I read this week about realizing the depth of our sins, but it took a different view of them, and turned the depravity of our wrongdoing from the heartbreak of remorse into the amazing heights to which they are raised by our forgiveness. This author encouraged those with the darkest of sins to confess them, repent from them, and ask the Lord for forgiveness because the love they would feel between themselves and God at the moment of their relief would be amazingly great.
We recite a prayer before meals, and at bedtime, and we pray in church service as we recite the Lord’s Prayer, but for most Christians that is the extent of our regular conversation with God. Oh, we might say a prayer when in the midst of trouble, but that is a one-sided prayer and seldom a conversation, and all we really want to hear Him say is “Got it!” Am I describing your prayer life? If so then you are missing out on the greatest blessing of prayer.
How humble do you find yourself to be? Are you strong enough to maintain your course of faith, and yet meek enough to do so without rippling the water around you? Are you bold in your humility before the cross, or do you carry your faith before you like a sharp sword? As we approach Pentecost we can’t help but compare ourselves to the apostles before they received the Holy Spirit, with those same men after the Spirit had come upon them... they left behind their desire to be first on that day, and became images of Jesus.
When we are hungry, to whom do we turn? When we are thirsty, where do we look to have our thirst quenched? When we are in need of a safe place to lay our head, whose name do we Call out to? Before we search for food, water, or shelter, we should seek God, and then obey Him as He leads us, and provides for us. This was the message to the Israelites in the desert, and it is our message today.
Princes and principalities, customs and countries, circumcised and uncircumcised... these, and many others, are all things we have used to separate ourselves from one another, and to secure God and Jesus Christ for ourselves alone, but that is not God’s will, nor what Jesus meant to happen; it was meant for the Holy Spirit to bring us together through the Cross... one Church.
When we think of the ransom that was paid for us by Jesus, it is easy to think about that ransom being paid to some entity, or to someone, for us, but this is not the case. Who would be powerful enough to hold us ransom from God? No, we are ransomed from the sin and death that is within us... the very punishment that was created and placed there by God Himself. God is ransoming us from His own steadfast law against sin... against the imbalance of wrong that became inherent in us.
Is your life so disjointed, and your spiritual journey so up and down that you often are brought to doubt that God is at work in you at all? If this is you then you need to lean on the Word and listen as scripture reassures you that God is absolutely desiring to be the focal point of your life, and to give you His joy, and overwhelming rest, peace, and comfort in Himself.
Do you stand at the ready, listening for God’s voice? Do you wait upon the Lord in this manner? We know instinctively that God is with us always, but sometimes we forget that He isn’t just there... He is also waiting to hear our voice. When we cry out to Him, when we joyfully sing to Him, when our pain and suffering leaves our throat in sorrowful moans... He waits on us. As we speak to Him in prayer He responds in Mercy, and yes, in judgement.
The world is comprised of approximately 6.9 billion people, and of those, 2.2 billion are Christian, or to simplify this a bit... over 30% of all the people in the world are Christian. This is an amazing statistic, especially if you listen to the press on the subject. However, the press corps is not the only detractor or naysayer when it comes to the state of the Church... Christians also preach the demise of the Church from the pulpit. Why is this so? Why are we so self deprecating?
Are you bold enough to ask God for those things you need? Do you dare to mention the trivial items that you are lacking? So often we hold back things in prayer because we feel that the timing is inopportune, or that we think we know the mind of God, and that He will not want to deal with something so minor, or something that we can do for ourselves. Is this you? Well friends, don’t presume to know the mind of God, and listen to his Word as we are told to ask boldly, and faithfully in the name of Jesus, and for whatever we need.
Do you rejoice in the Lord all day long? If so, you most certainly must be praying without ceasing. If this describes you then you should also be giving thanks for all that the Lord provides, and does, for you as your day proceeds. All three of these things, Rejoicing, Praying, and Giving Thanks, are all contained in a single sentence as Paul writes to the Thessalonians. They are joined for a reason, and are meant to lift us up in spirit... then join with the words Always, Without Ceasing, and All Circumstances, to show us the degree of their importance.
Jesus laid down his life for all of us collectively, but to a much finer point, he died for each of us individually. It is easy to disavow personal ownership in the ramifications of something when you are part of a crowd, but it becomes very clearly an individual matter when we form a personal attachment, or take a leadership role. Jesus died to save each of us individually, and we are each responsible for our own actions, and covenant with Him.
Prayer and living make up a two lane road. When we pray we know enough to listen for God to answer, but that conversation isn’t the two lane road we will speak of today... we will consider the impact our life is having on our faith, and prayers. How we pray influences how we live, and how we live has an incredible affect on how we pray. Can you have a terrible fight with someone, and then pray a sweet prayer? What we do in life each day sets the tone for our relationship with the Lord.
This morning I am contemplating the humility and love I have for my fellow man. I ask myself a simple question to get at the heart of it... “do I humble myself before God in prayer, only to leave that humility in my prayer closet when I leave it?” So often I see someone perform a single act of love or kindness for another and think that by doing this one thing it defines them, but it takes more than that... loving your neighbor should be the rule of your life, not the one-off exception. Be loving always and to all people.