What does God want from me?

You may have asked yourself this question over and over. At times you feel that you have tried so hard in life and when you feel frustrated, the first thought that comes to your mind is to give up. Quitting in the middle of a battle is not a wise option after so many hardships and troubles that you’ve made it through.

There is no sickness, no pain or hardship that God’s power cannot overcome. Don’t let the devil keep you from giving to God what He really desires: your faith, trust and obedience.

When we obey His commands, God will prolong our days for us to enjoy a healthy, long and happy life.

“Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” Deuteronomy 5:33

(Courtesy: bispobira.wordpress.com)

 

Temptation: Understand Your Vulnerability

When you’re tempted, keep your vulnerability in mind and work out ways to protect yourself. God warns us to never to get cocky and overconfident about our ability to handle temptation; that’s the recipe for disaster.

In fact, the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV)

That means we’re good at fooling ourselves. Given the right circumstances, any of us are capable of any sin. We must never let down our guard and think we’re beyond temptation: “Don’t carelessly place yourself in tempting situations. Avoid them.” (Proverbs 14:16 TEV)

Remember it’s easier to stay out of temptation than to get out of it. The Bible says, “Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.” (1 Corinthians 10:12 MSG)

One final note from Scripture: “And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT)

 

Who do you think YOU ARE that God should listen to YOU?

Who are you among billions of human beings? Why should anyone pay attention to you or notice you? Why should God? Thousands of prayers are said every minute. Why should yours be answered?

Attention. Getting noticed. Being attended to. We all want it, but it doesn’t come easy.

The good news is that we have a great example right in our bodies of exactly how that works.

The human body is made of thousands of different parts, big and small — eyes, feet, nails, teeth, skin, hair, etc. With so much going on in your body at the same time, in all its thousand different parts, how can one of them get your attention? If one part of your body needs your head’s attention, what can it do to get noticed and attended to?

The quickest, surest way is through pain.

Pain is the signal that your body sends to your head to get its attention. “There’s something going on here, you’d better look at this.”

No matter how small and apparently insignificant the body part — if it feels pain, the message is sent straight to the head. Want proof? Pluck out a strand of hair from your head or arm. How important is that single hair strand on your body, compared to everything else? Not very. But all the same, when you pluck it out, the sting you feel sends the message to your head and demands attention.

Likewise, you may be just one among billions of human beings. But when you act your faith in who Jesus is, you become a part of His body, where He is the head. That in itself is already great, but that’s only the first step to get attention. You are still one among many.

Now that you are a part of the Body, you have a direct connection to the Head. If you need help, immediate attention from the Head, you know what you have to do. You have to send the signal. That signal is pain, but we call it sacrifice — something you do because of your faith in God that causes you pain.
Faith without sacrifice, faith that doesn’t inconvenience you, faith that doesn’t feel pain is dead. If a part of your body is dead or numb, it doesn’t feel pain, and it’s useless. You can even hurt it, but it sends no signal to the brain. So is faith without sacrifice — it says nothing, does nothing, means nothing, and gets nothing.
Fasting, prayer, tithes, offerings, forgiveness, helping others, obedience, self-denial, self-control, unexpected and bold acts of giving plus a whole range of other Christian duties are nothing more than different expressions of sacrifice. Unpleasant as they are to our egos and complacent human will, if we want attention from God, and quick, no matter who we are — we’d better start sending the right signals.

It’s what you do that determines who you are and if you deserve attention.

P.S. By the way, the same principle applies not only to getting attention from God but also from anyone who matters to you.

(Courtesy: http://t.co/JzUEMSC)