Belief

Do you hunger and thirst after Righteousness?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

As you navigate your Christian journey, you’ll face trial and tribulation; partly because you love Jesus and partly because the enemy is upset that he has lost a prized possession. He will use every trick in the book to win you back, and if you are not careful, you will be right back where you had started—living in sin.

It is very easy to get distracted in today’s world. Lifestyles are presented in magazines and on television that seem so appealing. And the enemy will entice you with “the good life”—money, cars, clothes; glitz and glamour. But if you know who you are and what is your purpose in Christ, the tempting pursuit of such things will not attract or entice you.

However, as you press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. You’ll need fuel to sustain you on your journey. That fuel can only come from your inner hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God. The more resolute you are in your quest for the prize, the more you’ll seek to know Him .

Your daily hunger after God brings great joy to His heart. He celebrates your every step of obedience to His Word, your every response of faith to His leading, and your every expression of wonder for His ways with you. He delights in your pursuit to know Him more, in your desires to enjoy Him more, and in your longings to love Him more.

As you hunger after Him, you will find that His banqueting table is always full, that His portions are more than generous, and that His hospitality is beyond compare.

To hunger after Him means that you will never go away empty or dissatisfied. In Him are a thousand delights, a limitless supply of eternal joys, and an endless amount of spiritual blessings.

Beloved brothers and sisters, I hope when everything has been said and done, you will say with confidence, as the apostle Paul did:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

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Jesus is the only Mediator you’ll need

“There is one God, and one mediator, between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus“(1 Timothy 2:5).

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A mediator takes the hand of one party and places it into the hand of another party. A mediator is someone who has one primary aim, and that is to bring peace to a broken relationship.

Most of us are aware of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, between Israel and Palestine. We also know that over the years the United States have delegated several peace mediators to sit down with both parties to try to work out a compromise; but to date no one has been able to take the hand of one party and place it into the hand of the other.

Jesus Christ is your representative to God, and He is God’s representative to you. He does not have any hidden agenda—He has your best interest at heart, and He is a genuine mediator. As your mediator He presents your need of mercy to God, and as God’s mediator He extends God’s grace to you. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Jesus Christ is the only mediator that you will ever need, for He is the One whose sacrifice on the cross at Calvary for sin completely satisfied the demands of God’s justice and holiness. The only one that you should allow to come between you and God is His Son, Jesus Christ. “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).


The Filter of God’s truth

Detail - Glory of the New Born Christ in prese...

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“But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:14-15).

One of the greatest errors that a follower of Christ can make is to believe something that is a lie. There is a powerful filter that God has given you to keep all lies from setting into your thinking process.

The filter that is available to you is God’s truth. When a thought first enters your mind there is an important question you must ask, “Is this thought the truth?” But your answer to this question cannot be based upon your reasoning, because truth transcends reason; your answer cannot be based upon your experiences, because they are too subjective; your answer cannot be based upon your circumstances, because they are always changing.

The answer can only come from God’s Word, the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. “. . . If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” (John 8:31-32).

The truth is constant, it cannot change, and it doesn’t retreat like humans do. It is always staring you in face and eating at your conscience like a mouse nibbles at cheese.

Truth

There are times when the truth is not what we want to hear,
Then perhaps question it, almost before it reaches the ear.
When the truth’s been disguised, it’s difficult to recognize,
Then as it’s revealed, it may catch some people by surprise.

Truth of the activities of some, if known, would cause shame,
Instead of being what they pretend, mud would be their name.
As the truth’s known, some may receive credit that’s past due,
For they’re behind the scenes doing those things others want do.

The place to go if the fountain of truth we seek to discover,
Is God’s Word, for there it is contained from cover to cover.
God’s instruction book to man that he can live a truthful life,
Dealing with the events that could cause him trouble and strife.

Jesus is the way, truth and life, only through Him is God reached,
And that’s the way it is, no matter how differently it’s preached.
He said, trust him, we’ll know the truth and it will set us free,
Although He said this some years ago,

God holds your future in His hands

“He that spared not His own son, but delivered Him up for us all, How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

There are a thousand reasons why you should trust God with all your heart, but just knowing that God sent His Son to the cross to die for you, is reason enough. Since God allowed His only begotten Son to suffer and die an agonizing death upon the cross so that you could be forgiven, How could He ever fail you in any other way?

 If you can trust Him for your eternal destiny, how can you not trust Him for your entire earthly journey? Will not the One who is preparing a place for you in heaven take care of you while you are on this earth? The God who holds your future is the God of your daily peace, your daily joy, and your daily bread.

God holds the future in His hands

Dread not the things that are ahead,
The burdens great, the sinking sands,
The thorns that o’er the path are spread,
God holds the future in His hands.

Refrain

God holds the future in His hands
and every heart He understands.
On Him depend,
He is your Friend,
He holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides,
Of sun or storm or good or ill;
We only know His dear hand guides,
And He will be our Father still.

Refrain

His hand created earth and sky,
The zephyrs and the storms that rage,
And years to come and years gone by
To Him are but an open page.

Refrain

Live close to Him and trust His love,
Assured that while on earth we roam,
Whatever may come, He bends above
To guide His children safely home.

Refrain

James Rowe (1866-1933).


Let not your heart be troubled

Cover of Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

And Jesus said to His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1).

Those are the words Jesus used to console His disciples, who were apparently troubled after He had broken the news to them that He had to go back to His Father.

It seems the disciples were doubtful that they could make it on their own—their hearts were troubled. After all, they had been with Jesus since the beginning of His ministry, and had gotten accustomed to having Jesus ministering to them, and providing for them—He was their source for everything.

Jesus knew His disciples were troubled. He could tell by the look on their faces. He knew that a troubled heart is a doubtful heart, so He immediately tried to dispel the doubt with the reassuring words of: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.” The disciples, I am sure, were delighted to hear those words. Still, they were not enough to convince them. Doubt and fear had overtaken their thought process, and they could not see themselves surviving without Jesus (See John 14:18-24).

One of the ways “troubled” tries to attack you is to plant the seed of doubt in your heart. The presence of a “troubled” heart is due to the absence of a believing heart. But faith is like a strong gate that keeps all unwanted visitors out of the fortress of our hearts, while keeping safely within, all the welcomed promises of God’s kingdom. Isn’t that beautiful?

Jesus never wants the visitor named “troubled” to gain any entrance into your life. “Troubled” wants to stir you up inside, like the river rapid. “Troubled” wants to attack your emotions and keep you disturbed and miserable. “Troubled” uses weapons of fear, doubt, and perplexity. “Troubled” will try to harass you, annoy you, and defeat you.

But faith has mightier weapons! Faith’s victory is in the stillness, the calm, the quiet, the rest, and the peace of Jesus Christ within you.