Trusting,
following, walking- In His Word 2-18-13
And
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears
for today or our worries about tomorrow-- not even the powers of hell
can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the
earth below-- indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to
separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (New Living Translation)
Many
years ago our church did a play where all the disciples sat around
the table of the “Last Supper” and Jesus told them of the one who
would betray Him. In the play each one of his men asked “is it me?”
I really liked how this play spoke to the heart of the ones who would
wonder if they would be 'good enough' for God or if they would
'disappoint him' by betrayal.
Sometimes
we do dumb stuff in life, we make rash decisions or react to hurtful
words and later regret we had spoken to the person who brought upon
the pain. Sometimes we harm others with our words when we do not even
know it; then when we her they were harmed we may think to ourselves,
“was it I?”
Jesus
sat at the table with his friends, his followers yes but lets face it
Jesus' “life group” were the 12 that followed Him, cared for Him,
listened to His words and changed their lives for Him. They were
close, some were brothers and some were from such distant walks of
life you would never think they fit together and yet; God called them
to be a team to work together for the good of the Kingdom of God.
He
knew that Judas would betray, that Peter would lie, and that He would
die. Still He drew them to himself and taught them the ways of God
the Father. He protected them when they had no clue, and drew them to
do such miracles they never thought they could have done themselves,
not even with Jesus' help! He gave them such wisdom, such faith, such
direction in their lives each day that He walked the earth with them.
He then went on to leave them (and us) the Holy Spirit as a comfort
to them when He left this world. With this Gift the disciples were
shown where to go and what to do to bring about a change in the world
that is still making a difference.
Today
we have that same Gift given to us. We are given the chance to make a
difference, both in our own lives as well as those we come in contact
with. With all this wonderfulness we can see the love that God had
for us, John 3:16, 1 John 3:1 and 1 John 4:16 show us such great love
from the Father that was made clear to us by Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit.
Behold
what manner of love the father has bestowed on us, that we should be
called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because
it did not know him. 1 John 3:1
And
we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love,
and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. 1 John 4:16
And
we, just as the disciples knew, know Jesus will be there for us
whenever we need help. He loves us and wants to spend time with us
and yet; we try to walk our own walk, and make the wrong choices that
damage our lives or those around us. You would think we would learn.
He knows our hearts better than we do! When we make a mess of things,
trip up on our pride and injure our selves He is always there to med
us, encourage us and fill us with hope anew.
When
we sit in church and listen to a sermon about how change must come to
our hearts and minds in order for it to come to our lives we
sometimes look around wondering who it is that needs this sermon.
Today God has told me its me! Its me Lord, I am standing in the need
of prayer. Its you too! You are the one standing in the need of
prayer! Its not about the preacher, its not about the neighbor its
about us; we need to examine our hearts daily, weekly as often as we
hear the Word of God spoken to our ears. Each time we listen to a
radio preacher we should ask God what He has for us, what He has for
me! It doesn't matter if the person knows what they are talking
about, or if they presented it perfectly because the Holy Spirit that
resides in our hearts will open up the Truth to our hearts and minds.
Gee, if he could make a donkey talk to Balaam I think He can make a
fake preacher, a televangelist, a wannabe teacher speak via the
Spirit of God. Whoever it is, He can use to speak the truth to us. So
if you are in a situation where you have to read a book for a class
that you do not agree with, ask for divine discernment to show you
what God wants you to learn in it; after all our steps are ordered of
the Lord.
It is about time for us to stop picking at how someone taught and think about what God has taught us. If we think we can do a better job then we should ask Him what He wants us to do about it; not condemn the teacher. When someone takes their car to a garage to get it fixed they don't ask the dentist whats wrong with it, they as the mechanic.
When
the disciples wanted to know who it was who would betray Him, they
asked Jesus. I think it was amazing that they would question one
another who it was, they asked not knowing who it was but beginning
to suspect one another. It wasn't about them, it was about the fact
that Jesus would be betrayed. The one who would do it knew it was
him. We as humans have a habit of thinking we can figure things out
on our own. We think we need to do the talking to fix the problem
instead of asking God to do it for us; then listening and obeying His
words.
If
Judas had thought to listen more to what God said He would have known
that Jesus would forgive him for what He had told him was something
that must be done. He would have asked and Jesus would have forgiven
him, God knew who to choose for this task after all.
Sometimes
God chooses a leader for us that will bring us closer to Him; either
by living a godly example or by causing us pain and sorrow that in
turn draws us to God for help. Our job is to find out what God wants
us to do and follow that path, regardless of what other people are
doing, or saying, or who they follow. Oh look, we have to trust Him
some more! We have to trust God to direct us, and trust Him to give
us clear understanding of what He wants from us, for us and with
us...it's not about us.
Selah.
What
does God want you to stop and think about today? Are you listening to
His voice, doing what He says and producing the good fruit that He
has told us to do? Walk the path put before you, no matter how scary
it may seem. Follow the trail to the mountain top no matter how steep
or rough it may be, He will lead you through.
Dear
Heavenly Father, Direct our paths, open our eyes to see and our ears
to hear and our mouths to speak only what You have put before us to
do so. Helps us to trust You no matter what Lord, In Jesus name,
amen.
Suggested
reading 1 John 3:1-24, 1 John 4:1-21, 1 John 5:1-21 and Matthew
26:1-74
It
is God who avenges me, and subdues the people under me. He delivers
me from my enemies... therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord,
among the Gentiles and sing praises to Your name. Psalm 18:47-49