Success in Life

People often refer to Jesus Christ in their daily, ordinary lives. However, most of the time, they are using this sacred name as a curse word. They sling His name around without any awareness of the sanctity and the ultimate power in His name.

Other people recognize the awesome authority of His name, and they call on Him in prayer, but they do not really know Jesus personally. They are moral and maybe even religious, but Christ does not abide within them (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20). Their prayers and service are an exercise of human effort alone.

Then there is a remnant of people who reverence the holy name of Jesus. They have an intimate union with Christ and trust in Him with their whole heart (Proverbs 3:5-6). They realized that they could never be good enough to earn a place in heaven; so they accepted Jesus’ sacrifice in our place (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus died for us, but He also wants to live in us and through us. He wants to indwell His Body, the church, and finish the work He started during His thirty-three years on earth. Once He moves into our spirit, He revives our spirit, which was formerly dead in sin.

God calls us to humble our self as a little child, frail and helpless, and in need of a Savior (Matthew 18:4). Jesus continues His work of regeneration in us by abiding in us by His Spirit, creating in us a clean heart and making us a new creation (Romans 8:9-11; Psalm 51:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus’ seed of faith is planted in our heart like a tiny mustard seed, and grows to be a powerful force in our life and in our ministry for the Lord (Galatians 2:20; Matthew 17:20). Even when we see the fruit of God’s Spirit working through us, we remain humble and we cling to His mercy and grace.

Realizing that we are weak, we depend on Christ in us, who is our strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10; 2 Corinthians 12:9). We listen to God’s Spirit and walk in His perfect will for our life, and enjoy a successful and fulfilling life (Ephesians 2:10). We are also Christ’s ambassadors to a lost and dying world (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Prayer:

Father God, we cannot successfully live through one day of life without Your Spirit’s guidance and direction. Our human understanding falls short, so we rely on Your empowerment to accomplish Your will for each moment of all of our days (1 Corinthians 2:5). Remind us to dedicate our existence, regardless of our vocation or health or wealth, as a living sacrifice for Your service (Romans 12:1). We look forward to spending eternity with You.

Thought for the Day:

Living in humble surrender to Christ throughout our life will bring us success, peace, joy and fulfillment both now and in eternity.

God Uses Foolish Things

Read: Judges 6:11-7:22

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” – 1 Corinthians 1:27

I was reading about Gideon again today. He came from the least family in the weakest tribe of Israel; yet, God chose him to deliver Israel from the seven-year oppression of Midian. The poor man was frightened, and feeling inadequate to meet up to the requirements of the job. He compared his life at that moment and in the past to the qualifications of leadership and felt deficient, less than able to accomplish the task God called Him to do. Gideon doubted that he even heard the Lord correctly, so he did a few tests with an animal’s fleece. God miraculously and patiently humored Gideon and built up his faith by confirming His calling on Gideon’s life.

What humanity highly values is detestable in God's sight (Luke 16:15; John 8:15). God always uses the foolish things in the world to amaze the clever (1 Corinthians 1:27; Jeremiah 8:9). God looks at our heart, not on our outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). He already knows our shortcomings and He witnessed all of our failings so far in life. We can justify our self in the eyes of men, but God knows our motives and our thoughts. After Gideon complained about his incompetence, God reminded Gideon that since God was calling him, He should realize that God thought he could do the job (Judges 6:14-15). Gideon’s relationship with God was all he really needed to be qualified to do God’s will in this mighty event.

The Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind all of our thoughts. He looks for those who acknowledge Him and serve Him willingly, with unreserved devotion. If we seek Him, we will find Him; but if we forsake Him, He will reject us for eternity (1 Chronicles 28:9; Proverbs 16:2). The Lord Almighty judges righteously and tests the heart and mind of those who claim to love Him. If we commit our cause to Him, He will mete out vengeance upon those who harm us (Jeremiah 11:20). God’s gift of Salvation is free to anyone who will call upon His name and surrender their life to His will (John 3:16-18). He continually searches our heart and examines our mind in order to reward us according to our conduct, according to what our deeds deserve (Jeremiah 17:10).

God not only sees our motives and the true intention of our heart, but He also knows who we will be once we submit to His Spirit. He gives us every opportunity to glorify His name with our life. He forgives us each time we fail and disobey (1 John 1:9). We can put away our fears and insecurities and rely on His Spirit within us as we seek to do His will with our life (2 Corinthians 4:18). God sees our full potential, even when we doubt our self, and He gives us the desire and the power to walk in obedience to His calling on us throughout our life (Philippians 2:12-13).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I feel like such a success in life because You live in me and work through me every day. You put me in the right place at the right time to do all that You call me to do. By Your grace I am what I am. Your grace works wonders in my life, and everything I have is by Your grace that is with me always (1 Corinthians 15:10). Thank you for freedom to live my life according to Your precepts and the means with which to enjoy what You give me every single day.
 
Thought for the Day:
Walk forward with confidence, as you trust in God’s wisdom.