God Delights in Blessing Us

God blesses us all day long in so many ways; we are just too busy to notice. If we focus on our to-do list or the negative issues we are facing, we miss seeing the blessings.

God delights in blessing His children (Psalms 8:4-5, 139: 6-7, 17). He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). When we ignore or do not appreciate what He does for us, we get disappointed and frustrated by what we wanted Him to do, and what we perceive that He failed to do.

God arranged our genes, gave us our parents, and had us born in the city and country that He chose in order to give us the personality and talents we have, so that we can use them for His purposes.

Self-improvement is our carnal attempt to perfect our self. God wants to lead us, and for us to take the back seat (Mark 8:34). As we focus on praising God in the midst of our short-comings, He will replace our imperfections with His Spirit's fruit.

As we yoke up with Jesus, we find rest in God's grace. His mercy allow us to submit to His Spirit's direction each and every moment of every day. His presence eliminates the emptiness, fear and depression in our soul.

We develop a friendliness with others. We share the gospel with anyone interested in hearing that God loves them and has a plan for their life. We love God and His Kingdom as our priority and then we love others as we love our self (Matthew 6:33; Mark 12:30-31).

Prayer:

Father God, You hold us securely in Your love. We have no fear of life's storms, because You are in control of them all. You bless us with Your contentment, joy and fulfillment even in the midst of negative circumstances. You calm the storms and cause the sun to burst through the clouds, illuminating our days with Your peace.

As You shed Your love in our hearts, teach us to love others as our self. Remind us to look for Your blessings all through our day and to share Your blessings with others as You give us the opportunity to bless them. Help us not to miss Your divine opportunities or to take Your divine provision for granted.

Thought for the Day:

God does not ask us to trust one another, because we are frail humans and hurt one another - often without realizing it; but He does expect us to trust Him to bless us in His timing, will and way.

Holiness is What I Long For

Prior to salvation, we had an instinctive intuition that we were faulty in character and lacking in moral fiber. Many people compare themselves to their neighbors or acquaintances, and then decide they are good enough to get into heaven.

No one is good enough to enter heaven (Romans 3:10-12, 23). We do not measure up to God's standard of holiness (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 6:1-3). We futilely attempt to fill the gap in our life by striving to find love, to amass worldly possessions and to rise in our career. 

Jesus came to fulfill that emptiness within and to pay the penalty for our sins. He gave Himself for us, and sanctified us with His sacrificial offering on Calvary's cross (Ephesians 5:15 -17). If we humble our self and believe that Jesus died for our sins, then we are welcomed in heaven (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).

Holiness is the character of God (Isaiah 30:12). There is a song that I love, in which the words, " Holiness is What I Long For" ring out loud and clear (song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfiC6rkhOY8 ). 

God calls us to desire holiness. Jesus purchased our holiness by suffering horrendously outside of the gate of the city (Hebrews 13:12). He calls us to walk in holiness rather than in carnality and sin.

God's Word is Truth, and as we read and learn His Words, they sanctify us (John 17:17). God is peace, and He makes us completely holy in our body, soul and spirit through Jesus Christ, so that we are blameless when we face Him (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

God is our Father, Jesus is our brother and their Spirit is our comforter and guide throughout our life (John 14:26). They are always with us and in us, helping us to be holy.

Prayer:

Father God, You call us to holiness, because You are holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Help us to pursue holiness, because without it, we will never see You (Hebrews 12:14). Remind us to honor You and Your Son by righteous deeds, directed by Your Holy Spirit (John 5:22-23; Ephesians 2:10). We want to give You Your rightful place on the throne of our life and to totally surrender control over our life to You (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

As obedient children, we are not to conform our behavior to the passions and ignorance of our life prior to coming to Christ, but to be holy, even as Christ in us is holy. - 1 Peter 1:14-15