Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT, “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
So many mornings I have remembered this verse and felt joy. The mercy of Jesus is new every morning. Everyday He gives us a fresh start. Even when we fall into sin, His love, forgiveness, and mercy will meet us right where we are. All we have to do is repent.
When the pressures of life come our way, and our energy is low, He will uphold us. He will give us strength to face the day. He will not allow us to be consumed. Praise the Lord for His new mercies! Great is His faithfulness.
Psalm 67:5(NLT),”May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you.”
God’s love can speak to us through any language and yesterday was one of those times. During the worship service at church, there was a song that the worship team started singing in Spanish. Being that we live in South Florida, it’s not unusual for them to start singing a verse of a song in Spanish. But usually when they do, they will then sing the same verse in English. So as they were singing in Spanish, I was waiting for the moment when they would switch back over to English. As the soloist continued in Spanish, I glanced to my right and then my left. I was curious to see how many other people looked as if they didn’t understand, like me.
As I examined the parts of the congregation that I could see, I saw some singing along word for word as they worshipped. I also saw others like myself just standing there listening. My daughter speaks Spanish pretty well, and I remember thinking I wish she was there to help me. Once it was clear to me that, “that moment” when they switch to English may never come, I decided to look at the screen that had the words on display. That wasn’t much help. I did understand a word here and there, but my Spanish skills are minimal. I could tell by the tune that it was a familiar song, so I thought I would just try and sing along in English. That didn’t work. What I was hearing from the stage in Spanish, seemed to take precedence over the English I was trying to hear in my own head.
Finally, I decided to just hum along and watch the soloist. As I watched her, her worship seemed pure and heartfelt. I could sense God’s love, not through her words, since I could not understand, but through her body language and her expressions. I could imagine that giving God praise in her native tongue was what felt most comfortable for her.
The hands and hearts that were raised to the Lord were evidence of His presence. As we all stood across the sanctuary, language did not matter. We were all there united by one thing, the love of God. When the Spirit of God is present, He is always ready and willing to do the work He came to do. He did do that work, because at the end of the service, He caused twelve souls to repent and give their lives to Jesus Christ.
I felt the joy of the Lord and saw His goodness as I watched those twelve people walk into the newness of life. They were now new creations in Christ Jesus. I wondered if that song the worship team sung completely in Spanish, could have been the reason at least one of those twelve souls came to Christ. I may never know, but this I do know, God’s love never fails.
Psalm 136:6(CEV),”Praise the God of all gods. God’s love never fails.”
I’m so thankful the love of God can speak to us through any language, even when we don’t understand the words.
Have you ever gone through those times where you wondered what God is up to? Those times where you wished you had more information about how God is working in your life. He does reveal things to us, but only in His timing. Of course waiting on His timing is the hard part, because our human nature wants to know the how’s, when’s, where’s, and why’s.
Plus we live in a world that tries to convince us, that we need to know every single thing, about every single thing. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need God. I know I definitely would do a lousy job at being the god of my life. What about you? I already tried that before. It seemed easy at the time. I just simply ignored God’s commands and did exactly what I wanted. Believe me when I say, that has never turned out good. Sins consequences can be devastating, but I’m so thankful for His forgiveness and mercy!
I have been through many different seasons of life, some felt more relaxed, while during other seasons I felt more anxious. Right now, I am actually in a season where I am praying and asking God for direction in certain areas. I’m trying not to worry. Can you relate? Perhaps you too need God to move in a particular area of your life.
When we need answers the Bible tells us to pray and not be anxious (Philippians 4:6). There are times when I go to God in prayer and I feel very anxious, stressed, confused and even fearful about whatever I’m going through. I have to ask God to remove the anxiousness, stress, confusion and fear from my heart. He’s faithful to do that, but when I feel those negative feelings trying to return, I have to keep giving it to Him in prayer. I have to ask Him to help me to understand in my heart, that He will work all things together for my good (Romans 8:28). The more we see His faithful track record, the better we become at being faithful in our ability to trust Him.
Can you imagine the majesty of our God? It’s really mind blowing! He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He was and is and is to come (Revelation 1:8). This is the God that we are entrusting ourselves to, when we have given our lives to Jesus Christ. We won’t always understand how He is working, but the truth is, we don’t necessarily need to understand everything (Proverbs 3:5). He knows exactly how much we need to know. That’s where we find our rest, in knowing that He will always do what’s best for us.
As we wait, we need to just keep doing the things we already know He wants us to do. We need to rejoice, be thankful, and stay prayerful, because this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Also stay watchful. Constantly watch for God’s direction, because He does hear the cries of His children and He answers (Psalm 34:6).
I just want to encourage you if you’re in a season of waiting on God for answers. Just keep pouring your heart out to Him because He will bring you peace. Another thing I really love is when I get that wonderful feeling of anticipation inside that assures me He’s up to something good. Remember, although you can’t see the good just yet, it’s sure to come. Why? Because we serve a Risen Savior! Keep moving forward in Christ!
Yesterday was Communion Sunday at church. I’m always very thankful to have the privilege to join with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and take communion. It’s refreshing to take time out to remember the sacrifice Christ made for us. As we eat and drink together, I find strength and hope because I am reminded that the victory for every dilemma we face was won at the Cross. Every obstacle that may try to threaten us has been conquered.
1 Corinthians 11:24-25 (NIV) says, “and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Jesus’ blood was shed and His body was broken so that we can be cleansed of sin and made completely whole. He wants to bring healing to everything that is broken in our lives. Rather the healing we need is physical, emotional, mental or financial, He wants us to be well and do well.
As the old hymn says, “There is pow’r pow’r wonder-working pow’r in the blood of the Lamb!”
We can rejoice because we know that the wonder-working blood, of the precious Lamb Jesus Christ, willNEVERloose it’s power!
