Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Looking to Jesus

The Lord bless you!

This morning I was thinking of Romans 4:18-21 where the Apostle Paul, speaking of Abraham, says that he (Abraham) "contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, 'So shall your descendants be.' And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised he was also able to perform."

What a commentary on how Abraham walked with God! He took into account the utter impossibility that he and Sarah could have children, but he obviously didn't make that his focus of attention. Knowing well that the fulfillment God's promise was impossible, he fixed his eyes on the One Who had promised and not on the limitations of the humans involved.

We know, of course, that Abraham didn't walk this out perfectly when we read the details of the story in the Old Testament; but it's obvious by how the Holy Spirit edits the story in Romans 4 that from God's perspective, Abraham walked in faith.

There are a couple of simple lessons I'd like to encourage you with in this story:
1) Our weaknesses and inability to make God's promises to us come to pass is not an obstacle to God; in fact, it's the way He has set things up! The more impossible it is, the more He loves it and the more glory He will get when He brings it about.
2) In God's eyes, faith isn't about feeling strong and capable but about where we fix our attention. Abraham knew his limitations and utter inability to have the promised son and yet chose to fix his eyes on God Who had promised him a son and gave Him glory in the face of the impossible.

God looks for those who, in the most impossible situations, will insist on looking to Jesus and giving glory to God no matter what their emotions and circumstances scream at them. This is faith and God cannot resist true faith.

So be encouraged; look to Jesus who is both the Author (the One who birthed faith in us) and the Finisher (the One Who will bring faith to maturity in us) of our faith, and don't pay attention to the enemy's accusations against you when your emotions may not line up with the choice of your heart of give glory to God. One of the most effective ways of doing this practically is to enter into aggressive worship; if you have the gifts of a prayer language (tongues), that is a powerful means of exalting the Lord.

I'll finish with a little ditty that Corrie Ten Boom used to say:

"Look around and be oppressed;
Look within and be depressed;
Look to Jesus and be at rest."


Grace and peace to you this week in the Lord Jesus!

Monday, June 16, 2008

God, My Exceedingly Great Reward

Because of technology difficulties last week, I wasn't able to send anything out. Next week I will be out of the country so may not get a message out then either.

But this week I'd like to briefly share on Genesis 15:1 where the Lord says to Abraham, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

God tells Abraham this before He makes a covenant with him related to the impact his life will make. It's as though God wants to establish His priority in Abraham's life: I am your highest Reward; the impact of your life is secondary to ME.

This word to Abraham, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has for years been a key word in my life, helping me stay focussed and steady. I believe we need a revelation from the Holy Spirit of God's priorities in order to stay steady and unoffended in the midst of the pressure of unfulfilled secondary rewards. If the fulfillment of the good things that God has promised to me (whether related to people or ministry in my life, etc.) is delayed (which is most often the case), it won't cause bitterness in my heart because I have my primary/first Reward now and always! If He really is my primary Reward, then I can wait without losing heart or becoming bitter when He delays His promises in other arenas of my life.

His words and promises to me related to my ministry impact and relationships are very important to Him but are secondary in importance to His being my First Love and my Great Reward.

So what does it mean to have God as my exceedingly great Reward? It will look differently in each person's life, but there's no getting around the reality that it requires time and effort and intentionality. There must be an increasing desire and determination to press into knowing Him intimately, or all the secondary rewards will easily take over first place in our attention.

I believe we can ask the Holy Spirit for revelation of and desire for God's priority, and we can insist, as all the great men and women of God have done, on knowing Him intimately through taking time for prayer and intercession and the study of His Word, through adoration and worship, through fasting and giving, and through obedience to whatever He gives us to do.

He is absolutely committed to bringing us into the First Love reality with Him and so we can ask for His leadership in getting there. There is no "one size fits all" so each of us must develop a close relationship with the Holy Spirit in order to know how to grow in this. He is very patient but determined; when He finds a hungry soul, He begins to overcome the barriers and obstacles in order to get us to this place of His being our Great Reward...perhaps part of how He gets us to this is by withholding the fulfillment of the secondary rewards?? He cares too much about our well-being (which is defined by His primary place in our life) to spoil us! How I love His ways even when they are painful!

Lord, we bow to Your leadership and say "Yes" once again to Your wise and kind ways. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to the Father's priority and awaken desire to align with His priority. Thank You for Your faithful work of love; thank You that You will bring us to this place of First Love and will also fulfill all Your promises related to the secondary rewards in our lives! We love you...

Thoughts for Lent (9) - On Changing Our Minds

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