All in Daily Devotional
In our lives we can endeavor to be holy, but holiness belongs solely to the Lord and only He can make us so. It is only by the movement and filling of the Holy Spirit that we are granted true holiness. Although we can seek to be holy, only through the Holy Spirit can we realize that goal. Scripture tells us much of God's holiness and it also contains our call to become holy.
The devotional I read this morning was titled "God's Factory on Earth" and dealt with the duty of the Church on earth. This subject fit nicely with the discussions of character and conduct we have been engaged in. As I thought about this subject it occurred to me that there was a similar leaning to scripture which speaks of saving our individual selves... and what comes afterwards.
Our inward character is indicative of the success which the teaching and presence of Jesus Christ has had on our lives. The redemptive and life changing power of Jesus works within us to alter our character and produce a more faithful, righteous, and pure person. Is this what we see occurring within ourselves, or has the fallen world become our friend, and influencer?
Are we consecrated men and women or are we fooling ourselves? Most Christians view themselves as being consecrated, but are we doing those things in our lives that insures that this is true? To know the truth we must first understand what consecration actually means. It is the dedication of ourselves to God; allowing Him to sanctify us and make us holy. If we are consecrated then we must dedicate ourselves to God and His use; our lives should be centered on prayer, worship, and service to God.
This morning we contemplate the role of character and conduct as it applies to our faith and walk with God. So, as we study the Word of God, pray, and worship, our faith, which lives within us, is being increased and our character altered. Faith in God changes us and leads us towards eternal life...
Yesterday we contemplated the parable of the sower and the importance of preparing the ground for God's word. Interestingly, that parable ends not only with words regarding those seeds, but how we should hear and use the parable. Today let’s look at how this parable can lead us to places in our lives that we never expected.
It is a Sunday morning in 1985 and my heavily pregnant wife struggles to clothe our two young daughters for church. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle there hardly seems to be a moment for prayer. Does this sound familiar to you? Well it was certainly a weekly occurrence at our house. In reading my devotional message this morning, Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote about how pastors should prepare themselves to preach and how we, as lay persons, should prepare ourselves for worship. He spoke of the parable of the sower and how preparing the ground allows the seed to germinate, and how unprepared soil allows Satan to ruin the prospect of a bountiful crop. He is so right in this.
Lingering In the presence of God. This hardly seems to be something we should need to be reminded to do, but as our busy lives overrun our quiet time and breach our prayer closets... We need encouragement to be still and pray as we should. In my devotional reading today Pastor E.M. Bounds reminded me of this with these words: "Hasty prayers are without results. Lingering in God's presence instructs and wins. We are taught by it, and the greatest victories are often the results of great waiting - waiting until words and plans are exhausted. Silent and patient waiting gains the crown." Are we reluctant to end our prayers? Are we longing to remain in the presence of God forever?
How much time do we spend with God? In the midst of busy lives, how do we order our days, and specifically our time spent in prayer? Is God leading our life or just filling in the gaps between worldly activities? These are all questions of great importance to our Christian walk. A study of evangelical Christians revealed that the average evangelical spent no more than 10 to 20 minutes each day in prayer, study, and reading the bible. It also revealed that those who were young and forming careers and families spent much less... They typically prayed while walking, driving, or as they found time between other activities.
When we are walking this physical world and living our physical lives, we are prone to pay attention to those things of this world and the comforts of our bodies. Although we feel the urging of the Spirit, it is easily pushed aside when the world calls. My morning reading was so right when it said that flesh and blood do not enjoy dedicating time and attention to prayer. Prayer requires an emotional and physical outpouring of ourselves and takes up one of the resources we value most in this life... Time.
This morning we will contemplate the time we spend with the Lord. Although we aren't judged by the number of minutes that we pray, we should still spend a great deal of quality time walking, and talking, with God over the course of our day. Our prayers are the answer to the question that God asked Elijah… “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Has He asked us the same question? Have we ever wrapped our faces in our cloak and stood at the entrance to our prayer closet listening?
Does prayer guide your life and alter you in such ways that others might hear and see you as an image of Christ, or as an embodiment of something divine? This morning my devotional reading once again spoke primarily to pastors, but all saints can benefit from this call to prayer. Our prayer life changes who we are… even if we feel satisfied with our faith, or believe we have achieved a degree of holiness.
There are many pastors who read my thoughts each morning, and today's message is a word for you. I know that many of you are mighty in prayer and that God blesses you in this effort. I also know that you pray in all matters of the church regarding its edification and advancement, but this is a word of encouragement for those who are slow to enter their prayer closets, or find prayer time to be a struggle. Paul was sitting in prison when he wrote to the Ephesians, but in chapter three he went on to describe his calling to them. It is the same calling that ministers of the gospel receive today...
A couple of days ago we discussed the topic of praying for our pastors, but today let’s turn our attention to our churches themselves. My devotional reading this morning was titled "The Church Equals Its Leaders" and the message, although not a hard one to grasp, warrants our attention, and has been a difficult one for me to write about. In my reading there were a couple of thoughts I felt worth repeating... "Preachers are pre-eminently God's leaders... They shape a church’s character and give tone and direction to its life.", and... "The church is divine, the treasure it holds is heavenly. But it bears the imprint of the human. The treasure is in earthen vessels."
This morning we are delving into the phenomenon of Christians who do not pray, and the ramifications of that lack of communication with God on their faith. We also will touch again on the fact that pastors should not only pray but request prayer of their congregations. Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote strongly of the disappointing fact that there are Christians who do not pray, or who pray very little. Here is an example of his thinking on this subject: "The more holy a person is, the more he values prayer; clearer he sees that God gives Himself to praying people." – E. M. Bounds.