Do you believe that your prayers will be answered? I mean, do you believe unconditionally that your prayers will be answered? I am as guilty as the next for saying “God answers prayer”, and then immediately making excuses for Him by saying such things as “If it is His will.” By doing this I am rewriting his Word, and I am asking forgiveness now for this doubt and lack of faithfulness... will you join me in asking forgiveness and reestablishing our firm belief in His word regarding prayer?
Even before we wait on the LORD He is waiting on us. I know a man who would like to think that God’s mercy and grace is bestowed “cart blanche” to even those who do not believe in Him... the one true God of Abraham, Moses, and Isaac. This man I know would like to think that he can obtain the grace and forgiveness associated with Jesus without believing in Him as the Son of God or obeying His commandments and teachings. However, this is not so, and yet despite his disbelief, God waits on this man with open arms… just like he once waited on us.
Do we tell God what we want, or need, when we come to Him in prayer? Perhaps we don’t really know ourselves, we may know that we are hurting, or that we are in distress but can’t say why. Depression is such a mysterious illness. We don’t know why we feel the way we do, but we think we know. Most of the time though, when we believe we know what it is that is depressing us we are wrong, and that is why God always wants us to tell Him what the problem is. He wants us to take the time to understand our own needs, and to determine if what we desire is truly what we need and is something within His will for us... then, once we know, we can call out to Him correctly.
Whether we believe it will be true or not, rest assured that this world will come to an end, and whether we are believers or not... we will all meet God face to face. So how do we prepare ourselves for this meeting? Should we be perfect in our recitation of scripture, or study diligently the nuances of faith? No, any scholar can do such things; we call them theologians. We should be doing those things we read in scripture, and are told to do by God... we should live holy lives, and conduct ourselves in a godly manner, just as Jesus did.
Do we think that God doesn't see what we do under the cover of darkness? Well, think again because God is more than familiar with darkness. We associate God with light because He created it... He radiates it, and where it exists, darkness is overcome; so, if we only define darkness as the absence of light, then how do we explain the fact that prior to creation there was only darkness, when God was there. God sees us, and all that we do... even in the darkest night.
Are we listening to the voice of Jesus in our lives, and in our Church? Do we obey His commandments, and do the will of the Lord our God? Or are we loosely attached to the gospel of Jesus Christ and susceptible to being shaken free of it? If so then we should redouble our efforts towards Him, and become one in Him, because the shaking comes to all.
How do our lives fit together with our faith? Do our lives contain our faith, or does our faith contain our lives? The answer to this question dictates how we will approach the Holy Spirit, and even more than that, what our perception of faith actually is. Will there be joy flowing from our faith, or will we study its details looking for perfection, and fail? Perhaps we have solved this mystery... so that by living within our faith we find perfection and joy through Jesus alone. We are imperfect yet live encapsulated within the perfect sacrifice of Christ, and surrounded by grace and the will of God.
In the name of Jesus Christ rests great power. We call upon it in faith, and by so doing it heals, saves, and provides for our forgiveness of sin. No other name has such strength in it, or reaches the Father’s ear with such clarity, but before we can call on His name we must believe in the man, the Son of God, and obey. We can add nothing to His name that will improve upon it. So, call His name, but call it in faith, precision, and with certainty.
Who will join us in heaven, and will we recognize them with a hug, and a holy kiss, embracing them as equal believers and loving them as fellow Sons and Daughters of God? We say that we look forward to that day when we will dine at the table of God, but do we really? Are we ready to lovingly walk those streets, and are there similarities between them and the streets of the city or town that we walk today?
In this age of selfishness, and the hoarding to ourselves the riches of the earth, it is easy to give a tithe, and say it is enough, but that is just what God told us to set aside for His purposes. Is by tithing, or by our words, the only ways we have been asked to praise God, or is there more? Are we to adhere to the law, or go beyond it as Jesus did to feed the hungry, and give drink to the thirsty... even as He did for us with His own blood and body during communion.
Have you ever been comfortably living out your life when you suddenly realized that something you were doing wasn’t what Jesus would have you do? In our early years of faith this might be an obvious oversight in a major teaching of God or Jesus, but as we grow in faith it will most likely be something subtle. Yet, the blessing we gain from this realization, and the change it brings to how we live out our faith can be just as profound as those we experienced in the early days when we first believed. The subtle sins in our spiritual maturity are just as real and the disobedience just as abhorrent.
What will we look like in heaven? I have heard that question asked many times, heard it voiced for various reasons, and put in many ways. Young healthy people ask it out of curiosity, and the aged or infirmed ask it in either hope, or with fear and dread. Can we really know what our resurrected bodies will look like? Let’s explore some scripture that might help us determine the answer to this question.
God is our creator, and following the fall of Adam and Eve from grace in the Garden of Eden He has worked out the means of our redemption, and our salvation. His Son Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, but wasn’t it God’s will that sent Him there? Since His crucifixion have we picked up our own crosses to follow Him? Do we do this because we believe or are we still waiting on God to say “come”? Believing becomes much easier once we realize that God formed us, provided us with a means of salvation, and that we will be living in His presence for eternity. But do we know who He is, or do we simply have faith and believe in Him like we would an unknown philanthropist or a mysterious benefactor?
Are we all witnessing to others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ; if so do we witness at home or abroad, and do we ever feel overwhelmed as we go about performing this task? If we are overworked, and find that there are way more souls than we can possibly reach, or teach, then let’s listen to the words of Jesus as He tells us how to call for help. However, if we find that we are not witnessing at all, or not going forth into God’s harvest field, then let’s resolve ourselves to listen for His call, and from wherever we might find ourselves let’s pray for strength and resolve!