Psalm 37:32-36 (NIV),” 32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death; 33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial. 34 hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. 35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, 36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.”
Do you see the wicked continue to prosper and then sometimes feel as if your walk with the Lord is in vain? Well guess what? You’re not alone. Many Christians, including myself, have at times been bombarded with doubtful questions. It helps to remember that God’s system is completely different from the one in the world. He operates with spiritual eternal things in mind, whereas the world focuses on natural temporal things.
Satan, the god of this world, wants us to become so infatuated with worldly things that we forget about the things of God. As a matter of fact, He wants people to doubt the very existence of God. That way, people will live a life of self indulgence, which ultimately leads to emptiness and self destruction. What a tragedy!
People of the world work to build an earthly empire. However God calls us Christians not to store up treasures on Earth, but to instead store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Our lives here on Earth are very short compared to our lives in eternity with Jesus. God is asking us to focus on what matters most, and that is storing up treasures in heaven, our eternal home.
Psalm 27:13 (NIV),”I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”
God wants us to enjoy our lives and see His goodness here on Earth, called the land of the living. He wants us to be successful in our endeavors. His idea of success may sometimes differ from the worlds. Therefore we should pray for God’s guidance as we make decisions pertaining to our earthly lives. He created each of us with a specific purpose in mind. Following our God given purpose will ensure that we will make a difference now on Earth, while also contributing to His eternal plan in heaven. He wants to be involved in every detail of our lives. Nothing about us or our lives is insignificant to the Lord.
God continuously tells us the wicked will be destroyed but the righteous will be exalted. So let us confidently put our hope in the Lord, as we diligently follow His plan for our lives.
Psalm 37:10-11 (NIV),”10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”
Have you ever thought about your inheritance?
I know that from a natural standpoint to inherit something usually means that someone has passed away and left behind money, property, businesses, or some other type of asset. On the flip side they could have also left behind a debt or obligation that someone else now has to take care of. We can also inherit traits that have been passed down from previous generations.
My grandparents had a very strong faith in God. That is a trait that has been passed down throughout the generations within my family. Most of us in my family have definitely heard about their faith in God. We’ve heard about how He provided for them and how they were people who believed in the power of prayer.
Have you ever thought about your spiritual inheritance in Christ Jesus?
Verse 11 specifically mentions peace and prosperity. Inheriting peace in a world full of chaos and confusion is golden. The Bible tells us that in Christ, we lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). He wants to prosper us in ways we have not even thought about, because His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). We have also inherited the fruit of The Holy Spirit who lives within us when we accept Jesus as our Savior (Galatians 5:22-23). Most of all, I’m super excited about our eternal inheritance that we have in heaven.
Jesus said in John 14:2-3(NLT)…
“2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”
These verses make my heart leap for joy when I think about how much it cost to own a home here in America!!! There is an eternal home being prepared for me, and it’s free!! Jesus already paid the price!! I honestly don’t have a lot in terms of material wealth, but the best things in life often don’t have much to do with money anyway. I do want to try and enjoy my life here on Earth as much as I can. However, it’s most important to me to leave behind an inheritance of God’s love and testimonies of the saving grace and never ending faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Why? So that I know I will see as many people as possible spending eternity in the presence of our Savior. It’s where we will spend eternity that matters most.
Please take some time to consider the inheritance you are leaving behind, both natural and spiritual, but especially spiritual. Remember heaven is real, but so is hell. Both are eternal homes. Time is short. Choose this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:14-15).
My prayers are with you that God will continue to bring His love into your life, even in the little ways. I also pray His Spirit will guide you into all truth and overthrow the plans of the evil one in your life, so that you can enjoy the inheritance that Jesus Christ died to give you both now and in eternity.
Psalm 37:5-7 (NIV), “5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Verse 5 reiterates the importance of committing to and trusting in the Lord. One thing I will say about commitment and trust is that they both take time. Neither one of them are easy to do, especially depending on the circumstances we are in. However it all starts with a decision. Just like our faith in Christ started with a simple decision to accept Him as our Lord and Savior, so does learning to commit to Him and trust Him. Growth in our relationship with Christ will happen in stages and be a lifelong process. As long as we have hearts that are willingly saying “yes”, then the Holy Spirit will empower us to live for Jesus.
Have you ever felt as if you needed to be vindicated? Vindication is not only needing to be cleared of some type of blame or suspicion, but it is also when someone or something is finally proven right. As Christians we often do suffer just for trying to do what is right. Mostly because we live in a world that tends to call wrong right and right wrong. So when we aim to do what’s right by God’s standard, someone will often come along and try to tell us that we’re doing wrong. They may also try to convince us that our godly ways are ludicrous. Verse 6 comes to the rescue by assuring us that our righteous reward will shine like the dawning of a new day and our vindication will shine like the noonday sun. The Lord will expose the darkness of evil by shining His Light on it. He will bring us the needed vindication when he clears us of blame and proves us right.
Just like with commitment and trust, we must also rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to teach us to be still, wait patiently for the Lord and not fret/worry. It really all goes back to trust. Do we trust God to show up for us? If we don’t trust God, chances are we will struggle to be still and wait for Him. After all, who waits for someone that’s not coming? We will feel pressure to take matters into our own hands if we think God is going to stand us up. However, there is nothing sweeter than when God shows up on our behalf and fights our battles. I have had plenty of times where I worried about stuff only to find out God had already taken care of it. My worrying was completely in vain. Yeah, there are situations we can fix, but some situations are way beyond us. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can cut through the foolish and wicked schemes of ungodly people who are trying to work against us. We just need to make a decision to sit back and watch Him work. Will you make a decision to commit to Jesus and trust Him just one day at a time?
Drawing Closer to Christ 