A new year means that the grace and mercies of the Lord have been upon us for all the previous years. To wake up each morning is a blessing from God and as I write this article, I can’t help but think how much I don’t deserve to be alive to kick off the year 2011.
We live during a time of lots of uncertainty. We live during a time of instability. There are lots of people giving their take on what the future will bring. But brothers and sisters, we are not called to worry about the future and let that become an obsession. Consider the words of Jesus:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 6:34 - ESV)
So how do we deal with it all? How do we deal with the financial troubles, the wars and rumors of wars, persecutions and the whole 2012 fiasco? Though putting it into practice can be difficult, the answer is simple. It is Jesus. While we take on all sorts of issues and will go through all sorts of situations, consider the words of Jesus once more:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 - ESV)
Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. Meanwhile, life is not easy and the burdens we put ourselves under are not light. When reading these 3 verses in Matthew 11, let us realize that Jesus is inviting us into a communion with Him. And when we commune with Him, that is where we will find relief and we will find the rest that we need to navigate this life. While many times, our prayers to God are about Him doing something for us, the key is that the closer we are to Jesus, those things will naturally be for us.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Matthew 6:31-32 - ESV)
Are you seeking the kingdom, aka becoming closer to Jesus Christ, which means you’re becoming closer to God Himself? This is my hope for every believer out there, including myself, that we become closer to our Lord. For this is the key to endure in faith and to successfully get through anything that Satan, our flesh or this life throws at us. The question isn’t how much God can do for us, it is how close are we to Him?
The Lord is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
(Proverbs 15:29 - ESV)
We can not be close to the Lord and be living out a sinful existence. So if there is sin in your life, repent of it now and seek out God’s forgiveness so you can come into a close fellowship with Him. If you have been walking faithfully with Him (Praise God if you are), then perhaps now is the time to see Jesus for who He really should be in your life. The reason why it is so important to maintain closeness with the Lord is not just because He provides what we need, but He is the very Provision of what we need.
We get our existence from God, who is our Creator (Genesis 1:26-27). God is our Strength and Salvation according to Exodus 15:2. The Lord is our Shield, according to Psalms 3:3. The Lord is the one who fights our battles as our Banner, according to Exodus 17:15. He is also our Provider, according to Genesis 22:14. God in the flesh (Jesus) is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, according to John 1:29. Jesus is also the Prince of Peace and our Counselor (Isaiah 9:6). He is Truth and He is Life (John 14:6) And these are just a sampling of the provision of God.
God doesn’t just work things such as strength, salvation and protection in our lives, He is those very things. This is why we must continually draw near to Him and we will have whatever we need. Praying is good but a relationship with the Lord is even better and prayers within the context of a close relationship with the Lord are powerful. One of the biggest problems among professing believers today is that many of us seek only what we can get from God when we would naturally have everything we need if we simply walked with Him. What is your focus on? Is it Jesus or what Jesus can do for you?
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
(Titus 2:13 - ESV)
Eternal life is not about golden streets and huge mansions. It’s about being able to behold Jesus face to face and to dwell with Him forever. The idea of heaven is only what it is because God dwells there. There are rewards and there are great things associated with knowing God but He is the Prize. Remember, the test in this life isn’t about whether we want to dwell in mansions and be a part of a beautiful golden city. The test in this life is whether we truly love the Lord because God isn’t looking to spend eternity with people who can’t even stand Him in this life. We should desire eternal life because that is how we will spend eternity with Jesus.
