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.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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