Wednesday, January 30, 2013

God's Strength is our Victory!

Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane

"2 Corinthians 12:9  My Grace is Sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness" this scripture is one that I have mulled over for years trying to understand exactly how knowing this truth is suppose to help me through physical pain. Here, the great Apostle Paul suffered from a thorn in his flesh, a seemingly physical ailment that he wanted God to remove. But he prayed several times, and the ailment remained.  No doubt like many of us Paul was probably frustrated and confused.  Isn't God suppose to answer all of our  prayers? Isn't that what His word says? Well yes. I believe He does answer, but in some cases like this one we don't like the answer that He gives!

I think I am finally accepting in the way of truth, that every victory or answered prayer is not manifested in a physical deliverance from a situation. (Pardon me as I let out a huge sigh  and a  Lord help me?!)  Just as Paul cried out for deliverance, and Jesus, the Son of God cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane we also cry out for the "removal" of pain and suffering. But as we know in these two examples the suffering remained. If God loves us so much why would He let us suffer so much regardless of how hard we pray to escape it?  I believe He is trying to get us to fully rely on Him and not ourselves. 

Faith in God is not solely believing that He will be there to deliver us out of something. It is not saying a few coined phrases and  tossing our spiritually around to get what we want and when "WE" want it. I've been saved long enough to know, it doesn't always work that way.    

 But it is trusting that even in pain and suffering His will is being done. In our weakness God is made strong. It is the Victory that God is looking for. A victory where He alone is glorified.  Only through the strength of God can a man do what Paul did in his ministry continuously knowing that all of His wants were not met. Paul suffered greatly, and without the Grace and strength of God he would have given up. Just like many of us.  

Only the strength of God can give a man enough resolve to decide, "Not my will, but thy will be done", when He was asked to die for people who didn't love or accept Him! Wow, now what was I complaining about again? Lord I thank you for Victory in your Strength. 


    





Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Where did God Go?





A world filled with confusion, disappointments, heartache, evil and despair will have you wondering where in the world is God? It could be that you were never that close to the Lord, or it could be that you were, and now He is no where to be found.  Where did He go? Or is the more appropriate question, where did you put Him? 

 Unfortunately I believe it is in the nature of God's people to seek Him more, when we feel we need Him. But, the reality is we always need Him, and above all we should desire Him!  In Deuteronomy 4:28 Moses warns the Children of Israel and foretells how they will forget God after He has blessed them to enter into the promise land. They began to worship other Gods, and began to pick up the customs of unbelievers. They did things that brought them pleasure, things that put a distance between them and God.  But, God never forgets! He says in verse 29 "If from "there", you will seek the Lord thy God, thou shall find Him, if you seek Him with all of your heart and soul".    From "there" is where you left Him! Where you decided your way was better, or the way of the world was better.    

What we have to realize is that when we decide to break the covenant that God made with us we step away from Him, and compromise the agreement? We do that.  Jesus never steps away, He never leaves us.  The farther we pull away from His righteousness, the harder it is to see Jesus.  If we don't understand anything else we understand that it takes two willing parties to have a healthy and prosperous relationship. No one wants to be in a relationship where they are not valued, respected, or listened to.  This automatically puts a wedge between the two. 

Jesus wants our whole heart, we can't serve and worship the values of this world and try to hold on to the values of God at the same time. It won't work, we cannot serve two masters. (Matt 6:24)   We will reap the benefits or consequences of whatever has our heart the most, bottom line. (Matt 6:21)

 Seek after God with all of your heart. Make Him and His ways your  first priority and you will never have to wonder where God is. 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Earth is NOT your home..

Heaven... is your Real home



Col 3:2-3 says Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth . For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God!

I absolutely LOVE meditating on the home the Christ has prepared for us. Our limited minds can't even imagine what living in heaven would be like. But I love giving it my best shot trying to imagine the home God has already prepared for us! In St. John 14:2-3 Jesus says, in my Father's house there are MANY mansions, if it were not so, I would not have told you(meaning I can't lie, this is True!) Then he says, I go to prepare a place for you..that where I live you may be also!  Wow,  this is so very powerful to me! I can't help but smile, cry, and rejoice when I think about how much Jesus loves all of us to prepare a place as beautiful as what's described in Rev 21. Man, I tell you this is worth holding on For!  If there are many mansions then that means there will be many that will inherit this promise and I thank God that I am one of them because I am His Child born again by his spirit and adopted into his holy family! (Roms 8:15)

Praise be to the Lamb of God.  I will gladly set my affections on things above because what's above is my real life, it is my  real home, my final destination!