Month: August 2016

Living in the moment

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

            “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Mathew 6: 34.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            Apprehension, fear, and anxiety are destructive emotions that cause turmoil in the hearts and minds of most human beings.  Although the majority of our worries revolve around some real (or imagined) future difficulty, they usually cause us distress in the present.  Such uncertainties can steal our joy and distract us from the work that God has currently called us to accomplish.  Therefore, Jesus commands every believer to live in the moment and to focus wholly and completely upon the blessings, cares, and concerns of today.

            In the Old Testament book of exodus we are given a wonderful illustration that emphasizes the importance of living in the moment.  After leaving Egypt and passing through the Red Sea the Jewish people wandered about in the wilderness for forty years.  Each day God miraculously fed them by causing a delicious bread to condense and accumulate on the desert floor.  No one was allowed to collect and store excess amounts of bread (except on the day prior to the Sabbath.)  Instead, they were only permitted to eat what was necessary to sustain them daily.  Violating this law meant focusing on tomorrow’s needs and concerns [When asked how one ought to pray Jesus reiterated this doctrine; we are told to ask God to, “give us this day our daily bread.”  Not our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread; but rather, “our daily bread.”]

            Fear of tomorrow serves only to distract us from the joys, blessings, and obligations of today.  When we focus on the present we are fully able to accomplish God’s will.  As we trust in the Lord we can begin to cherish every second, of every hour, of every day.  To live now is to live for God; knowing that His love is a present gift and not a future possibility.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, help us to live in the moment and to rely upon You for our daily needs.  May our concerns and our cares be firmly rooted in the present.  If our hearts possess fears and anxieties related to the future, remove them, that we may be joyful, loving, and better able to serve You today.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

The Resurrection

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

              “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him” (Luke 20: 34 – 38.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            The resurrection from the dead is a central tenant of the Christian faith.  Jesus Himself rose from the dead, revealing that everyone who has faith in Him will never die; instead, although the body may temporarily perish, the believer’s spirit continues on in God’s eternal kingdom.  When God establishes a new heaven and a new earth, every faithful soul will receive an eternal body.  A body that does not grow old; diseases will be obliterated; death and suffering will not exist.  Pregnancy will no longer be necessary; marriage also will be a thing of the past.  Everyone will live in perfect fellowship with one another, and with God Himself.

            To prove that there is life after death, Jesus quoted an Old Testament scripture.  In Exodus 3: 6 God says to Moses, “I am […] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (present tense.)  He doesn’t say I was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (past tense.)  Although Abraham Isaac and Jacob were physically dead, they were, and are still spiritually alive, living peacefully in God’s eternal kingdom.

            There comes a time when every human being must make the journey from this life to the next.  For those who believe, death is not the end; it is merely the beginning.  Faith in Jesus Christ is the vessel that carries us in to the presence of the almighty and everlasting Father.  May your faith remain strong as you are transformed in to the image of your savior; and may God comfort you as you eagerly look forward to your eternal future with great hope and joy.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we faithfully await the resurrection of the dead.  We know that you have prepared a special place for us in Your eternal Kingdom, and we look forward to that day with great pleasure and overwhelming gladness.  Sanctify us, and fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might do Your works and accomplish Your will in this place.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.