Hi how are you all? My week has been busy with work and visiting my mum? How was your week? This year I believe for us is the year of restoration. But you can’t be properly restored if you believe that God is somehow a distant God. That He is out there is the universe somewhere waiting to punish you if you make a mistake.
That type of thinking is flawed on at least two parts. The first is that Jesus came to die for the sins of all mankind – past, present and future. That means that God is not waiting to punish you for your sins because Jesus was punished for all of our sins.
God is waiting for you to accept what Jesus did, admit you are a sinner and come to Him. The non-acceptance of what Jesus did is what is keeping you from God and eventually heaven.
What I want to focus on in this blog is the fact that God is not distant from us. As I was reading Luke 4 regarding the temptation of Jesus, I was wondering where God was in it. As I was pondering this, I heard God remind me that He is watching to see how we react to temptation. Do we just give in to it, do we stand on the Word of God and defeat satan with the Word or do we stand for a while and then fall? God is watching this like a protective parent and when we succeed He is pleased with us. When we don’t succeed, He forgives us and restores us and encourages us to try again.
How do I know this? Well, when Jesus was tempted, I believe God was watching. As soon as satan left, angels then came to minister to Jesus. That is what happens to us. God is not distant, He is watching.
It is like when our children are standing up giving a speech. We want to do it for them but we can’t because in order for them to grow, they must do hard things.
The same in the Kingdom of God, to grow we must stand on the Word of God, build our faith and trust God. When hard times come, and they will, this is what we must do.
1 Corinthians 10:13 in the Message Bible is what we need to stand on:
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.
This verse reminds us that God is not distant, He is near. As you go through this week, remember God and a cloud of witnesses are cheering you on. You can do it. Keep walking forward with God and keep living the life God intended for you.
Bless you heaps
Karen
Living the life God intended 