MERCIFUL PROVIDENCE FOR THE NEEDY
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Verse for Today
Romans 9:16 - So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Man in his pride and arrogance often thinks that his achievements in this world are because of his ability and smartness. This feeling is often reflected in the claims they make about their accomplishments in this world. Sometimes, God's children also fall into this bait by the enemy of their soul, to boast and feel elated in their self esteem when they speak about their successes and gains. God's children also have to examine to see if all that they have is filthy lucre which they gained through unscriptural and unspiritual means. But the Word of God underscores the truth that all that the Lord gives us through His means, including our salvation, are not because of our abilities or intelligence, but because of the mercy of our God. He shows compassion to us and allows us to enjoy certain privileges and opportunities. These are for us to feel confident in the Lord that He is with us and that He is the one who meets all our needs. It thus helps us to continue to trust Him and grow in our faith in Him and His promises. These accomplishments are for us to be more humble before the Lord and to praise Him more and more for His grace and mercy to us. We should never forget the fact that we exist and move forward because of Him alone. Our gains are not because we make the right decisions to do something or because we run around to manage our affairs well. Any proud claims make one wonder whether what we have is from the Lord or earned by us through ungodly means. Such claims are the ways of the world. God's children do not have any right to trust in the self because our self is crucified with Christ and is daily killed. All our strength and power are like a vapor, and had it not been for the Lord, we would have been wiped out from the face of this earth. So we need to attribute all that we are and all that we have to the Lord and continue to submit ourselves as living sacrifice on His alter as a sweet smelling savor for the Lord to get full and absolute glory from our lives.
Dear friend, are your accomplishments coming from the Lord or from your self and its competence? Are your achievements originating from your sharp mind and tactical moves or are they coming to you as a gift from the Lord? The simple fact is that the Lord is pleased to entrust certain resources with us so that we can use it all for His glory and for the extension of His kingdom. We are not to claim it to have come from our abilities, but to attribute it all to the Lord's mercy and compassion. He forbids us from putting it into our selfish use and enjoying it for our own gratification. Even if we have some resources in excess of our basic needs, they are to be used for the Lord's cause. Remember, we have to be willing to loose what we cannot keep in order to gain what we cannot loose which is awaiting us in our eternal home in Heaven. Our health, basic material possessions, education, knowledge, experience, relationships, positions, privileges, prominence, ministries and all the abilities will all be lost from us when our lives end here on earth. But once we are ready to attribute all of these to the mercy of God and use it with the spiritual wisdom which He has given us, for His glory and for the furtherance of the gospel, we will make eternal investment out of it. We will see the results of this when we stand in His presence. The Lord expects us to live a life of continuous brokenness and the feeling of being zeroes before Him and confess like King David and Gideon that we have no qualification to enjoy anything that we have today. Let us submit all that we are and all that we have at the feet of Jesus and confess that it has all come from Him out of His mercy and loving kindness, and continue to thank Him for His benevolence.
Lamentations 3:22 - It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
Thought for Today
Receiving from the Almighty out of His unfailing mercy and then claiming it to be out of our smartness is utterly illogical and the greatest form of ingratitude.
Verse for Today
Romans 9:16 - So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Man in his pride and arrogance often thinks that his achievements in this world are because of his ability and smartness. This feeling is often reflected in the claims they make about their accomplishments in this world. Sometimes, God's children also fall into this bait by the enemy of their soul, to boast and feel elated in their self esteem when they speak about their successes and gains. God's children also have to examine to see if all that they have is filthy lucre which they gained through unscriptural and unspiritual means. But the Word of God underscores the truth that all that the Lord gives us through His means, including our salvation, are not because of our abilities or intelligence, but because of the mercy of our God. He shows compassion to us and allows us to enjoy certain privileges and opportunities. These are for us to feel confident in the Lord that He is with us and that He is the one who meets all our needs. It thus helps us to continue to trust Him and grow in our faith in Him and His promises. These accomplishments are for us to be more humble before the Lord and to praise Him more and more for His grace and mercy to us. We should never forget the fact that we exist and move forward because of Him alone. Our gains are not because we make the right decisions to do something or because we run around to manage our affairs well. Any proud claims make one wonder whether what we have is from the Lord or earned by us through ungodly means. Such claims are the ways of the world. God's children do not have any right to trust in the self because our self is crucified with Christ and is daily killed. All our strength and power are like a vapor, and had it not been for the Lord, we would have been wiped out from the face of this earth. So we need to attribute all that we are and all that we have to the Lord and continue to submit ourselves as living sacrifice on His alter as a sweet smelling savor for the Lord to get full and absolute glory from our lives.
Dear friend, are your accomplishments coming from the Lord or from your self and its competence? Are your achievements originating from your sharp mind and tactical moves or are they coming to you as a gift from the Lord? The simple fact is that the Lord is pleased to entrust certain resources with us so that we can use it all for His glory and for the extension of His kingdom. We are not to claim it to have come from our abilities, but to attribute it all to the Lord's mercy and compassion. He forbids us from putting it into our selfish use and enjoying it for our own gratification. Even if we have some resources in excess of our basic needs, they are to be used for the Lord's cause. Remember, we have to be willing to loose what we cannot keep in order to gain what we cannot loose which is awaiting us in our eternal home in Heaven. Our health, basic material possessions, education, knowledge, experience, relationships, positions, privileges, prominence, ministries and all the abilities will all be lost from us when our lives end here on earth. But once we are ready to attribute all of these to the mercy of God and use it with the spiritual wisdom which He has given us, for His glory and for the furtherance of the gospel, we will make eternal investment out of it. We will see the results of this when we stand in His presence. The Lord expects us to live a life of continuous brokenness and the feeling of being zeroes before Him and confess like King David and Gideon that we have no qualification to enjoy anything that we have today. Let us submit all that we are and all that we have at the feet of Jesus and confess that it has all come from Him out of His mercy and loving kindness, and continue to thank Him for His benevolence.
Lamentations 3:22 - It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
Thought for Today
Receiving from the Almighty out of His unfailing mercy and then claiming it to be out of our smartness is utterly illogical and the greatest form of ingratitude.
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