What If... I Seek Him

Psa 27:8 You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek."

What if I spent my life seeking after the face of God? Not just settling in for the table scraps that fall from the King's table. The crumbs on the floor. But delighting in the feast. Eating the finest bread. Drinking the finest drink. Savoring the most tender morsels.

Settling for the paltry pleasures this life has to offer is an utter compromise. To dive into a kiddie pool rather than freely swim in the depths of the sea. Shall we not experience all the beauty and majesty the Kingdom offers us?

I have been carefully considering what it means to be wholly devoted to Jesus. Not just going to church once a week. Not just being a believer to my church friends and then a man of the world to others. But really being zealous to discover the ways of God.

What if I sought hard after God? What if my devotion was to him continually? What if God was as important to me as everything else?

What if...

The Screwtape Letters - Quite Curious...

I just finished reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. What an amazing piece of work. It took me a bit before I could wrap my mind around the writings, but after about the third or fourth letter I was in deep... If you haven't read these I highly recommend it to any reader. The way they are laid out in letter form makes it easy to pick up or stop at any time.

As I was reading through each letter my mind would travel down various paths. One letter is about Screwtape trying to convince his unworthy nephew Wormwood, an apprentice demon, to try to trip up his "patient" by lulling him into complacency. After he becomes complacent he will be of no use to the enemy (God).

It really got me to think about how easy it is to name the name of Christ and have absolutely no change in my heart. Going around feeling satisfied merely about my decision to follow God. Then doing very little following and a whole lot of leading. "Hey God, come this way with me or be with me in this area of my life." Telling rather than asking... all the while not considering that my heart is far from him and my motives are purely selfish. God desires us to not be complacent. We should be active in filling our heart with Him and becoming more like Christ every day. Complacency isn't just about not doing this or that and still being satisfied, it is also about not filling our heart with the things of God and being satisfied...

1Ki 11:4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Even a man like Solomon turned his heart to other gods. God doesn't just request that we devote our heart fully to him, he requires it. When we confess with our mouth that He is Lord there should be some evidence in our heart of a transformation.

1Ch 28:9 "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Today is a new day. I encourage you to not be satisfied with where you are currently in your walk with Christ, but to stretch yourself beyond your wildest imagination. Pray big, bless others richly, and look to Jesus to fill your heart more and more with himself.

Blessings today as you are satisfied only in Him.
Keith

Taking A Break - A New Creation...

I have been unable to write each day recently due to my overloaded work schedule. Unfortunately for me, that creates quite a hole since I really enjoy my time reading and meditating over God's Word. However, right now I have a 30 minute window to sit, pray, read, and write.

Earlier this week I encountered an individual from my workplace who has been known to not be a follower of God. He has similar struggles as many men of the world. Foul language, lust in the heart, independent spirit. You know the type. Many of us were there too. But this time I worked with him I noticed a change...

A few months back he was fired for a period of time. Now my work isn't like most. When a guy gets fired he gets paid job insurance and then comes back to work in just a few weeks or so. So during his time off he began to think about his actions and the events of his life that led up to his dismissal. In the time he was off he informed me that he has been renewed. He sees God for who he is and is now actively following Him and living for Him.

I was excited to get the opportunity for our many hours together to communicate what I understand to be true about Jesus and the gospel. We talked about marriage, struggles, joys, and blessings. Inside of this guy whom I actually tried to avoid previously, I saw a changed heart.

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2Cor 5:17 tells us that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. I experienced this firsthand this week. Sure, he still steps outside to fire up a smoke every hour or so and several f-bombs slipped out of his mouth, but I see a transformation in his heart that can only come from Christ.

Here is the lesson I learned from this week.

No matter how impossible it may seem for God to transform a persons heart, all things are possible with God.

This week I encourage you to be open about your faith with others. Had I not mentioned the name of Jesus in a conversation I am sure we would have not talked about his transformed life and I would have missed out on an opportunity to be blessed by seeing God's hand working.

Enjoy your week...

Blessings,
Keith

As for the weekly devotionals... Hopefully next week is the beginning of a little normalcy and I will be back on track.

Salvation Sunday: Grace

Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In this age of extreme pluralism, it is sometimes hard to know which way is the right way to go. Some say that all paths lead to God. Others will tell you that there is no God. While yet others will tell you that there is only one way to God.

So who is right?

I think the first question we should ask is, "are we all talking about the same destination?" Hindus believe they are right. Buddhists think they are right. Muslims and Jews believe their way is the path to God. And Christians believe that Jesus is the only way to God. It can be quite confusing sometimes.

