Devotional: A Living God

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From Streams in the Desert:
"He is not the great ’I was,’ He is the great ’I am.’ ”
"He is not only a fact, but a living fact."
"Turn...your face...above and within that we may worship the Christ that lives."


It Makes a Huge Difference
God lives, He is alive today. Integrating this truth into our daily living makes a huge difference. It changes the way we see things; it changes the way we live. It places our heart, our mindset, at a different disposition. That we know, understand, and experience a life lived under a living God makes all the difference.

Faith versus Fate
Sadly, even Christians sometimes go through life aimlessly, surrendering themselves to so called 'fate'.

Faith actively relies on the Sovereignty of God in working out the details of one's life. Faith causes one to make weightier choices in life and to exercise sensitivity in following the leadership of an all-wise and all-loving God. He lives with the assurance that the best is yet to come. Romans 8:28. Hebrews 11:1

Fate, on the other hand, passively observes how the details of one's life will unfold. Fate sees little need in planning since life is dependent on chance. Choices and decisions can be haphazard and upon impulse. It's a spirit of being resigned to life; there is no end-purpose, just an end.

Ponder: 1 Peter 1:3 AMP
"Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant and boundless mercy has caused us to be born again [that is, to be reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] to an ever-living hope and confident assurance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,'

1. I am set free from sin. I no longer need to remain enslaved in the sinful, destructive ways this flesh craves for.
2. I am bound for a new home. I am no longer bound for hell. I have an eternity of life with God after life in this broken world is over.
3. I have a living hope. Other people's hopes are lost the moment their spiritual leader dies. God ever lives to assure as that this hope will meet an expected fulfillment.

Ponder: Hebrews 9:14 AMP
"How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal [Holy] Spirit willingly offered Himself unblemished [that is, without moral or spiritual imperfection as a sacrifice] to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the ever living God?"

My worship and service is accepted. Whereas, the good I did before in hopes of gaining favor and plus points to heaven where always done with uncertainty; now, I know that God accepts my service, my worship.

Ponder: Tozer's "Our Idea of God":
"What we think about God is the most important thing about us."
"No people has ever risen above its religion."
"No religion has ever been greater than its idea of God."
"Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God."
"The most portentous fact about any man is what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like."
"The most revealing thing about the Church is its idea of God, its most significant message is what it says about Him or leaves unsaid."

What is my idea of God?
What does my heart and mind say and think about Him? It matters. My solid belief on who God is and on how alive and connected He is to me changes the way I live and see my life. As a child of God, I can't expect a life that overcomes if I don't really believe that my God is an overcomer and He enables me to overcome each day.

That I never really bother about having firm belief in the Omnipotence of God means I can't experience full joy and I can't live in full confidence because I am never sure if my God is paying attention and if He will pull through for me.

If what we know about God is right, then
1. We fail but do not lose hope because we know this is not the end.
2. We lack but do not wallow in self-pity, because we know there is something more.
3. We do not obsess over possessions and positions because we know that is not the chief aim and end.
4. We prioritize people over work because we know the enduring value of relationships.

Ponder:
PERFECT PEACE REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES
"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]" John 16:33

VICTORY AGAINST EVIL
"Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind]." 1 John 4:4

ETERNITY IN VIEW
"Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]." Colossians 3:2