God's Fatherly Love, Grace and Patient Restoration

God loves us with the kind of love that never fails (1 Corinthians 13:7 "Love never fails...") and never gives up. Its an EVERLASTING love just as the verse below says. I couldn't help but notice how the word "AGAIN" clearly emphasizes just how EVERLASTING His love is. There are times when WE move away from God, disobey Him, make a mess of things (our life) and destroy what He was building in and through us. Yet He chooses to deal with us patiently and kindly (1 Corinthians 13:4 " Love is patient. Love is kind...") and out of love for us calls us back. He relentlessly draws us back to Him and AGAIN rebuilds, restores and renews us.

(Jeremiah 31:3-5) "The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, “I HAVE LOVED YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE; Therefore I HAVE DRAWN YOU WITH LOVINGKINDNESS. “AGAIN I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! AGAIN you will take up your tambourines, And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers. “AGAIN you will plant vineyards On the hills of Samaria; The planters will plant And will enjoy them."

The process of restoration and renewal although good is not always painless. Much like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis trying to BREAK FREE of the old and ugly cocoon that traps its beauty. This is often exactly what its like when we decide to repent and ask God to renew and restore us. It will involve destroying old and dearly loved destructive habits, veering away from cherished bad company and facing up to our own faults and helplessness to name a few. This is where the "weeping" is as we come back to the Lord. The encouragement is that although weeping, He is with us leading us and as we walk with Him on the path of restoration He provides (streams of water) all we will need to see it through and eventually walk without stumbling.

(Jeremiah 31:9) “With WEEPING THEY WILL COME, And by supplication I WILL LEAD THEM; I will MAKE THEM WALK BY STREAMS OF WATERS, ON A STRAIGHT PATH in which THEY WILL NOT STUMBLE; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

I used to think that restoration was my responsibility. That I had to "fix" myself first before I could go back to God. Thinking that I would deal with my old sinful nature first on my own and then return to God. The TRUTH that I've come to realize is that I can't and don't have the strength to "fix" myself and deal with my old sinful nature. Restoration comes from God. Acknowledging we can't do it/fix it on our own and asking for Him to draw us back is the beginning of the process of restoration. God is just waiting patiently and YEARNING for us to accept this. In fact, in the verse below it says: "I certainly still remember Him..My heart YEARNS for him.

(Jeremiah 31:18-20) “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained calf; BRING ME BACK THAT I MAY BE RESTORED FOR YOU ARE THE LORD MY GOD, ‘For after I turned back, I repented; And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ “Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, AS OFTEN AS I HAVE SPOKEN AGAINST HIM, I certainly STILL REMEMBER HIM; Therefore MY HEART YEARNS FOR HIM; I WILL surely HAVE MERCY ON HIM,” declares the LORD."

If you are reading this now, perhaps God is calling you back to Him. He misses you like a father misses his own son that went away. He is waiting, yearning for you to come back. His mercy and grace are just waiting to be poured out on you to cover you just like the new robe covered the prodigal son when he returned home to his father. The ring which is a symbol of your "sonship" is waiting to be put back on your finger. The sandals waiting to be put back on your feet. A roasted calf and the best wine is waiting to be served in celebration for your return. The best part of it all is that you don't have to RUN ALL THE WAY BACK HOME ON YOUR OWN. All you need to do is decide to turn back and God Himself will run to you and meet you just as the father ran toward his son when the son decided to come back home.

(Luke 15:20) "So he got up and came to his father, BUT WHILE HE WAS STILL A LONG WAY OFF, HIS FATHER FELT COMPASSION FOR HIM, AND RAN AND EMBRACED HIM AND KISSED HIM."

