All tagged god
Are we making intercession for others? Do we even know how to pray in such a manner? I worry about this often as I watch us attempt to pray for one another. Are our hearts in worship as we lift up prayers for those in need? Is there anyone even attempting such prayer? There have been times throughout biblical history when there has been no true intercession. One of them is recorded in Isaiah, and we can read of it in this verse...
On the 24th of this month I wrote of encountering Jesus in front of a jewelry store. It was an unexpected encounter that taught me a great deal about myself and my faith. Today I would like to explore those sudden and unexpected appearances of Jesus in our lives a bit further. It is true that we don't know the date and time of the return of Jesus as predicted in Revelation, but much like Saul, we do occasionally receive chance encounters with Him today during our everyday lives.
This morning, I have been mulling over the fact that we should always put Jesus ahead of our own wants and self-interests. My mind has wandered to those times when I have placed my name first and didn't allow Him to take the lead in my life... or had ignored Him all together. Jesus has been declared by God Himself to be the name above all names, and yet sometimes we take it upon ourselves to subvert His rule and pursue our own interests as if we hold a higher office than He does. We don't do this so much as a coup d'état but we do it in answer to our own pride and selfishness. Does the thought of this cause our faces to flush with embarrassment and shame?
We are going to delve into an interesting topic this morning, friendship with God, and we will do so by asking ourselves three questions that are simple and wonderful in their divine implication. First, do we consider ourselves to be friends of God? Secondly, do we believe that this is even possible, and finally, if we are friends, or not, what are the ramifications of this to our faith?
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.
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?
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?
Do we love Jesus without wavering? Do we love Him as much as He would like for us to? This is what I am mulling over in my mind this morning. I am asking myself if my faith is sufficient, and if my love for Jesus Christ is deep enough. I am also contemplating how I could possibly face failure if the answer to either of these questions was no, and if Jesus would, or could, still love me if that were so.
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?