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The fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a tree of life and he who is wise captures human lives [for God, as a fisher of men – he gathers and receives them for eternity] (Pro 11:30).I have always loved this verse. It’s a lofty bit of Wisdom Solomon penned long ago for us to live up to. The wisest calling and most important function for believers, both men and women, is to live with that on the forefront of their minds; gathering men and women to bring with them into eternity to bask in the presence of Jesus. Now that’s an awesome purpose!
Are you one of those people? Now you may not be someone who’s constantly looking for opportunities to share Christ with everyone. But do you see those obvious opportunities you’re given and take advantage of them when presented with them? The most important task for the believer in this life, is to bring people into the family of Christ.
Lets face it. We are just not built to last. If we take care of our bodies we may get 80+ years out of them before crossing into eternity. While some get more. Others get less. There’s one of two places to end up. Heaven or hell. Who have you got to look forward to seeing in Heaven? Are there any people who have passed on before you that you know you will never see again? Does that thought not frighten you? It does me. I can think of at least a hand full of people that have died early in life that I know I’ll never see again. Sometimes thoughts of those people can haunt me and make me regret my past even more. Living out of the will of God for half of my lifetime, I was a stumbling block to many coming to Christ. But praise God I am now a new creation, who’s intentionally living to see others come to the saving knowledge and reach out for the grace of God that I now know. I am someone who genuinely looks for those opportunities to weave God into a conversation. It’s on the forefront of my mind, always.
Who’s around you everyday that you can plant seeds of truth from Gods Word in their path? The most important calling in life is to gather people to bring into Heaven. Look for those opportunities because they’re everywhere around you. Perk up. Listen intently for Gods direction and be prepared for His Spirit to speak through you. For who knows when you’re last breath will be or even the person next to you? We represent Christ to a dying world. A good friend taught me this principle early in my walk. I am so grateful. Get busy doing what’s most important. Planting living trees of truth and gathering souls for heaven.
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I think somehow we as believers get our purpose mixed up quite often. And to be honest as I’m the one writing this blog I should be the first to admit this can be true for me. You might get convicted as well. Don’t let that conviction hold you down. Repent. Learn from it. And move on.
How often do we get our spiritual calling confused with our identities and somehow our gifts either make or break us? And another question. What if our gifts or talents God entrusts us with aren’t about us at all? Consider, what if we each didn’t have any of the gifts to preach or teach or sing or encourage if God never granted them to us? Would we still seek to honor God with what we had? And even if we are gifted at some skill do we hoard it or do we claim that as a talent of our own that should: “of course be used”? Would we still use whatever gift He gave for Him? Would we still search out how to excel at using that gift for His glory?
This weekend I connected the dots and I’m about to show you how God spoke directly to me. I have to admit that quite often I have felt during this season in my life that God is silent more then He speaks. And so for this lesson I am grateful.
Over the weekend my husband and I took a trip up north. On our way home we came upon a message from my pastor that somehow ended up on my MP3 player in my car. I’m really not even sure how it got on there because I don’t recall burning it but whatever. So we’re driving, listening to music one minute and the next thing I knew there was Pastor Jim giving a message. I have to admit that it was some much needed truths to be reminded of.
Take you back earlier that day I had caught myself randomly thinking about a guy at my church who I’ve heard promotes his business at the Church. I don’t know his motive, if it’s to help someone get a job or for his benefit, using the church, but for a long time I’ve looked at him and made my own judgements. Unfair I know. I was thinking recently what is so different about my promoting my book or selling it at the church? Not that I do so often but when given an opportunity to share about it in church or outside of it I do.
Getting back to the message playing in the car which came from the passage that we often quote from the Bible about Jesus clearing the people out of the temple who were making money selling in the temple wasn’t actually about the money. Jesus wasn’t angry that buying and selling was happening in His house. He was angry at the exclusivity that was happening inside His house. How often do we single people out in our minds and think negatively about them and sort of uninclude them because of our own judgments or because they aren’t like us?
I opened up a Max Lucado book Sunday evening called “The Cure for the Common Life,” and He wrote that we need to stop promoting ourselves using our gifts and talents and look to really promote God using our gifts and talents. How satisfying that is to ones soul and how often does God truly bless someone who’s using their gifts for His glory instead of their own. I mean really how many stupid battles would we avoid if we chose to promote God instead of ourselves? And it also would help us to get over that exclusive mindset that if they don’t fit the pattern I don’t want them in my church or my group.
