Isaiah 37:31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I realize that I might be taking the first verse slightly out of context but the idea certainly follows suit. I love today's devotional because it brings back the true meaning to where our life and energy comes from each and every day.
Phil 3:8 teaches that everything is rubbish in comparison to following Christ. This seems like just another "captain obvious" statements but it is completely true. When our lives are separate from Christ, we simply do not live in the best way possible.
So when do we live closest to the Lord? The devotional recommended that it was during the time that we suffer. Say when we are "persecuted," sick, or possibly disabled for a given amount of time. In the "worlds" perspective, this could be considered times of least effectiveness. Yet I know and I am sure you would agree, during times like these (sometimes considered like setbacks), these are the times we grow closest to God and leave with a greater awareness of him. It goes to the idea, "no pain no gain" or as Isa 37:31 puts it, our roots must grow downward for our plants to blossom upwards. God Bless friends!
L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1997) p. 171-172.
Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I realize that I might be taking the first verse slightly out of context but the idea certainly follows suit. I love today's devotional because it brings back the true meaning to where our life and energy comes from each and every day.
Phil 3:8 teaches that everything is rubbish in comparison to following Christ. This seems like just another "captain obvious" statements but it is completely true. When our lives are separate from Christ, we simply do not live in the best way possible.
So when do we live closest to the Lord? The devotional recommended that it was during the time that we suffer. Say when we are "persecuted," sick, or possibly disabled for a given amount of time. In the "worlds" perspective, this could be considered times of least effectiveness. Yet I know and I am sure you would agree, during times like these (sometimes considered like setbacks), these are the times we grow closest to God and leave with a greater awareness of him. It goes to the idea, "no pain no gain" or as Isa 37:31 puts it, our roots must grow downward for our plants to blossom upwards. God Bless friends!
L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1997) p. 171-172.
No comments:
Post a Comment