Christians Must Approach God As A Child

                                                      When The Door Slams

Do not despise this small beginning, for the Lord rejoice to see the work begin.                                                                                   Zechariah 4:10a

    

        The world loves the spectacular. God has proven that He is certainly capable of the extraordinary, but He often Chooses to work through the ordinary and seemingly insignificant. In this way God demonstrates His love and His power. 

        Throughout history, God's answer to a critical time was to send a baby. Isaac, Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus were all born as answers to a time of need. When God delivered the Israelites from the Midianites' oppression, God intentionally used an army of merely three hundred men to defeat a vastly larger army. God had more soldiers available, but He preferred to demonstrate His power in this way to accomplished His purposes.

        When Jesus selected His first disciples He could have enlisted a multitude to follow Him, but He choose twelve. It was not the number of disciples but the quality of their walk with Him that would determine how they affected their world. When Jesus fed a multitude, with five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy's lunch were sufficient in the hands of the Lord.

        Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). The mustard seed was the smallest seed known to the Jews, yet it grew into an enormous tree. Jesus also  likened God's kingdom to yeast that is hardly noticeable but raise the entire batch of dough (Matt. 13:33). When children came to Jesus, His disciples assumed they were an annoyance and chased them away (Matt. 19:13-15). But Jesus said that in order to enter His kingdom, people must app0roach God as a child.

        Think about this: Christians often accept the motto "the bigger the better." We measure success by the number of people involved in our ministry. We seek spectacular displays of  God's power. We must learn to view success as God does. God is interested in the heart; God is pleased with obedience. 

        Renewal: May I flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22). May I avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they product quarrels. The Lord's servant much not quarrel, but be gentle toward all, able to teach, and patient (2 Timothy 2:23-24).

This is the will of God, my sanctification, that I abstain from immorality and learn to possess my own vessel in sanctification and honor. For God did not call me to be impure, but to live a holy life (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4,7).                                 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                        Never Rest Ministries

       

There Is No secondhand Spirituality

                                                       When The Door Slams

Then some of the traveling Jewish exorcists also attempted to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I implore you and solemnly command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches!" Seven sons of one [named] Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, was doing this. But the evil spirit  retorted, "I know and recognize and acknowledge Jesus, and I know about Paul, but as for you, who are you?"                           Acts 19:13-15 

        There is no secondhand spirituality. No one else can develop Christian maturity on your behalf. A strong Christian heritage is an asset, but it cannot take the place of your own vibrant, growing relationship with Christ.

        Paul had a powerful walk with God. God used him so mightily that extraordinary miracles occurred through his life. Clothes that touched Paul were taken to the sick, and the sick were healed (Acts 19:10-12). Evil spirits were cast out. Paul's preaching and teaching were instrumental in building a strong church in Ephesus. Paul's ministry was so impressive, in fact, that others tried to duplicate it. 

        Seven sons of the chief priest, Sceva, attempted to cast out demons the way Paul did. They confronted an evil spirit and attempted to exorcise it "by the Jesus that Paul preaches!" These men were trying to use a spiritual power that Paul had acquired after years of walking closely with his Lord.

        They could imitate Paul's words, but they could not duplicate the power that was his through his personal relationship with God. The evil spirit retorted, "I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul--But who are you? The demon then viciously attacked them and humiliated them. The evil spirits were fearfully aware of Jesus (James 2:19); they were familiar with Paul's influence over the powers of darkness. But the demons had no knowledge of the seven sons of Sceva.

        Think about this: Religious people can duplicate the words and deeds of a spiritually mature Christian, but they cannot inherit his or her walk with God. Christian maturity take effort; it comes over time. If you ignore the place of prayer and if your religion neglect your relationship with Christ, you will not grow in your faith. Imitating the faith of others will not give you victory. Only as you nurture your own relationship with Jesus, your life will be filled with spiritual maturity and power.

        Renewal: May I love the Lord my God and serve Him with all my heart and with all my soul (Deuteronomy 11:13). May I set my heart to honor Your name (Malachi 2:2). May I worship the Lord my God, and serve Him only (Matthew 4:10). May I take courage and not be afraid, for the Lord Jesus is with me (Mark 6:50). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

                                                            Never Rest Ministries                   

God's Commandments Do Not Restrict You

                                                      When The Door Slams

But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it].                                                                                                                                     1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

        Hold fast to what is good, or the world will take it away. Satan is the relentless enemy of good. When he saw what God gave Adam and Eve was good, he set about to take it away from them. When he saw that King David was pleasing to God, he attempted to destroy David's relationship with God. Never take the good in your life for granted. If you do not hold on to it firmly, you may lose it.

        People will challenge the good that you are practicing. They may criticize you for your moral stand, your child rearing, your use of money, or your involvement in church. Time will pressure you and attack the good in your life. Your time to pray, time to study Scripture, time to be with your family and time to serve in your church will be pressured by the many other time demands you face. You may give generously to your church and other Christian causes, but you will be tempted to spend your money selfishly and minimize the good you are doing with your finances.

        Think about this: Scripture reveals the solution for holding on to what is good and abstain from every form of evil. Evil robs you of what God intends for you. A spouse and family are great blessings, but the evil of adultery can rob you of the good that God has given you. Prayer is a wonderful gift from God. Yet sin robs the power of prayer (Isa. 1:15). If you will not abstain from evil, it will rob you of the good things God has given you. God's commandments do not restrict you: they free you to experience God's best. Diligently abstain from every form of evil, and you will be free to enjoy every good thing God has for you.

Renewal your mind: We must all attain to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we will no longer be infants, being blown and carried around by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

                                                          Never Rest Ministries              

          

 

Righteousness Must Be Cultivated

                                                      When The Door Slams

All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspirational] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God's will, both publicly and privately-behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.                                                                2 Timothy 3:16-17

        All Scripture is profitable! Knowing this, we cheat ourselves when we do not access every book, every truth, every verse, and every page of our Bibles for the promises and commands God has for us. Because every verse of Scripture is inspired by God and gainful to us, we should not pick and choose which verses we will read and study. 

        We should not claim verses we like and ignore those that convict us! If we are to become mature disciples of Jesus, we must allow every Scripture to speak to us and teach us what God desires us to learn. Scripture enables us to evaluate the soundness of doctrines that are being taught. Scripture ought to be the basis for any reproof or correction we bring to another. 

         Think about this: If you are not firmly grounded in God's Word, you will be bombarded with an assortment of doctrines, religious lifestyles, and behaviors, and you will have no means to evaluate whether or not they are of God. You cannot develop a righteous life apart from God's Word. Righteousness must be cultivated. As you fill your mind with the words of God, and as you obey His instructions, He will guide you in the ways of righteousness. Scripture will equip you for any good work God calls you to do . If you feel inadequate for a task God has given you, search the Scriptures, for within them you will find the wisdom you need to carry out His assignment. Allow the Word of God to permeate, guide, and enrich your life.

May I be a doer of the word and not merely a hearer who deceives himself. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does (James 1:22-25). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.   

                                                         Never Rest Ministries