God is Our Everything

My mind is thinking in the letter “p” today. I was worshipping our Father and I realized that He is our passionate, peerless, powerful and patient Provider, Protector, Pilot, Patron, Physician and Purifier. You can probably add to that list, but you get the point. God is our everything (Ephesians 4:6).

He blesses, heals, directs, provides, strengthens, keeps us safe, corrects us and makes us holy. He supplies all of our needs (Philippians 4:19), heals our broken heart and bandages our every wound (Psalm 147:3). At times, we cause our own trials by our thoughts, words and deeds. However, if we repent and submit to God, He will control everything that happens to us.

We can have faith in His faithfulness, because He works out even the most negative of circumstances for our good (Romans 8:28). Therefore, we can live a life of peace and joy, because He provides blessings even in the worse trial (James 1:2; Job 1:21). Ultimately, when we pass the test, we receive the crown of life, promised to those who love the Lord (James 1:12).

God is faithful and gives us a plan to escape every temptation, which Satan uses to snare us (1 Corinthians 10:13). He brings us out of bondage to the degradation of sin, regenerates our soul, renews our mind and leads us into His tranquil rest here on this earth and then into eternity when our life here is done (1 John 1:9; Hebrews 4:10; Psalm 139:16; Ephesians 4:24).

God gives us an abundant life with blessings and peace, which defies human logic (Philippians 4:7). By His death, Christ destroyed the hold, which death has on us (1 Corinthians 15:26). A life lived in His righteousness is the pathway to bypass many negative aspects in this world, even death (Proverbs 12:28). We pass right through death to be with the Lord (John 5:24, 11:25; 2 Corinthians 5:8), where we shall live eternally (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Prayer:

Father God, You lead us to obey Your will for our life (John 15:10), to live in a pure and righteous manner (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7), to pray constantly, to rejoice in every situation and to be grateful for Your provision (Psalm 100, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Eternal life is Your gift to us, which starts the minute of our Salvation (Romans 6:23). Life gets sweeter as the days go by, our intimacy with You increases and our fellowship with You remains unbroken. We praise You for the multitude of blessings You provide for us each day.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus rendered Satan powerless and freed all of us who were in slavery to him all of our lives. - Hebrews 2:14-18

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Changing Experience

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

The gospel in a nutshell contains only a few words, but they are powerful and life changing. Through them, we see our sin, repent and surrender our life to Christ. We simply ask in faith for Jesus to justify us as our Savior. It is so effortless; yet, so profound. This uncomplicated act opens the door for God’s welcoming grace to flood our soul, and to begin the sanctifying process of holiness.

There is no penance to perform, no searching journey to take around the world and no monumental feat to accomplish. Salvation is not accomplished by works, which we can do, it is a free gift for us from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). When we ask Him to save us, Jesus instantaneously breathes His Spirit into our dead spirit (John 3:6) and we are "born again" (John 3:7). He makes us a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Old things pass away and everything about us gradually is made new. Then He calls us to diligently seek Him with all of our heart, so He can teach us all things (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

So often, we mistakenly think that once our salvation is secure, we must start to impress God with our goodness. We work to deserve His love. We take copious notes on Biblical imperatives and we use them to create a set of rules to live by. Paul watched the Galatians do this very same thing, and he called them foolish (Galatians 3:1-3). All God wants is our praise. We trust Him with our life and we do not rely on our own devices (Proverbs 3:5-6). As we abide in His presence, and as we allow His Holy Spirit to direct our steps, we will bear much fruit and further God’s Kingdom in the earth (John 15:5).

Paul exhorted his spiritual son Timothy to trust in the grace of Christ (2 Timothy 2:1). Grace saves us and keeps us in its grasp (Colossians 2:6) as the Holy Spirit equips us with everything we need to live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). Grace is unmerited favor from God that makes us victorious over every temptation and strengthens us through every trial. With this grace operating in our life, we learn contentment sitting at Jesus’ feet (Philippians 4:12).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to live in Your grace with a life of wisdom, honor, holiness and victory. Our soul hungers and thirsts for more of You (Psalm 42:2, 63:1, 84:2, 143:6). Keep us ever faithful to You, and remind us to show our gratitude for everything You do in us, through us and for us. You are gracious to us, Lord God Almighty, and we are eternally grateful.

Thought for the Day:

We did not earn our salvation, and we do not need to earn God’s love.