Are you so busy working for God that you never spend any time with God?

It is easy to justify doing good works for God as a substitute for spending real, intimate, quality, personal time with God. For example, a youth pastor may spend many hours planning events for kids—preparing the music, setting up the games, arranging the transportation, and even preparing a brief message. However, none of that is a substitute for spending personal time with God—reading the Bible, praying, seeking God's guidance, worshiping, and just sitting in His presence.

Unfortunately, many people are often so caught up in other activities that we use them as an excuse for not spending time with God. Instead, they need to make a firm decision to put God first in our lives. For example, King David, who certainly had many opportunities to fill his time with other activities, knew that spending time with God is an absolute necessity—a vital need. In Psalm 27:4, he said that God was the most important thing in his life: One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple

Verse Of The Day; 1 Peter 1:18-19

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19

Ressurection Sunday

Can you imagine how Peter and John felt on Saturday? I’m sure their hearts were broken and their hopes were annihilated. Their dreams were shattered. Surely they thought, “He’s dead, it’s over, everything we thought was going to happen won’t…” It must have been a very long day for them. One writer put it this way, “it is neither the dark Fridays nor the bright Sundays that require the greatest grace. The greatest grace is needed during the eternally long Saturdays of life when we are caught in the middle. It is where we seek to get through our grief, and get on with life. It is where our former vision of what life would be has failed and we are desperate for a new one . . .. Hope is never more needed than on Saturdays.”

Then came Sunday. . .

Luke 24:1–12 captures the wonderful story of the resurrection. Luke tells us that when the women came to the tomb, they looked, and the stone was not there. It wasn’t in front of the grave. One ancient manuscript says that the stone was so big it would have taken twenty men to push it up the groove—a stone that big would have weighed between one and a half and two tons.

The words that are used by Mark and Luke to describe the position of the stone tell us that that this was the first miracle of Easter. Next, they discovered that the sepulcher was empty. Some people don’t understand that the stone was not rolled away so Jesus could get out. Jesus could have come out without the stone being moved. The stone was rolled away so that they people could see in!

Luke 24:3 says, “Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” The tomb was empty. This is radically important—The Gospel of Christ rest squarely on this very point. Jesus wasn’t there and nobody, not the religious leaders, or the Romans could prove it. His body was gone.

All the famous tombs in the world from Westminster Abbey in London to the Tomb of St. Thomas in India to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington are famous for the bodies that they contain. The tomb of Jesus is famous for what it does not contain. It was empty on that first Resurrection Sunday, and it is still empty today. Its emptiness is a constant reminder of the angels’ first message to the women: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen!”

How did the disciples react? Luke 24:12 tells us, “Peter arose and ran to the tomb.” After that awful Saturday came Resurrection Sunday and Peter ran to the empty tomb! John ran as well (John 20:4). They ran to experience the Good News.

What about you? Can you feel in your heart the miracle of the Resurrection and know that Christ died and rose again for you? Are you ready, like John and Peter to run to the empty tomb? Are you ready to commit your life to the risen Savior and let Him heal and restore you?

He had power over death and that same power can help you today. Run; don’t walk to or ignore the empty tomb. Your eternal life depends on it.

True Worship Should Create God-Intoxicated People

Everyone worships. Some people worship money, possessions, popularity, prosperity, or other people. They may not sing worship songs to their bank account, but by the way they live they worship (i.e. give value to) their money.

Worship is not just singing songs in church; worship is a lifestyle that places value on its object. True worship of God means that the one worshiping is placing value on God and putting him at the center of life.

That's what Jesus was getting at when he said, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24)

Notice Jesus didn't say anything about singing "worship songs." To worship in spirit and in truth means that everything in your life is centered around God and guided by him -- that your choices reflect him, that your actions are directed by him, and that you words are filtered through him.

In short, true worship is such that the one worshipping should be so enveloped and surrounded in the presence (the spirit) of God.

Quiet time and fellowship

Quiet time and fellowship with God—the most important part of each day. Use these free devotionals from Bible Gateway to help you focus on God each day.

