Authentic Worshipers

God is looking for authentic worshipers who will live for Him by His Spirit and in His Truth (John 4:23). He wants to raise up an army united in Christ, not a bunch of Lone Rangers doing their own thing.

As we allow the nature of Christ in us to infiltrate every area of our life, we decrease so that He may increase (John 3:30). We serve God by His Spirit moving within us and through us (Philippians 2:12-13; Act 17:28).

When we come to truly understand that we are dead, and that our life is now hidden with Christ in God, we live in God’s power, which works in and through us (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20).

God will use our body, soul and spirit by His Spirit to work in the lives of people we encounter each day. He will give us His words to speak to them that we cannot possibly know in our human capacity.

This opens doors for us to witness to people and to bring Christ into their life, so that He can change their heart, lives and circumstances for their good.

We put no confidence in our fleshly abilities; and we do not boast in our own accomplishments, because we achieve all things through Christ in us (Philippians 3:3; 2:12-13).

Sinful mankind, who are lost in pride, arrogance and the exploitation of others, consider their own needs more frequently than anyone else’s (Romans 12:3). However, God brings everyone down to the same level through the grave (Isaiah 14:15).

Our eternal destination is determined by our earthly beliefs. If we live for self, we reap corruption; if we live for Christ, we reap eternal life and serve God as Authentic Believers (John 3:16-18).

Prayer:

Father God, it is not difficult to sustain a constant relationship with You as our living Lord. Every moment of our day is authentic worship to You. Living with honor and respect for You gives us a secure life with protection from lasting harm (Proverbs 19:23). Even negative circumstances turn around for our good (Romans 8:28).

You give us everything we need to live in contentment through a genuine Godly life (1 Timothy 6:6). You are our strength and shield. We trust in You with all of our heart. You fill our soul so full of joy that we spontaneously burst forth into songs of praise and thanksgiving to You (Psalm 28:7).

Thought for the Day:
Christ in us gives us joy in tribulation (Romans 5:3), hope in devastating trials and loss (Romans 15:13), and a bright vision for our future (Jeremiah 29:11).

God is in Control - The Storms of Life

 

When we first come to Christ for salvation, we still feel like we need to maintain control of our life in case He messes something up for us. Life careens out of control sometimes, does not seem fair and is confusing at best.

God's plans do not always fit into our goals and we think He just does not understand us. His purpose for us does not feel right and often goes against what our heart is telling us to do.

What we do not realize at first is that our heart is desperately wicked and cannot tell what is truly best for us (Jeremiah 17:9). We often get into more trouble following our heart than when we follow what our head tells us to do.

We only need a small amount of faith to please God (Matthew 17:20); and we can even admit that we need help in our unbelief (Mark 9:23-25). God truly cares and will never ever leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

God does not always calm the storm (Mark 4:35-41), but He fills us with His presence within and guides us through the raging upheaval one step at a time. When skies are clear, we often forget all about God, taking credit for avoiding the rain.

Trials reveal the amount of carnality still lingering in our soul. We succumb to the tests of life when we trust our self rather than God. We struggle through trouble and trials and are buffeted by the storms inherent in life on this earth.

However, if we determine to believe God, to hold His hand during the valleys and to maintain our faith in His faithfulness, we discover that tribulation is simply an adventure and that God has everything in His control.

Prayer:

Father God, You cause our guardian angels to camp out around us in order to deliver us whenever we trust in You (Psalm 34:7). Even if we end up suffering for doing what is right, You lavish us with rewards; therefore, we never need to worry or be afraid of life's insecurities and dangers (1 Peter 3:14).

You are the first and the last, and You hold all the issues of life and death in Your hands (Revelation 1:17; Mark 5:36; Romans 8:2). You answer us when we pray and believe, and You fight for us as You rid us of all of our fears (Psalm 34:4; Deuteronomy 3:22). We praise You and give You all of the honor and glory that is due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

I was young, and now I am old, and I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love, not even death or life, angels or demons, fears of the present, worries about tomorrow or the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. - Romans 8:38-39

 

A Serene Life

The busyness of life is more and more distracting to the modern day person and parent. We make sports, music, dance and hobbies a priority over church activities, which teaches our children that worldly pursuits are more important than God in our life.

The way to remedy this modern phenomenon is to align our activities with Biblical priorities by seeking first God's Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). This causes the noise of life to diminish, and we find more joy and tranquility in our daily schedule.

