Revelation 22:4: "They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."
St. Thomas of Cequinus, after he had completed all his monumental theology works, has said, "I have seen that which makes all that I have previously taught and written seem as chafe to me." Simone Weil in his book, Gateway to God, says, "They alone will see God who prefer to recognize the truth and die, instead of living a long and happy existence in the state of allusion. One must want to go towards reality; then when one thinks one has found a corpse, one meets an angels who said, He has risen."
Meditate On This!
Each of us as leaders no doubt feel we have some sense of vision. Maybe our focus has been just a little low. Our focus has been on our situation, on our family, on our work place, or even in our writing and thinking of great theological thoughts. This weeks challenge is to meditate on the vision of who God really is. The One who resurrected from the dead. The One who has given us life. The One who will take us out of this valley and lift us to the mountain.
Challenge yourself to see God in every circumstance this week. That only begins with some significant quiet time before Him in His Word, trying to understand who He really is. " Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)
I Corinthians 4:6: ". . . Do not go beyond what is written. . . ."
The local fellowship my wife and I attend recently celebrated their seventh year of existence. The church has blossomed to around 1500 in attendance each Sunday. Has there been a marketing plan put in place by a large group of intelligent corporate types? No. What has been expressed by the pastor and the staff is a return to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Repentance - grace - relationship with the Living God. People who have been turned off by "church" are now getting excited about the Living Christ.
Meditate On This!
How much of your life as a Christian is lived with extra biblical expectations? Are you living your life on borrowed convictions? Have you really searched the Scriptures to see that God cares about every aspect of your life? Is your Christian life more about all the "things" you dont do, rather than focusing on how much you love God?
I challenge you to center in on the Person and love of God, running your life by the Spirit of God through the Word of God, and rethinking which issues in your life are biblical and which are cultural. That will be a big test this week!
John 11:35: "Jesus wept."
Have you ever run into an individual who seems to have the entire New Testament memorized? Well, maybe that is exaggerating, but we probably have all met people who really have an understanding of Gods Word. One of the reasons is that they have memorized Scripture. They have "hidden the Word of God in their heart."
We were taught the lesson even as a young person, werent we? In school, we memorized addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables. In chemistry, there was memorization involved. Why? So when we needed systems, we could recall them at a moments notice. They were tools that would be used throughout our entire lives. Isnt Scripture much more needed?
I am not talented at memorizing Scripture. I really have to struggle to get the exact wording down. To keep it in my "brain computer" is hard work. However, it is needed. As your heart yearns to be a man of God, I encourage you to begin memorizing Scripture. And, I would ask you to memorize first the above verse. Not only will it be an easy one for you, but it will keep your perspective right as you think of other verses you will learn. Dont get "puffed up" by knowledge, but realize that Jesus wept. He was our God who came to earth and had great compassion on men. He was not a cold-hearted authoritative figure - even though He could have been. He was not a hard taskmaster - even though He could have been. He was our Savior - and He had great compassion on the world.
Meditate On This!
In Ephesians 6, we understand that the "sword" in our spiritual warfare is the Word of God. How much Scripture have your memorized? Why not take a few moments right now and count the verses you know? How about categorizing them so that you will know which scriptures to recall for the spiritual battles that you are, or will be, involved in. If you are having a spiritual struggle now, why not write down six or seven and memorize them this week. God uses His Word to overcome those trials in our lives.
If you are on the other end of the spectrum, continue to memorize, but don't become puffed up in your knowledge. Humbly, before God, thank Him that He has given you victory in so many areas. This is not an academic venture. Remember, our God and Savior had compassion and wept.
James 1:22-25: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it he will be blessed in what he does."
Meditate On This!
James is a book full of practical insight. We have been challenged to make some very obvious and practical adjustments in our spiritual life. In the above verses we find a key element to that. In fact, these verses are just a few that brought me to the point of writing "meditations" rather than "devotionals".
I want us to stop, to listen, to chew on, and then to do what God is saying. Do you realize that if you read just one verse a day and really understand it, at the end of the year you will be 365 days better for it, and better for the Kingdom. Dont be afraid of the Word of God. It gives you the freedom to know truth, and then to act upon it. This is not a guilt trip to read more of the Word, however, it is an admonition to successful Christian living.
If you are ready to "step it up a notch", this is the week to do so.
