VIDEO This Temporary Life – Truths to Transform

The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.  Psalm 90:10

“Temporal” signifies earthly things, bound by time. A “temp” employee works for a set amount of time. A “temporary” circumstance is short-lived rather than permanent. Temporal, temp, temporary—all are derived from the Latin tempus, or “time.”

Though some difficult circumstances in life can last for extended periods, most are temporary. We comfort ourselves with the knowledge that “this too shall pass.” And even if the circumstance doesn’t pass immediately, we know that God is with us in the midst of the storm (Mark 4:35-41). We are people created for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11), yet our life on earth lasts only a few decades (Psalm 90:10). Therefore, we can say that our life on earth is temporary; our permanent life begins with faith in Jesus (John 17:3). Our life is eternal, with only part of it spent on this earth until the new earth arrives (Revelation 21:1).

Whatever your circumstances are today, know that they are temporary. Your permanent life is hidden in God forever (Ephesians 3:9).

One spiritual mercy is worth more than all temporal blessings. William S. Plumer

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Truths to Transform 2015 – Psalm 90 – Skip Heitzig

Walk Like a Warrior

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”  Judges 6:12

 

Eighteen-year-old Emma faithfully talks about Jesus on social media, even though bullies have criticized her joy and enthusiastic love for Christ. Some have attacked her with remarks about her physical appearance. Others have suggested a lack of intelligence because of her devotion to God. Though the unkind words cut deep into Emma’s heart, she continues to spread the gospel with bold faith and love for Jesus and others. Sometimes, though, she’s tempted to believe her identity and worth are determined by the criticism of others. When that happens, she asks God for help, prays for her persecutors, meditates on the words of Scripture, and perseveres with Spirit-empowered courage and confidence.

Gideon faced fierce tormentors—the Midianites (Judges 6:1–10). Though God called him a “mighty warrior,” Gideon struggled to let go of his doubt, self-imposed limitations, and insecurities (vv. 11–15). On more than one occasion, he questioned the Lord’s presence and his own qualifications, but eventually surrendered in faith.

When we trust God, we can live like we believe what He says about us is true. Even when persecution tempts us to doubt our identity, our loving Father confirms His presence and fights on our behalf. He affirms we can walk like mighty warriors armed with His absolute love, guarded by His endless grace, and secured in His reliable truth.

By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

Which verses help you remain steadfast when you’re tempted to doubt your identity and worth? What can you do to combat verbal attacks?

God, please help us recall Your love and respond in grace every time someone tempts us to doubt our value or question our unique roles.

The Heart of Spiritual Maturity

Psalm 27:1-14

People will ask, “What can I do to really grow as a Christian?” Often they are looking for a secret path to maturity—some action they can perform. But the true key to growing in your relationship with Christ isn’t based on service or knowledge or any other outward accomplishment the world tends to admire.

Genuine maturity and effectiveness hinge upon your heart relationship with the Lord, rather than something you can do for Him. When you understand this truth, your whole paradigm shifts. It puts all Christians on the same level, from the high-profile preacher to the quietest member of the church. The believer’s talents, accomplishments, and personality are far less important than the commitment to simply know God.

The Lord called David “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV). What was it about him that God valued so highly? He certainly had his share of mistakes, sins, and character flaws. Yet more than anything else, what characterized his life was that he sought to know the Lord. Whether he was a shepherd, fugitive, warrior, or powerful king, the time he spent with his heavenly Father was his lifeline. In psalm after psalm, David laid everything before the Lord—and wholeheartedly longed to do His will. This was his greatest strength.

Do you want to grow spiritually and be transformed in your everyday faith walk? Take a step beyond asking, “What can I do for God so that I can be a better Christian?” Instead, come before the Lord and say, “Here I am. You have full access to my heart.”

For Ever and Ever and Ever….

