Holy Spirit

God Wants to Bless Us

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

When I read the verse, the truth of it immediately hit home with me. It was an awesome truth, one that gives hope and strength to a weary soul. 

“Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” (ESV)

Psalm 35:27

How had I missed this verse all this time? It was exactly what I needed, at a time when my faith in God had been at a low point.

God delights in my welfare! He wants me to be well—in every way. This was definitely an encouraging verse.

I let the truth sink in. God wants me to do well, to succeed and prosper, to be at peace, to flourish in my relationships.

I also realized that I can’t just skip over the final word of the verse. Servant. I have to serve God faithfully. Then I will have His full blessing.

The verse is similar to another well known verse, Romans 8:28, which is one of my favorites:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

It promises us that in the end, everything will be OK, everything will work out for the best. 

But like Psalm 35, it is conditional. We have to be among those who are chosen for His purpose. 

However, you don’t have to wonder if you’re part of the called. If you have a heart for God and want to be closer to Him, it means the Holy Spirit is working in your life.

God tells us over and over in the Bible that He wants the best for us, that He wants us to prosper and succeed. 

That doesn’t mean we’ll all be rich and have no problems in this life. Far from it. But He wants His servant to live a blessed life and He is always looking to enrich our lives if we’re following Him and doing as He commands.

Of that we can be certain. And that should give us hope in this life. 

One Day Closer to Jesus

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If there’s one thing that believers in Jesus should have, it’s hope. Romans 15:13 tells us, 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

If we have Jesus, we also have the Holy Spirit. That means we should have plenty of hope in our lives. 

That doesn’t mean that every day is going to be all roses. After all, Jesus tells his disciples in John 16:33, 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

These words should give every believer hope.

If you’re having a rough day, just remember that nothing is greater than Jesus and the hope we have in Him.

In fact, each day we live, is one day we’re closer to seeing Jesus face-to-face. 

Either through the rapture or by our own passing, if we’ve accepted Christ into our lives, today we’re that much closer to living with Him forever. 

I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a whole lot better about everything that’s going on in my life and in the world right now. It’s a crazy time to be alive.

Just think, there are a finite number of days until we meet Jesus—it could be one day or 10,000 days, but there are only so many of them.

However, after we’re joined with Jesus, we have all eternity to look forward to, fellowshiping and worshipping Him. There will be NO END to those days.

The question is, have you accepted Jesus into your life? If you haven’t, then there’s no better time to do it than now. 

Tomorrow may be too late.

Is Sin Holding You Back?

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Some of us (myself included) really need to sit down and take a hard look at our lives. 

The reason? Sin that we’ve been holding on to. For many of us, we choose to keep committing the same sin or sins over and over, even though we know they’re wrong.

It could be something as seemingly innocent as passing along gossip, or it could be something worse. Even though in God’s eyes, sin is sin.

The problem is, God can’t bless us fully whenever we’re knowingly and willfully sinning against Him. He would love to unlock his full blessings on our lives, but our stubborn hearts are too rebellious to handle what He would give to us.

Instead, we have to settle for a second-best kind of existence, where we’re only receiving part of what God would have for us.

What’s more, we often blame God when we’re in this situation. I know, because I’ve done it far too often myself.

We wonder why we don’t feel God moving in our lives and wonder why things aren’t going better for us in one or more areas of our lives.

The reason is that we are hurting ourselves by holding onto sin.

That’s why we must look deeply into our lives—our habits, our interactions with others, our attitude toward God, and just our daily lives in general. If we do, we may find the source of many of our problems.

Is there a sin that you struggle with over and over?

Maybe you’re cold-hearted toward your spouse when you should instead be a helpmate to them.

Are you being dishonest at work and not putting in a full effort for your employer?

Are you being wasteful with your money and not tithing and giving offerings?

It could be anything. The thing is to be aware of this besetting sin and wipe it out of your life so that you can grow closer to God.

The closer we are to Him, the more He can bless our lives to do His work here on earth.

When we are doing the work He has planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10), we’ll be happier, our lives will be fuller and richer, and we’ll be less tempted to sin.

