What Is God Expecting Of You

                                                     When The door Slams

"The servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be ask.                                          Luke 12:47-48 

        

        The more of God we experience, the more He expects of us. It's always been that way. Moses had the glory of the burning bush and was expected to set his people free. Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and was expected to bring the Gospel to the world. Peter had the joy of three years at Jesus' side and was expected to lead the Church in the face of great persecution in a period of incredible expansion.

        There is no doubt that this is true. As a matter of fact, one of the barriers to greater spiritual life is knowing that God's call bring joy. But why. Why are we not free to just enjoy the glory of knowing God without the burden of service? Let's brake it down. 

        First, growing in God is not only about us. It is also about God's glory in the world. It is not about us. It is about God. 

        Second, growing in God prepares us to participate in His great work in the world. Surely our relationship with God is precious. But God wants everyone to know that joy and He has chosen us as His representatives. 

        Third, growing in God strengthens us for the inevitable challenges we face. We know God, and we know He will strengthen, sustain, stay with and love us. 

        Finally, God is good to us. We are created to live for a greater purpose. We cannot fulfill that destiny or know that satisfaction with a great mission. What is God expecting of you?

        Think about this: God has a plan for this world and for your world. It is a plan that God understands perfectly, a plan that can bring you untold joy now and throughout eternity. But the LORD won't force His plan upon you. He has given you free will, the ability to make choices on your own. The totality of those choices will determine how well you fulfill God's calling.

        If you are serious about discovering God's plan for your life-or rediscovering it-start spending quite time with the LORD God every day. Ask the LORD for direction. Pray for clarity. And be watchful for His signs. The more time you spend with the LORD God, the sooner the answers will come. You are not an accident. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.

         Renewal: I will not let sin reign in my mortal body that I should obey its lusts. Nor will I present the members of my body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but I will present myself to God as one who is alive from the dead and my members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:12-13).

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       

                

        

   

           

If God Do Not Change Us, WE Can't Change

                                                       When The Door Slams 

And we all. who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.                                                                                                              2 Corinthians 3:18

        Paul outlined the process of a great transformation in 2 Corinthians 3:18. Passing through a great challenge changes us. Peter, the coward of the courtyard, became the lion of Pentecost. Paul, the persecutor, became the great champion of the faith. David, the shepherd boy became Israel's greatest king. Moses, who ran for his life, faced down Pharaoh and delivered his people. 

        First, we encounter God with "unveiled faces." All pretense, self-righteousness, and pride are stripped away. We see ourselves clearly and know who and what we are-sinners in need of a Savior, weaklings in need of great strength, and fools in need of great wisdom.

        Second, we "observe the Lord's glory." Like Moses, we are transformed by confronting the glory of God. We grasp the true majesty and infinite wonder of our Savior and His love. We are humbled and overwhelmed in His presence.

        Third, all this "comes from the Lord." We can't do any of it! No matter how hard we try, how disciplined, rule-keeping, or religious we are, we remain shameful sinners. We only wash the outside of the cup (Matthew 23:25-26). If God do not change us, we can't change.

        Fourth, we are "transformed into His image." Our destiny is to be like Jesus!

        Finally, we are transformed "with ever-increasing glory." Transformation is a process, not and event. We keep changing and will never, even experience all the transformation or glory we long for or His intends. 

        Think about this: Are you a person in a hurry? If so, you may be in for a few disappointments. Why? Because life has a way of unfolding according to the Lord God  timetable, not yours. That's why life requires patience, and lots of it. 

        In Lamentations 3:25 reminds us that, "The LORD is good to those who wait for Him" (NKJV). But for most of us. waiting is difficult because we are in such a hurry for things to happen. We are fallible beings who seek solutions to our problems today, not tomorrow. Yet God may have others plans. 

        The next time you find your patience tested to the limit, slow down, take a deep breath, and relax. Sometimes life can't be hurried; during those times, patience is indeed a priceless gift  from the Lord God.

Affirmation: Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed, that through Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39).

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 

                                               

                                                                                  

We Pay A High Price For Following God

                                                       When The Door Slams

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sin, in which you used to live when you follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.                     Ephesians 2:1-3 NIV          

        No one said getting from where we are to where we want to be in God is easy. Anyone who says it is easy is a liar. Anyone who believes it is easy is a fool. James said we should rejoice in trials because of what they produce in us (James 1:2-4).

        Paul compared this life to the harsh discipline of an athlete in training (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Jesus warned us that we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33). The Bible compares our spiritual journey to gold in the refiner's fire or clay on the potter's wheel (Proverbs 17:3; Jeremiah 18:1-5). Thomas Aquinas seems to echo Ephesians 2:1-2 when he warned against "the world, the flesh and the Devil."

