Most Reliable Lord, I realize that the drive to be free from all restrictions can motivate some people to be completely out of Your will. I believe that You send me messages that help me avoid shunning You. I know that You hold me responsible for all my choices and actions. I believe that persistent sin hardens my heart and makes it harder for me to repent. Deliberately choosing to disobey You shuts down our fellowship and makes it easier for me to commit sins again. As a result, I try to stay attentive to Your warnings and commands. Presumption cannot replace righteousness in my life. I cannot substitute what I think is right for what you say is right. Additionally, my repentance must include consideration of what I can do to change to eliminate sin from my life. Arrogance and pride are particularly harmful to the way I live because they do not acknowledge my need for Your help.
If I am to be loyal to You, I should show it with my actions. I must always be examining the motives behind my behaviors. If I obey You and spread Your love to others, I know it will endear me to You. I also must be diligent in keeping my promises to You because You rely on me to fulfill them. If I dare to think “no one will know”, I am deceiving myself because You always know. I can never forget that You are watching and will hold me accountable for each of my choices and actions. I must remain aware that the lust of power, immoral things and the accumulation of possessions draw me into relationships that are contra to what You want for me. I cannot lose sight of the fact that the influence of others can wield a power in my life that pulls me away from Your influence. A life void of You is unstable, it makes me vulnerable to the attacks of my enemies and thwarts the reaching my full potential.
One of man’s most serious sins is to look everywhere but You for their happiness and fulfillment. Only by joining myself to You can I satisfy the deepest yearnings of my inner being. In the same way a farmer produces a plentiful harvest by using good seeds that are planted in good soil and receive proper amounts of sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer. It is the same way with my faith. When it is genuine (humble and willing), is fed with appropriate amounts of the Word, and is guided by the Holy Spirit, I too will produce good fruit. Your Word is a testimony of who You are and what You expect of me. The desire of Your heart is for me to do what the Bible instructs me to do. Refusing to listen to Your truth exposes me to failure and the consequences of disobedience. Your trust demands that my prosperity go into furthering Your wishes and not my selfish desires. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.