THIS WEEK has been a really beautiful one for me. I walked on a forest trail on a field trip to San Felasco and took pictures. I saw prayers answered for such various things as a parking space and an idea for the model I'm building for Tuesday. I got to take up the shield of faith in response to a couple "flaming darts."
I'm especially becoming more aware of the call to "go." You know, the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations. Right now I'm in a campus that's bigger than many cities are, and much more diverse. The whole world is here. It's overwhelming sometimes. The desire is increasing in my heart to spread the love and not keep it to myself. But how?
On Thursday night I was at CRU, the Campus Crusade for Christ, and during worship I had one of those great revelations, the kind that only comes during worship. We were singing "Let Your name be lifted higher, be lifted higher, be lifted higher!" And it came to me.
Why do we lift God up? To glorify His name, right? Yes, that's why. But I think there's another reason too, because we have two purposes here. We lift God up higher and higher so that people all around can see Him. That way, they can lift Him up too. That's how we spread the love of God.
Carrying the message of God to other people, BOTH near AND far, is something each of us has necessarily been called to do. We don't want to just glorify God. We want to get other people to glorify Him too - to multiply His glory on earth. God doesn't need our help with this. In His word in Psalm 19 (one of my favorites) verse 1 says "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." The very Creation of God is for His glory, and it's evidence to us of His glory so that we can see He is worthy of our worship.
I can definitely attest to the message of that verse from what I saw at San Felasco. I found a perfect green garden snake with a bright pink tongue, draped over a bush full of yellow flowers. I saw vines twisting in fantastic loops and thin trees curved in perfect arches. On the ground there were tiny bugs with a million legs and leaves as colorful as stained glass windows. There was the sun falling into the streams and mossy trees rising up from the earth. The air was perfectly cool and the place was fully alive. I could feel God's presence when I looked at the product of His creativity.
Yet in Romans 2 Paul describes humanity's reaction to all that in verses 20-22:
"[20] For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His external power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, [21] because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. [22] Professing to be wise, they became fools."
This was true then, and it's true now. But God doesn't scoff and walk away. He won't make us love Him, and He will stand aside when we choose against Him, but He wants His children to come home. All of them.
The more we come to know how much He loves us, how passionately and unrelentingly His love endures, the more we will want other people to know.
When I had a boyfriend, I remember that he was on my mind and in my conversation more often than I'd like to admit. I remember that I really enjoyed talking about him, almost as much as I liked talking to him. That shows something about the way our hearts work. We want to talk about what we really love. We don't want to be the only ones made happy by what we love. It should be that way with God. When we love God so much, get so preoccupied with His glory and His will and His dreams and His goodness, that we don't want to keep him to ourselves, we won't keep Him to ourselves. That's lifting Him up for all to see.
We shouldn't be scared to let somebody know we're praying for them if we believe our good God wants to answer. We shouldn't worry that people will think less of us for expressing our faith in Him, because what matters is what He thinks, and He thinks that kind of talk will bring Him glory and be a good testimony. Some won't like it, but some will want what we have. And won't it be wonderful when they find out they can have Him for free!
Speaking about His imminent crucifixion, Jesus said in John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." Since He was lifted from the earth on the cross, His word has been preached on all continents and He has drawn countless thousands to Himself. Let's continue to lift Him up and watch how His compelling love will draw in this world that' hungry and thirsty for the grace we've received.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Ready for Battle
THIS WEEK I began reading Radical by David Platt. This book is a soul earthquake. It's very challenging, and I think every Christian in America should read it.
It's a challenge to the idea that God's plan is for us to be increasingly rich and as comfortable as possible. It's a call to align our desires with the desires of God - for helping the poor, going to the ends of the earth to spread the news of the gospel, giving Him glory instead of maintaining what we are used to. It points to the truth that God's will is for the spread of the gospel and for the glory of His name.
This book is reminding me that following Christ is hard. It's a daily battle. It's full of joy, but it's also full of hurdles that we only overcome through faith in God.
Luke 9:23 "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and come after Me."
