Luke 1:74-75
Make no mistake about it, though you face trials and tribulations and deal with hardships, the desire of God is for you to be reunited with Him… Luke records today, verses that echo this same sentiment… It is by God’s grace that you and I have been delivered out of the hand of enemy… As we walk through this life we need not only take note of God’s grace as far as being alive, but we also need to understand that things could always be worse… Luke is clear that we have been delivered out of the hand of the enemy… Whether your realize it or not, if the enemy had his way with you only God knows where you would be… The fact that you can overcome, the fact that you are able to stand, the fact that you have just enough is a testament to God’s goodness and His grace that has kept you and will continue to keep you all the days of your life… Notice the intent behind God’s grace that delivered you, Luke says that He did this so that we, “…might serve him without fear…” There are two different kinds of fear, we are called to fear God and keep His commandments; however, the fear that is spoken of in the gospel of Luke is a fear that leads one to second-guess and allow lordship over them.
When we fear God we respect and honor Him, when we fear the enemy we are intimidated, scared and controlled by him. Satan desires for you to fear him because fear can be a device used to control and manipulate a (n) individual or situation. If I fear someone, I am more gullible to do whatever it is that they ask of me; however if I fear the Lord, I want to bring honor to Him by living a life that pleases Him and shines His beacon light upon the lives and hearts of others… In realizing how much God has done and is doing for us, we should be led to follow Him even more; however this task is one that is easier said than done. One of the biggest mistakes we make in reaching out to new disciples is the mistake of allowing them to believe that when they accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior that they have completed what God desired… In accepting Christ you accept His offering, but we learn today that we also accept the desires of God for our very lives as to how we should live… Luke says in the first verse what we echo to new disciples, God has delivered you, He has picked you up and turned you around and He has shown His love toward you without you even loving back, but His desire is more than just that, the next verse says,“…In holiness and righteousness before him…”
Giving your life to Christ isn’t a one and done thing, this is something we do daily and it requires us to sacrifice the desires of sin and flesh that we are born with… Isn’t it interesting how you don’t have to teach a child to do bad but you have to work all the time teaching them good… God’s teaching us today that holiness and righteousness can only be achieved through the model set before us (Jesus Christ) and the willingness to work at it according to His will… Luke teaches us why God saved us today and what He desires, he concludes by telling us how long God wants this to be “…all the days of our life…” It never ceases to amaze me how we can vary in our walk with God from day to day, but never take notice that He hasn’t done that with us… God’s love has covered all our sins, His love placed His son on the cross and gave us a (n) avenue back to Him… He wants to see your life enriched, He wants to see you live justly; He wants to see you prosper in His word and it isn’t just for a day… I once read that the love of God is like the ocean, you know its beginning but never see its end… The beginning for you was when He delivered you from the enemy, you will never see a (n) end to His grace, goodness, faithfulness and mercy as long as you allow Him to direct your steps…
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!
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