Every day we read the news and it seems our world keeps going from bad to worse. It can be discouraging as we try and live for Christ on a planet that seems determined to eradicate His name from its vocabulary. Intellectually we know that God is in control and in the end He will triumph. Through our logical eye, however, we question how that will ever be possible in a world that seems to have simply gone mad. Good news seems even better than it is because it has become so rare. Newspapers and web sites are full of negative stories be it concerning the economy, war, or violence perpetrated against random individuals. Over time it becomes numbing to the point that we simply get used to bad news.
God is Not To Blame
God created the first man and the first woman; He continues to place His fingerprint on every child born today. He has specific plans for each soul and has equipped them with a unique blend of skills, talents, dreams and passions. You are born loved into a world of hate. No matter what happens you can always return to the love of your Father. He crafted you and He cares for you. There is nowhere you can run from His love, no place you can hide from His gaze. He is with you at all times and in all circumstances. God wants nothing but good for you and longs to see you fulfill the purpose He instilled within you before birth. These are the facts for every person ever born. It is true when we embrace His love, and it is true when we reject it. It is true when we praise Him for our blessings, and it is true when we blame Him for our pain. We may change depending on our situation and circumstances, but God never does. He is constant and sure. He is trustworthy and longs to collaborate with you as you live out your days.
Trust in God
Those who identify themselves as Christians no doubt would readily say that they trust in God. The American pledge of allegiance says, “In God we trust”. But I wonder how much most of us truly trust Him. I think more often than not, we hope that He is in control and that He will take care of us, but do we live our lives in a way that demonstrates our reliance on Him? If you’re like me, it seems we spend most of our time trying to control the circumstances around us and calling out to God when things start to get a little too deep. The truth is we are in over our heads every day that we live. We are out of control in a half-mad world, and we desperately need Him every moment of our lives.
Deny Yourself
In Matthew 16, verse 24, Jesus tells His followers that “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” It is common among Christians to talk about “taking up your cross”.
We generally pull that out whenever we are going through some sort of trial. Yet we don’t hear a lot in our modern churches about denying ourselves. It seems we’ve relegated that to the people of the past, the super-spiritual or the mystics. After all, denying oneself is a wholly un-American way to think.
Moving Beyond Faith
Once you have made the decision to follow Christ, what’s next? How do we go about doing life the day after we have given ourselves to Him? Those who truly love Him want so much more than a “get out of Hell free” pass. We want to live in a manner that glorifies Him and sets us apart. But where do we start and how to we continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus?
Fortunately, God did not leave us to figure this out on our own. To help guide us, He places His Spirit within each of us who put their faith in Him. He also gave us the instructions of His Word in scripture. His plan for our maturity can be found in 2 Peter 1:5-8. It’s a roadmap for how we should live our life.