Trustworthy God

God resists the proud, but He gives an abundance of grace to those who humble themselves under His mighty hand (James 4:6). He loves the whole world, but especially His children (John 3:16; 1 John 3:1).

God gives His Saints, made righteous through the blood of Jesus, deliverance through all of our troubles (2 Corinthians 5:21). He hears our cries for help, stays close to the brokenhearted and heals those bruised in spirit (Psalm 37:17-18).

He loves those who honor Him with our life. He separates us from the penalty of our sin and remembers them no more. He understands our human frailties and has compassion on us (Hebrews 8:12; Psalm 103:12-14).

When life exhausts and discourages us with its many afflictions, God gives us hope and deliverance as we cry out to Him (Psalm 37:19). His love lifts us higher than the heavens (Psalm 103:11).

God gives us the fruit of our labors, which we accomplish through blood, sweat and tears. He turns our mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11-12, 126:5). He collects our tears in His bottle and He avenges our suffering (Psalm 56:8; Romans 12:19).

We have no need to fret over those in our life with an evil intent or those who prosper in their iniquity. God takes care of every one of them (Psalm 37:1-2).

We can trust in Him with our whole heart, continue to work for His Kingdom, and He will bless us with the fulfillment of all of our efforts as He faithfully provides for all of our needs (Psalm 37:3).

Prayer:

Father God, we delight in Your presence in our life; we relish Your desires, which You place in our heart; and we trust in You to bring us success as we walk in Your will. We commit our every breath to Your service and acknowledge You before we take one step in the morning (Psalm 37:4-6; Proverbs 3:5-6).

We enter Your rest and wait on Your direction for each moment of our day. When we are tempted to worry, or to be jealous over someone else's blessings, we remember that You are always faithful, and that Your children inherit Your Kingdom as co-heirs with Christ (Psalm 37:7-11; Romans 8:17).

Thought for the Day:

God works out every negative trial for our ultimate good. - Romans 8:28

Too Proud to Believe

 

Our human penchant for self-centeredness and rebellion stems from our pride. Pride is the downfall of every human being. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). This is what caused Adam and Eve to believe the serpent’s lie that they could be like God. Mankind still wants to be like god, and many New Age religions promote this falsehood, as if saying or believing it will make it so.

The wonderful news of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ dwells within us and gives us the nature of God, as we are led by God’s Spirit. He also gave us His Word, which is His ultimate wisdom. Over the years, hundreds of Biblical prophecies were fulfilled just as they were predicted to occur (Isaiah 42:9). This proves that the Bible is true and trustworthy. We can stake our life and our eternity on it.

God’s Word also informs us of historical and scientific facts, which it took humans years to discover using experiments and research. These scientists and historians validated the scriptures as the result of their studies and tests. Actually, the truth was in front of them all along! Even today, mankind is still finding answers to age-old questions in the pages of the Bible.

Prophecy, history, archeology and science continually prove the veracity of the Bible (Psalm 119:160). We can believe it, because its words are true (John 3:12). God, Creator of heaven and earth, gave us the answers to our origin and our destiny, which people of every generation still ponder. Archeologists uncover, almost daily, the proof of Biblical claims. Yet many are still too proud to believe.

Prayer:

Father God, there is no reason that we should allow our pride to prevent us from accepting Jesus as our Savior. We thank You for bringing us to our knees through the circumstances in our life. You humble us for our benefit, and then You bless us for our humility. You are an amazing and loving Father, and we cannot find anyone or any philosophy, which mankind invented, that fulfills us and completes us like You do (Colossians 2:10). You gave us Jesus as our sacrificial Lamb and He dwells within us by Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

With specific details, simple truth, and flawless precision, God's Word consistently reveals to us the origin of our past and the destination of our future.

Growing Weary

If we live an honorable life, God will use it to silence the foolish accusations, which ignorant people make against us (1 Peter 2:15-16). We know the truth that will set them free, but they do not want to hear it. They label us as intolerant for insisting that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Do you ever get weary of witnessing to people who will not listen? I recently grew weary and prayed about what to do.

The Lord reminded me that when we plant a seed in a garden, it takes a great deal of work and care before we reap the fruit. We rope off an area, remove the weeds and till the soil into rows. We fertilize the soil and then plant the seeds. It takes weeks for the plants to sprout and then a few months before the plants produce any fruit. We continue to water, pull weeds and keep the plants safe from obstacles to their growth. Yet, only God can give the increase.

The Lord pointed out to me that witnessing takes the same care and labor of love as gardening. A one time or another, we are tilling the ground, or planting a seed, or watering; however, only God gives the spiritual increase too, and only a few can actually harvest (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). This gave me the faith to continue sharing Christ with everyone around me. If we do not give up, we will eventually reap a plentiful harvest in God’s timing (Galatians 6:9). God resists the proud, but has mercy and gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

God calls everyone to take part in His gardening process. If we liberally sow God’s truth in the lives of our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors, we will reap a hearty harvest; however if we sow stingily, we will reap sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:6). We are not obligated to share God Truth with anyone; but as a good steward, we cannot help but invest in God’s Kingdom, which brings us His rewards (Matthew 25:14-30).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us not to become weary of working in Your Kingdom, because You promise that we will reap a harvest if we keep on sowing (Galatians 6:7). Help us to follow Your gardening laws. Give us the wisdom and strength to continue with patience as we ready the ground, fertilize and water, plant the seeds, and then wait for You to give us the harvest. We know that You do not desire that anyone should die in their sin, but that everyone should come to know You in an intimate, personal relationship (2 Peter 3:9).

Thought for the Day:

God gives us His grace to allow Jesus to accomplish His work in and through us (2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 2:10).