More thoughts...

More thoughts that kind of flow from my thoughts from the last post...

I think it is a popular thing to believe that whatever happens is God’s Will and is what God desires to happen in our lives.  It is an idea almost like fate… we are completely out of control and uninvolved in the happenings in this world.  That whether we speak up when the Holy Spirit prompts us to speak or not… it won’t affect what happens.  Because God is sovereign therefore what’s going to happen is going to happen regardless of what we do.  This ideology flows into prayer as well… Because we feel this way in regards to our role on this earth, we don’t feel an urgency to pray… Because what God wants to happen will happen regardless of what we do, what we pray, whether or not we’re faithful or perseverant in prayer.  

We say that a lot because we don’t want to make people feel bad about messing up, not speaking up, or not following the prompting of the Holy Spirit… we want to say, “don’t worry about it.”  Your actions won’t affect those around you... that person will get warned by someone else… or will be encouraged by someone else.  This way of thinking takes all responsibility off of ourselves…  Nothing we do or don’t do matters.

When we have this mindset… our purpose isn’t really a purpose.  We say we have a purpose to further God’s kingdom; a purpose to make his glory known in our lives.  But if we do anything about it… well… it doesn’t really matter because what will happen will happen.  After all, God’s sovereign.  

I am going to argue that this is false… in fact I think this mindset is a lie from Satan to keep us from being effective vessels in bringing more of God’s kingdom here on earth.  Satan wants us to think that our faithfulness and that our actions won’t affect others, that our prayers aren’t necessary.  He doesn’t want us to labor in prayer; he doesn’t want us do everything that the spirit leads us to do.

Ezekiel 33:8-9   If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.  9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.  

The Watchman was put in charge of seeing the sword coming and warning the people…  If he warned the people and they didn’t do anything about it, they died for their sins, but the watchman didn’t have guilt on his hands.  However, if the watchman did not do his duty and warn the people, the people still died for their sins.  The watchman’s actions had an impact on the lives of the others.  It was his role to warn the people and when he didn’t… the people didn’t get warned and they died.  Sounds like our actions can positively or negatively affect others.

When we act in disobedience, our disobedience can hurt other people.  We like to think that we won’t affect people… but I think that this is so false.  The watchman’s actions sure did affect people.  If he had warned people, some people might have turned from their sin, but he didn’t do his duty and didn’t warn them. 

This idea is uncomfortable.  We want to think that we have nothing to do with anything.  That we don’t have any responsibility.  In James, he talks about how Teachers will be judged more strictly… why???  Again, because what they do and say can lead people closer or farther away from Christ.  Their obedience and disobedience can positively or negatively affect those around them. 

James 3:1  Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

So just as our prayers have weight, so do our actions.  God has given us that freedom.  Not only are we hurting ourselves when we don’t live in step with the spirit, but we also are not showing the glories of Christ in our lives to others around us.  Having this in mind, I think, dramatically changes the way that we live.    

Thoughts on Prayer

Jesus teaches us to pray that “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The fact that Jesus is telling us to pray like this tells me that implies that God’s will is carried out differently in heaven than it is on earth.

We are praying that God’s will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Heaven is everything how God desires and everything how he wills.  And by praying that God’s will might be done on earth as it is in heaven we are praying that things on this earth would be as God desires like they are in heaven.  We are praying that things would happen here as they would in heaven.

God desires all men to come to repentance and live (Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 33:11, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).  However, we know that all men do not come to receive salvation.  So we can see that in regards to salvation, God’s desires do not always equate with what actually happens here on earth. 

WHY????

The element of human choice.  He does indeed want all men to be saved, but not all men are because he gives each man the ability to choose.  Salvation is offered to those who come to him for it.  And not everyone decides to come to him. 

So God’s desire for all men to be saved does not come to pass because not all choose to respond to his call and come to him for the salvation that he offers.  He wants us to seek him, and then he promises that we will find him.  We have to knock, and then he promises that the door will be opened.  He responds to our asking, to our seeking, to our knocking.  He doesn’t just give salvation to all because he wants all to be saved.  He only gives it to those who come to him for it; to those who choose him.

I think that this thinking can be expanded to include more than just salvation.  God has desires for the way he wants things to happen and desires for things to be a certain way, but they don’t always happen that way on earth. 

He gives men into their desires whether it is for him or anything else.  (Romans 1:24)  So he may desire for things, but if we don’t also want those things he won’t force it on us.  He wants us to come to him and ask him.

So in the same way that his desires regarding salvation for all do not come to pass because not all choose to come to him for it, I think that not all of his other desires come to pass here on this earth because we do not choose to come to him for it.  We don’t come to him in prayer and ask.  We do not seek him, desire for his kingdom to come, and ask for his kingdom to come. 

