Wednesday, April 22, 2015

ALONE

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV)


ALONE
Attentive
Loyal
Omnipresent
Never-Failing
Encourager

God has promised to be with us until the end of the age. So, why do we feel utterly adrift at times? Why are we caught so off guard by situations that arise? Ministry is a never ending opportunity to cry out to God for the overwhelming needs experienced by His people. Seldom does a day pass without a crisis. Each demand has the potential to draw us closer to, or drive us further from the presence of God.

Remembering the attributes of our Father in Heaven, will keep us from falling into the abyss. I address this question to all the parents reading this post: Do you listen for and respond to the cry of your children?

Of course you do!

The first attribute of God we should explore today is His attentiveness. God is always paying attention to us, He sees and hears EVERYTHING. This is especially true in His house.
  
Psalm 34:15
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. (KJV)

As long as we have accepted Christ, strive daily to live for him, quickly repent when we get it wrong, God covers us with the righteousness of His Son, Jesus. Grace has been defined as “un-merited favor” for decades…It was the first thing I learned as a Christian. We do not deserve God’s grace or attention, but He offers both freely because of Christ in us. God is Attentive!

Proverbs 18:23-24
23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. 24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (KJV)

The world seems to be full of beggars, abusers, disloyal friends, and manipulators each angling for their best advantage. We cannot frustrate ourselves by judging motivations we have no control over. Just put complete trust in that friend that sticks closer than a brother…Knowing He is Christ. God is Loyal.

There is no denying that struggles with health, problems in our marriages, financial stress, and family issues pop their ugly heads up into our lives, but God and His grace are greater than any of these problems. God has not and will not ever abandon us while we hold our confession of faith tightly. There is nowhere we can go that God cannot reach us. When we begin to feel alone, remember God is Attentive to our cries. He is a Loyal friend. God is Omnipresent. He is the Never-Failing God. Our Father in Heaven is an Encourager to all His children.

Psalm 139:8-10
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (NIV)

Never doubt that God is aware of exactly where you are and what you ae facing. He has a purpose for everything we go through and He has promised to go through it with us. We are never ALONE.

Hebrews 13:5-6, 8-9
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”… Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. (NASB)

God’s love for us never changes. His plan for us is never undone. Even when the problems we are facing are of our own making, by that I mean, if we have fallen into some sin or another, God gentle calls us back into a fresh relationship with Him. We will not be consumed by our failures, problems, or shortcomings when we return to the Never-failing love God has for us. We can just get off the rollercoaster and put trust completely in Him.

Malachi 3:6
 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (KJV)

God has called each of us and has gifted every one of us to accomplish His plan with our lives. He has not changed His mind. He has not repossessed the gifting He gave any of us. He waits for our response and uses us to show mercy to one another.

 Romans 11:29-31
 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. (KJV)

The hymn “God Leads Us Along” has been going through my head for about a week now. I’m fixated on the words of the chorus, “Some through the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the Blood, some through great sorrow but God gives a song in the night season and all the day long.”

No matter what our struggles or the obstacles in our path it is God Who leads us along. He will never leave us, and He will see us through every difficulty.

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Our Heavenly Father is our Attentive, Loyal, Omnipresent, Never-failing, Encourager. Don’t get this wrong. He is not the magic wand we wave at every trouble or care. He is the Creator of ALL things, the Giver of Life, and an ever-present help in times of trouble. We are not attempting to redefine the word alone. We are using what we know about the attributes of God to express God’s love, grace and faithfulness toward His children. We are NEVER alone.

John 14:18
18 I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you. (AMP)

 Yes – Problems are real, but the truth of God’s Word, and His Spirit working in us overcomes the temporal limitation we face; because Christ is working in us an eternal plan. It is my hope that in some small way God has used this message to bring encouragement into the hearts of all who read it. When we begin to feel overwhelmed, dismayed, or cast aside, focus on the nature of God and by His grace we will never feel alone as long as His Word is burning in our hearts.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (KJV)

May the Grace of Christ be with you, He is the comforter of the oppressed. 

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