Devotions - Prayer
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12 NIV).
If you were to ask people if they are going to Heaven or Hell, you’ll likely hear them say, “I hope I’ll go to Heaven.”
But hope just isn’t good enough. I pray that’s not your answer. Your eternal destiny is too important not to know for sure.
Only a fool would be unprepared for what we all know is inevitable: death. The most recent statistics show that mortality rates in the world are 100 percent!
You’re not guaranteed another minute on this planet, much less another hour. Don’t put off the most important choice you’ll ever make.
The Bible says in 1 John 5:11-12,“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (NIV).
That’s about as clear as you can get.
- If you have Jesus, you have life.
- If you don’t have Jesus, you do not have life.
- You have a choice.
You won’t go to Heaven because of someone else’s faith. You’ll never go to Hell because of someone else’s choice.
It’s your choice! You decide where you’ll spend eternity.
This is why Christmas and Easter are so important. If Jesus hadn’t come at Christmas and if he hadn’t died and come back to life on Easter, we’d be hopeless. Nothing we do would matter. You wouldn’t have this choice.
The cross is the answer to our deepest problem — our separation from God.
The Bible says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross”(Colossians 2:13-14).
God nailed everything that separated you from himself to the cross. But God won’t force you to make the most important decision of your life. It’s in your hands.
It’s time to choose.
Lord, Help me to KNOW you more each and every day, because to know You is to have eternal life (JN 17:3). Amen
Read MoreBoundaries are based on truth and we each need to know our limits in each area of our life.
Setting boundaries is an essential skill in life, especially for people like us in recovery who are addicted to a sin (which we all have in one form or another: worry, over eating, gossip, anxiety, chemical dependency, etc. etc).
Addicts for example, often grow up in dysfunctional homes, where boundaries were either too rigid (leading to suppressed emotions or distant relationships) or too enmeshed (depriving them of a sense of personal identity).
Later in life, their interpersonal relationships may continue to be defined by old roles and patterns, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety and addictive or compulsive behaviors.
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE!
John 8:31-32: Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
*Does our life look like someone who’s on the same page with Christ?
*Do we tend to believe our negative feelings more than the positive truth of God’s Word?
Four Components for Successful Boundaries: YOU GET WHAT YOU WORK FOR!
1. Vision: Do you know what you want as an outcome? Define your specific expectations in writing.
2. Communication: Do you thoroughly communicate and address the specific expectations, your purpose and results and if broken the consequences?
3. Application: Do you follow through with the message, consequences (good or bad).
4. Action: Develop your plan, determine how to hold yourself accountable to your plan.
Ephesians 6:14 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”
Why are boundaries important?
They keep you safe from being manipulated, abused or taken advantage of, while also protecting other people from harm you may consciously or unconsciously inflict.
They prevent both parties in a relationship from blurring the lines between self and others.
With healthy boundaries in place, you can begin to tune in to your inner voice(Holy Spirit) and trust those thoughts and feelings, and then communicate those to other people.
Romans 2:8 “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
*If we strive for God, we will receive mercy.
*If we seek eternal life, we will find it.
*BUT if we seek the world, we will be left in the world.
Lord, help us all to seek You and set good and healthy personal boundaries in our lives to be able to create more of Your Character in us for others to see and follow. Help us to see and know more and more of Your Truths. Amen
Read More
We mustn’t say, “I will choose to love this person if it kills me,” but rather “I will set myself aside and allow God to love this person through me.”
“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…”Matthew 5:44
A pure and contrite heart is being formed within us as we continue to walk out our eternal sanctification.
“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor.” Proverbs 18:12
A negative thought first crossing our mind is not sin. But if we choose to bury that thought in our hearts or turn it into a negative action, sin is the result. We need to take that thought captive and immediately relinquish it to God.
“…we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” II Corinthians 10:5
Painful memories grow strangely dim when we allow the Holy Spirit to light the candle of God’s Love within our hearts.
