Staying Safe

Jesus knew the importance of getting alone with God. If He felt this habit is important, although He had a divine nature, how much more should we value this activity too?

Jesus set boundaries and escaped from the crowd or declined an offer or refused to comply to every request made of Him. He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and was not a workaholic, an enabler or an over-achiever. He simply rested in God's love and enjoyed His company.

He went about doing good (Acts 10:38), healing the sick, feeding the hungry multitudes, casting out demons and working miracles. He did this by the Spirit's direction, not of His own volition. Jesus walked in the will of the Father who sent Him, energized Him and anointed Him (John 5:18-20).

Jesus filled Himself with the presence of God and was ready to handle the divine appointments He encountered each day (Luke 5:15-16). He cared for his own needs as well, without feeling guilty, even if He missed the opportunity to help someone else (Matthew 4:6-7, 26:18-20; John 12:2).

Interruptions in His schedule, crisis situations and dire needs in others did not tax His faith or cause Him irritation. He took them all in stride. His compassion and grace enabled Him to look at the situation and meet the real need, not just the surface issues.

Jesus enjoyed the fellowship of His disciples. He spent time mentoring, instructing and encouraging them. He answered their questions and lived a spirit-filled life as an example to others.

In the Garden, Jesus sweat blood at the thought of the anguish God called Him to suffer on the cross; but He did the will of the Father regardless of His preferences and concerns (Mark 14:32-42).

God calls us to walk in the Spirit as well; to meet His expectations for us rather than those from other people; and not to enable people but to point them to Christ and to lead them to the resources they need to help themselves.

Prayer:

Father God, only a fool despises the instruction, advice and correction of Godly parents; but those who listen and heed their words are wise. When our parent's counsel comes from Your Word, give us the wisdom to obey and to follow their advice. Our parents have been around the block a few times and can help us to navigate our way (Proverbs 15:5).

With age comes wisdom from the school of life. The same is true of the wisdom from above, which is holy, amiable, sympathetic, submissive to the Father, full of mercy and the fruit of the Spirit, unbiased and genuine (James 3:17). Help us to hear Your voice, to heed Your wisdom and to realize that the only safe place in this world is in Your presence.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus spent time in the Father's presence and filled His Spirit with God's Words; He did or said nothing that He did not first see God say or do. - John 5:44

Loneliness or Aloneness

The Bible speaks of being alone in two different ways. One denotes loneliness and the other refers to living al-one with our Father God (John 16:32). We can experience both at the same time, or one without the other.

God realized that loneliness had an adverse effect on the human soul (Genesis 2:18). He created us for companionship. Have you ever tried to scratch an itch in the middle of your back? We need each other. 

Even in a crowd of people, we can suffer loneliness, because it is a state of mind, rather than a physical issue. It is a aching void deep within our soul.

Loneliness causes us to feel isolated, dejected, abandoned, unimportant, unloved and even hopeless. We want to hide under the covers, ignore our responsibilities and vegetate.

Loneliness affects us mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. We actually believe that no one cares about what happens to us, unless we realize that God continually cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22).

Aloneness is quite different than loneliness. We all need time to be alone. This helps us to get in touch with our inner self, to ascertain our needs, to get to the root of any negative emotions and to maintain our union with Christ (Colossians 1:27, 3:3-4; Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 3:14).

In times of solitude, we recharge our psychological, physical and spiritual batteries to have the energy to continue to minister for the Lord as His Spirit directs (Ephesians 2:10).

Times of solitude refresh us and prepare us to hear from God each moment of the day (Psalm 95:7; Hebrews 3:7-8). Al-one times require quiet, private and peaceful surroundings.

We listen with our spiritual ears (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9). The presence of God infiltrates our spirit, soul and body. We are one with God and enjoy His companionable silence (John 10:27-28).

Once we enter God's sanctuary within our spirit, we realize the futility of our temporal existence and begin to pursue eternal endeavors instead (Psalm 73). Al-one times help us to maintain a spiritual focus throughout our life.

Prayer:

Father God, our disheartened soul takes comfort in Your continual presence within. We meditate on Your Word and follow Your precepts each step of our life. Thank You for Your blessings and abundant provision of all of our needs.

We trust that You will continue to perfect us until Christ returns (Philippians 1:6). We have abundant assurance that You will keep all of Your promises to Your Saints (Romans 4:21). Teach us that loneliness is our choice. Remind us to spend al-one times with You, and we will never experience debilitating isolation, but restful solitude instead.

Thought for the Day:

As we traverse the moments of each day and face the issues of life, we function from our spirit, rather than our soul. This enables us to continually meditate on the goodness of God and the Truth of His Word, as we follow His Spirit's direction to accomplish His will.

Living in God's Presence

 

I used to think that God wanted me to work for Him. I was under the impression that He desired for me to spend all of my time serving in the soup kitchen for the homeless, going to Bible studies, taking abandoned children into our home, helping to lead worship in my church, teaching adults how to read, witnessing to everyone I met and a myriad of other activities.

However, these very activities stole time away from my ability to actually live in the presence of God (1 Chronicles 28:9). Remember when Jesus went to the pool? He only healed one man (John 5:1-18).

Another time, when He walked through the crowd, only the woman who touched his garment was healed (Luke 8:43-48). Jesus did miracles and taught the crowds as He saw the Father working.

However, He spent more time in solitary places communing with our Father God (Matthew 6:9-13, 11:25-26, 14:23; Luke 6:12, 22:32, 22:41-44, 23:34; John 11:41-42, 12:27-28, 14:31, 17:1-26). He lived in the very center of God’s will.

We can learn a lesson from Jesus’ life. He listened to God, heard His direction and did only what the Father said and did (John 5:19, 5:30, 8:28, 12:49). God calls us to do this same thing.

We no longer rely on our human reasoning to direct our day. We seek the Lord and He directs our path (Proverbs 3:5-6). We walk through our day communing with our Father and following His Spirit’s direction even if it makes no human sense.

Sometimes, I actually argue with the Spirit’s leading, or discount it as a human thought, which just floated through my mind.

Maybe I am tired and I do not want to follow the Spirit’s leading. I have my own agenda for my day; so I decide to take a nap or go to the pool or play a game of Scrabble instead of obeying my Father’s will.

When I do, I quickly learn that I grieved the Holy Spirit and missed an opportunity to further the Kingdom of God.

At times, God will lead us to nap, because of what lies ahead in our evening, or He has a person at the pool or the park whom He wants us to talk to about Jesus.

The point is to walk in the Spirit, so that we do not reap the consequences of living in the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25), thwart God’s will for our life or quench God’s Holy Spirit. We will have more time to rest in His presence.

Prayer:

Father God, keep our thoughts centered on You as we learn to walk in Your ways. Help us to understand that You do not want us to work for You, but to do the works, which You created us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Remind us that it is not by our works of righteousness, or our might and power, but by Your Spirit that we live, move and have our being in You (Titus 3:5-7; Zechariah 4:6; Acts 17: 28).

Thought for the Day:

If Jesus did not speak for Himself, do anything through His own effort or strength, or teach anything of His own devising, how can we do otherwise?         – John 12:49-50, 7:18, 5:19, 30, 14:31