Psalms 107:1-2 NLT
Give thanks to the lord , for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
TRUTH
I see so much evidence in my life of God’s goodness and love. Even through my struggles in life, He has brought me through each one in safety. Yes, there are consequences and lessons learned. In my life when I was not seeking God, I found that I learned most of my lessons by experience and consequences, and my life bears the scars of my rebellious nature.
Have you found yourself having to learn lessons the hard way in your life, through consequences and unexpected negative results of your actions?
Are there toxic or hurtful things in your life today like continual sin, or hate or unforgiveness towards another person that is a disease on the inside eating away at you?
HOPE
But that was my old life, because I have been redeemed. I have been changed. Through Christ, I am a new creation whose sins, shame, and guilt has been washed away. He has forgiven me and cast my sins as far away as the east is from the west.
Because I have accepted Him.
Because I could no longer ignore His voice, His call.
Have you heard His call on your life? Felt His pull drawing you near to Him?
Are you running to Him?
FAITH
And now I am seeking to know Him closer and more fully. Because I know that my old path leads to destruction and pain and all kinds of negative consequences in my life. And I also see that this Word of God, it really is true. It isn’t a book of rules trying to shut down my fun and games, it is amazingly helpful guidance that opens the door to a truly fulfilling and joyful and peaceful life of abundance.
Yes, in this walk of faith, each flight of steps ahead looks like a sacrifice, like a heavy cross to bear. But I’m finding that even that is just an illusion meant to test and prove our faithfulness. Because when I pick up my cross and bear it, because when I climb those steps, and when I make the sacrifice – that I find my strength in Christ, and that there are blessings there more valuable than gold and silver.
Yes, true faithfulness has a cost. But that cost is only an investment. It is an investment with our faithful and trustworthy God. And the returns on the investments of our time and our hearts and our thoughts and our actions and our words and our very lives are the things that we can give Him that aren’t already His. Because He gives us free choice, free will to decide and prove what is valuable to us.
You see, the physical things in this world are all His, because He created them and He allows us to use them and manage them – either as honor and glory to Him, or as dishonor. Our money and property and possessions are of little lasting consequence if used in ways that are a dishonor to God. Most of those things won’t last even the short breath of a lifetime. But when used for His honor, they are a witness, a testimony to the faithfulness in our hearts.
What areas of my life make it obvious that God is not first in my life?
What is it in my heart, in my underlying attitude that needs to change and be made more like Christ today?
LOVE
And when we are changed on the inside, our lives will change on the outside as well. And the world will see and know and recognize the love in us that reflects the Christ inside of us.
And we tell people best with our loving actions, and with our diligent and faithful service to following God’s will for our lives. In showing mercy, and love, and forgiveness to all because none of us “deserves” salvation. In loving and serving all, because even those who hurt us – in fact, especially those who hurt us, need to know the love of Jesus Christ.
But it doesn’t stop with our actions alone. It should start with our hearts, then with our actions, and result in our sharing the Good News of this change in our lives as our testimony of the healing and transforming power of Jesus Christ over our lives.
Are you being healed today?
With each step, we are either being light or darkness in this world – which path are you walking today?
Is your life the salt among others that flavors their lives in a positive way, that preserves them and helps them stay alive? Or are you leading others into rot, decay, and death with the example of your walk?
All it takes to change your path is to look to Christ on the cross, and to keep your eyes firmly fixed on this first step, friend.
It may look like a huge obstacle to tackle in this first step, but take it, and you will see that you have so much to be thankful for as you climb these steps under His power in your life.
Harold J. Ballinger 