Crosses aren't made of gold and strung on fine chains. They aren't nobly perched on steeples. Crosses are heavy, coarse wood and nails. Blood, sweat, and tears. God wants our lives to be full of joy and blessings, but He never intended following Him to be a picnic. It takes devotion to the will of God, a desire to seek and find Him, and a willingness to obey when He calls. It takes a love for the people He loves and a drive to give Him glory at every opportunity. Dying to yourself means not living for yourself, but for Him and to lift Him up. This is something I am working on a lot lately.
The Bible gives us a list of the pieces of spiritual armor we have for our spiritual journey in Ephesians 6. I read this, and the same evening it was read aloud at the church where I was visiting.
Ephesians 6:14-17, "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [15] and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [16] above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
I took a minute to think about what each of these things could mean. Why was each of these things assigned to its respective form of protection?
I think truth is like a belt because when you "gird yourself" you are preparing yourself to be determined for a certain task. We should be dedicated to holding fast to the truth that's in Jesus. In Luke 9:62 Jesus responded to someone who wanted to say goodbye to his family before following Him: "But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Just as no plowing gets done if we don't look ahead, we can't advance the kingdom without wholehearted devotion. Not to what we think is right, but what we find to be true in God's word.
Righteousness is like a breastplate because the righteous are protected by the fact that God is pleased with them. None of us is righteous without the sacrifice Jesus made to trade our sin for His spotlessness, and this righteousness is our being right with God through His grace. The psalmist describes the situation of the righteous: Psalm 1:3 "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever does shall prosper."
Having the preparation of the gospel of peace is like wearing shoes because... well this one's a little funny to think about. It's like shoes because if shoes aren't fastened on reliably, we'll trip, fall, and fail at our task. Without a grasp on the reality of the gospel and a personal experience of how true it all is, how far can we go professing it to be true? John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." If we don't set our eyes on Jesus and go after Him, we will fail at following Him.
Paul says it's most important that we take the shield of faith. Faith is like a shield because life is full of questions that bring doubts, and temptations that could ensnare us. When we use faith to quench the darts of the wicked one, we aren't disregarding our questions to keep our faith from being challenged. That's not what it means. It means trusting the voice of God over the voice of all others, letting our questions and trials turn into exercises to strengthen our faith and not into reasons to quit on the one thing that matters most. James explains the importance of faith, especially in prayer: James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." God doesn't want us tossed around. He wants to give us a foundation of trust in His promises - faith.
Salvation is like a helmet because if you don't have it, none of the rest really matters. If you're fully armed everywhere except your head, guess where your enemy is going to attack you. Ephesians 2:8-9 is a good explanation of salvation: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast." Salvation is from God. If we don't have that helmet, whose side are we on in the battle?
Finally, the word of God is the sword of the Spirit because it holds power from the mouth of God. My roommate Sarah was just talking to me about this: All throughout Scripture the word of God is represented by a two-edged sword, and Jesus is the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 declares this power: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." In Revelation 1 John describes Jesus in his vision as having a two-edged sword in His mouth, representative of this same power held by the word of God. Power we won't want to jump into battle without.
What's important to notice is that without any one of these things, we are not fully equipped. Without the gospel of peace, do we really have the truth? Without the truth, do we really have faith? Recently someone also pointed out to me that there is no armor for the back. Every part of us is protected except the back, implying that we are not meant to retreat once we've chosen to follow Christ.
Being a soldier for Christ doesn't mean the same thing for everyone, except that it always means to do as God calls us to. Not everybody will be in full-time ministry or spent decades overseas, but we've all received the same commandments to spread the gospel, glorify God, and love.
How are we supposed to make this work? We aren't that strong. How do we become the perfect soldier God deserves? The truth is that He won't be surprised at any point when we are tripping and making mistakes. He knows what we are and what we're not. We stumble, and it shows us our need for Him. He will help us up again and make us strong to proceed. But one more thing is needed to take all this armor to war.
This big list is followed by Paul's request that the Ephesians persist in prayer, because calling out to faith in God serves multiple purposes: it gets us closer to our Father's heart, and it yields effective results for those we are praying for. God honors an honest, humble, bold prayer. He isn't into flowery language or half-baked faith. He wants to hear us ask, believing He will keep His promises.
