Your Daily Crossroad
His Wonderful Face
Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. (1 Chronicles 16:11)
My four-year-old son is full of questions, and chatters constantly. I love talking with him, but he’s developed an unfortunate habit of talking to me even when his back is turned. I often find myself saying, “I can’t hear you—please look at me when you’re talking.”
Sometimes I think God wants to say the same thing to us—not because He can’t hear us, but because we can tend to talk to Him without really “looking” at Him. We pray, but we remain caught up in our own questions and focused on ourselves, forgetting the character of the One we’re praying to. Like my son, we ask questions without paying attention to the person we’re talking to.
Many of our concerns are best addressed by reminding ourselves of who God is and what He has done. By simply refocusing, we find comfort in what we know of His character: that He is loving, forgiving, sovereign, graceful.
When we turn our eyes toward the beautiful face of God, we can find strength and comfort that sustain us even in the midst of unanswered questions.
Lord, let the light of Your face shine upon us. Amen.
When I recently read this I was instantly reminded of that song, Turn your eyes upon Jesus look forth in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Today, let’s allow the light of His face to shine upon us. May we slow down in those moments of prayer and reading The Word and truly seek His wonderful face.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is 1 Chronicles 16:8-27
Forgiveness
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)
The question of genuine forgiveness is one of eternal importance. And why is it, you may ask, so crucial that Christians forgive? For starters, Jesus’ statement in today’s text is quite a compelling reason, for “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Suffice it to say then, we had better make sure we are forgiving “our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
Here’s the bottom line: forgiveness is such a central element to Christianity that it is an indicator of salvation! Not that we are saved by any works of our own, such as forgiving others, but that when we are reconciled to God through Christ, our new life will be marked by grace giving and forgiveness.
Remember, our sin was exchanged for Jesus’ righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), our wrong for His right, our injustice for His justice. God meets our rebellion and pride with grace in and through the person and work of Jesus. Those to whom grace is extended should also extend grace, and those to whom forgiveness is extended should also extend forgiveness.
Forgive as you have been forgiven. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s at the core of who you are in Christ.
What truth! When I read this I knew forgiveness was important but honestly I never looked at it like this. Forgiveness should most certainly be at the core of who I am in Christ. He showed me forgiveness on the cross before I was even born. Those to whom grace is extended should also extend grace, and those to whom forgiveness is extended should also extend forgiveness. Amen! Think on this today as you may be struggling with forgiveness.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 6
Jesus Christ and His Truth!
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:2-4)
The culture of self-deceit described in 2 Timothy sounds eerily like our own, doesn’t it? Many Americans, even Christians, no longer believe in absolute truth. Everything is relative, right down to the Word of God. We remake scripture to reflect our pop culture beliefs. In an effort to seem relatable and compassionate, we excuse all manner of sin. We would rather condemn our neighbors to hell than tell them that they are sinners in need of a Savior.
But Paul strongly tells us here that even in seasons like ours, we are to stay faithful to the Word of God. Not our own words, His words. We are to be prepared, he says. Prepared for what? To be disliked? To be mocked? To endure some memes and celebrity disparaging at our expense? All of the above and a whole lot more. We are to be prepared to correct, rebuke and encourage. A lot of us like to correct and rebuke, but we very rarely encourage. We may point out sin, but neglect to point out the Savior. And if one or two arguments on Facebook doesn’t convince our neighbor of the error of their ways, we write them off as a lost cause. Great patience has little place in our common discourse these days. Yet Paul calls us to great patience in our interactions with others. And, perhaps, he is calling us to great patience in standing true to the gospel itself. In times like these, we can very quickly grow tired of being in the minority. We get tired of feeling left out of the mainstream and the temptation to cave and turn away from truth grows stronger the longer time goes on. This is exactly what Satan wants. He wants us to grow weary and for us to blame it on God. If only God’s rules weren’t so stringent. If only God was a little more open-minded, we wouldn’t be so lonely.
