The Promise

Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
-- Psalm 106:24

The Israelites doubted God when he told them to go into the land of Canaan, the promised land and take it. They feared the powers of the world and stood in stiff necked unbelief before God.

God has promised me Paradise through his gift of faith, through the work of his Son.

Here I am. I stand on the edge of "the promised land." Paradise. Do I doubt his promise? Do I fear death?

Silence

Where do we have the best opportunity to meet God? A place of silence. Why do I not seek God there? I am lazy...I would rather sleep in. I am foolish....a poor steward of my time. Unbelief....I do not believe it matters. Distrust....I do not trust God to protect and provide for me without my help.

See http://theresurgence.com/silence

Broken Cisterns

Jeremiah 2:12-13
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

I was thinking today as I was praying: what are my "broken cisterns," the things I place before Almighty God. There are some embarassingly trivial things which I am striving to get rid of with the help and power of the Holy Spirit. But, I began to think of the world itself, our earthly life, as the main cistern to abandon (2 Cor 5:14,15). Have I forsaken the world and am I living my life for Christ (John 12:25, 1 John 2:15)? Do I wake up in the morning striving to serve Jesus or running ragged to "succeed" here on earth? Sadly, it is often the latter. Why am I holding on to the broken cistern of worldly life? Why? It is a manifestation of unbelief to hold onto this world. O Lord help me surrender all to you. Not just the easy stuff. Help me surrender my life. Help me in my unbelief.