Ephesians 6:18-20, "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints - [19] and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make know n the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
Notice that following Jesus isn't about what we do, but about who we are in Him. It's about where we put our trust and how true our love is. Good works and heroic acts of faith will follow as a consequence. God wants us to desrie His glory. God is looking for somebody, not who is already strong, but who sees his need for Him to make him strong and believes in His power to do it.
It's a challenge to the idea that God's plan is for us to be increasingly rich and as comfortable as possible. It's a call to align our desires with the desires of God - for helping the poor, going to the ends of the earth to spread the news of the gospel, giving Him glory instead of maintaining what we are used to. It points to the truth that God's will is for the spread of the gospel and for the glory of His name.
This book is reminding me that following Christ is hard. It's a daily battle. It's full of joy, but it's also full of hurdles that we only overcome through faith in God.
Luke 9:23 "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and come after Me."
Crosses aren't made of gold and strung on fine chains. They aren't nobly perched on steeples. Crosses are heavy, coarse wood and nails. Blood, sweat, and tears. God wants our lives to be full of joy and blessings, but He never intended following Him to be a picnic. It takes devotion to the will of God, a desire to seek and find Him, and a willingness to obey when He calls. It takes a love for the people He loves and a drive to give Him glory at every opportunity. Dying to yourself means not living for yourself, but for Him and to lift Him up. This is something I am working on a lot lately.
The Bible gives us a list of the pieces of spiritual armor we have for our spiritual journey in Ephesians 6. I read this, and the same evening it was read aloud at the church where I was visiting.
Ephesians 6:14-17, "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [15] and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [16] above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
I took a minute to think about what each of these things could mean. Why was each of these things assigned to its respective form of protection?
I think truth is like a belt because when you "gird yourself" you are preparing yourself to be determined for a certain task. We should be dedicated to holding fast to the truth that's in Jesus. In Luke 9:62 Jesus responded to someone who wanted to say goodbye to his family before following Him: "But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Just as no plowing gets done if we don't look ahead, we can't advance the kingdom without wholehearted devotion. Not to what we think is right, but what we find to be true in God's word.
Righteousness is like a breastplate because the righteous are protected by the fact that God is pleased with them. None of us is righteous without the sacrifice Jesus made to trade our sin for His spotlessness, and this righteousness is our being right with God through His grace. The psalmist describes the situation of the righteous: Psalm 1:3 "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever does shall prosper."
Having the preparation of the gospel of peace is like wearing shoes because... well this one's a little funny to think about. It's like shoes because if shoes aren't fastened on reliably, we'll trip, fall, and fail at our task. Without a grasp on the reality of the gospel and a personal experience of how true it all is, how far can we go professing it to be true? John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." If we don't set our eyes on Jesus and go after Him, we will fail at following Him.
Paul says it's most important that we take the shield of faith. Faith is like a shield because life is full of questions that bring doubts, and temptations that could ensnare us. When we use faith to quench the darts of the wicked one, we aren't disregarding our questions to keep our faith from being challenged. That's not what it means. It means trusting the voice of God over the voice of all others, letting our questions and trials turn into exercises to strengthen our faith and not into reasons to quit on the one thing that matters most. James explains the importance of faith, especially in prayer: James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." God doesn't want us tossed around. He wants to give us a foundation of trust in His promises - faith.
Salvation is like a helmet because if you don't have it, none of the rest really matters. If you're fully armed everywhere except your head, guess where your enemy is going to attack you. Ephesians 2:8-9 is a good explanation of salvation: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast." Salvation is from God. If we don't have that helmet, whose side are we on in the battle?
Finally, the word of God is the sword of the Spirit because it holds power from the mouth of God. My roommate Sarah was just talking to me about this: All throughout Scripture the word of God is represented by a two-edged sword, and Jesus is the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 declares this power: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." In Revelation 1 John describes Jesus in his vision as having a two-edged sword in His mouth, representative of this same power held by the word of God. Power we won't want to jump into battle without.
