BUSY?
ARE YOU SO BUSY WORKING FOR GOD THAT YOU NEVER SPEND ANY TIME WITH GOD?
It is easy to justify doing good works for God as a substitute for spending real, intimate, quality, personal time with God. For example, a youth pastor may spend many hours planning events for kids—preparing the music, setting up the games, arranging the transportation, and even preparing a brief message. However, none of that is a substitute for spending personal time with God—reading the Bible, praying, seeking God's guidance, worshiping, and just sitting in His presence.
Unfortunately, many people are often so caught up in other activities that we use them as an excuse for not spending time with God. Instead, they need to make a firm decision to put God first in our lives. For example, King David, who certainly had many opportunities to fill his time with other activities, knew that spending time with God is an absolute necessity—a vital need. In Psalm 27:4, he said that God was the most important thing in his life: One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Indeed, Jesus declared that if we seek God, he will take care of the rest of the things in our lives: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). In your life, put God first, and he will take care of "all these things." Follow David's example: make God the "one thing" you need. That way, you won't be so busy working for God that you never spend any time with God
FRUSTRATING GOD’S GRACE?
GALATIANS 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Consider carefully what the apostle Paul is saying in today’s verse. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means—for nothing!
So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to make you righteous. And when you know that you are made righteous by Jesus’ work alone, regardless of your performance, you can be confident that God’s unmerited favor is on your side. You can expect good to happen to you today and every day!
WHEN YOU REFUSE …
When you refuse to love people because they're hard to love, you forget the fact that God always loves you, even though you're not always easy to love.
God's love for you is unconditional and everlasting. God loves you exactly as you are, and He loves you no matter what you do. God doesn't love you because you are a "good" person; instead, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
God is abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6).
In 1 John 4:9-11, we are told that, because of God's love for us, we ought to love one another: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
"One another" even includes those that are hard to love. Remember, God loves you even though you're not always easy to love. Therefore, you, also, ought to love others, especially those that aren't easy to love..
KINDNESS AND GOODNESS :
See that none of you repays another with evil for evil, but always aim to show kindness and seek to do good to one another and to everybody - 1 Thessalonians 5:15. AMP
In Galatians chapter five, the Bible talks about nine fruits of the Spirit. These fruits are spiritual qualities that manifest in our lives when we allow Him to work in us. The more we invite God to move in our hearts and follow His Word, the more those characteristics will manifest in us.
Kindness and goodness are two of those fruit of the Spirit. The Bible tells us that His Kindness leads people to repentance. In other words, kindness advances the Kingdom of God. The more kindness and goodness we show other people, the more we are acting like God. The Bible also tells us that what we sow, we shall reap. When we seek to do good to others, we will reap goodness in our own lives in return.
Today, look for ways to show kindness and goodness to the people around you even when they aren’t kind to you. Don’t repay evil for evil. Take the high road. Bless those who wrongfully use you. Seek to do good, show kindness, and you will see it come back as a blessing in your own life in return!
JESUS
JESUS IS YOUR SWEET AROMA TO GOD :
LEVITICUS 1:13 - …the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
In Old Testament times, when a burnt offering is killed, its head is severed, the fat removed, and the entrails and legs washed. Then, everything is placed on an altar and burnt, and the sacrifice is a sweet aroma to God.
All this speaks of the death of Jesus, who has “given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2)
The head of the sacrificed animal speaks of the mind of Christ offered as a covering for our minds. This means that although our minds are often clouded with unbelief, worries, foolishness, filth and human reasoning, God treats us as if we have the mind of Christ, without wrong or displeasing thoughts, bringing pleasure to Him like a sweet aroma.
The fat of the animal speaks of the riches of Christ, His best, for God equates the fat of something with the best of that entity. (Genesis 45:18) The fat of the burnt sacrifice speaks of Jesus giving us His riches, His best, as our covering. So God does not see us in our lack, but in the riches and excellence of Jesus going up to Him as a sweet aroma.
The entrails or intestines speak of Jesus’ motivations, feelings, affections and desires. We often feel fearful, anxious, stressed out or angry (and it affects our stomach and intestines). But God sees only Jesus’ feelings and desires, which are always pure, beautiful and acceptable to Him—a sweet aroma.
The legs refer to Jesus’ perfect walk—His power to serve and obey the Father—imputed to our weak and faltering walk. And the fact they are washed shows that even our crooked walk has been cleansed.
Beloved, God does not see your foolish mind, weak nature, inadequate feelings or faulty walk. Instead, He sees you in the perfection of His Son, who gave Himself up for you as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.
