Spiritual work out...Philippians 2:12-13

Philippians 2:12–13 presents a good cause for our cooperating with the Lord's leading:

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

These verses highlight three specifics: There's a willingness to obey. There's the need to "work out" or give ourselves to doing our part with a sensitive spirit (fear and trembling). And then there's the promise that God will "work in you" to accomplish His plan. As we remain alert to His working, paying close attention to doors He opens and closes, He directs us into His will.

Closed doors are just as much God's leading as open ones. The believer who wants to do God's will must remain sensitive and cooperative, not forcing his or her way into areas that God closes off. The Lord uses circumstances and expects us to "read" them with a sensitive, alert conscience.

We must stop and check His Word. We must look around and within. And there is one more helpful piece of advice to remember. We must . . .

3. Listen to the Counsel of Qualified People

Solomon the wise once wrote:

A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, 
But a man of understanding draws it out. (Proverbs 20:5)

Iron sharpens iron, 
So one man sharpens another. . . .

As in water face reflects face, 
So the heart of man reflects man. (Proverbs 27:17, 19)

Like a quarterback, facing fourth-and-one on the thirty-yard line, who calls a time-out to consult with the coach, so must we. God uses others to help us know His desires.

God makes His will known: (1) through His Word . . . as we stop and study it, (2) through circumstances . . . as we look within and sense what He is saying, and (3) through the counsel of others . . . as we listen carefully. 

 The better we know God’s Word, the more clearly we will know His will for us.

author unknown

God Cannot Lie...Titus 1:2

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” - Titus 1:2

We speak of the Bible as inerrant and infallible. But is it really important that we believe that the Word of God is true and perfect?

Yes. If any part of His Word is not true, then we must conclude that God is a liar. But God cannot lie! Every word in the Bible can be relied upon. Billy Graham came to this conclusion in the early years of his ministry and prayed, “I have seen enough of the transforming power of this Word to know that You are behind it…. I take it by faith…and trust You to make clear to me what it means.”

F. B. Myer, one of the greatest devotional writers of all time, said if any promise of God should fail, “the heavens will clothe themselves in sackcloth, and the sun and moon and stars will reel from their seats, the universe will rock, and a hollow wind moan through creation, bearing the tidings that God is mutable, that God can lie.”

A God of truth cannot inspire untruth. Praise God for His absolute trustworthiness.

Author unknown

Lead by Grace...Deut 32:10

“He led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” - Deut 32:10

“He led them about.” This was true literally. What a circuitous, tangled, backward and forward route was that of the children of Israel in the wilderness! Yet every step was under God’s direction; they never moved until the cloudy pillar led the way.

But how does the Lord lead about in grace? By leading his Israel into a path of which they do not see the end. One turn of the road hides the next. I have read that you may make a road with a curve at every quarter of a mile, and yet in a hundred miles the distance will not be so much as a mile more than a perfectly straight line. So in grace. The length of the road swallows up the turnings.

But these turnings make the road seem more round about than it really is. All before us is hidden. For instance, when the Lord begins a work of grace, he brings convictions of sin, opens up the spirituality of the law, makes the soul feel guilty, guilty, guilty in every thought, word, and deed. But does a man in that condition know what the Lord is doing? Can he clearly trace out the work of God upon his soul? Is he able to say, “This, this is the work of God upon my heart?” For the most part, he knows not what is the matter with him; why he is so distressed; why he can take no rest; why the things of eternity keep rolling in upon his soul; why he stands in continual dread of the wrath to come; why his mind is so exercised with thoughts upon God; why he feels condemnation, bondage, and misery.

