Looking to God

Our lives are like the wind; in a moment, we will disappear. But with God in our lives, we have meaning. He looks after us. He cares for us. He ensures that we will not fail. For His destiny for us is greater than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

(Psalms 8:3-5,9)

Our salvation rests in Christ. No one can take away our reward. God is our king and one day He will crown us with glory and honor, as He had done with His son Jesus. The devil cannot take away what rightfully belongs to us.

May God pour love into your heart so that you may become a perfect witness for others to follow. May your light shine in the darkness so that you may become a bulwark for those who are seeking the truth. Glorify God always, giving Him honor in everything. His love for us will never fail.

Nothing in this world comes close to the wealth God has in store for us. Others will rebuke us for our beliefs. Others will condemn us. He knows what we suffer, and He knows what we will need in our time of need. In everything we do, let us trust God with all our might, for God will not fail us.

Every moment, every day, we ought to look to God for hope. We have a huge cloud of witnesses who have attested Jesus died, was buried and rose from the grave to sit at the right hand of the Father. The darkness does not surround us, for we know we have salvation through Christ.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

(1 Peter 1:8-9)

God could simply deploy legions of angels to defeat those who persecute us on Christ’s account. Yet, He tries our faith with a refining fire so that we would treasure our hope in Him. The work of His hands is us. We are His children molded to reflect His very appearance.

Take heed not to drift away, chasing after doctrines that are not of God, but of Satan the devil, who prowls the earth seeking those who he may devour. Pray always and rejoice always, for God will not let one hair of our head perish without purpose.

Jesus is all we need. He delivered us from the bond of sin. He gave us true liberty by us believing He is the Son of God. Through Him, we have hope for eternal life. He points to God’s glory as the foundation of our joy. Forever believe in Him.

Praise the Lord our God. Praise Him with outstretched arms. Praise Him for He is good. Praise and worship Him all the day long. Praise Him for His steadfast love. Praise Him for His glory. Praise Him with an open heart. Praise Him for He is great.

Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!

(Psalms 149:1)

Praise the Creator God. Praise Him, O mountains. Praise him, O hills. Praise him, O oceans. Praise Him, O beasts of the field. Praise Him with all joy. Praise Him with good gifts. Praise Him for sustaining all things through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Praise our Father who is heaven. Praise His holy name. Praise Him for His mercy. Praise Him for His grace. Praise Him for His forgiveness. Praise Him for He is patient. Praise Him always for His perfect love. Praise Him always.

Praise God our Rock. Praise Him for He is our fortress. Praise Him for His rescue. Praise Him, everything that has breath. Praise Him with song, dance and psalms. Praise Him with knees. Praise Him with a raised voice. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

How easy it is to fall distracted by a false gospel. Many say, “The Lord is here.” Some say, “The Lord has deemed it so.” And then others are saying, “The truth is abound.” God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

“Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

(Matthew 6:31-34)

We need to keep our focus on Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith. Only His sheep will recognize His voice, and they will know what His will is, as it will be the Father’s will also. His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Allow not anxiety to strangle the truth from our minds. Our hope and strength is in Jesus. He is all we need. Take heed not to listen to others who want you to fall. Keep God’s Word, strengthen each other with truth, and love one another as Jesus did when he died for us.

Lastly, brethren, listen for God’s voice, for it will not come in a thunderous wind but in a gentle breeze. Follow His voice, pay attention to where it leads and give caution to others so as they also may find salvation. Stay the course.

Be thoughtful towards one another, for the days are short; and when Jesus Christ comes back, He will ask us to give an account of all our doings. No manner of riches will save the sinner who has flaunted grace in Christ’s name.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

(Hebrews 13:16)

Bless all, give heed to the Holy Spirit and love others despite their outward appearance. Christ will save the poor of spirit and the pure of heart. He will judge the world according to their works. Those who love God, keep His commandments, and love others, will live.

Take care of the aged among us, for they do not have the strength to look after themselves. Provide shelter to the homeless, for we do not know what their plight was before seeing them on the street. Give to the poor, for they will have rest in Christ.

Look to God for strength. Have mercy on those who are blind to the truth. Let your light shine in a world where deception reigns. God will remember your deeds and He will reward you for all that you have done. Do good always.

Let us not mistake Jesus’ love for us. Through Adam, we all have sinned, but through Christ, who died on the cross for us, we are all alive. He died for us while we were still sinners and His sacrifice glorified His love.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

(Romans 5:6-8)

Would we die for a friend? Even more so, would we die for a friend who had done us wrong? Our friend may have hurt us in word and in deed, may have besmirched our name, or may have hated us. Jesus calls us friends, and He died for us while we were yet doing wrong to Him.

How great is God’s love for us that He would consider us friends and want to give up His Son so that sin would not claim our lives to the fiery depths of hell. As great as the tallest mountain is, so is God’s love for us.

How great is Jesus’s love for us that He would endure the stripes of affliction, the heated words of His persecutors and the suffering of the cross so that we would have salvation. As wide as the universe is, God loves us so much.

Jesus loved us so much that He did not want to see any of us perish. Through sin, we were all dead, but through Christ dying on the cross for us, we are now alive; for God extended His mercy upon us and forgave us of our sin so we might live.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

(Galatians 2:20)

When we repented and were baptized, God’s gift to us was the Holy Spirit. Christ now lives in us, His righteousness is manifest and by faith, we are justified. No longer do we have the penalty of sin hanging over our head, but instead we have eternal life.

God is good. His pleasure for us as a church is to live an abundant life, filled with joy and love toward Him and our neighbor. His plan is for mercy and goodness to follow us all the days of our life and for us to dwell in His house forever.

God is merciful toward us because He loves us. He wants all of us to experience the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The only way He could have done that is if Christ lives in us.