What's important to notice is that without any one of these things, we are not fully equipped. Without the gospel of peace, do we really have the truth? Without the truth, do we really have faith? Recently someone also pointed out to me that there is no armor for the back. Every part of us is protected except the back, implying that we are not meant to retreat once we've chosen to follow Christ.
Being a soldier for Christ doesn't mean the same thing for everyone, except that it always means to do as God calls us to. Not everybody will be in full-time ministry or spent decades overseas, but we've all received the same commandments to spread the gospel, glorify God, and love.
How are we supposed to make this work? We aren't that strong. How do we become the perfect soldier God deserves? The truth is that He won't be surprised at any point when we are tripping and making mistakes. He knows what we are and what we're not. We stumble, and it shows us our need for Him. He will help us up again and make us strong to proceed. But one more thing is needed to take all this armor to war.
This big list is followed by Paul's request that the Ephesians persist in prayer, because calling out to faith in God serves multiple purposes: it gets us closer to our Father's heart, and it yields effective results for those we are praying for. God honors an honest, humble, bold prayer. He isn't into flowery language or half-baked faith. He wants to hear us ask, believing He will keep His promises.
Ephesians 6:18-20, "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints - [19] and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make know n the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
Notice that following Jesus isn't about what we do, but about who we are in Him. It's about where we put our trust and how true our love is. Good works and heroic acts of faith will follow as a consequence. God wants us to desrie His glory. God is looking for somebody, not who is already strong, but who sees his need for Him to make him strong and believes in His power to do it.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
No Boundaries
THIS WEEK, my first week back at school after Christmas break, has been very eventful and blessed. I started my days with my Quiet Time instead of doing it at night, so that helped me keep the Word on my mind during the day.
I've had a few realizations this week stemming from my Quiet Time that I think are about to impact my life big time.
You see, I have been doing Quiet Time outdoors. I hear the birds speaking, and I feel the cold air, and I see the trees with leaves from green to red like a rainbow, and I realize that there really isn't anything God can't do.
I remembered His promise (Matthew 19:23-26) that with Him all things are possible. ALL things. And then I thought about His promise (John 14:12-14) that if we ask anything in Jesus' name, He will do it. He WILL. The Bible is filled with promises like these, saying that God answers those who have faith in Him and who will obey His will. Saying that what's impossible for us can be possible through faith in our God of power.
Now, if we have an ounce of faith in God's power and goodness, we know that He keeps every promise He makes. So if anything is possible through God, and if He answers our prayers, where are the boundaries? There are none, because He has none.
None? No boundaries? Well that's shakes things up quite a bit, I thought, so I more boldly began to pray for miracles. I mean, miracles are what happens when we have the right kind of faith in God, and the followers of Jesus have always been performing them in Him name. It was Tuesday that I wrote in my journal that I had prayed for miracles.
Wednesday I was in the Student Union, and I had also been praying to make a friend that day. I got both at the same time. I walked up to the booth of a Christian student group, where two guys were praying for a girl. When they were finished they told me that this girl, Lex, had very severe astigmatism. She told me she wasn't even able to see the whiteboard from the front row of class. She showed me her thick glasses. After these guys, Peter and Doug, prayed for her, her vision was significantly better. Miracle. It's been a dream of mine to see a faith healing for a while. I knew it was happening in the world, but now I've seen it.
I found that Peter is in my New Testament class. Now I have a new friend. God answered my prayers.
God is accomplishing His will in the earth, and He doesn't need our help. But He can make us a part of what He is doing, and He wants us to be. So let's not pray for God to tell us what we can do for Him, like we have something He needs. Let's pray to be allowed a part in making His dreams come true. We don't have much to offer, just our faith and our obedience. But God loves to make a lot from a little, and to make abundance come out of nothing.
It's like when Jesus returned from the dead and met the disciples (John 21) and asked Peter three times whether he loved Him. He said yes once for every time he had denied Him at His death. Jesus had to ensure Peter would have faith strong enough to face what he would go through for His name's sake. Peter could not deny the Christ he knew he had seen resurrected. He would lead countless people to Christ, but he would suffer and die, and be crucified upside down. But his faith was strong enough, and we are still benefitting from it today.