Rather than to drown out God's directives by the noise of worldly pursuits, we reduce the cacophony of life by making God's will our priority each moment of our day. As the noise of this world diminishes, the guidance of God's Spirit is more acute and discernible.

We fully experience God's abundant life, which brings Him glory and honor in our every thought, word and activity (John 10:10). We come to realize the magnitude of the concept of Jesus Christ actually abiding in us by His Spirit, and we surrender our goals and priorities to Him (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Jesus admonished us to live dramatically different lives from those who live in the world. He encouraged us to love God more than those in our household and even our own life (Luke 14:26; Matthew 6:24). 

Our love for God is so paramount that we actually feel more love for Him than we do for anyone else. God has the bulk of our affections and everything we think, say and do is a reflection of Christ's life within us (Galatians 2:20). 

Our heart swells with our adoration of our God and Savior, and we serve at the pleasure of our King in our family, church and community activities.

The worldly clutter in our life disappears and we live above the clamor of life swirling all around us. We rest in God and serve from this place of unhindered peace (Hebrews 4:9-11). We see life from His perspective and we rise above the demands of modern society.

We can also rise above the temporal issues of this life, the attitudes of our fellow sojourners, and the circumstances that attempt to overwhelm us. This prevents them from robbing us of our joy in the Lord.

When we keep our focus on the joy set before us, spiritual truths actually govern our life. God is still in control, Jesus sits on the throne and abides within us, and the Holy Spirit will guide every step we take and keep us in God's will for our life.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that You created rest for more than the Sabbath and help us to enter into Your Kingdom's rest. Open our eyes to the reality of Christ in us and the fact that His presence in our life removes the necessity of us struggling to survive in this world. Help the codependent and workaholic to totally surrender to Your Spirit's direction for each moment of our day, rather than to succumb to the tendency to enable people and to do more than Your will for our life.

This way we rise above the stress and negativity of life on planet earth and dwell in Your Kingdom now.  Teach us to rest in Your loving presence, which will increase our positive emotions and decrease our depression and anxiety over the issues we face each day. We thank You for Your grace in our life and for our unity with the Trinity, which abides within us.

Thought for the Day:

Any negative emotion in our life is a red flag to signal an unresolved conflict within us, an idol we erected above the Lord, a misleading focus on the importance of the issues of this life, or that we are walking outside of God's will for our day.

Encouragement from God

To be encouraged is to be filled with courage. We do not buckle under the weight of circumstances when we have courage, especially when that courage comes to us through God's Spirit within us.

As we continually set the Lord in the forefront of our thoughts, we will not be shaken, because He is near us and in us (Psalm 16:8). Even if fear or anxiety trouble us for some reason, we can keep our faith in His faithfulness (Psalm 56:3).

We trust Him and His Word, which gives us serenity in this sin-cursed world. There is nothing anyone can do to us that He is not capable of turning around for our ultimate good (Psalm 56:4; Romans 8:28).

God's Word is full of assurances, which give us peace, even in the direst of circumstances. We can be encouraged because Jesus already overcame the world, and He abides within us (John 16:33).

There is no need to feel anxiety about anything, because in every circumstance we can pray, cast our cares on God, and live in gratitude for all He already did for us (Philippians 4:6).

His peace, which overcomes every anxious thought, guards our heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). He floods our soul with His peace, which goes far beyond human reasoning (Philippians 4:8).

It is not fleeting, circumstantial peace or peace we derive from things of this world, but peace that abides in us and eliminates all fear and discouragement regardless of our life issues (John 14:27).

God is our eternal hiding place and He protects us in times of trouble as He walks through it in us and with us. He floods our mind with worship songs to praise Him, so that we remain victorious each step of the way (Psalm 32:7-8).

Prayer:

Father God, hardships, turmoil, sleeplessness, deprivation, abuse, financial ruin, etc. touch everyone at some point in time. These external pressures add to our other worries about our family and the world around us (2 Corinthians 11:27-28).  Yet, when we cry to You for help, You hear us and rescue us from all of our troubles (Psalm 34:17).

Remind us that if we allow our sinful nature to control our thoughts and emotions and physical desires, we will destroy our self; but if we allow Your Spirit to control us, You will lead us into life and peace now and throughout eternity (Romans 8:6).

Thought for the Day:

We have no need to be overwhelmed by life, because the Lord goes before us and leads us, and He will never fail or forsake us.- Deuteronomy 31:8