What is your picture of God? Depending on how you were brought up, you probably view Him as anything from a deeply loving and compassionate Father to a strict disciplinarian who doesn’t tolerate any step outside of His direction. Some read the Old Testament and see God as overly controlling, jealous, and violent. They fear a God who might arbitrarily choose at any moment to strike them dead. These pictures of God have been perpetuated for years, and are a favorite ploy of Satan. If he can convince people that God is erratic and ultimately untrustworthy, he knows he can keep you far from God. He knows if you get too close you might actually discover the truth.
Daily Life
Humble Priorities
Every now and then, a Bible verse I’ve read a thousand times reaches out and grabs my heart in a fresh way. It’s amazing that after thousands of years, God still speaks through His written Word to those who seek and give their lives to Him. The verses that recently grabbed hold of me were Philippians 2:3-4, which read, “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” As we examine our own lives, how close are we living to this instruction? Are we putting the needs of others before our own or diligently striving to become as comfortable, wealthy, and successful as we can be?
Leave the Details to God
A.W. Tozer once gave an illustration that demonstrated the faith we need to have in our Father God. He said, “To be unafraid when going on a journey with his father, the child need not be able to imagine events; he need but know the father! Jesus Christ is our all in all – we need but trust Him and He will take care of the rest.” We don’t always know where life is taking us. In fact, we rarely do. Our mission is to keep following in the footsteps of Christ. As long as we do that, we know we are on the right road because the right road is always the one on which we find Jesus.
Rewards
Each of us, regardless of our success or social standing, will stand trembling and naked before the God of the universe. We will no longer have anything we accumulated on earth. Empty and naked, we will stand before the King. All we will have are the rewards that we stored in Heaven based on the things we did for Jesus while we were alive on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). We accumulate heavenly rewards by serving God and others in His name; by sacrificing everything for the sake of building His Kingdom. Building treasure in Heaven requires us to daily put our trust in God for our provision; not in our money, possessions, or achievements. As we do the things He told us to do (see Matthew 25:31-46, James 1:27, and Ephesians 5:1-5), we will increase our treasure in Heaven.
What Shapes your Mood?
“Let us beware allowing our spiritual comforts to rise and fall with world news or the changing world situations. We who lean upon Jesus and trust in the watchful love of a heavenly Father are not dependent upon these things for our peace. For children of the new creation, the darker the night, the brighter faith shines and the sooner comes the morning.” These are the words of A.W. Tozer, written over fifty years ago. They are eerily relevant to our world today. I am amazed and thankful, even awestruck, at how those who dedicated their lives to God continue to speak to us long after their time on earth has past. In this era of terrorism, disease, and constant unrest, followers of Jesus should not allow the circumstances around us to affect the purpose of our lives.