So what are you waiting for? If you feel that God is calling you back, then return. Wherever you are right now, in the silence of your heart pray and ask God something like this : "Heavenly Father, I know I have sinned against You, that my sin separates me from You and there is nothing I can do on my own to be worthy of Your forgiveness. I am truly sorry. I now turn away from my sinful past and turn to You for forgiveness. Please forgive me. I believe that Your son Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for the penalty of my sins, that He was raised from the dead and is now at Your right hand with all authority. I invite Jesus into my heart to become my Lord and Savior, to rule and reign in my life from this day forward. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

The Sovereignty of God and of Earthly Authority

God is sovereign. He is enthroned in heaven and the earth is His footstool (Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:35; Acts 7:49). He made everyone and everything. Everything He has made was made by Him to accomplish His purpose and His plans. He is in control and we can rest assured that His plans are for the good of those who have chosen to walk in His ways and in a manner pleasing to Him.

(Jeremiah 27:5) “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight."

Its such an overwhelming comfort to know that God's plans for us are for our own welfare. What's even more amazing is that these "good" plans are so good that they will always go beyond our finite concept of "goodness"(Ephesians 3:20-21Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen). Even more comforting and amazing is the fact that because He is sovereign, we are assured that He can bring these plans to completion.

(Jeremiah 29:11) "For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

The verse above is perhaps one of the most quoted verses in the Bible largely because of the assurance of God's plan and the promise of welfare. It is one of my favorites. Little did I know that the verses following it holds an even greater promise than welfare and prosperity. The promise that God will listen to us and that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our heart. Its a humbling thought to think that the sovereign God and creator of the universe makes Himself available to us--waiting for us to call upon Him in truth.

(Psalm 145:18 )"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth")

(Jeremiah 29:12) "Then YOU WILL CALL upon ME and come and PRAY TO ME, and I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART."

One of the ways we can manifest our trust in the sovereignty of God and faith that He is in control is by submitting to authority. This is a huge area of improvement for me, especially when I feel that I know better or that I am right and they are wrong. When this happens I need to humble myself and be reminded that GOD IS SOVEREIGN and that these same authorities were established by God Himself.

(Romans 13:1)"Every person is to be in subjection to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."

(Colossians 1:16). "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him."

(Titus 3:1-2) "Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men."

Mornings With My Shepherd

My morning runs are often a time for me to reflect. This morning as I was running I realized a few things that I would like to share with you.

We all experience difficult times in our lives. Oftentimes, these difficulties and adversity are brought about by our own wrong decisions, stubbornness, and largely resistance to doing what God is very clearly saying to us. I know this to be true for me.

In my reflections I was reminded of a story about how shepherds deal with their sheep. In any flock, there are sheep who out of not knowing any better or out of sheer stubbornness stray away from the herd. When this happens these sheep are exposed to danger, pain and at worst--death.

In the first few instances that the sheep strays, the shepherd uses his staff to reach out and draw the erring sheep back to the fold. That is why we often see a "crook / hook" at the end of the shepherd's wooden staff. This is used to hook the neck of the sheep and draw them back to the herd. I'm certain that for the sheep, this experience is by no means pleasurable. Imagine being pulled back from your neck ?!? The farther away the sheep has strayed, the longer it is that the sheep will experience the less than pleasurable, if not painful, experience of being pulled back to the herd with the use of the staff.

Sadly, sheep will be sheep. Especially stubborn (like me) sheep. Eventually, if the experience of the staff is not enough to convince the sheep from straying away from the shepherd, things escalate. The shepherd, out of love and concern for his precious sheep will do something drastic. In this case, the shepherd eventually has to break bones on the sheep's leg so that it can't stray away from him anymore. Now if the staff was painful, imagine how much more painful this is!

This is not only painful for the sheep but for the shepherd as well. Sheep are precious to the shepherd. Shepherds want their sheep to be perfect, unblemished, unscarred, undeformed. However, out of love for the sheep, the shepherd will sometimes have to resort to this method to keep them from straying away into danger and death. There are times when the broken bones heal and the sheep come out of the experience still whole. In most cases however, that sheep will walk away from the experience with a scar, a limp, etc. That scar or limp remains to remind the sheep of how much the shepherd loves him as well as to remind him not to stray away again.

Because of the broken bones the sheep cannot walk. As such, the sheep is carried by the shepherd over his shoulders until the bones heal and it is able to walk again. It is during this time of pain and healing, while on the shoulders of its shepherd, that the sheep gets close to its shepherd and is renewed and restored to health.

