Beyond Ourselves

Do you ever feel like not another thing can be squeezed out of you? Do you feel you’ve given all you can give? We all know that you can’t get water out of dry rock, and perhaps that describes us at times – dry. If so, we can look to Christ, whom Isaiah 30:29 describes as the ROCK OF ISRAEL. Jesus provided water and life for the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus provides Himself as living water for believers. (John 7:37-38) Drink deeply from Him. He loves you so!

I spoke in New York shortly after September 11, 2001. Shortly after Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked three planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. Shortly after a fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing all on board after passengers and crew heroically attempted to take control from the hijackers. Shortly after evil reigned in the hands of the terrorists that day. But evil didn’t ultimately win then and evil will never ultimately win. Christ Jesus is victor! He overcame evil and sin and the sting of sin – death. All who place their faith in Christ will live eternally in His glorious presence. Today and continually, we remember with gratefulness our loved ones, friends, and the many we will never know until heaven – those who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Today we remember with utmost gratefulness the Lord Jesus who sacrificed His life for our souls. We must never forget either.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making PURIFICATION OF OUR SINS. We love and praise You for the ultimate sacrifice of Your life to make us pure as You are pure. 

“When He had made PURIFICATION of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Hebrews 1:3

Do you think God expects you to be a superman or superwoman? Here’s some good news. God doesn’t expect us to keep going and going and going without rest. God doesn’t expect us to be like an energizer bunny. He knows that we will become depleted and that we need restoration. Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Sure,  Red bull and other caffeinated drinks may give a temporary kick or burst of energy. But, it’s the daily refreshment in God’s presence that provides ongoing restoration to our souls. When your battery is running low, find your Bible. You’ll experience the restoration for which you long in God’s presence.

Have you ever been in a “dark place”? Perhaps you are now. Everywhere you look, it’s dark and what’s worse – you don’t see a way out.  If you have been there or you are now, can you imagine what it would be like to be in darkness forever and to know that you’d never ever escape? God and Satan are powerful. They each have domains/kingdoms.  Satan’s domain is a place of evil and darkness. (Colossians 1:13)  First John 5:19 tells us the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  That is, you lie in the power of the evil one unless God has RESCUED YOU from the domain of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)  If you’re a Christian and in a dark place today because of circumstances beyond your control or even because of sin, run to your Savior.  Stand against the darkness by singing songs of praise to Jesus. Lift your hands and voice in praise to God for His A-Z character traits we daily study. Claim your place as a child of the kingdom of light.

Lord Jesus, You are our RESCUER! We love You! We thank You! We praise You that we are children of the Light! 

“He RESCUED US from the DOMAIN of DARKNESS, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Colossians 1:13

Do you ever think about pleasing God? Did you know that it’s possible to please God? Hebrews 11:5-6 states that Enoch was “pleasing to God” and that God is a REWARDER of THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.” I can’t think of a more admirable thing that could be said of a person than that they please God. I long to please God and I know you must, too. How can we please God? We can believe Him. We can take to Him whatever is overwhelming us, causing us to fear, or to doubt. We can ask Him to fill and equip us to handle whatever He permits in our life. We can know that, by faith, we’ll experience His glorious equipping and power to walk through our day.  We can serve God’s purposes. Today, we can please God in the little and big things, knowing that He is a REWARDER of THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.

“I’m tired! I’m tired of work. I’m tired of the tension in my life. I’m tired of struggling. I’m tired of taking care of….” How would you finish that sentence? God understands. Our body, mind, and soul need rest. The Bible says God rested on the seventh day. One of His Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath Day as a day of rest. Today, we often ignore the command to have a day of rest saying that it doesn’t apply to us. But isn’t that a little strange to decide which of God’s commands have value and which don’t? I agree that we are not bound to legalistically keep the Jewish Sabbath. I agree that Jesus’s work to obtain our salvation on the cross results in our NOT WORKING for salvation. And, I agree that God has provided a future eternal SABBATH REST. (Hebrews 4:9-10.) Until then, however, is there value in taking one day each week to rest our body and soul? I think there is, although I am admittedly late to learn the value. Rest. God modeled it.  

Do you feel drained or spiritually empty? You know you’re saved, but you’re tired and discouraged.  What do we do when we want to serve the Lord and energetically live for Him but we’re weary and feel like there’s nothing left in us to give? God answers our question.  In Jeremiah 31:25,  He says, “I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.” The LORD is our REFRESHER. Jesus echoes this in Matthew 5:3-6. Are we poor in spirit? Are we mourning? Are we hungry and thirsty for righteousness? If so, we can go to the ever-flowing river of Life in the LORD. We can drink deeply of His Word and Spirit. We can be refreshed and our energy renewed to do what He places in our hands.

Heavenly Father, our daily lives often leave us feeling drained. Fill us with Your presence. Renew and refresh us so we are energized to serve You and others. 

Is there anything about you that isn’t perfect? If you are perfect, congratulations.  I’m not. As a matter of fact, the closer I grow to Christ, the more aware I am of pesky sin in my life. If you, like me, are mindful of your sin, here are some encouraging words. Malachi 3:3 says the Lord “will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.” What good news! As Christ’s priests (1 Peter 2:9), we have confidence in our REFINER who is extracting sin from our life and clarifying us so we can stand before Him one day, shiny and perfect, and present to Him offerings in righteousness.

Are you looking for peace and happiness? Do you want a better life? Only one person, our REDEEMER, has the holiness, the wholeness, the power, and grace to be our all in all. Or, as Colossians 1:13-14 says, Jesus is the only One able to rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to His kingdom. Jesus is the one who is able to rescue us from the sin and heartache of this world and take us to the holy heights of heaven. So, we look to the cross. We look to the resurrected Lord. We look to the Bible. We look to the skies. And, we know … that as He kept His Word to come to us once for salvation, He’ll return to redeem us out of this world and take us to our eternal home and a better life. Our redemption is closer today than it was yesterday.