“The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” (Exodus 15:18)

The Bible is a book of eternity, its words “for ever . . . settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). The theme of eternity is prominent throughout; in fact, the words “for ever,” “everlasting,” and the like occur more than 600 times. Many occurrences (49, to be exact) seem to make the concept even more complete, being combined either as “for ever and ever” or “from everlasting to everlasting.”

The first of these is in our text: “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” He is the eternal King of all creation! How beautiful and appropriate it is, then, to find that the last (the 49th) of these occurrences tells us that we—His redeemed saints—also “shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

To note just a few of the other truths that will last for ever and ever, consider first of all the creation: “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. . . . For he commanded, and they were created. He that also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Psalm 148:3, 5-6). Not only the world of God but also the Word of God shall endure eternally. “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. . . . So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever” (Psalm 111:7-8; 119:44).

On the other hand, those who reject God and His Word will endure forever but will be forgotten forever. “Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever” (Psalm 9:5). “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” (Revelation 14:11).

“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him” (Psalm 103:17). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). HMM

Things That Matter

That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

—Philippians 1:10-11

In life there will be found certain great fundamentals, like pillars bearing up the weight of some mighty building….

The wise man will simplify his life by going to the center of it. He will look well to the foundations and, having done that, he will not worry about the rest.

Life as we know it in our painfully intricate civilization can be deadly unless we learn to distinguish the things that matter from those that do not. It is never the major things that destroy us, but invariably the multitude of trifling things which are mistakenly thought to be of major importance. These are so many that, unless we get out from under them, they will crush us body and soul….

Every believer as well as every minister of Christ must decide whether he will put his emphasis upon the majors or the minors. He must decide whether he will stay by the sober truths which constitute the beating heart of the Scriptures or turn his attention to those marginal doctrines which always bring division and which, at their best, could not help us much on our way to the Celestial City.   NCA011, 014

Deliver us today from the trifling things and help us to spend every minute of the day on “the things that matter.” Amen.

 

Who is willing to consecrate his service this day

Who is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?—1 Chronicles 29:5.

 

My blessed task from day to day

Is humbly, gladly, to obey.

Harriet McEwen Kimball.

 

The only way to restore a weakened will is by exercising itself in details of duty, it may be in smallest acts of obedience, regularly done, “here a little, and there a little,” content to grow by slow degrees into the use of lost powers through repeated acts of observance however trivial or unobserved. Faithfulness to every smallest call of obedience, as. it comes, is the means of gaining gradual accessions of strength, and thus tending more and more to higher degrees of conformity to the Will of God. Only by such simple practical dutifulness can habits be formed.

T. T. Carter.

 

Break off some one evil, seek to uproot some one sin, cut off some one self-indulgence, deny thyself some one vanity; do it as an offering to God, for the love of God, in hope once to see God; and some gleam of faith, and life, and love will stream down upon thy soul from the everlasting Fount of love. Follow on, and thou shalt never lose that track of light.

Edward B. Pusey.

 

The Sins of Ignorance

“And it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance.” Num. 15:25

Because of our ignorance we are not fully aware of our sins of ignorance. Yet we may be sure they are many, in the form both of commission and omission. We may be doing in all sincerity, as a service to God, that which He has never commanded, and can never accept.

The Lord knows these sins of ignorance every one. This may well alarm us, since in justice He will require these trespasses at our hand; but on the other hand, faith spies comfort in this fact, for the Lord will see to it that stains unseen by us shall yet be washed away. He sees the sin that He may cease to see it by casting it behind His back.

Our great comfort is that Jesus, the true priest, has made atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel. That atonement secures the pardon of unknown sins. His precious blood cleanses us from all sin. Whether our eyes have seen it and wept over it, or not, God has seen it, Christ has atoned for it, the Spirit bears witness to the pardon of it, and so we have a three-fold peace.

O my Father, I praise thy divine knowledge, which not only perceives my iniquities, but provides an atonement which delivers me from the guilt of them, even before I know that I am guilty.