God already knows the state of our thoughts and hearts, but many times we do not. By His "searching" and "testing" it is revealed to us what we are truly like…
The story of the shepherd seeking his lost sheep became very, very real to me that night, and I'm not ashamed to admit that those stupid lost hens brought me to tears of humility. Do we not do the same to our Heavenly Father? He shows us green fields, and we race back to the emptiness of what's familiar… even those with years of experience in walking with God, we can be caught unawares. All of us, at some time or another, stray away from God's best, and need the Shepherd to come find us.
Our clothing consists of hearts that are tender and filled with compassion displaying mercy; human-kindness that overflows to meet the needs of others; a humble preference to put others first; a meek, spirit-controlled temperament; and the willingness to go the distance with others without complaint-these are the new clothes.
The children of God live in the Kingdom of God, therefore, no tax in any kingdom of man can stop/hinder the work of a child of God going about their Father's business in the Kingdom of God. God the Father had already provided for our earthly needs, so no earthly tax/demand/situation can stop you or me from doing the work of God here on earth.
When Jesus calls you/me into ministry (any kind of ministry; Romans 12:4-8), what will be our response?Will we immediately make the step of faith? Or will we hold back (making the usual excuses)?When Jesus makes the call, do we have our minds set for service?
Whatever the suffering we might be experiencing as a consequence for following our own way instead of God's way, the promise of God still extends to us: If we will recommit our lives to Him; if we will serve Him; if we will do things His way; if we will look at life through His eyes; then God promises to restore the years we have lost: "the years that the locust hath eaten".
…in spite of our utter hopelessness to be as good as God intended us to be, His strength and grace and love overshadow every distraction and weakness with a light that will nourish and guide us all of our days if we dare to walk in it. Even when the Enemy has us so shortsighted that we stumble at every step, God's arms are still there: still holding us up…
Sometimes God chooses to let us walk through the storm so that we can learn that He will never leave us or let a situation be more than we can handle with His help. And sometimes He just plain steps in and fixes everything better than you could possibly have dreamed. Sometimes it happens in a moment, sometimes after years of patient waiting. We'll never see it if we don't let Him work, if we don't step back in faith and let God be God.
If the people of Capernaum refused to believe Jesus when He identified Himself as the Messiah, do you think they would have believed it if the devils declared it?? Certainly not, it would just have been a bigger spectacle. Likewise, anyone who refuses to accept Jesus as Saviour now, will reject Him even if demons jumped up and declared him to be the Son of God.
They had no guarantee that they would survive the storm, BUT they could be absolutely sure that God controlled the storm and controlled their lives. They could be absolutely sure that as fierce as the storm raged, God's love for them raged even more fiercely. No storm could ever blow them out of God's mighty hand.
Believers must never allow the affairs of earth to distract us from our purpose here, which is attending to the interests and affairs of God as they pertain to this world.
The same God that formed us in our mothers' wombs desires a personal relationship with us. While we are in human corruptible flesh we are only able to have access to Him through an incorruptible, sinless representative. Jesus is the one and only High Priest who fits that description.
A profit is an improvement resulting from a transaction… examine whether the transaction of exchanging our souls to gain the world puts us in a better position eternally. Because in God's ledger only salvation… counts as profit; only work in the Kingdom of God brings in revenue; everything else is loss.
Jesus' resurrection… gives us hope that we too can live our lives unburdened by sin/sinfulness/the sin-nature. We have a hope for the present, for our day-to-day walk, that sin does not have to rule over our lives: Jesus' resurrection means we are free.
Left on our own, our species would undoubtedly swallow itself whole in greed and debauchery. But there is One who comes to us with a different way. Like the sun breaking through the clouds, he brings warmth and life and a way out of the mire.