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It’s not worth it

1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

I love this verse. We can cast all our cares on Him. I want to put this into context for you. This is a command to holiness. The preceding verse if very much attached to this one, and even all the way back to chapter 4. The reason is because we will all go before the judgement seat, “For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17) Also, you can find it in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we [believers will be called to account and] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities].“

Does the fear of judgement cause you to want to run or hide? It causes me to want to do both, but not in the way you would think. I run and hide in Christ, not due to shame or guilt, but because of His great love. If as a believer it makes you angry when you are reminded that you will be called before the judgement seat, discover the why in yourself. Read the full above verse in context.

1 Peter 5:6-11 (AMP) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

Pride is the root. It’s symptoms are not just anger, but can be fear. How do I rid myself of pride? Just like perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), His perfect love will also cast out that pride. It takes humility to be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love. It takes humility to cast what is bothering you to His feet. It takes humility to allow the Holy Spirit to dig into your wells and pull out all the contaminates that keep you from running your race well. It takes humility to forgive, even when the other person does not ask for it. It takes humility to see the best for others. None of this can be accomplished without a deep love of Christ. This is not a one time confession either. This is a life long pursuit, and I am not always going to get it right. If I did, then there would not be a need for the Holy Spirit.

Are you questioning your salvation? How can one be assured of their salvation. Do you have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit? ‘Knowledge of’ and ‘relationship with’ are two different things. Our salvation was not to attain knowledge, but to attain His face. He wants a relationship with us. In a relationship it has give and take. If all you want is the gifts, then that is not a real relationship. If you are not willing to give of yourself and not willing to grow into holiness (because that is what His presence will do), then that is not a relationship with our God. When it comes to having more knowledge or having more of His presence, I will choose His presence. Here is the thing, He will give you knowledge when you desire His presence.

Read Hebrews 10:26-31 and Matthew 7:21-23. This is not meant to scare you, but to draw you closer to Him. If you are scared because you deserve punishment, there is still hope. Have the confident assurance that when you make Christ your savior, repent and surrender your life, you are redeemed. You can stand right before God. The rest is up to you. Casting all of my cares has to do with my mind, my will and my emotions. These are the parts that make me unique. They are also the parts that can cause me to not want the things of God. They are the areas that will hold onto pride. I decided, for myself, that holding onto things that did not glorify Him are just not worth it. What do you treasure? I treasure His Presence. I treasure being rooted and grounded in His love (unmovable and unshakable). Nothing is worth more than that. My reverential fear of displeasing God has nothing to do with punishment, it has to do with my great love for Him.

Abba, our Father, our Maker and our Banner, You are so Wonderful. Thank You for sending Your Son to live, die and come back to Your right hand. He is making intercessions for us because of Your great love. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We receive all that He has for us. We thank You for Your Word and for the Body of Christ. We grow in our relationship with You when we apply what you have gifted us with. We repent for trampling the blood of Christ by holding onto our own ways and by allowing pride to rule and reign in our lives. Nothing in this world is as valuable as You. The fear of the judgement seat was taken away when You sent Your Son. It was not just for the judgement, it was also for the restoration. We desire and long for You. Thank You for Your Presence, let it not depart from us. We desire You. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Even Here

Genesis 39:20 (AMP) So Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison.

I love the story of Joseph. There is so much you can glean from someone who overcomes to a story of forgiveness. Today I want to look at how much favor was on Joseph. Joseph had a relationship with God that he did not fret when bad things happened to him. We do not know what faces he made. I am the type of person that if I have a little bit of frustration it shows. I do not have to put any actions to it, my brow furrows.

If you do not know this story, I encourage you to read Genesis 37-50. He is a very important person to the Israelite’s, second to Moses. First he is sold into slavery by his own brothers and now, in the above verse, he is imprisoned for something he did not even do. If anyone had a reason for self pity, it would have been Joseph.

The next verse:  But the Lord was with Joseph and extended loving kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden. Even in prison he still had purpose. It was not when he got out of the situation, it was right in the middle of it. It was while he was going through some of the hardest moments of his life favor was still there. These were the steps he had to go through to save a nation.

The Apostle Paul had something similar to say while he was in prison. If you did not know, he wrote most of the letters to other churches while in prison. He had favor there also.

Philippians 1:12 (AMP) Now I want you to know, believers, that what has happened to me [this imprisonment that was meant to stop me] has actually served to advance [the spread of] the good news [regarding salvation].

Philippians 1:14 (AMP) Because of my chains [seeing that I am doing well and that God is accomplishing great things], most of the brothers have renewed confidence in the Lord, and have far more courage to speak the word of God [concerning salvation] without fear [of the consequences, seeing that God can work His good in all circumstances].

Here is my question: Do you think these two men waited until the right circumstances to do anything for God? Did they have to get to a certain place? Paul was waiting to speak to Caesar. He was not the only one he was going to share his faith with. He shared the story of how he received Christ whenever he got the chance. He told of the change that Christ made in his life and how he cannot help but serve Him everywhere he goes.

Joseph as a slave and as a prisoner served. He did it to not get him out of a situation, but to glorify God while he was at any place. Those over him recognized the favor on his life and wanted to be a part of that.

Matthew 5:14-16 (AMP) You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.

I know life can throw some really tough things at us. If you need to write Matthew 5:14-16 on a mirror, or on your refrigerator door, and say it out loud to your self as often as you see it. Memorize it. So that every time the enemy tries to get you down on your self because of your situation you can tell him ‘even if’ and ‘even here’ “I am the light of Christ”. “I have purpose.” “I am going to continue to glorify my God with whatever I put my hands to.” ” I will continue to talk about his goodness.” “His mercy and goodness follows me wherever I go.”

Do not believe the lie that you are hidden for later use. You were created for now. You are needed now. You have purpose now. People may not recognize it until later, but who are we doing it for anyways. I choose to glorify His name today. I am actively looking for opportunities to tell about His goodness and show them through my good works. How about you?