All Part of God's Plan

God's wrath over sin fated Jesus to a brutal crucifixion before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:20). Jesus became sin for undeserving sinners like us (Isaiah 53:10). As we confess Him before our Father, He becomes our Lord (Philippians 2:11; Isaiah 53:11). His words of life bring us joy (John 15:11). He is our eternal life, and our fulfillment is in His presence both now and in eternity (Psalm 16:11).

When we come to the awesome revelation that not one thing occurs in our life that is not part of God's plan for us, we can relax and go with His flow and follow His directives during each situation, just like Jesus did (1Thessalonians 5:18). This absolute truth allows us to live in His perfect peace. Our joy is no longer affected by our circumstances, but simply by the presence of Christ within us (Colossians 1:27).

During our lifetime our thoughts, words or deeds may cause us to reap negative circumstances, but God even uses this to discipline and mature us as His Saints. The Lord is God, He made us, and we belong to Him (Psalm 100:3). He gave us Jesus as our Way, Truth and Life (Johan 14:6). God never leaves us, so our joy is always complete (Hebrews 13:5; John 15:11).

God calls His children to live with gratitude to Him in our heart in every situation, which life throws at us (James 1:2-5; Hebrews 12:3-13; 1 Peter 2:20-21). Due to God's goodness, mercy and everlasting truth, words of thanksgiving and praise fill all of our days (Psalm 100:5). This gives us continual victory. In our gratitude to Him, we sing songs of praise and we serve Him with His joy as our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we always give thanks to You, in the name of Jesus, for everything in our life, even the negative aspects (Ephesians 5:20). You did, You do and You will always do so much for us, for which we thank You. Thank You that Jesus gave His body, broken for our redemption (Luke 22:19). Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, who keeps us from living on this earth as orphans (John 14:18). Thank You for Your presence in our life. We look forward to dwelling with You in eternity (John 17:3).

Thought for the Day:

We live in praise to God, because He promises that He will work out all things, even the negative aspects of our life, for our good. - Romans 8:28

The Cosmic Struggle

Read: Galatians 5

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.” - Galatians 5:16

Both good and evil forces influence every human being ever born. Satan, the god of this age and of this world, blinds the eyes of countless unsuspecting humans against seeing God’s truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). He appeals to their humanistic reason and draws them away from faith in God by every conceivable lust and doubt in his arsenal. Those who do not believe in the name of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, have already condemned themselves (John 3:16-19). They reject the Light of God who came into the world. They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil (2 Thessalonians 2:12-13).

If we choose to believe that Jesus is God and to repent of our sins, we are not condemned, and our spirit is Born Again. God is just. He faithfully forgives anyone who is willing, and purifies us from all unrighteous thoughts and lifestyles. If we simply confess our sin and call upon Him, He will hear us (1 John 1:9). He gives His Spirit to everyone who will repent and believe (Mark 1:15). By choosing a life in Christ instead of one immersed in sin and degradation, we ultimately find a fullfilled life, overflowing with blessings.

At times, we cannot fathom the reasons behind God’s plan and actions. A stubborn pull toward sin and depravity remains within our fleshly, carnal nature, even after our salvation (Galatians 5:17). God does not mind us questioning Him, accusing Him of some lack or walking out of His will now and then. Through the process of Sanctification, however, we are slowly but consistently losing our doubts and carnality, as He conforms us into the image of Christ (John 17:17-19; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:1).

The more we feed our spirit by prayer, Bible study, worship and obedience, the stronger it is, and the weaker our flesh becomes (Galatians 5:16, 24). It takes faith to accept some Biblical truths, while others are plain to see, as God works out His will in our life. Satan tells sinners that the Bible is an archaic book written by deceptive men in ancient times; but every Believer knows this holy book is inspired, alive and life-changing (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).

God is the purifying fire and the silversmith who removes the dross from our lives. As He turns up the heat ever so slightly throughout our lifetime, He eventually begins to see His reflection when He looks into our soul (1 Peter 1:7; Proverbs 17:3, 25:4; Isaiah 48:10; 2 Timothy 2:21). In the center of God’s will and in total surrender to Him in every area of our life, we live in total peace and joy.

Prayer:

Father God, we find that there are dire consequences for ignoring Your justice and holiness. Your wrath will consume unrighteousness and Your holiness forebears no breach of conduct or thought. However, You never send judgment without first sending us a warning. All of Your prophets, as well as Jesus Himself, gave warnings to the people of their day. Today, You give us Your Holy Word, which provides unlimited warnings of what is to come. Help us to heed Your Word and to share its truths with everyone You bring our way.

Thought for the Day:

There is a cosmic struggle within each life between satanic forces and God’s Holy Spirit. It is up to us to break the tie.

God Works for Our Good

We tend to condemn God for bad events, which occur in our life; yet, we take the credit when life is successful. God does not cause suffering, people do. They inflict their selfishness and greed on the entire human race. God reveals to us His purpose for our life through His Word, His Spirit and His people. We can live our life as agents for the change and the love we want to receive, as we follow the leading of God’s Spirit each moment of the day.

