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Listen while you read: "When He Cometh"1 (Lyrics) |
Once I had come to believe, to step out in faith, and to embrace the truth of God's offer of salvation, I wondered, What do I do now? Some have summed up the Christian life after first believing as Trust God. Clean house. Help others. Pretty vague that. What exactly comes next?
A good starting point for me was what some have called, The Daily Deal, beginning the day with regular, two-way prayer: talking to God — and listening. Then, it was important to find a faith fellowship where I could learn and grow in the company of believers, which then included me.
After that came reading my Bible and putting it into action. Growing (which means changing) began. Someone said, "If you stole horses before you came to believe, you not only start a lifelong spiritual journey, but you stop stealing horses."
Back in 1938, a new shampoo without soap was introduced, advertised on the radio in the 1940s with a jingle that ran, Halo is the shampoo that glorifies your hair! Someone hit on the idea from the old paintings of saints with glowing circles around their heads, which makes them stand out from everybody else in the picture.
But the real life of faith has nothing to do with appearing pious. Saints aren't carvings on a cathedral wall or china figurines. Saints are simply God's faithful people — you and me, living the life in Christ, called to do what God has given us to do.
Ephesians 4:1-2 – I … beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God's service, living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another. (AMPC)
Humility is the number one requirement of "sainthood". The life of Christ on earth gives us the example that God set us to follow, foreshadowed all through the Old Testament, then depicted in the Gospels and fully explained in the Epistles. Someone said that the very best way for us to learn anything is to start by discarding our halo!
Ephesians 4:23-24 – And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness. (AMPC)
Prayer: Dear Father God, we acknowledge that we are sinners, not saints, until Your grace and mercy begins Your work in our hearts. We ask You to put our feet on Your road to righteousness and to keep us today close by Your side, living in constant touch with You and Your Word. Without Your help, we can do nothing. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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Thank you.
Great prayer, Rose. Blessings!
Thanks for the encouraging words, Rose.
Amen, Rose! Thanks for the reminder! Blessings.
Without your help we can do nothing… Amen, Rose.
Thanks, Rose. This is a great set of guidelines for new, and experienced, Christians.
Hello Rose,
Many thanks for your very mindful devotional today. Yes, we need be faithful in praying for others and stay true to seeking our Lord in all circumstances, knowing that He is our ever loving Saviour. Blessings for the writings you do.
Dear Rose:
I wish to thank you for all the wonderful Devotionals. They are very inspiring to say the least.
The Lord has richly blessed you with the gift of writing.
Take care and God Bless.
Thanks for your excellent description of the saintly life. Brother Lawrence evidently did most of his praying when he was cleaning up in the scullery!
Pandemic, although separating us physically, has united us in prayer for needs around the world.
Your words are always well-chosen and energizing, bless you,
(BC)
Nicely done, Rose. I especially liked the paragraph “After that came reading my Bible and putting it into action. Growing (which means changing) began. Someone said, “If you stole horses before you came to believe, you not only start a lifelong spiritual journey, but you stop stealing horses.”
Growing in faith doesn’t seem so daunting when you look at it like that!
Thanks for the good reminders from Ephesians. Recently I have also gone over Ephesians 6:10-18 and read it regularly. A friend also gave me a special coin with the parts of the armor and the message….PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD PRAY ALWAYS. Those last verses really encourage us to pray more and to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. Keep on writing your devotionals. Blessings.
Thank you Rose. Our power has gone out for three out of six days, and I wondered what I should do. I have all my Christian books and my Bible stored on my iPad, so I feasted on scripture and devotional readings, and prayer. It is amazing how clearly we hear God, as we listen to him free of background noise from our technology. So, when the electricity goes out, and I remember “What to do Now?” I will get my iPad and read God’s word. Have a blessed day.
Good morning, Rose,
Your devotional is relevant even to people who have accepted Jesus years ago. We all need reminders on steps which help us grow our faith. We all get lost along the way and need to get back on track. We all have doubts on if we are praying right, are we listening and following God’s will and on and on.
I love your commercial on Halo shampoo and the reminder that we need to throw away that image of a “halo” and practice humility.
Thank you for getting down to the basics and giving us a road map if we are struggling. Blessings and prayers.