Draw Me Nearer
Thank You, Father, for Your watch care throughout the night. May I be today who You want me to be. May I reflect You and Your awesome attributes to those with whom I interact throughout this day. Amen.
Matthew 7:21-23 (<<click the green)
Several years ago I read a book of fiction and a portion of it dealt with the eternal destinies of two characters. One was a man who was an imprisoned violent criminal and the other was a religious woman who was very active in her church and doing good deeds. They both died and came before Christ at the judgment…but there was a surprising twist.
While in prison, the man had had the opportunity to examine his wicked ways and had been led into a wonderful relationship with the Lord. His life as a follower of Christ had not been long but it was most assuredly rich. When he stood before His Savior, he was welcomed with open arms to spend eternity with Him.
The woman, on the other hand, though diligent throughout her life in doing good and spending a great amount of her time doing the work of the church had never felt it important to give her life to Christ. She was kind and giving and thought that her actions and diligence would suffice. She was absolutely aghast after she pleaded her case before Christ when He said, “‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].” v23 AMP
The scenario has stuck with me all these years and serves as a reminder to not just be about the work that You have called me to, Lord, but, most importantly, to be attentive in cultivating my relationship with You. Lord Jesus, You love me. You gave up everything that I might love You back.
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
~ Fanny Crosby, 1875
Feb 16th, 2018, Fri, 5:17 am
Beware Ravenous Wolves!
Father, the last several days this 1st verse of a hymn we sang recently at church has popped into my mind.
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.
~ John G. Whittier, 1872
It is fitting to share. Amen.
Matthew 7:15-20 (<<click the green)
Lord, You have admonished us to not judge but there is one very important area where we must carefully scrutinize who we are listening to, what is being communicated and the motivation that is behind it all. You warn us to “Beware of false prophets…”, individuals who come making spiritual assertions but are not spurred on by a relationship with You but are out to fill their own pockets or to stoke their own egos or to exert control over others, these are the ones that we must be on our guard against.
On the surface, things make look all well and good but just looking a little deeper makes the truth apparent. They may be “dressed as sheep but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” They are only out to feed their own selfish desires.
And this is where we must be very cautious. Quite often we are so intent on not judging that we hesitate to see their “fruit” for what it is. Lord, you make it very clear that a “good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
Lord Jesus, help us to be attentive. Help us to be discerning. Help us to have no hesitation to leave bad fruit behind and go for the fruit that is good. Amen,
Feb 14th, 2018, 9:30 am
The Narrow Gate
As I sit here in the quietness of the house at this early hour, Father, my thoughts are drawn to You. Quite often it takes some time for me to actually start typing but I can hear Your call to come and sit with You. Bless our time together. Draw me ever closer. Amen.
Matthew 7:13-14 (<<click the green)
Almost half a century ago we had math – not “new” math, just math. There weren’t multiple ways to come to a conclusion. If you had an apple and added an apple you ended up with two apples. It was pretty cut and dry: 1 + 1 = 2
That’s the way it is with our eternal salvation. There is just one way to obtain the desired end result and, Christ, You are the Way.
A big part of the human mentality is that we bristle when we are told what to do, or be, or believe. We feel we have the right to make our own choices, and that’s all fine and good we decide what to wear for the day or we want for lunch. There are usually multiple combinations that will get to the end result.
We do have the free will to choose how we live our lives and what mindset or collection of philosophies we will adhere to but, like it or not, if our desire is to choose life –eternal life – then we must choose the narrow gate. And that gate is Christ. You can argue until you are blue in the face but there are absolutely no other options.
As Paul declared in Philippians 2:9-11,
“Therefore, God elevated him [that is Christ Jesus] to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
When all is said and done the truth will be acknowledged, no matter what we have held to be “true.”
So, Lord, You encourage us,
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” NIV
Feb 13th, 2018, Tues, 6:18 am
“Do To Others…”
Before this day gets to rolling, Father, I want to give it to You. Beyond the routine and mundane, I do not know what today will hold but You do. May I be what You need me to be. Use me this day as You will. Amen.
Matthew 7:12 (<<click the green)
Before I really get started I have to say how grateful I am to singer Steve Green in reference to something else from my days as a children’s pastor. He put out a wonderful collection of scripture but to music for kids. To this day, I can look at Karen when certain verses are read and ask, “What does that remind you of?” and she’s remembered the song, too! This is one of those passages. I pray that these songs have stuck with the many children we ministered to over the years!
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This is one of those verses that has had a couple of perversions over time. Lord, at the core of this statement, is love. It reads,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
It speaks of the passage from Leviticus 19:18, which is also repeated in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and several Epistles as well. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
But we in our devious minds like to twist it. Some may think it’s funny but all too often we live out these perversions.
“Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.”
“Do to others before they do to you.”
“Do to others as they do to you.”
Lord, we have all been guilty of acting out at least one of these statements. Our sin nature wants to hurt others, it wants to get the upper hand before others can hurt us, and it wants to retaliate when we are hurt.
If just the Christians throughout the world would live out Your command to “do to others what you would have them do to you” the world would be totally changed and many lost souls would be brought into Your kingdom.
Lord, help me to live out Your command this day. Again may I be what You need me to be. Use me this day as You will. Amen.
Feb 12th, 2018, Mon, 6:42 am
Um…Don’t Ask for Snakes…
Thank You, Father, for a wonderful day! We finally had the opportunity to enjoy some time together celebrating Karen’s birthday after a nice time of worship. Thank You for traveling mercies to and from. Thank You for the blessings of each other.
Matthew 7:9-11 (<<click the green)
Several years ago, when I served as a Children’s Pastor (one of the greatest jobs I have ever had!}, we coordinated a children’s revival with adult revival services. We had a wonderful evangelist and his wife that ministered to us and several children dedicated their lives to Christ!
In one message he gave he addressed the idea of prayer and the three answers God gives us when we pray. He answers – YES, NO or WAIT. Some 20 years later that precept still sticks in my mind – our speaker didn’t just touch the hearts of children.
As I read the study notes in my Bible* they pointed out one of the reasons God says “No.” In Jesus’’ illustration the children ask for good things but “if the children had asked for a poisonous snake, would the wise father have granted their request? Sometimes God knows we are praying for ‘snakes’ and does not give us what we ask for, even though we persist in our prayers. Nor will God give us ‘stones’ or ‘snakes’ instead of what we need.”
I truly believe that there are times when we ask for detrimental things out of ignorance and our wise Father answers accordingly. I also believe there are times when we deliberately ask for things that are outside God’s will for our lives in a lame attempt to justify our sin.
One example that heard a pastor refer to recently in a sermon was an individual who was asking for God’s blessing on an extramarital affair. They were no longer “in love” with their spouse and had found their “true love.” God’s blessing was not to be found.
Lord, we could fit all kinds of examples here. How many times do we do the same thing when we know that it is not within Your will to grant our request. Help us, Lord. May we know Your will and live it out accordingly. And may we not be disheartened when Your answer is, “No” but may we trust You and acknowledge that You truly want what is best for us. Amen.
*Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 11th, 2018, Sun, 7:25 pm