DEBUT (Part 1 of 4)

DEBUT (Part 1 of 4)

In a simple yet incredible way, our life on earth is like a debut in the drama of eternity.  When there was nothing but God, in His Sovereignty, He conceived the plot and ordained the acts.  In His Power and Providence, He produced the props and directs the participants.  And finally, in His Righteousness, He functions as the ultimate ‘critic’, judging the performance of every living soul.

And although God knows everything that was, that is, and that is yet to come, we, being bound by time on earth, have a very limited perspective on eternity.  We exist in the moment, look back to the past and long for something in the future. 

This four part devotion focuses on the outlook Christians should maintain concerning the past, the present and the future.  With faith in God, we must learn to:

• Appreciate the Past – we can’t Change yesterday
• Anticipate the Future – we don’t Control tomorrow
• Acknowledge the Present – Concentrate on our purposes today

Scripture

Psalm 63

¹O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

² To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

³ Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

⁴ Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

⁶ When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

⁷ Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

⁸ My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

⁹ But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

¹⁰ They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

In the next part of this devotion, we will examine a proper view of the past.  For Part 3 we will discuss our outlook on the future.  And finally, in Part 4 we will explore an appropriate attitude about our lives today.

Prayer

Eternal God, my rock and my strength, as I struggle with the concept of eternity and my limited human capacity to understand it, I pray that You will bring peace in this moment.  In all things, past, present and future, I know that I must trust in You.  Forgive me when I get stressed or hung up on things I can’t change or control.  May Your Word and Your Holy Spirit enable and empower me to maintain a positive attitude about the course of my life and the events that take place around me.  I love You Father.  Praise to Your Holy Name.  In Christ’s precious name I pray. Amen.

H.O.S.T (Part 5 of 5)

H.O.S.T (Part 5 of 5)

H.O.S.T. is a five part devotion dealing with our attitudes towards God, how we approach Him and the resulting impact on our character and in our lives. Our ultimate goal should always be to honor and glorify God in all we do (thoughts, attitudes, desires, actions and words).

Part 1 was posted on January 19, 2013. Reading Part 1 will provide an overview of this five part series and cover Trait 1 – Humble. Part 2 was posted on January 26 and deals with being Obedient. Trait 3 – Submissive was posted on February 2. And on February 9, the last Trait – Trust was posted.

Part 5 – Self-Reinforcement

With these four basic attitudes associated with our approach to God covered, I want to present a topic I call self-reinforcement. Self-reinforcement is the wonderful truth about how these traits work together to strengthen and sustain each other.


Ø When you humble yourself before God, you will obey Him.


       Ø When you obey Him, you develop a submissive attitude.
 

            Ø When you submit to God, you will put your trust in Him.
 

            Ø As you trust Him, you become more submissive.


      Ø As you submit to Him, you become more obedient.


Ø As you obey Him, you become more humble.

 

Now that God has remade you to be more humble, if you continue to die to yourself daily, a never ending Holy Spirit empowered cycle of self-reinforcement has completed its first full sequence. You will now pick up your cross, follow Christ, and move on to obey more diligently, submit more freely, trust more completely (and on, and on, and on…). This ongoing process (part of your sanctification as a Christian) will draw you closer and closer to Jesus Christ.

• Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

The key to this self-reinforcement is appreciating and understanding that it only works because of:

 

The Character of God

• Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

The Sacrifice of Christ

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

• Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Prayer

Gracious loving Father, I praise You for Your goodness, I praise You for Your patience. I fall so very short of Your standards. Thank You for the righteousness You have given me through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Yet in my righteous position before You, I confess the weakness of my flesh and the sin in my life. But You continue to work in me, cleansing me, perfecting me, loving me. Sanctify me by the ongoing process of dying to myself and conforming me to the image of Christ. Make me more humble, give me an obedient attitude, grant me a submissive spirit, and bless me with a deep trust for You and Your Word. HOST is just a small part of what You are doing in my life. But I pray that I am faithful to You, as You are faithful to Your promises. Glory to You in the highest. I praise You and pray to You in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God, my Savior. Amen

 

 

H.O.S.T (Part 4 of 5)

H.O.S.T (Part 4 of 5)

 

H.O.S.T. is a five part devotion dealing with our attitudes towards God, how we approach Him and the resulting impact on our character and in our lives. Our ultimate goal should always be to honor and glorify God in all we do (thoughts, attitudes, desires, actions and words).