“…but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
Paul chose to look at life from a heavenly perspective. That’s why he could write:
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (2 Cor. 4:8-10).
Paul had experienced a level of opposition and suffering that you and I can scarcely imagine. People said they would do things but did not follow through. He could not depend on certain people. Yet he was not crushed, and he refused to give in to despair. He viewed his life as a continual process of dying. His goal was to live in such a way that the life of Jesus would be revealed in his response to adversity.
Beware of placing too much expectation on others. Realize that people will let you down from time to time, but do not let that impact your faith. Trust God to work even through these disappointments.
The Bible is clear that humans do not achieve greatness without having their sinful will broken. This process is designed to create a nature change in each of us, not just a habit change. The Bible calls it circumcision. Circumcision is painful, bloody, and personal.
JN 17: 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Thank You Jesus for the gift of eternal life. Help me always see the Eternal Perspective in all my circumstances to bring You Glory and me Hope. Amen
Read More*Have you ever wrestled with the events of life, feeling that God has deserted you?
* Have you been honest with God?
*He is the kind of Father who is willing to have those difficult conversations.
*He won’t always change things, but His purposes will be accomplished and peace will come if you trust.
*Trust Him this day with those things that are most difficult.
” Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10).
Bondage to sin — that is, your battle with the flesh.
Under the New Covenant, God will allow situations to show you how wholly dependent you are on Him to deliver you through faith.
God will never lead you into temptation but He will allow you to come to your wits’ end. If you have a secretive sin, Satan will come against you continually with his lies: “You’re too weak! You’re never going to make it.”
You hear the rattling of chains as Satan tries to bind you to your habit once more and you wonder, “Lord, how will I ever get up from this? I’ve gone down so low!”
What can you do? You know you can’t outrun the enemy and you are no match for him in a fight, so you cower before him, trembling in fear.
You may say to yourself, “I’ll just go back to my old ways. At least I’ll be spared from all this spiritual warfare. It’s too much for me!” But you know you can’t go back to your old master. If you turn back now and desert Christ, it will cost you your life.
Many Christians become caught in the hellish cycle of sinning and confessing, sinning and confessing. They run to friends, counselors, anyone who will listen to them as they cry and pray.
Such believers will do everything except stand still and trust the Lord to bring their deliverance.
We need to understand the battle: know your mission and learn to apply God’s weapons and strategies to your battle. (Read Ephesians 6 for The Armor and Romans 12:2 the Renewing of the mind).
Lift me up dear God, help me see more, show me more light, and allow it to shine through me. Amen
Read More“Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?'” – Genesis 3:1
God is big on giving man freedom and boundaries!
*Freedom to manage what He has entrusted to us.
*Boundaries to protect us from evil.
The boundaries in the Garden of Eden were not set for the purpose of limiting Adam.
Man got into trouble when he questioned those boundaries.
God had provided everything he would need for life. He also entrusted man with responsibility to manage and work the Garden.
God gave him freedom in that responsibility. God knows we were made to express ourselves creatively through our work.
Both freedom and boundaries are always under the umbrella of God’s authority and our authorities at work.
Jesus understood these boundaries.
When He was tempted for 40 days by the devil after being baptized, He was challenged by satan to go outside His freedom and boundaries. (See Matthew 4:1-11.)
*Satan said that He had the power to turn a stone into bread. Jesus was hungry and easily could have justified using His power to feed Himself.
However, Jesus understood He could do nothing outside the boundaries of God’s will for His life.
It was God’s will for Jesus to be tempted and to withstand the temptation.
*God was showing His Son that “man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4b).
You and I are tempted every day to go beyond our God-ordained boundaries.
Whether it is solving financial problems that have arisen through debt, making wrong decisions due to pressure, or manipulating someone in order to achieve our ends, it all represents rebellion toward God.
