I will follow ... but will we, do we

It is to The Lord we are to
TRUST in
DELIGHT in
COMMIT to
REST in
WAIT on

We are to DEPART from Satan, king of lies and master of evil

and do good.

and we are promised we will dwell with The Lord, in heaven's lands
forever .... for all eternity.
(Based on Psalm 37)

________

If we are committed to the Lord, we should "avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife." (II Timothy 2:23)

We "must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil..." (II Timothy 2:24-26)

We are unyielding. It is our way preferred over God's way. We think because we belong to God we know the right way to go. But we do not. We may have the head knowledge, but what we know mentally does not give a true reflection of what is in our heart. God, of course, knows. But when we do not yield to Him, our paths are crooked and we stumble over every step taken. We listen to our own personal mindless chatter and to others, when it is to God we owe our entire being. We should be trusting in, resting in, waiting on, committing to Jesus and Him Alone.

Where is our faith? Did we check it at the front door and go on about our business? Once an individual is saved they acquire the fruit of the Spirit. Gentleness is one of those fruits. As is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22) When we don't know how to walk the way of Christ, how to live as He, how to love as He, we surely don't know how to enable the fruit to flourish. It is through our spiritual growth in the Lord with the Holy Spirit's leading that we see results of the fruit within is ... or more accurately perhaps, others see the results of this fruit in us.

_________

Before Jesus tells Peter he will deny Him three times, He says, "I have prayed for you - that your faith should not fail."  (Luke 22:32) The same prayer He says to believers today. 

Prayer is our link to God, but without believing God will hear, listen and answer, it is a broken link. When we believe in God's power, in His love, in His goodness, in His provisions, in His very being, our prayers are communicated onward and upward in faith. No matter what the result, what the circumstances, it is because of our faith, we receive God's blessings. We are committed to Him and He is committed to us. 

(Based on Scripture and devotional readings in Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman.)

(c) Cathy Orrick Luders
June 9-14, 2017