Jesus was very straightforward when He said in John 14:12, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do He will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."
When I shared my hope with my Community Group that we could have faith bold enough to see impossible things happen this semester, I referred to Ephesians 3:20, which is one of my favorite promises in the Bible. My friend Quinn said the same one had been on her heart for a couple of days.
In Ephesians 3:20-21 Paul writes, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that work in us, [21] to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
God wants to exceed our expectations, especially if they are big. It takes faith, and almost always sacrifice, to follow Christ completely. That's what I hoping for this semester, and from now on. Just imagine all the salvation and healing and glory that could come if we could have big faith in the God of No Boundaries!
I've had a few realizations this week stemming from my Quiet Time that I think are about to impact my life big time.
You see, I have been doing Quiet Time outdoors. I hear the birds speaking, and I feel the cold air, and I see the trees with leaves from green to red like a rainbow, and I realize that there really isn't anything God can't do.
I remembered His promise (Matthew 19:23-26) that with Him all things are possible. ALL things. And then I thought about His promise (John 14:12-14) that if we ask anything in Jesus' name, He will do it. He WILL. The Bible is filled with promises like these, saying that God answers those who have faith in Him and who will obey His will. Saying that what's impossible for us can be possible through faith in our God of power.
Now, if we have an ounce of faith in God's power and goodness, we know that He keeps every promise He makes. So if anything is possible through God, and if He answers our prayers, where are the boundaries? There are none, because He has none.
None? No boundaries? Well that's shakes things up quite a bit, I thought, so I more boldly began to pray for miracles. I mean, miracles are what happens when we have the right kind of faith in God, and the followers of Jesus have always been performing them in Him name. It was Tuesday that I wrote in my journal that I had prayed for miracles.
Wednesday I was in the Student Union, and I had also been praying to make a friend that day. I got both at the same time. I walked up to the booth of a Christian student group, where two guys were praying for a girl. When they were finished they told me that this girl, Lex, had very severe astigmatism. She told me she wasn't even able to see the whiteboard from the front row of class. She showed me her thick glasses. After these guys, Peter and Doug, prayed for her, her vision was significantly better. Miracle. It's been a dream of mine to see a faith healing for a while. I knew it was happening in the world, but now I've seen it.
I found that Peter is in my New Testament class. Now I have a new friend. God answered my prayers.
God is accomplishing His will in the earth, and He doesn't need our help. But He can make us a part of what He is doing, and He wants us to be. So let's not pray for God to tell us what we can do for Him, like we have something He needs. Let's pray to be allowed a part in making His dreams come true. We don't have much to offer, just our faith and our obedience. But God loves to make a lot from a little, and to make abundance come out of nothing.
It's like when Jesus returned from the dead and met the disciples (John 21) and asked Peter three times whether he loved Him. He said yes once for every time he had denied Him at His death. Jesus had to ensure Peter would have faith strong enough to face what he would go through for His name's sake. Peter could not deny the Christ he knew he had seen resurrected. He would lead countless people to Christ, but he would suffer and die, and be crucified upside down. But his faith was strong enough, and we are still benefitting from it today.
Jesus was very straightforward when He said in John 14:12, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do He will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."
When I shared my hope with my Community Group that we could have faith bold enough to see impossible things happen this semester, I referred to Ephesians 3:20, which is one of my favorite promises in the Bible. My friend Quinn said the same one had been on her heart for a couple of days.
In Ephesians 3:20-21 Paul writes, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that work in us, [21] to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
God wants to exceed our expectations, especially if they are big. It takes faith, and almost always sacrifice, to follow Christ completely. That's what I hoping for this semester, and from now on. Just imagine all the salvation and healing and glory that could come if we could have big faith in the God of No Boundaries!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Seek
THIS WEEK was the last week of my break, and tomorrow classes are starting. That means I’m going back to challenging classes and too much homework and watching late nights turn into early mornings. Last semester I learned a lot and made new friends, but it was still rough at times. I was homesick and always sleepy, and I was having trouble balancing everything that is important in my life. It was a good semester, but it was very difficult. And I’ve been asking myself how I can stay on top of everything and still have time for myself and my friends. I think it’s a question a lot of us ask ourselves. How do I do everything?