Ask God to show you His freedom and boundaries for your life. These are meant to enhance your life, not hinder it. (Start with the 10 Commandments—these are great boundaries set to keep us free—But if we go outside the 10 Commandments we will eventually get stung)
Look how far you have come! The difficulties that you have endured and overcome have instructed you and driven you to find Jesus in a more meaningful and concrete way.
Thank You Jesus for the difficulties I have gone through in my life, to get me to Know and Trust You more. Forgive me of my sins Jesus. Thank You for hearing me and for calling me (a sinner)—Your “Masterpiece” (Eph. 2:10) Thank You for the Freedom to manage what You have entrusted to me and Your Boundaries(10 Commandments) to protect me from evil. Amen
Read MoreOnly God’s Love is powerful enough to illuminate the darkness in our hearts.
“For God…is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14).
What measurements do you use to define your self-worth?
*Do you define it based on your financial assets?
*Is it based on what you have achieved professionally?
*Perhaps you define your value based on the number of children you have.
There are many things we can use to define our self-worth. However, the scriptures tell us there is only one measure for our self-worth.
Each of us has self-worth because we are made in the image of God.
And because we are made in the image of God, we are valuable.
Whenever you and I place a value in ourselves that is based on some other performance criteria, we have moved beyond God’s view of our worth as human beings.
You are never more valuable to God than you were the day you were born. Read Psalms 139
Basing our self-worth on how much money we have or our achievements is an easy trap.
We are bombarded with messages that say we are defined by what we drive, where we live, how many toys we own, and the size of our investment account. The media message is designed to create dissatisfaction and lust for what we don’t have.
Paul said the purpose for his existence was…...“to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10).
In what terms do you define yourself? Is it based on knowing Christ alone?
Colossians 2:2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Lord, help me to know You More. Amen (see JN 17:3)
Read MorePraying and Growing in your Relationship with Jesus Christ
Below is a 30-day plan created to help you in praying and growing in your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
You may want to do this as couples, families, groups or as individuals and As you are consistent in this, God will respond!
1) Every morning, for 30 days, read and react to the two texts from Ephesians:
a. Ephesians 2:1-10: this describes our two possible conditions:
1) to be spiritually dead, 2:1-3, or
2) to be alive in Jesus Christ, 2:4-10.
As you read this, every morning look for a new truth you can focus on through the day.
b. Ephesians 6:10-20: this gives us the armor of God to be victorious:
2) Each day of the week, focus on a piece of God’s Armor: Try this for four weeks and see what God is saying to you.
___________________________________________________________
Day 1 – Truth – read John 8:31-58. Through the day, concentrate on being truthful and letting Jesus free you from whatever binds you.
Day 2 – Righteousness – read 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. Through the day be an Ambassador for Jesus, knowing that God accepts you because of Jesus’ righteousness.
Day 3 – Good News – read 1 Thessalonians 1. Through the day, thank God for all the good that is yours since you “turned from idols”) addictions, bad habits, wrong activities, to serve God!
Day 4 – Salvation – read 1 Peter 1:1-12. Through the day, celebrate what God has done and is doing for you!
Day 5 – Faith – read Hebrews 11. Through the day ponder how 3 or 4 “heroes of Faith” from Hebrews 11 pleased God. Can you?
Day 6 – The sword of the Spirit – the Bible – read Hebrews 4:12-16. Face whatever you are covering up that is against the Bible and give it to God in confession. Ask God’s help to confidently move ahead.
Day 7 – Prayer – read Colossians 1:9-23. Through the day pray Colossians 1:9-14 for yourself and another believer. Center on Jesus.
3) Every night: Pray about how your day went – give it all to God.
Read a Psalm, for example: 1; 23; 32; 90; 91; 103; 139.
4) Find a prayer partner, someone you know and trust and cares about you. Meet at least one time per week. Read Philippians 2:1-18 together. Pray.
5) Meet at least once a week with fellow believers to worship, thank and praise God. Focus on Jesus. Read Revelation 4 or 5 or a Psalm: 90 – 100.
