This Christmas, I would like…
I pray. Its a general trait of a Christian.
Now, what I don’t do a lot is pray expectantly. Its much easier for me to appeal to God like a child would to Santa: asking with puppydog eyes, and hoping inside that he’ll get what he wants.
Especially when its something dear to my heart, that (I think) I need, it is hard to put forth my trust in God, knowing that He’ll deliver (even if it isn’t how I’d expect). I don’t like to be let down.
Its times like this that I need to remember why my God has a capital “G”. He isn’t a deity out of Greek mythology, who is just as selfish and flawed as man. He is the God of the universe, and He is good. Therefore, his will is good.
Hate having to ingrain knowledge into my heart. Humbug.
Chosen.
I came upon a verse that blows my mind.
John 15:16 reads
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
God makes it clear: “I chose you. You didn’t choose me. I say when you bear fruit, and I say what your fruit will go on to do”.
God will show mercy on whomever he shall show mercy. And I am so glad God chose me to be spared.
Beautiful Jesus.
I’ve heard people complain about words like “beautiful” being attached to Jesus. Too feminine apparently.
In Isaiah 61:1, it is said of Jesus
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Maybe my mind isn’t filled with enough testosterone-driven bravado to ignore that verse, but everything about Jesus in this verse is beautiful.
Romans 12:9-10
I like the NLT translation of this verse.
It says:
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
“Take delight in honoring each other”. I once heard a pastor say “Just because I love you, doesn’t mean I have to like you”. I’m sure you can find a way to argue in favor of that, but I can’t say that with a clean conscious in my spiritual life.
If I don’t like you, it would definitely be hard for me to “love you with genuine affection”, or to “delight in honoring [you]“.
God, make this heart of stone into one of flesh that beats for you.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God…”
My spiritual life is often so noisy, I can’t hear God’s will being whispered to me. I need to learn to shut up.
Forgiveness
Its safe to say I’m a horrible person. I’m a liar, a cheat, a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, an idolater, and by all human standards a lost cause.
And it is because of all of these things, that I stand in awe of God.
He forgives me, and forgets all of my low-down, disgusting, and shameful sins.
Oh, but thats not all!
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
So not only will God forgive me; He will also put forth the effort to “cleanse [me] of all unrighteousness”. Only in the twisted, deranged mind of man can this seem like a bad thing- something we have to question and be unsure about.
Exhibit A- I fall into sexual sin.
I don’t much feel like talking to God at this point. Not because He’s not worth my time or anything- I just don’t feel worthy. You know the feeling. Only, the realization hits me, I’m never worthy of His forgiveness. I digress though; the problem still remains: How do I get over my ego and pride and come to God in humbleness to ask for forgiveness?
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Now, I would just like to point out: that verse would be significantly different if I was God (so, thank God I’m not). It might go a little bit like this:
“Let us therefore come in fear and trembling to the throne of…”
I think the least God would want is a bit of fear…you know, what with us breaking commandments and whatnot. But no, He asks nothing of us, except the obedience to confess our sins to him.
I encourage you, reader, to think about anything you need forgiveness for, and ask God, our Father for His grace and righteousness. I’m not a huge fan of the more Christianese words (like mentioning grace arbitrarily), but I assure you- no other words cross my mind right now to describe what God does for us, except words found in His word.
Go God.
Struggle
John Piper’s son, Abraham Piper, wrote this wonderful (and beautifully laconic) piece on his blog.
“Struggle: Christianese for ‘Giving in to sin, but then feeling guilty’
We’re not porn-addicts; we “struggle with lust.”
We’re not arrogant; we “struggle with pride.”
With a simple cliché our sins become palatable. “
Great gobbling grackles Batman!
Admittedly, the title of this post has nothing to do with the contents. I just couldn’t think of anything better.
Something has been nagging me lately- especially when I spend time in prayer. Finally, the feeling manifested itself into more than just a feeling. It became a full-on conviction, and a problem I intend to tackle head on (and hopefully come out on the winning side of).
(Thank you Mr. Del Tackett for this wonderfully phrased question):
“Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?”
This question eats me up on the inside. I know I believe the Bible wholeheartedly. I know I believe Christ died for me. I know I believe that it is only by God’s mercy that I have admittance to even commune with Him. That being said- I’m assuming you believe these things too (assuming you had some foreknowledge of what I write about before you started reading).
I know I believe what I believe. Therein lies the problem. If I truly believe that God, in His infinite mercy, would send His son to die for me, why is it so hard to overcome basic temptations? Why do I feel the need to cuss like a sailor? Why do I struggle with procrastinating? Why can’t I manage to lift the shield of faith and extinguish the flaming arrows that Satan fires my way?
If I believe that when I pray, I am entering the throne room of God to speak with Him, why can I not find the time to pray? Why do I pray more out of habit or need, rather than praying because my adoration and awe of God? Why can’t I “find time” to pray, but I can watch T.V. or search for a car to buy for hours?
I don’t have the answers to any of these questions, except the answer that seems most apparent- because I am a sinner. I would more quickly prioritize my own needs before the will of the Lord of the Universe. I would much rather indulge and give praise to what makes me feel good in the here and now, rather than giving praise to the God who ensures me life now and forever. It is because I am led on a leash by the whims of this world, and, having been at the right place at the right time, would probably have been chucking stones at Stephen, or I would have been cheering as they nailed the Word of God to a cross.
[Malachi 1:8] When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.
Why do I continue to sin, knowing it is not what the God of the universe would have for me? I believe He knows all I do- past and present- but I would still decide to sin. I let God’s intangibility get to my head. If He is out of sight, He is out of mind is the trap I fall into. If God were a king (Malachi’s mentioned “governor”) I could see and feel, I’m sure I wouldn’t be so quick to sin (until He wasn’t around of course).
There is something that bothers me so deeply about the depravity of man. It is amazing to think that even though we are blessed beyond imagination, beyond comprehension, we would still throw that away. Thank God for God’s mercy though.
I can only pray that God will continue to convict me (and others) to remember His mercy and love, and allow that to transform us from the inside so we might better glorify Him.
I hate being human.
Pray.
Pray for me.
I’ve taken a big step (for me), and made a promise to God. I’m not going to go into detail describing what I promised, because I don’t think it is of Blogdom’s concern. I’ve never been too comfortable with something of that magnitude, because plenty of “what ifs?” go through my head.
What if I can’t keep my promise?
What if this isn’t what God wants me to be promising? (Calvinism can sometimes get in the way of loving God)
But, I have been consistent in my prayer and worship time as of late, and feel really good about this. Sometimes I wonder if I should start out smaller with what I am promising God, but I figure- If He has started a good work in me, He’ll see it through so long as I don’t let sin start creeping in.
But please friends (or even people who I don’t know), please pray for me.
Pray for God to strengthen me, renew me, and bring me into a deeper state of worship than ever before.
Thank you yall. (I like to pretend to be Southern every now and again)
Psalm 18:1-3
These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible.
Psalm 18:1-3
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
I love those three verses. Sometimes I think deep affection can only be described in simplicity. Those three verses show what I feel for our God. It is stark and bare, it isn’t powdered and puffed with fancy words and metaphors. It is simply “I love you O Lord…”
It is incredible to think that God can reduce me to not knowing what to say. I can think of no earthly words that describe what God means to me. Even if my actions might not always show it, God is what I want to live for always. He is mighty, and He is gracious. He is loving, and He is simply amazing. He saves me when I am weak, and strengthens me when I am down. He is my shelter in my dark times, and He is the Father that every little boy wishes they had.
I love you God.
