Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lead, Guide and Direct

Rom 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."

I remember when I was a kid listening to godly people pray at church. Many times they would say: “Lord, please lead, guide and direct us.” I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I just thought that this is how people prayed.

Several years later I heard others criticize this prayer saying that it was redundant. You don’t have to ask God to guide or direct you if He is leading you. I think that whoever said this was just trying to get us to think about how we pray and not just string words together. In retrospect, however, I am thinking that these godly people were not just stringing words together. They were actually praying Biblically for when you look up the word “led” from this verse it means: “lead, guide, direct”. It means taking hold of a person and bringing them to a location.

I think of when my kids needed to go somewhere when they were little. They would want to go one way and I knew that they needed to go another way, so what did I do? I took hold of their hand and brought them to the place that they needed to be.

This is what this verse is all about. Allowing God to take us by the hand and bring us to the place we need to be. Seeing that the Spirit of God can take the circumstances of our life, or that He can take His word to show us what we need to do, or He can speak to us with that still small voice and we know it is Him. When this happens, we know that we are His children. He is leading us. He is guiding us. He is directing us. He has not left us alone to flounder and guess. He has not said to us: “OK. I have relationship with you so you are on your own now.” No, he is that Father who takes us by the hand and leads us to the place we need to be.

The fact that this occurs solidifies the fact that we know Him. That His Spirit dwells in us. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (v9)

This is the kicker: Does God lead, guide and direct me? Have I seen Him take me by the hand? If so, I am His. I know Him. I have a relationship with Him. On the flip side, if this does not happen, if I don’t experience this I need to check to see if I am in His family.

Thank God for the Spirit of God who gives us the assurance that we are His.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Where is My Mind?

Rom 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

I am starting to see a pattern. Here it is:

Carnally minded is walking according to the flesh, it is the same thing as living for self. It is allowing our flesh to control our thoughts and purposes. It is where everything that I do is done with me in mind. The result of thinking and living like this is death. If I live for me, I will die.

The word for death means: “in the widest sense, death comprising all the miseries arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God and blessed in him on earth, to be followed by wretchedness in hell.” (Strongs) Any takers?

In contrast, spiritually minded is walking according to the Spirit, it is the same thing as dying to self. It is allowing the Spirit of God to control my thoughts and purposes. The result of thinking and living like this is life. If I die to self, I will live and I will have peace.

The word for live here means: “life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.” (Strongs) Real life, genuine life, an active life, a vigorous life, a blessed life, and eternal life. Who is the world doesn’t want this?

Not only this, but it is peace. The word for peace means: “security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)” (Strongs) We all desire security and safety and harmony. How do we get this life and peace? Be spiritually minded. (It seems like I have visited this theme before. Maybe Rom 5?)

There is a battle here. How do I live? Is my life controlled by me or God? If it is me, I am in trouble. The problem is, so many times I cave in. I do what I want to do. I think only about me and I don’t consider God or others. That is when I run into trouble. That is when I feel inner guilt. That is when my peace and happiness evaporate. That is when I have to pay the consequences.

Yet, when I know that I have done what God wants it results in joy and satisfaction and peace.

So, where is my mind? The answer will reveal the quality of life that I will have both now and forever.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

No Condemnation

1-22-10 Rom 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

One thing I hate is being accused of something. I don’t like it when people say that I did something wrong when I didn’t do it. I like it even less when people condemn me for something that I did…because the reality of the truth hurts.

The truth is, we all can say with Paul: “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Rom 7:19 Even when we don’t want to screw up, we still do. The result: we stand accused. It’s no fun. We stand in the presence of a holy God realizing that we don’t measure up, we have missed the mark (Rom. 3:23) and we are condemned. We are on our way to a “damnable sentence”.

Paul’s question is a good one: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Rom 7:24 His answer is even better: “I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom 7:25 He then says this: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” No condemnation. I have to let that sink in. I am no longer destined for punishment if I am “in” Christ Jesus. If I am “in” something, it reveals my position. It shows where I am. My location is with Christ. I am no longer alone. Christ is an integral part of who I am. He is now my identity.

