GOD LIKES US :
Matthew 18:14 "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
One of the greatest truths of the Bible and also one of the hardest to comprehend, is that we are the objects of God's love. God didn't just pity us or feel some sense of moral obligation to save us. He saved us because of His infinite love for us (Jn. 3:16).
God loves people. He even loves those who have gone astray. As Jesus said in a similar parable (Lk. 15:7), "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."
Once we experience the life-changing power of Christ, there is a tendency to become harsh and impatient with others who continue to live their lives without Him. We sometimes forget that it was the love and goodness of God that brought us to repentance (Rom. 2:4), and we become condemning and judgmental toward the lost. This is not the attitude that Jesus had, nor the attitude He wants us to have.
"Even when we were spiritually dead because of our sins, God's forbearance was working on our behalf. He was tolerant, patient and kind towards us. God abounded in excessive proportion with good will, compassion, and desire to help us. His disposition was kind, compassionate, and forgiving in His treatment of us. He wanted in abundant supply to alleviate our distress and bring relief from our sins. He did this by giving us life in place of death.
It was with Christ that this salvation was secured. By grace, kindness, and favor we are saved. All of this was the result of God's extremely large degree of love wherewith He loved us, always seeking the welfare and betterment of us. God likes us" (Eph. 2:4-5 paraphrased by Don Krow). God loves YOU!
GIVE LIFE TO YOUR FAITH :
...faith without works is dead. - James 2:20, NKJV
Are you giving life to your faith? If we aren’t doing something that shows that we believe God, the Bible says that our faith is dead. Dead faith won’t accomplish anything. We have to give life to our faith by putting actions behind it. It doesn’t have to be anything big, just something that shows your faith in God. For example, I know people who are down and discouraged. They pray, “God, please get me out of this discouragement. God, give me my joy back. God, give me a new beginning.”
And yes, prayer is important, but it’s only part of the process. What really causes God to act is when you do something about it—you get back up, dust yourself off, and say, “You know what? I’m not going to stay down. This is the day the Lord has made! I am going to be happy and have a great day.” That’s putting action behind your faith.
I encourage you today to let your actions give life to your faith. Show the world that you are trusting God’s Word. As you do, you’ll give life to your faith and step into new levels of His victory and blessing in every area of your life!
ADDICTED TO THE WORD :
Ye know the house of Stephanas...and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. – 1 Corinthians 16:15
I want you to begin to develop an addiction today--an addiction to the Word of God. That may sound odd to you, especially if you don't have much of an interest in the Word right now. But, believe me, it's possible. I've done it myself and I've seen others do it, time and again.
All you have to do is make a decision to give yourself to it. To focus your time and attention on it. The more you give yourself to it, the more your desire for it will grow. Eventually, it will consume your thinking.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. That happens with anything you totally give yourself to. It happens, for example, with people who give themselves to pornography. As they focus their attention on it, the spirit behind it moves in on their consciousness and eventually draws them from mental activity into physical activity. Finally, they come to a place where they can't be satisfied. They can't get enough.
That same principle works on the positive side when you begin to give yourself to God's Word. You can give yourself to it to the point where it totally consumes your mental and physical life. The more of it you get, the more you want. The Spirit behind the Word, the Holy Spirit, will draw you and lead you closer to Jesus than you ever imagined possible.
I've never yet met anybody walking in faith and power who at sometime hadn't developed that kind of addiction by giving themselves totally to the Word for an extended time. I don't mean just a few minutes here and there either. I'm talking about some serious time.
So determine to do that. Determine to become a Word addict. Once you do, you'll never be willing to live without it again.
LESSON FROM A TOOTHACHE
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. —Hebrews 12:7
“When I was a child I often had a toothache,” wrote C. S. Lewis in his classic book Mere Christianity. He continued, “and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something that would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother—at least not till the pain became very bad. . . . I knew she would take me to the dentist the next morning. . . . I wanted immediate relief from pain, but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right.”
Similarly, we might not always want to go to God right away when we have a problem or are struggling in a certain area. We know that He could provide immediate relief from our pain, but He is more concerned with dealing with the root of the problem. We may be afraid that He will reveal issues that we are unprepared or unwilling to deal with.
In times like these, it is helpful to remind ourselves that the Lord “deals with [us] as with sons” (Heb. 12:7). His discipline, though perhaps painful, is wise, and His touch is loving. He loves us too much to let us remain as we are; He wants to conform us to the likeness of His Son, Jesus (Rom. 8:29). God’s purposes of love can be trusted more than any of our emotions of fear.
Thank You, Lord, for showing me my hidden faults, for You treat me as Your dear child. Help me surrender to Your cleansing work till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.
God’s hand of discipline is a hand of love.
LOVE YOUR FAMILY & PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE
When I think about my family, I feel so blessed. My husband, children, mom, dad, brother, in-laws—I just think they’re all amazing. I’ve told them that before, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have to do anything else in the relationship. I don’t ever want to let my relationships become stagnant. I want them to continue to grow and deepen. I want to learn to love the people in my life in creative, new ways. I want God to show me how my love can grow and mature and strengthen our connections. I want my love to influence them and build them up.
Novelist Katherine Anne Porter once wrote, “Love must be learned, and learned again; there is no end to it.” Love should not remain the same year after year; love is supposed to grow. Relationships evolve over time, people change over time, and our love should strengthen and grow over time, too.
The apostle Paul prayed that our love would abound and grow in knowledge and depth of insight. That tells me that I cannot put my love on autopilot. If we put our love on autopilot and trust that the people in our lives will simply “know” that we love them, our relationships will not grow or will not be as fruitful as they were intended to be. That’s why it’s so important to make every effort to let our love grow stronger each and every day.
Today, I believe God wants to bring you up to new levels in your love, and He wants to use you to influence the people around you. It doesn’t matter how others respond, what matters is that you keep on loving. Trust that God will show you how. Trust that He will give you creative ways to love your family and the people in your life. Trust that He will give you the words to say even before you need them. Trust that He will give you the vision to see your family strong and whole, rising to new levels wrapped in His glorious love.
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. (Philippians 1:9, NLT)
PRAYER FOR THE DAY :
“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” (Psalm 108: 5)
Dear Lord God, I praise You. I honor You. This is the day the Lord has made; let me rejoice and be glad in it. Holy God, You arise at dawn from the east in the midst of jubilantly trumpets sound, angels are singing and dancing around the throne of grace for the Lord is in reign. I sing hymns of praise with my lips of pureness on this new day. Let Your sweet Spirit come upon me and sustain me with Your right hand throughout the days and days ahead. Bless me O God, for I am Your chosen servant and wonderfully made child.
Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen !!!
Free
Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com
THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND FULL GOSPEL
http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1EV
JESUS IS GOD http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1BH
HOLINESS http://wp.me/s2M7AJ-holiness
SONS OF GOD http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1yh
ALL OUR NEEDS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1zY
JESUS CHRIST THE SAME http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Xf
GOD WANTS YOU WELL http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1ry
FINAL WORD http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1A3
Fair
Use Notice: There is some copyrighted material on this site, the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are
making such material available in an effort to our efforts to advance
understanding of serious issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of
any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US
Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on
this site is distributed without profit for educational purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment