Have you ever wondered what life be like without Jesus? Think about it for a moment… What would life be like if the birth of Jesus had not taken place 2000 years ago?
The world would be an unbelievably different place today had the birth of Jesus not taken place. I can’t imagine what life would be like without hope. When Jesus came to this earth he brought hope… filled our hearts and lives with joy that can only come from Him. This is a kind of hope and joy that nothing in this life can offer.
The words of Jesus in John 15:5, “without me you can do nothing.” I think about this verse in relation to what it would be like if God had not come to earth in flesh. Oswald Chambers states, “That is why the underlying foundation of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.” (My Utmost for His Highest, December 23).
The amazing thing about His birth is that there is no other way we can experience a relationship with God that is real and personal. It was by God becoming personal with us (in flesh) that we are able to be personal with Him.
To find examples of how it would be to live life without Jesus – we don’t have to look to far… we don’t have to use our imaginations. All we have to do is to look back into our own past for starters. We can see our neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends who still live without the real hope and real joy that has come to this world through the birth of Jesus Christ.
As you celebrate, remember He has come to be with us. His coming is real and personal. He knows our names… He knows how many hairs are own our heads. He intimately cares for all of us!
If you believe in Jesus, recall the joy experienced in coming to Him. There’s a purpose in getting to know that joy. That joy is to lead us to a personal relationship with God.
Oswald Chambers goes on to say,
We mistake the joy of our first introduction into God’s kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God’s purpose in getting us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus Christ means. (My Utmost for His Highest, December 23).
His birth, hope, and joy is to lead us to a place of total identification with the Savior. Total identification is the giving of our entire lives for His purpose… to carry the marks and to be identified with Him no matter the cost.
This is where I am today… how serious am I at being identified with Christ? Is it just something to be written about in a blog or is it to be lived in compassion and humility serving others. If you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me. See Matthew 25:35-40.
So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.
So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. (The Message).
Are you looking toward the future or is your vision on the here and now? I’m trying to gain all I can today from yet another extremely rare moment of quiet. It’s rather nice. The only light in the room is from the Christmas tree. My heart is set on the hope of things yet to come – in Jesus Christ.
I am reading Psalm 139. Take a moment to read the chapter. Psalm 139:1, “God, investigate my life, get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you.” (The Message).
I’ve never been one to make a lot of goals or plans for the beginning of the “New Year.” Why not? I do this (it seems like) all of the time already. So, this year I’m going to go about it a bit differently. I am already making some plans to implement for my life beginning January 1, 2009. But before I get into that I would like to look at Psalm 139 as it pertains to my thoughts and direction.
I have been focused on the meaning and purpose of the life of Jesus Christ… His redeeming mankind and making a way for all mankind to have a relationship with God. I’ve been focused on his Holy Spirit (John 16) and the reason the Holy Spirit is in our lives today… The power, confidence, and hope He gives.
As I read Psalm 139, I’m asking God to take a deep look into my life. To look at all of it – inside and out. I’m asking Him to see all of the highs and lows and to search me out east to west. I am an open book to Him. I am one of the verses in His book that is still being written in Acts 29.
I’ve also looked ahead into My Utmost for His Highest to see what Oswald Chambers has said on this subject and Psalm 139:
The psalmist implies— “O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God, search me.” (January 9).
I know, “I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize.” without God taking a deep look into my life. Without Him searching the darkest places and shining His light. As I look toward the coming New Year, I’m asking God to prepare my heart for the plans He has for me. I want to live in the power of His hope and walk boldly – with confidence – into His plans.
One of my prayers for the past couple of months – as I drive in my car - has been the following. These are the words from the first verse and chorus of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. I have capitalized the word You and made it personal to God and want to share it.
love, I get so lost sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place You are
all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in Your eyes
the light the heat
in Your eyes
I am complete
in Your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in Your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in Your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in Your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in Your eyes
As I begin this look forward, I start with asking God to search my heart. As He begins this search and reveals to me Himself – I will prepare for the year to come. I will make the plans and take the steps necessary. I look forward to complete fulfillment in the coming year – walking in His power for His glory.
The day you heard the Gospel and responded by following Jesus – you didn’t respond to a moment in time or to a person presenting the message. But rather the power of the Holy Spirit working through the surrendered life of another person. Paul states,
I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else. (1 Corinthians 2:3-5, The Message).
Now that you know Jesus – what steps do you take to share the hope you have been given? Is it easy for you to share with others? Do you fear having a conversation with someone else about your life in Jesus? What are you relying on when you teach or lead your small group? Do you rely on the Holy Spirit or do you rely on something you have taught in the past or some other experience you have had?
…as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, December 3).
I received a comment from my “Are you hungry?” post. Instead of posting a lengthy comment there I have decided to write one here. The question posted was, “Is it possible to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sad at the same time?” There were several thoughts that came to mind as I read this question. If anyone would like to add to the discussion please jump in.
One thing about sadness and the Christian I believe is that the sadness should draw us closer to God. Ecclesiastes 7:3 states, “Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.”(NIV). I first came in contact with this verse back in the late 80′s when The Choir released their CD Chase the Kangaroo. The song “Sad Face” has been a great inspiration to me over the years.
I loved the song then as I do now. This verse puzzled me as a young believer. I was in a church at the time that was very focused on the Holy Spirit. (Can one get out of balance when it comes to the Holy Spirit?) I felt as though when something “bad” happened to me that there was something wrong (with me)… like I wasn’t spiritual (enough) or I wasn’t as good as the other believers I hung out with… Or I was out of God’s will.
I remember a night when I shared this verse sitting in the worship center with some of the youth and youth leaders. I basically said then that it is OK to have issues of sadness, loneliness, etc… then quoted this verse. But I didn’t understand what it really meant. I had not ever drank from the cup of true sadness and hurt.
Before I go there lets look at John 16 where Jesus talks to his disciples about the coming work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says,
Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you… (v 5-7).
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you… (v. 13-15).
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (v. 20-24).
I think now I have come to understand sadness and how it relates to my walk with God as a Christian. As a young believer in my late teens early 20′s, I had not had the opportunity to walk a road of real sadness, heartbreak, separatedness, etc. Now that I am in my young 40′s I have had a taste of that road. I think I am beginning to understand why sadness is allowed in the life of the Holy Spirit driven believer. Jesus said, “Your grief will turn to joy.” He goes on to say, “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
As a Christian, I believe it is possible to become sad and to stay there – to live in sadness that ultimately leads to a depression. Remember Jesus said, “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” It’s in those times of sadness He wants us to come to Him. It is through turning over that situation with trust to the Father so that the Counselor has opportunity to work in our lives. If we choose to sit in our sadness we choose to stay focused on ourselves – which leads to bondage in self pity.
…the greatest destroyer of that confident relationship to God, so necessary for intercession, is our own personal sympathy and preconceived bias. Identification with God is the key to intercession, and whenever we stop being identified with Him it is because of our sympathy with others, not because of sin. It is not likely that sin will interfere with our intercessory relationship with God, but sympathy will. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 3).
I know there is so much more that can be said on this. This is probably not even an answer to the question but rather the beginning of a dialogue on the subject. Below is the song that I referenced above.
Sad Face by Steve Hindalong as performed by The Choir. I think this song was written after Hindalong’s wife miscarried their baby. You may also recognize the name Steve Hindalong as the co-writer of the song God of Wonders we have all come to love in our churches.
There’s a crystal in the window
Throwing rainbows around
There’s a girl by the mirror
And her feet won’t touch the ground
‘Cause she never saw the sky so bright
Isn’t that like a cloud, to come by night
Nevermind the sky
There’s a tear in her eye
A sad face is good for the heart
Go on cry, does it seem a cruel world?
A sad face is good for the heart of a girl
A sad face
There’s a woman in my kitchen
With a rainbow on her cheek
Well isn’t that a promise?
Still I never felt so weak
There’s a tiny spirit in a world above
Cradled so sweetly in our Father’s love
So you don’t have to cry
No there’s something in my eye
A sad face is good for the heart
Maybe just now I don’t understand
A sad face is good for the heart of a man
A sad face
A sad face is good for the heart
It’s alright you don’t have to smile
A sad face is good for the heart of a child
For the heart of a child
For the heart of a child
For the heart of a child
A sad face
A sad face…
It’s the day after Thanksgiving… Did you get enough to eat yesterday? I’m now extremely full after the 3 rounds of leftovers I had tonight for dinner! I am more stuffed than the turkey was yesterday! But that’s not quite the kind of hunger I am talking about. Are you hungry for more of God? Are you satisfied or do you want a little bit more?
It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5). (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, November 28).
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed?” Acts 19:2
I’ll never forget when Joshua Tree by U2 was released (1987). I was in Cleveland, TN at Lee College. I headed over to the mall after classes and purchased the cassette. While driving back to campus I heard this song and was blown away. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is a powerful song. It is a deep song born out of a believers heart to know God more.
If you are familiar with how this song was recorded on “Rattle and Hum” then you know the song was recorded for the movie in a church with a choir. On the movie, the next song is by a guy on the street singing about freedom.
As a Christian, freedom from sin and the things of this earth is what we are looking for. We are looking to know God more… to go into a deeper relationship of knowing God. Our lives as Christians need to be about knowing God more. As we get to know Him more, we become His hands and His feet living in a world in need of His love… the freedom that only He can give.
In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers states,
The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” ( John 17:15 ). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (seeJohn 17:16 ). (November 27).
Point [point](n.) a particular aim, end, or purpose. (v.) to direct the mind or thought in some direction; call attention to. (There are some 90 definitions for point onDictionary.com)
Last night I was thinking about looking for a book by Steve Farrar, Point Man. From what I recall, Point Man deals with men leading their families spiritually. After reading Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, “The Focal Point of Spiritual Power,” I think I will get it of the shelf.
…except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… Galatians 6:14
Pay attention to the external Source and the internal power will be there. We lose power because we don’t focus on the right thing. The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these. We are to preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 ). The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God’s focal point in your preaching, and even if your listeners seem to pay it no attention, they will never be the same again. (My Utmost for His Highest, November 25).
After reading this today, I have been challenged all the more to ask the Holy Spirit to fill me with His power. I want to lead my family and to lead everything I do in life by the power of the Holy Spirit. I know the cental message for the believer is the Cross of Christ.
Sometimes I think we get so bent on doing the act of prayer that we forget God is the reason for the act. Sometimes we get so focused on so many other ”things” of God that we miss God in the process.
Oswald Chambers goes on to say, “…the focus tends to be put not on the Cross of Christ but on the effects of the Cross.” I don’t want to get lost in seeking answers to prayer over seeking God… getting to know God… growing in Him. I pray my focus stays on Jesus.
I don’t have the opportunity to see either of my parents very much. In fact almost never. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen either of my parents. I was hoping to make the rounds this Thanksgiving and Christmas season to see them both. My Dad is in South Georgia and my Mom is up in Virginia. Conversations on the phone is about as good as it gets. Seeing my Mom is off since I will be working the day after Thanksgiving and seeing my Dad is still on the table in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
So, yesterday I spent some time making the rounds talking with them over the phone. I was out with my son yesterday afternoon riding bikes. He is still using his training wheels up and down our long driveway. As he drove past he asked, “Who are you talking to?” It was his Meme (My Mom) in Virginia.
Once he was done riding he wanted to tell Meme about his bike riding… That he had some mud on his pants… and more importantly the mud that was on his front tire. My mother told him, “I bet you have changed so much that I wouldn’t recognize you.” Walker’s response, “Well, I still have the same face.”
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (NIV). When we live a surrendered life to Christ he changes us on the inside. Our heart changes and it takes on the heartbeat of God. As we grow in God’s Word, our mind begins to think the thoughts of God. See Psalm 119:9-11. The changes begin to take place inwardly.
As the changes begin to take place – we still have the same face. Our thoughts, attitudes, and praise given to God will lead to a world of changes on the outside. But we still have the same face. People that know us will look at us and recognize us and they will see the change as it is lived out. It is not for us to go about telling others, “Look at the changes, listen to how I pray, or see how I have sacrificed.” Once we go about bragging spiritually speaking who gets the glory?
It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, November 16).
Today, spend some time thinking about your human life and how it is impacting your spiritual life. What is it that you seek in life? Who are you seeking in life? Whose attention is it that you seek? Are you looking for the approval of others or that of God? Seek first His kingdom and is righteousness. Matthew 6:33.
