Come back to me and live!
If you have asked Jesus into your heart, His Love has taken residence there also.
* ” I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”. John 17:26
What God really wants!
The only way other people are going to experience the reality of our Christianity is by our love. Not everyone sees our devotion to God, but the love we show others is the visible evidence of our faith.
* “But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
1 John 3:17
Can you imagine what our marriage, families, churches, and communities would be like if more of us were walking in God’s unconditional Love?
* “…they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:46-47
Those who look to the Lord are radiant!
Psalm 34:5
*Let God’s Agape Love and Light radiate from within you today!
* “..for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness…But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love…”
1 Thessalonians 5:5-8
“Come back to me and live”! Amos 5:4.
* ‘LIVE’ is the big word. We will LIVE the life He has for us, the best for you and me.
*Often feeling that I have to take responsibility for my own actions and my life, I forget that when something seems too big to handle on my own I can send it through to Him.
God has offered us His strength to face all life-changing situations. We need to recognize when it is time to do so.
What God really wants!
*God wants our heart–not vain, empty ritual. He wants us to have an authentic relationship with him.
*We need to be mindful of our thoughts and actions and be careful not to fall into a mechanical routine.
* God wants us to place HIM at the center of all we do and all we are!
*We alone are empty shells, selfish, breakable, self-centerd, frail, fragile, hollow!
* And God knows that – which is why he demands and reminds constantly, to keep Him at the Center of ALL we do and in particular, our worship lives, both public and private.
*Without Him in His rightful place, it’s just “noisy ego-music”
” “I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice-oceans of it. I want fairness-rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”
Amos 5:21-24 (Msg.).
*God could not be anymore direct. He wants our righteous living and humble praise. God hit all of us and our ways of worship. Whether we praise and shout or have a quiet and serious service it all is nothing to God without “Daily Righteousness”.
*My worship is empty and hollow if it does not include Actions of justice that are never ending. What is done in the sanctuary must be seen in the streets.
*God seeks justice and righteousness and looks for the same from God’s people.
*Going through religious motions does not matter to God. God looks to the Heart, our Intentions and how we Impact the world.
“Come back to me and live”! Amos 5:4.
God’s Definition of Fasting!
“…. Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like? “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’ Isaiah 58:5-9(msg).
The true purpose of our Christian walk is to freely lay down our lives so God’s Love can pour through us to others.
* “Greater love has no one than this; that one lay down His Life for his friends.” John 15:13
God wants us to be humble, sensitive and yielded enough to hear His still small voice prompting us to show His Love to the stranger, the outcast, the wounded and the forgotten.
* “…Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”Matthew 25:40
Matthew 5:12, “Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
*Jesus is saying that persecution should actually cause us to rejoice. There are many positive things about persecution but one of the best reasons to rejoice is because of the reward awaiting us in heaven.
Jesus takes the persecution of His saints very seriously as can be seen during the Damascus road experience of the apostle Paul. The Lord asked Paul (then Saul), “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4) He didn’t say, “Why are you persecuting my people?” but “Why are you persecuting me?”
*It is not actually us that people are rejecting but they are rejecting the One we represent. Therefore, Jesus promised to share His reward with us. All the glory and honor that Jesus has and will receive will be shared with those who have suffered shame for His name’s sake (Rom. 8:17). What a great reward!
“Come back to me and live”! Amos 5:4.
Matthew 6:31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’
*Jesus is commanding us not to worry or be anxious about our material needs being met.
* We are simply not to be preoccupied with thinking about riches or spending our time worrying about necessities. **These things will be added unto us as we seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.
** Doubtful thoughts DO come, BUT we do not sin until we Entertain Them.
Speak only things that will express your faith, trust, and confidence in the Lord and not your fear about the situations you face.
God, today I give You my all: my hands, my mouth, my mind, my body, my money and my time. Everything I have is Yours. I want to do Your will today and have You Jesus, the Center of All roles in my life, so I can continually Move Forward with You.
Lord, today I make a fresh commitment to be a giver and invest myself, my time, and my money in Your work. Daily help me to: “Come back to YOU and live”! Amen
John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.