ONE THING

There are 2 passages of Scripture that speak directly of this. Psalm 27:4 and Philippians 3:13. I was reading Psalm 27 in my normal Bible reading and the first 3 verses really stood out to me.

Psalm 27:1-3

“The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident. “

It was the power of these Scriptures that made me take notice and look for what was the reason for the confidence and lack of fear or worry in the midst of great opposition.

Psalm 27:4 is the answer. One thing David asks for. To be with God always. When we are with God who can be against us. This is the key to life in my estimation. Our life is better and fulfilled when we are serving instead of just taking. It is much better to give than to receive. Thought all of us need to receive at times.

Why do I say this?

Philippians 3:13,14

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Being with God will entail serving or seeking Him. So the “One Thing” of the Bible is being with God and pressing into the things God has for us to serve Him.

God has laid hold of us to walk in grace by living sensibly, righteously, and Godly Titus 2:12. He has laid hold of us to go, Matt 28:19. He has laid hold of us to be ambassadors to the world 2 Cor. 5:20. We are to be a light in the world. Matt. 5:16

But all this activity will come to naught if we neglect the one thing God has for us and that is to dwell with Him, and get our nourishment from Him and all we have comes from Him. James 1:17.

Use this nourishment to give to others as you are called in Him. Then the nourishment will continue to flow.

Satisfaction does not come from pleasing yourself, it comes from serving others from the leading of the Spirit in our life as we rest in Him.

With this resting in Him and pressing into what He has for us will give us the confidence and peace to live. Psalm 112:7

Devotions / In Christ

For devotions I have been going through 2 Timothy. At present I am at 2:2. I find this good because I am not in a hurry to finish the book. What I try to do is look at each phrase to and run cross references on them. I also meditate on the passage and sometimes ideas come to me. Sometimes I remember other passages that shed light on the one I am meditating on.

After I got past chapter 1 I started typing these notes. I may want to post these notes on my web page as a commentary. I think there is life from pondering the Scriptures.

I have struggled with what it means to be in Christ. I know its salvation but as I have pondered it I think that to be in Christ is to be walking in the Spirit. We are new creatures in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:17) But we don't live like that if we are not aware of spiritual things. When problems arise do I act as I should in Christ, or do I respond as a person without Christ. The difference in my actions is based on whether I am aware of Christ and looking to Him when the problem comes.

Some may respond naturally but I don't. I need to be looking to Jesus in my life at the present or the problem will catch me unaware.

Luke 12:35 Speaks volumes to me. "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit."

So being aware in Christ ties in to Bible memory and trusting Christ for the promises He has given to me. I quote the promise to counter the worry, and trust Christ in the midst of my efforts.