Pray on the Armor of God every day!
Lord, Thank You for Your Word which is Truth. Help me take the time to spend some time in Your Word. Speak to me through Your Word and show me more and more of Your Love. In Jesus Name, Amen
Read MorePsalm 40:6–8 Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; my ears Thou hast opened; burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Thy will, O my God.”
When the psalmist speaks there about burnt offering and meal offering and sin offering and so on, he’s speaking about the externals of religion and he’s saying, in essence, “That isn’t what God is really after. We may give all the externals and yet miss the real point.”
He says, “My ears Thou hast opened.”
We need to be able to hear God speaking to us personally.
It’s the voice of God that we need to hear and for that our ears need to be opened.
When we hear the voice of God, it reveals the will of God.
The psalmist says, “In the scroll of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Thy will.”
I believe that’s true for every person that turns to God.
There’s something written there in the scroll of the book which is God’s will in each of our individual lives.
And when God opens our ears and we turn to Him and surrender our lives to Him, we’ll make the amazing and glorious discovery that God has got a special plan for each one of us – something that’s written in God’s eternal book. Something that’s in the scroll for each one of us individually.
God never makes one person a carbon copy of another.
God has a specific, individual plan for each one of His children.
If He can but open our ears and we turn to Him and yield to Him, He’ll reveal it to us.
Read Psalms 139 this day to see how special you really are!
Lord, open my ears that I may hear Your perfect loving will for my life. Direct me daily and keep me on the path of everlasting life. Amen
Read MoreBusiness as Ministry
by Os Hillman
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24
The Bible is very clear that the purpose for our work life is to reflect Christ in and through our lives. It is an attitude that says our work is to have an overriding “ministry” objective to it. Our work is our worship to God. These two words even originate from the same Hebrew word, avodah.
Robert Laidlaw was born in Scotland in 1885 but grew up in New Zealand. Born to Christian parents, he committed his life fully to the Lord when he was 17. Laidlaw began working in a hardware merchant company as a traveling sales representative when he was 19. Later he had the idea for a mail-order catalogue business that sold everything imaginable including underwear, groceries, cosmetics, and farm equipment, all at bargain-basement prices. His concept proved successful and his business later merged with the Farmer’s Union Trading Company. He became general manager and held that position for 50 years.
But this is not the most significant thing that can be said about Robert Laidlaw. He understood that his work life was a tool to affect others for Jesus Christ. He began giving ten percent of his income early in his business life. Later, however, he entered this into his journal: “September 1919, age twenty-five. I have decided to change my earlier graduated scale, and start now giving half (fifty percent) of all my earnings.” This he continued for the next 60 years. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 351.]
The result of that commitment was countless numbers affected for Jesus Christ through the resources he gave to mission groups and other worthy Christian causes. He was personally involved in ministry. He wrote a small book that gave a thoughtful answer to basic questions about life and faith. It was titled “The Reason Why.” Many hundreds of thousands came to faith in Christ because of this 46-page booklet. He publicly spoke to many of his faith in Christ and became very involved in the Soldier’s and Airmen’s Association when World War II broke out. Robert Laidlaw understood what it meant to view business with an overriding ministry objective.
Does the Lord have complete control of your life? If so, you will be able to see your work life as an extension of His life in you. Let the Lord live in and through your work life today.
Read More
God loves us the same as He loves Jesus.
God’s love is the key that opens the door to everything that God is. “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8).
John 17:23 ” I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”
God loves us the same as He loves Jesus.
**A true revelation of this will quicken our faith and allow us to walk in the fullness of God.
God’s love is the key that opens the door to everything that God is. “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8).
God’s love is not one dimensional. There is width, length, depth and height to it, which can only be comprehended through the revelation and knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
In Ephesians 3:19, Paul prays for us to know the love of God which passes knowledge.
Since a true revelation of God’s love makes us full with the fullness of God, then a lack of being full of God must mean that we lack understanding and experience of God’s love.
