“All that glitters is not gold” is a message of awareness to the hidden deceptions that exist behind the beautiful and the glamorous. We receive the warning to be cautious of the people, places, and things that appeal to and delight our five senses. The Apostle Paul tells us, You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 1 Corinthians 10:23
Remember to pray and ask for help from the Holy Spirit. We will always have conflict between the desire for carnal–worldly pleasures and the things of God, which are spiritual. Even so, God has a Spiritual Team to provide immediate help and assist us to be Overcomers!
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT
Today, I took a giant leap into the abyss of my mind to think about God’s love for humanity. I made it personal. Did I really comprehend the depth of God’s love for me? Sadly, I came to the conclusion that I did not understand God’s love. Because if I did, I would have rock-solid faith and trust in Him 100% of the time. Doubts or worries would not appear as dark clouds when I faced life’s challenges. I was perplexed as I prayed for God to give me knowledge, wisdom, and discernment of the complexities of love.
He called a little child and set him before them, and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-3, Amplified Bible.
As I read Matthew 18, verses 2-3, I breathed, “Thank you, God.” God’s love is not complex or complicated, He is my Father, and I am His daughter. Peace and joy entered my heart because that’s the relationship that He always intended for me to have with Him. The human effort of bonding with my Heavenly Father is one that requires daily commitment. Now, it’s up to me.
Most of us can agree that since January 2020, we have faced adversities as never before. Even if we did not sustain a direct impact, we have family members and friends who are in an ongoing recovery phase of their lives. Still, God is in control of His world. “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27
The adversities that we face are known to God before they impact our lives. Many have made a commitment to serve God. Yet, they continue to serve God according to their own thought processes. Serving God is a lifetime covenant vow and requires total surrender. How does surrender apply to our lives? We include God in every aspect of our lives. We pray, give our challenges, worries, and anxieties to God, and wait for His answers. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7.
Humility is the key to approaching God. And that is when the battle begins to rage within our minds. The wheels begin to turn. Yes, we can solve this challenge! Using prior life experience, educational achievements, critical thinking skills, and astute judgment, we develop fail-proof strategies [from our perspective]. But self-reliance is a bitter fruit of pride. When our feeble attempts continue to fail, leaving us discouraged, we may feel that God has failed or forgotten about our circumstances. God knows! God cares!
Yes, God knows that we need His divine intervention. And He patiently waits for us to exhaust all of our options. God waits for us to realize that we cannot live without Him. We do not have to wait and approach God in desperation. There is a better way to serve God. Admitting that He is our only option is a result of our faith and trust. When our challenges arise, all we need to do is immediately pray a prayer of faith [having the mindset of total belief in God] and ask God for help. When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:15
Even Jesus was humble and obedient until death. He went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39
Often God will use trials and hardships to reveal the character traits that expose our lack of faith and trust in Him. Throughout the Bible, we read accounts of individuals who disobeyed God because they did not seek His will first. Serving God requires us to put Him first. How do we know that we are putting God first? The utilization of our time is an indication of whether or not God is first and foremost. We have 24 hours. How much time do we worship, study, and pray?
Remember that our covenant vow with God is life-long. We are disciples–followers who must possess the mindset of “Not my will, But your will be done in my life.” Will you trust God to bring complete restoration to your life? Only God can give us the best options. “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24
God, we thank you for the blessing of the Sabbath day. We pray to receive peace as we extend agape Love to others. We pray for each individual that is in conflict regarding the 7th day Sabbath. We love you. Please accept our worship of humility and gratitude. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
We can ask anything in Jesus’ name. As long as our request is in God’s will and plans for us, we can expect wonderful blessings. Who isn’t overjoyed by a new job, home, vehicle, marriage, or the little one that will be born in nine months. Yes, we proclaim that God is good because His plans [and our desires] for us have finally come to fruition. But how do we react when God subtracts–takes away our comfortable lifestyle, the unequally yoked relationship, the marriage that dishonors God, or the job that has provided career growth and financial stability, but prevents us from spending time with God?
As believers, we have the tendency to blame spiritual wickedness for our losses. Still, we must remember that Satan cannot take action or cause any changes in our lives that are not approved by God. The losses are required because God is redirecting our focus and changing our character. Adversities force us to humble ourselves. Eventually, we admit that God is asking more from us than we are presently giving to Him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6. God requires faithful, obedient servants who place their complete trust in Him. Refer to the Book of Job.
People Who Witnessed the Mighty Power of God
God delivered the Israelites from enslavement to bless them with new beginnings. His divine plan was the gift of Canaan, the Promised Land. The Egyptians not only resented the God that Israel served, they were also afraid that eventually the slaves would rebel and overtake them. So, they appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. Exodus 1:11. Even after the Egyptians suffered from the plagues, it was only after Pharaoh’s son died did he agree to free the Israelites.
The Israelites witnessed miracle after miracle, God kept them safe from the plagues, and the population of the Israelite Nation increased despite the severe conditions. The Red Sea miracle caused elation and they sang a Song of Deliverance in Exodus chapter 15. Three days after their song of gratitude, they faced a hardship of not finding water to drink. No one thought to pray and ask God to supply them with water. The emancipated sojourners complained about the struggle through the wilderness they had to endure to reach the Promised Land.
The Human Reaction to the Changes Leading to Deliverance
The journey from Egypt to Canaan should have taken 11 days. But Exodus 16:2-3 reads, There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” For their complaints against God, they wandered in the desolate wilderness for 40 years. In fact, the freed Israelites, none except for Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who brought back a good report and believed that God would help them succeed were allowed to enter the Promised Land. It was the next generation who entered Canaan.
