The Ordinary Things of Life

Devotional Reading, September 18, 2023

Think about your priorities. Do they reflect that you are preparing for Eternal Life?

Sadly, we are focusing on the earthly, ordinary things of life that distract us from preparing for the Day of the Lord. The antediluvians—inhabitants of Noah’s era were so preoccupied with their daily tasks and personal desires that they failed to acknowledge the warnings of an impending and great flood that would destroy the earth.

Because of their sinfulness, they could not possess the faith necessary to believe in Noah’s messages, resulting in a lack of desire to enter the ark.

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” —Genesis 6:11

It is phenomenal that the condition of humanity described so many centuries ago is evident again in our world today. Not only are we repeating the same behaviors of those in Noah’s time, but advancements in technology have driven us into a frenzy. We already spend the majority of our free time looking at screens. With the development of AI [Artificial Intelligence] our interest is piqued.

Mentally, we suffer from the negative impacts of spending countless hours staring at screens to keep up with innovation. But the necessity to stay current has produce a life and death adverse effect—believers are suffering from the spiritual desensitization of Jesus’ Second Coming.

The pace of life is one of overwhelming busyness and is filled with numerous voices [secular and religious]. It is the ordinary routine life tasks that result in eating up our time, leaving us no time to worship God every day.

Our Priorities Determine Our Destiny

Busyness has us so mentally and physically fatigued that we do not have time to have a personal relationship with Christ. Or we have those who study the Bible but still live according to their desires because it’s easier to deviate from the truth then to consistently be forced to choose between right and wrong.

“Then Elijah approached all the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people did not answer a word.” —1 Kings 18:21

But our spiritual dilemma requires us to take action and make a choice. Faith, surrender, obedience, prayer, and daily study of the Bible are the non-negotiable requisites for the Christian believer. God must be first!

The apostle Paul said, “I die daily to sin.” We fight a continuous internal battle waged by the desires of our carnal hearts. It is easier to think and do wrong than to live righteously. To remain in God’s will, we must pray the I surrender prayer every day.

The Scriptures define the humility and character that is required by God to receive eternal life. Many have redefined righteous living according to their mindsets and lifestyles. At the end of the day, we should reflect on our thoughts and actions, “Did I do all to the glory of God?”

Are we witnessing to others every day, face-to-face, or through social media? We are not saved by our works, but our works are evidence of our faithful obedience to God’s commands for the spiritual works of every believer.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” —Revelation 22:12

Either we will live our best life on this earth or in the New Heaven and New Earth. We must decide, will our earthly life reflect our priorities or God’s priorities? Each person determines their own destiny by whom they place their love and loyalty. Pleasing self is a form of idol worship.

Yet, Jesus created us as free moral agents. God will never force us to accept His will. But if we choose to follow our agendas then we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we will receive the reward of eternal life for living a self-seeking lifestyle on this earth.

We Require Divine Intervention to be Spiritually Transformed into Christ’s Likeness

“Can people change the color of their skin, or a leopard remove its spots? If they could then you that do nothing but evil could learn to do what is right.” —Jeremiah 13:23, Good News Translation

Although the trending worldviews proclaim that humans possess the powers of manifestation, self-healing, and mind control, we were created with limited abilities. We cannot change ourselves spiritually, mentally, or emotionally. Truthfully, we struggle with the behaviors that we can change. As creatures of habit, even when diagnosed with chronic illnesses, it usually takes a health crisis to initiate a change in an unhealthy lifestyle.

From our desire to be faithful and obedient, we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives to transform our minds and characters into the Righteousness of Christ—Sanctification. Spiritual growth and development are comparable to that of a baby maturing into an adult. It takes a lifetime of human effort and Divine Intervention to change the innate sinful heart into a righteous heart [mind] and character.

We must fully cooperate with Divinity to be changed into the likeness of Christ.

“For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.” —Galatians 5:17

Preparation for eternal life is not a last-minute decision. It is accomplished by putting God first. Praying every day for His will to be revealed followed by our surrender and obedience invites the Holy Spirit’s presence and power into our lives. Spiritual transformation and obedience to God is possible for every believer who is willing to live righteously!

Preparation not only requires us to have an intentional mindset of obedience and the wilful determination to go all the way with God, but we also place boundaries on the ordinary things of life that distract and prevent us from receiving our reward of eternal life.

Scripture: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” —Revelation 3:21

Prayer: God, we are at a crossroads in our lives that requires us to make the decision to prioritize our desires and make the decision to devote ourselves totally to You. Today, we renew our covenant vow with You. Lord, we pray for the strength to put aside the ordinary things that prevent us from faithfully obeying Your Will. We ask this prayer in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.

© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries