Tag: faithfulness

We Are All Called to Glorify Our Father in Heaven Through Our Obedience

John 17:4
I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

Jesus Himself declared that His principal work was to be obedient to the will of His Father in heaven. He did not seek His own glory. He sought only His Father’s glory. In the process, He did away with Satan, sin and death and He provided for the redemption and the salvation of all men.

Just as Jesus was faithful in completing His work on earth to glorify His Father, He will also be faithful in completing His work in us so that we may glorify Our Father. We will not experience the complete fullness of His work in us until we meet Our Savior in His eternal kingdom. But as we surrender to the will of the Father, we can expect to accomplish more here on earth than we can imagine that we are capable of. And we can be certain that our work will bring glory to Our Father in heaven.

Be mindful that Satan and our own flesh will come against us as we seek to glorify the Father on earth. But fear not for the Spirit of the Lord will insure that we overcome the work of the enemy. We do not need to be concerned about our circumstances, Our Savior will be sufficient. And it will all be for the glory of The Father.

Let us surrender everything to Our Father in heaven. Let our obedience to His call on our lives glorify His name. May those around us glorify the Father when they see our faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that You have given us through Your Son to overcome the world. We bless the name of Jesus for His faithfulness in completing the good work that You gave Him to do. We pray that the Holy Spirit will lead us and strengthen us so that we may fully surrender to Your will just as Your Son surrendered His all to You. May it all be for Your glory, for the glory of Your Son and the glory of the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the obedient Son of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.

God Only Releases What is in Alignment with Our Eternal Good

Matthew 20:23
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

The apostles, James and John, were seeking a position in heaven that was not in the will of the Father. God had a place prepared for them that certainly exceeded their imaginations, but it was not at the right and left hand of Jesus as they had asked.

We have been taught that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and it will be granted to us. This is true, but our solicitations can be granted only if what we ask is in the will of The Father. This can cause spiritual confusion for us when our prayers are not answered or, more correctly, have not been answered according to the desires of our flesh.

God has been faithful in providing institutions on earth which can help us to understand how this precept works. As parents, we can recall times that we withheld things from our children because we knew that is was not the right thing for them at the time. What they were asking for did not fit in with the overall good that we were seeking for them. As business leaders, we have denied the requests of good and faithful employees because it was not in alignment with the company’s vision and business plan.

Almighty God has prepared things for us that have been in place before the foundations of the earth were formed. Everything that He grants us through His Son is in accordance with His good and perfect plan for our lives in His kingdom. When we reach our place in the kingdom, we will find it to be beyond our imaginations.

Let us seek the will of God in our lives. Let us live confidently in knowing that the Father will release to us everything that we ask for that is in alignment with our eternal good. Let us praise Him when He withholds something from us for we know that He has something better planned for us. Let us rejoice in His goodness and His faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us in Your kingdom. We bless the name of Your Son, who You have given us to be our mediator as we seek Your grace in our lives. Teach us, Lord, to seek those things that are according to Your sovereign will and pleasure. We pray that the Holy Spirit will redirect us when our petitions are of our flesh and not of the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We ask all these things in the name of the True Foundation, Jesus Christ.

God is Always at Work for Us Behind the Scenes

Habakkuk 1:3
Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.

In this passage, Habakkuk is crying out to God in frustration because of the things he is seeing in the society of his day. Doesn’t this passage sound as if it could have been written today? Who isn’t totally frustrated and deeply concerned by what we see and read in the news every single day?

Perhaps this frustration is carrying over into our own personal lives. Who among us hasn’t cried out to God for relief from the struggles of work, relationships, addictions, afflictions or even sin itself? How often do we begin to lose hope when we do not see immediate relief from our circumstances?

God has a response for us just as he had for Habakkuk when He said, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told”. Habakkuk 1:5

In His Holy Word, God is commanding us to look around us to see where He is working. He is not an idle, laissez-faire ruler. He wants us to have faith in who He says He is. He is actively involved in every single event in the world and in our lives. He is controlling all things for the ultimate perfect good of His children.

Let us look for God working in our lives and working in the world around us. Let us look for the wondrous works of Almighty God in each and every day. Let us rejoice in His faithfulness and mercy in our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all that You do to protect us and provide for us. We thank You for those things that You do that we cannot see. We know that these unseen wonders are never ending for we know that You are faithful to Your promises. We ask that You teach us how to live in complete faith that Your hand is on this world and on our lives. We pray that Your Holy Spirit strengthen us when our circumstances lead us to feel that Your hand is not upon us. May we exalt Your name for all that You do. We ask all these things in the name Our Most Blessed Wonder, Jesus Christ.

Receiving All that The Lord Has for Us When Life Seems Unfair

Job 42:10
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

The Bible records that Job was blameless and upright. He had a great family and much wealth. It was written that he was the greatest of all the people in the east. And then it all changed. God allowed Satan to take it all away from Job.

As we read about the story of Job’s life, we see Job in his anguish. He not only has lost everything, but he is mocked by his friends and even his wife tells him, “Why don’t you curse God and die.” Job assumes that God is persecuting him and hiding from him. He lashes out at God in pain.

