Sunday, May 31, 2020

Where do you go first?

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:5 

The Israelites of Jeremiah's day believed they could trust in their army, the diplomacy of their king, and their foreign alliances to protect them from the powerful Babylonian empire. They gave lip service to their trust in God, but their actions showed where their faith really was: in their military and financial might. God spoke through Jeremiah to warn them that He would not bless those who trusted in anyone or anything instead of Him. Placing your ultimate trust in anything other than God is idolatry. How can you know if your faith is not truly in God? Ask yourself these questions: Where do I turn when I experience a crisis? When I am hurting or afraid, to whom do I go? When I have a financial problem, whom do I want to tell first? Where do I seek comfort when I am under stress or discouraged? God often uses other people as His method of providing for you. But be careful lest you inadvertently misdirect your faith toward His provision instead of toward the Provider. God may meet your need through your friends, but ultimately your trust must be in God. The Israelites were so stubbornly committed to trusting in human strength instead of God that, even as the Babylonian army approached Jerusalem, they continued to desperately seek for a person, or a nation, or an army that could rescue them. They realized too late that they had neglected to trust in the only One who could deliver them. Don’t make the same mistake as the Israelites. Go straight to the Lord when you have a need. He is the only One who can provide for you. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

Where DO you go first when trouble comes?  Where do you look for help when the world goes crazy? 

How much of your day is ever spent in conversation and fellowship with Jesus?

There are those who like to believe they are prepared for what comes.  Jesus spoke of a rich man who was well enough off that he was ready to expand and build bigger barns.  Little did he know his life was coming to an end that very night.  We can plan all we want for tomorrow or the next hour.  But if God isn't an integral part of your life, you are planning in vain. 

There really shouldn't be anyone left at this moment in time that ever expected 2020 to be the way it is. It's had everything from economic boom to devastation. From attacks on the President to virus attacks on the population, to riots in the streets. 

There's little to no peace to be found.  People are wondering and worried about today let alone tomorrow.  

Am I worried? No. Am I concerned, yes.
I pray therefore I know in whom I have believed. I know He is able.  Prayer is a part of my life.  My faith is absolutely not in mankind.  My faith is in the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ. 

Do I still prepare? Yes. Because Jesus gave me a brain with the expectation of using it.  Where is your faith placed?

You waiting for the Government to solve your problems? You shouldn't.  Only the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has the true authority and ability to alter the course of your life. 

Leaning on others all the time and not walking your talk about being a Christian is telling yourself and others who you really trust in...and it's not God.

Raging in anger as the rest of the world does at the way the world is isn't showing Christ to anyone.  It's showing the world something else entirely. 

Does this world upset me?  Yes.  Sin is still here. Sin still impacts my life.  Sin is just as devastating today as it was 2,000 years ago, 4,000 years ago and all the way back to Adam and Eve. 

Regardless of the smoke and mirrors of news reporting, Jesus is returning again.  The state of this world is only the beginning of the preparations for the return of Christ.  Lovers of themselves.  Haters of good. Violent.  Any of that sound familiar? 2 Timothy.  Brutal. Yes that's written there too.

If that part of the Bible is true, you had better expect all the rest to be true. 

Return to Jesus if you have claimed to be a Christian and have wandered.  Restore your life with Christ.  The Prodigal Son happens to all of us.  Be in prayer. Be honest with yourself and God. 

If you haven't come to Christ, realize the truth you have been denying.  God is real, sin is real and you are in dire need of a Savior.  Come to Christ right here right now.  Like that rich man Jesus spoke of, you may not have a tomorrow to plan for.

The truth of this world is all about and all around Christ.  At the right time He came to save you and I from our sins.  To make a way to be saved.  He took on all our sin on the cross to pay the price we could not. 

Look around you at the world.  It's proving the Bible to be true. Life isn't going to get back to how it used to be.  The physical world of creation knows that Christ is returning and groans in anticipation of its Creator coming back. 

What about you?

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