Month: May 2013

We have been raised in a world where performance and results are everything.  We feel measured by the things that we have and the things that we have accomplished.

These things that we hold so dearly hold no value in God’s world.  He promises to provide what we need and even promises the desires of our hearts – all based on us seeking His kingdom first.  The truly abundant life awaits when we make Our Lord and His righteousness first in our lives.

The physical condition of our body or the environment that we find ourselves can cause unfavorable changes in our mood.  We must not submit to these unfavorable moods.

We must take on the Spirit of the One within us and realize that we have already been given victory over our circumstances.  We must allow Jesus to do His good work and we must do our good work by standing against that which is trying to shape our mood.

Without tribulation, our flesh carries us away from God.  We tend to move out of His presence.  Our earthly joy begins to diminish our ability to experience the true joy available to us through our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

When we are weak, when we are near defeat, when we are near death, we run to Jesus.  He promises to be our strength in every one of our times of weakness.  It is during these times that we experience His presence so clearly.  It is during these times of pain that we experience the fullness of His love.  What a blessing it is to have tribulation in our lives.

The Lord seeks to reveal His Son to the world through His children, every single one of them.   He will certainly use the elite evangelists of each age, but He does not want to rely on them alone.  He wants each and every child of every age and time to be useful in delivering His message.

He does not need any of us to accomplish anything, but it pleases Him to use us to reveal Himself to those who are in our everyday lives.  We are the instruments of God’s perfect love.

In the old testament days, every person needed a high priest to represent him or her before the throne of God.  Through the priest and the accompanying sacrifices, each persons sins were atoned for.  Without the intercession of the high priest, the individual person had no hope of salvation or even a hope for prayers to be answered.

Jesus changed this relationship with the Father forever when He died on the Cross and atoned for all sin.  Each of us now can gain our salvation through Jesus Christ.  We can also go directly to the Father with our prayers where Jesus stands as our personal intercessor.

There are few sins worse than self-pity.  Self-pity erases our acknowledgement of our loving Heavenly Father who is holding our riches and is able to make all grace abound in our lives.  Self-pity also cuts off our ability to be vessels of the loving kindness that Our Lord has shared with us.  No matter how hard our circumstances seem, let us always seek comfort in our divine provision and not in ourselves.

Considering the abundance that awaits us for an eternity, whining over our trials here on earth seems a bit foolish.  How could we ever feel shortchanged in anyway with the King of the Universe residing within us, preparing us to spend the rest of eternity with Him?  Our joy should be so immense that all things of discomfort should pale in significance.

One of the greatest beauties in all of nature is the full moon.  Yet the moon has nothing to do with its radiance.  It is a simple earthen body that only has to be in concert with the gravitational pull of the earth for it to reflect the light of the sun.

We are like the moon.  All we have to do is be in proper position with Our Savior and the light of the Son will shine brightly for the world to see.  Our earthen bodies are vessels of His glory.

Jesus Christ alive in us – what a marvelous thought that is.  The King of the Universe has chosen to reside in each of us that have received Him.  He has chosen to let His power flow through us.  He has chosen to reveal Himself to the world through us.  

Could we ever receive a greater reward for anything from this world?  It is certain that we could not.  We already possess that which is greater than anything this world has to offer.

What is it that God is asking you to take out of your life?  You know what it is.  You are disturbed by the Holy Spirit each time it pops up in your life.  You are probably debating with yourself each time it occurs.  

Drop it at once.  The longer that you hold on to it, the weaker the voice of the Holy Spirit will become.

The Holy Spirit is our in-dwelling guard that protects us from our sinful nature.  We must be certain not to separate ourselves from the urgings provided by the Holy Spirit.  We must not allow our inner communion with God to be diminished.  Our spiritual growth is dependent on our obedience.

When we were children we delighted to be in the presence of our father.  We could not wait for him to come home from work.  His presence was a powerful and joyful force in our lives.  

Unfortunately, the encounters were all too brief.  As a matter of our culture, our fathers were not around during most of our waking hours.  In the mind of the child, our fathers were away from home more than they were at home.

How wonderful it is that we are in the presence of Our Heavenly Father at all times.  How wonderful it is that we can have that powerful and joyful place available to us at our beckoning.  How wonderful it is to know that He will never be absent from us.