The end result of having understanding and experiential knowledge of God’s love is that we will be filled with all the fullness of God.
In 2016 God has shown us that He has not equally distributed gifts, talents or intelligence, but He has equally distributed Himself to all that want Him as their Savior. Our sense of worth comes from knowing who we are as children of God.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1).
Lord, thank You for Your unconditional love. Help me daily to share Your love with others that they too will come to know You as their personal Savior. May they experience true love which only You the Heavenly Father can give. And help us not compare our love experiences here on earth with Your Perfect Love.. Amen
Read More“Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands — more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.” (Luke 6:38 )
To reap a great harvest, you must plant generously in faith.
To plant generously in faith, you need to remember two promises of Jesus.
Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands — more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you”.
The way you give to others is the way God will give to you. You need to start being generous in planting seeds in this life to harvest in the next.
Then in Mark 10:29-30 Jesus gives a guarantee about anything you give up for his sake. He says, “There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time … and in the age to come eternal life” (ESV).
God says that anything that you give up of value for his sake, anything you sacrifice for his Kingdom will be returned a hundredfold.
You know how much a hundredfold is? That’s 10,000 percent interest. Do you know any stockbroker that will guarantee that? Only God and his Son can do that. They’ve been doing business with people like you and me for 2,000 years.
Jesus also in the verse above, emphasized persecution to make sure that people do not selfishly follow him only for the rewards.
These are the promises of God. You can believe them or not. But if you don’t believe God’s promises, I have to ask you this: Why do you believe Jesus will save you and take you to Heaven? That’s the same Jesus. Why do some people trust God with their eternal salvation, but they don’t trust God with their finances?
It only makes sense to trust him for both and to plant generously in faith so that you can reap a harvest.
Read MoreMatthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
Jesus makes it very clear that we must have faith and doubt not.
Every believer has faith, but most believers also have an abundance of doubt that negates their faith.
*It is when we purify our faith and only believe, that victory comes.
How you View God and how you view yourself will determine your success.
Every Christian is at war. There is a perpetual struggle against Satan.
*Our enemy goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
*Those who resist the devil will see him flee (Jas. 4:7).
The only ones whom he devours are those who don’t actively fight against him.
The mind is the battlefield where thoughts and reasoning’s that are contrary to God’s Word, need to be captured and submitted to Christ, our Commander.
*Our battle against the devil takes place right between our ears.
The spiritual weapons given to us are designed for the express purpose of taking EVERY thought captive and making them obedient to Christ.
Keeping our minds completely stayed upon the Lord is an obtainable goal.
These weapons of ours are for the casting down of two things:
1. Imaginations
2. Every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
**Both of these areas are dealing with the mind.
Focus on the good in every area of your life.
Failure to recognize God’s blessings in every day living will cause fear and anxiety.
Recognizing God’s hand in even the smallest thing will cause peace and keep our hearts and minds following hard after the Lord.
Instead of talking to God about how big your problems are, talk to your problems about how big your God is!
Don’t let the devil steal anymore of your joy.
*Block your ears to his deceits!
*No one but the Lord knows your future.
***And as a loving Father HE only has good plans for you!
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Father, thank You for Your Word which is life to my spirit. I receive Your strength today and choose to speak to the mountain before me. Thank You for victory on the cross and for Your Resurrection so I can move forward in the good plan You have for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Read: 1 John 4:4 and see we fight FROM Victory—not For Victory!
Read MoreMatthew 5:9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
The Father is the great Peace Maker. But, that peace came at a great cost.
Colossians 1 teaches us that the cost to God of reconciling (making peace) with us was Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross.
Jesus has enabled anyone who will trust Him for forgiveness and healing and freedom, to be at peace with God.
2 Corinthians 5:20. “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Only when our hearts are ruled by God’s Love are we given the hope that transcends emotion or circumstance.
“…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts…” Romans 5:3-5
Proverbs 1:33 But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
One thing that people all over the world today are striving for is security, but here is an offer of total security.