A lot of times in my life, I was that stubborn sheep. Many times God, My Shepherd, has used His staff to call and pull me back into the fold. But as sheep will be sheep so boys will be boys and in the stubbornness of my heart, I often refused and ignored His calls. Inevitably, He had to break my legs (figuratively). Not because He wants to hurt me purposely but because He loves me and wants to draw me back to Him, restore my intimacy with Him and draw me away from things, people and circumstances that are dangerous for me.

If we are experiencing hurt, pain, failure, disappointment, loss, loneliness, etc. right now could it be that we are straying from our Good and Loving Shepherd and He is calling us back? Could it be that we are doing something, holding on to something or to someone that is drawing us away from the Shepherd? If so, I pray that we won't wait for the "breaking" experience and heed the pull of our shepherd's staff.

On the other hand, if our legs, our bones have been figuratively broken by the Shepherd, I pray that we use the time to regain and restore our intimacy with Him and that by His grace we may heal completely.

Lastly, let us not forget that over two thousand years ago, a perfect unblemished lamb had to be broken too--on a rugged and cruel cross. He was broken not because He strayed but because it was the only way to bring the other sheep who strayed back into the arms of The Shepherd. He bore the pain and wears the scars of the thorns on His head and the nails on His hands and feet out of love. And one day, when we are brought into Heaven and our physical bodies are glorified and perfected, we will still see Him wearing those scars as a reminder of how much He loves us and what lengths He would go through to bring us back to Him.

The Cracked Pot

Good morning!

The week is almost over. I don't know about you, but for me this is usually the time when I am drawn to look back at the past few days and begin reflecting. Unfortunately, there are times while I'm doing this that I see more mistakes/failures rather than successes, more flaws and weaknesses rather than strengths. Many times, I feel pretty much like the cracked pot in this story that I'd like to share with you.

The Story of the Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?” “I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.” The pot said

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Jeremiah 18:6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the (B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel."

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 "27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God."

2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness...”

Be encouraged. We serve a sovereign and powerful God who is able to work "through" our cracks, our dents and if need be patch them up for His glory!

Reflections on 2 Kings 5: The Servant's Heart 1 of 2

Reflections on 2 Kings 5: The Servant's Heart (1 of 2)

In this passage of scripture, we see four servants: the maidservant of Naaman's wife, the King of Israel (in the service of God), Naaman's soldiers, and finally Gehazi (Elisha's servant). Let's take a look at the first two.

2 Kings 5:1-7

¹ Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^[a]with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. ² Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were ^[c]with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴ Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” ⁵ Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.

⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷When the king of Israel read the letter, ^(E)he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking ^[f]a quarrel against me.”

The Maidservant vs. the King

A true servant draws strength from and has faith in his master's abilities to provide, protect, preserve and accomplish His will through him as he serves.

The maidservant being an Israelite looked to God himself as master or essentially through His representative, the prophet Elijah. That is why when this maidservant saw the condition of Naaman (having leprosy), her natural response was to tell Naaman of Elisha the prophet and his ability to cure—most likely after having experienced this or seen it first-hand. On the other hand, the King, after seeing Naaman, had an altogether different reaction. It was one of despair. I praise God for the contrast He uses not just in this passage but in this book of 2^nd kings. In Chapter 6 it was a contrast between the four lepers and the king. But as early as this chapter we find a contrast between a king’s reaction to crisis and that of a mere maidservant. I praise God for the consistency of His word, for was it not said in the book of 1 Corinthians:

²⁶ For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to^[b]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷ but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no man may boast before God. ³⁰ But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

The thought of the consistency of God’s word blows my mind. But God in His grace has yet to give me insights on the beauty of this thought.

In the meantime, let’s go back and take a look at the King and the maidservant. If we really bring it down to the bottom-line, both of them were looking at the same thing. They were both looking at a man with leprosy. The maidservant’s humble response enabled her to point Naaman to go to Israel and seek Elisha to be healed. On the other hand, the king who was in Israel himself and also had knowledge of Elisha was completely ineffective, he turned and looked at himself and as such became desperate.

