Who have we prayed for today? Have we left your prayer closets after having prayed in the spirit for our personal needs, the needs of our families, and maybe a close friend or two? Well, if so, that was a good start, but it should only be the beginning of our daily prayers. In fact, we should consciously pray for all the saints, and all day long in every circumstance, for every soul in need. Then, as our conscious prayers fade, we should recognize our unconscious prayers as well.
Do we obey the commandments of Jesus? If our answer is yes, and we are working our way through life doing all we can towards achieving this end, yet we have not felt Jesus to be alive in our lives, then we need to ask ourselves one more question... do we obey Him out of love?
When someone is baptized, and the Holy Spirit comes over them, three things occur. They are given gifts, a calling(s), and they will begin to behave in a new and wonderful way. Gifts, service, and activities, these identify them, and set them apart, placing them on a course that God has willed for them even before their feet became wet in the waters of baptism, or they took their first breath as a child of God.
Do we give thanks for our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we take our own sanctification by the Holy Spirit as more than a distant hope, but as a present truth? Do we find ourselves filled with the glory of Jesus Christ, and allow him full reign as he abides within us? There was a time when I accepted Jesus as fact, but didn’t have the close relationship that He offered; I wanted to follow Him but not to walk too closely, not to accept the changes that walking hand in hand with Him meant. Is Jesus your speaking friend, or your best friend and confidant? Are you sanctified or just acquainted?
In this day and age when the Church has been taken hostage by the influence of the world, and often forgets who it really is and who it represents in power; it isn’t surprising that we as individual believers can find ourselves weakened in our faith, and led astray. But the truth of the matter is that the Church is meant to represent the creator of the universe, and you and I have been authorized to act in the name of His Son Jesus Christ for His glory, for the glory of God!
As Christians, how do we speak of our faith in Jesus? Who do we envision Him to be? Do we see Him as a miracle child born of the Virgin Mary? Do we witness Him as a young boy discussing scripture in the temple? Do we see Him as the man who calls out to others to become His apostles? Do we call Him a miracle worker who turns water into wine and walks on water, or do we simply see Him as a great rabbi who teaches powerful truths? Are any of these remembrances at the heart of our expressed faith in Jesus? ___ These are all things that Jesus was... but in our faith He should be much more. We should not only see the risen Christ as crucified... but we should follow Him onto the cross, into the resurrection, and during the ascension. In all these things, which began on Calvary, we will find our life, and by them we can take our next breath in eternity.
Do we sit at the feet of Jesus? Do we look towards God for the wisdom and knowledge we require to make it through each day? If we quickly answered yes, then let’s consider these three additional questions... Are we humble in our learning, do we wait on the Lord to reveal himself to us in good time, and finally, do we suffer in this effort?
This morning our devotional thought is in being not only the children of God, but going one step further and having the heart of a child; or in other words, being childlike. Jesus tells us to be this way directly in scripture when we read Matthew 18:
Holy and blameless before God... does this describe you? Is this who you are, or is it something that you are aspiring to become? Scripture tells us that we should be this way, but do we even know what it means to be holy? Is it simply being consecrated to God? Is it to set ourselves apart or dedicate ourselves to serving Him? Or, perhaps in some way we are to be like God? If you research man’s definition of Holy you will find each of these thoughts, and definitions. So, when God says you are to be holy what is he actually wanting us to be, and are we obeying Him?
Do you spread the love of God? Do you give cups of living water to the thirsty each day, or perhaps you worry about their dirty hands touching your polished chalice? It is so easy to turn a blind eye to the ragged, and to detest the smell of the unclean, but these are the very souls that our Lord came to feed, clothe, make clean, and to let drink from His cup. Where were we when we first lifted it to our own mouths? Did we think of ourselves as being clean and our hands without blame? Did we smell of incense and righteousness?
When we open ourselves up to Jesus Christ and allow Him to enter into us we not only become a new person internally, but also externally. Ezekiel recorded how God transforms us in wonderful fashion, and the New Testament contains many references to how Jesus cleanses us and allows for this same transformation. The sin that we have spoken of in past days is now forgiven, and we are refreshed. Are we ready to be changed?
Our bodies are constructed for an amazing purpose, they are designed to not only maneuver the physical world, but to praise and worship God. They are also built to contain not only our conscious self, but our spirit, soul, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God as well. We like to think that our body is ours alone, but it isn’t, even physically it is not, and scripture tells us that when we marry, or have sex, we become one flesh with that person... our body is truly an incredible creation in which we live, and is often misunderstood.
In our lives we are in constant struggle against the dark and evil forces of Satan; how do we defend ourselves and drive them away? What is effective against him, and do we know how to use the weapons and tools we have been provided? To answer these questions, we turn to Ephesians and take solace and comfort in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Are you a reflection of Jesus Christ in your everyday life? Has He instilled in you a gentleness of spirit, and made you lowly of heart, and meek? Are these the attributes that you find desirable as you make your way through this dog-eat-dog world that exists today? Well, If you allow yourself to be immersed in the blood of Christ then they should be, and you will be exhibiting them to those around you! Do you see such character traits as strengths, and not weaknesses?
What is your name; what are you called? On physical earth we have a sir name, but what is our spiritual name, our name of faith? Are we called Godly, Christian, Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox, Pastor, Reverend, Father, Bishop, Saint, or some other name of faith, or are we simply unknown? Let’s shorten this question... are you called by the name of God, or not? Names can indicate someone’s nationality, race, tribe, or family, but eventually they give an indication as to who our father is. So, who is your spiritual father?