 

Part 1 was posted on January 19, 2013. Reading Part 1 will provide an overview of this five part series and cover Trait 1 – Humble. Part 2 was posted on January 26 and deals with being Obedient. Trait 3 – Submissive was posted on February 2.

 

Trait 4 – Trusting

 

Definition – Confidence that all God says is true, all that He promises He will do, all that He asks and commands is best for us and good. This confidence shapes our actions, attitudes, thoughts and desires.

 

Scripture

• Luke 23:46 (Christ trusted the Father) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 (God is worthy of our trust) Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Results – Confidence in knowing that God is directing your path. Freedom experienced by resting in God’s sovereignty.

• Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

Cautions

• Laziness – Waiting on God to take care of things without actively participating in His plan for you.
• Irresponsibility – Not taking responsibility or initiative with regards to one’s own actions or responsibilities.
• Hypocrisy – Saying you trust in God, but inwardly relying on yourself, money, others, …
• Matthew 26:49 (the words of Judas Iscariot) And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

Connections - Trust starts with your faith in God (which He gives us – Ephesians 2:8). Trust grows as God demonstrates His faithfulness and you acknowledge that He (not luck, not chance) is in control. If you don’t trust God, you won’t submit to Him.

 

Prayer

 

Heavenly Father, You are worthy of trust. I know that all I have been through, all that You allow to happen to me and all that You have planned for me are for my good and Your glory. Forgive me when I doubt You. Forgive me when I second guess You. Forgive me when I don’t trust You. May Your Spirit guide me to peace and security as I seek Your will through prayer, Bible study and wise counsel from Christian brothers and sisters. May my thoughts and actions demonstrate genuine trust in You. In Christ’s name, Amen.

H.O.S.T (Part 3 of 5)

H.O.S.T (Part 3 of 5)

 

H.O.S.T. is a five part devotion dealing with our attitudes towards God, how we approach Him and the resulting impact on our character and in our lives. Our ultimate goal should always be to honor and glorify God in all we do (thoughts, attitudes, desires, actions and words).

 

Part 1 was posted on January 19, 2013. Reading Part 1 will provide an overview of this five part series and cover Trait 1 – Humble. Part 2 was posted on January 26 and deals with being Obedient.

 

Trait 3 – Submissive

 

Definition – To recognize God’s authority, power and providence and then respond with a positive attitude by surrendering all that you are to Him.

 

Scripture

• Luke 22:41-42 (Christ was submissive to the Father) And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
• Matthew 6:10 (Christ taught us to pray in submission) Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Results – Submissive Christians perform their roles and responsibilities while developing a more joyful disposition and attitude. The God ordained order of things is demonstrated, reinforced and fulfilled.

• Acts 21:14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

Cautions

• Rebelling against God as a result of being tainted by the world’s view of submission.
• Focusing only on the servant aspect of your relationship with God.
• Submission in personal or other relationships without appropriate reciprocation.
• Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Connections – Obedience is defined by your actions. Submission is defined by your attitude. Submission makes sustained obedience possible.

• Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Prayer

 

Dear Lord, I know that at times when I obey, my rebellious nature and bad attitude stand in the way of true submission. Please forgive me. I long to experience the joy and freedom that accompany a genuinely submissive attitude towards You. I pray that through Your Word and the power or Your Holy Spirit, You will change my heart and mind to be humble, obedient and submissive. Thank You for Your grace, mercy and love. I love You Lord. I pray humbly and boldly in the name of my Savior, and by the power of His shed blood for my sin, Amen.