Satan also wants us questioning the Word of God because of the famous teachers who turned away from its truth. Recalling how many times I’ve been told by long-time Christians that they’re forsaking certain aspects of God’s Word because Preacher/Author/Blogger So-and-So did it makes me nauseous. We are far too prone to use another Christian’s version of the gospel as an excuse to abandon Jesus’ gospel. Paul is absolutely right when he says that we surround ourselves with those who say what we want to hear. We want to be told that our compromises are ok so we find someone famous to justify it. Or we comfort ourselves in the popularity of our beliefs, as if large numbers of human beings have never been wrong together.
“His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”
When I read this I knew to some this may not be “popular” but it’s an overwhelming truth that has to be shared and spread. He is coming back, time is short, speak the truth in love and stay faithful to the Word of God!! Find me ready Lord!
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is 2 Timothy 4:2-4
You Have Purpose!
Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)
This challenge in Esther is still used to inspire a sense of destiny for those in a position of influence. Esther took her uncle’s challenge, used her powerful position as queen, and saved the Jewish people from yet another mass slaughter. Very few of us will be able to save entire ethnic groups by throwing a couple dinner parties, but Mordecai’s words are still applicable to us because we each were created with a specific destiny and purpose. Even if our destiny isn’t quite as lofty as being a heroic queen, we were still created with divine and royal purpose to glorify the King of kings.
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Mordecai asks a question that we know the answer to. Who knows? God knows! He has told us in His Word that His formation of us in our mother’s womb is intentional and wonderful. So now we, too, can know that our position and timing in this world is on purpose.
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? It’s easy for us to discount our influence in the world when we think of ourselves as just ordinary people. But when we remember who we are in Jesus Christ- sons and daughters of the King and citizens of the next eternal world- it should give us a sense of our high worth. As George Bailey learned in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” even the most common of us have great influence on the lives around us. As a stay-at-home mom, I certainly have days in which I feel like my value and purpose is lost in the mundane and endless tasks of wiping noses and bottoms, feeding meals and filling juice cups. But I cannot conceive of the ways in which God is using me to shape the world as I shape my sons by serving them day in and day out. Your purpose and destiny in life may not have the high visual and immediate effect that Esther’s had, but you are still royalty in the eyes of Christ and as such, you have an immense and glorious purpose to fulfill in this life.
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Heaven knows there are many days I wish I lived in another time. A time period with air conditioning, but no internet would be ideal. I don’t want to know as much as I do of the groaning of this world. But here we are, in 2017. There’s a lot less space travel and far more warring going on than was imagined for this time period. We were put here for a reason. Would it be nice to live in the future when cancer is curable and chocolate has no calories? Or wouldn’t you love to go back and live in the time of your favorite classic author or artist? Sure, but God didn’t put you there. He brought you here for just such a time. You may not be entertaining kings, but you may very well be entertaining angels and certainly future saints. Live with a sense of your glorious purpose and royal position, whether it’s through a 9-5 desk job, blue collar labor, and/or diaper changing. Go about your life knowing that God put you here on purpose and that when you walk in obedience to Him, you are glorifying the Most High King.
I must be real with whomever is reading this. It blessed me so much. I cried when I read this myself because there are days I’ve asked myself what is my value and purpose but after reading this, in which it has been sitting in my inbox for days and I hadn’t come across it until this morning but God knew just when I needed it and that was today, God showed me He is using me to shape the world as I shape my children by serving them day in and day out and influencing and building kingdom builders and a love for God. My prayer is that they will grow to be mighty men and women of God and God has called me as there mom to help build His Children with a heart to serve God. I have purpose and value, I am a child of The One True King. You also have purpose and value! Never forget that and walk in obedience to Him. No matter where God has placed you in this life, look at it from God’s perspective, wherever He has placed you it is with purpose, don’t belittle where God has placed you. Live with a sense of your glorious purpose and royal position.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 138:8, Isaiah 44:2