Lift God up with your life. And don’t covet others’ gifts. Use yours only for God’s glory. His edification instead of your own. How many of us would beat that battle in our minds if only we lived that mindset?
In my heart of hearts that’s how I live. But in my mind I have to admit that somehow I can lose that battle. I wonder so often if I just am not in the right so-called click or group of people to move forward in my plans for my life with my right motives. There something wrong with that statement, isn’t there?
I am about to celebrate seventeen years of freedom from bondage. In fact, today is the day. God broke my chains of slavery to addictions of narcotics, and entangling myself with things way to early in life that really could have sunk my ship for good, early in my life, if not for the grace of God.
The point of my saying all this is that with all my heart I want to share the Good News of freedom in Jesus with whoever will let me. I can give a personal testimony of the awesome undeserved grace of God that is available to any and all that seek to grab ahold of it. Or those who yearn to experience this in their lives. I so want to be used to share an awesome testimony of how God pulled me out of my pit to set my feet on a firm foundation of Rock, that is Jesus Christ.
At this point in my journey I have to continually give this battle to God. The one that rages within me to do things with skill I could all those years ago. Such as singing for Gods glory and not my own. If I am blessed with an opportunity to sing again well I’ll praise God for that. But if I never gain back what I lost, really I have been blessed with more then I deserve.
Grace.. It’s quite a word. Quite a miraculous work of God.
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In church we churchy people can represent ourselves well, when need be. We know the lingo. We know how to strut ourselves before others. Picture it. Sunday morning arrives we chauffeur ourselves up to the church in a prestigious looking car. Step onto the pavement wearing slim Calvin Klein Jeans and black leather boots, while sporting a scent of Tommy Girl. We think we’ve arrived. No one ever looks at us and wonders what is wrong with our lives. Of course not. Because as I said, we represent well.
The question is do we really? What are we really relying upon? Are we really God followers or are we followers of other gods? What are the secret idols we as Christians have at home? Behind closed doors? What are those things we cling tighter to than anything else? What brings us contentment? These days things could be named such as social media, the approval or the attention of others with what they say and think of us, our jobs, where we live or what we drive; which goes along with possessions, and money. Or do we find our approval from God is enough? What things do we jump into the bed at night with on our minds or in our hearts? What are we reaching for the most in our lives, during good times and bad? I’ll let you name those items. That fact is we all have them. The question is are we aware of them?
Written again and again throughout the Old Testament are scenarios where God declared to His people: ‘I am the Lord your God who rescued you out of Egypt.’ The people responded with belief in Him and sang His praise but it wasn’t too long before they forsook him for other things that brought pleasure. They would forget His works. As they lusted after other things that took the place of Him, often they wandered in the wilderness. And as a result, God would send a leanness to their souls. It wouldn’t be too long before an enemy would rise up against them and they would once again be calling out to God for help.
Isaiah wrote in chapter 25: 1:
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure (ESV).
As my husband was reading out loud this chapter in Isaiah recently, a question arose within me. ‘Is God is my God or just a god?’ There better be nothing in my life I look to for approval or contentment more then Him. Everyone else in this life will disappoint me but my God will never fail me. God does not hold human expectations over my head, like others do. I am where I am right now. And that’s ok. God is my hope. God is my strength. God is my Shepherd. I am trying my best to pursue Him. And I fail everyday yet He leads and guides me and gives me grace to try again. Sometimes He lets me have it with His big shepherd stick to guide and correct me. He lets me know when He is pleased with me and when He is not.
Sometimes, I admit I feel the pressure others put on me with their expectations. Put it to ya like this: I am 35 years of age and have been married for ten years. People my age have kids. I don’t. People wonder why I don’t. Even family and close friends have those expectations of me from a distance. It may go unsaid but it does not go unnoticed. Sometimes I can feel it more then other times. And sometimes it bothers me but other times I brush it off.
I am someone who really likes to be prepared. I am not sure that I’ll ever feel prepared to have kids. It’s not out of mismanagement or lack of discipline that I believe I feel that way. It’s just a responsibility that I don’t want to mess up. I need to feel more prepared. But really are you ever prepared? It’s a life you’re raising. It’s a big responsibility that I don’t want to take lightly. Does that make me any less important? No. Not to God. And that’s what matters and in the end that’s who counts. If God is really my God then He’s the only one I’m aiming to please. If I please others along the way that’s a blessing too.
