Beyond Just Hearing

Isaiah 50:4-5

"The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened. I do not rebel or turn away."

How easy is it for us to quickly offer a prayer when we are in need? I remember when praying was one of the most difficult things to do. While attending College (a Christian College) whenever we had group prayer, the last person who had their thumbs up was "elected" as the person to pray. It was always difficult. I was glad when one of my friends eventually asked whether this was right. It should be a privilege to be one to pray, and not to be "stuck with it". Looking back, I wonder if most of us was more afraid of God in our prayers, or what we had to say in front of friends? Prayer is primarily for God.

As we mature we come to realize that prayer is an easy part of every day of life. It is simply our conversation with our loving Father, and it can be done anywhere and at any time. However, our relationship... our communication is not just about speaking to the Lord. We must also listen. We must also spend time to listen to what He has to say to us. After all, He is not a "suggestion box" where we just leave our suggestions and requests. A relationship requires us to listen and to follow. Ah... yes, we need to "follow" as well. I recall a teacher asking if there was a difference between "hearing" and "listening". Indeed there is. Hearing is defined as "to perceive (sound) by the ear." Whereas listening is defined as "to make an effort to hear something" or "to pay attention." Listening takes hearing a step further through an "effort" to understand. This is true with reading Scripture. It is easy to simply read the words. It is another to make the effort to understand and let it dwell in our hearts. We need to listen, understand, and let His words live in us and through us.

The Perfect Drink

John 4:9-14

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (v. 13-14)

Just yesterday I went down to the second floor of our building to get a drink from the vending machine. I typically take with me a bottle of water, but on this day I happened to be without. After a long day, and without drinking much at all, I was thirsty. It was quite frustrating to find that it was not working. Granted, I was not dying of thirst, but it just left an unsatisfying and somewhat a helpless feeling.

I have been fortunate enough to never had known what it felt to be dying of thirst, and therefore expending all energies to seek water. However, I have some sense of what it is to feel thirsty and seeking that "perfect" drink to quench it. And if it is not "perfect" and does not satisfy completely, our search continues. As it takes longer than desired and not easily found, our search becomes more desperate and sometimes "clumsy" through compromises.

How about our thirst in life? What do we seek after? We may not be "dying of thirst", but many of us have thirsts yearning to be quenched by that "perfect" drink. It is also with the smaller things that keeps us so busy. What takes up our time?

There is only one "perfect" drink that never runs dry. All we need to do is drink because it is easily given. God is the only one who can satisfy our desires... our heart... our lives. His love is without condition and without limits. What more should we ask for? Why attempt to expend our energies on seeking our own solution, when the best one has already been handed to us. Instead, let us enjoy our time with the Lord who more than quenches our thirst.

"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." (Jeremiah 2:13)

Our Main Calling

Exodus 19:1-8

"You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." (v. 4)

I remember accompanying a friend in a move from Boston to Cincinnati. We had a wonderful time sharing our ideas and thoughts. We always challenged each other spiritually. One of our major topics was whether it was important for churches to set visions and thereby create programs. We both knew the potential consequences when programs begin to dictate ministry instead of allowing the Spirit to lead it. Regardless whether it is a church or us as an individual, we can easily be caught up with the "work of the Lord" and allow it to drive us instead of God Himself.

However, I believe it is important that we understand God's will for us. I believe He guides us and therefore does provide us a vision and a goal. After all, He did command Moses to lead His people to first take them away out of captivity and into the Promise Land. The people were eager to leave captivity and seek the Promise Land. However, during the journey how often did they focused on the promise that they began to turn away from God Himself?

God Himself and instructed Moses to remind them how He took them away from captivity and brought them to Him. This is a reminder that our primary calling is to Him. His works then follow. Unfortunately, we all can easily be caught up in the works and lose sight that God first seeks our intimate relationship with Him first. God provides us visions and goals so we have a path to follow, but let us not lose sight of Him while walking this path. This path was set so we can enjoy our walks with Him, not to focus on the path itself. Therefore, let us always first seek Him, enjoy our fellowship with HIm, and then allow His works to follow.

Who Do You Worship?

1 Kings 18:21

"Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.'"

