The Good Things are Defined and Decided By Almighty God

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

As Christians, we all love the promise of Romans 8:28.  We all take great comfort from the idea that all things in our lives are going to work together for good.  We are certain to be very disappointed, however, if we narrowly define "good" in a temporal sense and not in a spiritual sense.  Our frustration will be even greater if we fail to measure the "good" in our lives from an eternal perspective.

There is simply no question that God orders or allows everything in our lives.  To think that one iota of our lives can pass by without Almighty God being in control is heresy.  God created us and wants to use us for His eternal purposes.  He will control every component of the people, places and things in our lives in order to see that we are successful in fulfilling His eternal calling on our lives.  He will measure the good that He provides for us only from an eternal perspective.  If temporal goods help us meet our calling, they will be poured upon us.  If temporal goods become a stumbling block for us, they will be replaced by affliction.  If our affliction works for our eternal good then God will consider the affliction as a good thing.

Just as the Father called His Son into service, so does He call us.  The good that God works in our lives will be reflected in the things that He brings to us in order to take us from darkness to light, from bondage into liberty and from the company of sinful men into fellowship with Jesus Christ for all eternity. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for setting aside roles for us in Your eternal plans.  We rejoice in knowing that You will work out every single element of our lives in order that we may fulfill the purposes that You have created us to meet.  We pray, Lord, for the grace to be able to live with our focus on our eternal good and the eternal good of those around us.  May the Holy Spirit help us and strengthen us when we weaken because we cannot see the good that You are putting into place for us.  We praise Your Name because we know that Your way and Your work are perfect.

  

The Insatiable Demands of the Flesh

1 Corinthians 2:14

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

It is easy to see why Jesus said that it was so hard for the rich man to get into heaven.  In his comfort, the rich man feels no need for a Savior.  The rich man finds all of his satisfaction from the things of the world.

Unfortunately, for the rich man and for all of us, we will soon enough find out that the cravings of our flesh will never be satisfied.  Our flesh will always demand more than we are ultimately able to attain.

Fortunately, for all of us, the Creator placed a void in our hearts that can only be completely and perfectly filled by Jesus.  Nothing of the flesh can bring the satisfaction that is derived from fulfilling the spiritual need that is within us. If we will recognize the folly in our carnal ways and surrender to Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will find satisfaction far beyond anything the earth promises or can deliver.  Only when we are inspired by the Holy Spirit to submit to the governance of the King of Kings and not to the kings of the earth, will we receive the fullness of life that Almighty God planned for us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating a void in our hearts that only You can fill.  We bless the name of Jesus who died for our sins so that we can be deemed worthy to become His disciples and live under His Lordship.  We pray, Lord, for the strength and the wisdom to see the folly in the things of the earth.  May we live in the fullness of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.

Standing Strong in the Lord

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

One of the basic principles of human existence is that God has given us free choice.  Even though He has a specific plan for our lives, He allows us to make our own choices along the way.

Knowing our frailty, God has given us the Holy Spirit to stand with us as we wrestle with all that the enemy brings against us.  God even promised that He will perfect His power in our weakness. 2 Cor 12:9

So why is it that we still wrestle with personal decisions?  These personal decisions that tend to overwhelm us can be made a lot easier to handle if we are willing to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in Truth and we are willing to forego the choice of navigating through the trial on our own.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the weapons that we need to carry us through spiritual warfare and the trials of every day life.  We humbly submit to Your power in our lives.  We ask that the Holy Spirit stand with us against the wiles of Satan so that we may oppose his schemes and resist his temptations.  We pray for the wisdom to understand that we cannot stand against our enemies alone.  May we become victors through Christ Our Savior.  

Founts of The Truth

2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

God promises us that He will comfort us in our struggles and then He will use us to comfort others.  We will find this play out in every area of our lives.  When we struggle with anything, we might as well look around because there will be someone near us who is struggling with the same thing.

It is likely when we think of this process that our minds turn toward singular, life challenging trials and tribulations.  But can you think of any area that we struggle in more often than in our efforts to read, listen to and apply God's word in our lives?  Our struggles here may not be life challenging, but they certainly are life changing.

Thus, as we go through our daily studies of God's word, we should consider our struggle to apply the teaching to our lives.  As the Holy Spirit directs changes in our lives through the application of God's word, we should prepare ourselves to comfort others with what we have learned and experienced.  As we receive revelation, we should be alert to passing the truth on to others in need.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, constantly drawing us to the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son, Jesus.  We thank You that Your Word is like fire and like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces, constantly separating us from that which will destroy us.  We thank You, Lord, that Your Word remains forever, our assurance in our eternal inheritance.  We pray, Father, that the Word that we have received from You will be at work within us.  May we be founts of the Living Word for the thirsty that surround us. 

"What a Revoltin' Development This Is!"

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

"What a revoltin' development this is!" was the frequent line of indignation spoken by Chester A. Riley, the blundering lead man in the the early tv show, The Life of Riley.  The line became one of the most famous catchphrases in American culture.  It was so easy for the average American in the 40's and the 50's to relate to Chester's futile attempts to live the ideal life of leisure and good fortune. 

Push ahead 60+ years and we find that we have many of the advancements that Chester was dreaming about and possess even more remarkable discoveries than he could dream up.  But with all the new changes and subsequent benefits, nothing has really changed.  We continue to seek to live the "life of Riley" just like Chester and we continue to experience the futility of it all as we foolishly put all of our trust in ourselves and the promises of the world. 

Unlike Chester who was forever bound in futility with no method of escape, we can live lives of complete contentment.  This gift was set aside for us in the last will and testament of Jesus Christ spoken to His disciples before He left them on this earth.  He promised us peace.  He promised us hearts free of trouble and fear.  And He reminded us it is through Him and not through the world that all of this is available to us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us peace of mind that is beyond all human understanding.  We rejoice in knowing that we can escape all the futility of this world by surrendering our lives to Your Son, Jesus.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will teach us to lean on Your ways and not our own.  May we rest on the strength of our faith in You in every circumstance in our lives.