This beautiful rose in my mommy’s garden at home reminds me of my roots. No matter where you are now, you can never forget where it all began. How the good Lord has kept you and helped you till today. Just like the Psalmist says, as long as we’re in a close relationship with our Creator we will flourish, and that surely doesn’t mean just thriving. It’s blooming and blossoming! 🌹 💞Have a beautiful day 😇
Jeremiah 2:2
“I remember the devotion of your youth”….
The word devotion mention in this verse, in Hebrew, refers to the most intimate degree of loyalty, love and faithfulness that can exist between two people or between an individual and the Lord.
If we reflect on our own lives, of the time we first heard the gospel and accepted the Lord Jesus as our personal Saviour and now. We need ask ourselves “do we still have the same loyalty love and faithfulness we had then”? Or like the people of Israel have we wandered away from God?
God compared Israel to a bride. Early in her history Israel had enjoyed a close and cordial relationship with the Lord who is often figuratively described as Israel’s husband. But later God’s people forsook him and loved “foreign gods” tragically abandoning their first love. They followed “worthless idols”.
Israel was holy to the Lord. They were set apart for the Lord and for His service. So also God has set us apart for His glory. Just as the “best of the first fruits” of Israel’s crops were to be brought to the Lord so also the people themselves were his first and choicest treasure.
What a privilege to know that God in his grace has chosen as to be His children even though we are Gentiles and undeserving of his love and mercy.
Thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ who paid the debt of all our sins on the cross and redeemed us with his precious blood.
Genesis 13:1-18
Will you choose like Lot who looked up and saw the well watered plains of the Jordan? Or will you wait on the Lord with your head bowed down until you hear Him say “lift up your eyes” like He did to his friend Abraham?
Would you choose for yourself like Lot or would you let God choose for you like Abraham?
Would you pitch your tent near Sodom, so near that you eventually end up there or would you live where God wants you to, away from the world and its snares?
Would you look selfishly like Lot and covet or would you look as God commanded and be blessed?
Would you choose what is right in God’s sight or choose what pleases your heart?
Would you choose eternity with Him or eternity apart from Him?
God called Adam “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9
It is interesting to note that it was God who called for Adam. It was God who came seeking for him.
Adam was hiding in shame. It was God who covered him.
God is calling us patiently. His call may be unexpected. But the question is is do we answer his call? And when we do, do we complain like Adam?
Calling out to God only when we need Him is not trust.
When God calls He will fulfill His promise and purpose. Just like he did with Abraham.
Sometimes like Samuel we may not know that it is God who is calling us. Like Saul on the way to Damascus we may ask “Who are you Lord?”
But when we realise it is God calling our reaction should be swift like blind Bartimaeus, who threw his cloak aside, which was possibly his only possession, jumped to his feet, indicating full joy and trust that Jesus would heal him, and came to the Lord.
In 2 Peter 1:3 we read that God has called us by his own glory and goodness. Glory expresses the excellence of His being – His attributes and essence. Goodness depicts excellence which is expressed in deeds – virtue in action.
Are you depending on the circumstances around you to trust in God? These verses remind us that God is in control in spite of what we can see around, what we are experiencing in our lives.
If there is suffering in this world we know that it is because of sin. Habakkuk learned that “the righteous in God’s sight live by faith”. (Hab 2:4) This verse has been repeated so many times in the new testament making us ponder, go deep into its meaning.
To live is to exist, to dwell, to stay for a long time. It’s like chewing your favourite candy hoping it will never end.
We need to trust in God’s providence regardless of circumstances. In spite of nothing we need to rejoice in the Lord for He is eternal. What we see around us is for a while. The strength the Lord gives is sure footed confidence like that of a deer.
God has blessed us with so much yet we we years for more. Let us trust in the One who provided for His people in the desert. The one who heard Jonah’s cry in the belly of the fish. The one who raised Lazarus from the Dead.
Thank God you are alive and will live for eternity in his presence one day because of his Son Lord Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord!
“Lord you know everyone’s heart…”. Acts 1:24
There is nothing we can hide from our God. He knows everything about us. The Lord searches the hearts and minds of everyone.
God looks at the heart. (1 Sam 16:7)
God knows the heart of all men. (1Ki 8:39)
The Lord weighs the heart. (Pr 21:12)
God tests our hearts. (1 Thes 2:4)
The heart in the Bible refers to man’s innermost center of conscious life. So God searches, examines and knows our hidden character, thoughts and motives even though we may hide them from those around us. The heart is the center of the human spirit from which spring emotions, thoughts, motivations, courage and action. So trust that God knows and understands you more than anyone in this world because he is your Creator.
Jesus knew the intention of the poor widow who gave everything she had to God.
If you’re on a journey to be in deeper communion or fellowship with God be warmly reminded that God sees your actions and knows your heart. So be confident in all that you do! 💕
Grace and Faith 