Tag: <span>trust</span>

Published September 5, 2011

All God’s Children

by Max Lucado

“And if they are saved by God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.  For in that case, God’s wonderful kindness would not be what it really is – free and undeserved.” Romans 11:6 NLT

To whom does God offer His gift? To the brightest?  The most beautiful or the most charming?
No. His gift is for us all – beggars and bankers, clergy and clerks, judges and janitors.  All God’s children.

And He wants us so badly, He’ll take us in any condition – ‘as is’ reads the tag on our collars.

He’s not about to wait for us to reach perfection (He knows we’ll never get there).  Do you think He’s waiting for us to overcome all temptations?  Hardly.  When we master the Christian walk?  Far from it.

Remember, Christ died for us when we were still sinners.  His sacrifice, then, was not dependent on our performance.

He wants us now.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2011/09/05/ml_all-gods-children/

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Max Lucado
From: No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published September 4, 2011

Pray Not to be Taken Out of the World

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2011.

“I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world.” John 17:15

Christian DevotionalIt is a sweet and blessed event which will occur to all believers in God’s own time: Going home to be with Jesus. In a few more years the Lord’s soldiers, who are now fighting “the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) will be done with conflict, and will enter into the joy of their Lord.

But although Christ prays that His people will eventually be with Him where He is, He does not ask that they may be taken at once away from this world to heaven. He wishes them to stay here. Yet how frequently does the wearied pilgrim put up the prayer, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest.” But Christ does not pray like that. He leaves us in His Father’s hands until, like corn fully ripe, we shall each be gathered into our Master’s presence.

Jesus does not plead for our instant removal by death. Our abiding in the flesh is needed for others if not profitable for ourselves. He asks that we be kept from evil, but He never asks for us to be admitted to the inheritance in glory until we are of full readiness.

Christians often want to die when they have any trouble. Ask them why, and they tell you, “Because we would be with the Lord.” I fear it is not so much because they are longing to be with the Lord, as because they desire to get rid of their troubles. If it were so, they would feel the same wish to die at other times when not under the pressure of trial. They want to go home, not so much for the Savior’s company, as to be at rest. Now it is quite right to desire to depart if we can do it in the same spirit that Paul did, because to be with Christ is far better, but the wish to escape from trouble is a selfish one. (Philippians 1:21-26)

Let your desire be to glorify God by your life here as long as He pleases, even though it is in the midst of toil, conflict, and suffering, leave Him to say when “it is enough.”

Question: How do you pray in times of toil, conflict, and suffering?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2011/09/04/cs_taken-out-of-the-world/
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Short Thoughts for Cell Phones – God-daily.com

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Charles Spurgeon Thoughts by Men