Completely satisfied

Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born again child of God enjoys His favour and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! Matthew 5:6 AMP

What makes you completely satisfied? Is it the presents you received this Christmas? Is it having a certain amount of money in the bank? What happens if that money is no longer there?  Is it having the best of best of a certain 'thing'? What happens if you can never obtain it, or if when you do, you lose it? Is it having the most delicious meal you have ever had? What happens when you are hungry again?

The Bible tells us we will be completely satisfied when we hunger and thirst for right-standing with God. Jesus teaches us again in Matthew 6, that our focus needs to be on our Heavenly Father, His kingdom and righteousness.

For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given to you besides. Matthew 6:32-33 AMP

Question for today, do you hunger and thirst for right-standing with God? We have the opportunity through our saviour, Jesus, to be in right-standing with God. So let's not hold back. Let's humbly seek Him and be completely satisfied.

The humble shall see it and be glad; you who seek God, inquiring for and requiring Him [as your first need], let your hearts revive and live! Psalm 69:32 AMP

I have come to consider

But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ's sake. Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognising and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One). Philippians 3:7-8 AMP

It is Christmas Day. What are you going to celebrate today? Family, friends, good health, financial prosperity, biggest and best Christmas present ever? There are so many worthwhile things to celebrate today. 

But what happens if some or all those things are taken away? What if you don't have family with you today, for whatever reason? What if you are all alone today? What if your health is not good and getting worse? What if financially things are a mess? What if you don't get any presents?  Then, what will you celebrate today?

Read the scripture above again, specifically, 'I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.'

Even if we are physically alone and suffering, we have the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus, our Lord. Through God's grace, we have the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Let's celebrate Jesus today.

John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Who I said, He Who come after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank over me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.] For our of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favour upon favour and gift [heaped] upon gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favour and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ. No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. John 1:15-18 AMP

What do you want?

Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out - but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 1 John 2:16-17 The Message

We have a Heavenly Father who wants to have relationship with us. In 2 days time we are going to celebrate the birth of His Son on earth.  He wants to be with us forever, in eternity. God doesn't want us to be isolated from Him. God wants us to be in right standing with Him.

For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God's] overflowing grace (unmerited favour) and the free give of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Romans 5:17 AMP

What do you want? Why not ask the Holy Spirit to help you do a 'heart check' against the list in 1 John 2:16, how do you rate when it comes to :

 - wanting your own way?

- wanting everything for yourself?

- wanting to appear important?

Maybe you are like me, on the outside, not appearing to want these things. But if you let the Holy Spirit reveal what is in your heart, you may find the truth is not so clear cut.  The motives behind some of my seemingly 'Godly' behaviours, are in truth, because I want my own way, or I want to appear important. It is a humbling, but necessary, experience to take time to let the Holy Spirit give you these personal revelations.

So I will ask the question again, what do you want? Do you want to be isolated from God? It may be that for you some parts of your life are aligned with God, but some are isolated. If this is the case, and you want to move from that place of isolation into God's will for your entire life, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what needs to be done. Repentance is always a good place to start.

But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything - and I do mean everything - connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life - a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside out and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces this character in you. Ephesians 4:20-23 The Message

God and sinners, reconciled!

I love the Christmas carol, Hark! The herald angels sing, particularly the words, 'God and sinners reconciled.'  Jesus, God's Son came to earth so He would die and we could be reconciled to our Heavenly Father.

And although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities, Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father's] presence. Colossians 1:21-22 AMP 

Jesus' coming to earth and sacrificing His life, made a way for us to be in right-standing with God. Jesus made a way for us to enter into eternal life. The Message Bible puts it this way,

But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole an holy in his presence.  Colossians 1:22 The Message.

Paul goes on to warn us, 

You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message - just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message. Colossians 1:23 The Message

In the busyness of this Christmas season, let's stay grounded, tuned in to The Message of Jesus. Through Jesus we have been reconciled to God. We are now Christ's ambassadors, sharing the message of reconciliation. 

So we are Christ's ambassador, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favour [now offered you] and be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 AMP

We have been offered divine favour for a reason. Let's take hold of it, as God intended, and live our lives fully as Christ's ambassadors. Let's do all God calls us to do, to bring His message of reconciliation to this broken world.