Beyond that, however, is the next line. “Who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”. Really this line defines what it means to be “in Christ”. I am no longer controlled by my flesh. My life is not run based upon my selfish whims. My life (my walk) is directed by the Spirit of God. When this happens, I am no longer condemned. I am no longer guilty. I am free. I don’t have to hate being accused of anything because there is no longer any accusation available against me. I am “in Christ” and He sets me free from sin and death. Amazing stuff.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Peace

Rom 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This verse comes after a chapter break. Paul did not write a letter and include chapter breaks, these were added later. As one pastor that I had once said: “When you see the word therefore, you need to know what it is there for.” So, what lead to this verse? Rom 8:25: “who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Jesus died because of our sin. He had to. He had to shed His blood to cover our sin. But He did not stay there. He rose again. Here we have Paul talking about the Gospel again…the power of God unto salvation. Jesus resurrection brought about our justification. His death covered our sin, but His life gave us righteousness before God, purity before God, holiness before God “Just as if we had never sinned.” That is what the “therefore” is all about.

Therefore, because of Jesus death and resurrection, because we trust in Christ’s death and life alone for our salvation, we have peace with God. The word for peace means tranquility, harmony, security, safety. We can rest, we don’t have to worry, we don’t have to live in guilt, we don’t have to be concerned about what God will eventually do to us. Why? We are clean in His sight because of Jesus and we are at peace with God. No more animosity. No more barriers. Jesus has reconciled us to the Father and we are at peace.

This is great news! This is the power of the good news, the Gospel. So many people are walking around conflicted. They don’t have to be. So many are walking around in fear. There is no need. “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” ( Elvina Hall) No more dirt, no more garbage…totally clean. “Clean before my Lord I stand and in me not one blemish does He see.” (Nancy Honeytree)

Not only do we have peace and tranquility and harmony, we have security and safety. God is my Father. He makes me safe and secure. I am at peace with Him and He holds me. No more punishment, only restoration and life.

Man, the world needs this. My hurting clients need this. My neighbors need this. Let me share it freely.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Faith

Rom 4:20-22 "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore 'It was accounted to him for righteousness.'"

Old man Abraham was an amazing guy. He was 100 years old and Sarah his wife was 90 (Gen 17) when God told him that he and Sarah were going to have a baby. This was such crazy news that Abraham laughed. He thought that God was funny…but God was very serious. Obviously this guy was pretty healthy since he fathered a child (Ishmael) when he was 86. He still thought it was pretty funny though, because he questioned God about his age and Sarah’s age. God’s response? Yes. You will have a son through Sarah and you will name him Isaac.

I think it is interesting that this verse in Romans says that Abraham did not waver at the promise of God. I guess laughing at what God said was not wavering…it was just questioning. Apparently questioning God is not wavering. God is not afraid of my questions. In fact, He probably welcomes them because He is willing to answer those questions in order to strengthen my faith.

After Abraham got God’s answer, what did he do? This 100 year old guy had sex with his 90 year old wife. His intent? To have a child. This was an act of faith. At that point he was totally and completely convinced that what God said He was going to do, He would do. He was not surprised when his 90 year old wife came back with a positive pregnancy test, in fact he expected it. (Gen 21) Not only that, but Abraham new that the child that was in her was a son, and he did not have the advantage of having an ultrasound. Instead, he had the advantage of knowing a faithful and true God who would keep His promise. Abraham was “fully convinced”, totally persuaded, absolutely convicted that this was going to happen before it happened. This is faith. This resulted in righteousness before God.

How am I doing in the faith category? Oh sure, I am fully convinced about Jesus work on the cross for my salvation, but what about my day to day faith? Do I live by faith? Do I walk by faith? Do I make decisions based upon the promises of God, or do I base my decisions on my own reasoning? Would I do something that made absolutely no sense in the human realm if I was fully convinced that God was directing that way? Have I ever done this? This is faith. Don’t waver.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

No Difference

1-17-10 Rom. 3:22b-24 "For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"

There is no difference. We are all the same. Back when this was written, Paul was talking about the perceived difference between Jews and Gentiles (Greeks), those who had the law and those who did not. The perception was that the Jews were special. They were closer to God. They had special privileges. That the Gentiles were “dogs”, spiritually dead. Paul said: “No…there is no difference. You are all “dogs”. You are all spiritually dead. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” “You have all violated God’s standard whether you have the law or you don’t have the law. You all miss the mark.”

