Manna in the Morning

How are people reading you? I know that’s a weird question. But, it is true that people read us all the time. They read our body language. They read between the lines of what we say. They read the expressions on our face when we talk with them... they’re looking for signals as to whether we are serious or joking. The Apostle Paul once wrote to the church at Corinth and said, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men.” (2 Corinthians 3:2) That statement by Paul at least indicates that we are conveyors of a message about what we believe. I know that you’ve heard it said that “what you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.” In other words, we need to make sure that our message is in agreement with our behavior. Someone has also said that “you are the only sermon some will ever see!” So, as a Christian, realize that others are reading you... make sure that the message that comes through is one that expresses the presence of Jesus in your life!

Are you aware of the fact that there is someone who doesn’t want you to have a good day today? Are you aware of the fact that you have an enemy who is ready to take away your peace of mind as well as your joy? Do you know that someone is going to do everything he can today to get you to sin and be unfaithful to God? Surely by now you guess who that someone is... (and, you’re right) the devil. His vicious nature is described in I Peter 5:8, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” So, we need to be “careful out there!” But we have a wonderful promise that we need to remember. It’s found in I Corinthians 10:13,14: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape.” Yes, it’s true... Satan wants to destroy our relationship with God and he’ll use most anything to accomplish it. But, “greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world!” (I John 4:4) So, if we are faithful to God we do not have to fear what the devil may try to do. In fact, the Bible says, “If we resist him and he will run away!” (James 4:7)

There is a very sobering passage of Scripture in Paul’s Second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 5 where he writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” In other words, there’s coming a day when we will be face to face with Almighty God... it’s an appointment none of us shall miss and there will be no facades and nothing for us to hide behind. Do you remember when the cosmonauts made that primitive little journey around the earth the first time? They came back with their thumbs under their suspenders bragging, “We have been in the air. We have been around the earth. And we did not see God!” The following Sunday, W.A. Criswell, minister of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, made a classic statement. He said, “Ah, if those cosmonauts had stepped out of their spacesuits, they would have seen God!” There’s a great day coming when we shall all see Him. For the unbeliever that will be an awful day of judgment. But, for the Christian that will be a wonderful day as we begin our eternity with Him in Heaven. Are you ready?