Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Good things come to those you wait...
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." Psalms 24:1 We got moisture last night through 3" of snow!!! Halleluiah!!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Reality
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21
I am still trying to process yesterday. Learning of the death of a college classmate at the young age of 24. How the Lord was able to accomplish His will through her life in that short of a time period. Though her smile will resonate through the minds of many forever.
Then, I am called to the house of my boss's father at 9:45 am. As my boss went to check on his dad, finding his lifeless father on the floor. 97 years of life, many of us can't fathom being alive for that period of time.
What is the point of this? We will NEVER know when the Lord is going to call us home. Are you living everyday as it may be your last day on earth?! Yes, that is a challenge, especially for myself. That doesn't mean that we are to lock ourselves away in a closet away from society and wait for Christ to return. How absurd!! As children of God, we are to be a witness for Christ and glorifying His name through EVERYTHING we do.
I am still trying to process yesterday. Learning of the death of a college classmate at the young age of 24. How the Lord was able to accomplish His will through her life in that short of a time period. Though her smile will resonate through the minds of many forever.
Then, I am called to the house of my boss's father at 9:45 am. As my boss went to check on his dad, finding his lifeless father on the floor. 97 years of life, many of us can't fathom being alive for that period of time.
What is the point of this? We will NEVER know when the Lord is going to call us home. Are you living everyday as it may be your last day on earth?! Yes, that is a challenge, especially for myself. That doesn't mean that we are to lock ourselves away in a closet away from society and wait for Christ to return. How absurd!! As children of God, we are to be a witness for Christ and glorifying His name through EVERYTHING we do.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Small Things
"Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us, If only we obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ." Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Preaching the Gospel
Oswald Chambers' devotional kinda hit me this morning. "We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification--we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32)" Chambers writes. Yet, later on, he continues with, "When we finally touch the underlying foundation of the reality of the gospel of God, we never bother Him anymore with little personal complaints."
When most people, myself included, think about preaching the gospel, we initially think of reaching out to the lost and presenting them with the message of salvation; hoping that one day they receive the calling of the Holy Spirit of becoming a child of God. But, what would it look like with everyone going around converting people, yet there was no one willing to teach these new believers how to life in the new life that they have in Christ? (2 Corinthians 5:17) Everyone would have new life in Christ, but no idea what to do next. After we have become a new creation in Christ, it is our responsibility to use this new life to lift up the name of our Lord and glorify Him in everything that we do. Preaching the gospel is NOT just limited to a verbal expression of one's faith. Preaching the gospel includes, but is not limited to, what we do, hear, or say. The apostle Paul illustrates this well in James 2:14-26, showing that unless our actions reflect our faith in our God, our faith is useless. (v. 20)
I found this devotional to be Heavenly timed. As through conversation and a few events over the past few days, the Lord has been revealing to myself what preaching the gospel and being Christ to others around me really means. Has it put a knot in my stomach because I was apprehensive about other's reactions? Yes. Not only did my actions and words reveal the love of Christ to those people that I was in contact with, but also the Lord was speaking a lot to myself as well. I have a lot of learning and growing to do. By the grace of God, I will keep running the race according to His will for my life.
When most people, myself included, think about preaching the gospel, we initially think of reaching out to the lost and presenting them with the message of salvation; hoping that one day they receive the calling of the Holy Spirit of becoming a child of God. But, what would it look like with everyone going around converting people, yet there was no one willing to teach these new believers how to life in the new life that they have in Christ? (2 Corinthians 5:17) Everyone would have new life in Christ, but no idea what to do next. After we have become a new creation in Christ, it is our responsibility to use this new life to lift up the name of our Lord and glorify Him in everything that we do. Preaching the gospel is NOT just limited to a verbal expression of one's faith. Preaching the gospel includes, but is not limited to, what we do, hear, or say. The apostle Paul illustrates this well in James 2:14-26, showing that unless our actions reflect our faith in our God, our faith is useless. (v. 20)
I found this devotional to be Heavenly timed. As through conversation and a few events over the past few days, the Lord has been revealing to myself what preaching the gospel and being Christ to others around me really means. Has it put a knot in my stomach because I was apprehensive about other's reactions? Yes. Not only did my actions and words reveal the love of Christ to those people that I was in contact with, but also the Lord was speaking a lot to myself as well. I have a lot of learning and growing to do. By the grace of God, I will keep running the race according to His will for my life.
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