Make Success Taste Great

How many people are in your eternal bank account? That’s God’s measure of success.

July’s Awakening, Day 15

Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.

 —Joe Paterno

 A godly mind prizes honor above worldly good.

 —Rembrandt

 

He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:15 NIV 

 

Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, Proverbs 5:7, 9 NIV

 

            Success and renown can be wonderful things—provided they’ve come about by noble actions and deeds. How you play the game is important. Winning certainly is not everything, but always striving to do our best, be our best, and helping as many as possible along the way is the noble way. God does not measure success as the world does. Wealth in God’s eyes are people. People who know Him. If you can help people improve the quality of their lives and provide needed services and materials to them—you are successful. Remember that. Success is not the number of dollars in all your accounts and investments—it’s the number of people you’ve helped and positively influenced for Christ. That’s the value of your bank account. People. Play to win the game. Strive to be successful. Do it all God’s noble way. Do it for more people.

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart

Humble Honor

Your position may be one of honor and respect, but you, yourself, must earn it through your character.

July’s Awakening, Day 14
Every Christian has a choice between being humble or being humbled.
—Charles Spurgeon
Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.
—Aristotle
     My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:7 NIV 
     Wisdomʼs instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 15:33 NIV
     Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. Proverbs 22:4 NIV 
     Honor and respect come to those who can first honor and respect God and others. A reverent awe of God for who He is marks the beginning of humble dignity. Placing yourself in your proper position with God and others is the hallmark of humility, and without humility you are a clanging cymbal sounding off itself. You must choose to be humble and let God bring honor, respect, and dignity to you, or you will soon find yourself humbled by the world, often with disrespect and in undignified ways. Your presence and demeanor should bring forth a resounding willingness in others to give you their respect and honor as it may be due. Your position may command and demand honor and respect, but you, the person, must characterize it or it will truly never be yours.

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart

True Sainthood

If you want to be a true saint, commit to the Lord everything you are and everything you do.

July’s Awakening, Day 13

Many are willing that Christ should be something, but few consent that Christ should be everything.

 —Alexander Moody Stuart 

The mark of a saint is not perfection, but consecration. A saint is not a man without faults, but a man who has given himself without reserve to God.

 —W. T. Richardson

 

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3 NIV

 

            Being the best that you can be in the eyes of God is not about being perfect. It’s not how many mistakes you’ve made and continue to make. It is about putting Christ first in everything unreservedly. It is being your best and doing your best as if no one is looking but God. Commit everything you do and every choice you make to His guidance and direction and Christ Himself will establish your plans and see you and them through. Give Christ all your heart and all your mind and you will never be disappointed. True perfection and sainthood in God’s eyes is a life fully committed and unquestionably devoted to Him.

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart

It’s All His

Are you living each day more completely in Him, by Him, for Him, and with Him?

July’s Awakening, Day 12

In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, “That is mine!” 

 —Abraham Kuyper 

Beyond all reason they [who love God] will give their all and go through all.

 —Hadewijeh

Every day seek to lose yourself more in Christ, to live more completely in him, by him, for him, with him.

 —C. H. Spurgeon

 

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19 NIV 

 

            Your life journey was never meant to be travelled alone. Your life journey was meant to be travelled every step of the way with Christ, the One who’s walked before you and travelled the dangerous and dusty roads and knows the way. That’s why connecting with Christ and staying connected with Him is vital to your survival, success, and total well-being. You must get to a place where every moment He is there with you—speaking to you, encouraging you, guiding you, directing you, and consoling you when needed. It’s a marriage partnership for life and He’ll never leave you nor forsake you for a moment. Tragedies, tests, trials, and temptations will come, and although He doesn’t always remove them, He is there to see you through them. Embrace your Creator with every breath that you take.

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart

Living Your Last Hour

Are you living every hour of your life as if it’s your last? Are you living each hour for Christ—because He’s coming for you when you least expect Him? Will He find you being about His business?

July’s Awakening, Day 11

I am resolved never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

 —Jonathan Edwards 

Since you have forsaken the world and turned wholly to God, you are symbolically dead in the eyes of men; therefore, let your heart be dead to all earthly affections and concerns, and wholly devoted to our Lord Jesus Christ. For you must be well aware that if we make an outward show of conversion to God without giving Him our hearts, it is only a shadow and pretense of virtue, and no true conversion. Any man or woman who neglects to maintain inward vigilance, and only makes an outward show of holiness in dress, speech, and behavior, is a wretched creature.

 —Walter Hilton

 

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:36, 42, 44 NIV   

 

            Live every hour as if it’s your last. Live every hour for Christ, fully engaged and devoted to Him and be always about His business. You do not know what hour is your last nor do you know what hour Christ is coming for you. It will happen in a twinkling of an eye. Will you be ready or will you be embarrassed by the way He finds you? Every hour of your life is a choice. Give your heart full allegiance to Christ and live the noble, victorious life. You don’t want to be embarrassed in front of the King.

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart

Less of Me, More of You

It’s not what you can do for God, it’s what you can do with God.   

July’s Awakening, Day 10

Sever me from myself

that I may be grateful to you;

may I perish to myself

that I may be safe in you;

may I die to myself

that I may live in you;

may I wither to myself

that I may blossom in you;

may I be emptied of myself

that I may abound in you;

may I be nothing to myself

that I may be all in you.

 —Desiderius Erasmus 

I take God the Father to be my God;

I take God the Son to be my Savior;

I take the Holy Ghost to be my Sanctifier;

I take the Word of God to be my rule;

I take the people of God to be my people;

And I do hereby dedicate and yield my

whole self to the Lord:

And I do this deliberately, freely, and

forever. Amen

 —Matthew Henry’s father 

 

Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. Psalm 31:5 NIV 

 

He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. John 3:30–31 NIV

 

            Sometimes, less is more, and less is better. That is certainly the truth when it comes to our Christian walk with our Master, Teacher, Shepherd, Lord, and Savior—Jesus Christ. If you want to become better—become less. If you want to become great—become least. To be at the top in God’s kingdom and economy, you must constantly decrease while Christ is constantly increasing in your life. Your life is not about you, it’s about Christ in you. When you truly embrace “less of me, and more of You,” you’re on His road of kingdom greatness and eternal success.

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart

The Bridegroom and the Bride

This is the marriage match made in heaven. It’s your lifetime for preparation.

July’s Awakening, Day 9

To get there is a question of will, not of debate nor of reasoning, but a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender on that point. Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only.

 —Oswald Chambers

Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God. He therefore is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life, parts of piety, by doing everything in the name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.

 —William Law 

 

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. John 3:29a NIV

 

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” Revelation 19:7–9 NIV    

 

            When you choose to become a believer, and give your heart to Christ, you do just that. Jesus often spoke of Himself as the Bridegroom, and we the church of believers, are His bride—and this marriage is for eternity. We are in a constant state of anticipation and preparation, waiting for the day when we will meet our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, in heaven and be privileged to take part in His wedding feast. What a glorious feast that will be, with every believer there, and Christ Himself in all glory and honor! Till then, we are perpetually betrothed and pledged to Him. We are to be constantly about His business and to present ourselves white and clean like linen. Our Bridegroom is preparing a special place for us in heaven. Are you keeping your heart specially prepared for Him?

Author Web Page Link

http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=renew-my-heart-o-god-daily-devotions-for-healing-your-heart