Turn on the news and who are they talking about? A movie star whose performance in a movie or a song is unmatched or a college athlete beating the record of someone else. Log onto facebook and whats the talk of your feed? Everyone’s best news. Pictures of where they are on vacation, a new house, a new car, a new kid etc.. On television there are several reality shows aimed at lifting people up as they prove they are better at something than someone else. I wonder how often this is what the church practices as well?
Whatever the case, if I’m looking at what God thinks about me that’s all that matters. I will never live up to anyone else’s expectations of me. God is God and that is it. Behind closed doors or out in public I will never be ashamed to say that. I surely hope nothing or nobody has the top place in my heart reserved only for God.
What about you? What are those secret idols in your life? That you pretend aren’t there? You shove them behind the door, under the bed, or in a closet to hide but when it comes down to truth about it you cling tightly to them?
God is a jealous God. Now who or what will you serve today?
Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who makes the Lord his refuge and trust, and turns not to the proud or to followers of false gods (Is 40:4, AMP).
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Deliverance. Freedom. What do those words make you think of? In what instances do you think they apply in your life? And how do we see them play out in every day life? I think sometimes God chooses to miraculously deliver us from bondage in our lives. Other times though God chooses to lead us through a difficult path to find freedom. Why does He do that? The answer can be found in the Bible.
Often in the Bible the modern day church is a reflection of the Israelites. In the Old Testament book of Exodus there is a good example of the them escaping bondage. It was no easy task for them to walk out of Egypt. And sometimes it can be the same for us as well. It’s possible that if God chose the easier path for Israelites to escape from the snare of bondage then when threatened by war or some other kind of battle they might have been tempted to run back to “Egypt” for fear. The same is also true for us.
I know when God initially miraculously delivered me from my bondage 17 years ago it was not by way of an easy stroll out of Egypt. It was in an instant that I was pulled out of my pit but it was also by traveling the long, hard road through the wilderness that He redeemed me and really changed my heart. God reached down his Hand and literally plucked me out of a deep pit but the consequences I dealt with after, consisted of many long, tough years. I think if my journey out had not been so trying there may have been times in my journey forward that I might’ve chosen to head back into “Egypt”. The truth is, the journey out was extremely long and hard, and there were times I looked for the easy way out. I did face times where I made the wrong decisions in my journey out that could’ve sent me back into the grip of Satan. However, in the midst of those trying days, when I remembered what I’d been through to even get as far as I’d gotten, that pushed me on to repent and continue forward in my journey. That journey took me from being overcome when facing some big GIANTS, to overcoming them and finding true freedom.
God chose in Exodus 13:17 to rescue people from Egypt not via an easy route, crossing through a nearby land, but by way of the Red Sea. The harder path was an impossible act that had God’s hand not parted the waters it would’ve never been successful. The purpose? Could it have been so that later on, after that trial, they would remember how God got them through that hardship and instead of fleeing they’d cling to Him during rough times? In verses 14 & 16 it says God wanted them to remember that it wasn’t by the strength of their own hands that they found freedom but only by the Hand of God that they were delivered.
Kind of makes me think that’s how the Bible study I lead on Tuesday nights goes. God does not want me to take credit for someone securing freedom because of my teaching. Only by my dependence upon Him preparing for class, leading me to teach His Word will He enable me to teach women and will any come to experience that same freedom that I’ve found from my biggest enemies. The power is in God’s Word. Period.
So friend don’t be discouraged if you’re moving forward slowly out of your pit. Maybe you’re in the wilderness looking for a way out. I want to encourage you to stay the course. Keep your eyes focused on what’s ahead not looking back at what’s behind you (Phil 3:13). Remember in our weakness He is strong (2 Cor 12:9). Keep going after His Word and hanging on tight to His promises to get you through. I promise you will never regret that.
“It’s not might by might not by power but it’s by The Spirit says the Lord” (Zec 4:6).
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Whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely , of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things (Phil 4:8).
For those of us who are followers of Christ we really need to reflect on who or what rules our minds and our hearts. What things roam around up there; in your head and what has your heart?
