Tag: faith

Steadfast Love

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Today passage in the Pleasing God series comes from Micah 7:18 and speaks of God’s character. He has a character that we can depend upon each and every day.

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.

God does not delight in sin at all and is grieved over the sin that is manifested in our lives and the sin that is present in this world. He is not passive about sin and scripture says sin angers God. Romans 1:18 speaks forcefully about God’s attitude towards sin. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” God shows his anger or wrath towards mankind when they delve into sinful ways and refuse to turn to Him. The children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon for their sinfulness even though they were repeatedly warned by the prophets to repent and change their ways. They refused to return to God and thus suffered the consequences.

However, just as God promised to rescue the Israelites after 70 years and return them to Israel, God’s anger does not remain forever because He delights in steadfast love. The Bible repeatedly tells us that God’s love is steadfast. We know that God is love. 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Steadfast means fixed in place and immoveable, not subject to change. His love is rooted in His character and is always immutable and unwavering. Here are some affirming scriptures on the immutability of God: 1 Samuel 15:29 “ He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” Psalm 33:11 “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

It should be of great comfort to us that God delights to show us His love. The Micah passage continues and explains ways that God shows his delight and love towards us.
19 “He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.”

God reveals His love in His compassion, forgiveness, and faithfulness but most of all in how He deals with our sin. He promises to cast our sins into the deepest sea. Only God can remove our sins so it is not a part of us anymore. Our faith in Jesus allows this miracle to happen in our lives.

This blog focused on God’s delight of steadfast love instead of what we can do to bring delight to God. Knowing that God delights to show us His steadfast love, how can that change your thinking and attitudes towards God and others? Knowing God loves with steadfast endurance should help us to focus on what God sees in our actions and words as we interact with those around us. Jesus summed up where our loving focus should be in Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Make loving God and others your goal and it will lead you to pleasing God!

Linda

Honoring Parents can be Tough, But it is God’s Way

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Today’s verse in the Pleasing God search, starts with Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Besides honoring and worshiping only God and not committing grievous sins towards others, we are commanded to honor our parents. 1 Timothy 5:4 adds these words, “Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.” Widows were to be taken care of but this is directed at their children. The children were to seek to honor their parents by making some return. We can speculate about that a bit. What comes to my mind is children working to support their surviving parent, taking part in the home and chores and honoring the memory of the deceased parent. Those types of actions would show growth in godliness and be pleasing to God.

Paul speaks of honoring our parents in Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” The promise is that honoring our parents with godly behavior in both words and deeds brings long life. The act of honoring our parents is ordered by God and is indeed pleasing to Him.

How are you doing with this? It is not always easy to honor our parents especially if you have different points of view on major things in life. Family situation can be fraught with tensions. Sometimes it seems like a very fine line between being your own person and upholding your own beliefs and yet stay honoring towards your parents. Perhaps avoiding antagonizing words when in their presence and not speaking ill of them is a start. Even if you mostly get along with your parents, you can undermine your relationship with them by speaking poorly of them to others. It is hard to do at times but so important. The Word of God speaks plainly about slandering others with our words. In Mark 7:21-23, Jesus considers it evil in our hearts, “ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Paul speaks to the Ephesians 4:30-32 about grieving God the Holy Spirit, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” In Colossian 3:8-9 Paul encourages us to put these things away as they were part of our old nature.  “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.”

Honoring all relationships is what we are called to in Christ. Is it easy? No, but we have His spirit living within us empowering us to navigate the pathway of honor as it brings honor to God. Honoring behavior pleases God!

Linda

Bearing Fruit Pleases God!

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Today I want to focus on Colossians 1:9-10 “ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

Paul is telling the Colossian Christians that he has heard of their ministry and works for the Lord and has been praying for them. At this point, Paul has not been able to visit them but wanted them to feel encouraged in their work and faith. He desired that they be filled with knowledge about God and live with spiritual wisdom and understanding. He implied that being filled with knowledge of God leads to wisdom and understanding so that they could walk and live in a manner that is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him. Paul wanted them to know that bearing fruit for God pleases HIm along with their own continued growth.

