"Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed...
What more could God have done to show His people how to worship Him? Could He have offered more rules? What about festivals, traditions or ceremonies to show God's glory? There's absolutely nothing more that God could've done other than sacrificing His own Son for the sake of all people... and that's just what He did! The mighty God of all creation knew that giving more wouldn't result in obedient children, it was to take away and strike them hard so that their hearts would have a chance to refocus and turn back to Him. God had to do this in the New Testament also; He had to sacrifice His Son Jesus so that men would scatter to their towns and eventually return with faith & obedience.
We all get complacent and fat off the blessings of God. I remember saying not to long ago that life was going great and I had no prayer requests or things I'm struggling with... whoa, how the tides have changed! As part of our growth process we need all kinds of seasons. An athlete doing bench presses pushes hard gathering all the strength he has followed by rest. This is repeated many times but the interesting thing is that it's during the rest where we grow. The hard pushing forces our muscles to go beyond what's normal and increases its limits, not ability. Our ability increases as we rest and restore. Our faith will grow too by how we3 persevere throughout our struggles, how much faith we call upon and how much we trust. It doesn't matte the outcome or circumstance but how we get there that either increases or decreases our faith muscles. God will grant us rest in between these storms. Our faith muscles will grow if nourished properly but shrink if neglected. I guess the saying is true, "trials don't build character, they reveal it!"
Heavenly Father, help me build my faith and not get lazy and fat over Your provisions. I need to draw closer to You more than ever so that when trials come I will be able4 to handle it with faith. And I welcome the seasons because I know the testing builds character, perseverance & faith with all seasons are stewarded properly. I think You my wonderful Father, Amen!
Isaiah 5:3-5
What more could God have done to show His people how to worship Him? Could He have offered more rules? What about festivals, traditions or ceremonies to show God's glory? There's absolutely nothing more that God could've done other than sacrificing His own Son for the sake of all people... and that's just what He did! The mighty God of all creation knew that giving more wouldn't result in obedient children, it was to take away and strike them hard so that their hearts would have a chance to refocus and turn back to Him. God had to do this in the New Testament also; He had to sacrifice His Son Jesus so that men would scatter to their towns and eventually return with faith & obedience.
We all get complacent and fat off the blessings of God. I remember saying not to long ago that life was going great and I had no prayer requests or things I'm struggling with... whoa, how the tides have changed! As part of our growth process we need all kinds of seasons. An athlete doing bench presses pushes hard gathering all the strength he has followed by rest. This is repeated many times but the interesting thing is that it's during the rest where we grow. The hard pushing forces our muscles to go beyond what's normal and increases its limits, not ability. Our ability increases as we rest and restore. Our faith will grow too by how we3 persevere throughout our struggles, how much faith we call upon and how much we trust. It doesn't matte the outcome or circumstance but how we get there that either increases or decreases our faith muscles. God will grant us rest in between these storms. Our faith muscles will grow if nourished properly but shrink if neglected. I guess the saying is true, "trials don't build character, they reveal it!"
Heavenly Father, help me build my faith and not get lazy and fat over Your provisions. I need to draw closer to You more than ever so that when trials come I will be able4 to handle it with faith. And I welcome the seasons because I know the testing builds character, perseverance & faith with all seasons are stewarded properly. I think You my wonderful Father, Amen!
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