Thoughts 09-21-23

Good morning. Rather than sharing one thought and elaborating on it for this “thought for the day” I would like to share five thoughts and scripture that amplifies them.

1.    Seek God  OurGod is the life-giver. If it is our desire to live a better life today and a joyful life for eternity, we must Seek God. The Lord said to His people: “Come looking for Me and live.” Amos 5:4

2.    Fear God  Our God is holy, and our Lord is God Almighty. He is love, and He is justice. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is the source of insight. Proverbs 9:10

3.    Love God  What is the objective of love? Is love all about the satisfaction of the heart? Is love too big a thought to contain or define? Loving God does not mean that there isn’t room for loving others, far from it! But loving God first does mean that priorities and practices are changed. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

4.    Believe God  There are times when the truth is not our favorite thing to believe. Falsehoods might be much easier to accept and seem more attractive for a number of reasons. But God is truth, and our enemy is the deceiver, the faither of lies. When speaking to the Pharisees Jesus said of Satan: You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6

5.    Serve God  He is the Master, and we are His servants. We may not always know the details, in fact we often don’t know them, but we do know the one who is commanding us is faithful. We know Him, we trust Him, and we love Him. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8

Seek God; fear God; love God; believe God; and serve God. Those are parameters of faithfulness, and I believe are worthy of our thoughts for this day.

Vern