Dear
Doves,
Yesterday, I wrote about the following ten actions that we
could take as part of our Christian walk. Today, I would like to take my own
advice and provide Scriptural verses to justify the ten actions, as an
exercise to make the imprinting of these actions more powerful in my mind. The
verses follow immediately after each of the action descriptions.
If
you also decide to do this exercise, I would love to see the verses you
selected! (robertbelangerc@aol.com)
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TEN
ACTIONS WE CAN DO
1) We must get our own relationship with God and
His Son aligned to His will. We must confess our known and unknown sins (lust of
the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life) and repent of our unfaithful
behavior. We absolutely need to start with ourselves, rather than seeking
someone or something else to blame for our troubles Our troubles are often our
own fault because we have an inborn tendency to stray away from God's protective
presence (called sinning), by not praying and reading the Word He has
provided.
If you seek me with all your
heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those
desires.
Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20
2)
We must completely surrender our free will to His will and present ourselves as
instruments or agents for His will both in our own lives and in the lives
of others. If we are in a good relationship with God, Remember, He can and does
empower others to work for our benefit, often unknown to us at the time.
However, if we are not in good standing with God, He cannot easily work through
those that can affect the outcome of our life decisions.
Come home and I'll throw the
biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7
I have always been Father,
and
will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15
3)
We must forgive all, as He forgives all knowing that they know not what they are
doing when they try to live separate from His lovingkindness and care. We are
all members of His eternal family, after we accept the sacrifice He provided in
Jesus death and resurrection, and we need to love others as He loves us all even
though at times we may fail to trust in Him completely, or to lean on His
understanding instead of our own.
Jesus died so that you and I could
be reconciled.
2
Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate
expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I
loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son
Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39
Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart;
and lean not unto thine own
understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge
him,
and he shall direct thy
paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
And forgive us our
debts,
as we forgive our
debtors,
Matthew 6:12
4)
Again, we must let Him have His way in our life, let go of the steering wheel so
to speak, so that He can work unhindered by our ignorant meddling in what He
does best and truly enjoys doing for us. Usually He knows and can bring about
better results than we can even imagine from our limited viewpoint Trapped
in a three-dimensional world of sense, we cannot see the ends that are
associated with actions and thoughts that seem trivial and inconsequential to
us, but are not so in the reality of higher dimensional understanding.
In me you live and move and have
your being.
Acts
17:28
For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28
5) We must rest in the comfort of His grace, which
is sufficient for our every need. He is ever present with unlimited resources to
do what is needed, even to perform miracles, to see that His ways are fulfilled
and that we come at last to enjoy the peace and happiness He meant for us since
the beginning. We must know completely that He wants what will bring us joy,
peace and complete wellness while we are here on earth in this mortal body. He
needs to have our trust at all times.
And it is my desire to lavish my
love on you.
1
John 3:1
Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1
6) We must use our opportunities to help others with
needs while we wait for our needs to be tended to. We should of course ask for
His guidance so that our meddling arrogance does not overflow into the lives of
others and create more stumbling blocks for God to remove.
And whatsoever ye do, do it
heartily,
as to the Lord, and not unto
men;
knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive
the reward of the
inheritance:
for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Colossians
3:23-24
7)
We must never fear that He will not do what He promised for His children who
pray in the name of His dearest Son, Jesus. He wants above everything else that
we return to His loving arms where we belong.
I will never stop doing good to
you.
Jeremiah
32:40
For you are my treasured
possession.
Exodus
19:5
I am also the Father who comforts
you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted,
I
am close to you.
Psalm 34:18
8) We must display our faith by the actions and words we
use in our relationships with persons on this side of heaven, so that
unbelievers will be motivated to search out the basis of our spiritual strength
and eventually turn in trust to Jesus for salvation.
As obedient children, not
fashioning yourselves
according to the former lusts in
your ignorance:
but as he which hath called you is
holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation;
1 Peter 1:14-15
9) We must actively maintain our relationship with God by
stopping every evil thought coming seemingly out of nowhere from the fallen ones
who desire our destruction. We need to cast out such thoughts, in Jesus name,
that are not perfectly aligned with the love and forgiveness of God, as
demonstrated by Jesus. Our strength for overcoming is promised, but we must
appropriate it actively to obtain the power it contains for
us.
Be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of
God,
That ye may be able to
stand
Against the wiles of the
devil.
Ephesians 6:10-11
10) We must seek His perfect peace by staying our mind as
much as possible each day on His love and awesome power. He will forgive and
save to the uttermost everyone that trusts in His ever-present and capable
efforts. He will assist us believers, the apple of His eye and His dearly
beloved creation, until we are finally back to where we were created to reside
for eternity--by His side and in the radiance of His Son Jesus Christ our
redeemer.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace,
Whose mind is stayed on thee:
because
He trusteth in
thee.
Isaiah 26:3
YBIC,
Robert