Looking to God

Do we have purpose to our being? By all means! Our purpose in this life is to love, worship and glorify God, whereby through that love, we have knowledge of Him, of His ways and of His relationship with us, as our Father in Heaven.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

(1 John 4:7-8)

Apart from the Father, we are as a boat adrift without a destination; our lives would be empty, filled with despair and longing for meaning. By loving God, however, He will fill us with His Spirit, impart us eternal hope and bestow upon us meaning to our existence.

Great is our Father who is in Heaven. He gave His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. By no other name do we have salvation and by no other name are our sins forgiven. Glory to Him in the highest.

Love God and take pleasure by doing His will, for by His will we have purpose and meaning, and by His love, we have knowledge of who He is. Who is God? God is Love. Love, worship and glorify God.

When an earthquake struck the jail where the Apostle Paul was a prisoner, the jailer thought all had fled. Had Paul not cried out, the jailer would have certainly taken his own life. Paul saved him, but even more so, Jesus saved him.

“Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”

(Acts 16:30-31)

During our darkest moments is when God will reveal Himself to us. We may feel lost, abandoned or utterly empty inside, but God is there to show us the way, to make us feel part of His family and to fill us with the Holy Spirit.

As long as we believe Jesus is the Son of God, we will have salvation. God will forgive our sins and not hold anything against us because we had faith that Jesus died for us in order that we might live. God would not have any of us fall to the penalty of sin.

Christ Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. Through Him we have purpose, we have meaning and our reward, although we may not see it yet, God holds for us in heaven for that day when we will finally receive it in all gladness.

Believe in Jesus.

When the apostle Peter delivered his sermon on Pentecost, he was not the man who had denied Christ three times. His strength came from knowing God had forgiven him, and he had gone to become one of the apostles whom Jesus had used to grow the church.

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

(Acts 2:37-38)

After having repented, Peter had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised us also the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father would send in Jesus’ name and would be with us forever. Through repentance and baptism, we would receive Him.

Repentance is recognizing we have done wrong to God by not obeying Him and asking for forgiveness for those wrongs. By this, we open our hearts to Him and turn away from our sins, doing good always and not wanting to commit the same sins any longer.

Let us therefore look to God for the strength that the apostle Peter had when he stood in front of a crowd of thousands to proclaim Christ. Through God, all things are possible and through Him, we no longer ought to be afraid of the penalty of sin.

Repent and be baptized.

The night before Jesus’ death and burial, He took His disciples to Gethsemane to pray. Leaving them behind, He went alone to be with the Father. During His most sorrowful moment, Jesus sought God’s will.

“’Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’”

(John 12:27-28)

During our most sorrowful moment, who do we seek? Jesus made it clear that all power and all glory belong to the Father. No matter what we suffer, it is all for God’s glory. His will ought to be what we seek.

Dark days will come upon us, dreadful trials will draw near, yet, we have God as our redeemer. He will give us the strength to move forward in all tribulation. We ought not to be anxious, for our Lord and Savior will give us rest.

How great God is to look upon our lives and find us befitting of the trial we suffer. For through that trial we give God all the glory and honor befitting Him. Through no other means, other than by God’s will, do we have peace.

May His will be done.

Would that God tomorrow bring us in front of His throne, what would He say? Would He cast us from His presence or would He look at all we have done and grant us a reward for our faithfulness?

“And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

(Matthew 25:20-21)

As God is holy, we ought to be holy in Christ Jesus’ holy and righteous name. For as one body, through God’s grace, He has given us individual gifts, according to His will, so that we should bless others with good works.

How great a day it will be when God gives us our reward for all the good we have done; no one can claim it for oneself, but God will give it freely, without limit; for from God, good flows and from God, we shall receive our reward.

Love all so that joy and peace may abide in us. Be patient with one another, allowing kindness and goodness to flow freely. Be faithful to God, showing gentleness and self-control. For one day, God will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

We fear those who can take away our home, our family and our lives. But whom we should fear the most is the Lord Most High. He alone has authority to take our lives and cast us into Hell. Fear God and live long in the land.

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

(2 Timothy 1:6-7)

No one has authority over us other than God Almighty. He raises kings to prominent positions and we are subject to our king. We are to obey our king inasmuch as we obey God. We ought not to fear, for God will protect us in our obedience.

All glory belongs to God our Father. He gave His Son Jesus so that we might live abundant lives fearing Him. However, we ought not to fear others. They may have words of reproof and correction, but without God’s Spirit, those words are like a vapor.

Give honor to God so that we might grow in the spirit and the wisdom of the Almighty. His Word is perfect; His precepts are just; there is no other God than God Himself. His mind is unchanging and His will unfailing. Fear not.

The Lord is our refuge and our strength. Through Him alone, we have healing. Through Him alone is our salvation. For by God’s grace, Jesus died for our sins so that we might live and believe He is his Son, and by believing, we have healing.

“While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him.”

(Luke 5:12-13)

Jesus is willing to heal those who believe in Him. How great a power are our words that God would choose to heal us, if we truly believed God would heal us. No greater power is that of having faith in God.

If God could create the universe and everything in it, if He could move the mountains and say to them, “Here, and no further,” if He could separate the day from the night, if He knows every star by name, how much more is it for Him to strengthen our hearts and heal our wounds?

By God’s mercy and grace, we have salvation. By His Spirit, we have everlasting love. He heals us because it pleases Him, and it is His will. No illness is stronger that He cannot overcome. God heals the believer.