I am starting to read the book of Isaiah, and I got blown away in the first chapter. I was marinating in the Isaiah 1 and was very convicted about my sin and how it effects my prayers. I would encourage you to read the whole chapter, however here is a highlight in verses 15 through 17.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
You see this again in Isaiah 58 when it comes to true fasting. I would also encourage reading this chapter as a prerequisite before you fast. Here is a highlight from the chapter in verse 3 and 4.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
What good is it to sacrifice ourselves in prayer and fasting if we are living active lives in sin? In Joshua 7:7-11, Joshua is on his knees and earnestly praying to Lord, why have the suffered such a defeat and why are they routed by their enemies and God's response is quite simple.
10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.
Psalms 66:18 reiterates the same principle, "If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened."
God desires for us to petition Him with our concerns and our prayers. Matthew 7:9-11, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! God rewards those who earnestly seek Him as well. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Christ's sacrifice also gives the opportunity to bring our prays to the Father. He is our mediator to the Father and our high priest. "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34) We even have the Holy Spirit interceding for us, when we don't know what to say, "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. 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." (Romans 8:26-27) How amazing is this!!! We can come before the Father through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and offer requests to the Creator of all things!! What a privilege that we have in Jesus! So why block this privilege and opportunity to with sin in your life? Stop cherishing sin, forsake evil, and approach the throne with confidence that God hears and answers prayers according to His will.
Don't delay when it comes to confessing our sins and your wrongs against others. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24)
God answers prayers according to His will, and does everything for His glory, so this is not a remedy to having all your prayers answered. God hears prayers, but He knows what is best for us, so He will respond with a Yes, No, or Wait. However, it is very clear that sin disconnects our prayers from the Father. So if you are feeling frustrated that your prayers are not being answered, but you have sin prevalent in your life, confess and repent from those sins. God wants to answer prayers for His glory, but if you could care less about His commands and are blatantly being disobedient, stop deceiving yourselves, God is not pleased with your sacrifices of fasting and prayer.
Praying for you all! May God reign in your hearts and may you taste and see that He is good and He will always satisfy you! "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)
May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts. Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Life in Death
You may or may not have seen my post from last night. Coffee and the wee hours of the night produced a deadly combination of rabbit trails and a not so coherent posting. I believe that I got off track and tried to post two thoughts in one. So I decided to forgo the original post and focus on the principle of life through death. Lord willing, I will post about being Hidden in Christ at a later date.
The scriptures have been resonating in me about this concept of life through death, of losing your life in order to gain it. Mark 8:35 states that, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." So how is this possible and do I really believe it? Do I take the step of faith that my life will truly be saved if I lose it for the gospel? Let me assure you, God keeps His promises. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you." (Deut 31:6) Jesus reassures His disciples this same promise in Matthew 28:20 after the great commission, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." How can you trust that God truly has your best interests in heart? Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
God's glory and honor will always super cede our happiness and our desires. "For we are created by Him and for Him." (Col 1:16) However, it does brings Him glory when He blesses us, when He takes care of us, when He gives us life. So not only are His promises assured, they are also good. The reward is promised that we will gain life if we lose ours for the gospel, so what does that practically look like?
Put to death your sinful nature and your sinful desires and do it daily. Read Romans 6:1-14. It explains not only what the death of Christ meant, but also what the resurrection of Christ meant as well. Verse 3 and 4, we share in His death and in His life through the resurrection. Since we have been put to death in Christ and raised with Him in new life, we are no longer slaves to sin. We must throw off our sin nature and not let it reign in our mortal bodies. (verse 12) The command is reiterated in Colossians 3:5-10.
The scriptures have been resonating in me about this concept of life through death, of losing your life in order to gain it. Mark 8:35 states that, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." So how is this possible and do I really believe it? Do I take the step of faith that my life will truly be saved if I lose it for the gospel? Let me assure you, God keeps His promises. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you." (Deut 31:6) Jesus reassures His disciples this same promise in Matthew 28:20 after the great commission, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." How can you trust that God truly has your best interests in heart? Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
God's glory and honor will always super cede our happiness and our desires. "For we are created by Him and for Him." (Col 1:16) However, it does brings Him glory when He blesses us, when He takes care of us, when He gives us life. So not only are His promises assured, they are also good. The reward is promised that we will gain life if we lose ours for the gospel, so what does that practically look like?