Think about the glory of God. What is it like? Here are some words that describe it in Strong’s Concordance: The splendor, the brightness, the magnificence, the excellence, the preeminence, the dignity, the grace, the majesty. Let’s face it, we just don’t measure up when it comes to comparing ourselves with God. We fall short. This is why “…the goodness (the glory, the splendor, the brightness, the magnificence, the excellence, the preeminence, the dignity, the grace, the majesty) of God leads you to repentance.” When we get a realistic view of who we are, and who God is, we fall short. We have all sinned. We have all screwed up. We have all missed the mark, we have all violated God’s standard. There is no difference. We are all bad.

The unreal thing is what comes next: Jesus. Free justification. God’s grace. Redemption. All big “Christian” words. All necessary words to get out of this pit. To be released, delivered and liberated and to be undeservedly declared right in God’s sight because of His unmerited kindness, is unreal. We are so far from God and He, on His own initiative, because of who He is makes us right…He brings us close, He sets us free. How? Through His Son. Jesus paid it all (v25 – our propitiation). He shed His blood. He gave it all up so I could be declared blameless, without sin, no more missing the mark, in God’s sight. How? Through faith. (v26) Through belief. Through the strong internal conviction that this is the truth and I am relying on Jesus alone.

Thank you Lord that one day in my life you brought this truth to me. You revealed my own garbage and You said that You would clean it up if I would only trust what Your Son did for me on the cross. I no longer fall short in Your eyes.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Repentance

1-16-10 Rom 2:4b “…the goodness of God leads you to repentance.”

Repentance is a tough word. Why? Because it is an admission. An admission and a realization that I am wrong, that I don’t know what I am doing, that what I am doing is improper, or incorrect or sinful. Beyond that, it is a turning. A turning from what I am doing to something else. A turning from the wrong way to the right way. A turning from what I want to what God wants. And it is not just crying. Genuine repentance is an actual change in attitude, a change in heart, a change in behavior.
Do you want to know if someone has genuinely repented? Don’t watch their blubbering, watch their life after the blubbering. Is it different? Is it going in another direction? If so, repentance was genuine. If not…

Repentance is a necessary word. Why? Because we all need it. We all screw up. We all make mistakes. We all sin. We all have to go a different direction, not just once in our lives but continually. I know that I hate to admit when I am wrong. I want to do what I want to do. I think that my way is the right way. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. I don’t like correction. I don’t like to be pointed in the right way. It hurts my ego and it reveals my sin. This hurts. Yet it is necessary because if I continue to go down the road I want to travel, I will eventually meet destruction. I will eventually meet the wrath of God. (v5) The only solution is repentance…a necessary action.

How do I get there? The goodness of God. The integrity of God. The character of God. Seeing who God is and comparing it to who I am. This has to lead to repentance.

Also, the kindness of God. The Gospel. The realization that God sent His Son to this world to deliver me from my mistakes. To free me from my sin. To turn me in the right direction. When I think about how much God gave up, how much Jesus gave, when I truly consider His kindness, I can’t help but turn around. His love compels change.

So don’t resist repentance. Embrace it. Do it.

Dynamite

1-15-10 Rom 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. "

The Gospel. The gospel of Christ. The gospel of the Messiah. What is it? It is that He was born, came in the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God through His death and resurrection. (Rom. 1:1-4) A very simple message. The good news is this: The Son of God was born in the flesh, He lived here on this earth where He died but He did not stay dead, He rose again and now lives. It is this message that is the “power of God to salvation”. It is this message that is God’s dynamite to bring people to deliverance.