Since the relationship between Jesus and His believers are likened to a relationship between a husband and wife, consider this example. It is like an earthly king going to a common woman and wanting to marry her. That common woman can either love him for who he is or she can just want to marry him for his money. If she loves him for who he is, she not only gets to experience true love but also gets to receive all the benefits naturally for being the king’s wife. But if she only loves what he can provide and not him, then one day he will become enlightened about this and call off the marriage to her because he realizes that she will only be faithful to him as long as he provides the riches that she loves more than him.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
(Philippians 1:29 - ESV)
We will be rewarded for serving Christ but we are going to suffer simply because we follow Him. But are we going to continue in the faith in spite of our sufferings because we love Jesus that much or will we stop following Him at that point and distance ourselves from Him because it may cost us our lives? We’re living in a time when people are committing suicide, robbing and murdering for the sake of money. Some of these people are even “professing” Christians who have been deluded into thinking that they follow Christ when their real lord is money and the things of this world.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
(Matthew 6:24 - ESV)
If you are an American, understand that the god of this land is money, not the Almighty God. I am a citizen of America so I can only speak about here, not everywhere else. In this country, there exists a greed that unlike anything that I know. We live in a country of corporations that are never satisfied with their greed and even church institutions have modeled themselves after the corporations to become multi-million dollar empires. And the way they get thousands of people to come is by telling them what they want to hear instead of the truth and by appealing to their flesh instead of the spiritual man.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
(2 Timothy 4:3-4 - ESV)
The plea that God has put on my heart is for me to draw as close to Him as I’ve ever been. And I pass this along to you. I will not promise you a year of prosperity and financial blessings. The only thing I will tell you is that if you continue in Christ, you will continue to have all spiritual blessings and your soul will prosper. Some of us will have a good year according to worldly standards and some of us won’t. But the key is that we must endure in the faith regardless of what our circumstances are and keep our eyes on Jesus. He is the Prize.
When you have a moment, read the book of Revelation. And do not read it in order to try and find out the meaning of every symbol and spend time dissecting whether the book will primarily intended for the people of that time or today. But pay close attention to what believers in the book go through and the reward they have for staying true to Jesus through it all.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
(Colossians 3:1-4 - ESV)
Keep your eyes on the prize brothers and sisters. The prize is Jesus Christ.
We live during a time of lots of uncertainty. We live during a time of instability. There are lots of people giving their take on what the future will bring. But brothers and sisters, we are not called to worry about the future and let that become an obsession. Consider the words of Jesus:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 6:34 -
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Matthew 6:31-
The Lord is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
(Proverbs 15:29 -
We can not be close to the Lord and be living out a sinful existence. So if there is sin in your life, repent of it now and seek out God’s forgiveness so you can come into a close fellowship with Him. If you have been walking faithfully with Him (Praise God if you are), then perhaps now is the time to see Jesus for who He really should be in your life. The reason why it is so important to maintain closeness with the Lord is not just because He provides what we need, but He is the very Provision of what we need.
We get our existence from God, who is our Creator (Genesis 1:26-
God doesn’t just work things such as strength, salvation and protection in our lives, He is those very things. This is why we must continually draw near to Him and we will have whatever we need. Praying is good but a relationship with the Lord is even better and prayers within the context of a close relationship with the Lord are powerful. One of the biggest problems among professing believers today is that many of us seek only what we can get from God when we would naturally have everything we need if we simply walked with Him. What is your focus on? Is it Jesus or what Jesus can do for you?
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
(Titus 2:13 -
Eternal life is not about golden streets and huge mansions. It’s about being able to behold Jesus face to face and to dwell with Him forever. The idea of heaven is only what it is because God dwells there. There are rewards and there are great things associated with knowing God but He is the Prize. Remember, the test in this life isn’t about whether we want to dwell in mansions and be a part of a beautiful golden city. The test in this life is whether we truly love the Lord because God isn’t looking to spend eternity with people who can’t even stand Him in this life. We should desire eternal life because that is how we will spend eternity with Jesus.
Since the relationship between Jesus and His believers are likened to a relationship between a husband and wife, consider this example. It is like an earthly king going to a common woman and wanting to marry her. That common woman can either love him for who he is or she can just want to marry him for his money. If she loves him for who he is, she not only gets to experience true love but also gets to receive all the benefits naturally for being the king’s wife. But if she only loves what he can provide and not him, then one day he will become enlightened about this and call off the marriage to her because he realizes that she will only be faithful to him as long as he provides the riches that she loves more than him.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
(Philippians 1:29 -
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
(Matthew 6:24 -
If you are an American, understand that the god of this land is money, not the Almighty God. I am a citizen of America so I can only speak about here, not everywhere else. In this country, there exists a greed that unlike anything that I know. We live in a country of corporations that are never satisfied with their greed and even church institutions have modeled themselves after the corporations to become multi-
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
(2 Timothy 4:3-
When you have a moment, read the book of Revelation. And do not read it in order to try and find out the meaning of every symbol and spend time dissecting whether the book will primarily intended for the people of that time or today. But pay close attention to what believers in the book go through and the reward they have for staying true to Jesus through it all.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
(Colossians 3:1-
Keep your eyes on the prize brothers and sisters. The prize is Jesus Christ.
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