The cup which our Father gives us to drink is a cup for the will. It is easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it. Not on the heights of Calvary, but in the shadows of Gethsemane is the cup presented; the act is easy after the choice. The real battlefield is in the silence of the spirit. Conquer there, and thou art crowned.
You know, it doesn’t matter how much good you do, how large your sacrifice, how great your impact, there is always a naysayer in the crowd, a critic quick to assault and under- mine your efforts! The “bigness” of a person’s character is evident in how they handle these assaults.
What is heaven? Well, we have Biblical “snapshots” of the place itself — and it’s incredible! As spectacular and awe-inspiring as the physical beauty of heaven will be, I believe the real essence and glory of it will be full, unhindered communion with God!
We cannot really trust God if we do not believe what He promises, just as we cannot really trust other human beings if we doubt what they say. Biblical faith involves believing the specific promises of God. We must believe God, not simply believe in God. Ask the Lord this day to strengthen your faith in His promises so that you will continue to trust in Him alone.”
In fulfilling their God-ordained roles, planets and creation render “worship”; angels and men do so by choosing conformity to God’s proclaimed will. For man, that will is recorded in the Word of God.
Our conscience and the Holy Spirit of God assist in the willingness to obey our Creator.
Even the great apostle Paul had to learn about contentment (Philippians 4:10- 13). Our confidence lies in this fact: God Himself has hand-made each one of us (Psalm 119:73 )! We, therefore, have a purpose; we therefore can expect to be led by our Creator in accomplishing wonderful things with our lives!
So often God does the unexpected and creates the difficulty to help us become what He made us be: trusting and dependent worshipers. His ways of grace are beyond human capacity to fathom, yet the patient and obedient child of God is eventually able to look in the rearview mirror and see divine orchestration of his or her life.
“Sola fide” is therefore the best news man could ever hear. JESUS DID THE WORK FOR US! His righteousness is permanently imputed to us the moment we receive Him as Lord and Savior (see II Corinthians 5:21)! When God the Father looks at a believer, that’s what He sees: CHRIST’S righteousness, not our wretched sinfulness! No wonder Satan has opposed and perverted this fantastic truth so vigorously all these millennia!