Some worship thoughts for followers of Jesus Christ!

Tag: trust

Control and Conformity

control“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (NIV)

It is amazing to me that our God uses testing and trials to help conform us into the image of His Son. He could control our circumstances and allow us to live live’s filled with prosperity and joy. He could fill our days with sunshine, butterflies, good food, cool water and green pastures. He could allow us to be filled with uncommon peace in the midst of an angry, cruel and broken world. He could take all our worries and fears away so that we could live freely, dance recklessly, and sing loudly. Finally, He could take away the sting of death and freely give us everlasting life.

Funny thing about controlling our life’s circumstances – in Christ, we never have it. He’s always been in control. He is in control. He will always have control. It’s when we think we are in control we’ve lost our faith. Our choices either give Him control or take us further away from His blessings.

Empty Glasses

EmptyGlasses(Taken from a personal devotional written on May 12, 2008)

Are you empty or full of yourself? Do you want to be used by God? Do you want to experience His movement and be filled with His Love?

His ways are mysterious! His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He can use sinner or saint, the lost or found, believer or nonbeliever for His glory and purpose. He used a donkey to speak to and direct a misguided prophet. He can use anything or anyone. However, I believe He chooses to use those who are empty of themselves.

I have personally experienced Him using my efforts when I was faithless and worked out of worldly confidence, but even more so when I was helpless — yet faithful. His Word shows us that He prefers to use the selfless instead of the haughty. God has intervened in my life when the greater good (His purpose) was more important than my lack of faith. As He leads me through His gift of life, I have come to understand that trusting in my own strength is not faith. It is when we do not know how things are going to turn out, yet we still trust in His control over our lives that demonstrate the measure of our faith. As we let go of our perceptions, our rationalizing, our analyzing, and our questioning and let Him be “Lord God Almighty!” — we move closer to who He wants us to be. It is our own desire to control, manipulate, predict, and solve that creates the distance between us and Him. “It is impossible to please God without faith.” All of us need to let go, empty ourselves, surrender all, and give Him complete control over our lives.

When a church is full of empty glasses, it is full of His spirit. His children come to assemble knowing that He is there, He is alive and moving. He is pouring His love into empty glasses.

Righteous Living

It is amazing to me that Jesus told us everything we need to know to live peaceful, righteous lives in Matthew 6. A righteous life is about giving, filling needs. (Loving mercy! Micah 6:8) It’s about praying and fasting. (Talking to God and denying yourself. Walking humbly!) Jesus tells us the truth on how we receive our “heavenly paycheck.” He said that your reward in heaven comes from doing these things in secret where only our Heavenly Father sees them.

Living a life filled with worldly distractions and relying your own strength are enemies to your faith. Trusting and acknowledging God as your constant Provider is essential to living a prosperous and peaceful life. In all that you do, honor Him by giving praise for His worthiness. Worship Him and Him alone. Every breath, every step, every honest gain in your life comes from righteous living and are blessings from God. Those blessings mature when we give them away — in secret.

God always wants to prosper us. It has always been in His plan. Everything that is His is ours through Jesus Christ. True prosperity is only earned through righteous living in knowledge of the grace of Jesus Christ.

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