Looking to God

Only God can deliver us from the troubles of this world. Only God can perform such miracles as to give us hope. His Word is surety of conviction. For His rescue does not come by might or power, but by His Spirit.

“Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.’”

(Zechariah 4:6)

By His Spirit God created the sun, the moon and the stars. When He lay the measuring rod between the entities, He said, “This far and no more.” By setting the lights in the sky, God created time.

By His Spirit God created the world and everything in it. The trees stretch their branches to the heavens to worship their Creator. The seas cover the earth, as His love is never ending. Study nature to learn of His handiwork.

By His Spirit He created us. When we pray to Him, we are talking to Him. When we read His Word, He is talking to us. Therefore, if He can create all things, what should our troubles be to us, but a vapor? God does all by His Spirit.

What a joy it is to know that we as sheep have God to lead us to lie down in green pastures. He gives us the rest we so truly need, and by it, He restores our souls. He is our one true shepherd who gives understanding.

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

(Proverbs 2:6)

All wisdom and understanding comes from God, who created all things, made all things through His son Jesus, and imbued the church with true knowledge. That which is not known, is known through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Give thanks and praise to God our Father, who has revealed His truth to us by His Spirit. We have knowledge of Christ being our salvation, our redeemer, and the One who stood in our place, dying on the cross for our sins.

Blessed is God’s name forever, who has the power to change times and seasons, and to set up and remove governments for His purpose. His salvation is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be the name of the Lord and look to Him for understanding.

When we fell to our knees and repented before the Lord, He forgave us our sins and blessed us with the Holy Spirit, to help us in our daily walk with Christ and our ability to overcome sin.

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

(Romans 2:6-8)

No longer does the law bind us, but we are pure in spirit, under grace, given to want to do God’s will. Our desire now is to please Him, who has provided a way to speak with Him directly without sacrifices.

That willingness to want to please God is not from our own might, but by God’s Spirit. Without His will working inside us, we are as dross, tumbling every which way in order to seize the moment for our own pleasures.

Therefore, let us take a moment today to thank the Great God for bestowing upon us the gift of His Spirit. For by His Spirit we are able to do good to others and give of our lives to them. For by His Spirit God has given us eternal life.

God promised He would forgive us our sins. When he gave His son Jesus as a sacrifice to redeem us to Him, we would forever have a mediator, who would intervene on our behalf. No longer would sin bind us to death, but God would free us from its penalty.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

(Matthew 5:5)

We were once slaves to iniquity, imprisoned by the flesh. We knew nothing of the Spirit; for by the Spirit, if we had knowledge of His power, we would have been free, instead of being captives to our inward lusts. Christ our Savior has freed us.

God’s forgiveness is beyond measure. His grace is beyond our understanding. We may feel our sins are unpardonable, but God’s patience is long and enduring. He will keep forgiving us as many times as we bow our knee to Him and repent with our whole heart.

Therefore, it is with great joy that we have God as our king. He will pardon us from the penalty of our sins, bless us with the knowledge of His coming kingdom, prosper us with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we will inherit all things.

No evil is too great that it can overtake us. No power is too strong that it can overwhelm us. And no spirit is higher than that of God’s spirit, comforting us in our time of need. For we have accepted Christ as our Savior, and knowing this, we have cause for great celebration.

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.

(Isaiah 40:28-29)

As many times as we cry out to God, He is always there. He listens to our pleas, he answers us in the stillness of the night, and when we are most vulnerable, He sends someone to comfort us. The fiery trial remains, but He provides the perseverance we need to move forward.

Nothing is so great that God cannot intervene on our behalf. His power is beyond measure, and through it, He sustains all things. Therefore, how hard would it be for God to rescue us in our time of need? For nothing in this lifetime is greater than the crown set aside for us.

All glory belongs to the Highest, King of Heaven and Earth. Let all the angels praise His name, for He is good. There is no one greater than God. He reigns supreme above all things. Nothing exists that He has not made. He is the beginning and the end, our Creator.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died so that we might live. No other event in history is as important as Christ giving up His life in order that God might save us. No longer do we have a penalty hanging over our heads for the wrongs we have committed.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

(Matthew 28:18-20)

As the Holy Spirit lives in us, God’s purpose lives in us and becomes our purpose. We will want to draw others to Jesus, so that they might experience the same joy we experience when we fellowship with God. There is no substitute for His love.

Whatever rejection we may feel from those who do not want to follow Christ, is a rejection of God Himself. We have done what Jesus had commanded, to act as God’s instrument in His hands. If others reject us, then they are rejecting God.

Bless everyone with the good news of God’s salvation, Jesus Christ. Give them peace by giving them hope. Show them what Christ living in us could do for them. Go and make disciples of all nations.

No love is greater than giving one’s life for a friend. Jesus said this and by His giving of Himself on the cross, lived this. We also ought to love one another as much as we love ourselves.

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

(1 John 3:11)

To love one another, we ought to forgive one another. True love is forgiving. When others wrong us, the spirit within us, God’s spirit, leads us to show mercy on others, not because they deserve it, but because it is within us not to hold them guilty for their sins.

God has forgiven us of all our sins. If we repented and gave our hearts to Him, He no longer holds anything against us. He did this because He loves us and does not want anyone to perish. In so doing, He shares His joy with us through the Holy Spirit, who comforts us.

Be joyful, for as God has forgiven us, we ought to forgive others. By this, others will know God is living in us and us in Him; and we have hope. That hope will never fade, for God’s love never fades.

Beloved, we should love one another.