Some days I have anxiety about things. A lot of times it’s about things that haven’t even happened yet. I have a nervous habit that can really have a big part of my day if I let it. It drives me crazy. From time to time I pray about it. But usually I don’t consider that it’s an attack of the enemy. This is a strategy the devil has. He fills our minds with lies. His intent is to get us distracted from God and truth. It can also render us useless. Truth will keep us from being overwhelmed by the cares of this world. Because our thoughts will be fixed on higher things.
And as Gods Word says He is our provider, our protector, our healer. He is the owner of it all. He holds us in His hand. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He knows our thoughts from distance. Even before we speak a word He knows what we will say; if you can even wrap your mind around that thought. Nothing, no nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that us Christ Jesus.
So what thoughts are your mind mediating upon? About yourself? About others? About your circumstances? About your losses? About your gains? What truly has your heart? Do you compare yourself with others? Or do you measure your thoughts against Philippians 4:8? Join me in really mediating upon that verse. The Psalmist said Gods Word was a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. So let God light a path of truth in your thoughts. Directing your attitude. Affecting your words and your actions this day.
The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. (Ps 145:18)
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I don’t know about you but for me if I were to be served a dish that is only slightly warm when its supposed to be piping hot, and vise versa, a cold dish that isn’t served as chilled as it should be it is not very appetizing. Think about it. You get to your favorite restaurant, looking forward to a nice hot piece of meat, steak or a burger, cooked to order with all the fix-ins, whatever those are to you. And the waiter goes around the table to get everyone’s order and comes to you last. You order a steak and choose a baked potato as one side and coleslaw as the other.
Then the food is prepared the waiter brings it to your table and your taste buds are watering as you take in and enjoy the smells. Imagine that you’ve been looking forward to this night all week. You take your first bite expecting to your taste buds to be tantalized but disappointment sets in because neither of your hot dishes are very hot, nor is your coleslaw very cold. Both are lukewarm. The steak has cooled and is sort of tough and rubbery. The potato is slightly hardened because it cooled. And the coleslaw is not fresh, cold and crisp. It’s at room temperature. Your stomach turns and you push the plate away.
This is what I visualize as a big let down. I like meat. May it be a steak dinner or a good burger I would choose either any day over just salad. I like meat cooked to perfection and served piping hot. I, or anyone else for that matter, is not going to want to pay a decent amount for just a mediocre meal. And I most certainly would be hesitant to visit that restaurant that served my food as just described.
I think this is what John meant when he penned Revelation 3:16, So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (KJV). The word ‘lukewarm’ in the original Greek is chliaros. Vine’s Expository Dictionary describes this word to mean: a metaphor of the condition of the soul wretchedly fluctuating between a torpor and a fervour of love. Basically, those two words describe a love that is inactive, and lazy verses a love that is passionate. This describes how God feels about people that are not fully committed to Him. Not sold out in their relationship with Him. They don’t completely pursue God or do those things to build up their faith in Him. They spend more time pursuing fleeting things, things the world says we should be chasing. Acquiring more to “quench our thirst”. In actuality, it makes us thirstier and thus the cycle goes as we chase after things that don’t last. Those that are lukewarm don’t order their day around God. They order God around their day. They’ve totally missed it.
Everyone has seasons in their relationship with Christ. Sometimes we are hotter for God then other times. But trials and testing come our way and they have a tendency to either draw us closer to God or push us further from Him. Sometimes I feel like in my own life, my heart can become callused due to my own complacency. I put something before God in my heart while playing this game called life. It has a tendency to cool my love for Him. Some believers I think either get a hold of this truth right away or just miss it and it derails them from ever truly maturing in their faith. When we ask Jesus to come live in our hearts, because we accept His payment for our sin on the cross, we are giving Him permission to be the Lord of our lives. A lot of believers miss this. They accept the gift of eternal security but walk right passed anything deeper. They become lukewarm. Half in. Half out. This displeases God greatly. It disgusts Him. The verse in Revelation says it makes Him want to vomit.
But oh what a joy to be leaning on, be confident in and trusting in the Lord with all your heart. To be hanging on His every Word. Letting it be your guiding light. Your only hope. It is there and only there we can find peace. Peace in the midst of the struggles and fires that storm our pathway in life. Its our light at the end of the tunnel. If only we could be convinced of how real God is and how He really yearns to speak directly to you through His Word.