Once Job turned from his anger and turned instead to intercessory prayer, the mercies and blessings of Our Lord were released to him. He found his prayer for others to be profitable for himself. More importantly, he found that Satan had no more power over him.

No one goes through life without hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But still it can feel almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what’s seems so unfair at times. Like Job, our relief will come when we turn our focus away from our pain and on to the wondrous majesty and mercy of Our Creator. When we do this, our concern will be more for others than for ourselves. At this point, we will receive all that the Lord has prepared for us.

“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Let us focus on the faithful love of the Lord. Let us trust in His mercies each day.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we lift Your name above all names. There is no name above Yours. You are Our Creator and Our Sustainer. You have given us life and granted us eternal life through Your Son. We give thanks for the unmerited grace that You pour upon us. We pray Lord that You strengthen us for the battles that we face in life. We ask for the divine inspiration to keep our focus on You always. May our days be spent in service to You, free of any anguish that the world tries to bring us. We ask all these things in the name of the Strength of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.

God Does Not Overlook a Single Thing in Our Lives

2 Chronicles 27:6
King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God.

Jotham became king at the age of 28. He was obedient in all things. Because of his faithfulness, he was given victory in all of his battles and a resting place of honor when he died.

God does not overlook a single thing in our lives. Everything that we do is examined by Him. He delights in our obedience in even the simplest of acts.

On the other hand, we can miss out on the promises of God in our lives simply by not complying to the small things of life that the Holy Spirit may place on our hearts. How many times have we passed up the opportunity to assist a grouchy neighbor, lend a helping hand to a needy stranger or respond politely and with love when receiving poor service? Each time we passed on one of these or numerous other Holy Spirit led opportunities, we deprived God of His delight in us. It is quite possible that we also limited the release of His power in our lives. It is important that we seek and give full consideration to the will of God concerning all elements of our daily lives.

Let us listen to the urgings of the Holy Spirit as we go through our daily activities. Let us surrender ourselves to being vessels of the perfect love and forgiveness that we have received from Our Heavenly Father. May the fruits of our obedience delight the Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the opportunity to bring honor and glory to Your Name when we allow the marvel of Your grace to be exhibited in our lives. Teach us, Father, to recognize You and Your love in the simplest of tasks that are performed in service to others. Lord, we pray that You release the fullness of Your power in our lives as we learn to share Your perfect love and forgiveness with the world around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Accepted Public Hatred, Ridicule, Scorn, Suffering and Death for All Mankind

Philippians 2:8
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The fact that Jesus left His divine state to become a man illustrates an act of humility that surpasses anything that any human could imagine. Accepting the lowliness of man, it would have been reasonable by any human standard that He would a least appear as a king. Not so for this divine man, He took not a royal station but accepted a position in a lowly manger. His state within humankind never advanced to any level above the lowest elements of society. He worked His entire ministry in the streets and hillsides among the common people.

Aside from His transfiguration before Peter, James and John, His splendor was never to be seen by man until He ascended to His seat beside His Father in Heaven. In the meantime, He endured a life of poverty and suffering which ended in an exposition of public hatred, ridicule and scorn. Then, having no place for personal pride, He accepted death so that we may have life.

Let us lie at the foot of His Cross each day and learn from Our Savior King. Let us take note of His complete obedience to the Father under all circumstances. Let us allow our personal pride to dissolve in the face of knowing why He made these choices – to save us from our sinful and prideful nature. Let us be inspired by His faithfulness and His promises. Let us humble ourselves to the point of putting the old man in our lives to death so that our new man in Christ may live.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we humbly bow before Your throne, asking Your forgiveness for our sins. We thank You for providing the way for us to overcome our sinful nature. May we cling to the Cross of Our Savior. May we learn to set aside our pride and serve those around us in the manner that You call us. May we ignore the scorn of the world as we are obedient to Your calling on our lives. We ask all these things in the name of The Captain of Our Salvation, Jesus Christ.

May We Never Doubt Your Faithfulness Lord

Genesis 8:1
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

This passage might seem to suggest that God had let His promises to Moses slip His mind for some period of time before He fulfilled them. That interpretation would be inconsistent with who God is. God had not forgotten Noah for He does not and cannot forget His promises to His children.

But it is quite possible that Noah, a man of extraordinary faith, may have been wondering if God had forgotten about him and his family. Surely Noah had a few anxious thoughts when he and his family spent year upon year working on the ark with no sign of rain except the ridicule that was raining down upon them. Surely Noah was getting a bit on edge after spending seven months on the waters before the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Can you imagine the anxiety waiting another three months before any other mountain tops appeared above the water? Surely Noah was beyond frustration when the doves he sent out returned to the ark without having found a landing place. But God in His faithfulness remembered Noah and the promises that He had made to Noah. On the twenty-seventh day of the fourteenth month, God told Noah that he and his family could now go out from the ark. Noah finally took his family and all the animals out to the earth that was perfectly prepared for them.

