Our life, our responsibility, our domain, who is in control?
Choices
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said,
How long halt ye between two opinions?
if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.
And the people answered him not a word. 1 Kings 18:21
We have the choice to follow the Lord every day.
Give us this day our daily bread, Jesus, the bread of Life.
He nourishes us and feeds us every day.
Or shall we only have all that Jesus represents sometimes?
We are to carry our crosses and deny ourselves daily.
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
John 6:67-69
The choice is ours.
Drawing strength
Jesus never said following Him would be easy.
The road is narrow and few find it.
Jesus has given us all that we need to be strong in Him.
This is not a fleshly strength, but a spiritual strength.
The ability to do what He asks and to obey His commands.
He has made it clear that He is our strength in times of trouble and otherwise.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them:
for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee;
He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:6
The promises of God do not apply when you want them to.
They apply when we are walking with Him, following Him, obeying Him.
That does not mean He will not help us if we go astray,
it just means we can’t do what we want
and expect God to follow along behind us and give us strength.
If you’ll notice in the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles,
there were many times when the kings went before the Lord
or asked their seers to find out if they should go to battle or not.
They wanted to know from God, Are You with us and will we prevail?
They knew enough to know they could lose their entire kingdom
if they went ahead without God’s blessing or approval.
Repentance
Daily repentance is a good motto.
Check with God, let Him show you your failings, where you need His help,
where you may need to clean up any messes.
The act of repentance is an ongoing process.
We never completely arrive on our own.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar,
and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:7-10
We will always need a savior while we are on Earth.
We will not be perfected until we meet Christ Jesus face to face.
This is a good thing. Keeping balance, remembering He sees all
and we don’t ever want to hide anything from Him
like Adam and Eve tried to do.
That’s impossible anyway, but ignoring our deficits is not acceptable.
This is not to inflict guilt,
just a reminder of the importance of our constant communion with Jesus.
We are His children.
He loves us so deeply and so generously that we can let Him see our faults,
seek His forgiveness and He will still love us,
take our hand in His and help us to go forward.
The Mind of Christ
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:5
How do you learn to think like God thinks?
Learning about Him in His word is a good start.
The word is filled with His personality, His decisions, which are often explained,
His love, His steadfastness, His acts, His deeds, His kindness, His desires.
Spending time with Jesus is vital. Just being with Him:
Praying, listening, meditating on His goodness and faithfulness,
so many ways to learn about Him and to share your heart with Him in return.
Jesus really is the only One who can understand fully and completely
how we think and feel and He even knows our motives.
Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ; 1 Corinthians 10:5
Once we learn Who Jesus is and what He is all about,
it will be easier to submit thoughts to Him.
We cannot have His mind if our thoughts are lofty, that is,
if we do not accept His word above our ideas of how things should be.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:16
Humility and Fear of the Lord
For all those things hath Mine hand made,
and all those things have been, saith the Lord:
but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at My word. Isaiah 66:2
Most people who refuse Salvation or who go their own way
after they have encountered Jesus either have never had the fear of the Lord
or they have lost the fear of the Lord.
Neither one is a good option and can affect Eternity.
But He giveth more grace.
Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud,
but giveth grace unto the humble. James 4:6
Maintain Your Position in Christ.
Having done all to stand.
Keeping your heart in His hands and letting Him teach you as He wills.
Believing God is a form of humility, faith is action of that belief.
Once you have allowed the Lord to teach you something, maintain,
stand strong in what He has taught you and be humble before Him,
knowing it is His resolve and stamina, not yours.
A long time ago, I was very afraid and I had a vision.
I saw myself sitting in God’s hands that were cupped,
almost like I was in a car or a plane or a ride.
He showed me that He was in charge, in control, He was taking care of me.
As long as I stayed there, I’d be safe.