ARE YOU SO BUSY WORKING FOR GOD THAT YOU NEVER SPEND ANY TIME WITH GOD?
It is easy to justify doing good works for God as a substitute for spending real, intimate, quality, personal time with God. For example, a youth pastor may spend many hours planning events for kids—preparing the music, setting up the games, arranging the transportation, and even preparing a brief message. However, none of that is a substitute for spending personal time with God—reading the Bible, praying, seeking God's guidance, worshiping, and just sitting in His presence.
Unfortunately, many people are often so caught up in other activities that we use them as an excuse for not spending time with God. Instead, they need to make a firm decision to put God first in our lives. For example, King David, who certainly had many opportunities to fill his time with other activities, knew that spending time with God is an absolute necessity—a vital need. In Psalm 27:4, he said that God was the most important thing in his life: One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Indeed, Jesus declared that if we seek God, he will take care of the rest of the things in our lives: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). In your life, put God first, and he will take care of "all these things." Follow David's example: make God the "one thing" you need. That way, you won't be so busy working for God that you never spend any time with God
FRUSTRATING GOD’S GRACE?
GALATIANS 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Consider carefully what the apostle Paul is saying in today’s verse. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means—for nothing!
So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to make you righteous. And when you know that you are made righteous by Jesus’ work alone, regardless of your performance, you can be confident that God’s unmerited favor is on your side. You can expect good to happen to you today and every day!
WHEN YOU REFUSE …
When you refuse to love people because they're hard to love, you forget the fact that God always loves you, even though you're not always easy to love.
God's love for you is unconditional and everlasting. God loves you exactly as you are, and He loves you no matter what you do. God doesn't love you because you are a "good" person; instead, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
God is abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6).
In 1 John 4:9-11, we are told that, because of God's love for us, we ought to love one another: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
"One another" even includes those that are hard to love. Remember, God loves you even though you're not always easy to love. Therefore, you, also, ought to love others, especially those that aren't easy to love..
KINDNESS AND GOODNESS :
See that none of you repays another with evil for evil, but always aim to show kindness and seek to do good to one another and to everybody - 1 Thessalonians 5:15. AMP
In Galatians chapter five, the Bible talks about nine fruits of the Spirit. These fruits are spiritual qualities that manifest in our lives when we allow Him to work in us. The more we invite God to move in our hearts and follow His Word, the more those characteristics will manifest in us.
Kindness and goodness are two of those fruit of the Spirit. The Bible tells us that His Kindness leads people to repentance. In other words, kindness advances the Kingdom of God. The more kindness and goodness we show other people, the more we are acting like God. The Bible also tells us that what we sow, we shall reap. When we seek to do good to others, we will reap goodness in our own lives in return.
Today, look for ways to show kindness and goodness to the people around you even when they aren’t kind to you. Don’t repay evil for evil. Take the high road. Bless those who wrongfully use you. Seek to do good, show kindness, and you will see it come back as a blessing in your own life in return!
JESUS
JESUS IS YOUR SWEET AROMA TO GOD :
LEVITICUS 1:13 - …the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
In Old Testament times, when a burnt offering is killed, its head is severed, the fat removed, and the entrails and legs washed. Then, everything is placed on an altar and burnt, and the sacrifice is a sweet aroma to God.
All this speaks of the death of Jesus, who has “given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2)
The head of the sacrificed animal speaks of the mind of Christ offered as a covering for our minds. This means that although our minds are often clouded with unbelief, worries, foolishness, filth and human reasoning, God treats us as if we have the mind of Christ, without wrong or displeasing thoughts, bringing pleasure to Him like a sweet aroma.
The fat of the animal speaks of the riches of Christ, His best, for God equates the fat of something with the best of that entity. (Genesis 45:18) The fat of the burnt sacrifice speaks of Jesus giving us His riches, His best, as our covering. So God does not see us in our lack, but in the riches and excellence of Jesus going up to Him as a sweet aroma.
The entrails or intestines speak of Jesus’ motivations, feelings, affections and desires. We often feel fearful, anxious, stressed out or angry (and it affects our stomach and intestines). But God sees only Jesus’ feelings and desires, which are always pure, beautiful and acceptable to Him—a sweet aroma.
The legs refer to Jesus’ perfect walk—His power to serve and obey the Father—imputed to our weak and faltering walk. And the fact they are washed shows that even our crooked walk has been cleansed.
Beloved, God does not see your foolish mind, weak nature, inadequate feelings or faulty walk. Instead, He sees you in the perfection of His Son, who gave Himself up for you as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.
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