Admittedly, I would have loved to have lived in the time of the OT, seeing all these great and mighty miracles come to pass. But as Christians of today, living in the age of grace, we too are being used by God (hopefully like the maidservant and not the king) to bring about and see miracles unfold before our very eyes—the miracle of changed lives. How is this done? Simply by doing what the maidservant did. She pointed. Our (MY) goal as a Christian is not to “save” people but rather to point them to the “Savior”. The moment I start relying on my own craftiness /competence (I become like the king in v.7) I start becoming ineffective. No amount of eloquence, no measure of worldly wisdom can change a man’s heart—only God can do that. I have no strength or wisdom of my own to save men. All I have is knowledge of the savior who by His grace saved a wretched man like me.

As I reflect on this, I am even reminded of that passage in Exodus 3 and 4, when God was giving Moses his mission and Moses looks at himself and realizes all his own inadequacies.

Our duty is to tell other people of the Savior, not to be a savior in their eyes. It will be frustrating at times especially when we don’t see people reacting the way we would want as we share the gospel with them. But let me encourage you with this verse I found in Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; ¹¹ So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Get to know God by reading His word. Carve His words in your heart that you may act in a manner that is pleasing to Him. Point others to Christ through your words and your actions. Leave the results to God.

How Much Is Christianity Worth?

I did not think I would be posting another entry in my blog for today. But God in his grace, led me to and inspired me through a story I read in a Christian blog post. This was exactly what I was looking for to cap-off my quiet time verses this morning which was in Ephesians 2:1-10 and Matthew 5:10-15.

Ephesians 2:1-10 ¹ And you ^[a]were ^(A)dead ^[b]in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you ^(B)formerly walked according to the ^[c]course of ^(C)this world, according to ^(D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in ^(E)the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all^(F)formerly lived in ^(G)the lusts of our flesh, ^[d]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the^[e]mind, and were ^(H)by nature ^(I)children of wrath, ^(J)even as the rest. ⁴ But God, being^(K)rich in mercy, because of ^(L)His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were^(M)dead ^[f]in our transgressions, made us alive together ^[g]with Christ (^(N)by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and ^(O)raised us up with Him, and ^(P)seated us with Him in ^(Q)the heavenlyplaces in ^(R)Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing^(S)riches of His grace in ^(T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(U)by grace you have been saved ^(V)through faith; and ^[h]that not of yourselves, it is ^(W)the gift of God; ^{9 (X)}not as a result of works, so that ^(Y)no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, ^(Z)created in^(AA)Christ Jesus for ^(AB)good works, which God ^(AC)prepared beforehand so that we would^(AD)walk in them.

One of the most difficult times in my Christian life is when I can't see what tomorrow will bring and my yesterday is trying to catch up with me and calling me back to the life I once lived.

I see this in those moments when decisions I am about to make will define whether I am a follower of Christ or still a child of this world and a slave to my old ways. It could be times when I have to surrender what I previously knew as "craftiness" or “competence” in exchange for doing what would be more pleasing to God.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that being competent or making sure that we are doing things right is not pleasing to God. I am merely saying that as Christians we are called on to take this a level higher. Going beyond just doing things right and instead making sure that we do the right thing and do it right---just as God would have us do it. Doing things right by the world’s standards does not always align with doing them according to God’s standards.

Oftentimes, this is easy enough to do in big, life-changing decisions. Why? Because in these situations oftentimes everything is black and white. Right and wrong are clearly defined and there are no two-ways about what we ought to do. By and large we are victorious in battles we wage in this area of our lives.

Sadly, as Christians, this is not where the battle rages. This is not the trench. This is the map room. This is strategic not tactical. Any general worth his mettle would know that too many tactical battles lost will inevitably lose you the war.

Allow me to tell you a story that I read in a Christian blog:

“Several years ago, a young priest moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. A few weeks after he arrived, He had occasion to ride a bus. As he took his seat, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him, twenty-pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself:”you better give the twenty-pence back. It would be wrong to keep it.

