It is God who works in you.
Lord, I am not sufficient of myself to think of anything as being from myself, but my sufficiency is from You, Lord God. I can receive nothing unless it has been given to me from heaven. I cannot come to Jesus unless You, Father God who sent Him, draw me; and You will raise me up at the last day. You will give us, Your people, one heart and one way, that we may fear You forever. I will not be deceived. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from You, the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of Your own will, God, You brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of Your creatures. I am Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which You prepared beforehand that I should walk in them.
Lord, You will establish peace for me, for You have also done all my works in me.
You accomplish things through me, You give every good gift to me, You have called me to be Your child! I am blessed to be Yours, gracious God!
PHILIPPIANS 2:13; 2 CORINTHIANS 3:5; JOHN 3:27; JOHN 6:44; JEREMIAH 32:39; JAMES 1:16–18; EPHESIANS 2:10; ISAIAH 26:12 - Dr. David Jeremiah Life-Changing Moments with God
In this second post today we see our sufficiently in Christ and at the same time see our encouragement in Christ.
We do and can do great things when we are are having the right priorities and perspective on life.
Indeed there's many things in life that we can frankly waste time trying to enjoy or to find enjoyment in.
But for the believer it should be found in our obedience to Christ Jesus.
This part grabbed me: You accomplish things through me, You give every good gift to me, You have called me to be Your child! I am blessed to be Yours, gracious God!
We have the potential to have a life that exceeds our wildest expectations if only we would hand everything in our lives to Jesus to fulfill.
Obedience to God is supposed to be our first priority.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and spirit.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Without obedience those two commandments don't amount to anything.
Without obedience to God we find frustration. We see people on various social media platforms declare how they sacrificed and battled their way to the success they enjoy in life.
God can change the direction of the life of an obedient believer in minutes to a life not believed possible beforehand.
It took minutes to bring about the madness that drove King Nebuchadnezzar from his throne as per the judgment of God against him. Took just as long to restore it and him, albeit with a proper understanding of the Will of God.
It took a spoken confession in a cross near Jesus’s own cross to forever alter the life of a thief. Likewise the other thief in keeping his mouth shut sealed his future separation from God.
Your obedience began with your confession of your need for a Savior in Christ Jesus alone.
Your continued obedience leads to the transformed life He desires for each who do.
Your continued obedience to God's Word, to prayer, brings the encouragement you need to grow in Christ Jesus.
Do you seek God's Will for you or are you believing you are happier doing your own thing?
Do you build up people trying to live for Christ or do you, either in words or actions, discourage them?
Do you choose to live for the One who saved you or are you still hanging onto things in life that have no bearing on you growing up in Christ Jesus?
I've come to some conclusions about this clean slate that Jesus has put before me in regards to several things. In regards to my job, to continue to try to live up to Colossians 3:23-24. Regardless of what that might be. Secondly, to not hold this job on any pedestal. Not to elevate it about obedience to God. Thirdly, this home we have been given will be more God-centric than the one we are leaving. For at least as long as necessary, determined by God's leading, I am not going to continue my hobbies. They will stay boxed up. My priorities are becoming clearer that I am more in need of a Study than a laboratory. I am in need of a place to study God's Word more, and to write the book that I am to write.
I am encouraged by what I see God doing. It's been a painful process, Spiritually and physically and emotionally. All who follow Jesus will suffer in some ways to get to where they are more like Christ. If you aren't going through something then I would be concerned enough to be bold enough to ask God about it. Sometimes it's a lull in the storm, sometimes a rest period before something happens. But don't sit on your blessed assurance and be doing nothing in regards to learning to be more like Christ or in being obedient.
We are to be growing in Christ at all times. Not on off hours or just during Church services.
We are told that the Spirit will teach us all things. So it begs the question, are you even asking Him any questions? Or are your hobbies, job, your leisure time, even your family and friends more important to you than your walk with Jesus? Look at what Jesus said.
Matthew 10:37-39 NASB " “The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. The one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on My account will find it."
There's a line in a song that I remember. "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love."
Be encouraged if you are going through things in this life that cause you to question what's in your life. The Disciples had to go through those choices too in order to follow Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment