Every so often the Lord breaks me to the point of tears and He shows me my heart. I cannot help but choke at the inequity that is within me. There is a natural inclination, because of sin, to want to be independent from God, to want to be in control, to compete for glory with God. We want what we want and we want it now. To make ourselves feel better we often throw in a sugar-coated version of our sin by saying a little prayer that is nothing but routine veil to a conscience that we seek to deceive into not feeling guilty. Today I am broken because I have been seeking to do things on my own. It is at these times that I take a spiritual inventory into my life and ask the Lord to show me my sin.
One area that I always have to start on is how my prayer life is. There is the danger of making prayer into a routine. We forget that it is a direct communion with a loving God. There is a lot of meaning when one approaches God as our Father. 'Father' is a term of intimacy 'like daddy' but with so much more into it. When we claim we have a relationship with God, we should see Him as a loving Father who is in control of everything and wants the best for us. He is not a distant being that seems to be miles away and prayer just like a piece of mail you are sending for Him to open it when He has time. He is not an angry cruel king that only once in a while agrees to give ear to your prayers. We don't often think of it in these exact terms but our attitude certainly portrays that. He is God, our Father, who loves us and knows our needs.
One author once described a lack of serious prayer as a declaration of independence from God. I find this so true in the sense that when one does not go to the Lord in serious prayer he is in essence saying that 'I can do it by myself.' When we make prayer into nothing but three sentence petitions we are not praying. When we make prayer into nothing but something that has to fit into our schedule, we are not praying. When we make prayer into nothing but something we do only when others are there, we are not praying. When prayer becomes to us nothing but an inconvenience in our lives, we are not praying.
There is a direct relationship between prayer and God. What we show as an attitude towards prayer can be directly linked to our attitude towards God. I know this may be a controversial thing to say but I sincerely believe it. When prayer has been reduced to a few sentences in our life, then God is not worth anything more than that. I would rather spend a million sentences on people, not to discount the fact that this is in my own strength and and sinning. When prayer has been reduced to something that has to fit in our schedule, we are saying that God has to fit in our schedule. When prayer is something that we only do when others are around, it says something about my own relationship with God. Granted, we are to pray with others as well but I believe the bulk of our time should be in personal prayer with God. If not, we might want to ask ourselves why. Why am I not comfortable with just me and my Father? Is there unconfessed sin or habitual sin we are enjoying and feel guilty when it's just me and Him but safer in numbers? When prayer has become nothing but an inconvenience in our lives we are saying that God has become an inconvenience in our lives. Our attitude to prayer is directly linked to our attitude toward God.
When should I be praying? Always. Paul writes that we should do this always in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. This does not mean I am always to be on my knees 24/7 but it does still mean I need to be on my knees. The other reference to it is that I need to have an attitude built upon acknowledging my dependence on God, realizing His presence within us and determining to obey Him fully. Our day should thus have that balance when we are on our knees spending quality time with Him, and small frequent prayers during our day. Pray for having a right attitude toward someone, pray for someone who reviles you, pray for an unbeliever, pray for an accident you just encountered on the freeway, pray...
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Live it out!
"But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:22-25)
This is where the rubber meets the road. It does not matter how much I know, how much time I spend in the Word of God, or how much time I spend speaking about it. If my life does not live out what I define myself to be, a Christian, I am like a man who gazes at himself in the mirror and then when I go out I quickly forget what sort of person I am. I think it is safe to say that the mirror that James talks about in this vivid illustration is the Word of God. It is through that we know who we are in Christ as the Holy Spirit illuminates His Word to us. We are convicted of sin by it as it shows us how far short we fall of God's holiness. It humbles us in seeing that in spite of our total depravity and inability, God died on the cross for us to save us. It is important to know God's Word, but it is more important to obey it. The effectiveness of our Bible study is not in how much we study it, but in what happens when we walk away from that mirror in our behavior and attitude.
A few things the Lord has been teaching me the past few weeks which are profound. There are two questions I have constantly been confronted with. Do I live in light of the gospel? Do I live in light of Heaven? I am convinced that these two questions are probably the most important questions that I will ever hold to in my life. A great many times we like to just pass through life as if there were no purpose. The reality, however, is ever more striking in the sense that contrary to this arrogance, we do have one. This purpose is not just for Sundays or during certain times, it is for every moment of our lives. It is a purpose that should consume us, that we should always be meditating on and living out. That purpose is to glorify God.
I have been studying about angels lately. The thing that amazes me is that of the elect angels, their primary purpose which is worship. The elect angels never sin, they never fail in their purpose because God has ordained it so. I marvel at what it looks like to be in a constant state of worshiping God and glorifying Him. I am thankful for God creating them and look forward to Heaven where I shall be sinless in the presence of God at all times. I am more thankful because what I have is far more valuable than them, that is, the redemption through Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:12).
This is where the rubber meets the road. It does not matter how much I know, how much time I spend in the Word of God, or how much time I spend speaking about it. If my life does not live out what I define myself to be, a Christian, I am like a man who gazes at himself in the mirror and then when I go out I quickly forget what sort of person I am. I think it is safe to say that the mirror that James talks about in this vivid illustration is the Word of God. It is through that we know who we are in Christ as the Holy Spirit illuminates His Word to us. We are convicted of sin by it as it shows us how far short we fall of God's holiness. It humbles us in seeing that in spite of our total depravity and inability, God died on the cross for us to save us. It is important to know God's Word, but it is more important to obey it. The effectiveness of our Bible study is not in how much we study it, but in what happens when we walk away from that mirror in our behavior and attitude.
A few things the Lord has been teaching me the past few weeks which are profound. There are two questions I have constantly been confronted with. Do I live in light of the gospel? Do I live in light of Heaven? I am convinced that these two questions are probably the most important questions that I will ever hold to in my life. A great many times we like to just pass through life as if there were no purpose. The reality, however, is ever more striking in the sense that contrary to this arrogance, we do have one. This purpose is not just for Sundays or during certain times, it is for every moment of our lives. It is a purpose that should consume us, that we should always be meditating on and living out. That purpose is to glorify God.
I have been studying about angels lately. The thing that amazes me is that of the elect angels, their primary purpose which is worship. The elect angels never sin, they never fail in their purpose because God has ordained it so. I marvel at what it looks like to be in a constant state of worshiping God and glorifying Him. I am thankful for God creating them and look forward to Heaven where I shall be sinless in the presence of God at all times. I am more thankful because what I have is far more valuable than them, that is, the redemption through Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:12).
Friday, November 2, 2007
Grace in fear
As David faced fear, perhaps from the threat of death from his son, Absalom's rebellion, he sat down and wrote Psalm 62. It's beginning just grips me;
"My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation
He only is my rock and salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken" (v 1, 2)
Fear is a blessing from God, like any other emotion. And like all blessings that the Lord has graced us with, we can either use it sinfully, or to glorify Him. There is an ungodly fear, and a godly fear. Ungodly fear focuses so much on one's circumstances rather than on God. As David wrote this Psalm, his attention was immediately directed to God, and not his circumstances. I have found this true this week in my own life as I was overwhelmed by the circumstances that my thoughts focused on. It is true, our thoughts in many ways are the ultimate battle ground. Solomon writes that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23: 7a). And Paul affirms this as well in Philippians 4:8 - 9
"Finally brethren, what ever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there's any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you"
So often as believers, we spend so much time in the Word and do not practice it where it matters the most, in our thoughts. How we filter situations around us should really set us apart as those who know the Lord. What is ungodly fear? It is when we fear something else more than God. I found myself afraid of the future, unprojected, illusive, unsure, anxious. The thing about ungodly fear is that it does lead or motivate us to other sins, one of the foremost being not trusting the Lord and a fear of man. When Isaac was asked about his wife by the men of Gerar, he lied to them saying she was his sister (Genesis 26: 7) thinking he might be killed. The fear of man led Peter to be confronted by Paul in Galatians 2: 11 - 12. Ultimately ungodly fear is self and man focused rather than focused on fearing God.
But what does the fear of God mean? I have been wrestling with this question this week.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." writes Solomon in Proverbs 1:7.
Yes there is the idea of reverential awe associated with this concept. But there is a real sense in which it also can mean that one's thoughts are exchanged for God's thoughts. One's emotions, will, desires, attitude are exchanged for God's. How do we know what this looks like? His Word. This is the means by which God has allowed us to know Him.