Put to death your sinful nature and your sinful desires and do it daily. Read Romans 6:1-14. It explains not only what the death of Christ meant, but also what the resurrection of Christ meant as well. Verse 3 and 4, we share in His death and in His life through the resurrection. Since we have been put to death in Christ and raised with Him in new life, we are no longer slaves to sin. We must throw off our sin nature and not let it reign in our mortal bodies. (verse 12) The command is reiterated in Colossians 3:5-10.
He is an opportunity to save your life and for me to save my own! I must lose these desires, I must release my desires that corrupt me and that destroy me. Think about it, if you want to save your life, you will lose it. Don't hold on to anything will a clutched fist. Don't say to God, I will serve you in all of these other areas like reading my Bible everyday and tithing, and in return let me continue to sleep with my girlfriend of boyfriend. There is nothing done half way here. True surrender is your whole life. It doesn't say lose some of your life, you know the easy stuff to give up, but not your desires or goals, hold on to them and you will gain your life. No, it says lose your life in its entirety. The things you are unwilling to give up will ultimately destroy you. So what is holding you back from experience the goodness of the Lord? What are you unwilling to give up? I can testify to that, the things that God is calling me to be sanctified from this year, have always destroyed me. Video games and laziness single handily destroyed my efforts to graduate college on time. My unwillingness to submit my relationships to Lord in purity has caused disaster, heart ache and regret.
I implore you to see this. Your selfish desires will destroy you, they will lead to a unfulfilled life mired with regret, pain, and scars. Find life in your own death. Die to yourself and submit those dreams and desires to Lord and let Him fulfill them. He is a good father and a giver of good gifts (Matt 7:11). He will give us the desires of our heart, however it requires one thing, to delight in Him. (Psalms 37:4) Find your satisfaction in Him and you will not be disappointed, in fact you will be never be satisfied like that elsewhere. (John 6:35) Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalms 34:8)
I am praying for you all, that you see that God has a good work to be carried out in you until Christ's return! (Phil 1:6)
I implore you to see this. Your selfish desires will destroy you, they will lead to a unfulfilled life mired with regret, pain, and scars. Find life in your own death. Die to yourself and submit those dreams and desires to Lord and let Him fulfill them. He is a good father and a giver of good gifts (Matt 7:11). He will give us the desires of our heart, however it requires one thing, to delight in Him. (Psalms 37:4) Find your satisfaction in Him and you will not be disappointed, in fact you will be never be satisfied like that elsewhere. (John 6:35) Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalms 34:8)
I am praying for you all, that you see that God has a good work to be carried out in you until Christ's return! (Phil 1:6)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Finally obedient!
I am trying to not put a lot of pressure on myself to make an inspiring and profound first post of my blog ever, so if it is terrible I am asking for forgiveness in advance.
Ok, with that caveat out of the way, let me give you a story about how all of this came about. I know that I will give parts of my testimony through out the blog, but we will start on January 1st, 2012.
After celebrating with my small group on New Years Eve, I came into church like I did most every other day, longing to spend time in worship, receiving a message from my pastor, serving in the children's ministry, and socializing and catching up with friends that I did or didn't see the night before. The setup was different, more like a coffee shop kinda feel, and Pastor Jimmy challenged everyone to consecrate themselves before the Lord, put the Lord in the right perspective, repent of sin, and allow God to speak to us about what He had in store for us in 2012. Man, did I get hit with a body shot from the Holy Spirit. It was made very clear to me through the Holy Spirit that I was supposed to consecrate myself for the entirety of 2012, and to give up all of the vices that had plagued me through out my life and especially in my walk with the Lord. One by one, they were rattled off...No alcohol for a year, No video games for a year, No laziness, No relationships, and remain pure for a year. (I will go into detail about why these are my vices later.)
I am glad those chairs are linked together because I probably would have fallen over backwards. Overwhelmed, I had to get up and find a corner to pray. I wrestled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord for the whole service, most of the time in tears. "I couldn't do this. There is no way that God is asking me to do this all at once. Do I really have to give all of this up?" The more a prayed the more it was confirmed in my Spirit that this is what I needed to do.
After lunch with some friends, I went away to a coffee shop, and put on some worship music and opened my Bible to look for insight, or maybe an excuse. The Lord put several scriptures on my heart. Luke 14:25-35, what was the cost of being a disciple? I really had to evaluate this decision, just like the builder and the king in this passage, was I really willing to give all of this up for a year? I know the importance of a vow and that it is better to not make one at all then to make one and break it. (Ecclesiastes 5:5)
As I was evaluating the cost, I thought about Mark 8:35-38, specifically verse 35, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." I know that I am not really losing my life, like I don't believe giving up any of these things will actually kill me, and I know that people in the past and even now have sacrificed way more than I could possibly imagine for Christ and for the gospel. However, I saw this passage in a different light than I had before. I was TRYING to save my life. I was having some of Jesus and then some of the things that I wanted. I would commit myself to ministering to singles and kindergartners at my church, but then I would use those deeds as leverage for the things that I wanted to do. Essentially, God and I had a barter system, I would do some good things for Him and then I could, in turn, do things that I wanted. What an illusion!! I was just like the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13, "My people have committed two sins: They have FORSAKEN me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." I was trying to find satisfaction apart from the Lord, and I was content with the dust that I was drinking, when I could have found all of that in the Lord.