Joseph in the Old Testament chose to do things God’s way, even in captivity. Therefore, God counteracted the evil intentions of the selfish people in his life, by giving Joseph a place of influence and power. Even though his family and friends let him down time and time again, God always worked everything out for Joseph’s good. Joseph forgave his brother’s evil treatment of him and repeatedly saved his entire family from starvation and extinction (Genesis 37-50).

If we look at the big picture, we always see that what we experience in our lifetime, no matter how horrendous it may be, only lasts for a moment when compared with eternity. Paul calls it all “momentary, light affliction” (2 Corinthians 4:17). God turns things around for us and causes our suffering to provide abundant blessings for us, which are too innumerable to count, and which abundantly exceed anything we could ever fathom. The good fruit produced by our suffering is so vast and plentiful that it lasts for all eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Think of the story of Job. The poor man lost family, wealth and health in the span of one day. He ended up in the ash heap scraping the boils covering his body with a broken piece of pottery. Three friends came to try to help him figure out why he was suffering so much affliction, but actually ended up making false accusations against him and vexing Job’s patience. Yet, in a short period of time, God gave Job much more than he ever lost (Job 42:12).

Every individual who makes up our collective society, falls short of God’s glory, which is our aim in life (Romans 3:23). God’s only requirement for our salvation is repentance. Sin is about cause and effect. If God did not judge perversion and unholiness with His wrath, His justice would not be balanced. Once we repent, then God starts to work out His sanctification process in our soul in order to bring us to a walk of holiness (1 Peter 1:2). Those who continue to walk in the flesh, rather than in the Spirit, deny the sovereignty of God and deludedly believe they can live a dual life of sin and spirituality (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:1-4).

We can only enter the Kingdom of God here on earth. This is our only chance to totally denounce sin and completely embrace the cross of Christ (Isaiah 55:6; John 4:23, 9:4). We cannot save our own life; and if we try, we will lose it (Matthew 10:39, 16:25). It is only as we emulate the holiness, embrace the justice and respect the wrath of God that we realize our sinful state. It is then that we repent and cry out for grace and mercy from the only One who can save us. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). In His love and mercy He works out everything, even the negative things, for our good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, when a person comes to know You intimately, we are enlightened to see our sin and its consequences. We are raised from spiritual death to life (Romans 6:4). As we spend time reading Your Word, we grow in Biblical knowledge and become better acquainted with You. Our eyes are open to the myriad of blessings You bestow on us all throughout the day. Help us to revere Your nature and to willingly walk away from sin, because sin only serves to break Your heart.

Thought for the Day:

Humanity is not intrinsically good. It takes the Spirit of God to transform our sinful nature one day at a time.

 

 

He Remembers Them No More

Read: Psalm 103: 9-13

“But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” - Psalm 130:4

God is collecting His anger over the sin of mankind in a cup of wrath. He also declares that He will not always strive with us or harbor His anger forever. God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). His desire is that everyone will spend eternity with Him. He does not even make us pay the consequences we deserve for our sins. Once we repent, He covers us with the blood of Jesus and He casts our sins

as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Imagine a plane flying north. Once it reaches the North Pole, and follows the curve of the earth, it will begin to head south. So, if God removed our transgressions from us as far as the north is from the south, there would be a definite limit to His forgiveness.

Now, imagine a plane flying east. When does it start to fly west? At what point does the east meet the west? It never does. There is no polar axis going through the earth from east and west as there is going north to south. The plane continues flying east until it lands or runs out of fuel. It never, ever meets the west. That is exactly how far from us God removed our sins. They will never ever catch up with us. They will never be returned to us or thrown back up into our face. They are gone forever.

Our Heavenly Father has compassion on those who fear Him. Once we recognize the omniscience, the omnipresence, the omnipotence of God, we realize how truly great He is. Jesus paid a debt, which He did not owe. He suffered persecution and crucifixion for sins, which He did not commit.

When we realize the great sacrifice, which He made for us, we have no recourse but to fall on our face and repent of our sins. We are humbled by His love, grace and mercy, which we do not deserve. We reverence Him as He deserves to be worshipped. At some point we ultimately make up our mind to serve Him with every ounce of fiber in our being, because of the obligation we owe the perfect Lamb without spot of blemish for paying our sin debt for us.

Having an eternal viewpoint of our life on this earth, gives us a whole new perspective on what we experience. The carnal world and fleshly desires fade away, and we focus on doing the will of God (1 John 2:17). We learn to be content just as Paul did when he was shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, hungry, exhausted, lonely and forsaken by everyone he held dear (Philippians 4:12).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we will rejoice in You always (Philippians 4:4). Help us to trust in You, instead of relying on our human wisdom (Proverbs 3:5). This way we will walk in Your perfect will for us moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

As Christians, we receive such a feeling of oneness with our Creator, such fulfillment from helping others in their time of need and such a deep joy in His love that it defies description (1 Peter 1:8).