Stuck?

I, much too often, mentally dwell on my past sins and failures. Perhaps you do as well. And it is easy to mourn our current situations, reflecting how our sins and failures led to circumstances we don’t like.

Satan likes us to be stuck. He likes to bind us to our past in order to prevent us from serving God in the present.

The Bible lays out the sequence we should follow to get unstuck and serve God here and now.

Confess our sins.

Receive God’s forgiveness. Believe Him! (He promised! 1 John 1:9)

Receive God’s cleansing. Believe Him! (He promised! 1 John 1:9)

Press on!

I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12–14)

While, after confessing, we should not focus on our sins and failures, God does teach us through them. We need to learn what God is telling us, and, with His help, make changes in our thoughts, words, and deeds in order to prevent a repeat of sins and failures.

If we hear yourselves saying “If only,” we are thinking about how we shouldn’t have done something, or should have done something else. That means we are stuck in the past. When we hear ourselves saying “Next time,” we have learned and are pressing on.

God has work for us to do. We can’t be stuck in the past and, at the same time, tackle His work for us today.

Contentment During Trials

We (Christians) can and should be content regardless of our circumstances. Paul, in prison, certainly was. I know contentment is possible if we know and trust our loving Sovereign.

Discontent

I had a four-day, big to me, trial, and contentment was nowhere to be found. Alas.

Even worse, I didn’t even think about stopping to remember who God is, who I am to Him, and determining to rejoice that He is in control and has a loving purpose for my situation.

Grumble. Angst. Agitation. Discontent. Sin! Alas. Alas.

The trial showed me the weakness of my trust. Alas! Alas! Alas!

Next Time

Next time I resolve immediately to:

Acknowledge God’s sovereignty over my situation and over me! I am dependent on Him and know that He is trustworthy to bring good out of the trials He brings to me. He is in control.

Gratefully thank Him for His work in my life, for His presence in me, for showing me in His Word that trials bring blessing.

Pray not only for the resolution of the situation, but also pray that I listen to His guidance and follow it!

God is at work!

It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

Thank You, Father!

Bye Bye 2023

A number of years ago I realized that annually I assessed my work performance for my boss, but that I wasn’t doing the same for my Lord.

Now, I prayerfully review my year:

How did I spend my time?

How did I use my financial resources?

Did I stay in God’s word, daily studying and learning what He would have me know and do?

How was my “prayer life?”

If I made specific (spiritual) resolutions for the year, how did I do?

Are there unfinished issues that I need to address?

Etc.

I ask my Lord: “Next year, what do You want more of? What do You want less of?”

One year, I received a thrilling, new objective that had never, ever, entered my mind. That happened only once, but I do regularly come to know changes I need to make.

My goal is to increasing know Jesus Christ; abide in Him day by day, hour by hour; and joyfully serve Him for His glory.

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Father, help me, help us, please You in 2024.

Incredible, but True

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The Word, Jesus Christ, is eternal God, and was with God from eternity past. (John 1)

At Christmas, we celebrate His coming. God with us!

The non-believer says: “Incredible,” and turns away.

But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, coming as a human, is incredibly, awesomely, true!

This reality should take our breath away. Our Creator humbled Himself that He might manifest God, seek the lost, die as a sacrifice for our sins, and save those who repent and believe in Him.

Praise God!

Merry Christmas!

Prepare for Christmas: Repent!

John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)

 Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

God, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent. (Acts 17:30)

Saving faith

Repentance is mandatory for saving faith. Unless you repent, you will perish. (Luke 13:3-5)

If you don’t know you are a sinner, you won’t repent. And if you don’t repent, you will not be saved. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

If you don’t know Jesus Christ, take stock of your life. Honestly look at what you intuitively know displeased God, don’t blame others or downplay your sin. Admit it to God, turn in belief to Jesus Christ, and ask for forgiveness. Ask to be saved from the wrath of God.

A Christian’s Daily life

Repentance and confession is a daily part of a Christian’s life as well, and is fundamental to living a godly life. But we have the joy of knowing that when we confess sin, God forgives us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Get ready for Jesus Christ

In a few days we will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Let’s be ready to meet Him with joy and not shame.