But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favour, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing us to the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favour).  2 Corinthians 5:18-19 AMP

God with us

Jesus, God's own Son, came to earth to be with us. We declare this truth in the carols we sing at this time of year ....

'God with man is now residing' (Angels from the Realms of Glory)

'Word of the Father now in flesh appearing' (O Come, All Ye Faithful)

'Hail, hail the Word made flesh' (What Child is this?)

'How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by name' (God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen)

'Veiled in flesh the God-head see; Hail th' Incarnate Deity' (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)

Question for today, when you sing Christmas Carols, do you sing out of habit and familiarity, or are you thinking about the meaning of their words? At this time of year, people all around the world are singing carols, whether it is at church, or community Christmas carols in the local park, at home or in the car. As they sing, they are declaring that God's own Son, Jesus, came down to be with us, our Emmanuel. Let's be one's who sing the loudest!

But as he was thinking this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of (from, out of) the Holy Spirit. she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Saviour], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God]. 
All this took place that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had spoken through the prophet, Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel - which, when translated, means, God with us. Matthew 1:20-23 AMP

Safe and sound through Him

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. John 3:16-17 AMP

God knows our pain. God gave up His Son, Jesus, for us. Jesus understands our suffering. Jesus suffered here on earth.

Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says, Even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again, I'm here with the children God gave me. 
Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Saviour took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.  It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, he would have already experienced it all himself - all the pain, all the testing - and would be able to help where help was needed. Hebrews 2:13-18 The Message

God is our refuge and our strength, He understands. Question for today, if you are feeling fearful about this world we live in, lean on and confidently put your trust in Him. Jesus knows exactly how you feel. He can give you His peace.

The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation). And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God's Word and the right of their necessity]. Psalm 9:9-10 AMP

In the nick of time

Some of you set sail in big ships;
you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
Out at sea you saw GOD in action,
saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
With a word he called up the wind -
an ocean storm, towering waves!
You shot high in the sky, then the bottoms dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats.
You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,
you didn't know which end was up.
Then you called out to GOD in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
He quieted the wind down to a whisper,
put a muzzle on all the big waves.
And you were so glad when the storm died down,
and he led you safely back to harbour.
So thank GOD for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
Psalm 107:23-31 The Message

There are some times and places in life when the only option is God. As I read this psalm this morning, I was recalling a time many years ago, when we were literally in a storm at sea, on a small 25ft yacht, off the coast of Sydney. The verse, 

You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats.

brings back particularly traumatic memories. Every time we went over the top of one of the big waves, we did have our hearts stuck in our throats as we waited to see if we would 'land' safely on the other side. We had a small outboard engine on the stern (back) of the boat, and as the boat rose on the big waves, the outboard would be out of the water and make a 'sewing machine noise' as the propeller blades turned without any water. For six hours we experienced God's breathtaking ways with the ocean. 

The worship song 'Shout to the Lord' by Darlene Zschech, had recently been released. I have a vivid memory of singing that song for most of the voyage. As we would rise up on the waves, I would sing at the top of my lungs, 

'The mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your Name, Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing, power and majesty, praise to the King.'

I know these lines are the opposite way to the chorus, but it worked better for me that way, almost as if, when we rose up on the waves,  I was commanding the waves, in Jesus Name, to bow down.

All the earth shall bow down to You and sing [praises] to You; they shall praise Your name in song. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Psalm 66:4 AMP

That truth sustained me for the six hour voyage. As the Sydney heads came into view, the fuel in our outboard engine ran out. As the Voyage had taken longer that expected, we had used up all our spare fuel. My declarations of God's sovereignty and power moved to a whole new level! With one very small sail up, we literally surfed through Sydney heads. God had led us safely back to harbour, in the nick of time.

Throughout the voyage I had declared (screamed is probably a better description) God's word, as loud as I possibly could, and drew on what my many years of sailing had taught me to do. At the end of the voyage, after experiencing God's marvelous love, I could do nothing other than weep with an ever grateful heart. In fact I wept for three hours non-stop,

Blessed by the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! God is to us a God of deliverances and salvation; and to God the Lord belongs escape from death [setting us free]. Psalm 68:19-20 AMP

Question for today, are you in the midst of an ocean storm with towering waves? You may not be screaming out on top of literally big waves as I was, however, you may be screaming out to God in your own particular 'storm'. Remember, He is there, He is listening, He will get you out in the nick of time. God is a God of deliverances and salvation.