Looking to God

If we believe Jesus is the Son of God, who came to take away sins, who died on the cross and three days later rose from the dead, then we do well. Salvation is ours. Jesus is Lord and one day, we also will rise from the dead.

“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

(1 John 4:13-15)

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus grew up a carpenter. His first miracle was at a wedding feast where He turned water into wine. Soon after, he would cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead, for He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus’ last miracle was healing the ear of a servant of the high priest who had come to take Him away. He could have commanded more than twelve legions of angels to rescue Him, but instead He said, “All who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

Jesus fulfilled the scriptures. He now sits at the right hand of the Father, and one day soon, He will return. Once He does, we will rise and be with Him always. His dominion will have no end, and its breadth will be from everlasting to everlasting.

Jesus is the Son of God.

As many times as we lift our hands in worship to God, He blesses us with hope. As many times as we drop to our knees in prayer, giving thanks to Him, He listens and grants His will in our lives. If we humble ourselves before Him, He will always rescue us from our trials.

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.

(Psalms 48:1-3)

How great is our God? He creates the mist on a lake, quieting the fish to sleep. He forms the morning dew that rolls from a leaf, giving moisture to the ground underneath. He blossoms the rainbow after a heavy storm, a promise He would protect us from destruction.

How great is our God? He gives us what we need, never allowing us to suffer more than what we can bear. He continually watches over us, delivering us from evil. He saved us by offering His Son Jesus as a sacrifice to pay for the penalty of our sins.

No one can separate us from God. His love for us will never fail. He will bless us in our trial, give us hope when we need it most and rescue us always without restraint.

Great is the LORD!

God has no beginning of days or end of life. His power is everlasting and His dominion will never cease. He parted the Red Sea, defeated Goliath, made David king and protected Daniel from the lions. Nothing is beyond God’s power. He can do anything.

“’It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’”

(Mark 10:25-27)

God created the heavens and the earth, made all living creatures, gave breath to us so that we could live and flourish; nothing is too great for God. If he can save a sinner through Jesus’ sacrifice, how difficult would it be for Him to rescue us from our trials?

He guides the winds back and forth on the earth. He forms the clouds, giving rain in due season and tossing snow to the coldest peaks. Nothing is beyond God’s power and nothing can come against His sons and daughters in this age. Is anything impossible for God?

Brethren, persevere until the end. Do not give that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, a place in your heart. Bring all your troubles to the Lord, and He will rescue you, for all things are possible with God.

How wonderful to know one day we shall rise to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Savior. By God, we will live again!

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Let not the riches of this present age deceive us into believing we are rich. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out of this world. Only our faith in Jesus gives us hope for eternal riches.

Therefore, what manner of people should we be, knowing all of this that we see will one day be gone? Look to God, strive for endurance, give ear to the faith and never give that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, an opportunity to dwell in our hearts and minds.

Retribution will come, but it will come from God; we only need to be silent. For now, pray for one another, bless one another and encourage one another.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The Apostle John said it another way: whoever does evil has not seen God. Therefore, if we do good, we will also see God.

“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:15)

All good comes from God. There is no evil in God, for His very spirit is pure and undefiled. What is evil? Sin is evil. Breaking God’s law is evil. We, however, have hope in Jesus. He paid the penalty of sin for us, and because of it, we have salvation.

What is good? Good is to love God and to love others as we love ourselves. We ought to honor and worship God, honor our parents, keep others safe, be faithful to the one we love, be honest with one another, keep our word, and be happy with what we have.

When we do good, we are seeing as God sees, for our heart is His heart and our love is His love working in us. Blessed is our God for He is good and whoever does good is from God. Always seek to do good.

Are we afraid of what others could do to us? We should not fear, for if we confess Jesus is the Son of God, God will be with us, protect us and care for us from sunset to sunset. He will not allow us to fall by the wayside, for His love will abide in us forever.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

(1 John 4:18)

If we have God abiding in us, then fear has no room in us. Fear is the worry of punishment; but Jesus came to remove that punishment. Through Him, we have reconciliation with the Father; therefore whatever our sin, we have forgiveness and no reason to worry about judgment.

With fear no longer choking us, we can live abundant and joyful lives. We then no longer are walking in the darkness, but raising our hands in praise in the light. With God as our only God, He perfects our faith by His love abiding in us.

Therefore, let us not fear of what others could do to us. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God has promised to deliver us from our trials and tribulations. All we have to do is have faith that He will do it, for perfect love casts out fear.

Show mercy to all, for our Father who is in Heaven shows mercy unto us. Our tormentors may lay their hands on us, grieving us to beg relief, but our God will not forget. He will give us comfort during our time of grief.

“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

(Hebrews 8:12)

Jesus Christ our Lord, who died for our sins, suffered at the hands of His tormentors. For a brief time, the sky went dark and the clouds turned wet, yet He now sits at the right hand of the Father, sustaining all things through His Word, bestowing grace and mercy to all who call on His name.

What manner of people are we if we give only to those who can give back to us? Should we not instead give freely, expecting nothing in return? For as God gives freely to us, we ought to give freely to others. In the same way, as He is merciful to us, we ought to be merciful unto others.

O how great is our God to have blessed us with the truth of His love. He is so kind and gentle toward us. His mercies never fail. He saved us while we were yet sinners, therefore be merciful, even as our Father is merciful.