Nor even when the Lord is pleased to raise him up to some hope, to apply some sweet promise to his soul, to encourage him in various ways under the ministry of the word, can he often take the full comfort of it. He may for a time, but it is soon gone, and he can scarcely believe it to be real. Unbelief suggests that it did not come exactly in the right way, or did not last long enough, or did not go deep enough, or was not just such as he has heard others speak of; and so he is filled with doubts, fears, and anxieties whether it was really from the Lord. But when God leads him on a step further; opens up the gospel, reveals Christ, drops into his heart some sweet testimony, gives him some blessed discovery of his saving interest in the Lord Jesus, and seals it with a divine witness in his heart, this banishes all his doubts and fears, and fills his soul with joy and peace. Yet even after this, when the sweet feeling is gone, he may sink again very low, and may question the reality of the revelation he has enjoyed. All this is “leading about;” for one turn of the road hides the other.

Source: Daily Blessings

Gifts for the Kingdom...1 Corinthians 12:4-7

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Many people hear the word "serve" and feel that they do not have the necessary qualities to make a difference in others' lives. This is true--apart from God. But He has gifted each of us in unique ways with a purpose in mind. His plan for us involves using these talents to serve Him for the good of others.

Satan would like us to believe otherwise. Our Enemy wants us to notice what others are doing and then to feel inferior. For instance, I have heard women say, "I am just a homemaker." They see people preaching and singing in the choir and wish they could accomplish something so great for God. Friends, there could be nothing further from the truth. An enormous responsibility rests with those who train their children in righteousness.

In fact, the Holy Spirit has gifted each believer for specific work in God's kingdom. Scripture explains this idea by a comparison with a human body: each person has gifts and purposes that make the entire system function well. But if the heel wants the eye's role, the whole being will lose balance.

Each part is crucial, even though some are less noticeable than others. Truthfully, those with less apparent talents have an advantage because pride and self-sufficiency may be less of a temptation.

Notice how Peter defined himself: "a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:1). He was no longer a man motivated by self-interest. Once He followed Jesus, he saw himself as a servant of God. We, too, are called to serve the King of Kings with whatever abilities we are given.

Author unknown

Hear His Word...Romans 10:17

Genesis 3; Acts 5:22-42

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:17

The Bible is clear in its teachings on faith. Faith is essential to our salvation. If we do not have faith to believe in Jesus Christ, then we cannot receive Him as Savior. It takes faith to believe in God. Believing in God through our faith is the victory that has overcome the world (1 John 5:4). Jesus says in Matthew 17:20 that with faith we can move mountains and that nothing will be impossible for us. The power of God's Holy Spirit lives within each believer; but do we live as if we believe it? Not without faith.

How do we get more faith? First of all, faith is given to each of us as a gift. Everyone has faith. But we can have more faith in the things of the world than in the things of God. We have faith that the sun will rise and set each day, even though we have no way of controlling its movements; we just trust that it will continue to work the way it always has. But we need to grow in trusting the One who makes the sun rise and set, the One who put it there in the first place. Therefore, our first step in gaining more faith is by getting to know more about our God, our Lord, our Creator. And the way to obtain knowledge of God is by getting into His word.

I love today's verse because it tells us to hear the word of God. Did you know that when you start reading His Word, you will start hearing His voice? When you start hearing His voice through His Word, then you will see His intervention in all areas of your life. You will pray in accordance with His will because you will know where He is leading you. You will see God answer your prayers. And the end result: more faith! Take a moment to ask the Lord to help you in your faith by helping you hear His Word. Ask for more of Him, more of His Word in your life—more faith.

Author unknown

God's Grace...Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5

Grace is one of God's most amazing gifts. It provides us with everything we need to live in perfect freedom: pardon for our sins, healing for our hearts, the companionship of God's indwelling Holy Spirit, and access to freely cultivate our relationship with Him. We work, worship, and enjoy life surrounded by His unconditional love. His grace upholds us, fills us, and sustains us.

Since we are forgiven people, the Lord responds to us not as enemies but as His dearly loved children (Rom. 8:15; Eph. 5:1). He hears our prayers, speaks to us, and acts on our behalf.

The knowledge that we live under the covering of God's grace gives us...

Security about our position. No one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28).

Boldness to live for Christ. Nothing anyone does or says can shake our confidence in who the Lord is or who we are in Him.

Peace for today because we can fully trust in His sovereignty. The Lord is carrying out His perfect will--and we can be sure that nothing is able to thwart His plans when we cooperate with Him.