Then he thought: “Oh, forget it. It’s just twenty-pence. Who would worry about such a small amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they’ll probably never miss it. Besides, this may even be a blessing of sorts from God.”

Does this sound familiar? Ever been in a situation similar to the priest? How did we react? Did we rationalize? Justify? Or worse, did we actually “spin” the situation so that it would not only be acceptable/rational/justified but even seemingly “miraculous”? This is as "tactical" as "tactical" can get. No strategic arguments here about grace, prophecy or tribulation, etc., etc,.This is where the battle is waged. But how? Its just such a little thing. Such a small decision. Right? Let’s see what happened in the rest of the story.

“When his stop came, the priest paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty-pence back to the driver and said:”Here, you gave me twenty-pence too much change.”

The driver, with a smile, replied:”Aren’t you the new parish priest in the area? I have been thinking lately of going to worship in your church. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”

When the young priest stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and hold on for support. As he hung on to the post, with tears in his eyes he looked up to heaven and said: “Oh, my Jesus forgive me. I almost sold out Christianity for a mere twenty-pence!”

We rarely ever see the impact that our actions have on the people and the world around us. As Christians, we must come to the full appreciation and realization that our lives and the way we live it may be the only Bible some people will ever get to read. Jesus himself said:

Matthew 5:13-15 “13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

The challenge is not so much how we do the right thing rightly in the big decisions of our lives, rather the challenge is how we show the Christ of the Bible through the seemingly small, mundane decisions we make in our daily life. It is here where our battle as Christians rages. It is here where everyday people see everyday Christianity lived out. It is here where souls are won or lost for the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is where the salt is tested for its saltiness and this is where our light should shine the brightest.

Admittedly, there are a lot of thought patterns, reactions, habits we acquired in our pre-Christian life that we still carry over into our present life as believers. These were not “magically” gone when we accepted Christ.

If you’re like me, then most likely we’ve all been able to deal with the major issues in our thought life, actions and habits that we know are not pleasing to God. However, it’s the “little things” that I find hard to surrender. Largely because of their littleness (IRONIC!). They could be as simple as the way we react to other people on the road as we drive, what comes into our mind when things don’t go our way, how we treat our staff, colleagues, help, etc. when they do something wrong / against us / or simply make a mistake, etc. It’s these things that we need to completely surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

Big things, big plans, big decisions are easily surrendered to Jesus. It’s the little ones we are often unaware of that we have difficulty surrendering. Its almost as if saying to Jesus: “Lord, all my lands, all my fields are yours..but I’m not giving you my house, my fireplace, my dining room, my closet—leave them to me, I can take care of them. They’re too little for a Lord like You.”

Well, truth is, although it is exciting to experience the fellowship, power and faithfulness of our Lord in the fields of our lives, still the most meaningful and unforgettable times of refreshing fellowship are experienced in the home—our heart, in the little things. This is where Jesus desires to be intimate with us. That’s why he said in Revelation 3:20

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

The idea of dining together here is a picture of “intimacy / closeness”.

Moreover, we will realize that when it comes to trusting God in the really tough, big, decisions of life, it helps to have practiced trusting Him in the small ones. Being "intimate" and "honest" with Him in the little things. The “good works” that result from trusting him in these little areas of our life serve as further proof of the faith in Christ that led us to salvation (Ephesians2:10). Only when we're conscious of our Christianity in the mundane, little, day-to-day, decisions can we expect this same Christianity to naturally come out and shine for the glory of God in the big decisions we make!

This is where the worth of our Christianity is measured. It's not everyday we get to make "big", "life-changing" decisions. But we are called on to make decisions moment-by-moment of our lives. This is where other people see the true value / worth of our Christianity.

This is not just seen and appreciated by God but seen by the people that God wants to reach through us. This is where the battle is won! Fight the good fight fellow soldier in Christ! The battle is joined! Victory is ours and heaven is in sight! Press on!