08/07/2025
Living our lives with Jesus is more than attaching a series of disjointed moments that are separated by periods of time in which He has been absent from us into something we would like to call faith. God is never here and then gone but is with us always and in all things. Our Lord Jesus doesn't abandon us to our own devices only to return once we have royally screwed things up. God is with us always, and Jesus said that He would be with us until the end of the age. Are we with them too?
“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I [Jesus] am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20 ESV
When Jesus was a 12-year-old boy His parents took Him with them to Jerusalem, and unbeknownst to them He stayed behind when the family left to return home to Nazareth. When they realized that He wasn't with any of their relatives they were distraught and returned looking for him, only to find Him (after three days) in the temple speaking with the teachers. Now this is the place where I would have expected to receive a spanking or that some other form of punishment to have been administered by my parents, but as Mary and Joseph began to admonish Jesus this occurred...
“And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"”
Luke 2:49 ESV
Following this occurrence Jesus returned home with His parents and submitted himself to their authority, but this incident demonstrates the degree to which God the Father was active in Him, and in His life. It tells us that First and foremost Jesus was a child in the house of His Heavenly Father.
Our lives should be equally engaged with God. We have been instructed by scripture to pray without ceasing... we do this because God is with us always, not just so that we will strengthen our faith by hearing ourselves talk, nor as a meaningless act of habit, but because He is in us.
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."”
John 14:20-21 ESV
When I was a young boy, my mother would say something to me that I later repeated to my own children. If I did something contrary to her instructions, she would ask me a rhetorical question "Did you think I was just talking to hear myself talk?" To which the only proper response was "No Ma'am." I am certain that this expression had been passed down in my family through the generations. It applied to obeying one’s parents, and it had equal value when referring to faith and prayer. When we are instructed to pray without ceasing it is valuable instruction, and when we pray, our words are not meant to be spoken into the wind... No, God is there and hears every one of them and they are meant to be spoken earnestly to Him.
Pastor Oswald Chambers asked some telling questions and lead us to their answers when he wrote these words:
"-- are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His ministering life working out through you in your home, in your business, in your domestic circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them, it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in His Father's providence in your particular sainthood." - Oswald Chambers
God is with us, and in us, always... that should not be a question, but a statement. The questions we should ask are these… how much reign do we give Him over our lives? Are we yielding to God in every aspect of our lives? Are we allowing what had started as a seed of faith within us to flourish, and bear fruit that everyone who knows us can see? Are our prayers offered without ceasing, not just out of obligation? Do we fully believe that every word is heard and acted upon by God? The answers to these questions will tell us if we have remained behind in Jerusalem as Jesus did and will define our faith and the content of our unceasing prayers. Has God been talking to us just to hear Himself talk?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for being with me and in me always. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you and I pray that I will faithfully follow your instructions in my life. Holy Father, it is my prayer that I not hear your admonishment as I once heard my mother's "Did you think I was just talking to hear myself talk?" Lord, give me the obedience needed to perform every command and fulfill every wish, desire, and will, that you have for me. Let me dwell in your house Father, and in so doing, let Jesus Christ teach me as He guides my life of faith towards righteousness. Be with me now and always Father and let me feel your presence now and forevermore. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who is with me always and who never turns away from me. Holy is your Word, and merciful are you, who forgives me when I fail you in it. Help me, Father, to be faithful and true to you, and to obey your will and every command. Never let my heart, mind, or soul wander from you Abba, but give me the strength I need to abide in you always. Merciful and full of grace are you towards me, and I pray that I will be as Jesus, and never hear your words without knowing your desire… and living them out in my life. It is my prayer in Jesus’ name that my life will be pleasing to you, and that I will glorify you now and for all eternity.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Rich Forbes