In today’s devotion Chamber’s goes on to say,
The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions ( Colossians 3:3 ).
Prayer, intercession, calling out to God from within the depths our own hearts and souls with groaning that cannot be understood…
At various times in our lives, our cirumstances often dictate how we pray. I’m sure when Jonah was first thrown overboard and swallowed up by a giant fish he was relieved and scared all at the same time. The Lord “provided” the fish for Jonah. See Jonah 1:17. I would bet his repentance was in the first several seconds of being eaten alive. I’m sure the circumstances of the next 3 days and nights dictated a different kind of prayer.
He said:
“In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave [a] I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
I’m learning I can run from God but I cannot out run Him. In fact, I don’t even think God tries to chase any of us down. I am beginning to think that our running from Him actually catches up with us on its own -through our circumstances. I look at the various times I have run from God and I can see the destruction that has followed. There have been many times when I decided to do plan B because somewhere down the road I thought plan B would help me accomplish plan A. WRONG!
In fact, look at Jonah 2:2 one more time. Jonah prayed, “In my distress…” The distress he caused himself by not doing what God told him to do in plan A.
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. (Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, November 7).
I got up this morning and knew I had to get up and go cry out to Him. I want answers, I want a word from Him, I want Him to speak to me, and I want Him to deliver me from the circumstances I find myself in today. Today, I call out to Him out of my distress (the distress I brought on myself). I remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
I have an anticipation of the future - that’s a good thing. I am calling out to God not so that I can obtain those things but rather so I can know Him. I’m sure many of us feel the same way with a different set of circumstances. It’s time to get on our knees and seek the Father. For some, life has never been better. For those of you who are experiencing that I ask you to get on your knees and intercede for the many who are in need of seeking God… the many who are in need of a miracle from God.
I’m reminded of the intro to a song by Jerusalem on the live Album… “I am a warrior, you are a warrior, in the Army of God. Stand up, take your sword, take your shield, and start fighting - don’t sit down.” No matter where you find yourself today: On dry land living life, in the belly of ship sound asleep (Jonah 1:5), or in the belly of a great fish… it’s time to take your sword, take your shield, and start fighting – PRAY!
What are you convinced of? Does life make sense to you? Do you know what the secret to life is all about?
My life has been a journey of discovering that “one thing”. But it seems that the “one thing” always seems to allude my grasp. As soon as I think I have discovered what the “one thing” is – I realize that isn’t “it.” Today, I am slowly coming to a realization that it has nothing to do with what I thought it was. At least my focus has been in the wrong direction.
Before you turn off this post and go to see what someone else has to say – here me out. Life is not about what you can gain, obtain, save, or promote into. It’s not about building churches, growing ministries, or even having a feeling of fulfillment. Life is not about any of that. It is about “one thing” living. (The video clip is PG13)
City Slickers is one of my all time favorite movies. I was there in the theatre when it was first released in 1991. Ever since then I have thought about that “one thing” in life. All of this time I have been missing it. I may even miss it tomorrow. But for now I am getting a grasp of it.
You see – we miss the meaning of everything about life all of the time. For example, one may say the most powerful force on earth is prayer. I’ve come to believe that prayer is not the most powerful force but rather God is. You see - we try to think this act or that thing we do is what it’s all about – but it’s not. It has always been about God. I know that’s hard to grasp… after following God and trying to get to know him for almost 25 years I still miss that “one thing”.
Oswald Chambers puts it this way,
The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not the answer. (My Utmost for His Highest, February 7).
We get it wrong. We seek and search for the “one thing” in life and miss the mark because we never get ahold of God. The keeper and giver of that “one thing”. We are so selfish at times in our praying that we want to consume all of our prayers on ourselves. God wants us to get a hold of Him. He wants our praying, seeking, and focus to be consumed on Him.
I believe everyone has the opportunity to get things right. The ultimate “do-over” in life only comes through Jesus Christ. This life in Christ is a great one! It doesn’t mean that you will not have problems or struggles in life anymore. It does mean you will have power to deal with and overcome the difficulties in life. It does mean strength in times of trying to discover what life is all about.
Once you discover what the “one thing” in life is – go after “it” like your life depends on it… like the life of your family depends on it. Because your family does depend on it.
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
