Emmanuel Bible Church

The great spiritual task facing the Christian is to so fully trust that he belongs to God that he discovers real freedom in the world, the freedom to speak even when his words are not received; freedom to act even when his actions are criticized, ridiculed, or misjudged. The Christian will truly be able to love when he fully believes that he is loved far beyond the boundaries of the world and human limitation. "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, .....so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faiththat you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. "(Ephesians 3:14,17-19).

In following Jesus, there are no countries to be conquered, no people to be dominated, no positions to be pursued. There are men, women and children to be loved and shown compassion. "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself(Galatians 5:14).

To truly live is to let go of our wishes and live in hope instead, hope that is rooted not in the unstable circumstances of life but in the certain promises of God. When we choose to let go of those petty and superficial wishes and trust that life is precious and meaningful in the eyes of God, we engage a life of peace and true satisfaction. "The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him"(Lamentations 3:24).

When we truly trust that God is with us and holds us safe in His divine embrace, guiding every step, orchestrating every event, we can let go of those anxious needs to know what tomorrow will look like, what will happen next month or next year. We can be fully where God has put us and pay attention to the many demonstrations of Hiss love within and around us that we would otherwise miss because of anxious distraction. "I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices: my flesh also dwells secure"(Psalm 16:8,9).

"Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, in every part with praise, that my whole being may proclaim thy being and thy ways. Not for the lip of praise alone,... nor e'en the praising heart, I ask, but for a life made up of praise in every part: Praise in the common words I speak, life's common looks and tones, in fellowship enjoyed at home with my beloved ones, enduring wrong, reproach, or loss with sweet and steadfast will, forgiving freely those who hate, returning good for ill. So shall each fear, each fret, each care be turned into a song, and every winding of the way the echo shall prolong. So shall no part of day or night from sacredness be free, but all my life, in every step, be fellowship with thee." (Horatius Bonar)