When we perform our works of faith or even kneel to pray, who are we attempting to please? Are our eyes on Jesus and our hearts longing for God, or is there something or someone else who has taken the glory of our efforts? Was it ourselves? I am exploring the motivation behind the acts we do that we claim are of faith this morning, and how we can keep them directed rightly towards the glory of God.
Do we know every sin we have committed? Are there things we do, or thoughts we have, that are sinful without our recognition? This morning I am considering my life and the possibility that there are indeed sins in it that I am yet to realize are sins. To remove sin requires that we face it, confess it, be remorseful and contrite for having committed it, and then ask Jesus to forgive us for it. Once we have done this He will forgive us and say, "go, and sin no more." But, how do we obey Him regarding those sins we aren’t even aware of?
Although we know Jesus for His love, mercy, and obedience to God’s will, we are still saddened by the thought of His pain, suffering, and death for us. There was a time leading up to the Cross, when as He was preparing to take on the sins of the world, He and His disciples were uncertain and afraid of what lay ahead. But as Jesus walked with them towards Jerusalem and Calvary, He prepared them for what lay ahead. We are much like His disciples, and are often worried and afraid of what is happening around us, but if we will continue to walk with Him He will reassure us too.
In the time of Jesus, not all slaves were taken in war, or against their will; some sold themselves into slavery for one reason or another. I am not talking about indentured servitude here, but people who became slaves for the rest of their lives. Have you sold yourself as a slave to something or somebody? Before you answer no, are you sure? Do you have an addiction or some sin you keep hidden? Are you a slave to it?
Let's consider this morning how completely God gave of Himself that we should find forgiveness for our sins and everlasting life with Him. Then, let's ask ourselves if we are willing to give ourselves to Him just as completely and with the same total emersion in love. Are we loving Him and our neighbors as we should or has the world formed a hard shell around this ability in us, and has Satan convinced us that in this hardened form it has become a treasure… a pearl?
This morning I am considering the abandonment of things and people associated with our old life when we are reborn and accept Jesus as our savior. Is it a requirement of salvation, and if not, why do we abandon these things at all? Let's look at those old life things we give up along the way of faith and why we are asked to do so.
How many times have we taken what God has asked us to do for Him and after starting to do that thing, made it into what we thought it should be? Perhaps the Lord told us to "Feed this man" and we dutifully did that, but then transformed our call into feeding, clothing, bringing him into our home... well you get the picture. We lost sight of the original vision, the very thing that God had asked us to do. We took what He asked us to do and attempted to improve upon His vision... His will.
Are you suffering today? Is your life full of hardship that has brought you to your knees... not in the abandonment of life and faith, but in a desperate need to submit yourself to God? If so, then you have been brought to the right place and frame of mind. In this state your soul will call out to God and your humanity will not get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s work in you.
I am going to break from my norm of writing only about my thoughts regarding my morning devotional reading this morning and talk about a subject that came to me on my morning drive to work one morning. Then I will write my thoughts about my devotional. So first, I want to discuss how we begin our prayers. What we do to begin our conversation with the Lord.
During my time of devotion today I read Oswald Chambers. He wrote of giving ourselves to Jesus Christ and what that means. It is a surrender of not just our bodies, but our spirits, our sinful lives, and all we are. As I contemplated the relief that comes from this conversion, I also thought of the pain that the process brings, because as the new person is born, the old must die. The apostle Paul understood what yielding oneself truly means. In his letter to the Galatians, he spoke of who he became once he had accepted Jesus as his savior, his Christ.
Today let’s contemplate how we can remain joyful in God’s promises while in the midst of our daily distresses. Let’s seek the source of our victory, certainty, and amazement during the trials and tribulations we face. Let’s try to understand how it is possible to feel comfort and joy in Jesus even when we are in the grips of struggling with our problems and the many crises we face.
Today I am contemplating one of the longer sentences in the Bible. It gives us instruction on how to conduct ourselves as Christians and ministers of the gospel, and if you ever have a question regarding good spiritual behavior then you can probably find it listed in this sentence. But, what would it take to live these attributes to the full pleasure of God? How much interaction with the Holy Spirit will it require to achieve this level of sanctity?
We don't choose our calling, but we do choose to be obey it. This is our concentration today, and should be one of our greatest fears in following Jesus, and obeying God’s will. In answering a call will we find joy and purpose in serving Him, or will that calling supplant Jesus as the focus of our lives? If we are called out, or away, and given a new direction will we recognize His voice, and be able to let go of what we have allowed to become our life’s mission, and the purpose in it?
Are we being busy for Jesus, so busy that we never stop long enough to hear what He is really calling us to do? I worry about this often. I fill my life with the things that I know are similar to those things which Jesus did, or has told us in scripture to do, but are these really things that He is asking of me right now? Today? Every day is new, and the Lord's mercies and compassions are new as well. So how is it that I feel inclined to latch onto a single thing that the Lord has told me to do and revisit it every day?
We have looked at John 21:17 to explore the love and equipping of Peter as Jesus questioned him, but this morning let's look at what He was being told to do when Jesus said "Feed my sheep." I find it interesting that when Jesus questioned Peter and told him to "Feed his sheep" that all the apostles (including Peter) had already received the Holy Spirit and directions, but here Peter was being given more. Let's review what happened and what they were told when the Holy Spirit was breathed onto them...