Follow This Biblical Pathway For Success

/ Clay D. / 1 Comment

What if you believed you truly had the power of God on your side? Would you feel differently about your life than you currently do?

Maybe you already believe that you have God’s power working in your life and you live every day knowing that God is working through you.

I’ve personally struggled with this concept—that is, believing that God’s enormous power is really working on my behalf to help me succeed in whatever I may find myself doing.

In fact, in some of my lowest moments, I’ve found myself doubting God—doubting that He cares and doubting that He is doing anything in my life. 

Logically, I know that those thoughts come from our enemy, because

all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Why is it so difficult for us to remember and rely on this promise from our loving Heavenly Father?

We should walk through each day in victory, knowing without a doubt that God is doing good things in our lives because we have accepted Christ as our Savior.

It is hard to live this way, however, as we are continually bombarded with negativity.

After all, we live in a fallen world and we’re subject to all the tactics of the devil designed to derail our Christian walk.

It is far too easy to let the enemy keep us focused on all the mundane issues of our lives, rather than walking in strength by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to be a helper and a comforter to Christ followers. 

We are told,

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

And,

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

So, what is the answer then? On a practical level, how do we tap into this power that is waiting for us?

My belief is that it all begins with prayer—simply acknowledging God as all-powerful and asking Him for His help every day. 

Then, we must simply believe.

Everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

God is waiting to help us. He wants us to be successful doing His work on earth. If we sincerely seek Him and His power, He will honor our request.

Since the devil is always on the lookout for any chance to cause chaos, confusion, and evil, I believe that we should also ask for wisdom. 

We need to be aware of any weaknesses or areas of our lives we leave open for the enemy to use to his advantage. Once again, we are promised,

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him

James 1:5

God wants our success, and He will give us wisdom to help us get His work done.

While prayer and faith are the key ingredients needed to tap into God’s power, asking for His help isn’t a one-time thing. 

We must seek Him daily, reaching out to Him to acknowledge our weaknesses and ask for His help. 

That is the path to accessing the power of God every day. Following it will ensure that we’re successful in whatever He has called us to do to advance His kingdom.

Simple Faith Will Change Your Destiny

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And many believed in him there.

John 10:42

The above verse is so simple that we might tend to read right on past it. It contains a key truth, however.

In this passage we learn that a great number of people became followers of Jesus after He had crossed over the Jordan and remained there for a period of time. These people believed He was their Messiah because of the signs He performed and the words that He spoke.

We don’t have Jesus physically with us today like the people in biblical days did. How then can we get to the point where we also believe? 

The answer lies in the Holy Spirit. He convicts us of our sin nature and lays it on our heart that we need Jesus for our salvation. 

Without the work of the Spirit, we would never reach the point where we feel empty without Jesus. It is the Spirit’s interaction that allows us to see that we need Jesus. Those who have never felt the conviction of the Spirit do not fully understand that their lives are not complete without Jesus.

That’s why I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s work. He is the Teacher and Comforter who prepares our hearts to accept Jesus into our lives. He is who made it possible for all those people to believe in Jesus as described in John 10:42. 

Without a push, a slight nudge from the Spirit to let Jesus into our lives, we’ll never do it on our own.

If you’ve already believed in the Lordship of Jesus and accepted Him as your savior—congratulations! You’re part of the family of God and will live with Him for all eternity.

However, if you’ve never taken time to really think about Jesus and what He did for you by suffering and dying, then there’s no better time than now. 

The Father loves us so much that He sent Jesus to earth in human form so that He could ultimately pay the price of salvation for every man, woman, and child.

You have to accept Him, however. Just like the masses of people who allowed Jesus into their lives while He was physically walking the earth, we have to do the same. 

He’s still alive today. Right now, He is sitting at the right hand of the Father inviting you to let Him be Lord of your life. 

Doing so will put you right with God. It’s the only way. Works won’t set the record straight between you and the Father. Giving money away won’t do it either. 

The only path to eternal salvation is through Jesus. Won’t you invite Him into your life?

