Day 24 - Kept By God's Power

Wow, God is good. He continues to reveal things and it just keeps getting better! I am finding with this devotional book that a lot of the passages are similar, but God continues to reveal new things to me everyday. I am loving it!
The devotional for today was titled 'Kept By God's Power.' I will talk about that devotional eventually, but I want to share something first. I was writing to a dear friend today via Facebook message, telling her how nice it was doing lunch with her the other day. I was sharing some things with her and without realizing it, I shared something that I have not shared with a lot of people. I told her that my prayer has been and continues to be that I would not become complacent in my walk with Jesus (it is something I strive for). I've never really shared this with anyone because I assumed it was just a given. Being a Christian all my life, I would never want my walk with Jesus to become complacent and since people know that I've been a Christian all my life, I figured that would assume the same. During discussion at bible study, we constantly talk about those 'complacent Christians' and I assume people know that I don't ever want to be one of them. I figured it was something I didn't need to mention.
Anyway, so I shared that with my friend. I didn't think anything of it at first until I got bored (yes, I was bored) tonight. My husband is preaching at a Wednesday night bible study at church and although I had every intention of going, I decided to stay home, mainly due to the fact that I am nine months pregnant and completely uncomfortable in anything but sweatpants and a large hoodie. I decided to make good use of my time and read another devotional from back in January before I bought the book. I flipped through the pages and landed on January 16 and a verse at the top of the page that read "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby." The verse caught my attention because it talked about newborn babes and I am pregnant. Then, the title caught my attention, "Always Advancing." Kind of sounds like "Forever Striving," doesn't it? :)
Anyway, I read the devotional I literally wanted to highlight every line! Every line was so powerful! Wigglesworth talks about how if we are not advancing on a daily basis we are backslidden. If we live on the same plane, even just for two days, we have become complacent and our walk has become stale. WHOA thats heavy stuff! How many days have I gone without advancing?! Definitely too many sometimes!
Wigglesworth also goes on to talk about how it is in the tough times that we are really reconstructed and that we read a lot about hard times in the Bible. It's all because God moves in a big way during those times! The times I remember God moving in a big and mighty way in my life was when I was in my darkest moments. Maybe it was because I was so desperate, but either way, God always moved. It;s pretty interesting.
Wigglesworth ends the devotion with this thought: It is when you are tried by fire that God purges you, takes the dross away, and brings forth pure god.

I almost forgot to talk about the devotional that was for today! I do apologize! Sometimes I get so excited at what God does that I don't think clearly. :) Anyway, the devotional for today was titled 'Kept By God's Power' and the verse that went with it was from John 17 - 'While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me, I have kept.'

If you read John chapter 17 you will see Jesus talking to His father telling God He has kept all those that were given to Him by God (this definitely brings up the idea of do we choose God or does God choose us). Being kept by God means that we are His. We can go to Him like we do our earthly fathers for our needs and He is there to help. Makes me think of the verse in Matthew where it says "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"

God is good! One thing God has shown me over the past couple months are the many facets of his awesome characteristics. The crazy thing too is that every time I think I KNOW God, He reveals another facet. Its just amazing.