#faithfulness – herbcotton.org

How Should You Live in the Present?

Text:

1 Peter 4:7 (NLT)

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

Observation:

How do we spend the present? In reality, we only have the present; the past is gone, and tomorrow is not promised.

Therefore, it behooves each of us to think seriously and soberly about the present.

Life may be difficult, but we still have a charge to keep and a purpose to fulfill. The time to do that is today and not tomorrow.

We would do well to be earnest and disciplined in our prayer life. Through prayer, we are able to see God’s perspective on our problems. When we read and meditate upon God’s Word we get a new perspective on our problems.

In the midst of our problems, we take them to God in prayer. Our prayers bring us into the presence of the Lord. In God’s presence, we receive His power and His peace.

As we are more earnest in prayer we go deeper into the Word and we are able to see God’s perspective and God’s purpose begins to be revealed in the midst of our problems.

In spite of our struggles and suffering, we begin to experience the unfailing love of God and God’s sufficient grace for our current circumstances.

As we look higher and go deeper with God our pain and suffering are transformed into praise and thanksgiving to God. The Word of God and prayer changes everything, and most of all it changes you and me.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for being the God of the present. We are so grateful that when we live in the present, and in Your presence, we get a new perspective on life.

Father, infuse our lives with a burning desire to be earnest and disciplined in our prayer life. O how we need to live in Your presence continually. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

—

1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

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How to Be A God Pleaser?

Text:

Proverbs 16:5-7 (NLT)

5 The LORD detests the proud; they will surely be punished.

6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the LORD, people avoid evil.

7 When people’s lives please the LORD, even their enemies are at peace with them.

Observation:

As I meditate upon this passage, I find so much wisdom in just a few verses.

I am reminded of another passage that reminds us of the importance of guarding our heart.

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

We need to guard our heart to avoid becoming prideful in the way that the Lord detests the proud.

The verse that admonishes us to live in such a way that our lives will please the Lord grips my heart.

Finally, we see in our focal passage two things that are so important, and they give us the foundation for pleasing God and getting along with people; even our enemies.

Those two virtues are unfailing love and faithfulness. Guard your heart to avoid having a proud heart, and to enable you to have a purposeful heart. In so doing, you will please God, and have favor with people.

Prayer:

Father God, we exalt Your Name. Father, we give you the highest praise from the depths of our heart. Father, we are so thankful for Your unfailing love, and faithfulness. Father, give us sufficient grace to cultivate those virtues in our heart. We pray together, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

—

1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

Read all the Daily Devotionals by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

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How Are You Doing In Your Stewardship?

Text:

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (ESV)

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

Observation:

Do you identify and associate yourself as a servant of Christ? If so, how are you doing? Notice what Paul writes to the church about the accountability of Christ followers to Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:2-4 (ESV)

2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

Is it the desire of your heart to be faithful to God? The Lord has deposited something precious within each of His children, and we need to be faithful in carrying out our God ordained life purpose. The reward of faithfulness is fruitfulness.

Luke 16:10 (ESV)

10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Do you want to be pleasing in the eyes of God? Then, be faithful in fulfilling your purpose, and use the gifts that God has given you for His glory, and the building of the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 11:5-6 (ESV)

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, it is such a privilege to be members of the family of God, and to be able to call you, our Father.

Father, the desire of our hearts is that we, your daughters and sons, will be found faithful and fruitful in your eyes. Father, we recognize that the need for the days we are living in now requires the people of God to have faith in God, and to be faithful.

Father, when You look at us, may You see in us what You saw in Your servants Paul and Enoch, and so many other saints of the ages. Father, may Your will be done in us. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

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Do You Want To Be A Change Agent?

Text:

Galatians 6:2 (KJV)

2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Observation:

If you are alive, you are changing. You are getting older every day that you are still breathing.

What kind of life are you living? Are you making the people, and things that you touch better or worse?

I have a burden on my heart for unity among the local expressions of the Body of Christ.

That burden has been encouraged by the following message that I received from a friend.

“If we did all the things we were capable of doing we would literally astonish ourselves”.

I have a burning desire to be astonished by the possibilities of what God could do in our communities if we, the people of God, came together in love with others in our community.

The reading of the following scriptures have set my heart aflame to see this happen in my community, and in your community.

Romans 12:10 (KJV)

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Romans 12:12 (KJV)

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Is there anyone hearing this message who is willing to join us in carrying this burden to the Lord in prayer, and doing what the Lord tells you to do? If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you, and speak to your cries for help.

Will you pray, and will you wait for His reply? Let us lift our voices to the Lord in prayer.

Prayer:

Father, we come humbly to You, and give You praise and thanksgiving for who You are, and for being a God who hears an answers the prayers of Your people.

Father, we cast our burdens and concerns at Your feet, and we delight to open the eyes of our hearts to see You, and our ears to hear from You. Father, speak to Your people is our plea. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

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How Do You Have Hope in Hard Times and in Hard Places?

Text:

Romans 12:12 (HCSB)
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

Observation:

No matter how hard life gets in this world, and yes, life in the world is hard, but the good news is that God is good, and the best is yet to come. In fact, Christ followers should “Rejoice in hope”.

Psalm 46:1 (NLT)
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

When things get hard in our life we can rest in the blessed assurance that, “God is our refuge and strength”.

We are weak but our God is strong. When trouble knocks on your door, ask the Lord to answer the door; the battle is not yours, but the Lord’s; and He is willing and able to help you.

1 Peter 5:7 (HCSB)
casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.

Jude 1:24-25 (HCSB)
24 Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I acknowledge that I am weak, but you are strong. Father, I am grateful that the battle is yours, and not mines.

“Father, I stretch my hands to Thee;
No other help I know;
If Thou withdraw Thyself from me,
Ah, wither shall I go?”

So, I ask for your help; Father, with You as my protection, I can walk in the way that leads to victory over all the powers that oppose You, and your people.

Father, bind Your people together as we together with courage overcome the enemy of our soul. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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