What is our response like today? How do we express our gratitude to God for the fact that we live, that He protects us, that He has saved us, that we breathe, walk, and we have families and children? What God is doing for us today – does it help us be more open, sacrifice more and become better worshippers?
You cannot say you love and at the same time neglect spending time with the one whom you love. It is simply not possible! Time is our life. By spending time with the one whom you love, you are giving or sharing with them part of your life.
In order to earn money, you need time; in order to spend money, you need time. If you have money but do not have time to spend it, this money will not bring you any blessings. If you lose the money, you can earn it back tomorrow. But if you lose time, you are not getting it back!
I want to tell you that singing to God, praising Him, enjoying His presence is not a difficult task at all, if we will only take a moment to reflect or think of His grace. Even when you are having very hard times in life, you can still find something in your life that you can thank God for. Even when you think everything in your life is falling to pieces and your situation is the worst on earth, nevertheless, continue to believe – you simply have not encountered a situation that is worse than yours. But, when you see such a situation, you will find that you live in paradise.
It is not hard to love God – simply think about Him, think about what He does for you every day, and your natural response will be gratefulness. Worshipping God will become a natural thing for those who think about Him and His works. God loves you very much. But, if you live and at the same time do not think about Him, do not see what He does for you, it is hard for you to sacrifice; particularly – it is hard for you to sacrifice your busy daily schedule, your finances, your time, your comfort, because you do not think about Him.
Love is not feelings, it is self-sacrifice, but self-sacrifice – it is decision.
Of course, there are feelings in love. But, if we love God, our mutual relationships with God do not consist of feelings alone.
The Bible talks about people whom God calls His friends. Why were these people special? All of them proved their love for God with self-sacrifice. They did not afford themselves do many things only because they loved God and longed for friendship with Him.
Where love goes, sacrifice follows. Thus, the depth of my love can be measured by my readiness to sacrifice. Many people say that they love God, but we can’t forget that our love is not measured by our confession alone. Our love is measured by the sacrifices we make!
God sends this word for a particular purpose – to exalt every one of His children because He loves everyone the same way. I hope God lifts us up to a new level spiritually and materially. But first the truth must be recorded in our hearts. This truth needs to be established in us to keep and guard our hearts.
Pray and ask God to show you the situations where you have mistreated people and then repent. New opportunities and new doors can not be opened for us until we repent of our sins.
Whosoever desires to be promoted by God needs to remain humble and simple. I have noticed that many of us cannot sing and dance before the Lord because we have become very important. Remember how freely you worshipped the Lord when you first got saved! It is rather difficult to fellowship with some believers nowadays, because they have become so ‘adult’, serious, important… David, the shepherd, and King David – both praised and loved God in the same way; the change of position in life did not affect the condition of his heart. We have to cleanse our hearts from haughtiness and pride.
If you want God to exalt you, you need to love God and love people. God exalts the loving hearts. Love God and love your neighbour – these are two main commandments. All of your knowledge won’t bring any results, if you forget these two most important commandments.
You probably have noticed that God does not answer all prayers. There are some prayers that God does not pay attention to; it happens when we break two most important commandments – to love God and to love your neighbour. Love towards God and people around you are the very power that must rule us and lead us through life. Love towards God and people that is demonstrated in deeds and not in words brings us to the place where promotion from God is possible.
Promotion is connected to the issue of wealth, and we are not talking just about money. Riches are more than money. Health, joy, good relationships, peace, rest, and love – those too are riches. Many people have lots of money, but they lack true riches. God tells us today not to be haughty and not trust in material things; we need to trust God alone. We should be generous and sociable. When problems come, God is the only One Who can help us. Trust God and do good works. By doing this, you will draw God’s attention and earn God’s promotion.
