Would you like to have the joy of falling on your knees and thanking the Lord profusely for some huge blessing He has personally given you?
Like saving you from involvement in a split second car crash; you realize now how your life is not your own.
One day you wake up and realize that you have somehow escaped the ravages of cancer, that afflicts so many; you realize it is due to no virtue of yours; it’s just a reminder that your life has never been your own. Now you gladly consecrate your all to the One who died for you, just out of sheer gratitude.
Maybe you are a pastor: pastors are as susceptible to temptation as any other humans. But they are supposed to know how to endure and to conquer temptation. To fall victim to a sexual temptation would cover you with shame, would traumatize your church, discourage the teens who are in it; would break your wife’s heart and horrify your own children; and yet there are charismatic pastors we have all known who have gone down in that painful disgrace that never truly ends as long as they live.
You too have known that wrenching and alluring temptation at some point in your ministry. The Master Enemy cruelly assails busy, devoted pastors; if he can make a conquest here, Satan has won a significant triumph, and how utterly crushed is the pastoral victim: “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is abhorred of the Lord will fall therein” (Prov. 22:14, NKJV and KJV).
If you realize you “stand” only because Someone held you tight when you were about to stumble into that awful “pit,” you can know that exquisite joy of thanking the Lord for saving you from yourself! The sun will shine now for a long time for you.
This is called “a heart appreciation for what Christ has done for us,” very close to being a definition of what it means to “believe.” “Henceforth” this is your motivation for obedience and service, not fear of hell or hope of reward.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" phone message is available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