The concept of bearing fruit is one Jesus spoke of in John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Knowing Jesus as Savior makes us a branch in His tree, in his vineyard. He desires that we bear fruit and will prune us so we will bear even more fruit. One who just wastes the goodness of God and does nothing with all He has given us will be taken away. Since we know that once we accept Jesus we belong to Him and cannot lose our salvation, this must mean something else. Perhaps consider, those that do not bear fruit are not in the direct pathway of blessings that God gives those who live for Him. The main point here is that bearing fruit requires the plant be fertilized, cared for, watered, etc. God does that for us- He provides for us nourishment from His Word so we can grow, He provides Christian fellowship to surround us and keep us encouraged, loved and walking with Him. We have all felt the pruning of God in our lives. This is not fun but necessary for our growth and development. As we look back on those hard times, we see God’s hand guiding us and providing new things for us to learn about walking and serving Him!

Besides bearing fruit which pleases God, Paul commended them to do good works and grow in the knowledge of God which are both fruits. Think about your week so far, what good works have you done because you love God? It could be as simple as taking cookies to a neighbor or speaking with a lonely person. Our love for Jesus causes us to do these things as we think of others and not just about ourselves. Paul is also concerned with the fruit of growing in the Lord. What Bible Study do you plan to attend and how much do you read God’s Word? Is your Bible well worn from use over the years? If not, plan to seek out a good Bible study. I would recommend Bible Study Fellowship which is an International Bible Study for both men, women and children that you can attend in-person or online anywhere in the world! Just google http://www.bsf.org and get connected. Another such group is Community Bible Study that is also international and in person and online too. http://www.communitybiblestudy.org Or, seek out a Bible study at your church. The point is to get into God’s Word and doing it in community bring blessing and clarity to our studies.

Paul was wise to tell the Colossians that they did not have to do this bearing fruit and growing on their own. Verse 11 gives us added directives, “11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” God does not leave us with the command to bear fruit and then not give us the power! No way! The Holy Spirt gives us strength, endurance, patience and joy as we seek to live lives that bring glory to God!

May you have a week that bears fruit for God and sees you growing in the knowledge of Him

Linda

Pleasing God, our Goal

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Before leaving on summer travels, I was pricked in my heart to delve into things that are pleasing to God. How do we know if we are pleasing Him? Scripture is specific about this and I want to explore a few in the weeks ahead.

When was the last time you sent or gave a gift to someone? How did that make you feel? I know I love to get gifts, but really I love to give them more. It is like giving a part of myself to someone without their asking. Scripture tells us that gift giving is pleasing to God! In Philippians 4:18 Paul says, “ I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” He was expressing thanks for their monetary gifts given to take care of them on the mission field. They were giving from their hearts and Paul realized their sacrifice. Giving to and for others to do God’s work is definitely pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:16 “ Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Giving, sharing and doing for others pleases God. Why is that? I would say because it fulfills Jesus’ command in John 13:35-36 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” By loving others we show our love and Jesus’ love towards them. This is definitely pleasing to God.

So take a few minutes today and consider whether or not your actions would be considered pleasing by God. Do you give to ministry both here and abroad so that the gospel can be proclaimed? Are you involved in doing good for others be it your Christian friends, neighbors or those you do not know? Are you actively involved in giving and sharing? How will people know you are a believer if you do not show God to them by your words and deeds?

Food for thought and reflection as we desire to be pleasing to God and our Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let 1 Corinthians 10:31 be your hearts desire, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Let God shine in your life as you seek to please Him.

Linda

Peace-filled Living, Possible for you and me!

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In light of recent events, I begin to question whether or not living peacefully with others is at all possible. Peace seems like such an illusive thing.  Some days I revel in it and some days it seems out of my reach.   What we can be assured of is that peace is ours through Christ and is always attainable.  Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  The peace Jesus gives is not worldly calm and freedom from activity, but a peace with God that will satisfy our souls.  It is the peace the pervades us even when the world is swirling around us.  Paul describes this peace in Romans 5:1-2  “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”   Paul assures us that the peace we have though Christ brings us into relationship with God and is filled with His grace and purposefully holds us no matter what else is happening in our lives.