BAM!! It hit me again. Instead of approaching this task that the Lord had given me with fear, I suddenly became excited!! I want to drink from the wellspring of life and only the wellspring of life! Oh man, how great is that going to taste! Then entered the thought that I needed to offer myself as a living sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1). To come completely, not with a divided heart, mind, body, or soul, but with everything. Matthew 22:37 is so true, we are commanded to, "..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." There is no half measures in there, no additions, no different portions other than all, and in the Greek, all means all. Luke 14:33, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." That is pretty black and white. There is no bait and switch that Christ is pulling here.
With assurance in His promises, I said on January 1st, 2012 that I would consecrate myself to the Lord and this is the story.
Ok, with that caveat out of the way, let me give you a story about how all of this came about. I know that I will give parts of my testimony through out the blog, but we will start on January 1st, 2012.
After celebrating with my small group on New Years Eve, I came into church like I did most every other day, longing to spend time in worship, receiving a message from my pastor, serving in the children's ministry, and socializing and catching up with friends that I did or didn't see the night before. The setup was different, more like a coffee shop kinda feel, and Pastor Jimmy challenged everyone to consecrate themselves before the Lord, put the Lord in the right perspective, repent of sin, and allow God to speak to us about what He had in store for us in 2012. Man, did I get hit with a body shot from the Holy Spirit. It was made very clear to me through the Holy Spirit that I was supposed to consecrate myself for the entirety of 2012, and to give up all of the vices that had plagued me through out my life and especially in my walk with the Lord. One by one, they were rattled off...No alcohol for a year, No video games for a year, No laziness, No relationships, and remain pure for a year. (I will go into detail about why these are my vices later.)
I am glad those chairs are linked together because I probably would have fallen over backwards. Overwhelmed, I had to get up and find a corner to pray. I wrestled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord for the whole service, most of the time in tears. "I couldn't do this. There is no way that God is asking me to do this all at once. Do I really have to give all of this up?" The more a prayed the more it was confirmed in my Spirit that this is what I needed to do.
After lunch with some friends, I went away to a coffee shop, and put on some worship music and opened my Bible to look for insight, or maybe an excuse. The Lord put several scriptures on my heart. Luke 14:25-35, what was the cost of being a disciple? I really had to evaluate this decision, just like the builder and the king in this passage, was I really willing to give all of this up for a year? I know the importance of a vow and that it is better to not make one at all then to make one and break it. (Ecclesiastes 5:5)
As I was evaluating the cost, I thought about Mark 8:35-38, specifically verse 35, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." I know that I am not really losing my life, like I don't believe giving up any of these things will actually kill me, and I know that people in the past and even now have sacrificed way more than I could possibly imagine for Christ and for the gospel. However, I saw this passage in a different light than I had before. I was TRYING to save my life. I was having some of Jesus and then some of the things that I wanted. I would commit myself to ministering to singles and kindergartners at my church, but then I would use those deeds as leverage for the things that I wanted to do. Essentially, God and I had a barter system, I would do some good things for Him and then I could, in turn, do things that I wanted. What an illusion!! I was just like the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13, "My people have committed two sins: They have FORSAKEN me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." I was trying to find satisfaction apart from the Lord, and I was content with the dust that I was drinking, when I could have found all of that in the Lord.
BAM!! It hit me again. Instead of approaching this task that the Lord had given me with fear, I suddenly became excited!! I want to drink from the wellspring of life and only the wellspring of life! Oh man, how great is that going to taste! Then entered the thought that I needed to offer myself as a living sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1). To come completely, not with a divided heart, mind, body, or soul, but with everything. Matthew 22:37 is so true, we are commanded to, "..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." There is no half measures in there, no additions, no different portions other than all, and in the Greek, all means all. Luke 14:33, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." That is pretty black and white. There is no bait and switch that Christ is pulling here.
With assurance in His promises, I said on January 1st, 2012 that I would consecrate myself to the Lord and this is the story.
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