Remember - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) December 19, 2023

More often than not, we forget how important we are and think we're ordinary, instead. Now, our importance isn't because of our education or finances. Oh no, we're significant because of how God sees us. We were and are so valuable to Him that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us long before we were born. He knew that a blood price was needed to free us from the sinful inheritance left behind by Adam. God didn't blink. He paid the high price.

And yet, we sometimes doubt our worth to Him. We forget that He promised to pay entire nations as a ransom for us (Isaiah 43:3). And when we're not wondering if He knows we exist, we worry about how we'll meet His many expectations. Love others. Respect everyone. Help the poor. Don't gossip, deceive, or lie. Don't lust after other people. Don't covet what others have. Submit to authority. The list goes on.

These concerns arise because we don't realize that the same God who rescued us from sin through Christ's sacrifice is heavily invested in keeping us from falling back into the devil's clutches. These fears stem from not knowing that once we gave Him our lives and chose to believe in Him alone, everything changed. He took complete responsibility for us.

Romans 5:10 states, If the death of his Son restored our relationship with God while we were still his enemies, we are even more certain that, because of this restored relationship, the life of his Son will save us (GWT).

Therefore the God who paid a blood price for us will certainly help us with all that follows our submission to His will and plan for our lives. We don't need to try to do everything on our strength and be burdened by it all. We simply need to allow Him to carry the weight.

All we must do is cooperate with Him. He won't force us to step aside so He can go ahead of us. We have to make that choice each day. To do this, we can't ignore 1 Corinthians 1:8 - He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Or the prayer said on our behalf in Hebrews 13:21 - May this God of peace prepare you to do every good thing he wants. May he work in us through Jesus Christ to do what is pleasing to him. Glory belongs to Jesus Christ forever. Amen (GWT).

We should be excited that God has given us everything we need for a righteous life: Him (2 Peter 1:3). We have to let His Holy Spirit remind us of what Jesus taught and apply it. We have to remember and rest on the promise in Philippians 2:13 - For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (NLT). We must know that the God who rescued us before we knew we needed rescue is still rescuing us today, helping us to live a life pleasing to Him. We need to cooperate with Him, knowing He'll stick around despite our mistakes. His grace is and will be sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). We just need to remember.

Be sure to return for fellowship at Noon EST. God bless you.