No Good Thing Withheld
The Giver of everything good and perfect, is God alone. Why? Because He IS good, perfectly so. There is no "ungoodness" in Him. He reveals His goodness in the smallest of ways and means, in the small blessings of life. But the greatest mark of HIs goodness was in the provision of a salvation for sinful man, where by His Good Spirit comes to dwell in the heart of all who would truly believe in Christ, surrendering to Him as Lord. The Father cannot give that which is of eternal worth and glory unless there is a heart that is willing to receive it by faith.
Hoping In The Mercy Of God
Why is it that hoping in God, expecting Him in answer to prayer and faith, is a certain thing? Fundamentally, it is because of the mercy of God. It is not God's great pursuit to judge man, nor to see him suffer, and know affliction. However, man often brings upon himself such an experience because of his sinful ways and thoughts. It is when man comes to the end of himself, and his resources, that their is one certain place to look, and it is upward to the God of mercy. When no man will come to one's aid, Christ waits to be sought and found as the merciful, and gracious God, who will not fail the seeking heart.
Hope's Anchor Of The Soul
Hope is a divine gift of God whereby the believer can resolutely, and perseverlingly, live in the expectation of God's intervention, presence, and working, according to His eternal Word. The fact that God is perfectly faithful is the very bedrock of hope, for God will never fail to accomplish that which He has promised. The greatest hope is Christ Himself, for when He comes and we see him, hope will be sight, and we shall be changed.
The Temple That Had To Be
The great priority given to man by God is that he would first and foremost worship Him in Spirit and truth. Why? Because He is desirous to bless, for He is love. This is why in the Old Testament, continuing into the New, the issue of worship is paramout. The Temple had to be built as a testimony to the calling of God to worship, but also, it was a pattern by which man could be sure to come unto God, to know God as his creator, and redeemer.
The God of Joel and Jonah
The God of the prophets is one God. Although He reveals Himself at times in a different manner and way to the different prophets, the unveiling of His person is consistently that of the God who is holy, unique, one, and perfect in all of His dealings with men. Such was the case of Joel and Jonah, two prophets of God who knew their God, and who saw, and worshipped Him, as one that is gracious, and merciful, always the same through out all ages.
The Constant Calling
We often are preoccupied with the matter of God's gifts, those capacities that He has given us to serve Him in the service of others. However, there is a calling that comes with those gifts, and it is a calling to communion with Christ in the exercise of the gifts. That calling, specific and eternal, is always active in the life of the believer. With the calling comes the enablement of God.
The Call Of The Great Commission
The Great Commission is that charge, or commandment, that Christ gave to the church after His resurrection, to reach the world with gospel, discipling believers world-wide. It is a charge that is made possible only by the outpouring of the Spirit of Pentecost. Those who are engaged to follow Christ in this endeavor will know Him will come to know Him in a very blessed way.
Present Help Present Strength
God is a God of the present moment. He is always present, but there are times when the believer realizes His presence in a most tangible way, especially in regard to answered prayer, or His intervention in answer to the cry of the heart in a desperate situation. God hears the cry of the heart because He is present. He answers the cry by giving strength for the moment, and for the day.
Man's Greatest Privilege
If God is Almighty, All-knowing, perfect in wisdom and knowledge, a God who IS love, the giver of peace and life itself, is it not the greatest privilege of man to seek Him, find Him, and to know Him? That which we shall carry into eternity will not only be a knowlege of the truth of God, as revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the very testimony of His dwelling in the heart by faith.
The True Spiritual Soldier
It is one thing to be a soldier, and there are many lessons we can learn from being such. But there is also a spiritual soldier, one who is versed in the spiritual conflict of this world, and which requires training in prayer and faith, and the use of his spiritual weapons which are not of flesh and blood. These are provided by God in Christ, to be used by the Spirit, for the dealing with spiritual foes. The true spiritual soldier is an overcomer by the blood of Christ, in the name of Christ, trusting in the Spirit of Christ, for the glory of Christ. Herein is victory.