My challenge for you as you finish reading this blog is to give God His time everyday. Remember we reap only what we sow. We are all busy. But we cannot let busyness get in the way of our pursuit of the Lord. We all have the same number of hours in a day to disperse however we may. What things do you need to cut out of your life to give Him that precious time? You may very well overcome unexpected obstacles that come your way once you do. To have the strength to face the day. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank,bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do (Psalm 1:1-2, NLT).
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I don’t know about you but for me if I were to be served a dish that is only slightly warm when its supposed to be piping hot, and vise versa, a cold dish that isn’t served as chilled as it should be it is not very appetizing. Think about it. You get to your favorite restaurant, looking forward to a nice hot piece of meat, steak or a burger, cooked to order with all the fix-ins, whatever those are to you. And the waiter goes around the table to get everyone’s order and comes to you last. You order a steak and choose a baked potato as one side and coleslaw as the other.
Then the food is prepared the waiter brings it to your table and your taste buds are watering as you take in and enjoy the smells. Imagine that you’ve been looking forward to this night all week. You take your first bite expecting to your taste buds to be tantalized but disappointment sets in because neither of your hot dishes are very hot, nor is your coleslaw very cold. Both are lukewarm. The steak has cooled and is sort of tough and rubbery. The potato is slightly hardened because it cooled. And the coleslaw is not fresh, cold and crisp. It’s at room temperature. Your stomach turns and you push the plate away.
This is what I visualize as a big let down. I like meat. May it be a steak dinner or a good burger I would choose either any day over just salad. I like meat cooked to perfection and served piping hot. I, or anyone else for that matter, is not going to want to pay a decent amount for just a mediocre meal. And I most certainly would be hesitant to visit that restaurant that served my food as just described.
I think this is what John meant when he penned Revelation 3:16, So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (KJV). The word ‘lukewarm’ in the original Greek is chliaros. Vine’s Expository Dictionary describes this word to mean: a metaphor of the condition of the soul wretchedly fluctuating between a torpor and a fervour of love. Basically, those two words describe a love that is inactive, and lazy verses a love that is passionate. This describes how God feels about people that are not fully committed to Him. Not sold out in their relationship with Him. They don’t completely pursue God or do those things to build up their faith in Him. They spend more time pursuing fleeting things, things the world says we should be chasing. Acquiring more to “quench our thirst”. In actuality, it makes us thirstier and thus the cycle goes as we chase after things that don’t last. Those that are lukewarm don’t order their day around God. They order God around their day. They’ve totally missed it.
Everyone has seasons in their relationship with Christ. Sometimes we are hotter for God then other times. But trials and testing come our way and they have a tendency to either draw us closer to God or push us further from Him. Sometimes I feel like in my own life, my heart can become callused due to my own complacency. I put something before God in my heart while playing this game called life. It has a tendency to cool my love for Him. Some believers I think either get a hold of this truth right away or just miss it and it derails them from ever truly maturing in their faith. When we ask Jesus to come live in our hearts, because we accept His payment for our sin on the cross, we are giving Him permission to be the Lord of our lives. A lot of believers miss this. They accept the gift of eternal security but walk right passed anything deeper. They become lukewarm. Half in. Half out. This displeases God greatly. It disgusts Him. The verse in Revelation says it makes Him want to vomit.
But oh what a joy to be leaning on, be confident in and trusting in the Lord with all your heart. To be hanging on His every Word. Letting it be your guiding light. Your only hope. It is there and only there we can find peace. Peace in the midst of the struggles and fires that storm our pathway in life. Its our light at the end of the tunnel. If only we could be convinced of how real God is and how He really yearns to speak directly to you through His Word.
My challenge for you as you finish reading this blog is to give God His time everyday. Remember we reap only what we sow. We are all busy. But we cannot let busyness get in the way of our pursuit of the Lord. We all have the same number of hours in a day to disperse however we may. What things do you need to cut out of your life to give Him that precious time? You may very well overcome unexpected obstacles that come your way once you do. To have the strength to face the day. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank,bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do (Psalm 1:1-2, NLT).A Life Redone: My Journey to a Life of Freedom
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Search for wisdom as if silver or gold. Seeking wisdom is the wisest thing you can do. What is wisdom? Divine understanding and knowledge given by God Himself to you. What’s awesome about God is that He is not human. He is not a boss like you might have here on earth. He is not on some control trip, priding himself with the fact that he has more knowledge then you. He will impart understanding to you as you seek it out. He has no favorites. He will help you to understand things in his word if you put the time in. Read. Ask the Holy Spirit for help to understand how to understand and apply the principles found in the Word to your life.