The Idolatry of Self-Pity

Self-pity and unforgiveness are two things that require self exaltation.  Self-pity exalts feelings over the Word of God.  Unforgiveness exalts lust for revenge over the Word of God.  These things exalt themselves against the knowledge of God; (Ref. 2Corinthians 10:5).  I believe we could equivalently say, “They exalt themselves against the authority of God.”

I have been teaching a series on the authority of the believer.  So the word authority is fresh on my mind.  “God” is an authority word.  “Blessed” is an authority word.  It means empowered (or authorized) to prosper.  Authorization doesn’t mean automatic manifestation.  You must exercise your authority from a place of righteousness.  “Exalt” is an authority word.  “Law” is an authority word.  God’s word is God’s law; God’s authority.  There is no authority on any level or any realm or kingdom, without words.  Words authorize.

The negative feelings of self-pity and unforgiveness give more authority to feelings than to the Word of God.  If we indulge in these, we make ourselves god in our own lives.  That is idolatry.

I don’t want to make this a long article.  I’m interested in what you have to say about these thoughts.  I Googled the word “blog”.  It is a truncation of the phrase “web log”.  In the spirit of that, as I realized in the middle of the night that I was having some thoughts new to me, I decided to blog them so I could see what you think.

 

Hit me back.

 

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits (Ps. 68:19)"


"Are your days loaded with benefits? Let’s take another glance at the benefits of staying in God’s presence.


When you look back over your life, does your soul cry out "Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!　Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:" (Ps. 103:1-2)?


David, a man under the Old Covenant, penned this awe-inspiring Psalm. He continued on to write, "[He] forgives all your iniquities, [He] heals all your diseases, [He] redeems your life from destruction, [He] crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, [He] satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps. 103:3-5).


David’s words speak of profound restoration and reward. You are restored to righteousness (or right standing before Him). You are restored to health. Your life is made rich and abundant. You’re rewarded with intensely intimate kindness and mercy. You’re rewarded with quieted yearnings and satisfied longings. And, you’re rewarded with a literal renewal of your youth. The years that once seemed lost to you are lost no more. He [Jesus] makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).

What’s most intriguing about Psalm 103 is that a man under the Law wrote it. David lived during the time of annual sin sacrifices. The Israelites had to continually offer the blood of bulls and goats, year by year, to temporarily atone for their sins. Of course, the blood of bulls and goats could never make the people perfect [totally purified] only more sin conscious (Heb. 10:1-4).

Fortunately for us, Jesus, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself on our behalf as the perfect and complete fulfillment to the demands of the Law. If, under the Old Testament, the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sanctified for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the perfectly righteous blood of Christ cleanse your conscience (Heb. 9:13-15)?

Today, believer, can you say, "My conscience is clean"? I certainly hope so, because a great price was paid for you to know life justified and free from condemnation (Acts 13:38-39). Jesus came to give you life and life more abundantly (Jn. 10:10).

What you have today, through Jesus, is far superior to what David had. Granted, David was exceptional for his time. He was, after all, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). But, he was not perfectly purified as you are through the blood of Jesus. And, his body was not the temple of the Holy Spirit as yours is today (1 Cor. 6:19).

You’ve been purified so that you can house the Spirit of the Living God and through His Spirit enjoy unhindered fellowship with God Himself. His Spirit brings restoration and reward. If you’re longing for the restoration of a relationship or the healing of your body, long no more. If you desire the reward of loving kindness and tender mercies, desire no more. Draw from the Spirit of the Living God that lives in you. How? Simple, in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Phil. 4:6). Commune with Him.

Jesus paid a price far beyond what we can properly comprehend for the sole purpose of bringing you into communion with the Father. You, believer, are very special: a pearl of great price (Mt. 13:46), the apple of His eye (Zach. 2:8).


If you don’t see God’s restoration and reward coming to pass in your life, it may simply be because you haven’t fully trusted Him. It takes trust to believe for the restoration of a marriage. It takes trust to believe for the reward of renewed youth. Trust is built on relationship, on time spent in one another’s company. As you spend time in His presence, meditating on His Word and communing with Him Spirit to spirit, your trust in Him grows and all His seemingly too-good-to-be-true promises and benefits become very believable. Today, believer, allow the God of hope to fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13).

This article was written by Sara Wasser,
Christian Teacher & member of Love In Action Church