Faith is not common sense…and common sense is not faith. The two are about as far apart as our natural life is from our spiritual life. Our human logic will get us into trouble every time we look at God…for we want to put God into a tidy little box, but it just doesn’t work that way. Faith in God, is seeing the situation through His eyes, and not ours…it’s trusting God when our human reasoning has all but given up…it’s believing when there’s nothing else left to do.
Ephesians 4: 23-24 ” To be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
To clothe ourselves with Christ Jesus is to change our mindset…to alter every thought and action through a “God-like” filter. ” We have taken off our old self and put on the new self which is being renewed.” (Colossians 3:10) The point being, that this transformation process in our new self…our Christ-like self…is ongoing, ever evolving, ever growing as we pursue a right standing with God.
Ephesians 4: 4-6 ” There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all, and in all.”
The invitation was given…you accepted…and that first hope was born within your heart. Now having answered that call, you have become a child of the King…the absolute, sovereign God ruling over everything and everyone in accordance to His Eternal, Holy, and unchanging Will.
Ephesians 3:16-17 ” I pray out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
I pray this also into your life today. That Christ will not only take up residence, but become established and rooted in your heart…so that you will be able to do all things through Him who gives you strength. (Philippians 4:13)
Ephesians 3:12 ” In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
It’s that first hope in Jesus that changes our life forever. We’ve taken those first halting steps towards our Savior, and He has in turn gathered us up in a mighty hug of assurance and certainty. Now filled with the confidence and trust no human can fully explain, we can face God without the guilt and shame that has covered us for so long.
Ephesians 2:14 ” For He Himself is our peace.”
This precious promise is for you today. A promise that will never be withdrawn…a lasting promise brought about by God’s infinite mercy for you. In John 14:27 our Lord states, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” You have been bestowed with peace from Jesus Himself…receive this peace He offers you today.
Proverbs 25:9 …do not betray another man’s confidence.”
Here I sit, betrayed by someone I trusted…the feelings of hurt, anger, and shame washing over me. There are two paths I can choose to take with all this negative emotion. One is to wallow in it, allowing it to grow into a large festering wound…impacting all aspects of my life. The other choice is to forgive. But forgiving someone who has hurt you badly is hard to do when you’d rather hang on to the anger and hurt than release it. But forgiveness is for us…not the betrayer. For in all likelihood, they don’t even realize what they’ve done…or don’t even care. So even though I have to say, ” I forgive them Lord.” through gritted teeth, I’m now on the path to healing.
Proverbs 1: 19 ” Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.”
Those who obtain wealth and possessions by dishonest means may think they are getting away with something…but in the end, their path leads to death. A total lack of integrity will never win over righteous living.
I John 2:17 ” The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the Will of God lives forever.”
The draw of the world is strong…it entices and tempts all our senses and emotions…luring and seducing until we succumb – only to wake the next morning feeling guilty and full of self-loathing for what we had done. But God doesn’t want us to live this way…forever failing, begging for forgiveness, only to fail again in a weak moment. The Lord wants us to live victoriously through Him. The world will leave us in a broken heap in the gutter…but He never will.
Psalm 42: 1-2 ” As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thrists for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? “
Our Spirit longs to commune with the Lord, but taking the time daily to be in His Word is difficult. The literal meaning of “meet with God”, is to examine the face of God. When I was a new Christian, I read a book that changed my way of looking at reading the Bible forever…the book is entitled, “Meeting with Jesus” by Pastor Hal Perkins. The premise being, reading the scriptures and then writing them back to God as they apply to you. I then realized that the Bible was written for me and what I was going through and that God really did care…He longed to meet with me. And suddenly, I wanted to meet with Him too. Today, take the time to get in the Bible and examine the face of your Savior.
Safetypinlove 