Hope for the future. This life is just the beginning. One day we'll see Jesus face to face, be perfected as the individuals He created us to be, and live with Him in our true home forever.

The Lord is committed to transforming each of us according to His special plan for our lives. Even His correction is an expression of His loving favor (Heb. 12:10). When we falter or fail, we can rest assured that His amazing grace hems us in and always offers us redemption.

Author unknown

Free Offer...Romans 3:10-18

Romans 3:10–18

It doesn't take a Ph.D. in English Literature to observe that God offers us a gift in salvation. The gift is eternal life, which is directly connected to His Son.

Now let's be clear and cautious. Becoming a member of a church is not the way to salvation—just believing in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Neither does God require a long list of heavy-duty accomplishments. Nor vast sums of money. God is coming to the rescue of those who are lost by offering the free gift of eternal life to those who will simply believe. Those who do may know they have been rescued.

"But it seems too easy," you say. "Something as vital as eternal salvation seems far more valuable than that." Don't misunderstand. It is valuable . . . the most priceless possession one can have. But because we don't have to work for it or pay for it does not mean it's cheap or that nobody paid a handsome price. Someone did. His name? Jesus. Perhaps you already forgot that this gift of salvation is directly connected to God's Son, Christ Himself. Because He paid the full price, because He opened the way for us, we are able to take it as a gift.

It's funny, but most of us are suspicious of free gifts. "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" is more than a line out of a comedian's script. We have too much skepticism (or pride) to believe we can get something for nothing. So it's understandable that we'd be reluctant to accept a gift as important as eternal salvation if it has the appearance of a "free lunch," right?

In all honesty, to say that God's rescue offer costs nobody anything is misleading. It costs us nothing today, but it cost His Son's life. That's the part we forget about.

When sin first reared its ugly head on earth, the holy God of heaven could no longer enjoy a close relationship with the human race. And the longer mankind practiced his or her wicked ways, the wider the gap grew between man and God. This sin disease, contracted at birth and inescapably contagious, spread like wildfire from one generation to the next. With sin came death, as this verse of Scripture declares:

When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread death throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die, for all sinned. (Romans 5:12 TLB)

Yes, everything. In fact, this universal sin disease impacted every part of our being. Hard as it may be to read these words, please do so:

As the Scriptures say, 'No one is good—no one in all the world is innocent.' No one has ever really followed God's paths, or even truly wanted to. Every one has turned away; all have gone wrong. No one anywhere has kept on doing what is right; not one. (Romans 3:10–18 TLB).

That's the way we are in God's sight. Being lost, we are in such a miserable spiritual condition that we have no hope of finding our way to Him on our own. Sin separates us from our Creator. His rightful requirement is that sin must be punished. Someone who is qualified must rescue mankind by satisfying God's wrath against sin. Someone must pay the awful price, dying as our substitute, taking our place and bearing our sin before God.

Jesus Christ did just that.

Don't simply believe my words . . . believe the words from the Bible:

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God's goodness into us! (2 Corinthians 5:21 TLB)

We aren't saved from sin's grasp by knowing the commandments of God, because we can't and don't keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin's control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. (Romans 8:3 TLB)

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life . . . . And all who trust him—God's Son—to save them have eternal life; those who don't believe and obey him shall never see heaven, but the wrath of God remains upon them. (John 3:16, 36 TLB)

Christ also suffered. He died once for the sins of all us guilty sinners, although he himself was innocent of any sin at any time, that he might bring us safely home to God. (1 Peter 3:18 TLB)

Yes, it certainly cost somebody something. I repeat, it cost Jesus Christ His life. But because He paid the price in full on our behalf, we are able to accept God's offer free and clear of any cost to us. The payment has been made. The ransom has been provided in full.

The only issue that remains is this: Will you accept the gift God offers you today? Now that the remedy for sin has been provided, all that remains is receiving it.

 Now that the remedy for sin has been provided all that remains is receiving it.

Author unknown