Possessing God's Provisions
Salvation is a free gift from God. We can't earn it, and we never deserve it. God saves us by His grace once we put our faith in Christ as our Lord and Savior. This is all true for every believer. We are adopted into God's family, and we have eternal life. However, have you noticed that things are not all great after that, if we do not obey God and follow Christ as we should? God has a wonderful plan for our lives and He has all of the provisions we need to live out that plan, but we have to possess what He has provided. It is not automatic. Israel is a great example of this. God saved them from bondage in Egypt. He gave them the land of Canaan. However, they had to put forth effort to possess the land.(Joshua 18:3) Their effort was simply obeying what God told them. They never took over the entire land and had all God wanted them to have, because they failed to obey. They even had to go into exile in other countries, so that they were kicked out of the land, because of disobedience. All of this is a lesson for us, as believers, today.
God has given us every spiritual blessing.(Ephesians 1:3) These blessings are in the spiritual realm, "in the heavenly places." We can and will possess them, if we follow the Lord's will for our lives each day, so that we conquer the giants of life and take over the land He has for us. If we live in defeat, and we go the way of the world, we can miss God's provisions, until we return to Him and follow Him. This is why holiness is vital. Obedience is necessary. It matters how we live. Our decisions each day make a difference in our Christian lives. We do not receive all God's blessings, if we go off and do our own thing after we are saved.
See what I mean? God has given us all of the provisions we need for life. The question is, "Will we possess them?" I can give you a table saw for Christmas. If you don't like it, and you go play video games; you will not really possess the saw. It will be in the basement or the shed. You will never have all of the nice things that could have been made. Many Christians are missing out in this way. I pray we will possess all of God's provisions for us, and live the abundant life He desires for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 20-22.
God has given us every spiritual blessing.(Ephesians 1:3) These blessings are in the spiritual realm, "in the heavenly places." We can and will possess them, if we follow the Lord's will for our lives each day, so that we conquer the giants of life and take over the land He has for us. If we live in defeat, and we go the way of the world, we can miss God's provisions, until we return to Him and follow Him. This is why holiness is vital. Obedience is necessary. It matters how we live. Our decisions each day make a difference in our Christian lives. We do not receive all God's blessings, if we go off and do our own thing after we are saved.
See what I mean? God has given us all of the provisions we need for life. The question is, "Will we possess them?" I can give you a table saw for Christmas. If you don't like it, and you go play video games; you will not really possess the saw. It will be in the basement or the shed. You will never have all of the nice things that could have been made. Many Christians are missing out in this way. I pray we will possess all of God's provisions for us, and live the abundant life He desires for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 20-22.