This morning I am contemplating those things of faith to which we have become blinded by our religion or liturgical practices. I recall the words of Jesus regarding Jerusalem and ask myself if this could happen to us as well. Could our religion become a hindrance to us? Are we building liturgical or religious walls between those who are seeking redemption, salvation, and a relationship with our Lord?
What is the focus of our life? Is there something or someone that fascinates us beyond anyone, or anything we have ever known? Are we infatuated with the things of this world, or do our thoughts center on God and Jesus? Do we find our attention to be fixed on the divine, or on the physical world around us? The question I am hoping we will pose to ourselves today is this… Are we predominantly spiritual beings who are passing through a physical place, or physical creatures living out our lives in the world? Our answer will ultimately determine whether we are fascinated with Jesus or fixed on earthly things.
We live in a time that pleads for reconciliation, a time when we are being called almost hourly to make intercession through prayer for those who are different from us. Whether it be a difference in righteousness, finances, race, color, nationality, or faith... intercession is of God and through it we are taught to love one another.
Is Jesus pleased with us as intercessors? Do we find it within ourselves to pray for sinners, or do we judge when we should actually be praying for them? Do we only want to intercede for the righteous and find that we are doing so at the expense of the sinner?
Are we making intercession for others? Do we even know how to pray in such a manner? I worry about this often as I watch us attempt to pray for one another. Are our hearts in worship as we lift up prayers for those in need? Is there anyone even attempting such prayer? There have been times throughout biblical history when there has been no true intercession. One of them is recorded in Isaiah, and we can read of it in this verse...
On the 24th of this month I wrote of encountering Jesus in front of a jewelry store. It was an unexpected encounter that taught me a great deal about myself and my faith. Today I would like to explore those sudden and unexpected appearances of Jesus in our lives a bit further. It is true that we don't know the date and time of the return of Jesus as predicted in Revelation, but much like Saul, we do occasionally receive chance encounters with Him today during our everyday lives.
Today we are exploring our obedience to Jesus without questioning His instruction. We will be looking at how we should obey Him without the need to weigh His guidance against our own desires. Sometimes we receive a Word from God and it isn't something easy or perhaps it is something we think is dangerous or would put us in a precarious position financially or possibly even spiritually... so we question His motive or our understanding. This doubt is not a modern phenomenon but goes back to the earliest times of faith.
This morning let’s take a look at how God calls us ever forward in our faith. We aren't meant to be stagnant creatures in faith, or in life generally, no, we are meant to be travelers along a way of faith that is taking us ever forward and increasing us in spirituality as we go.
My thoughts this morning are centered on the state of purity. What does it mean to be pure of heart, and how is it possible to reach this level of righteousness? By becoming pure we know that we will see God, so it’s a very important subject for us to explore.
Yesterday we spoke of being the friend of Jesus in the context of placing him before us in all things, but today we will look at what kind of friend the groom has chosen for His best man. What kind of friend should we truly be?
“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.”
John 3:29 KJV
This morning, I have been mulling over the fact that we should always put Jesus ahead of our own wants and self-interests. My mind has wandered to those times when I have placed my name first and didn't allow Him to take the lead in my life... or had ignored Him all together. Jesus has been declared by God Himself to be the name above all names, and yet sometimes we take it upon ourselves to subvert His rule and pursue our own interests as if we hold a higher office than He does. We don't do this so much as a coup d'état but we do it in answer to our own pride and selfishness. Does the thought of this cause our faces to flush with embarrassment and shame?
Do you move along in your life of faith and feel like you are making great strides in sanctity only to have some trivial thing reawaken the old sinful person you used to be? Well, we all have this happen from time to time, and our lives of faith are a constant struggle against our natural selves... so why do we keep falling into this trap, and what can we do to overcome this disappointing behavior?
I really love the story of Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This morning let’s concentrate on what those disciples said when they finally realized that the man they had been traveling with was actually Jesus; they said: "did not our heart burn within us." Let’s think about our own moment when it became clear to us that Jesus was truly the Son of God and had been sent to save us. Let’s think back on that faithful day when we walked with Him down our own road to Emmaus and how His gospel message came alive in us as our hearts burned.
This morning I am contemplating a single phrase in the King James translation of the Bible... it is one that was written by Paul to the Galatians, and is found in Galatians 2:20. It reads like this..."by the faith of the son of God." This is opposed to several modern translations which record it as "by the faith in the Son of God." So the question boils down to one word and two different translations... Our study is whether to us the word "In" or "Of" as we talk about our faith. This might sound tedious but the implications are great.
We are going to delve into an interesting topic this morning, friendship with God, and we will do so by asking ourselves three questions that are simple and wonderful in their divine implication. First, do we consider ourselves to be friends of God? Secondly, do we believe that this is even possible, and finally, if we are friends, or not, what are the ramifications of this to our faith?