LEARNING DAILY

Today’s blog will be a little different in appearance. I wrote down several statements/questions from the message and thought I would react to them. There was a guest speaker who shared from his testimony and several things just seemed to jump out at me. Perhaps someone reading one of these thoughts needs to be encouraged today.

Genesis 6:4, There were giants on earth in those days, and also afterwards…..

This comes from one of the songs sung which had the following lyric. “I may not face the giant Goliath but I have my own giants (That might not be the exact words, but it is close.).  There were immediate thoughts about things going on in my personal life that came to my mind. We all face those things, those circumstances that just seem too big for us to handle. Imagine David standing before Goliath with a slingshot and some rocks. By himself, he was absolutely no match for this huge individual that caused fear to run through the entire Israelite camp. Whatever it is that you are facing that is so overwhelming that facing it alone will defeat you? Like David, we do not have to face that circumstance alone; make sure you face it with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the same God who was with David and who performed every other miracle found in the Bible. That’s why we read/study/meditate on the Word of God. He is still doing the miraculous, still changing lives, still concerned with each one of His children as they face the difficulties and trials of living our lives for Him. God is still the same doing for His people today what He always has been doing!

Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Jesus)

When the speaker asked this question, my mind started to consider just what this meant for me. I pray that you consider asking what this means to you. What is most important to me? Is becoming more and more like Jesus more important that what others think about me, or what possessions I have, or how much money I have?  I believe this question Jesus asked is very relevant to our lives today. Where is your heart? The question centers on what is important to us and where we will spend eternity. You can keep your worldly interests and lose your soul, suffering because you are separated from God or you can live your life walking the narrow way with your faith and desire centered in becoming like Jesus Christ. Let me be clear – you can have wealth and riches and fame and walk on the narrow way; Let your heart and soul be centered in living for the One who saved you rather than for riches and fame. Use what God has blessed you with to serve Him. It makes no sense to me to spend your entire life gaining more and more only to spend eternity in suffering due to being separated from God.

1 John 2:6, He who says He abides in Him ought to himself to also walk like He walked.

The speaker asked the question, “What can I do to be more Christlike?” He went on to say that “kindness and grace is a magnet”. In other words, as we show kindness and grace to others, we show the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ to others. We all have heard the phrase “random acts of kindness”. When we show kindness to others who have not asked for it, it draws others to us, to want to know what is different about us; that gives each of us the chance to share the love of Jesus through both our acts and our words. I need to look for more opportunities to do this; I want to be better at showing kindness and grace because that is what Jesus did.

Luke 5:32. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Jesus)

At the end of his message the speaker gave the invitation for people to give their life to Jesus Christ to save and change them. He said two things. One, the invitation to become a Christian was not about bad people becoming good; it was about dead people becoming alive. Before accepting Jesus Christ as Lord, a person was “walking a broad way that led to destruction”. When Jesus saved us we began to walk that narrow way leading to His eternal kingdom. The speaker’s second question was, “You prayed the prayer, but did you mean it?” I would follow up that question with, which road are you walking today? Are you doing what you can to become who the Lord Jesus desires you to be? Only you can answer that question – I leave you to ponder that.