Good Morning Friends,
God’s power reveals what is inside a person and a person is judged on that against the will of God. It is not something you can figure out and earn as an act of service. It must be out of love as an act of faith though the Grace of God connected to a purpose that honors Jesus. Such Grace abounds in my life. I grew up in a loving family. I have had people praying for me all my life. I have the security of love in my relationships and enjoy moderate success but am still humbled by what I cannot do and that is to save myself. I can never be good enough on my own. And maybe that is why I seek acceptance from others and much more importantly the acceptance of God. I hope you are entering a time in your relationship with God when God is revealing to you what God is doing in your life. When we open the Bible and when we feast on the Book, this sometimes can happen. Holy History is always moving toward something. When the time is right it will be revealed as to its meaning and not before. But despite all the mystery about what is to come and when it is to come, what is clear is that the present truth and the supernatural power truth has seem to be producing a bit of a struggle. But this is not new and is to be expected. Perhaps we are to practice a new possibility and expect not the easy button but challenges as the status quo shifts. Hopefully we will see God bringing something new into creation. So too, as a body of believers, we need to progress to embrace new opportunities without giving up the best of the past. But it is not easy. Sometimes those who have embraced a previous move of God seem to work against the next move of God. Specific traditions sometimes outlive the purpose for which they were established. God is unchanging but is always in the process of change with a goal of saving lives. The thing is that we do not always see it in advance because it is too big to see all at once. The mystery is that it is larger than nations and the harvest of souls and smaller than a random act of kindness. Hopefully we are plugged into the anointing of understanding, so we might be a beneficial influence for the Kingdom of God. And so, Are We Praying For God’s Purpose Of The End Game To Be Revealed In Our Lives?
Scripture: Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Luke 13:22-30 (NRSV)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:26-30 (NRSV)
Message: The thing is that we live in a topsy-turvy world and the endgame seems to be coming closer all the time. Of course, Jesus on several occasions mentioned about the first being last and the last first and although some think it is a reference to an inverse honor to those oppressed in this life reigning in heaven over those who had earthly privilege, but I doubt that is the way things work in the end. I think it is about God setting things right for his disciples, not just the poor. Certainly, it might refer to the Jews having the privilege of serving God before the Gentiles and that they might well be the last to be converted once they become jealous of the grace extended to the Gentile newcomers in the faith. Regardless we as Gentiles are to make the most of our time here in history and His Story and that means being all in for the cause of Christ. And that means being deployed for a heavenly purpose that depends on the Holy Spirit moving us to action to help as best we can to save the lost. And perhaps this is the reason Jesus does not answer the question of the day directly. I think Jesus wants us to think deeper and more personally about the problem. Undoubtedly, we have wondered about salvation and if we are saved and if so, how many others exist. But Jesus challenges the assumption behind the question. He is not interested in having an abstract theological discussion unrelated to life. So, Jesus moves from abstract questions to a personal command. You see, Jesus’ command for us to strive and to seek to enter through the narrow door clearly points to the condition of our hearts. Friends, pursuing Christ and his kingdom requires a seriousness and diligence of overcoming fear with love. Sure, there is grace, and faith and service, but one cannot coast into heaven without risking it all in love. The issue is not familiarity or knowledge but our response to our familiarity and knowledge and this goes beyond striving and seeking to loving Jesus enough to share how our lives have been transformed when we believed.
And So, friends, even though we know our Bibles and are even very comfortable with religious culture we too can miss out on getting our greatest need satisfied and that is that the love of Jesus is worth believing. Friends, following Christ is not a one-time occasion but a journey, a lifestyle of repenting of sin and trusting him, but also glorifying God through love. So perhaps we too can become so familiar and comfortable with our church culture yet have never trusted Christ, never trusted and acted upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If we are not serious in our daily pursuit of Jesus and have little or no appetite for Jesus, our lives may not be much different from those in today’s story and frankly I doubt that is good enough for Jesus to recognize us as one of His own. Something must happen within our hearts to bring the kingdom closer. Paul in his letter to the Romans shares with us that God’s will is primarily focused on this transformation He wants to do in us. When we understand what God is ultimately seeking to accomplish in us, the trials and tribulations of life become easier to deal with. When we understand that the Lord’s will is for us to rest in His love and sufficiency, we discover a good way to live…to hear and obey. Only when we are filled with the Spirit can our lives be everything God wants them to be. The command is not to try harder but to trust. The command is to live lives that honor God not things. Here the fruit of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit work in us and through us to bring us victory over our darkest times. Here prayer is not designed to change God, it is designed to change us by helping us to sort through all our pain. Prayer is not calling God in to bless our activities. Rather, prayer takes us into God’s presence, shows us His will, and prepares us to obey Him. In prayer we see a little of God each day revealed in new mercies and new love.
Pray we realize that God is bigger than our problems. Pray we realize that Christ gives us the ability to experience victory in any situation we face in life. Pray we are changed by love. Pray God open doors for us to share the Gospel clearly before the last trumpet. Pray we realize that no one gets to heaven by accident. Pray we realize that the road to heaven is narrow. Pray we strive and seek to enter through the narrow door of Christ. Pray our striving and seeking is for Christ and not in vain. Pray we repent and put our faith in Christ realizing that the saddest words are what might have been. Pray therefore for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven. Pray for the Saints most high and the consummation of the glory of God from the inside out. Pray we study the Word for its new revelation as the seals are broken and our eyes opened, and hearts opened. Pray we do what we do today and the next day believing that we will stand with Jesus on the last day secure in the love of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 