In the last 17 years my life has changed tremendously. I’ve gone from understanding nothing as a beginner in the Bible, to someone who could take it or leave it, to finally a lover of the Word that cherishes it. I really don’t know what I’d without it. I’d be such a mess if not for the grace of God. God gives me grace to read, understand and apply His Word to my life because I yearn for it and He is good.
Proverbs says to search for wisdom as you do for silver, yearn for it as for a buried fortune. Precious is the Word that is unbreakable. It is a gem to those who experience its value first-hand in their lives. A ruby or a diamond is beautiful. But the Word of God has a special charisma and power unlike nothing else.
Go after the knowledge and wisdom of God and see what it will do in your life. I guarantee if you seek after it as if it were silver it will change your life. For myself many things that held me captive, chains that held me so tight, have been broken because of God’s Word. Many things that were once stumbling blocks in my life I no longer trip over.
“She (Wisdom) cries out in the chief place of the concourse, in the openings of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words…” (Pro 1:21, KJV)
What are you letting guide your life?
What is the gate keeper of your mind and your heart?
And what are you reaping as a result of that?
Guard your heart because everything you do flows from it (Prov 4:23).
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Just the other day I was thinking back on my old life. I remembered how I fought with such an unfaithful spirit that lived within me. It made me thank God that He broke that spirit in me before I got married. There are things from my summer of rebellion in the year 2000 that God has just plain removed from my memory. Bits and pieces are scattered in my memory but they do not paint a full picture of my unfaithfulness. And for that I am grateful. It makes me think a friend isn’t a friend just because they say they are, but because they do friendship. They actually are a friend. They look out for your best interest. They give you a helping hand when you need it. They offer advice or wisdom in a right spirit when you’re off track. They pray for you and encourage you. They want the best for you. From the Bible we can know that God is faithful far above anyone and everyone else in our lives. The Bible says, When we are faithless, He is faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim 2:13, KJV). Don’t believe me? Just let Him prove that to you. Hold to His promises in the Bible. When you pray recite those promises back to Him. Encourage yourself with them.
I opened up to 1 Kings 6 a few mornings ago and started reading about Solomon’s plans to rebuild the temple of God. It spoke of what he would build with and how he would do it. Halfway through the chapter a verse jumped out at me and reminded me of a principle in the Bible. Verse 12 says, Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My precepts, and keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will fulfill to you My promises which I made to David your father (AMP). I think this verse was written specifically for Solomon but it still has application and meaning for the believer today. God will bless those who love Him. It may or may not be seen in material wealth but most definitely it will be evident with the wealth of spiritual fruits; love, joy, peace just to name a few. The spiritual house of God is no longer built by human hands made of stone but it is within a believer. The Bible says, Come close to God and God will come close to you (James 4:8, NLT). It is when we draw near to God that the fruits of the Spirit, mentioned in Galatians, will be the prominent guiding force in your life. Those fruits will lead you to safety and keep you in peace no matter the situation.
I think about how much I’ve read of Israel being disloyal to God, in the Old Testament, yet God was still there when they needed Him. When they cried out to Him for help He came to their rescue, time and time again. Even for the church today despite our failures, the so-called dated writings of the Bible are still relevant. Fortunately God holds His end of the bargain up despite our unfaithfulness. Hebrews 13:5 says God will never leave you, nor forsake you. The Bible says Jesus gives us eternal life and once we acknowledge that truth in our hearts no one can pluck you or I out of His hand (John 10:28).
That gives me hope. despite my failures God never fails on His promises. As a matter of fact, as long as I’m looking to God for guidance everyday He will fulfill His plans through me. Despite my mishaps, my fumbles, my weaknesses God is faithful.
So we needn’t worry about tomorrow. The birds of the air reap what God provides and God is faithful to that. Believer He is also faithful to us to fulfill what He has declared in His Word.
What about you? Where is your hope secured to and why? Do you read the Bible just to know about God or to know God?
And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth (Col 3:2, AMPC).
A Life Redone 