Month: July 2013

When first reading The Beatitudes, it seems like they are out of touch with the world we live in.  When looking closer we see just the opposite.  The Beatitudes reveal to us why we need to accept Jesus as Our Savior to get us through this world we live in and on to living in the Kingdom of God.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” reminds us how far we fall short of the glory that God has planned for us.  “Blessed are those that mourn,” reminds to us the sorrow caused by our sins.  “Blessed are the meek,” reminds us of our need to humble ourselves before Our Savior.  “Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness,” reminds of our need to seek Jesus in all that we do.  “Blessed are the merciful,” reminds us of our need to forgive others just as the Lord forgives us.  “Blessed are the pure in heart,” reminds us of our need to cling to our new lives in Christ and leave behind all the things of the old man.  “Blessed are the peacemakers,” reminds us of our purpose of helping others to find a life of peace in Jesus.  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,” reminds us that the unsaved will be challenged by our new lives and will come against us for revealing the truth to them.  

God is with us always.  The presence of His Holy Spirit never leaves us.  The protection of His angelic force continuously surrounds us.  We need fear nothing.  There is nothing that can come upon us that we cannot handle with confidence.  We have the security of God’s hand upon our lives.

We need not pray for the strength to protect ourselves.  God promises His protection to those that abide in Him.  We are better served to pray for the strength to keep our faith which keeps us bound to Him.

We have reached a right relationship with Jesus when we serve Him out of our love for Him and not out of our desire to meet the requirements of the law.  Once we have been saved, we can go through life in obedience to the law or we can go through life under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Life under the lordship of Jesus Christ will be distinctly more joyous.  And ultimately, we will see greater abundance here on earth and for all eternity in heaven by serving in love at the feet of our Savior.

In Deutoronomy 28:1, Our Heavenly Father promises that we will reign over much, if we are obedient to His law.  This favor is gained, not by seeking it, but by seeking the One who grants it.  

If we try to seek any of God’s promised rewards through our own power for our own purposes, we will fail.  On the other hand, if we obey God’s laws through the love and power of His Son in our lives, all of His kingdom is ours for the taking. 

Why is it that when we pray in public that we are so concerned about how we sound?  It is this type of pride that limits the power of God.  We can actually block the power of the Holy Spirit by allowing our acts of pride to put ourselves in His way .

When our efforts are directed at impressing others rather than pleasing our Heavenly Father, we can surely hinder His movement in the lives of others and in our own lives.  Salvation, after all, is the work of God and not the work of men.

It is very easy to become frustrated, concerned, depressed or even angry when everything seems to being going against us.  It is part of our growing relationship with God to learn to understand that He is always with us and always in control.

We will live in total peace when we come to the place of understanding where we are completely comfortable in our circumstances because we know that God has willed or allowed us to be where we are.  Our peace will come from knowing that He promises that He will work out all things for our eternal good.

God pours out His never ending love upon us.  If we receive His gift of love, we cannot contain it.  His love must spill out from us to the world around us.

From the depths of His never ending love, He provided His Son to die on the Cross for us.  If we receive Jesus as our Savior, we cannot keep Him to ourselves.  The presence of His Spirit within us will flow into the lives of those around us.  It is our responsibility to live in such a way that we facilitate the flow of God’s love.  To limit this flow is to grieve the Holy Spirit.

We have been taught by our environment to seek visions in our lives.  We seek them and build on them by focusing on our work, our family and our friends.  

All is for nought, however, until we realize that the only visions of real substance and value are those that are originated through our focus on our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  When we learn to cast our visions through His focus, then we develop visions that allow us to be truly fruitful.  Until then we are only building on stubble and hay.

God, in His sovereign rule, has placed each one of us exactly where He wants us.  He did not place us where we are to stand alone.  He places each one of us in a location among others where we are perfectly linked together for the good of the entire body of Christ.

Each one of us is a beacon extending it’s light 360 degrees.  It is our individual responsibility to let God work through us so that the fullness and abundance of His Son can flow through us to the world that surrounds us.

The fruits of our work are the outpouring of the Spirit of Jesus Christ within us.  They are not the proof of our goodness.  They are the proof of our submission to Jesus in every aspect of our lives.

If our works ever become a way in which we seek to gratify ourselves, they will become a burden that will drag us away from the Cross.  Our works must be an outpouring of our spirit-filled love.  Then they will flow with great ease and draw us to the Cross in complete thanksgiving.