I believe that our prayers do really effect what comes to pass on this earth.  Because God is waiting for us to ask before he gives.  He wants us to choose him.  He wants us to acknowledge himself as the giver of all gifts as the one who can bring things to pass.  So it is not enough for us just to desire things.  It is not enough for us to desire revival or desire that God works in people’s heart or that God would act in certain ways.  By desiring things but not going to God with those desires we are not confessing him as the one who could fulfill those desires.  We are not acknowledging him as the LORD of all creation and the one who can bring those things to pass.

 

I believe that our prayers really do have weight.  God may not bring some of his desires to come to pass if we don’t ask him for them to come to pass.  Just as in salvation, he is waiting for us to come to him.  In coming to him for it we are expressing our faith in him and our dependence on him. 

We NEED to pray.  Don’t think that our prayers don’t matter… that God will do what he wants regardless

Humbling Ourselves Before the LORD

Psalm 149:4 “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.”

The humble are given grace and crowned with salvation, but God opposes the proud. So what does it mean to be humble?

Generally when I have thought of humility in the past, I have thought just making sure that I don’t think too highly of myself and acknowledging that I wouldn’t be able to do anything I do without God. But I think humility goes so much deeper than that. True humility isn’t just a certain perspective that you may have; it is a lifestyle that reflects your perspective. It is not just having head knowledge of where you stand in relation to God, but it is a life of surrender to God because of your understanding.

I think most people would agree that God’s ways are always right and perfect. However, although most of us would say that we believe that, we don’t demonstrate our belief through our actions. If we really, really believed that God’s plans were so much better than our own plans… we wouldn’t really have problems yielding to his plans. The reason we have problems giving up our agenda is due to our lack of faith and belief that God is who he says he is. We are not believing that he really is in control and that his ways are righteous and perfect. And by holding on to our own plans instead of God’s plans, we are stating through our actions that we have more faith in ourselves than we do in God. We are saying that we trust our own minds and our own solutions more than we do God’s. So in a nutshell, the reason we are not putting our complete trust in God is because of our pride. We are viewing our own capability to control our life higher than we view God’s ability to do so.

True humility then, is defined by a life of total surrender to God: a life of obedience to His Spirit and a life that is dedicated to the furthering of his Kingdom. Whenever we choose to disobey God we are telling him that we think our way is better, but when we follow his Spirit in obedience we are acknowledging that He does know more than we and that his way his better and perfect. Obeying God then, even when we do not understand why he is leading us a certain way, is what humbling ourselves before Him means.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we can kind of see this…

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

I think it is interesting in this verse how the act of humbling oneself is connected with praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from their wicked ways. It is when we worship God in this way, with all of our life, that we are putting our self where we should be and placing God in our life where he should be.

It is when we are in this state that God chooses to use us. There are so many instances in the bible where God first humbles individuals and then uses them in incredible ways in order glorify his own name. But the humbling of the individual always comes first. Joseph was sold into slavery and put in prison all for absolutely no reason. He never did anything to deserve that, yet he was humiliated anyways. But it was after this, after he had been humbled, that God chose to use him in saving all of Egypt from a famine and to ultimately bring more glory to God. Daniel was hated and persecuted for praying to God and ended up being thrown into the lion’s den. He was publically humiliated and humbled before God chose to save him from the lion’s den and bring him to a position of great influence. Mary was humbled in the way that she bore Jesus as a virgin. I am sure that her pregnancy was the cause of much public shame and humiliation, but God used it to bring forth the savior of the world!

We live to bring glory to God, so let us surrender our lives to him because his way of doing it is perfect! Let us humble ourselves before God, and not only acknowledge in our heads that His way is better, but live it out and follow Him when he prompts us to do things. Let us not think of ourselves as more highly than we ought, but instead look to Jesus, the Son of God, and worship him with our life and trust in Him because he deserves to be trusted, served, and worshiped with everything we have!

God truly is right beside of us and guiding us in the paths of his righteousness everyday of our lives. He wants each of us to be living in step with His Spirit, putting to death the misdeeds of the body, and seeking him with ALL of our hearts. And he is with us enabling us to do exactly that. He is directing our every step; we just need to make the decision to listen, acknowledge his voice, and obey.

