Many devout Christians will reach a place in their faith where they will call out to the Lord asking that they join Him in the suffering He experienced. One feels that if God breaks our bread and pours out our wine that the relationship we have with Him will grow all the closer, but something unexpected happens... it isn't God who breaks us and pours us out.
If our faith is predicated on understanding God then we will fail at it. God is more than the natural things that we can quantify, classify, and catalog; He is supernatural and until we grasp that fact and immerse ourselves in that reality then we are doomed to never truly knowing Him. We study God’s Word and preach what the Spirit reveals to us, but we can only speak what He has given us, and not from any understanding beyond that.
Are we willing to abandon ourselves to Jesus Christ? Can we put down our own self-interests and pick up the cross? If we can't answer "Yes" to these two questions then we are distanced from Him, and at best, we are onlookers in the audience as Jesus teaches, and not disciples that follow Him wherever He leads...
Do you want to follow Jesus but have something you must do first? Has God ever called you to a specific purpose but the timing just wasn’t convenient for you? If that is the case, did you console yourself by saying "God understands that I will eventually come" or perhaps use some other rationalization? Well, think again. His table is set when He calls us, but if we delay then it will eventually be cleared, and the meal put away. Will we ignore Him, and arrive too late to dine?
Do you have a gift to offer God, but you just can't find the right moment to give it to Him? Are you standing before the altar with doubt in your mind wondering if He will receive your offering? Is your spirit unsettled and in a state that keeps you at arm's distance from God's will in some matter? In moments like this there is something not right... there is emptiness of spirit... listen as the Holy Spirit directs you in clearing away the obstruction.
Are we working hard to do all of those things that Jesus spoke of during His Sermon on the Mount? If so, how is that working out for us? Are we going at it alone, or are we leaning on Jesus for our success, and salvation? Sometimes we get tripped up by His simplest sounding instruction, and most certainly we fail if we continue to struggle along by ourselves. But, in Him we are able to succeed, for in God all things are possible.
How many little things of faith have you left unaddressed? I dare say the major items are either solved or you are working with God on them, but have you overlooked the small and seemingly less important nuances to your walk with Jesus?
Is your house quiet this morning, and are all others asleep? Can you hear every little noise as the furnace ignites and the walls and floors pop and crack while settling into their new warmth? Can you hear your spirit whispering deep within you as it calls out..."Father, Father."? When we are still, and the world is hushed, the sounds of heaven become audible to us... this is the time for intimate conversation and spiritual embraces; this is the realm of eternal prayer.
Who is Jesus in relation to God? Is He a servant, a slave, a son, a prophet, a high priest, a tool, or all of these things? If you are having trouble answering this question then perhaps you can more easily answer the same question regarding yourself and your relationship to Jesus... No? Jesus is before all else the Son of God. We read the account of Mary and the birth of Jesus, but then at His baptism God Himself speaks and calls Him Son in proclamation to all in attendance...
Once we accept the fact that God is our creator and the God of our lives, and we have recognized Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, we receive by grace the gift of eternal life, but is that gift absolute? Is it a firm commitment on God's part? How about on ours as we receive it? The discussion of topics such as this can either divide us or bring us together.
Jesus is without sin, and perfect, but is there any hope for us to be perfect as He is? Is perfection something that we are even capable of? The glorious surprise of our faith is that we are not simply being transformed into righteous people seeking to behave as God does, but ultimately into perfect extensions of God Himself, as Jesus is. It is God’s desire to flow forth from us, His resurrected children, but do we aspire to this, the lofty will of God, or stop ourselves short of being eternally perfected and transformed by our Heavenly Father?
Are we being tempted with Jesus Christ even today? In that temptation do we continue on with Him, or do we turn away from Him and leave? This is a question Jesus asked His disciples at the last supper, and which is still valid today. Let’s ask ourselves one more question... when we give into our temptations are we saddling and shaming Jesus with sin again?
Are you sad today? I am referring to the sadness that occurs when we realize that Jesus is asking us to let something go that we believe we are unable to give up or that is impossible for us. Perhaps it is our wealth, but just maybe it has to do with our poverty.
When you pray the Lord's Prayer and say the words "lead us not into temptation", what do you think that means? Do you think you are asking God to keep you from experiencing temptation? Do you understand it to mean that you are asking God Himself not to tempt you? Do you think it literally means that God should not purposely lead you into tempting situations? Or, do you feel you are asking God to lead you away from your natural inclination to be tempted and sin?
Do you have questions about faith, or revelations about yourself that you need to communicate to God? Are there things so personal that you blush with embarrassment and shame at the mere thought of them? These are the most pressing things that you need to reveal to the Lord, and they require a secret place where you can be absolutely open and honest with Him.