        When we pursue Christ with all our hearts, we live a life that challenges the world around us and prompt an angry, hostile response. They hate Him and all who follow Him. That pursuit draws us into spiritual warfare. Our enemy uses all his power and influence to deceive us, block our way, and make sure we pay a high price for following God

        Think about this: But we are our own worst and greatest enemy. We run from, resist, and resent the struggles we inevitably face. We want glory without the cross. It never, ever happens that way. What does God intend for me to do with my life?" It is not an easy question to ask but, for many of us, a difficult question to answer. Why?  Because we have sinned with our fathers; We have committed iniquity and acted wickedly (Psalm 106:6). 

        God's purpose are not always clear to us. Sometimes we wander aimlessly in a wilderness of our own making. And sometimes we struggle mightily against God in an unsuccessful attempt to find success and happiness through our own means, not His. No one said it would be easy...just worth it!

        Affirmation: Christ was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for our sake. Through Him I believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, so that my faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:20-21).  

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        

               

The Road To Resurrection Run Through Golgotha

                                                     When The Door Slam

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (with means "the place of the skull").                                                                                  Matthew 27:32-33 

         The road Christ walked that day was good for us. It was not "good" for Christ, who suffered physical, emotional, and spiritual agony few can imagine. But at the end of that road was the fulfillment of His mission, a new and resurrected life, and the immeasurable joys of glory. 

        It was not the road Christ wanted to follow. In Gethsemane we are told that "He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me"(Matthew 26:39). He would have preferred to fulfill His mission and live a new and glorious life without taking the road to Golgotha. So would you and me. It just can not be done.

        The trials and suffering of Good Friday were the only way to pay the penalty for the sins of the world, gain salvation for mankind, and fulfill the divine plan to redeem the world.

        The challenges we face along the road to a deeper and richer life in Christ are just as necessary to break our sinful will, to teach us the lessons of godly living, and drive us to ever greater intimacy with and dependence on God. But how?

        Christ shows the way: submission-"Yet not as I will, but as You will"-and trust-"Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit" (Luke 23:46). If we refuse to submit and trust, if we reject the way of the cross, we will never see new life, and our journey to spiritual greatness ends. 

        Think about this: It's different for everyman. Some face the painful challenge of confessing sin and making amends to those we have harmed. Some have to leave behind a career, friends, or family. Ambition, pride, selfishness, or lust must die in others. It may cost cherished relationships, pleasures we enjoy, or the future we want. It will cost...everything. And we know it.

Petition: You are the door; whoever enters through You will be saved and will come in and go out find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; You have come that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:9-10). May I be strong and courageous, being careful to obey Your word; may I not turn from it to the right or to the left, that I may act wisely wherever I go (Joshua 1:7).    

 Prayer: Dear LORD, I know that You have a purpose for my life, and I will seek that purpose today and every day that I live. Let my actions be pleasing to You. and let me share Your Good News with a world that so desperately needs Your healing hand and the salvation of Your Son. 

Ask the 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  

     

              

We Are Not Equipped To Do Life Alone

                                                        When The Door Slams

I know, LORD, That a man's way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps. Discipline me, LORD, but with justice-not in Your anger, or You will reduce me to nothing.                                                                                  Jeremiah 10:23-24

        Humans are prone to wander, make mistakes, and become defeated. The first couple of the Bible had very simple rules to follow, but they easily became convinced to be lawbreakers. Adam and Eve had every reason to follow a trustworthy God. However, it seemed easy to believe that God was holding all the best for Himself and following Him would not be in their best interest. 

        We are no different. We feel that God doesn't really understand us. We believe He wants to withhold something we want right now. God designed us to embrace His plan and purpose, but thanks to sin, and now our natural understanding is to look out for ourselves. 

        We can be convinced that, fame, lies and money provide a path to the satisfaction we want, but they don't. Instead, the religious self-centered pursuit of these things pulls them away from God, the only One who can truly satisfy us.

        We are not equipped to do life alone, so God gave us directions to follow, lessons to learn, and the Holy Spirit to lead us. A self-focused lifestyle often leads us to conflict, communication breakdown, and destructive behavior. In what parts of your life have you been looking out only for yourself?

        Think about this: When we truly turn our hearts toward the face of Jesus the Son of the Living God, we feel the sense that Jesus is inviting us to walk with Him. And that's precisely the path that we must follow. When we behave ourselves as faithful servants, we honor the Father and the Son. And we  live righteously and according to God's commandments, Jesus blesses us in ways that we cannot fully understand.    

 Adoration: How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep. The senseless man does not know; Fools do not understand That when the wicked spring up like grass And all the evildoers flourish, They will be destroyed forever. But You, O Lord, are exalted forever (Psalm 92:5-8).  

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