Sometimes I think we make things too complicated. We try to convince people that they are sinners. Or we try to win arguments about truth. Or we try to shove what we think down people’s throats. This verse tells us what to do. Share the Gospel. Tell people about the simple fact that Jesus, the Son of God came to this earth to deliver people. He did it by dying, but He did not stay dead, He rose from the dead and was verified to be God’s one and only Son. That’s it. Share that message and let it work…for it will work. It is the power of God. The word for power actually means “inherent power”. It has some internal power. It has some built in power that we really don’t understand, but it works in the lives of people to bring them to salvation.

This world really is a mess. People are not content. People are restless. You can sense it all over the place. People are lost. People are stuck. They are bound. They need deliverance. They need salvation. They need Jesus. He is the only One who can deliver. He is the only One who can free. He is the only One who can bring salvation. And it is the simple message of the Gospel that will do it.

God, give me the opportunities to share it and not be quiet. Share it simply, share it confidently and let God do the rest.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Watch and Pray

1-11-10 Matt. 26:41 - "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Here is the picture: Jesus is in the garden with three of His closest disciples and friends. While there, He asks them to do something simple…watch with Him. He goes off and enters into powerful, deep, agonizing prayer with His Father. And His friends? They fall asleep. After praying awhile, He comes back and finds them asleep, wakes them up and says these words. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He then goes back into the garden and enters into more powerful prayer and His disciples continue to sleep. The point? This is the human condition. Our flesh is weak. We can’t seem to do the right thing. Even though we want to. Even though in our spirits we have the desire to resist wrong and to make wise and right decisions, we can’t. We fall asleep.

The solution: “Watch and pray…” The word for “watch” means to pay attention, to be alert, to be cautious, to be active. Our spirits want to win this battle against temptation and sin and the only way we can do this is to pay attention to what is going on around us and in us. We have to actively guard our hearts. We have to actively guard our lives. We have to actively guard our families. We have to know that Satan wants to take us down and the most effective way that He does this is by our own complacency. Our own apathy. Our own sleep. Jesus warned against this. Actively watch and pay attention.

We don’t hear much about the need to watch. I am afraid that in our failure to watch we let our guards down and junk comes in that we, in retrospect, would never want. Junk we see on TV, or in movies, or playing video games, or people that we befriend, or a thought that we entertain, or an attitude that we develop, or a habit that seemed to be innocent when we started it. It is all so sly, so cunning, so deceptive. Then, before you know it we are sucked in. Why? Because we did not watch. We were not careful. We didn’t listen to wise counsel.

And pray. We have to pray. We have to make this a life discipline. This has to be an integral part of our lives, all of the time. If we fail to pray we fail to be sensitive to what God wants and the result is an inability to resist temptation.

Prayer is our line of defense. Prayer is our connection with the Father. Prayer is our lifeline to strength. We can’t do this on our own. We need God to intervene. We need God’s power.

Watch and pray. Two good words to apply.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Power in Numbers

Matt 18:19,20 - "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them."

I love these verses and the promises that are contained in them. It describes the power that we believers have when we meet together and pray together in Jesus Name, as His representatives.

Just think about this, if two believers ask God for something He will do it. If two or three are together in His Name, His presence is there.

I still struggle though. I struggle because I have seen many people agree and ask God together to do things, and are still waiting to see Him move. This is being very honest. I have seen people pray together for the salvation of people. They meet in His Name, they agree, they ask and are still waiting. I have seen people pray together for their prodigal kids to come back to the Lord. They meet in His Name, they agree, they ask and are still waiting. I have seen people pray for healing, for jobs, for finances, for relationships… Are these verses true? Does God mean what He says?

Yes! My problem is that I have tunnel vision. I can only see in one dimension. I can only see the front of the tapestry. I am limited in my ability to see one piece of the puzzle, and not the whole picture. God sees it all. He is working. He is moving. He is doing what He does and it does not have to be according to my timetable. This is where my faith and trust are tested. This is where our faith and trust have to rest in our Father in heaven. God is true. God is faithful. God makes a promise and He keeps it. I would love to see these answers to prayer but I am not God and I cannot dictate when or how these things are going to happen. I simply have to believe that they will.

