We are unfaithful…but He is ever faithful to us. We are mean-spirited and unfair to others…but He is always compassionate and gracious towards us. We are judgmental and unmerciful…but He is ever full of grace and loving kindness.
Tag: relationship with god
I Timothy 4:7-8 “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
Paul was spurring Timothy on to develop exemplary habits, thoughts, and behaviors… And this would also hold true for us today. For it’s by discipline and instruction that we become the person God wants us to become. And in the end, we will reap the benefit of blessings in this present life and eternal life to come.
I Corinthians 13:12 ” Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
Who can understand God? Who can comprehend His ways or grasp His greatness? What we perceive now falls so pathetically far from what we’ll then realize…when we’re face to face.
Psalm 63:1 ” O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
David wrote this Psalm while in the desert…and sometimes we travel through our own desert. Those periods of dryness, when everything seems empty, parched and withered…those times when God seems so far away. But be encouraged…God’s showers are coming! Showers of blessings flowing down and filling your soul with living water. Your emptiness will be filled, and because of those abundant blessings, new life will spring forth from within.
Luke 12: 15 ” Then He said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ “
Jesus was warning us to be careful of forsaking God in the pursuit of collecting wealth. We don’t exist for the sake of hoarding riches…and we will never save ourselves by the amount of property we’ve amassed. Our trust can never be in gold and riches. (Psalm 62:10)
Genesis 4:9 ” Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ “
From the first time that question was uttered by Cain, to today, we must all be accountable to God for our fellow-man. If we see someone flailing in the water…we help. If we see someone drowning in sin…we need to go to their aid as well. We can never become an island unto ourselves…for God commands us to love and protect one another, just as He loves and protects us.
Isaiah 30:15 ” This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’ “
God really does know best, and always has our best interest in mind. But we sometimes think we know better. Exodus 14:14 is an excellent example of what the Lord is trying to tell us in the verse…”The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Our strength is derived from hope and obedience, not sheer force and brute determination.
Psalm 88: 2-3 ” May my prayer come before You; turn Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.”
There comes a time in everyone’s life when anguish, grief and heartache takes over our body. We truly feel that we are approaching death…the pain is that intense. But we can’t allow the pain to overwhelm and consume us…rather, we need to allow the Lord and others to help pull us from the abyss…until the darkness subsides.
Lamentations 3: 55-57 ” I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close Your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called You, and You said, ‘Do not fear.’ “
I sit… shrouded by the darkest depths of the mire, for I know Lord, I am living with the despair of bad choices I have made…and choices I had no control over. So I cry out to You for deliverance, for I believe that You will not only hear, but also draw close and comfort me. Because I put my trust in You… I know I can face all my fears.
Ephesians 6: 17 ” Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Roman soldier’s helmet was a defensive weapon…covering and protecting the head, while the sword was an offensive weapon…used to attack the enemy. Each day we need to intentionally cover our mind with the blood of Jesus…asking Him to guard what we look at, listen to, and think about. We need to then take up our sword – the Scriptures – and armed with that Truth, we are then able to cut through the deception of the enemy.
Safetypinlove 