Spiritually, we are the Nation of Israel. We have the tendency to look back and create a totally different situation than the one that actually existed. The subtraction of relationships, jobs, or other life events are orchestrated by God. Our Omniscient Father knows the future. If God allowed loss in your life, trust Him. God never makes mistakes. When Job complained, God asked, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!” Job 38:4-5
Many of us are so caught up in our earthly lifestyles, we quickly forget: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3.
A word of caution, God, has no problem leaving us in the wilderness. We can complain, cry, or blame others, but God says, For I am the Lord, I change not. Malachi 3:6. The changes in our lives are permitted by God. Obedience, patience, and humility are the character traits that God requires of us. We do not have to repeat history. Let the wilderness mindset go! The hardship, test, or trial that seems to last forever can result from our disobedience. We must not reminiscence on former things. The Apostle Paul reminds us, Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead… Philippians 3:13. Move forward by praying for revelation and guidance from the Holy Spirit.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11. Pray, repent, and ask God to reveal His plans for your life. Our future, if we choose, is eternal life in the New Heaven and New Earth. God desires that we live the best, peaceful, and productive lives until His Son, Jesus Christ, comes again. Stay in His perfect will. In the turbulence of adversity, we must possess a spirit of gratitude. Acknowledge the Love and Omnipotence of God. His promises are always, “Yes, and Amen.” Humility and obedience cause us to accept our human limitations. Remember, we can never give ourselves a more prosperous life than our Heavenly Father.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
The Era of the Voices
The Christians of former years, Dr. Martin Luther King, Billy Graham, Robert W. Shambach, E. E. Cleveland, Charles E. Bradford, and Esther E. Johnson used their voices to preach God’s plan of Salvation for humanity. Certainly, there were many other obedient disciples, not limited to these men and woman of God, just identifying the persons who had an impact on my life. And in those days, Christian believers never had a worry, anxiety, or fear. No, we knew that it was our duty to God to have die-hard faith and complete, unwavering trust in God. And we believed and prepared every day for the Second Coming of Jesus. Back in the day, our voices were lifted with joy. Our priorities were to walk from door to door in the communities passing out tracts, inviting people to church, and witnessing to anyone, to everyone who would listen.
The Century of Silence
Now that we live in the last days and have the convenience of global social media platforms, we are silenced. Our voices shout in excitement for football games, and we use our high-tech skills to create visuals that defy our perception of reality. We stash our money away as we check our financial portfolios, contently sitting in our magnificent homes, smiling and telling ourselves, “Yes, you have done well for yourself.”
As the seconds become minutes that transition into days, we have reached the 21st century–the Last Days. Instead of the fervency that would be expected due to fulfillment of biblical prophecy, we have become the Church of Laodicea [Revelation 3]. Giving only to God what we think He deserves. Once or twice a week, we attend church, give tithe and offerings, or donate to non-profits like OXFAM, and we applaud ourselves because we feel, “at least I did my part in serving God.”
The Culprit Responsible for Silenced Voices
We console ourselves by blaming the pandemic. After all, we are in the second year of the pandemic that has ruined many of our plans. How can we safely witness to others? Yes, the Coronavirus and its variants are still attacking and consuming human life. But let us face the truth, we are still conducting our activities of daily living because life must move forward. Put on your mask, gloves, grab a handful of tracts, purchase low-cost Bibles, and do a walk-through up and down the supermarket aisles, or choose a Wal-Mart, or any store parking lot. We will never know who is despondent and planning to end their hopelessness. Doing our part by giving them a tract or Bible would change the course of their lives.
It is not just the duty of the dedicated Pastors who are preaching the biblical truth [with few members] to “feed the sheep.” The mega churches have their agenda which rarely matches that of God’s divine purpose. Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior includes an obligation. “The Great Commission,” is a requirement that all disciples of Jesus Christ must fulfill. Using our social media is an excellent method to spread the Good News that a Savior died: His name is Jesus, and He will give you a peaceful life. He has plans of immortality in a New Heaven and New Earth. Read John 14:1-3 and Revelation chapters 21-22. Yes, the scoffers will readily post their comments attempting to sabotage and make you feel defeated. Use the tool, Delete and Block. And keep going!
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
Turn up the Volume! Lift up your voice and proclaim the precious gift of Salvation. Tell them the Son of God, Jesus Christ who wore a crown of thorns is coming back this time with a crown of majesty and glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let us do our part and the Holy Spirit will complete the work in every person that accepts the Jesus as their personal Savior.
Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 CSB
Can you imagine if every spoken word and action that a Christian believer would say or do would be from the fruit of LOVE? God is Love! Jesus’ life was completely perfect because He possessed a loving and compassionate heart. Self-evaluate, where do you stand on the loving hearts platform? Do you have a heart bubbling over with agape love for God and others? Our character matters greatly to God. Galatians 5:22-23
In reading the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we are given a glimpse of Jesus through the eyes of four men. Jesus, our role model provided spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical healing along with feeding multitudes throughout His short life of 33 years. His disciple John wrote: “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25 CSB
Certainly, with the overabundance of financial resources that many present-day disciples possess, we should reflect Jesus’ compassionate care for others. Our responsibility to help those in need far exceeds random acts of kindness or giving to the Benevolent fund at church. Remember, only what we do for Christ will count in the end. Pray and ask God how you can help others. Love and Serve God, Love and Serve Others, and Love Yourself.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me. Matthew 25:35-36 CSB
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 
You must be logged in to post a comment.