This is a great lesson for me. What if I started living like God was answering according to these verses even before I saw the answer? How would that change me? How would that change what I do or how I respond or the decisions that I make?

Jesus was teaching that there is power in people coming together and agreeing and asking. We need to do this more. We need to come together, agree together, pray together and then live expectantly.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Live or Die

Matt. 16:24-25 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, be whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Desire, will, intent, determination, purpose, delight. What characterizes my life? A determination to follow Christ, or a determination to protect myself? It is hard to think that the two may be mutually exclusive, but this verse tells me that I can’t have it both ways. I either have the desire to follow Jesus, or I have the desire to save myself. I can’t have both.

If I have the will to go after the Lord, then I will deny what I want. I will give up my selfishness. I will not be connected any longer with self interest. Rather, I will lose my life. I will entirely abolish and put an end to self. This is what it means to take up my cross. The cross is a symbol of death and Jesus is saying that if I truly want to follow Him I must give up me.

The result? I will find my life. I will actually discover and understand what my life is all about. I will see what is really valuable and I will invest my time and energy and money in the things that matter the most.

On the flip side, if I find my delight in me, if I run after only what I want, if I want to live for myself I will actually destroy myself. I will die. There will be nothing of value. There will be nothing eternal. There will be nothing purposeful. The end will be a wasted life.

This is sobering stuff. We are so inclined to go after what we want. We are so drawn to do things the way we want to do them. Jesus says: “Be careful. If you do this, you will lose it all. But, if you come after Me, pursue me, follow me and give up what you want, your life will be rich and full.” It will be the abundant life that Christ came to give. (John 10:10)

So, I have a choice. Live for me and die, or die to me and live. If my desire is to follow Jesus, the choice is clear. Die to live.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Rest

Matt. 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Rest. What an amazing word. Jesus uses the word “rest” twice in these verses. The basic same word is used which means:
1) to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength
2) to give rest, refresh, to give one's self rest, take rest
3) to keep quiet, of calm and patient expectation

To stop and recover and collect strength. To refresh. To keep quiet. To be calm and wait in patient expectation. Amazing stuff this thing called rest. It really is what the people of this world clamor for. We are too busy, too frazzled, too hurried, too involved, too worried, too self absorbed, too tired, too exhausted, too burdened. We labor and are heavy laden. Jesus said that we need to get away from that and stop. We need to recover and collect our strength and refresh ourselves and learn what it means to be quiet and calm.

How? How can I do this? By coming to Him. He is the only One who can give us true peace, true tranquility, true rest. The weird thing is that He tells us to come to Him and take His yoke upon us. Isn’t a yoke something that is hard? Isn’t it something that they put on cows to make them work together? How can it be easy? How can a burden be light?

It has to be remembered that Jesus was talking to people who had been weighed down with the rules and regulations that the Pharisees had placed upon them. He was talking to those who had been kept under the thumb of unreasonable expectations. Jesus came and said: “Come to Me. I will set you free from all of that.” Yes, I have a yoke. Yes, I have a burden. But it is nothing like what has been placed upon you by these rulers and teachers of the law. I am gentle and lowly of heart. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. You don’t have to perform any longer. You don’t have to worry any longer. You don’t have to feel burdened any longer. I am taking you from law to grace. I am taking you from slavery to freedom.

So how does this apply to me? I am not under the law but many times I think that I wrap myself in a performance oriented Christianity. I wrap myself in legalism. I find my worth in what I do. Jesus said: “No. Find your worth in Me. It is not all about your performance, it is about My finished work. Concentrate on Me. Focus on Me. Seek Me first. You will find rest, you will find refreshing, you will find peace, you will find quiet.”

A timely reminder as I face a new year of demands. Focus on Jesus and rest.