Fear is a huge blessing in the sense that it does point us to our weakness. Ungodly fear defeats this purpose by pointing us to the lie of our strength. God uses our fear to confront us with the fact that He is God and we are His creature. It is in these times of fear that we are called to seek His help as David did in Psalm 62. When we are drawn to our weakness and broken to the reality of our finite frailty we can only but be drawn to a greater trust in God in which He is most glorified. We are drawn to His character, His faithfulness, His promises. In my weakness this week, I found strength in the Lord, and I would rather boast in His strength than in anything else. I am inclined then to argue that God uses fear to draw us to Himself. It is not an emotion to be shunned from, but an opportunity to see how God is growing us to trust Him, to love Him, and to love others. It is a temptation and test we must be willing to endure with the utmost joy.
As I went through this week I realized that godly fear cannot operate apart from two things (among a host of others). The first is a realization that God is sovereign, that is, He is in control of everything and nothing occurs apart from His will. The second is that of grace. We cannot strive for godly fear in our own strength but on a reliance on God's strength by which He freely bestows on us through His grace. This is something that the Lord used to draw me to trust Him more this week. My soul is silent and waits on God only. From Him is my deliverance. He is my rock, my salvation, my stronghold.
"My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation
He only is my rock and salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken" (v 1, 2)
Fear is a blessing from God, like any other emotion. And like all blessings that the Lord has graced us with, we can either use it sinfully, or to glorify Him. There is an ungodly fear, and a godly fear. Ungodly fear focuses so much on one's circumstances rather than on God. As David wrote this Psalm, his attention was immediately directed to God, and not his circumstances. I have found this true this week in my own life as I was overwhelmed by the circumstances that my thoughts focused on. It is true, our thoughts in many ways are the ultimate battle ground. Solomon writes that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23: 7a). And Paul affirms this as well in Philippians 4:8 - 9
"Finally brethren, what ever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there's any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you"
So often as believers, we spend so much time in the Word and do not practice it where it matters the most, in our thoughts. How we filter situations around us should really set us apart as those who know the Lord. What is ungodly fear? It is when we fear something else more than God. I found myself afraid of the future, unprojected, illusive, unsure, anxious. The thing about ungodly fear is that it does lead or motivate us to other sins, one of the foremost being not trusting the Lord and a fear of man. When Isaac was asked about his wife by the men of Gerar, he lied to them saying she was his sister (Genesis 26: 7) thinking he might be killed. The fear of man led Peter to be confronted by Paul in Galatians 2: 11 - 12. Ultimately ungodly fear is self and man focused rather than focused on fearing God.
But what does the fear of God mean? I have been wrestling with this question this week.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." writes Solomon in Proverbs 1:7.
Yes there is the idea of reverential awe associated with this concept. But there is a real sense in which it also can mean that one's thoughts are exchanged for God's thoughts. One's emotions, will, desires, attitude are exchanged for God's. How do we know what this looks like? His Word. This is the means by which God has allowed us to know Him.
Fear is a huge blessing in the sense that it does point us to our weakness. Ungodly fear defeats this purpose by pointing us to the lie of our strength. God uses our fear to confront us with the fact that He is God and we are His creature. It is in these times of fear that we are called to seek His help as David did in Psalm 62. When we are drawn to our weakness and broken to the reality of our finite frailty we can only but be drawn to a greater trust in God in which He is most glorified. We are drawn to His character, His faithfulness, His promises. In my weakness this week, I found strength in the Lord, and I would rather boast in His strength than in anything else. I am inclined then to argue that God uses fear to draw us to Himself. It is not an emotion to be shunned from, but an opportunity to see how God is growing us to trust Him, to love Him, and to love others. It is a temptation and test we must be willing to endure with the utmost joy.
As I went through this week I realized that godly fear cannot operate apart from two things (among a host of others). The first is a realization that God is sovereign, that is, He is in control of everything and nothing occurs apart from His will. The second is that of grace. We cannot strive for godly fear in our own strength but on a reliance on God's strength by which He freely bestows on us through His grace. This is something that the Lord used to draw me to trust Him more this week. My soul is silent and waits on God only. From Him is my deliverance. He is my rock, my salvation, my stronghold.
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