One of my life verses is Psalm 37:5, which my youth pastor referenced on Wednesday. I like it so much that I even put it on my business cards.
Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
The solution to pretty much any problem, I find, whether we want to change something or to be changed somehow, is to seek God. It isn’t enough to treat the symptoms of issues in life. With a problem like lying or lust or prejudice, it’s not enough to change our ways without changing ourselves. Our willingness to change must meet God’s willingness to make it possible. And He is willing to make it possible for us to change for the better.
But how do we seek God? What does it mean to follow Him?
Seeking God means desiring Him, His presence, His will, and making the effort to get to know Him more in worship, prayer, and reading His word. We don’t get to know God by sitting in church or by praying only when we think we could use some help. He doesn’t want us to use Him as a lucky rabbit’s foot or a genie. It’s true that He often allows difficulties to become opportunities to fall on Him for guidance and to become closer to Him. But seeking God means daily striving to obey Him faithfully and actively, and spending time with Him to find out what His will is. Seeking God has everything to do with the will of God.
We know that God’s will is to show us His faithfulness and to bring many people into His kingdom. Why don’t we try praying for people besides ourselves, and asking to be included in what He is doing to save the world? Hebrews 13:3 directs that we “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them.” Maybe we should lift up in prayer the people whose situation is particularly concerning to God - The poor, the abused saints, the lost, anyone imprisoned by the consequences of the sin in the world.
There’s no way we’ll know what to pray or who to pray for if we don’t regularly look into God’s word. He gave it to us to teach us about Himself and ourselves, and about the relationship we can have. Personally, I’d like to try waking up earlier to read God’s word in the morning instead of leaving until the end of the day. That way it can be on my mind and I can apply it to anything that happens during the day. It’s full of promises that He always keeps.
Here’s a bold promise for an example: John 14:14. Jesus says simply, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” So I claimed this promise one morning when my mom told me that the doctors couldn’t give my grandma fluids through an IV because the chemotherapy had made her veins too hard to reach. I was in my room praying, determined not to stop until I heard something, and while I was praying for her my mom let me know that after so many tries, they had been successful with the IV. Prayer does work, and when we seek God in prayer we learn about His faithfulness and His willingness to provide. And the more that happens, the more we begin to pray for the things and people that God’s heart breaks for. The more we pray for them, the more we care and the more our hearts resemble the heart of Christ. That’s what God wants from us.
God promises that He is going to take care of the things we need. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
When we worship God alone and seek Him with our whole hearts, we will see things start to change for the better. That’s because as we draw closer to Him, things become more like how He made them to be – us with Him, learning from Him, loving Him, enjoying the good things He has given us. It becomes easier to share the gospel with our friends. We can have better peace with the people in our lives.
How do we do everything? How can we make space in our lives for all the things that are important?
By keeping the most important thing as the most important thing in our hearts: God. And by viewing everything else in terms of giving glory to Him.
One of my life verses is Psalm 37:5, which my youth pastor referenced on Wednesday. I like it so much that I even put it on my business cards.
Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
The solution to pretty much any problem, I find, whether we want to change something or to be changed somehow, is to seek God. It isn’t enough to treat the symptoms of issues in life. With a problem like lying or lust or prejudice, it’s not enough to change our ways without changing ourselves. Our willingness to change must meet God’s willingness to make it possible. And He is willing to make it possible for us to change for the better.
But how do we seek God? What does it mean to follow Him?
Seeking God means desiring Him, His presence, His will, and making the effort to get to know Him more in worship, prayer, and reading His word. We don’t get to know God by sitting in church or by praying only when we think we could use some help. He doesn’t want us to use Him as a lucky rabbit’s foot or a genie. It’s true that He often allows difficulties to become opportunities to fall on Him for guidance and to become closer to Him. But seeking God means daily striving to obey Him faithfully and actively, and spending time with Him to find out what His will is. Seeking God has everything to do with the will of God.
