God Allows Us to Be Partners With Him

"When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary?... So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Mt. 13:54-58)

God can do anything. I know that, but this verse brings to my mind the partnership aspect of spiritual life that we gloss over a lot of times. Jesus, the son of God went to his home and tried to minister to the people there. He tried to do great works and miracles, but because they knew him as a youth, they assumed that he was simply the same person that he had always been...the carpenter's son.

When Jesus tried to teach and minister as a Rabbi, they were offended, and didn't want to believe that he could do miracles -- and consequently, no miracles came.

In Genesis 1:28 man was charged to subdue the earth. In short, God gave man the earth on which to live and manage. This, in essence forms the covenant by which God operates in our lives as well. Because He has given us free will to manage our lives here on earth, He doesn't always step in when it is obvious that He should or would.

He is available to us and He presents His ways and commandments as the instruction manual for us to follow - both to gain entry to His heavenly kingdom and to live optimal lives during our earthly lifetimes. However, it is ultimately up to us to determine how much access we will give to Him.

Will we simply pray from time to time and ask for His help? Or will we live lives of complete trust on Him, sometimes risking everything knowing that He will come through for us with a miracle?

God obviously wants the latter because He continually seeks to get to know us and when we do come to Him, He is a loving parent with such a deep deep well of love and affection for us (parenthood itself is the gift of a glimpse into the type of love that God has for each of us). He knows our characters more intimately than we will ever know them because He created us in a specific and special way. He wants to help us have a life that will bring out the very best in ourselves even if that involves tremendous trial and difficulty.

But, in order to do all of that, we need to willingly let Him into our lives. We need to open our hearts to Him in prayer and accept His free gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If we reject Him or limit Him in some way shape or form, than miracles will not occur there. It is not because God is limited in power or scope, but it is because He is honorable to His original covenant to man. He will allow man to sort out and manage the world even though it brings us to the edge of destruction. But, at the same time, He presents Himself ready to assist us if we would simply believe and pray to Him.

Lord Jesus, thank You for this most timely of messages and reminders. I have learned so much about You through Your word, but at the same time, I need constant corrections to get myself back on track. I know that I need You in ways that I haven't been praying for, and I pray that as a family we will seek You daily. Shape our lives Lord, make us into the people that You want us to be. Help us to face our challenges and overcome them. Help us to be people after Your own heart.

In Jesus name, AMEN.

Recalibration

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me..." (Gal 2:20)

It has been great to return to work, even on a temporary basis, but it has brought its own challenges as well. No longer am I able to devote some of my best waking hours to contemplating and studying the things of God, but instead I find that even a bit of prayer time is difficult to carve out (especially when my non-work hours are focused on family).

What that meant for my first week or so is that I already feel the ugliness of my flesh rearing its head and invading my thoughts. Anger when I'm driving and stress creeps up and it's hard to control. I know that if I don't allow myself proper time to spend with God, I will revert back to my old self, where I am a Christian with a slipping relationship with the Lord. What that would mean, is that I would have wasted all the time that the Lord has been working on my soul over the past few months.

Again, I have to remind myself. Why do I live? Yes, I care about providing for my family, but my first allegiance is to the Lord. It sounds wrong to the world to put God even before our family, but the story of Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac is our guide. Abraham obeyed the command of the Lord without question. And because the Lord knew Abraham's heart was to obey and that nothing in this world could tempt Abraham to lose his faith, God rewarded Abraham and stopped him from sacrificing Isaac.

Nothing in this world can become an idol which precludes my faith in God. Not my family, not my friends, not my job, nor status, or possessions. All that must be laid aside before the throne for the Lord to pick and choose what will come and what will be my life.

So in terms of the future, it's all unimportant. All that is important is today's obedience. How did I do on that score? Have I followed Him faithfully and truly? Over the past week, I have to say - not exactly. If I am not spending time with God, I certainly cannot hear His counsel or be refined by Him. So this week, my faith experienced a bit of atrophy. That isn't good and my commitment has to be toward improvement this week.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your conviction today for me to seek You first above all else. Please help me to stay true to this course. In Jesus' name, Amen.

In Whose Name Do I Ask?

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:14)

This is a mighty promise from the Lord to be sure. Can you imagine all the things we could be asking Him for? My flesh responds, "Fame, Riches, Popularity. Lord give me those things in your name!!" Is that what the Lord means?

When we ask for something in the name of Jesus it should be coming from the Holy Spirit that resides within us rather than from our self-aggrandizing desires. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" God describes our hearts (our fleshly desires) as deceitful above all things. Is it any wonder that we gravitate so constantly to sins like gossip, haughtiness, greed, lying, lust, promiscuity, and stealing to name a few?

We may pray for fame, riches and popularity and attach the name of Jesus to these desires, but they aren't emanating from Him. They're coming from our own desperately wicked hearts. The fact that we ask for them and say the actual name of Jesus doesn't mean that they are coming from His Spirit. Consequently, He will not answer them because they do not truly have the seal of God on them. Rather those prayers have the stench of fleshly wickedness (this is not to say that we do not have legitimate needs - food, clothing, shelter, and protection should be asked for in the name of Jesus - I'm talking about the truly selfish desires which go above and beyond need).

Am I saying that God doesn't want us to be famous, rich, or popular? No, not at all. That may be a natural by-product of any faithful Christian's life. Rather, I am simply saying that God doesn't value that because once those things become our goals, we will encounter strong temptations to compromise on sin to achieve or maintain them. Is it curious that God will expose the sins of Christians who have strayed into secret sin? These divine exposes utterly destroy all the false walls of fame, riches or popularity that these individuals had hid behind. Their reputations and that of Christians in general are often left in shambles. Why would God allow that?

It is because He doesn't care a whit for those worldly measures of success. Success in the Lord is being obedient to Him, and following His ways. He would rather save the wayward soul and incur a public scandal that seems to smear the name of His church (think Ted Haggard, Jim Bakker), than to leave that soul living a lie and risking the eternal fires of hell. If people mock the church because of these public scandals, so be it. God does not care about reputations or man's mockery. He wants to reclaim these wayward saints and build them up once again into strong Christians. God is that good - that selfless and loving.

Getting back to the original topic, I know that I ask many selfish prayers, but my desire is to conform my heart to His - that I may begin to pray prayers that truly bear the heart and name of Jesus. That I will pray prayers that are mighty in the Lord and those that He will bless and answer. Lord Jesus, may I be your tool and vessel through my prayers. You know our hearts well - may You find mine pleasing to Your sight and conformed to Your ways. Do whatever You need to do to change me into Your spitting image. Thank You for Your daily love and provision. I know You will always be faithful to me and my house as we worship You and You alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.