All tagged god
I was reading my devotional this morning and came upon something that set me back. As I thought about it, I realized that it was true... what I read was a statement regarding man's greatest fear which is that Jesus might fail. Pastor Oswald Chambers explained it in this way:
I am wondering about my displays of love for God this morning. Have I ever thrown caution to the wind and done something totally outlandish and bold for Him... not out of reason but just because? Have I left behind my more stoic religious faith and loved Him completely from my heart? Have I loved Him with reckless abandon?
I am sitting in my prayer chair sipping on a cup of Dark English Breakfast Tea in the pre-dawn grey; having prayed, read my morning devotional and scripture. The house is still, as am I, and the spirit is swirling about me with a sweet peacefulness. This is the time of day that I can hear the Lord without distraction. I just read Oswald Chambers as he discussed a verse regarding darkness, on which I remained obtuse for many years. Does God inhabit the night? Is there something special about the darkness when it comes to our relationship with God? We often fear the night... should we?
Are we afraid to speak directly to God? Do we feel safer going to a deacon or our pastor when we have issues in our lives? If you look inward and find that this is true of yourself, don't fear, there is nothing new in this... it has been happening since at least the time of Moses.
Do you focus on and contemplate God throughout each day, and in everything you do? Is your awareness and imagination being used to find the Lord in every circumstance and activity in your life? These are our questions to consider today, and the portion of our faith that we are called to examine. Let’s begin with a verse from Isaiah 26.
What do we imagine our faith to be? How great and unbound can we dream that God is? What binds us to the commonplace, and the everyday isn't God, or our faith, but our own perception of their greatness and possibility. Let me give you a glimpse through the eyes of scripture, Oswald Chambers, Rick Bragg, and me today. Let’s see just how much further we can look into eternity through the eyes of Jesus…
Are we willing to serve God unnoticed and in the darkness of obscurity? How many times do you give to the kingdom without a receiving a receipt? These are questions that I invite you to consider this morning. It is in our human nature to want appreciation and acknowledgement for what we do. We all want to hear the words "Great Job!", "Well Done!", “or “You have blessed me.”, but what if God asks us to put our pride aside and obey His will or give of ourselves with no other eyes on our obedient goodness except His? Can we step into the shadows and give Him all the glory without desiring some of it for ourselves?
I often talk about how I feel regarding Jesus and my love for God, but today I am considering the love God has for us, and the reason for the love He feels for us. We know very well that God loves us, and the Bible is filled with scripture to that effect. It could very well be considered a love story between God and man. Do we approach our relationship with this in mind?
This morning we are contemplating how God calls us in our lives. These are mission(s) of faithfulness and service that God asks us to pursue and we are meant to be committed to. By obeying Him in this way we are wonderfully, and firmly within His will and desire. It is also true that the importance of a calling isn’t necessarily predicated on size, scope, or difficulty. Although many callings do stretch us beyond our comfort zones and capabilities, while some appear very small, and others are deemed to be more important by the world, they are all meant to glorify God. Like so many things involving God the large things are often small, and the small things are actually quite large.
Did Jesus live die and rise from the grave, resurrected, to save you from your sins? Of course He did, but that is only part of the picture... the tip of the iceberg. Jesus did all of this to save not just you or me, but the world... and regardless of who we are, any one of us is but a small part of that.
This morning I ask you to join me in contemplating those times when God has spoken to you. It may have been in a feeling you couldn't shake, a dream, in a voice only you could hear, by signs, or maybe in a vision. Is there a time when you realized that you were engaged in conversation with the Lord, in a "God Moment?" This happened throughout the Bible, and it continues to happen today. What is interesting is how God's voice is accepted and used. Let's look at one such instance in particular; How God spoke to Samuel.
I was convicted this morning as I bore into my devotional thought. I was searching through an inconvenient truth... there are times when I wound Jesus in my attempt to achieve righteousness. In those times I am similar to Saul and facing imminent correction. You are asking yourself how I could have done such a terrible thing. You are probably thinking "I am glad I don't do that!" But don't be too quick to judge, or claim the high ground. Let me explain, and then search yourself further as I did.
As Christians are we still tempted to place our earthly needs before our spiritual relationship with God? Do we spend precious time worrying and thinking about worldly things when it would be better spent on the Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father? Do we arm ourselves against temptation with prayer and the Word of God? As I was reading Oswald Chambers this morning he wrote about our temptation in these words...
My devotional reading this morning was focused on the simplicity of faith, and as I studied the truths in this concept I uncovered the depth of my similar belief. But I also began to see how I often followed the mantra I hear in commercials on television as they sing... "I want it now!" (NFL), or "It's mine!" (Diet Coke), or perhaps "I want it all!" (Dr. Pepper). I could see that I was applying this urgency to my relationship with God and Jesus Christ, and how I wanted every truth in a scripture, and every revelation of God, to occur instantly... right now! Had I lost the ability to wait patiently, and trust in the Lord?
Today let’s examine our lives as we determine if we are presuming to know when and how God will enter into our affairs. I am personally trying to decide if I am attempting to control my circumstances, or if I am truly trusting in God. I am asking myself if I have been limiting His access to my life by not fully realizing that He will interact with me at His good pleasure. Will you join with me in this intimate exploration of our faiths? What I have found in my own quest may serve to enlighten you.