Reflect

Israel is a peculiar nation. When the Lord said to go and occupy the land, they hesitated,they doubted, they rebelled.

So the Lord says, because they treated the Lord with contempt, He is going to abandon this generation. For 40 years they would wander in wilderness. All except Joshua and Caleb who gave a good report on the promised land, would perish.

Now what do they do now? Num:14:39-40 says that when they realized the truth, they were filled with grief and the next morning they decide - okay then we will go.

No remorse, no repentance.

Just a change in direction. I don't think there is any trust involved. Nor is there any feeling of "Oh! I've hurt God"

Probably because their aim was their comfort. Be it going back to Egypt or now when this promised land has become more practical and makes more sense. Their God was their belly. They were not God oriented but self oriented.

Dear one, it is not about what you will do or what you desire to do or what will happen to you.

Lazarus had to die. Why? Inorder that God's name would be glorified.

It is actually about God. His glory. His character. And we being created in His image are only mere reflectors of Him.

The moon can never shine on its own. It just reflects the sun's light the way it can. It need not bother whether it's full moon or crescent or no moon. It's job is to reflect. Likewise our purpose in life is to be vessels of God's purpose and glory. Not seeking our glory. It's not that we shouldn't have desires. But we can't be adamant. "Not my will but yours"

Secondly. How genuinely repentant we are?About our words, about our thoughts and actions? Many a times we repent superficially so that all would go well with us. God calls it defiance.

A genuine repentance coming from our hearts and not from our mouths alone is rooted on the feeling that I have disappointed God and have hurt Him. Not to get things done for me.

It looks at God's heart, not His hands.

Comments

Blessed. #faith8

Heb:11:20-21 When things were still unseen, they blessed their children. Looking forward positively when things were blurry, when things were uncertain, when future looks bleak, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau; Jacob blessed Joseph's son's. Isa:54:13. All your children will be taught by the Lord and great will be their peace. Psalm:127:3. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Psalm:128:3. Children will be like olive shoots around your table. It is the Almighty, Sovereign God who promised this and He will not lie.

Weak. #faith12

Heb:11:34 Whose weakness was turned to strength. Do not be anxious dear one. Do not worry. Are you inherently weak in some areas? In faith that weak point will turn to your strength, the Bible promises. There has been circumstances when the most difficult and discouraging times of your life, you will experience as the most blessed time when you look retrospectively because He was present in those times of trouble. You will learn something worthwhile. You will see the very thing which you were weak at, will turn out to be a blessing for you in the spiritual realm. You will realise that, when you are weak you are strong because you trust in a strong God. You trust in His guiding delivering hand rather than your own instincts. You grow in faith. You gain strength to trust in Him more. He will strengthen and He will guide. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You will realise that the very things that you are weak at, turn out to be your strong stories of test...

Saw. #faith9

Heb::11:22-23 Joseph saw the future, that his children would go back from Egypt. Therefore arranged to take his bones with them. Moses' parents saw an extra ordinary child in Moses and therefore they protected him from the king's edict. How did they know this? How did they have these personal promises? As result of regular communication with Him who promises, they received these promises and because they were sure that these came from a true God, they acted upon it. What are the personal promises you have received from God. Our God loves to communicate. He loves to give a promise before He does something. That proves He is true. When was the last time you got one, shows how intimate is your relationship with the loving true one. Get promised Act upon it. See His goodness in the land of living. Image credit: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/mothers-hand-on-the-bible--78813062203667778/

Reasoned. #faith7

Heb:11:19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. Who said Christian life is unreasonable? Abraham reasoned based on the One who does things His way. It looks illogical to you because your understanding is limited. Nothing is impossible for God. He is a God who created everything from nothingness. The Sovereign ruler. Abraham believed in this God. And it was natural for him to believe in the normalcy of God. What God could do, he reasoned and therefore he did receive. Believe realistically and logically in the God who is all Powerful. That is reasonable. Look at God not with your finite lenses. Look at the world with His infinitely focussed lens and it will make sense. He is a God who makes impossible things possible. But that is normal for Him. Image credit: https://eccles.utah.edu/news/why-well-reasoned-theories-are-more-important-than-crunched-numbers/

Not worthy. #faith13

The world was not worthy of them. Heb:11:38 The world and its blessings eluded them. Fools they look because they chased something they did not receive. The world was not worthy of them. Because of their faith, they deserved much more than what this world could offer them. V:40. God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us, would they be made perfect. Inorder to live with a heavenly or eternal perspective you need to have faith. That eternal perspective is what you are destined for. Without which you are incomplete. And without you heaven is incomplete. Living with a finite perspective of what this world could offer will limit you. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human mind has conceived, that things God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Cor:2:9

Nothing. #faith11

Heb::11:29-31 Red sea crossed. Jericho walls fell. Rahab included. Your God is the God who makes possible the impossibilities. And you trust in this God and therefore He will make your impossibilities possible too. Because He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He will not change. The mountain might look huge. But your God is bigger still. For God nothing is impossible. The same Spirit who raised the Son from the dead, resides in you. Jer:32:27 I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Image credit: https://wallpapercave.com/impossible-is-nothing-wallpapers

Love for money

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Heb:13:5 Love of money is the root of all evil. 1 Tim:6:10 Not money perse. But love for money is the root of all evil. You will never be satisfied. America's first billionaire John D. Rockfeller was asked, how much money was enough? He replied, "Just a little more." This endless pit of discontentment and greed will never be quenched. Money is needed. But love of money is dangerous. It will never satisfy. You compromise on the basics and discredit the ideologies when you try to be filled. But it is like drinking salty water. The hunger just keeps increasing. The solution is to be content with what you have. The promise that follows in v:5b-6 gives you the key. Because God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. W hat can man do to me? That the Lord is enough. That He will provide. That He ...

The halfbaked Bard

Search This Blog