Seeking Jesus First - Daily Worship, Spirit and Word - Jan. 9, 2024
How we view God matters. Our faith is expressed in words and actions. Our faith, and therefore, our words and actions, are overwhelmingly influenced by our view of the character of God. We say, “God is for us and not against us.” But do we believe it? Do we believe that God is mindful about the things that concern us? Do we see Him as a constant companion who is trying to influence our lives for good? I know many people believe that God controls everything - including the human response. This is counter-productive to spiritual growth. If we say, “God is in control,” how is anyone accountable for his own words or actions. However, if we see God the way Christ Jesus lived His life as a person, we see Him as The Creator who desires us to hear, believe and receive from Him all of His goodness and love so that we can share it with others. We see Him as a companion, helper and friend - just as Jesus described Himself and Holy Spirit to His disciples. God has authority and the ability to control, but He has limited Himself in certain ways by His own will and words. How do you see God’s character? Is He love? Is He kind? Is He patient? Do the fruit of The Spirit describe His character? Think about why Jesus came to die on the cross and be resurrected. Humans lacked something that allowed us to receive from God what we needed most. Because God loved us, Christ Jesus made it possible for us to be crucified with Him through faith in Him. We just “reckon” ourselves to have been crucified with Him on the cross. He accepts our faith, our reckoning, as truth. Then He reckons us to be in the class with Himself and adopts us as children and starts trying to influence our lives for good as a Good Father would do. The only one who can limit God is God. However, we can limit what God wants to accomplish in and through us by simply not believing it. Let’s purpose in our hearts today to stop limiting God’s influence in our lives. Just believe, pray, listen and follow His Spirit who lives in you.