God's Word on That

Tag: God’s Word

  • Abundant Grace

    If God could grow weary of me, He would have been tired of putting up with me long before now! All Scripture testifies to the importance of each individual to God.

    God will give to each person according to what he has done (Romans 2:6). The Lord has assigned to each his task (1 Corinthians 3:5) and each will be rewarded according to his own labor (1 Corinthians 3:8). For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27). At that time each will receive his praise from God Himself (1 Corinthians 4:5)!

    The unique, one-of-a-kind canvas of our existence is meant to be an inspiration to others, a true joy to behold and a heaven-sent blessing to those we meet in a day. Each of us has abilities which God wants us to pursue to give Him glory and to give us enjoyment of life.

    To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it (Ephesians 4:7). Each should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).

    Jesus has heaped up gifts and supplied you with favor, spiritual blessings, and grace out of His abundance… Take it!

    Each of us is important in making up the whole.

  • Light and Momentary Trials

    Adorable and Suffering Body, in and with which we are forever united, give me please, together with Your cross, Your Spirit of love and self-denial. Teach me to think of the privilege of suffering with You, rather than of the pangs of that suffering. What can I suffer that You have not endured? Or indeed, how do I dare to presume to speak of suffering when I remember what You bore for me? Weak mortal, be silent! See your Mater and be silent. Lord, God, my Lord, my God, teach me to love You and I will not be afraid of any cross. Then, whatever grievous and bitter pangs may come, I will never have more to bear than I am glad and willing to bear.

    We rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance (Romans 5:3), seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17). So share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3).

    Do not be afraid of anything on your way. God will lead you by the hand, if only you are filled with love for Him rather than fear for yourself.

    We may not see it from our standpoint, but suffering enriches us.

  • Let Us Not Weary In Doing Good

    Every choice for doing good sets into motion other opportunities for doing good. Each choice you make in obedience will bring a greater sense of order to your life.

    A man reaps what he sows… I will not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, I will reap a harvest if I do not give up (Galatians 6:7, 9). In response to all He has done for us, let us out-do each other in being helpful and kind to each other, and in doing good (Hebrews 10:24 Phillips).

    My Merciful God, I have the desire to do good but cannot carry it out (Romans 7:18). But in You I have the power I need. You, God, tell me to love even my enemies, to do good to those who hate me, bless those who curse me, and pray for those who mistreat me (Luke 6:27-28). I am Your workmanship, O God, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which You prepared in advance for me to do (Ephesians 2:10).

    So I will depart from evil and do good; I will seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14). I will strive to keep my ways pleasing to the Lord, for then God will make even my enemies to be at peace with me (Proverbs 16:7).

  • God is For You

    Sometimes when you are in a dark place you think you have been buried; but you have actually been planted. Remember: there is light behind every shadow.

    For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mothers’ womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful; I know this full well (Psalm 139:13-14).

    You were knitted together; each strand thoughtfully selected. You weren’t mass-produced. You aren’t an accident; no assembly line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman. He has a purpose and a plan for you.

    “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

    Your parents may have forgotten you. Your teachers may have neglected you. Your siblings may be ashamed of you. But within reach of your prayers is the Maker of the Oceans! God is for you…

    Your life may not be an easy one, but God has placed you and skilled you for a reason.

  • According To Your Faith

    Nothing happens in the realms of life without either faith or fear. Fear saps our will-power and leaves us feeling depleted and hopeless. Look around and we shall be disheartened. Look within and we shall be discouraged. Look to Him and our fears vanish. When we look at the things around us, we must learn to look for the unseen things that are behind the visible things. This is spiritual discernment.

    Our faith must be tested, since God builds no ships except those He sends to the sea. How thankful we should be that God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of His grace and not according to the poverty of our faith. Faith is an action word – you cannot passively respond to God. Faith is the grit in the soul that puts the dare into dreams. Faith’s way of walking is to cast all care upon the Lord in trials, and then to anticipate good results from the worst calamities. Faith in the future begets power in the present. Jesus responds to people who have enough faith to draw from His power.

    Faith is expectation.

    According to your faith let it be done unto you (Matthew 9:29).

    Let us soar on our wings of faith as God intended for us to do.

  • Pleasant and the Unpleasant

    There are unpleasant things which we must endure bravely, and pleasant things for which we must not stop. Those which are bitter serve to crucify what mars us, if we receive them simply with an unlimited acceptance. Those which are pleasant and which are given to support our weaknesses we must readily receive to conform to the plans of God our Father. We must use them at the moment, like a remedy, without self-satisfaction, without attachment, without possessiveness. Because the source of presumption is in growing an attachment to these passing and sensory gifts.