Believing that Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can have peace in Christ. He promises that His peace is ours for the taking. Why do we struggle with it so much?  I think it is because of the pull of the world on our lives and the loss of focus and faith in the power of our God.  We are free in Christ from the power of sin over our lives but we live in a sinful world.  The effects of sin on us and our lives is unavoidable.  Staying above this and living in peace takes work- unwavering faith, prayer, diligence to stay in the Word and fellowship with other believers.  Are you getting a dose of each of these in your life each day or week?  Summer is a good time to renew commitments and take time to pray, read God’s Word, memorize a verse or two and have fellowship with other believers.  It is good for your soul and will bring you peace!

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Thankful for the power of peace in Christ,

Linda

Reconciliation, an Amazing state of Being!

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Have you ever tried to reconcile a broken relationship or even your bank statement? Sometimes it can be trying and almost impossible. Consider trying to make yourself right with God? Can you ever be good enough? Can you ever wipe out your sin or make yourself clean? NO you can’t. Unlike relationship the reconciliation of your bank account or a personal relationship, there might be a way you could achieve it. But making yourself clean enough to stand before God, there is no human way to do this. So where does that leave us? Without hope? Stuck in our sins forever? No, Jesus is the answer.

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am reconciled to God through faith in Jesus.  To be reconciled means to be brought into a right relationship with someone that you had been in opposition to or opposed to for some reason.  The reason we were in opposition to God is because of our sin.  God is pure and holy and cannot have a relationship with anything that is unholy or sinful.  In Romans 5:10-11 Paul puts it this way, “ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”   Through Jesus’ death on the cross he made it possible for us to be reconciled to God through faith in Him.  He returned us to a place of favor in God’s sight.  What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus!

Romans 5-11 We Exalt In God Through Our Lord Jesus Christ gold

Does your life reflect the reconciliation made possible by Jesus? Do you cherish the relationship you have with God?  Do you seek to know Him through His Word and talk with Him each day in prayer?  It is an amazing fact that the God of the universe desires to have a relationship with you.  Thank you Jesus for making this possible.

Eternally grateful for Jesus’ work of reconciliation,

Linda

What does it mean, “I’m indwelt”?

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Have you ever considered how and why you are able to live successfully and faithfully for Jesus? We are not perfect this side of heaven but we have the desire to live for Him once we come to know Him. God did a very special thing for each and every believer when He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of us. His indwelling spirit gives us the commitment and power to set aside sin and look to Him. He helps us to live for Jesus. He is why we can be successful.

Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit when I step out in faith to believe. This fact permeates the life of every believer. Thus, we are all His and belong to one another. Paul sated in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” Because we have God’s Holy spirit inside of us, guiding and directing our hearts, we are can be loving and united in faith and purpose. Romans 5:1-5 explains this in more detail. “ Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” We know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. Paul makes it clear that we are made right with God through Jesus and that He loved us so much He gave us His Spirit to indwell us. His Holy Spirit works from within- guiding, encouraging, molding and shaping our character thus giving us the power to live for Him each day.

What a wonderous provision we have in the indwelling Holy Spirit. Study the graphic below- prayerfully thank God for His Holy Spirit’s work in your life.

Linda

Connected by Jesus!

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47615-Child-Of-God (1)

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,  I can know that I am a child of God.  The Bible is filled with references to God’s children, those who believe in Him.  Let’s look at  John 1:12-13  to see why. “ But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”   John specifically tells us that belief in Jesus gives us the right or privilege to become a child of God.  It is a birth that comes from God. 

Why is this important?  Just like in any household, being a child there gives one privileges or benefits that come from being your father’s child.  You might have a room of your own, a pool to use, food to eat, a car to drive and receive the love of your parents and siblings.  God’s family is like that too.  We have His Spirit to indwell us, coming mansions in heaven, use of all God’s kingdom to speak of His love, provision of clothes, food and things we need in life, brothers and sisters in faith to share with and most importantly His love forever. What a great family!   Jesus called us his family – brothers, sisters and mother through faith. Jesus’ family had come to find him, probably not in a supportive way, and someone came and told Jesus they were outside. Here is Jesus’ answer. Matthew 12:47-49 “But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!” We belong to Him and His family through faith in Him. Likewise, all who believe in Jesus are our brothers and sisters. Our family is huge and all connected by Jesus! Praise God!

