or service can make the biggest difference in the eternal destiny of our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors. Regardless of our circumstances, we can spend time worshiping our Creator and God, our Savior and King and our Comforter and Guide. This may not always resolve our issues, but it changes our attitude and our focus.

Prayer:

Father God, our soul thirsts for you, our Living God (Psalm 42:2). Our flesh cries out for You and we attentively seek You (Psalm 63:1). You are so real to us that we can almost taste and see that You are good (Psalm 34:8). We love you with our whole heart and surrender to You as You draw us ever closer to Your presence. In You we live, move and have our entire existence (Acts 17:28).

Thought for the Day:

God rejoices over His loved ones with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17

  

Desert Skies: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Desert-Skies/56135996899

The Holy Spirit Within

God gives us His Spirit when we admit our sinful state and cry out to Him for forgiveness and salvation. God gives us pardon for our past sins and His guarantees for our future. This provides deep peace, which never fades as long as we keep our mind on Him (Isaiah 26:3). He wants complete control of every part of our life. We hold nothing back.

As we live in total surrender to His direction and guidance, He orchestrates our body, soul and spirit. In exchange, we live in the joy of the Lord, which defies human description (1 Peter 1:7-9). It is never ending joy, which resides deep within our spirit and influences our body and soul. This is the same joy, which God gave Jesus when he faced the cross of Calvary (Hebrews 12:1-3).

When God’s Spirit moves in, He brings holiness, contentment and triumph with Him, which transcends every circumstance we ever encounter in life (Romans 14:17). These are not fleeting emotions, nor do they depend on any aspect in our life. They are resident within us by God’s Spirit no matter how devastating our life becomes. The Holy Spirit is an ever-present help in times of trouble. 

Continually dwelling within us, God’s Spirit transforms our carnal nature with His fruit and Christ’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 5: 22-23). He provides the unity and love we receive from our relationship with the Lord of glory (Isaiah 60:1). God is our provider, protector, sufficiency, inspiration, peace and joy. We place our secular life under God’s Spirit’s direction and He leads us to succeed in every area of life.

The Holy Spirit is also the sanctifier who rules in our spirit and soul and gives us grace and mercy in our time of need. His joy is our strength (Psalm 28:7) as we face trials and tribulation. Through His Spirit, Jesus cherishes us with all of the benevolence, patience and love that a bride groom has for His bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Mark 2:19; Revelation 19:7; Ephesians 5:22-33).

Prayer:

Father God, as Your Spirit transforms us with the mind of Christ, we have a Christ-like attitude at home, work and play, which makes a positive difference in the world around us. Your Spirit forms Christ in us to the extent that we live, move and have our entire existence in Him (Acts 17:28). He conquers sin within us, and casts out any idol, which we still cling to, as long as we willingly surrender it to Him. Help us to give every negative experience to Your safe keeping and remind us to respond in Your Spirit to everyone who comes against us.

Thought for the Day:

We give Jesus our whole heart and He gives our life back to us with more fulfillment and peace of mind than anything we could ever imagine.

A Triune Being

As a triune Being, God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To give you an idea of how three beings make up one God consider these: One man is a boy, a father and a grandfather. One apple is skin, flesh and core. A triangle had three points, but is one shape. One basketball is a leather exterior, an inner tube and air. A human being is triune: one person with a body, soul and spirit.

Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedient choices, their spirit died. They still had a body and soul, but they carried around a dead spirit within them. Now, we are all born with a dead spirit within us. Our soul – our mind, will and emotions – finds sustenance and joy in this life; but something is always missing. Our spirit is dead and it wants to be reborn.

The only way for our spirit to be Born Again is to end our willful lifestyle and to totally surrender our body and soul to Jesus Christ (John 3:1-21). Many times people come to God to receive His benefits, especially during emotional and/or physical crisis in our life. We are grateful to Him for His solace and provision and we attempt to serve Him. We get religious for a while.

Eventually, when we recover from our crisis, we decide we are strong enough on our own and we do not need God anymore. What happened at this time is that our soul reached out to God. We embraced Him with our whole mind, will and emotions. We looked to Him as a benevolent Father and we took advantage of His generosity, mercy and grace.

However, our spirit was still dead in sin. That dead spirit, like a millstone around our neck (Matthew 18:6), drug us back down into Satan’s domain, and he made sure that we felt secure and settled in our new place in society.

Conversely, if we ever completely fall upon the Rock of Christ (Matthew 21:44; Psalm 18:2), we no longer live for our self, but for the glory and honor of our King. We receive all of the rights and privileges of a King’s kid; and we serve in God’s army to win the lost and to help to save them from a destructive, degenerate life.

Prayer:
Father God, unless we totally embrace You and Your Word, we will never find the total peace we seek or the fulfillment we desire on this earth. Our eternal destination does not depend on our goodness or corruptness, but on our belief or unbelief. Remind us that if we choose not to believe in and surrender totally to You, we condemn our self to a mediocre life on earth and the flames of hell for eternity (John 3:18).

Thought for the Day:

Unless you completely accept all of the Bible’s Words, God’s gift to us, as the only Truth in life, you will be constantly pulled by other ideologies, with which Satan floods the earth.