After a little bit of careful analysis it is clear that all religions aren't talking about the same god, and... all religions do not get to God. We live in a country where religious freedom is the expected response to a person's faith. This is fair, right? We don't want anyone offended or discouraged to believe a certain way. Right? Certainly stepping on people and their beliefs is not a socially correct method of evangelism, but telling people the truth about God is.

The Bible makes it clear that there is only one way to God. Through the person of Jesus Christ. Now I understand that many will say that this belief is egocentric. "How do we know that it is true?" Short answer: Faith and Grace. Not believing in something doesn't make it untrue. Believing in the Sovereignty of the One True God requires faith.

Salvation comes to us only through God himself entering the human world to suffer the consequences of sin, to free us from sin, as his gift to us.

Most religions teach that good works with lead to our salvation—if we pray well, act right and hope good enough then we will get there. They teach that people can be good enough if they try hard enough. But Christianity teaches that we all need grace. We are unable to perform good enough to get to heaven no matter how hard we try.

It is impossible for both ideas to be true at the same time. The doctrine of grace teaches, whether we like it or not, that no other paths lead to salvation. Grace is a gift from God. Grace defined is simply this: Being given something we don't deserve.

Daily In Christ - Salvation Sunday

Have you laid your life before God and received His Grace? Are you trying to earn your way to heaven? I encourage you today to receive the free gift of Grace and get right with the one true God.

If you would like more information how to discover your relationship with God click here.

Blessings,
Keith

Give Thanks: In The Midst Of Struggles

In a time where things sometimes seem out of control it can be difficult to see the good in life. Many of us are struggling financially. Some of our friends and family members are battling disease and illness. Many marriages are on the rocks. In spite of it all, we shall give thanks.

1Th 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This verse in 1Thes 5 tells us that we should give thanks in all circumstances. Sometimes I wonder to myself if the Biblical writers knew what they were talking about. Did Paul have any idea of the things we would have to go through? Answer... yep!

Paul was no stranger to struggles and difficulties and in them he continued to glorify God. I think the key to giving thanks in all circumstances begins with perspective. When we are focused on the here and now and our own personal comfort we tend to have a more difficult time giving thanks in everything. However, if we can learn to follow Paul's example as he follows Christ (1Cor 11:1) we can develop an eternal perspective. When we start to see God as loving in all things and working each difficulty and struggle toward our good then we can start to understand how to give thanks in everything.

Daily In Christ - Give Thanks

Today I encourage you to be thankful. Even if it is a struggle, look around and start with the little things. God has put so many good things into our life. I admit, sometimes we miss them due to our own pain in our circumstances.

Blessings to you as you draw near to Him.

Keith

A Time For Worship: Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest...

Take a few minutes today and worship the Lord.



I pray that you find your peace and contentment in Him today.

Blessings,
Keith

True Life Challenge: Fight The Battle

As Christians we often forget we are at war! Not the kind of war that require guns and ammo, a spiritual war that goes on all around us every day. If we are prepared, we can fight this war and be victorious. If we are unprepared we often fall prey to the powers of this world and walk through our Christian life defeated and hopeless.

Fighting this battle we need to realize there are enemies. The three main areas I see we battle with every day are:

• The Flesh
• The World
• Satan

We know that the Bible talks about the outcome we have in our life if we give into any of these enemies. The works of the flesh are found in Galatians 5:19-21. They include sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. As empowered believers we are to put to death the things of the flesh (Col 3:5). Putting the things of the flesh to death is a pretty strong term... It doesn't mean ignore them and they will go away. When we put things in our life that are stumbling blocks to death it takes war on our part.

When we give into the things of the world we are giving into our desires apart from God.
1Jn 2:15-16 tells us: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. This means lover's of the world would rather do the things they desire rather than knowing the things of God and desiring what He desires.

The third battle is against Satan and evil forces. Yes, they are real and they do exist. The Bible makes it clear, however we sometimes ignore the power of evil all around us. James tells us that fighting the enemy of evil is not a difficult task. (Jas 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Jesus defeated Satan at the cross and the power of the resurrection. Satan can only affect the lives of you and me if we allow him too. Resist him, and tell him to leave!

So, how do we fight these areas of our life and claim victory in this war? We flee from evil desires (2Tim 2:22). We flee from sexual immorality (1Cor 6:18). We submit our lives to God (Jam 4:7). And we pursue the things of God by setting our minds on things above (Col 3:2). We become transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2).

The battle we are in takes discipline just like a qualified soldier. We put on the armor of God (Eph 6:13-18) and we seal the battle with prayer. Resisting the things of the world, our fleshly desires and the darts from the evil one is a full time endeavor. We must be connected to God daily and prayerful always to fight the sins and attacks that come our way.

Blessings to you as you find peace in Him.
Keith