Monday, January 4, 2010

First things First

Matt. 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

This is always a good verse to come back to. If there is a verse that I would say is my “life verse” this is it. This is what I want to do. This is what I want to characterize my life. That I seek. The word “seek” “zeteo” means that I look for the kingdom of God, that I look for His righteousness. That my search is always for that first. Yet it means more than this. Seek also means to aim for, to strive after. That is really what I think that this verse means. That my main aim in life, that my energy is going after God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

Oh, there are a ton of things that I could strive after. We do it all the time. Money, position, power, popularity, possessions, career, family. You name it. Everyone who ever lived has had to strive after something. The question is: “What will it be?” A successful law practice? Not a bad thing, but not the primary thing. A strong family? Again, a great thing, but not the primary thing.

What is it? Run after, pursue, strive after, aim for God’s kingdom. First, God’s kingdom in my life and God's kingdom in this world. God’s rule and control in my life. When that happens, I may be able to see God’s kingdom lived out through me and around me. Run after this.

And His righteousness. His righteous life living in me. That His character would be my character. That His love, peace, purity, faithfulness, patience, kindness, joy…basically the fruit of the Spirit would characterize my life. I need to run after this…first. Above all other things.

Then what will happen? Everything else. All the other things that I need will happen. It will naturally flow. A strong family, a God honoring profession, and the most basic of all of life’s needs met. I don’t need to worry. (v 34) if I am running after God’s kingdom and righteousness first.

A great reminder for this year. May I live it.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Jesus + Worship = God

1-3-10 Matt. 2:2b, 11, 4:10b - "For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him...and fell down and worshiped Him...You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."

Sometimes I wonder how the Jehovah’s witnesses can avoid these verses? They claim that Jesus was not God, yet here are the wise men who are coming to worship a baby. When they get there and saw him they fell down and worshiped Him. Obviously, Jesus knew who was to be worshiped because when He was tempted by the devil He quoted the OT and told the devil…”Hey, you are to worship God only.”

Now they may say that the wise guys only fell down in front of Jesus because He was a special baby and they really did not worship in the same way that Jehovah is to be worshiped. Wrong. The same word is used in 2:2 and 2:11 as in 4:10 – “proscuneto”. The worship is the same. Jesus is to be worshiped and God is to be worshiped, but God alone is to be worshiped. Get it? People who claim that Jesus was not God are missing this and they can’t explain it.

The point: Jesus is God. He claimed to be God. (See 4:7) People worshiped Him as God.

The real point: Do I worship Him? How do I worship Him? Where is my heart when I allegedly worship Him? Do my words verify that I worship Him? Do my actions bear out the fact that I worship Him? Are my attitudes worshipful? Are my songs, prayers, reading acts of worship or just going through the motions?

Jesus is God. He alone deserves my worship, my proscuneto, my falling down before Him in absolute surrender and awe. How am I doing?

Saturday, January 2, 2010

God's Journal

1-2-10 I am going to start typing my journal this year because no one can read my writing...some of it will show up on the blog:

Malachi 3:16 – “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His Name.”

Pretty amazing. Here is Malachi a prophet, taking God’s word to His people. Most of Malachi is filled with questions and answers. “In what way have we despised Your Name?” 1:6; “In what way have we defiled You?” 1:7; “For what reason?” 2:14; “In what way shall we return?” 3:7; “In what way have we wearied Him?” 2:17; “Where is the God of justice?” 2:17; “In what way have we robbed You?” 3:8; “What have we spoken against you?” 3:13; “What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts?” 3:14. These people were full of questions that revealed that they thought that they were pretty spiritual. In reality, they were way off. In fact, their questions really revealed that they doubted God and His authority in their lives.

In the middle of it all, there is 3:10…a cool verse. There were still people who feared God. There were still people who revered Him. There were still people who held Him in awe and had a genuine fear. Those people spoke to one another. My guess is that they spoke to one another about the poor spiritual condition of things around them as well as God’s heart. The cool thing is this: “The Lord listened and heard them.” God was listening. God was hearing. God was paying attention. He didn’t just pay attention to the people who doubted Him, He was concentrating on the people who feared Him. Not only that but He started to write.

Interesting, God keeps a journal too. He keeps a journal of all of those who fear Him and who meditate, think about and consider what He is like.

May God write a lot about me this year.