You’ll live in safety; you’ll be at ease, without fear of harm. Not merely will you be physically safe, but you’ll be free from worry and anxiety and care.
What’s the secret?
*The secret is listening to the right voice.
*That’s the voice of divine wisdom speaking through the pages of Scripture, offering that promise of total security and ongoing, uninterrupted emotional stability and peace.
How can you find that?
*You can’t find it in the world’s system, in the world’s provisions.
*The world can offer temporary stability, temporary security, but nothing that’s permanent.
***The only pathway to permanent stability, security, peace of mind is to listen to the voice of divine wisdom speaking through the pages of Scripture and then to do what wisdom enjoys.
John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
*The peace can only be made with our dependence to God.
Thank You Jesus for Your word! THE BIBLE (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)! I believe the Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of life, the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers. I Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe —-Practice it to be holy. The Bible gives light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. Amen!!!
Read More“John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light” (John 5:35).
The moon is lovely on a clear night only because it reflects the light of the sun. It has no qualities by itself to reflect its beauty.
Without the sun shining onto its surface, you and I would never see the moon. It would simply be a dark object in the sky.
A diamond is designed to reflect the light to reveal its true value.
The cut of a diamond determines its brilliance.
There is no single measurement of a diamond that defines its cut, but rather a collection of measurements and observations that determine the relationship between a diamond’s light performance, dimensions and finish.
Jesus came to bring the light of His love and grace to each of us.
However, we are born into a world dulled by the sin created by Adam and Eve that makes our lives dark until we meet Jesus.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom 3:23-24).
Jesus contrasted in many parables that those who allow His life to live in them will live in the light amidst darkness. When you invite Jesus Christ to live in your heart it is as though a light is shining upon your life in order to reflect the glory of God’s Son through you.
Jesus calls you to be a vessel to reflect the brilliant light of His love to others.
Our workplace is a great place to reflect His glory.
How are your reflective qualities? Ask Him to make your life a continual reflection of His light to others.
Only when we come to the “end of ourselves” will we be able to accept God’s unconditional gift of Love.
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
Lord, because of Your great love for me–help me to be a better brighter light for my family and the workplace. Let all my actions and words come from You and not me. Amen
Basically, having an eternal perspective means that as we make decisions or take actions, we consider how they will impact us and others in eternity.
Rather than thinking about how a decision will look in 30 days, we think about what it will look like in 3,000 years (and beyond).
When trying to decide how to run our business or allocate our resources, we do not merely look at how it will affect our retirement, but also how it will impact eternity.
Scripture Example
Whenever possible, I want to go to Scripture to get our direction. Let’s look at Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7-8.
Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
…The Life To Come
Notice how Paul acknowledges that godliness has benefits for our present life in this world while also for the life to come! This is the perfect example of having an eternal perspective. Training the body also has benefits here, but not so much in the life to come.
So if Paul is recommending this kind of eternal perspective mindset to Timothy, why would it not work in the business world? Why would it not make sense for us to think the same way as we approach every aspect of our lives today – work, school, church, etc.?
Critical To Following Jesus
I am convinced this kind of thinking from an eternal perspective is critical. In fact, I do not believe we can effectively follow Jesus Christ and think otherwise. For us to attempt to truly follow Jesus while only thinking about the short-term results of our actions or decisions may just be impossible. I think Luke 9:62 fits here:
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Not Easy!
The difficulty in this thinking from an eternal perspective – and I promise you there is difficulty – is that the world does not think this way. Because of this, the rewards of this world often come to those who think short-term. In this context, short-term is any time-frame on this side of eternity.
Eternity In Our Hearts
Recognize that God put eternity into our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and that is how He expects us to think.
*The more we think from an eternal perspective, the more our decisions and actions will reflect i
Lord, create in me an Eternal Perspective, looking to You and Your word for my direction each and every day through the Holy Spirit. Amen
Read More