    To allow ourselves to be a plaything in the hands of providence, to put no limits to this submission, this is to serve Him by renouncing ourselves. This is to really treat Him as God. God of our lives and of all our situations. God, who could have saved us without crosses, has preferred to let each of us grow little by little. In this He is the Master. We have only to be silent, to fully submit, and to adore His profound wisdom without understanding it.

    I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13).

    A treasure may also be a trial. It is all the same. All things are meant to remind us to trust in God.

  • Accepting the Circumstances

    Circumstances do not change us, they expose us. Look to heaven and realize this current arrangement of circumstances are sovereignly put together for your good and His glory.

    When times are good, be happy.  But when times are bad consider: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

    God’s lights in our dark nights are as numerous as the stars in the heavens, if only we would look for them. When you persevere through a trial, God gives you a special measure of insight. Believe in Him steadfastly, and everything that challenges you will strengthen you. For us who believe, our job is to believe God can do His job. Like the special smell that comes with a draught breaking rain, God loves the aroma of His children’s joy, especially when He is the source of its delight.

    Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 35:4).

    Accept your current circumstances, and God will give you wisdom to get through.

  • Zen for the Christian Soul

    A blink of an eye is in itself nothing; but the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing; but the man who lives that span, he is something.

    We can never get too weak for the Lord to use us — but we can get too strong, if it is our own strength. We can never be too ignorant for the Lord to use us — but we can be too wise in our own conceit. We can never get too small for the Lord to use us — but we can surely get too big and get in His way!

    When we grumble, it shows our pride. Faith breaks the peace between what is and what ought to be. Faith doesn’t comfort you where you are but challenges you to be where you should be. Faith defies obstacles and laughs at impossibilities. Faith infuses courage, molds character, and directs conduct.

    It is when we move past discouragement to praise that we begin living above our problems. Thanksgiving is vitally important to God. It is the key to releasing His supernatural power around you.

    We are called to be peaceful, unassuming, humble — different from those around us.

  • On Being a Super-Hero

    Wouldn’t it be cool to be a super-hero? To be able to help anyone we wanted to help, and do anything we wanted to do?

    A priest asked me one day, “If you could have any super power in your imagination, what would it be?” I thought about it for a while and decided that the best super power to ever have would be the ability to give people exactly what they need when they need it. To be able to talk to someone and know in my spirit what they need at that moment. Not riches or gold or silver, everyone needs that. But kindness, understanding, comforting… or encouragement, motivation, loving correction… So I prayed.

    Jesus, I come and ask, Please fill my heart with forgiveness and love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – that I may overflow to others (Galatians 5:22-23). Gracious and Loving Father, I pray for the superpower You placed in my heart: that Your Spirit will help me discern the spiritual need of the person I happen to be talking to, that I may be Your instrument in helping them.

    Today as I reflected on this I realize that’s exactly what God intended our lifestyle to be. Everyone needs kindness, understanding and comforting. Everyone could use encouragement, motivation, and loving correction. My abiding in Jesus will show me what and who and where to direct my efforts at each moment. I just need Him.

    Jesus, shining through me, makes everything beautiful and everyone feeling better.

  • Cultural Complacency

    Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion (Jude 11).

    God destroyed those who would not believe in spite of seeing His mighty wonders (Jude 5). God imprisoned even angels that rebelled against His set order (Jude 6). Cain was the first man to turn away from God on purpose, to choose his own way in the universe. Balaam was the first to use his footing in the spiritual realm to get rich and seduce the godly onto ungodliness. Korah was the first to rebel against authority set up by God and start up tolerance levels of what should and should not be acceptable.

    But you, dear friends build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 20-21).

    Jude offers scathing rebukes and warnings to false teachers, but in addition he offers insight into how we can protect ourselves from them. Jude uses four instructional phrases: (1) Build yourselves up = studying and doing things to encourage spiritual growth. (2) Pray in the Spirit = cultivating a healthy prayer life. (3) Keep yourselves in God’s love = monitoring your lifestyle and guarding against sin. (4) Look for the mercy of Jesus = cultivating an eternal perspective.

    In short, God is trying to warn us to refuse to be drawn into cultural complacency.

    Conforming to the world will NEVER be accomplished. We are fish-out-of-water here. We were made for better.