Lord,
I often do not have the courage or strength necessary to meet my spiritual and
moral challenges. But still. . . help me!
I
admit my contrite helplessness.
Personal devotionals
Lord,
I often do not have the courage or strength necessary to meet my spiritual and
moral challenges. But still. . . help me!
I
admit my contrite helplessness.
People
in the know talk about love, but where does it come from and how do you get it?
The
truth is when someone who is supposed to love you, hurts you, one of two things
will happen.
You
will work [even unconsciously] to get them to pay back the fact you cared for
them. You try to get them to right the wrong somehow.
Or
you can experience vulnerability and accept the hurt, hoping they will someday
get better.
Learning
to absorb the hurt in order to honor the Christ is the more Christian way. We
have to learn the right kind of love that receives and gives in a kind of
balance to honor heavenly Father.
We
are always seeking what we need to know.
We
have a very clear word as believers.
“All
that the Father has is mine [says Jesus] ; therefore, I said that he
will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16: 15
We
all know words are important. And how words are used becomes extremely
significant. For instance, in John 15:12 when Jesus said, “Love each other as I
have loved you…”, he states an imperative.
Imperative/action
words call for a response in behavior, not just promoting an idea. Those words
are more like a demand. . .like, if you do not want to get bitten, don’t stick
your hand in a snake hole. Don’t walk against a red light.
Do
eat the right food. Do learn love rather than hate.
Jesus
said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter to be
with you forever. “ [John 14:16]
Not just
a week, a month, a year but FOREVER! Think of all the connections he will make.
His Grace,
indeed, is without limit.
The
scripture indicates that with Jesus there is always the NOW, the MORE, the YES.
The Holy Spirit is revelation/presence at any given moment.
Rev.1:10,
“… in the Spirit …”
Sneaky
ambition and pride tend to ignore true holiness.
If
God had to rearrange the universe to answer your one prayer, would He do it??
Before
the Resurrection, there was a dead raising. The little girl, about 12 years
old, daughter of one of the rulers of the synagogue had died. Everyone thought she
was dead, but Jesus said she was just sleeping. Did he not know she was dead? Of
course, he knew and shows us a comforting picture. [Mark 5:41-42.]
Jesus
takes her hand and tells her to wake up sweetheart! We need to always look for
the truth within the Jesus stories.
What
is this one?
If
Jesus holds our hand, death is no more than a sleep.
Some
people spend life like spinning wheels in a mud hole, letting circumstance [the
mud] keep them from going anywhere. They are moving but not progressing
forward. They slip back and spin again but don’t get out of the hole.
The
true believer can actually spin out of the holes. Hebrews 13:8 tells us, “But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things…”
The
promise holds now. We have a help to go beyond tragedy, cultural unrest,
political confusion, and everyday challenges.
We
just have to PAY ATTENTION to the right director.
What Are Christians Supposed to Do? June 4
So, what are Christians
supposed to be and do? What are we called for? What is the result?
If we are called only
to get to a heaven, then this creates a reward motivation, so in a sense, God
has tempted us to do good.
If we are called to be
religious, then self-conscious straining creates an end. We only live by what
we do or don’t do.
If we are called to be happy,
then all life challenges get centered on Self recovery and preservation.
If we are called to
just be slave-like servants and be useful, then the Self is still at the center
to find easier ways to live in confinement.
If we are called only
to serve some new goodness, then we still end up at the center by trying forced,
self-sacrificing methods of living.
Some
of all the above may happen but what are we actually called for? The scripture
[Romans 1:6] gives the hint. We are called to BELONG, not just to be or do.
When Jesus said to “follow me”, he meant to literally give the self away every
day, every minute, every second, every existence.
Self
has to go. Easiness is not the goal.
As
we get older, we struggle with new challenges of the day. There are many, but
one in particular.
How
do you deal with closure?
When
we start a project, a repair, an improvement of any kind, we want to get the
job done NOW. But what if some interruption happens, like we can’t find a part,
the store didn’t have what we needed, some unexpected visitor, the rain
interfered. We get frustrated, maybe even angry of a sort. That is because we
want it NOW.
When
we can apply Philippians 4:13, “I am able ( I can) do all things through
Christ who strengthens me”- - -then we can take a small breath and finish a
project in God’s time.
There
are times when life seems to be crashing in and we feel somewhat abandoned. We
think no one understands. No one sees us. No one knows us and accepts us as we
are.
Are
we just “feeling sorry” for ourselves? Things are not working out as we thought.
Life just gets too hard.
Is
this just a feeling? Or is it a perspective? How we see things at the moment.
We certainly have to increase our trust factor.
Thanks
for Hebrews 13:5 which indicates God
will never leave us, desert us, or forsake us.