​As my home school family learns about this vast earth, we notice that everything has a beginning and an end. We read that even our ever faithful sun is using up its energy at an astonishing rate of millions of tons each second; it can’t last forever, and hasn’t always been. Such can truthfully be said about the entire universe; everything has a beginning and end. So, when as Christians we claim the God of the Bible as the divine Designer of the world, someone could very well pose the questions, “Who created God? When was His beginning?”

​Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
 
Worship is not just something you do at church when you sing songs and pray. No, worship is the way you should lead every day of your lives. Your life should worship God daily in every act you perform. Your life should be an act of worship. When you live a life sacrificed to God, every act needs to come into obedience to God’s Word. Your thoughts, what you look at, read, where you go, who you are friends with, the words you speak, your dress, how you spend your time, your money, what you eat and drink, how much self-control you have, and finally, love. It all turns out as an act of worship. Others can see by your life and character Whom you serve.

Last time, we unpacked the glorious promise of Jeremiah 31:14, realizing that God wants to satiate our souls with living water and soak our lives in His all-sufficient presence.  This is a wonderful truth to apply to our lives; but most of us fall short of living it as we should.  We know that our Lord is all we truly need—that He alone can bring lasting satisfaction—but we focus our energies on earthly things as if they will fulfill and complete us.  We convince ourselves that “if only” we could have this thing or reach that place or become this different person, we would finally be happy; and instead, we wind up empty and miserable.  Our gracious Heavenly Father wants much more for us than this!  He wants us to know true satisfaction, to walk through each day with joy, and to showcase His glory before an empty, miserable world.  His vision for His children is not merely to survive the daily grind, but to thrive in the midst of its challenges.  Here is a description of the life He wants for us.  The last verse is one you will recognize.  “. . . [A]nd they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord . . . [T]heir life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. . . . I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.  I will [satiate] the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord” (Jer. 31:12-14 ESV – emphasis added; same for the following verses).

We finished last time with the reminder that believers are “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9), separated unto God for holy purposes.  A wonderful promise comes with this separation.  God spoke it to the tribe of Levi in Leviticus 18:2: “Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.”  God Himself wants to be our inheritance, our portion!  No thing(s) He could ever give us would be equal to the gift of Himself.  He said this to Abraham in Genesis 15:1b: “. . .  Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”  In Him alone is all we really need and more than we could ever want.  No one else in all the universe has the ability to satisfy us fully; but our all-sufficient God can and will.  Here is His promise to us: “And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness [abundance], and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD” (Jer. 31:14).  Let's explore a little bit of what this promise means.

God's family is diverse yet unified.  He draws people with different gifts and experiences and melds them into one body, the head of which is Christ (Eph. 5:23).  Members of the body may have unique functions (1 Cor. 12), but all of us share the same calling—the same identity and purpose in Christ. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Recently I was reading through an old journal and found some lessons the Lord had taught me about "wholehearted devotion to Christ." It was good for me to be reminded of these things, and I thought I would share with you as well!
   
First Corinthians 7:34 tells us that our single years are a priceless opportunity to serve the Lord without distraction. But sometimes it seems like the longer we wait, the easier it can be to become distracted. :) (I remember reading Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," and being challenged to stay on the "look-out" for the glorious appearing of my Savior, not the glorious appearing of someone else! :)) How can we keep our eyes on Christ and offer Him single-hearted devotion during this season of our lives?
     
​God used the life of Ezekiel to teach me some important truths along these lines. Read with me about the Lord's calling on Ezekiel's life: "And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against Me: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak My words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee." - Ezekiel 2:3-8

The Scriptures tell us that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Toward the end of his life, he admonished young people with the following: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”  

Dear Sisters,
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What a rich blessing it has been to dig into the Scriptures and study Matthew 5:3-12! As I read and prayed through these verses, I was challenged to go deeper in my own walk with the Lord. I hope that the following thoughts will be an encouragement to you as well...