Read: Zachariah 1
“10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” 11 So they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.” Zachariah 1:11
Examine:
In these verses a scene is played out that is mind-boggling. Angels walking, horses patrolling, and reports are being given. Zachariah has found himself ushered into a world that is normally unseen.
Apply:
I read these verses and I hear a nagging voice in the back of my head saying, “Come on, really? What is this Lord of the Rings? I mean really, can this be real?”
Pray:
Father, You search all of my heart and You know all of my ways. There is nothing hidden from You now and there is nothing I ever can hide from You. So there is no need pretending this morning; I am fighting doubts. It is amazing how life shifts and changes. Two days ago I sat up and had an amazing 3:00 am encounter with You. Now I sit wondering if I am just crazy. I want to believe; You know that. I am willing to believe; my actions have proven that. It is just hard to get there sometimes.
I sense Your desire to move me into a deeper level of belief. That always sounds good, but I also know that there is pain involved. The first step in believing more deeply is overthrowing unbelief that lies in my heart, which means I have to face the questions I have about You that create the doubts. This also means that I have to further take my eyes off of what can be seen and look towards things that are unseen. It means I have to believe even though I can’t know with certainty.
The spiritual world is a mystery to me, but it is a very real element of the scripture. I am afraid of this journey Father. I am afraid of the level of belief You want me to have. There are so many alerts going off in my head right now but I have to follow You. I have nothing left and no place else to go, so take my hand and lead me. I pray that You open my eyes to fully see all that You desire to reveal to me.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Return to Me Part 3
Read: Zechariah 1
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3
Examine:
God was preparing to restore Israel and there were a lot of great things taking place. As He spoke through Zechariah, He reminded them of the failures of their fathers and warned them to not follow their example. There were three choices at the heart of every failure of the forefathers; they disobeyed a direct word from God, they delayed in following God, or they doubted the integrity of God.
Apply:
A lack of self-control is a double-edged sword. When I try to do right I over do it and set the bar too high. When I loosen my standards and attempt to live moderate I over-indulge and become carnal. I am taken to Paul’s words in Roman 7 when he discussed feeling the same pain. The indwelling power of sin in my flesh is constantly mounting a military campaign against the new nature given to me by Christ. From now until I am taken into heaven the old nature will constantly try to gain victory and control over me and my actions. This tension will never cease, but neither does it have to create misery in me.
There are two things that God is saying that I must obey. First, I have to accept His grace. Part of the tactic the flesh uses against the Spirit of God is to disqualify me. I will incessantly be taunted by my failures. They will be called to remembrance continuously. I have to accept that the grace of God given to me by Christ is enough and simply leave it at that.
Second, Jesus called me to a different set of standards. He said love God with everything that is in me, love others more than myself, center my life on His power, and then go radiate His joy to the world. That is it. That is my law, that is my call, and that is what is expected of me. When I take my eyes off of this and look towards the things I must stop doing I turn my life towards the very thing I hope to avoid.
Pray:
For the second time in the past few weeks I hear You saying I am praying an impossible prayer. I want the tension between the flesh and the Spirit go away but the truth of Your Word says that will never happen. I will always struggle, I will always fail, and I will always want to walk away. Those feelings will never fully die, those longings will never fully cease, and my pursuit of You will always be plagued with failure. There is no more discussion to be had on this and so I set it aside. Thank You for Your grace. I take my eyes off of my sins and turn them back towards You.
Help me to love You with a passion that exceeds everything else in my life. Create a longing in me to put others before myself. Center my life on the power of Christ that dwells inside of me and release me to be a strong witness for the joy I have found in Christ. Let me face radiate it, my words articulate it, and my actions reflect it. Fill my heart to the full with what is right in Christ and use that to change the world around me.
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3
Examine:
God was preparing to restore Israel and there were a lot of great things taking place. As He spoke through Zechariah, He reminded them of the failures of their fathers and warned them to not follow their example. There were three choices at the heart of every failure of the forefathers; they disobeyed a direct word from God, they delayed in following God, or they doubted the integrity of God.
Apply:
A lack of self-control is a double-edged sword. When I try to do right I over do it and set the bar too high. When I loosen my standards and attempt to live moderate I over-indulge and become carnal. I am taken to Paul’s words in Roman 7 when he discussed feeling the same pain. The indwelling power of sin in my flesh is constantly mounting a military campaign against the new nature given to me by Christ. From now until I am taken into heaven the old nature will constantly try to gain victory and control over me and my actions. This tension will never cease, but neither does it have to create misery in me.
There are two things that God is saying that I must obey. First, I have to accept His grace. Part of the tactic the flesh uses against the Spirit of God is to disqualify me. I will incessantly be taunted by my failures. They will be called to remembrance continuously. I have to accept that the grace of God given to me by Christ is enough and simply leave it at that.
Second, Jesus called me to a different set of standards. He said love God with everything that is in me, love others more than myself, center my life on His power, and then go radiate His joy to the world. That is it. That is my law, that is my call, and that is what is expected of me. When I take my eyes off of this and look towards the things I must stop doing I turn my life towards the very thing I hope to avoid.
Pray:
For the second time in the past few weeks I hear You saying I am praying an impossible prayer. I want the tension between the flesh and the Spirit go away but the truth of Your Word says that will never happen. I will always struggle, I will always fail, and I will always want to walk away. Those feelings will never fully die, those longings will never fully cease, and my pursuit of You will always be plagued with failure. There is no more discussion to be had on this and so I set it aside. Thank You for Your grace. I take my eyes off of my sins and turn them back towards You.
Help me to love You with a passion that exceeds everything else in my life. Create a longing in me to put others before myself. Center my life on the power of Christ that dwells inside of me and release me to be a strong witness for the joy I have found in Christ. Let me face radiate it, my words articulate it, and my actions reflect it. Fill my heart to the full with what is right in Christ and use that to change the world around me.
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