God's Eternal Plan - Part 2

God loves humanity so much that He gave us His Word in the form of Jesus Christ, who left His place in the glories of Heaven and sacrificed His own life to pay the penalty for our sins (John 1:14). God also gave us His Word in written form to give us prophetic encouragement and His truth, as well as advice and instruction, which gives us skill for living in this world (2 Timothy 3:16).

Yet, the carnal mind cannot understand the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). Some people, who were hurt by a Christian or who do not understand why God did not answer their prayer the way they expected Him to, will turn their back on God. They cannot see that the fairytales, which Satan feeds them, are actually lies;, and they call the Bible a book of fairytales instead (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

They end up condemning their self to eternal destruction by their unbelief (John 3:18). They forfeit the blessings of God in their life in order to maintain the illusion of control and independence. They want it said of them, "I did it my way." They are rebels at heart and will not submit their life to the will of God for them (Ephesians 2:10).

The more we share God's truth with God Haters, the further it pushes them away from our beloved King. They attribute their success to their own hard work, and little realize that God is sending love on thousands of generations of those who love Him (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10). The only hope for them is that they will respond as God's Spirit draws them to our Father God (John 6:44).

We simply repent of our sinful thoughts, words and deeds and then surrender control of our life to God. We lose nothing but heartache, disappointment and stress. We gain all the fruit of God's Spirit, as well as a mind conformed to the mind of Christ (Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 8:29). We live in a blessed environment now and forever, because our Daddy God cares for us so much better than we can ever care for our self.

Prayer:

Father God, You continually prod the children of Your beloved Saints to call out to You for salvation, but they often disregard Your call and warning. Their pride and rebellion resist believing the truths taught to them from the cradle. They prefer to buy into worldly propaganda, which teaches hate for You and Your followers. Of course, many people who are Christians in name only, and not by profession of faith in Christ, are poor examples of an authentic Believer. Please teach us to walk purely before You and please draw these angry unbelievers to Your loving heart.

Thought for the Day:

God haters often attribute hypocritical behavior to Believers, simply because we do not hold to or support their humanistic interpretation of Christ's teachings.

More Valuable than Fine Gold

God never changes, and His Word is consistent as well (1 Samuel 15:29; 1 John 2:7; Psalm 55:19; Malachi 3:6). Hiding God's Word in our mind and seeking Him with our whole heart prevents us from sinning against Him. His statutes are more valuable to us than fine gold. We delight in His ways and give testimony of His provision in our life (Psalm 119:9-116). His Word is eternal and gives us life (Psalm 119:160).

The Old and New Testament are equally important (2 Peter 3:15-16). The still, small voice of God directs our daily activity as we bathe in His Word and seek His face (Isaiah 30:21). If we are Born Again, we do not practice a lifestyle of sin (1 John 3:4-9; Proverbs 3:11-18). Yet, if we refuse to surrender our life to God, and we continue to practice sin, we condemn our self to eternal destruction (John 3:18; 1 Corinthians 11:27-32).

We can trust that God will give us relief in our days of trouble, until He raptures us, or we pass from this sin-cursed world (Psalm 94:10-13). When we live within God's precepts, we enjoy a good conscience and a peaceful life (Psalm 119:7). If we teach our children to live according to God's Word, they have a better chance of remaining on the path of purity and blessings.

God's Spirit helps us to recall the scriptures, which we hide in our heart, and He leads us into His holy truth (John 14:26, 16:13; Psalm 119:11). He enables us to act upon what we learn, rather than being perpetual students and never walking in His ways (James 1:22-25). The Spirit gives us wisdom from God's inspired Word, as we regard His instruction and walk in His ways (Proverbs 20:32-36, James 1:5-8).

Prayer:

Father God, You bless those who refrain from the worldly paths of life, which lead to unrighteousness. You consecrate those who do not join in with those who have a penchant for mocking You and Your children (Psalm 1:1-2). Thank You for drawing us by Your Spirit and never letting us walk away from Your eternal love. We treasure the fine gold of Your Word, we enjoy spending time listening to Your voice and we depend upon the leading of Your Spirit with each new day.

Thought for the Day:

When we sink our roots deeper in the water of God's Word, we will live blessed, fruitful and prosperous lives. - Psalm 1:3

Meeting at the Cross

Read: John 3:16-18

“All creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” - Romans 8:19

Jesus Christ left His divine habitat in heaven and shed every vestige of privilege in order to live as one of us for thirty-three years. Then, in the prime of His life, He willingly gave Himself as a ransom for the penalty of our sins. He loved us while we were still lost in our sins. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus faced the terrifying dread of what He would suffer on Calvary’s cross (Matthew 26:42-44). He spared Himself no pain, however, to guarantee that we receive the best not only in life, but also in eternity.

In today’s society there are still people who volunteer to sacrifice their life as terrorist, fighting for their greater cause. They willingly blow themselves up in order to kill as many people as they can. Their cause is misguided and their intentions are evil. It is the character of sin to destroy and wound. They do not have a heavenly home awaiting their arrival. Such tragedies cause many to reel from the grief of these assaults. However, God collects the tears of everyone who is devastated by these acts of injustice in His bottle and He records these travesties in His journal (Psalm 56:8).
 

Jesus, the Man of beauty, infinite goodness and boundless love made a way for everyone willing to open their heart to Him. If we choose to turn our back on temporal distractions, He will draw us closer to Himself on a daily basis. He asks us to meet Him at the cross and to lay our life down in service for Him (Matthew 16:24). Jesus showed relentless compassion and sacrificial love when He considered us over His own need. His final burden was His separation from His union with our Father, something that had never been broken prior to the cross (Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:1).

People blame God for the suffering in the world; however, He actually gave His life to end suffering for all time. Mankind suffers from our own selfishness, greed, corruption and hypocrisy; yet we blame the one Being who loves us more than life itself for all of the suffering in the world. No one is more deserving of gratitude and love, and no one receives more misguided animosity, bitterness and denunciation than He does.

We, who are reproachable and defiled in every way and undeserving of forgiveness, judge God as lacking because He does not live up to our standards of what is right, fair and good. Yet, God in His infinite patience waits for our response of genuine love for Him. He requires nothing of us against our will, but He asks us to submit our will to His for our ultimate good. He took the sin of the world on Himself in order to heal mankind of our physical and spiritual wounds (John 1:29).
 

Jesus did this so that we can renounce the subtleties of sin in our life, and instead, seek a union with our triune God. Once we give our life to Him, we feel the pain of what hurts Him, we see the injustice that blames Him and we defend the Christian brother and sister who live in His honor. Jesus alone is worthy of all of adoration and praise; yet, He receives the most ridicule and misunderstanding.
 

Jesus forfeited His power and authority in heaven to take on the form of a man, and He tolerated the abuse of the crucifixion to save us all from the penalty of our sins (Hebrews 2:14; Matthew 4:4). Without Him our life is full of pain, disappointment and tragedy. He alone makes our life on this earth abundant and full of mercy and truth (John 16:33). God desires to use us to help Him to alter the destiny of our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors from everlasting destruction to eternal bliss by sharing with them what God does for us on a daily basis (2 Timothy 4:2).
 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You accepted our degradation in our place. You gave us Your spotless perfection in exchange and prevented the need for us to suffer for our willful disobedience to our Holy God. We confess our sins and ask You to be our Savior. We look forward to walking with You every day of the rest of our life and to joining You in the new heaven and the new earth for all eternity (Romans 8:20-22.)

Thought for the Day:

Everything Christ did in His life and death, He did for you and for me.