Read Ephesians 2:1-10
Anyone who thinks of himself as a pretty good person ought to take a look at God’s assessment of humanity. He says we all come into the world spiritually dead and are ruled by Satan, his world system, and our own sin nature, or flesh. In the Lord’s eyes, we are children of wrath who deserve only punishment.
On the other hand, God is so pure and holy that He is totally separated from all sin and cannot look upon it with any favor or approval (Hab. 1:13). Everything He does is appropriate and beneficial; by comparison, even mankind’s righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Yet even though we have nothing of value to offer Him, the Lord wants us for His own and has done everything necessary to draw us close.
Those of us who have placed faith in Jesus Christ have been made spiritually alive in Him, and all our sins have been forgiven. There’s a striking contrast between what we were and who we now are in the Lord. But this change has nothing to do with how good we’ve been. Even the faith with which we respond to the Savior comes from God. We can never make ourselves righteous; it’s all a gift from Him. And once He declares us justified, we will never be pronounced guilty again.
God has said that in the ages to come, He wants to show the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us” (Eph. 2:7). For all eternity, we will be showered with this awesome demonstration of His love. As great as our blessings are now, they’ll pale in comparison to what awaits us in heaven.
(Via Charles Stanley)
Be Blessed!
Dawn
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Trusting Beyond Understanding
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. —Psalm 25:1-5
If you’ve never been at the place where the trials are so significant that you don’t even know what to do, then you won’t understand Psalm 25. David is pleading, God, I’m not seeing it. I know You have ways, but I have to learn them because everything that’s happening makes no sense to me at all. A big part of trusting is learning this truth: trust must extend past understanding.
In August of ’09 I taught Psalm 25 in my church. 98 percent of our people knew nothing about what I was facing and dealing with, but my circumstances sure caused me to understand verse 5 where David says: “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation.” The word salvation can have many meanings in Scripture. Most literally, it means to “make wide.” It’s contrasted with a person who is in a narrow place full of trouble and distress. I’m stuck here. I can’t move. It’s too tight, God. It’s closing in. It’s very dark. And he’s saying here: You’re the God who gets me out. That’s what he’s claiming by faith. If you’ve ever been in the I-need-God-to-get-me-out-of-this place, that’s what this is about. I wait for You. No one but You can get me out of this. You are the God of my salvation.
Well, when you say that you’re waiting, that means that you’re accepting God’s timing and the wisdom of it. You’re confessing this: I’m not fussing. I’m not fuming. I’m not fixing. You’re not thinking in the back of your mind, Oh, I could do a few things to get me out of this situation. I’ve got some insights. I could say some things. I could get some balls rolling. I could take hold of this if I had to.
Waiting means you’re no longer relying on what you can figure out or even understand. It is deliberately relying on God through prayer and flat-out trust. This is way beyond me, Lord. I’m leaving it in Your hands. I know I don’t have to understand in order to trust You. I’m waiting on You for my salvation; You have to get me out of this narrow place.
Journal
Where are the “narrow places” in my life and how am I waiting on the Lord regarding those matters? What have I learned about waiting?
Prayer
O Heavenly Father, I confess that it’s not easy to wait. I want to plant this morning and reap later on in the day—even though all of Creation reminds me Our Creator wove waiting into the way things are! Thank You that I don’t have to understand much in order to trust You. Thank You for proving Yourself trustworthy in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Via Dr. James MacDonald)
Be Blessed!
Dawn
If you’ve never been at the place where the trials are so significant that you don’t even know what to do, then you won’t understand Psalm 25. David is pleading, God, I’m not seeing it. I know You have ways, but I have to learn them because everything that’s happening makes no sense to me at all. A big part of trusting is learning this truth: trust must extend past understanding.
In August of ’09 I taught Psalm 25 in my church. 98 percent of our people knew nothing about what I was facing and dealing with, but my circumstances sure caused me to understand verse 5 where David says: “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation.” The word salvation can have many meanings in Scripture. Most literally, it means to “make wide.” It’s contrasted with a person who is in a narrow place full of trouble and distress. I’m stuck here. I can’t move. It’s too tight, God. It’s closing in. It’s very dark. And he’s saying here: You’re the God who gets me out. That’s what he’s claiming by faith. If you’ve ever been in the I-need-God-to-get-me-out-of-this place, that’s what this is about. I wait for You. No one but You can get me out of this. You are the God of my salvation.
Well, when you say that you’re waiting, that means that you’re accepting God’s timing and the wisdom of it. You’re confessing this: I’m not fussing. I’m not fuming. I’m not fixing. You’re not thinking in the back of your mind, Oh, I could do a few things to get me out of this situation. I’ve got some insights. I could say some things. I could get some balls rolling. I could take hold of this if I had to.
Waiting means you’re no longer relying on what you can figure out or even understand. It is deliberately relying on God through prayer and flat-out trust. This is way beyond me, Lord. I’m leaving it in Your hands. I know I don’t have to understand in order to trust You. I’m waiting on You for my salvation; You have to get me out of this narrow place.
Journal
Where are the “narrow places” in my life and how am I waiting on the Lord regarding those matters? What have I learned about waiting?
Prayer
O Heavenly Father, I confess that it’s not easy to wait. I want to plant this morning and reap later on in the day—even though all of Creation reminds me Our Creator wove waiting into the way things are! Thank You that I don’t have to understand much in order to trust You. Thank You for proving Yourself trustworthy in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Via Dr. James MacDonald)
Be Blessed!
Dawn
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