Just Dust

Psalm 103:13

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
¹⁴ For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

At times we feel so inadequate for life's expectations.  I am a husband, a dad, a home-school parent, a friend, a son, an employee, the list goes on.  At various times I feel that I can not measure up and do the things I know God would have me to do and do them well. It is easy to get caught up in performance and think that God can love us less or is disappointed in us. 

The verse above should encourage you.  See you can only be disappointed in someone or something if your expectation is high or misplaced.  God knows that we are just dust and so His expectation of us is that we are needy and unable to do anything without Him. Just as a new born babe depends on it's parents so we must depend on our Father. 

John 15:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

This I Know

We go through many heartaches and troubles; it is what the Lord Jesus promised us.  He said "in this world you will have trouble".  Loss of loved ones, betrayal, slander, mocking, and sometimes these are done by the people we would least expect, sickness, loss of house, jobs and income.  Truly we are being lead as sheep to the slaughter.  The temptation is to doubt, to be angry and to lash out at others and at God.

Take this encouragement, everything is for your good. Trust in the perfect love of God.  Trust that He knows exactly what you need to make you more like Him.  To conform you to the image of His son.  Just as He is the express image of the Father. You will become the express image of the Son.  Learn to trust Him in your circumstances and in your relationships. Surrender to His will just as Jesus did, accepting suffering and ridicule, betrayal and false accusation as from the Fathers hand.  You will then be able to proclaim this I know that JESUS LOVES ME SO.   Jesus trusted in the Fathers love and His will, let us do the same.

Holy Endevor

Ephesians 4:3

³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

As a believer are you endeavoring (striving, trying hard) to keep the unity of the Spirit.  Paul exhorts the church to make every effort in keeping unity.  This means humbling yourself Philippians 2 and not thinking highly of yourself. It also means loving which covers a multitude of sins. 

Jesus has called us to be one just as He and the Father are one; to love one another just as He loved us. So I ask you are you striving to keep your own rights, build your own kingdom or are you striving to do the Fathers will, even if it means you have to die. 

In Christ 
Angus

He Wil Bring Rest

Zephaniah 3:17

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁷ The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.  Believer God is in your midst.  He will save you from your current situation.  He rejoices over you (not just loving you but delighting in you).  He will quiet you with His love and He will sing over you. 

Take heart, God has not abandon you to yourself or your situation.  Trust and obey for He is in your Midst. 

Remembering the Basics

I was a sprinter in school. The 100 and 200 meter dash were my specialties, if you can call them that.  I can remember one track meet that our team was down a man and the coach asked me to run the 400 meter.  I was all in.  I lined up like it was a 200 meter and my mind was already on the finish line.  It didn't take long, about 200 yards, to realize I did not know what I was doing.   I started out beating everyone but at about the 200 mark I ran out of gas.  I finished last. I had attempted to run a race I had never trained for and failed.  Had I had any training I could have paced my start and finished a lot better than last. 

Our christian walk can seem like a race that we had not prepared for.  We have times when we are on fire and times when we seem to run out of gas.  This can make us feel or believe that we have failed and are loosing the race.  You RELATIONSHIP with the living God is not a sprint, it is a marathon.  Jesus is in your life for the long haul.  I am not talking about a run on asphalt or a nice rubberized track.  I am talking cross country, full of potholes and other obstacles; that if you are not aware of, you could be injured. 

In the times when you feel like you are running out of gas for this race or that you have hit a wall it is important to remember the basics:

1. Jesus is the savior.  You are not saving yourself or securing your own righteousness. 
2. It is for His glory.  We are not saved to fulfill all our earthly dreams.  We are saved to the glory of His grace. (Ephesians 1) 
3. God does not quit.  Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6, that God is able to complete the good work He started. 
4. He loves you and love never fails.   1 Corinthians 13. 

 Keep you eyes on Jesus and you will finish the race. 

Who is your God?

Are you filled with the fullness of Jesus Christ or are you looking to some other source for your God given needs.  Even as believers we can and will be tempted to set up idols for ourselves. Things that we turn to in hopes to find what we need.   Let me give you just a few examples:


When I am prideful, I lack acceptance. I've been given the right to be His child. John 1:12
When I am lustful, I lack intimacy. Closeness with Christ. My life is hidden in Him. John 14:23
When I am angry, I lack peace.   John 14:27

 The Gospel does not end with your ticket to heaven.  It is a continual sanctification of  your soul unto God through Jesus Christ.  Often we waste our time on our human efforts to fulfill the needs in our life when we only need to look to Jesus.  Remember that He is life.  He is our righteousness.  He is our peace.  He is our best Friend.  He will glorify Himself in us and through us.