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Repentance is a great preparation for New Year’s also. Repentance is life changing and good works follow repentance. How are you going to show your changed life in Christ next year?

He Warned Us

While we don’t know when, God has told us a lot about what.

He warned us on purpose.

Jesus, in the upper room, just before His betrayal, told the disciples that He would be betrayed, and that He would be crucified. He told them in advance for a reason.

From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. (John 13:19)

Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. (John 14:29)

But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. (John 16:4)

God, in His Word, tells us much of what is to come. We are warned that difficult times will come. We are told about coming trouble and persecution and chaos. We are told in advance so that we might be ready and believe in Him through those times, resting in His presence and settled in His promises of glory.

In these increasingly hard times, we should praise God for warning us, for knowing this is part of His holy plan, for His presence and power in our lives, and for being a righteous judge.

We may strain under the circumstances, watching the evil in the world, and wanting God to bring His final victory soon. Although we may be dismayed at His timing, we must trust Him and rejoice at His unfolding plan. He is doing all things according to the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1:11)

When it happens, as it is happening, believe in Him, trust Him, and rejoice.

Waiting Room

My mom died of multi-infarct dementia. Awful disease.

In her last few months, she described her living area as a Waiting Room. She would ask: “How long do I have to stay in the waiting room?”

That is similar to our situation, except that we have lots to do while we wait.

We have God-given work to do. We should be seeking God with our whole hearts. We are to be growing in the love and knowledge of God.

But, in addition, we should be expectantly waiting for Christ. We should be living in the hope of the glory of God.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

We exult in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

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Lord, please help us walk in a manner worthy of You while we wait. Help us focus on You, the hope of glory.

I hope you had a perfect Thanksgiving Day. It’s wonderful to have a USA holiday set aside (and other places as well, but on different days) to be thankful.

Now, let’s work towards a Thanksgiving Life, a life characterized by thankfulness.

We are to give thanks in all things.

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

We are to rejoice always.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

But I don’t; I’m not.

I am determined—again—to have a settled attitude of gratitude. Lord, please, please, make my life be characterized by thanksgiving, by rejoicing in You, by joy. Help me, day by day, look to You.

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100)

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Did you notice the commentary on our current culture in verse 3?

What Heaven is NOT

I long for heaven (See I Want to Go Home). For those whose Lord and Savior is Jesus Christ, heaven is where we will go, and heaven is unimaginably glorious.

Heaven is also NOT a lot of things. And I rejoice at everything we’ll never see again.

In heaven:

There is no evil. Heaven is where righteousness dwells.  (2 Peter 3:13)

There is no sin. No sin in any of us and no sin anywhere. We will be glorified. We will be like Christ. (Romans 8:29-30)

            There is no pride.

            No selfishness.

            No violence.

            No unwholesome talk.

            No gossip.

            No lying.

            No grumbling.

            No discontent.

            No impatience.

            No …

There are no tears.  (Revelation 7:17)

There is no hunger, or illness, or death. (Revelation 21:4)

There is no separation.

I can’t wait! I want to go home!

Come, Lord Jesus!

“NO! I can do it! Let me!”

These are cries during the terrible-twos. And older children too!

There are times Christians don’t accept, or even resist, God’s help.

We may say to God: “NO! I can do it!”

Alas!

Why in the world would we not accept God’s help?

Probably we all believe Almighty God’s help is available and that we’d, of course, welcome it.

But when we are faced with a problem, a difficult situation, or a personal “melt-down” of any degree, we don’t always seek His help, or accept His help, or even remember He is there for us.   

This can come from not having the Lord top-of-mind. We wouldn’t ask for help if we don’t even remember He can help.

Doing it yourself, without God, might be a habit, which you need to break.

Or maybe, we think this particular problem is something He isn’t interested in, or, even, beyond Him. Or maybe that we don’t deserve His help. Oh dear. That sounds like unbelief.

Or, maybe, we might think this is something we can handle without Him. Sounds like pride!

We must seek and accept His help. This world is difficult and getting darker. We cannot live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him without His help.

Resolve to become increasingly grounded in His Word, and routinely call His words to mind.

Resolve to seek Him first.

Resolve to know that you cannot do it; to know that you must have, and accept, God’s help.

He is God and we are not!

(See We Have Help!)