Good morning, y'all!
James 4:4-5
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?
The motivation for desiring a friendship with God over a friendship with the world is that "the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously". I looked up that word "yearns" in a couple of Greek dictionaries...it means : "to long for, desire, to pursue with love, to long after" (Thayer's) and "(to yearn); to dote upon, that is, intensely crave possession" (Strong's). God's Holy Spirit yearns and longs for us; He pursues us with love; He intensely craves to call us entirely His own. Do we return this craving with a longing of our own to develop an ever-deepening friendship with God? Or are we so busy trying to be "relevant" so we can "relate to the world" that we don't even realize we have ceased to relate to God? Who would we rather be friends with--God or the world? We have to choose! And do we conciously make that choice in all of our seemingly little everyday decisions?
Father, I would rather know You and be known as Yours than anything; but it's easy to lose sight of that big goal in the "littleness" of everyday life! Help me to keep that in mind, conciously choosing YOU in every decision I make, looking at each decision as a step towards You...and away from the world.
May the Lord richly bless you as you pursue a friendship with Him rather than the world!
Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Luke 1:74-75
Good morning, y'all!
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Luke 1:74-75
To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
We have been delivered that we might serve Him. That is a slightly revolutionary thought--God didn't save me from sin for my comfort, but for His glory. It also happens to lead to a much better life, ultimately, but the road there isn't necessarily going to be smooth. And I believe that how I walk that road should be impacted by this realization that I was delivered to serve Him.
This service should be bold, uninhibited, free from any fear of man. Paul stated that if he was still worried about serving men, he wouldn't be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10) "Fear of man" and "serving God" are, evidently, mutually exclusive.
Our service should also flow out of a life of holiness and righteousness. It doesn't have to be a life of "perfectness", but a constant pressing onward. And again, the idea of pleasing God, not man, is here: the phrase "before Him" literally means "in His face". Who cares what the world may say, is our life holy in God's eyes? Are we right with God? And are we striving to serve Him all the days of our life?
Father, help me to serve You boldy, without fear; living a holy and righteous life before You!
May the Lord richly bless you as you live for Him!
Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke 1:74-75
To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
We have been delivered that we might serve Him. That is a slightly revolutionary thought--God didn't save me from sin for my comfort, but for His glory. It also happens to lead to a much better life, ultimately, but the road there isn't necessarily going to be smooth. And I believe that how I walk that road should be impacted by this realization that I was delivered to serve Him.
This service should be bold, uninhibited, free from any fear of man. Paul stated that if he was still worried about serving men, he wouldn't be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10) "Fear of man" and "serving God" are, evidently, mutually exclusive.
Our service should also flow out of a life of holiness and righteousness. It doesn't have to be a life of "perfectness", but a constant pressing onward. And again, the idea of pleasing God, not man, is here: the phrase "before Him" literally means "in His face". Who cares what the world may say, is our life holy in God's eyes? Are we right with God? And are we striving to serve Him all the days of our life?
Father, help me to serve You boldy, without fear; living a holy and righteous life before You!
May the Lord richly bless you as you live for Him!
Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.
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