We consider ourselves Christian when we accept Jesus as the Son of God who lived, was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, descended into hell, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. These are the tenets of the Apostles Creed, but these are the things we believe, and are only the beginning. The goal of faith is to lead us to love. So I ask today... do you love Jesus as much as He loves you? Have you given your life as He gave His?
One of the great benefits of church is being together before God with those of the same belief, but another powerful attribute is the strength that comes from joint prayer. I am not talking about the recitation of a common prayer, although that is powerful as well, but I am speaking of two of more believers praying in their own thoughts and words for the same thing. If you have ever recited the Lord’s prayer then you have participated in common prayer, but what about joint prayer with another? Have you ever prayed separately, together, for the same cause?
Have you been prepared to become a son or daughter of God? By that I mean, has God brought you to the place where you see that the world (although filled with great beauty) doesn’t hold a candle to what awaits you, and that you come to him readily? God gave Israel into the hands of Egypt for 430 years so that they might become receptive to Him. Then following His rescue He led them for another 40 years in the desert before they were truly redeemed. Have you been redeemed? Are you ready to come out of the wilderness?
How is your memory these days; specifically, how is your memory of Jesus Christ? Do you need to be reminded to think of Him as you go about your day, or is He at the forefront of your thoughts always? Well, before you answer my question think long and hard. Our memories may not totally fail us, but there are so many times when they momentarily lapse, or perhaps we put things out of our minds.
Do you pray in secret? If you do pray secretly, and God answers your prayer, do you still keep it secret? This is an especially hard thing to do for a couple of reasons; first you want to tell the world what your God has done, but secondly, and most destructively, you want the world to know that God has heard, and answered, YOU!
You believe in God the Father, and have accepted His Son Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, and Savior, but have you come to the realization that there is another who now dwells within you? Deep inside, you have become the abode of the Holy Spirit, and perhaps you haven’t acknowledge His presence... but He is there and even though He helps you secretly, He wants to know you in an amazing way.
When we look around the world today we see such an overwhelming mess; killing, hatred, carnal sins of every description... the list seems to have no end, and it’s depth is bottomless. Becoming overwhelmed by Satan’s handiwork is easy, and letting it make us despondent, or allowing ourselves to be caught up in it can be equally easy. Is this world too big for God’s love and forgiveness? Is what we see too much for Jesus to carry onto the cross?
Are you a loner in your faith? Do you feel like you can take the Bible and journey to a mountaintop on your own without regard for the Church or the body of Christendom? Do you look at bible characters such as Elijah the prophet who was sent to the mountain to wait in a cave for the Lord God to appear and say “this is me! I am meant to be alone!”; do you think that is what Jesus did? Well if so, you had better rethink your position of faith, and your approach to religion. We are all meant to be one, just as God calls us to believe as one, He then joins us to the body of faith to become one with it... one Church.
We as Christians talk readily about our bodies being a living temple, and we quote certain scripture to make that point, but if our body is our temple then where is our altar, and what is our sacrifice? The temple is where we meet God, the altar is what makes our sacrifice Holy, and the sacrifice itself must be pleasing and received by God. Are you a temple? Do you contain an altar, and what is your sacrifice?
Keeping the Word of God in our hearts and mulling over it all the day long is the way we glean from it the intricate details of what has been placed there for us. By quietly chewing every syllable over and over again we find that we can extract all of the flavor it contains, and then every bit of nourishment. In this way we are thrilled, and then fed. In this way we see God in our everyday world.
Are you strong enough to adhere to God’s commandments? Do you have sufficient strength to rise above the world and achieve great righteousness? Well, you may be strong in comparison to other men, but in God’s eyes you are a weakling, and in truth, you need the strength of Jesus in order to perfect yourself, and even then we challenge Him.
How is it that we presume to know the mind of God? We think that by reading through God’s Word a single time that we have understanding of Him, and yet each time we revisit scripture something new is revealed to us about Him. Even scripture we have read many times over becomes new to us if we keep our hearts and minds open to His voice. How presumptuous are you?
Have you ever experienced rest in your life? I am not talking about a good night’s sleep, but an escape from all that troubles you, and total recuperation of mental, and bodily strength... a complete refreshing of Spirit and soul? Well if you have then you know what our verse this morning is talking about, but if not, then it is time to listen to Jesus and come to Him.
We often pray for forgiveness, and in one such prayer we ask God to forgive us from those things we have left undone. Have you ever prayed this way and wondered what those undone sins might be? Well the most powerful example of these is not witnessing in word or deed to a sinner, either unsaved, or who has wandered from the faith. Not witnessing when we are able places the blood of that soul upon us, but by obedience we save our own souls.
Is your life the manifestation of God’s glory? Are you more than mere flesh and blood, such that you not only say and do good things, but are also living and breathing praise to Him? We hear the expression “People should see Christ in you.”, but do they, and to what end is this most important? I ask again... are you the embodiment of praise such that others who see you experience God’s glory?