about being faithful to God

A person is faithful to God in their life by attending church, by tending to the needs of others before tending to their own needs, and by living every minute as if the existing minute is their last. We are all expected by God to be a blessing to His work upon the earth. In a way, one could say God is jealous, but God is not jealous in the human sense of the word. For God is jealous not for His own benefit, but for our benefit. We are all His creation. When we are willing to put aside or turn away from our fallen sinfulness in favor of kneeling at the foot of the Cross of Christ, God is glorified.

What must not be lost upon us is that in addition to God being glorified when we repent or turn away from our sin, our own lives are renewed, restored, reinvigorated, and redeemed. For in turning away from our sinfulness, the greatest benefit is not necessarily to God. The greatest benefit of our repentance goes to us. The greatest benefit we receive from Christ is a new life from Him. Our new life from Christ will never end, never terminate, and in the end, there is no end…for each of us who have accepted Christ as Savior, there is in the end a glorious new beginning in Heaven.

about thinking ahead

We must never fear the future because in the future we find Jesus waiting for us in Heaven. We must never fear the next moment because Christ stands beside us. In our daily life, we must never fear to think ahead. We must live each moment within the moment but we must also think ahead and plan for tomorrow. Some of our dumbest mistakes occur when we do not think ahead. The human race is unique in that we can think ahead and see in our mind's eye what is not yet real. We can see what might be in our tomorrow, plan for that day, build for that day, and when that day comes, we can see that what was just a dream yesterday, has become reality in the present moment. What a truly wonderful gift God has given us to be able to envision what is ahead! What a truly wonderful opportunity each of us has to put His plans into action. When you think about tomorrow, think ahead about Him and doing His will. James 4:14 What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (NIV)


Email: alanjoplin@aol.com

about what matters most

At the root of everything in our life is our connection to God or a lack of. We can say it doesn't matter that we are connected or not connected. However, the truth is that being connected to God is what matters most. Whether we are rich or poor, once we have our basic needs met, we need a connection to God. We can try to fill our consciousness with all kinds of things. However, our consciousness is like a vacuum that draws ideas and things into itself and is never full. No idea and no thing in life is ever big enough to fill the infinite vacuum of our soul.

The only idea and the only entity in the universe that can fill the infinite vacuum of our soul is the infinite love of God through Christ. Our soul's state of continual emptiness can eat away at us like a cancer. As a Christian, when we die and ascend to heaven, we are fully connected with God and our soul is fully fed and nourished forever. In heaven, there is a oneness and fullness with God we cannot achieve on earth. However, while we are on the earth, we can get a glimpse of this oneness and fullness when we open our heart, mind, and soul to His love for us. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. (NIV)


Email: alanjoplin@aol.com

about admitting mistakes

It's not easy being human. One of the more difficult things about being human is admitting our mistakes. However, nothing helps us come closer to God than making an admission of failure. God does not glory in your failures. He does not relish the fact that you feel badly about mistakes you have made.

God glories in is the fact that you can be honest. When you are honest, you are more likely to express your need and your love for Him. When you can admit your mistakes, you can admit that you need Him. When you admit your mistakes, you are taking wonderful steps toward being His humble servant. Of course, we do not want to admit our mistakes because we have a ego and are full of pride. We all need to put pride and ego aside. We need to rest our heart in His love. When we readily admit our failures and bring joy to His heart, we in turn experience His joy within us. 1 John 2:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (NIV)