He Chose YOU

I Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

A simple yet strong verse. 

God is faithful.

It doesn’t matter whether you are faithful, if you are perfect, if you fail miserably, or if you question constantly…He remains faithful.

Think about how he called you into fellowship with his Son – Jesus. He called YOU.  He wanted YOU.  He died for YOU.  He desired to know YOU.  He lives in YOU.

On some days, we need this reminder that God is faithful and it is He could called us to Him.

So why would we ever wonder if he’s going to leave?  We didn’t choose Him.  He chose us.

And he bought us with a price.

He’s never letting go…

A Few Things

                      

Matthew 25

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

This is a story, a parable, Jesus told his followers.

I’ve heard it taught like this:

When God entrusts jobs, children, ideas, etc. to us, he expect us to be faithful to serve, to love, and to give – no matter how small or how big the task.  He expects and demands obedience.

Out of that heart of obedience, out of that willingness to serve and to love, he will then increase our borders.

And…joy will be ours.

Too many times we all want the increase, the big things, the accolades, and the praise from all, before we serve, we love, and we give in secret with no one noticing at all…but Him.

True joy is experienced when we obey because we love Him, not because we want from Him.

Tell Him Tell You

Lamentations 3

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”

One of the things I love about this passage is that there are two statements, almost like telling your heart something true, and then there are two statements directed to the Lord, in faith.  In other words, we sometimes need to tell ourselves and remind ourselves about who God is, and then we need to turn to him and speak our thanksgiving and praise.

Look at it closely and see how it reads:

Hey self, did you know God is kind and his kindness never stops, and he never stops having compassion – in fact every morning he starts all over with new kindnesses and compassion?

“O Lord, you are faitihful!”

“O Lord you are what I need!”

Therefore, my soul, don’t you know it?  Your hope is in Him.

Make this a practice daily.  Tell yourself of His goodness, then tell him of his faithfulness.

A Simple Prayer

Isaiah 25

O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

Isn’t that a great prayer?

It’s one we can pray daily, and say no more, just these words from the heart.

He is OUR God. 

We can thank him for his wonders (in the sky and on the earth and in our hearts)

We can recall his faithfulness.

We can rest in his perfection.

He is OUR God.

Wow…

Affliction

Psalm 119

I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous,

And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

 O may Your lovingkindness ^comfort me,

According to Your word to Your servant.

Isn’t this interesting “you have afflicted me.”

There are so  many arguments over whether or not God “allows” pain or even “causes” it.  I think the best thing is to stop questioning his character and know that whether it was allowed, caused, or just happened, he is working all of it for a good end.  

That we know!

I know that as a parent, there were times when I had to back away from my children and let them run and even bruise their knees so they could see that my direction was good, although they wanted to disobey.  Once they bruised their knee, then they listened the next time when the danger was greater.

He, in his infinite wisdom and love, knows what we need.  Even if it’s affliction. 

And his comfort and love heals every wound.

Morning and Night

Psalm 92:2

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,

It’s a very good practice to bookend your days with loving him and recalling his faithfulness.

When we awake, we can thank him before we get out of bed for eyes that see, for the sun that peeks through the blinds, for legs that walk, for our families, for our health, for provision, for a roof over our heads, etc.

This sets a good tone for the day.

When we get in bed at night, we can again recall his goodness from the day, thanking him for this and that, praising him for working out all things for our good, and acknowledging our faith and rest in him before we close our eyes.

This sets a good tone for the night.

Train your kids to practice this, as well, so that the pages of their lives are enclosed with the goodness of God that they notice and recall and say out loud.

All Generations

Psalm 89:1

I will sing of the loving kindness of the Lord forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.

Why do you think the Bible instructs us to sing so often?  I think it’s because songs come from the heart, and lyrics and melodies sink in deeper than just words read from a page.  I can get a hook to a song stuck in my head for days!

It’s a great practice to sing with your kids, your grandkids, or any kids you teach or hang with.  When we sing about HIM and his faithfulness, we are dripping down honey onto the next generation that will stick!

Tell your kids of His faithfulness.

Sing about it.

Let them know that He is a good God, the One who can be trusted in all things.

And see if they don’t start singing their own songs of love to him, as well.