We know that God’s will is to show us His faithfulness and to bring many people into His kingdom. Why don’t we try praying for people besides ourselves, and asking to be included in what He is doing to save the world? Hebrews 13:3 directs that we “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them.” Maybe we should lift up in prayer the people whose situation is particularly concerning to God - The poor, the abused saints, the lost, anyone imprisoned by the consequences of the sin in the world.
There’s no way we’ll know what to pray or who to pray for if we don’t regularly look into God’s word. He gave it to us to teach us about Himself and ourselves, and about the relationship we can have. Personally, I’d like to try waking up earlier to read God’s word in the morning instead of leaving until the end of the day. That way it can be on my mind and I can apply it to anything that happens during the day. It’s full of promises that He always keeps.
Here’s a bold promise for an example: John 14:14. Jesus says simply, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” So I claimed this promise one morning when my mom told me that the doctors couldn’t give my grandma fluids through an IV because the chemotherapy had made her veins too hard to reach. I was in my room praying, determined not to stop until I heard something, and while I was praying for her my mom let me know that after so many tries, they had been successful with the IV. Prayer does work, and when we seek God in prayer we learn about His faithfulness and His willingness to provide. And the more that happens, the more we begin to pray for the things and people that God’s heart breaks for. The more we pray for them, the more we care and the more our hearts resemble the heart of Christ. That’s what God wants from us.
God promises that He is going to take care of the things we need. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
When we worship God alone and seek Him with our whole hearts, we will see things start to change for the better. That’s because as we draw closer to Him, things become more like how He made them to be – us with Him, learning from Him, loving Him, enjoying the good things He has given us. It becomes easier to share the gospel with our friends. We can have better peace with the people in our lives.
How do we do everything? How can we make space in our lives for all the things that are important?
By keeping the most important thing as the most important thing in our hearts: God. And by viewing everything else in terms of giving glory to Him.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
A Resolution
THIS WEEK was the last week of the year, and today we started a new one. I say before we jump into January, why don't we sit and think about what we are thankful for from the last year?
I'm thankful for my graduation from high school and a good first semester of college, for all the new friends I've been making, for the salvation of so many people when my team went to Peru in June, for more joy than sorrow, for the important lessons I have learned, for my watch and my phone, that the doctors caught Grandma's cancer early, and that whenever I go home my whole family is still there. But most of all I'm thankful that no matter how I feel or what I do, Jesus is there when I wake up in the morning, the same as He was yesterday and last year, and He always will be. I'm thankful that God is faithful to us. I'm thankful for all He has planned for this new year He has given us.
Many of us will be laying out New Year's Resolutions this month in an effort to improve ourselves and our lives. Most will pick resolutions concerning weight loss or bad habits. The majority of us won't make it past January, let alone the whole year. That's because our focus is usually off.
If we are going to make a resolution, let's make one that's really important. Let's make one that we should be making each morning all over again.
My friend Ellie sent out a text reminding our life group of the greatest commandment according to Jesus. She quoted Matthew 22:37-38: "[37] Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' [38] This is the first and great commandment.""
It's pretty simple, right? If we are going to resolve to do something, let's love God more. Let's seek Him harder and pursue Him more persistently. Every other change that needs to be made will be a result of loving Him more, because when He corrects us we adjust out of love and devotion.
It is as simple as waking up in the morning, but it is no picnic to follow Jesus. As my pastor explained today, following Him means choosing to obey Him rather than seeking to please the world. It means that as we honor both God and men, we are concerned about pleasing Him and are never ashamed of Him. It means we do everything we do for the glory of God. Jesus explains this in Luke 9:23: "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'"
Following Christ is a daily decision that we make when we let Him be the Lord of our lives and choose to obey what He tells us in His word.
The root of the word "Resolution" is "Resolve." According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "Resolve" means "A fixity of purpose." A synonym is "Resoluteness," which means "Marked by firm determination," "Bold," or "Steady." In Luke 9:62, Jesus makes it clear that He wants us to be resolute about following, and not have our feet in two different canoes: "But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'"
That doesn't mean God gives up on us when we make mistakes. It means He wants us to follow Him wholeheartedly, and we can't do that when we are looking backwards. We won't get anything done for the kingdom if we aren't devoted to the King.