Linda

Promises that Come from Faith

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Lent was an intense writing time for me. Each day I blogged about a promise we have from God. His promises vary from protection, righteousness, hopes in heaven, benefits of knowing Him, etc. The list is long of the things we have because of our faith in Christ. I want to continue in this vein reminding all of us- me too, of what a glorious thing it is to have faith and know Christ. Our faith is truly a gift from God.

To begin our extended journey with God’s promises, let look at 2 Peter 1:3-4. This is the verse I claimed for my book Promises for Dynamic Living.

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4

First, Jesus promises He has given us everything, absolutely everything we need for  a godly life because we know Him.  The promises He has included in His Word should be extremely precious to us as the promises help us to be one in the Spirit with Him and live a life that is above the corruption of this world that is motivated by evil.  I find this simple truth encouraging.  Satan wants us to believe there are things missing from our lives that only the world can provide.  Christ says, “NO!!”,  I have given you everything you need.  Satan wants us to believe that the world is fulfilling and will lead to a good life.  Christ says, “NO!!”, the way of the world leads to destruction and away from godly living.

unchanging God

So what exactly has Jesus provided for us in His promises?  As you study the scriptures, you find that we are promised many things- comfort, love, salvation, hope, peace, joy, understanding of godly things, fellowship with God the Father and Son, infilling of the Holy Spirit, eternal life…..  the list goes on.  Each of these are promised by our faithful loving God.    Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  God and His truth is unchanging from the creation of everything until now-God does not change and will not change.  We can count on this.  So all the things God promises in His Word from the beginning are still true and unchanging.    Hebrew 6:17-18 further confirms God’s mind for us.  17 “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.“

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How can the truths of 2 Peter 1:3-4 effect our lives?  If we take Jesus at His Word and believe in His great and precious promises, we will live abundant lives that are filled with His Spirit.  He wants us to lead godly lives.   Take the challenge today and look into His Word- seek His precious promises and then claim them in your life.  Need help finding promises?  Get a copy of my book Promises for Dynamic Living- there you will find 70 different promises written in God’s Word just for you to enrich and lead you towards greater godliness in Christ. Or keep following my blog and rediscover His truths and promises to you!

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can trust in God’s promises and know they are for me, for my good and His glory.

Linda

Are you ready to stand before God?

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God promises that we are declared Not Guilty of sin and can stand before Him pure and holy because of our faith in Jesus. God does not see our sin as we are covered in the blood of Jesus. What a wonderful way God transforms us though our faith in Jesus!

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,  I am holy and blameless before God.  The New Living Translation makes this point very clearly in Colossians 1:22 ” Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”   What a privileged position we are in before God because of what Christ did for us on the cross.  His blood has washed us clean so that we are without sin before God, pure, holy and without guilt.  Many of the old hymns talk about ‘there is power in the blood’.  The blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

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What now?  David wrote of being blameless and what that looks like in Psalm 15:1     “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?  Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?  Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,  speaking the truth from sincere hearts.  Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.”  Again he wrote in Psalm 18:31-33 “For who is God, but the Lord?  And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my  way blameless.   He made my feet like the feet of a deer  and set me secure on the heights. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:20 “The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,  but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.”  Christ has made us blameless before God through our faith in His work on the cross, but walking daily with Him requires us to do what is right, speak the truth, be sincere of heart, refuse to gossip or speak harm to others.  God promises to equip us for this work and give us strength through His indwelling Holy Spirit.  We will be secure in Him at all times.  Walking with Jesus, brings purity and holiness into our lives and pleases God.

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I’ll end today with Jude 24-25.  May it resonate with you all day and help you as you strive to walk humbly with Jesus.  He did it all and then equips you to go out to show and tell others of His transforming power.  “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen“

Thankful for the transforming power of Christ!

Linda