It seems reasonable to assume that Noah and his family surely wanted off the boat before it was time. But God was not going to let them leave the boat until the earth around them was properly prepared. As we go through life, our expectations often lead us to question whether God has remembered us. We are simply placing our desires ahead of God’s perfect plan for our lives. The God of Faithfulness never forgets us or His promises to us.

Let us have unwavering faith in the promises of Almighty God. Let us have unflinching trust in His perfect timing. Let us rejoice in what He has provided for us even before we see it.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your faithfulness to Your promises. We rejoice in knowing that You will not let a single promise return void. We pray that You will give us the grace we need to build our faith when we are waiting on Your perfect timing for our lives. May we never doubt You. We ask all these things in the One who is faithful and true, Jesus Christ.

The Joy of Walking Along Side Jesus

Matthew 25:21
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to join Our Master as He walks along side us in our journey toward sanctification. We can be certain that we will encounter the following along the way:

  • Jesus will set our hearts to burning for Him as He opens the scriptures to us, just as he did for the two disciples when He joined them as they were walking on the road to Emmaus.
  • The Holy Spirit will reveal to us who we are without Jesus in our lives.
  • The Holy Spirit will convict us of the darkness in our lives and urge us to be obedient in changing our ways and helping others to change their ways.
  • Satan will attack us all along the way. As we grow in Christ, the intensity of the attacks will increase.

We can be just as certain that the victory is ours if we rely on the One who died for our sins. We will enter into the joy of Our Master for all eternity. Can you even imagine the joy that Jesus holds? He is the essence of everything good. He is the absence of anything evil. He is perfect in every measure. This is all ours when we stand before Him one day to take our place as His eternal servants.

Let us enter into the joy of the Master. As He dwells within us, may His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we praise You and thank You for loving us so much that You gave us Your Son to redeem us from our sins and that You provided Your Holy Spirit to guide us along our path of preparation for receiving our place in heaven for all eternity. We pray that Your countenance will shine up us. We pray that Your grace will be with us always. We pray that You will protect us from harm and evil. We pray that You will protect us from the evil one and all of His temptations. We pray that You will raise us up to be instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. May we stand before You one day and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We ask all these things in the name of the Joy of the World, Jesus Christ.

Claiming What Has Already Been Granted to Us

2 Peter 1:4
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The great God of heaven and earth, the creator and ruler over all things, has made His divine nature available to us through His Son, Jesus. He confirms this endless gift of grace through His promises, His power and His faithfulness. Whether our faith be weak or strong right now, we can find hope in claiming what has already been granted to us.

Yes, the struggles can be overbearing, but we can be certain that God promises us that the tough times will end. Do we not know that the divine nature and power of Jesus Christ is sufficient to provide victory for us in all things? Once we have accepted Jesus as Our Savior, the victory is ours. All that we need has been provided to us free, without conditions and unchangeable. All of it is provided to serve the great ends and purposes of Almighty God. All of it is provided to proclaim His glory as He showers us with His everlasting good.

Through this divine intervention, we are able to escape the frailties of our own flesh and the corruption of the world. With the precious promises graciously bestowed and powerfully applied, we are able to live under the divine influence of Our Savior and avoid the ungodliness of our carnal nature.

Let us claim total victory over all the evil pleasures that our corrupt world offers us. Let us boldly claim what has been promised to us through the divine nature of Christ Jesus.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ. We praise You, worship You and exalt Your Name for all that You have set aside for us. We pray that You teach us how to submit to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus so that we may be fully prepared to receive our eternal inheritance. May Your majesty, Your grace and Your power be manifested in us here on earth as it is in heaven. May it all be for Your glory and the gain of the kingdom as we reject the evil offerings of this corrupt world. We ask all these things in the name of Our Divine Mediator, Jesus Christ.

The Benefits of Standing in Continuous Communion with Almighty God

Psalm 91:1
He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In this world, to live in someone’s shadow is generally thought to be an undesirable place. It is regarded as a place where you cannot live up to the standards of the one who preceded you. In the kingdom of God, quite the opposite is true. Living in the shadow of Almighty God enables us to be more than we could believe to be possible.

Loving faith in Almighty God on our part will always be met by faithful love, protection and provision on God’s part. His covering of us is much greater than we can imagine. If we are abiding in Him, there is no limit to His shadow that is over us. He protects us at all times from natural and supernatural enemies. He makes our homes secure. He is our refuge in every storm.

But it does not stop there for those that seek to live in His shadow. He invites us to enjoy so much more. There is a special nuance in this passage that must not be overlooked. The blessings spoken of in today’s passage can be greater for those believers who live in ongoing, close fellowship with God. The delightful fullness of these most high blessings are for those who habitually abide in the shadow of Almighty God. Those who stand in continuous communion with God set themselves up to become possessors of rare and special benefits.

Let us seek the grace to be constant refugees in the fortress of Almighty God. Let us enjoy the fullness of His shadow.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the shadow of protection and provision that You place over us when we surrender our lives to You. We bless the name of Jesus who has made it possible for us to come to Your mercy seat. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us and strengthen us as we seek to abide under Your shadow. May our hearts be prepared to seek that secret place of constant communion where we can access the fullness of Your most high blessings. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies never end, Jesus Christ.