In 2 Samuel 24 we read that King David made a mistake and disobeyed God, and He punished him for it with a plague. But after a while He showed David and his people mercy, and out of repentance David sought to build an altar. He went to buy the threshing floor of Araunah, where he had seen the Angel of God, but Araunah wanted to give it to him for free. David insisted.
2 Samuel 24:24, "Then the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price: nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver." So God took away the plague and listened to David's prayers.
God didn't care how much David spent on his purchase, but He cared that David understood that worship means withholding nothing from Him. When we want to serve God wholeheartedly, it comes at a cost to us. When we have to give up desires and influences that keep us from coming closer to Him, we gain much more in finding Him and in finding who we are in Him.
I am excited to see what God does this year. I hope we can all follow through with a resolution to seek God more and find Him more, asking the Holy Spirit to bring us closer to His heart despite the times we will fall. Undoubtedly we will be amazed at what will happen.
I'm thankful for my graduation from high school and a good first semester of college, for all the new friends I've been making, for the salvation of so many people when my team went to Peru in June, for more joy than sorrow, for the important lessons I have learned, for my watch and my phone, that the doctors caught Grandma's cancer early, and that whenever I go home my whole family is still there. But most of all I'm thankful that no matter how I feel or what I do, Jesus is there when I wake up in the morning, the same as He was yesterday and last year, and He always will be. I'm thankful that God is faithful to us. I'm thankful for all He has planned for this new year He has given us.
Many of us will be laying out New Year's Resolutions this month in an effort to improve ourselves and our lives. Most will pick resolutions concerning weight loss or bad habits. The majority of us won't make it past January, let alone the whole year. That's because our focus is usually off.
If we are going to make a resolution, let's make one that's really important. Let's make one that we should be making each morning all over again.
My friend Ellie sent out a text reminding our life group of the greatest commandment according to Jesus. She quoted Matthew 22:37-38: "[37] Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' [38] This is the first and great commandment.""
It's pretty simple, right? If we are going to resolve to do something, let's love God more. Let's seek Him harder and pursue Him more persistently. Every other change that needs to be made will be a result of loving Him more, because when He corrects us we adjust out of love and devotion.
It is as simple as waking up in the morning, but it is no picnic to follow Jesus. As my pastor explained today, following Him means choosing to obey Him rather than seeking to please the world. It means that as we honor both God and men, we are concerned about pleasing Him and are never ashamed of Him. It means we do everything we do for the glory of God. Jesus explains this in Luke 9:23: "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'"
Following Christ is a daily decision that we make when we let Him be the Lord of our lives and choose to obey what He tells us in His word.
The root of the word "Resolution" is "Resolve." According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "Resolve" means "A fixity of purpose." A synonym is "Resoluteness," which means "Marked by firm determination," "Bold," or "Steady." In Luke 9:62, Jesus makes it clear that He wants us to be resolute about following, and not have our feet in two different canoes: "But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'"
That doesn't mean God gives up on us when we make mistakes. It means He wants us to follow Him wholeheartedly, and we can't do that when we are looking backwards. We won't get anything done for the kingdom if we aren't devoted to the King.
In 2 Samuel 24 we read that King David made a mistake and disobeyed God, and He punished him for it with a plague. But after a while He showed David and his people mercy, and out of repentance David sought to build an altar. He went to buy the threshing floor of Araunah, where he had seen the Angel of God, but Araunah wanted to give it to him for free. David insisted.
2 Samuel 24:24, "Then the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price: nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver." So God took away the plague and listened to David's prayers.
God didn't care how much David spent on his purchase, but He cared that David understood that worship means withholding nothing from Him. When we want to serve God wholeheartedly, it comes at a cost to us. When we have to give up desires and influences that keep us from coming closer to Him, we gain much more in finding Him and in finding who we are in Him.
I am excited to see what God does this year. I hope we can all follow through with a resolution to seek God more and find Him more, asking the Holy Spirit to bring us closer to His heart despite the times we will fall. Undoubtedly we will be amazed at what will happen.
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