"Am I continually saying with amazement to my common-sense life - why do you want me to turn off here? Don't you know I am about my Father's business? Whatever the circumstances may be, the Holy Innocent Eternal Child must be in contact with His Father. Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He getting His wonderful way with me? Is God realizing that His Son is formed in me, or have I carefully put Him on one side? Oh, the clamor of these days! Everyone is clamoring - for what? For the Son of God to be put to death. There is not room here for the Son of God just now, no room for quiet holy communion with The Father. Is the Son of God praying in me or am I dictating to Him? Is He ministering to me as He did in the days of His flesh?"
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
Putting God second (or dismissed) might be popular today but expensive later.
ReplyDeletePsalms 37:
…4Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it. 6He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.…
It is indeed, Michael.
DeleteYou have either invited God to reside within you, and keep Him close, or you do not.
ReplyDeleteNo churches, no preachers or priests, just He and thee.
Ultimately, ever, it was only Him and us as individuals.
DeleteWe all deal with this dilemma, TB. In fact, I awoke a couple of nights ago with just such issues. Anyone with an IQ above that of an eggplant can see what's going on in the world and has a myriad of worries. I approached God in prayer that night with this very issue. What I got back from him was "WORSHIP ME!" We tend to approach God with laundry lists of needs in our prayer, when what we really need to do is WORSHIP GOD. God told me that when we worship Him, it's like He sees a light in the distance and says "I need to check on this one." I got a chuckle when He likened this to the "Bat Signal!" At that point He divines our souls and beings, and deals with our needs, as ANY father would do for his children! Indeed, these MUST be the groans of the Holy spirit mentioned in Romans 8:26-27:
ReplyDelete26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Many people treat God like a fire extinguisher that they can pull off the wall and use when needed and leave forgotten otherwise. This can't be farther from the truth! Our relationship with God needs to be BUILT and NURTURED over time. Remember all those old vampire movies where various people were able to keep The Count at bay by flashing a crucifix at him? The crucifix has NO POWER AT ALL. It's a THING; CREATION; not CREATOR!!! It's the FAITH IN GOD of the person holding it that does the heavy lifting. This is how it must be with us!!!
Bat signal. That made me chuckle too, Pete.
DeleteI often struggle with the very thing you describe, Pete, too often taking everything but worship to God. Thanks for the reminder.
Timely and appreciated messages from each of you.
ReplyDeleteJustin, I really do have the best commenters on the planet and I am very thankful for them.
DeleteWe went into Colossians 1 a little today at church.
ReplyDeleteGod has done a few things for us:
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. I don't have to work my way into a right relationship. He did it, I can't.
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness. He broke the chains that bound me to the dominion of darkness. He did it, I can't.
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. He made me a citizen of His Heavenly Kingdom. He did it, I can't.
These things allow us to start the journey that PeteF talks about. Col 1: 9 ...that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
The mystery of the OT was revealed in Col 1:
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory...
Christ IN YOU! That is the game changer, the reason real Christianity is so different than any other religion. God has made all the changes, Christ lives His life out through me. That's a whole different story than "do the best you can" or "God helps them what helps themselves". Not even close. Learning to cooperate with God's will in my life is the lifelong endeavor. Not to find out what He wants me to do, but to cooperate with what He IS DOING IN ME AND THROUGH ME to His world around me.
Thanks, STxAR. Christ in us is indeed the real difference.
DeleteTimely. Thoughtful post and comments.
ReplyDeleteYou all be safe and God bless.
Thanks Linda. It was in my daily readings last week and certainly spoke to me.
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