Monday, January 24, 2022

Nothing Compares To His Glorious Riches

 “Nothing Compares To His Glorious Riches”

Philippians 4:19 NLT

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Several days ago I posted this passage on social media and I got a very intriguing comment from a family member which read, “Have you ever stopped and pondered what those riches really are?  It is mind boggling.”  I was so appreciative not only for this comment, but for the reminder it gave me of how very blessed we are from what God gives to us. 

If we are brutally honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that we really do long for the riches of this world in one way or another.  We all fall victim to jealousy and coveting something someone else has.  I have fallen victim to this all through my years of living and continue to struggle.  I think we would all have to admit that we have struggled throughout our lives with this fact.  It is so easy to get stuck in the mindset of achieving earthly riches.

I do want to make it very clear that it is not wrong to have earthly things, but when we focus on them way more than God Himself Who is the giver of all good things, then we have problems.  It is so easy to focus on the riches of this world instead of the glorious riches God has for us. 

Think about what Paul is saying here.  Do we really understand and grasp what we have in Jesus?  I know we talk about this a lot in church and share the various passages of what He has given to us, but do we take time to ponder what those riches really are?  Just as my family member said, it is truly mind boggling.  His glorious riches are NOTHING compared to what the world gives us.  However, it is so easy for us to get caught up in the moments when something new comes out that we want.  It’s easy to think that the next big thing is what we need to be happy and satisfied in life.

I know that I need to take more time to really ponder what His glorious riches are and how blessed I have been throughout my years of walking with Christ.  His riches are nothing compared to what the world offers.  They are never as satisfying or rewarding.  As much as I find myself longing for the riches of this world so often, I am also reminded so often that the fulfillment is temporary and will never satisfy as what He gives me.  He never fails to remind me of this in some way.

The world’s riches cannot and will not ever compare to the glorious riches in Jesus!

Monday, January 17, 2022

Giving It All

“Giving It All”

Romans 12:1 NLT

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship him.

We often have the tendency to give the very minimum effort in different areas of our lives.  There are areas we find ourselves giving the just the bare minimum so that we can just get it over with and get on with what we really want to do.  Some of us have done this in school with assignments, projects and tests.  Perhaps we struggled through these and we just did what we had to do in order to get a passing grade. 

Maybe we have done this in past jobs we’ve had.  We go to work and just do what it takes to get a paycheck.  Sometimes we don’t feel like going above and beyond to really make a difference in the work we have done. 

In the situations in which we have just done enough to get by and move on, we should stop and think about what life could have been like and what the results could have been if we had put in more effort and gone above and beyond.

We could all find different times and situations in which we’ve just done enough to get by for various reasons.  Sometimes we just don’t feel like giving more or giving our all because we’re focused on something else we really want to do.  We have all been there and done that in some way or ways.  We’re all guilty of it!

I cringe at the fact that so many of us have done this and are often still doing it in our relationship with God.  We don’t want to give our all because it can become inconvenient.  I definitely struggle with this often!  We don’t want to put the work in anymore than we have to.  We want to be held back from other things we’d rather do in life.  However, giving it all is exactly what God calls us to do. 

Paul is very blunt in saying that we should be giving it all every day with everything we have.  This is really the way to worship, when we’re truly giving life our all!  When we surrender it all and allow God control over everything and not holding anything back.  It’s real and it can get very messy.  However, it is all worth it because of how God can and will use us in the Kingdom to do amazing things.

Are we really giving it all?

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Way More Than We Ever Deserve

“Way More Than We Ever Deserve”

Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.  It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!

As we closed out 2021 and begin 2022, I need this passage and reminder that I have way much more in my life that I will ever deserve.  For so many of us, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that since we’ve worked so hard, we deserve “this” or “that”.  We often feel like people owe us something more if we work harder and harder.  We feel like we should have more because working harder means we should get more, right??

I find myself getting caught up in this mindset a lot when I try to accomplish things in my life and get better with something or several things.  Somehow, I convince myself that I deserve more than I have and should have more.  It’s a bad mindset, especially if I’m try to become more Godly and set a good example for my family, co-workers and friends. 

I know that I daily need to be reminded that I really do not deserve anything I have.  God has blessed me way beyond anything I should have and has lavished so much grace, mercy and forgiveness upon me.  When I get in the mindset that I’m entitled to certain things, I need His humble reminder of what He has done for me and how so little I deserve any of it.  This should bring me to my knees daily in complete surrender being so thankful that I have what He has given to me.

We will NEVER fully comprehend what all He has done by going to the Cross to die for our sins.  It is just beyond what we can ever understand.  As we embark on this New Year, let us daily be reminded Who we serve and what all He has done and all He continues to do for us. 

We should daily be brought to our knees in humility and surrender with a grateful heart for all that we have.  Perhaps we need to make a list of all the blessings we have in our lives so that we can focus more on what He has done and continues to give.  We all often need these visual reminders of what we do have and not focus on what we don’t have. 

I want to encourage all of us to remember God’s amazing grace, mercy and forgiveness every single day and to give Him sincere thanks to keep us humble as we live in this self-centered world. 

Happy New Year to everyone and be thankful daily for His abundant blessings!