9 Verses About God’s Love That Will Lift Your Spirits

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Perhaps you’re like many people in today’s hurry-scurry world and you feel completely all alone. If it’s been a while since you really connected with anyone else, you may feel like there’s not a single soul on the planet who cares about you. 

While it could be true that you don’t have anyone else to call a friend, who you can go to for advice or just for a hug, you always have God. He loves you unconditionally, no matter how bad you think you are. He’s always there and is longing for a relationship with you. 

Below are nine of the best verses that detail the depth of God’s love for us, in no particular order:

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This is one of the most, if not the most, famous verses in the entire bible. The reason is because it describes God’s deep love for us, so much so that He was willing to allow His Son to be tortured and killed before resurrecting Him. His punishment paid the price for the sin we all commit every day.

1 John 4:9

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This verse also details the depth of God’s love for us, explaining that He sacrificed His son so that we might live eternally.

1 John 4:16

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

In this verse, we’re told that God is in fact love Himself. Wherever there is true love, that represents the very essence of God.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Here we see that Jesus loves us so much that He willingly gave His life so that we might live.

Ephesians 2:4-5

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.

God loves us so much that he gave us new life even when we were mired down in our sin.

Psalm 86:15

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

God always acts with compassion because His love is overflowing toward us, His creation.

Psalm 136:26

Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

So strong and powerful is God’s love that it will indeed last forever. Nothing you do can stop Him from loving you.

Psalm 36:7

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

God’s love is an ever-present shelter for us during all the trials and tribulations of life.

Romans 5:5

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

God gave us the Holy Spirit so that we could experience the full measure of His love for us.

This is just a starting point, as these verses only scratch the surface of all the verses in the Bible that demonstrate how much God loves us. Whenever you’re feeling down or blue, spend some time meditating on these verses. Then dig deeper and find more passages that speak to your heart about God’s deep, everlasting love for you.

Abraham’s Faith Vs. Our Faith

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.’”

Gen. 12:1-2

The above verses are explicit instructions from God to Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham. It would be difficult for Abram to misunderstand what God was saying to him. 

Abram is to “go,” then God will “show,” “make,” “bless,” and “make” again, then finally Abram will simply “be.”

Upon analyzing these two verses, all I can say is “Wow.” 

It would be nice to have that kind of crystal clear instruction from God. There would be no confusion or ambiguity. You’d know exactly what was expected of you and precisely what God would then do.

However, God rarely speaks to us in this way. Perhaps the reason why lies in the fact that today, as followers of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit who speaks to us in a still, small voice. We have to be especially tuned into Him to hear and understand His subtle direction.

If we compare our situation today with that of Abram’s from thousands of years ago, what can we take away from it?

As I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep last night, I began thinking about the subject of faith. Specifically, I thought about the faith of Abram, given the specific instructions he was entrusted with by God, as compared to our faith today when we are so often unsure of what God’s next steps are for us. 

Are these the same types of faith? Is it fair to compare Abram’s faith with ours? He had clear, audible communication from God. All he had to do was follow His directions and he was guaranteed to be blessed.

We know that Abram is credited with having great faith.

 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land”

Heb. 11:8-9a

Selfishly I suppose, I can’t help but think to myself that it doesn’t take nearly as much faith to follow the explicit directions Abram was given, compared to the kind of faith it requires to move in a direction that you’re just praying and hoping is what God wants from you.

Why is Abraham specifically mentioned as a biblical character who displayed such great faith? On the surface, it seems all he really did was just follow orders. I could do that (at least I think I could).

Maybe it was harder than it first appears for Abram to leave his home and go to a foreign land. I know it’s not something I’d necessarily want to do. Yet, he followed God’s leading and through him the nation of Israel was formed. 

Maybe God had to be explicit with Abram because so much was on the line. If Abram had been uncertain about his calling, his faith might have faltered and the course of history would have taken a drastically different turn.

I believe that God knew what He was doing when He gave Abram those instructions. And I believe He knows what He’s doing when He whispers to us softly in the midst of our busy lives.

It’s just up to us to keep our ears close to Him.