SEARCHLIGHT
Are you depending on God?
SCRIPTURE
"Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault." Jude 24 NLT
SPOTLIGHT
Can you solve this riddle?
What is greater than God?
More evil than the devil?
Rich people need it.
Poor people have it.
If you eat it, you die.
Read each line slowly. What is the answer? Interestingly, 80% of kindergarten children gave the correct answer while, only 17% of university students got it right. You will discover the answer in the last paragraph of the SPOTLIGHT section. [No peeking!]
Abraham Lincoln was voted in as the 16th President of the United States. The story is told that before Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois to go to Washington, DC for his inauguration, humbly, he said to his friends, “I now leave, not knowing, when, or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail.”
Are you depending on God for your personal success or are you depending on yourself. Are you depending on God to save you from your sin or are you trying to make it to heaven by being good? Are you depending on God for strength, peace, and joy? Are you depending on God to solve your problems? Are you depending on God to live a Christ-like life? The wise person will look to God, just as both Presidents Lincoln and Washington did.
Some people think that living a Christian life is trying to live a perfect life. Neither is that true or possible. They say that there is no use being a Christian because it would be impossible for them to be perfect. It is not possible for you to live a Christian life in your own strength. You cannot but God can. You are not able to live a Godly life by yourself but God is able to empower you to live a Godly life. How? He invites you to be dependent on Him. God longs for you to know He is able and more than capable. Are you available? Will you depend on God?
In the Scripture focus for today, Jude is telling all believers that God will do 3 things for them as they face any type of life challenge, trial, problem, tribulation or persecution.
- God is able to keep you from falling, stumbling, and falling away.
- God is able to present you in heaven faultless, free of sin, and perfect.
- God is able to give you great joy that is both ecstatic and everlasting.
Who could ask for more? And it is all free. All you have to do is believe that God is able. Are you depending on God? Say goodbye to failure and fear. God will keep, present, and give.
One of my life mottos has been “I CANNOT BUT HE CAN!” It expresses that I am very much aware that I am purposeless, joyless, powerless, and, perhaps, even lifeless without God being at the very center of my life. I cannot do life well but God can through me. God is able. He empowers me to reach my highest potential, become more Christ-like and provides for me eternal life with Him in heaven. A poet captured this big thought when he wrote:
“Why things happen as they do we do not always know,
We cannot always fathom why our spirits sink so low…
We flounder in our dark distress, we are wavering and unstable,
But when we’re most inadequate, the Lord God is always able.
For, though we are incapable, God is powerful and great…
There is no darkness of the mind that God can’t penetrate.
And all that is required of us whenever things go wrong
Is just to trust God implicitly with faith that’s deep and strong.
And while we may not instantly unravel all the strands,
The tangled thoughts that trouble us – He completely understands…
And in His time, if we have faith, He will gradually restore
The brightness to our spirit, that we’ve been longing for…
So remember, there’s no cloud too dark for God’s light to penetrate
If we keep on believing and have faith enough to wait.
I CANNOT…BUT GOD CAN. God is able! The answer to the above riddle is…NOTHING! God is greater than everything. This is why God is able! Depend on God.
SOMETHING TO DO
For further Bible study check out Matthew 9:27–29; Romans 11:22–24; Romans 16:24, 25; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:20; 2 Timothy 1:11–13; Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 7:25.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Almighty God, thank you that You are able. You are the one, true, living God. Thank you for revealing Yourself to me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. AMEN!