In the midst of terrorism... as immorality and darkness seems to overtake the world... while religion seems to drive faith out of churches... while it seems as if the world will only get worse... we must not fall into the trap that there is no hope and that matters will only get worse. It is easy to be distracted by what is wrong with this world and believe that there is no hope. It may not be in a grand scale as the corruption of this world. It may be about our country, our state, our neighborhood, or church, or even our family. Things may not seem as if it is going well, but where is our focus? Is it with the winds blowing or the waves of water that may be crashing down on us? Is it because of the miracle of walking on water seems to be unreal or impossible? Ah, where is our focus now?

Israel had many encounters of despair, but in many instances God raised a godly person, a prophet, to help lead them to hope... he lead them back to God. During the wicked times of Israel where wickedness and idol worship prevailed, God intervened. Elijah whose name means "The Lord is my God" was sent to deliver the message to Israel to put their faith in God. His question was simple: who do you worship? We need to decide who in our life will we put our faith on. We cannot waver back and forth, but must decide how we will mold our lives. Do we put faith in our money? Do we rely on our jobs? Is our faith on our pastor? Do we put faith in our own abilities? Or do we put faith on our Heavenly Father and lay our lives in His hands?

There is hope in all situations. We should recognize the events around us, but our focus should not be on it. After all, God is hope and therefore if we put our faith in Him then we will always have hope. Let us shape our thoughts... our being on Him and let us rejoice for He is good!!!

Spiritual Training

1 Timothy 4:1-11

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy singing that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." (v. 8-10)

It has been so hot and humid here in Charlotte during the past several weeks that it has been quite difficult (and lacking motivation) to continue my cycling regiment. My primary goal was to get back in shape and lose some weight. After two weeks of non-activity, I have already felt the impact. My weight was immediately back, my energy levels have dropped and my migraines have increased. Regular exercise not only reduced the number of illness, but it has made me feel better overall. Unfortunately, it also takes work. However, in time it becomes easier.

Our spiritual being also requires a regular regiment of exercise. We must train ourselves to be godly on a regular basis. It will not only reduce temptations in our lives and our chances of sin, but will also allows us to have pure joy and feel bette overall. We will be awarded ultimately in the end, but we are promised to be impacted currently ("holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (v. 8b).

Therefore, let us train on a regular basis, have hope in the our loving Father, and receive His blessings in our lives starting today.

No Regrets

1 Peter 4:12-19

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, 'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?' So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." (v. 12-19)

Oh what a joy it was when we first learned of the truth of the love of God and the gift of life He gives us. When we accepted His gift of His Son and became His son and daughter, we were absolutely embraced by His love. We were at first saddened when we recognized the sins we have committed, but were then lifted up in pure joy from His love.

As we matured as sons and daughters, we continued to face many trials and tribulations. It was difficult to strip away our old nature. It sometimes seemed easier to do the same things, especially when our friends made fun of us and/or didn't support us. It is even more difficult when it seems as if we can "cut corners" to be in a better place for ourselves, especially when it comes to our pride.

However, as sons and daughters we know the truth. The truth is that we have been set free from the bondage of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. We have become sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and are inheritance of His kingdom. Even though we may suffer, we suffer for Him. Christ suffered the worst in our place: rejection by His own people, and rejection and separation from the Father as He bore our sins. Therefore, there is no regrets. Everything we do we do as His sons and daughters. We can find pure joy in His joy over us.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Peace in Life: Two Step Process

Psalm 119:33-48

"Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. I will always obey your law, forever and ever. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them. I lit up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees." (v. 43-48)

As humans we are always seeking to find peace in our lives. We desire a comfortable life with the freedom to do anything without any worries. We want to lead a joyful life with hope for all circumstances. Fortunately for us sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father this is possible. We will always find truth and hope in the Living Words that God has given us. However, the peace and freedom we seek does not come from just reading the Scripture. It comes from having faith and living accordingly. The Word is living because it should be living in us and through us. We cannot simply read the Scripture as a historical book. Prescriptions are provided. If we are to gain the health and benefits it provides, then we must have faith in it and actively partake in it. We are to "walk about in freedom" because we "have sought out His precepts (v. 45)."