I've discovered that when God reveals sin our lives, it's not fun, and it kind of hurts. It completely breaks me and puts me once again at the feet of Jesus. Sometimes, though, even when I see my sin, I try to think that I can deal with it, that I can try to get rid of it my own way. And, of course, my own way is a way that would allow me to cling to the things that, although they are not sinful in themselves, are causing me to sin. But that's not going to work. I have to overcome it through the Holy Spirit's power, which means obeying Him and getting rid of it how he wants me to get rid of it. That's the hard part. Often what he tells us to do is not easy and not what we want to do. Actually, I find that it is the last thing I want to do. I often find myself wanting to question God saying, "are you sure this is the best way to go about his? what about if this happens? what about if doing this causes this?" Actually it may be more like, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME GOD??!! IF I DO THAT... THIS WILL HAPPEN AND THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE!!!! I actually have found myself almost wishing that I had never asked God to make himself clear and tell me what to do. Because he definitely did speak to me, in a way that was incredibly clear, and told me exactly what I should do!! Only, it wasn't what I was hoping he'd tell me.

And this is why we can only obey God and overcome sin in our lives through faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Because what God is telling me to do goes against all of my instincts; the only way I can do it is because I have faith in God. I have faith that he understands more than I; that his will is perfect and that as I step out in obedience I can be sure all things will work together for his Glory and ultimately my good. Whenever I start to worry about doing what God has told me to do, I just think back to how clearly God spoke to me. I think about how he answered my prayer for direction in such a real way, probably in way that is more obvious than I have ever experienced before in my life. And this reassures me that I can step out and obey. I can follow Jesus, even though I am not sure why or where I'm going. If I know that it was HE that spoke to me, then that is all I need to know. Because if I do as He tells me, there is nothing I need to fear. God is with me, guiding me, comforting me, and loving me. THAT is all I need.

It is Well with my Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Surrendering it All

Although this not completely applicable to me yet, as I am not married, I’m still super passionate about it…

We always talk about surrendering our lives to God and letting Jesus direct our paths, but somehow we never seem to talk about that in regards to how many children we have. This makes absolutely NO sense!! Why aren’t we looking to God, and opening ourselves to having however many children he will give us? We’re talking about what life enters into the world; this is a HUGE deal!!!! This is not something we should be taking into our own hands!!

Yes…children are expensive and it’s is a huge sacrifice to have them. I’s painful, a lot of work… and a lot more stuff! But, Isn’t that what our life as followers of Jesus is all about, dying to ourselves and living for our Lord and Savior? God will give us the strength we need to get through whatever he has in store for our lives. We are called to be servants, not just with our friends or at work, but most importantly at home with our families! If we are unwilling to have kids because it’s too painful, too much work, or too expensive, I think we need to take a step back and look at what is at the root of all our motives. If these are our reasons… then it’s sin. It’s called selfishness, wanting what’s best and most convenient for us. It’s wanting to have things the way we want them rather than what God wants for us.

I have been through so many sermon series about how we should surrender our finances with regard to sacrificially giving to the church knowing that God WILL provide for our needs. This is absolutely true and is a wonderful thing that needs to be preached! However, I honestly don’t think I have ever heard this concept preached in the context of children. Although having children is expensive and is a huge financial sacrifice, we need hold out our money in an open hand to God and be willing to have kids, trusting that God will provide. If God will provide for a building project in a church, how much more will he provide for children!!!

Anyways… bottom line, we need to surrender everything in our life to God, including the amount of kids that He may want us to have. It’s not our place to make that decision ourselves! We have to give up everything, including that, and let Jesus take the reins in our life!

Putting on the Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take on the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all of this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all of the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.

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This passage is sooooo good!!! Every time I read it I get something new out of it!

It is through the power of God and the Word of God that we can stand firm and fight against the darkness. It is through standing in truth and righteousness that we can withstand the attacks of the evil one. May we never forget this!

I Love the last part of this passage when Paul asks that every word that he speaks would be given to him by the Holy Spirit so that he would fearlessly declare the gospel. He is dependent on the LORD not only to endure persecution, but also in his spreading of the Gospel. He isn't spending his time trying to come up new techniques for sharing the truth...instead he is just following the Holy Spirit's leading. Each moment, he is speaking with the words that God gives him. I feel like I have gone through so many classes, bible studies, or sermons that have been centered around different techniques that are most effective for sharing the gospel...or where we are told specific things to say or do when confronted with a spiritual conversations. I have been given so many times what seems like a checklist for "how to evangelize." But...my question is, why do we keep trying to come up with our own strategies instead of relying on the Holy Spirit? If we really want to teach people how to spread the gospel, we need to be preaching the gospel and teaching what it means to be following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Because if we are all being led by the spirit, then we will be declaring the gospel boldly just as Paul did, not through our own strength, but through the Spirit's power. If we depend on our own strategies and techniques for spreading the Gospel, it will come to nothing. Instead we need to arm ourselves with the full of armor of God and rely completely on his Holy Spirit to direct our every step and provide us with our every word.