Saturday, February 23, 2013

Think about things above



Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Daily life necessities may cause us to think of material things too much. We need food, clothes, place to live and etc. and these things may occupy our thinking. Some Christians can even forget to care after their spiritual lives at all. Unfortunately, their worrying does not solve their material needs at all. On the contrary, it only increases them. It is ok to care about our physical lives, but not ok to worry ourselves out just because we do not think we will make enough money next month to live.

God is our source. Not only of spiritual blessings, but also material ones! We have to trust him. And we do that by setting our priorities right. What does that mean? We think about spiritual things first and only then about physical things. And we do not think about earthly things: lusts, passions, pride, vanity and other similar things that displease our Lord. Those that have made Jesus their Lord turn away from those carnal things in order to pursue better ones: things above. Love, peace, righteousness, joy and compassion would be some of those. 

May God help us in our pursuit!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

All things God works for the good



Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

A lot of bad things may happen in life of a righteous person. He himself might ask whether God really cares when troubles come his way. There should not be any place for doubt regarding these things as God knows how to turn any situation upside down. He knows how to turn your loss to victory, your sorrow to joy, and your disappointment to hope and make the bright sun shine through thick and dark clouds. 

He cares for those who love him and wait for his salvation. He has a plan how to get you out of any problematic situation. The only thing God wants from you is to keep on trusting him. This unleashes his power in your life and solves your problems. Learn to walk by faith and continue loving your God. You will be redeemed sooner or later. I believe it will be sooner rather than later. Dwell on this and other comforting verses from the 8th chapter of Romans when you are oppressed by difficulties as it will help you to keep peace in your heart and hope in your mind. May God help you!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Holy Spirit revives bodies



Romans 8:11: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

While studying the specific areas where the Holy Spirit works we often fail to notice his work in our bodies. You might say:” I haven’t noticed anything along the lines”. I agree, but it is just because you do not believe that the Holy Ghost can do it. We need to open our minds and read the Book diligently to find out whether the Spirit really does that. It won’t take long to get convinced that He really does. 

He heals our bodies, restores them and may even perform creative miracles if some organ of ours is not developed or severely injured. Some people are shocked by this news, but the Bible is full of such and similar instances. Even the dead are raised from the dead in both the Old and the New Testaments. So, if you need a miracle from God for your body, be convinced that God can and He also wants to that miracle for you. Just trust him.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Wages of sin and gift of God



Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sin is never left unpunished by God. He is righteous and cannot ignore the evils that happen in the world daily. The Creator of universe and all human beings cannot contemplate, speak or do evil or even tolerate it. God fights it and in due time punishes it. Sounds scaring, but that is the truth. There will be the Judgment day when righteous God will eternally condemn sinners and fully redeem the righteous. That is what my Bible tells me about that final day.

However, there is the bright side to it. God is good. He does not want to condemn a single individual. Therefore, he prepared the gift of eternal life for everybody who will repent and believe in Jesus Christ his son. Christ was punished on our behalf that we might be saved and enjoy eternal life with all of its’ joys and privileges being sons and daughters of God. If you have made Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you have come out of darkness and will surely avoid the judgment of eternal damnation. You will live in God’ favor forever. Praise God for that.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Abundant grace



Romans 5:20: “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more…

The power of sin and devil is exaggerated and the power and grace of God is diminished by most. They unwillingly exalt power of darkness, because they do not see the greatness of God’s love. However, if you look at the verse above you will see undisputable supremacy of God’s grace over our sin and his mercy over human trespasses. It is a paradox that the law which was holy actually allowed the sin to increase. People were not able to meet all the requirements of the law and therefore they sinned even more under law. Law exposed sin that was in human hearts. That was the sole purpose of it. It had to make people understand that they were hopelessly sinful. 

Fortunately, when grace came it uprooted the sin and freed us from it. Grace made us capable to get rid of sin and live free from all the evil desires and lusts that dominate this world. Open your eyes and see the magnitude of the redemption that Jesus brought you. Embrace it, cherish it and be grateful for it. God bless you.