The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/zep.3.17.KJV
God has never left this world and the people who live here alone. Satan wants you to believe that God doesn’t care about you, but Jesus wouldn’t have died to atone for your sins if He didn’t care. Your life is worth more than all of the wealth of the world to God. If Jesus Christ could only save one person from hell, He would’ve still come to die for you or me.
Don’t turn your back on such a great love that God has for you. No matter what is going on in your life, God loves you and He will be there in your situation with you.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him”.
Just living in God’s Presence each day is a joy that cannot be found anywhere else. No amount of “fun” or material things on this Earth can bring you the peace and the joy that is found in Him. Some people confuse joy with happiness but happiness wanes when the feeling is gone. Joy is found in faith in Him because our joy is eternal and cannot be taken away by anything or anyone.
Doctrine and discipline are found in religions that do not produce eternal joy and peace. Only faith in Jesus and in His atonement for your life can give you joy that cannot be understood by anyone outside of having faith in Him. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
Knowing that you are in the presence of the One that loves you most brings peace and joy that cannot be found anywhere except in His Presence. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
Finding peace and joy in the midst of trouble and sorrow can only be done in the presence of God and by prayer, knowing that He loves you and you are cared for more deeply than anyone on Earth can possibly do.
Most people will tell you that there are many ways to get to heaven but that is not what has been taught in the Bible. The continuous thread of salvation from Genesis to Revelation has always pointed to Jesus as the Savior. God’s Word doesn’t speak of the Messiah as being many people because there is only One, Jesus. But, when you read the book of Matthew you will find where Jesus told of the “way to life”.
Matthew 7:13-14 says: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Some teach that the way to life is easy and free of trials but that isn’t true. Even Jesus told His disciples that “you will have trouble in this world“. Even though the way to Heaven and eternity does seem to be parallel with the roads that actually don’t get you there, make sure you are on the right pathway. Other religions do tell of being good and kind to others and many of their good points sound very much like Christianity but if you will read the Bible entirely you will find that it’s the one that has the Truth in it. The others are just making copies of that truth with some convenient changes that make their message sound very appealing.
That is why Jesus told His disciples to hold fast to their faith and do not be fooled by other claims from false prophets and religions. This is why we must place our Earthly life of things and temporary pleasures on the altar and sacrifice it daily so we can live a life surrendered to Jesus. This isn’t easy for people to hear because in our world the culture says “get more, be more, earn more” but none of “more” satisfies the longing in our hearts. We feel this as we grow but we don’t know what we are looking for until Jesus takes His place in our heart.
Even when the wide and easy road seems to go in the right direction, the narrow way leads to eternity with God.
This is the primary reason why He created mankind. God wants a personal relationship with each of us. He had it with everyone that was willing to be alone with Him and be useful to Him in the Old Testament and He wants that today. How do I know this? Because I read the Bible and He always speaks to those who are willing to listen.
You might ask how do I know if I’m hearing from God? That also involves reading the Bible. If you don’t know His voice from reading it, how can you know if He’s speaking to you? I’m not bragging about what I do but our world is in a crisis and it is the church that needs to respond. If you aren’t seeking Him and His wisdom then you are trying to use your wisdom and our “wisdom” doesn’t compare to His.
God doesn’t speak audibly to me or to many people today although I have heard of a few people who came to salvation because He spoke to them in their dreams. My point about reading the Bible and knowing His voice is simply this: if you don’t know how He does things or how He thinks, then how will you recognize His thoughts or His voice if you hear it? The only way to learn about God’s voice and how He looks at our world is to read the Bible prayerfully and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Sounds crazy but He will do it if you ask Him in faith.
Jesus walked with God every day and He still woke up early and went to a quiet place away from crowds to pray and talk with His Father. He was seeking the Father’s will for His ministry and He did this many times during the three years of His ministry. God wants a relationship with His children and if you are a Christian or if you are thinking about asking Jesus into your life, then He wants that relationship with you too. He is the Creator of everything and He knows about everything in the universe but He pays attention even when a sparrow falls from the sky. If God cares about even a tiny sparrow, don’t you think He cares even more about where you are and what is going on in your life?
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. Deuteronomy 10:20 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/deu.10.20.KJV
There is life everlasting in the name of Jesus, yet our world doesn’t want to hear this today. Mainly because those who are in the world and not a part of the church can’t see much difference between the people in the church and those outside it. Why aren’t we, as Christians, trying to live our lives as a reflection of Jesus instead of a reflection of the world around us? This is not the way that Jesus wanted His church to be.
We are supposed to live as a reflection of Him on a daily basis, not just on Sundays or holidays. We are supposed to take the example that He set for His disciples and be that example to those outside the church so that they will want to know Him as their Savior. If people know that you attend church regularly and then see or hear you acting outside the church like someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior…why would they want what you say you have?
Your life as a Christian is not going to be a perfect reflection of Jesus but you should at least try to live your daily life as one of His disciples! This is why you hear so many people saying that they won’t attend that church because there are too many hypocrites in it. Some won’t come to church because someone said something to them in the wrong tone years ago or they criticized the way they were dressed. Jesus accepted anyone regardless of their status or their clothes and we should do the same.
In the parable of the banquet, this parable was spoken to the guests at the Pharisee’s banquet. Jesus had noticed them picking out the places of honor for themselves, and this prompted the parable.
Jesus presents to them an imaginary or hypothetical banquet scene in which they themselves figure. Suppose they presume to take the high place reserved for the guest of honor. Then they may be asked to move to a less honored place, and thus be disgraced and embarrassed. However, if they choose to sit in the lowest place, they will likely be asked to take a more honored position and this will reflect their credit.
The Living Message of Christ 