Acceptance

“Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.                                                   Luke 15.22,23

The prodigal son has returned and the father calls for celebration. Each of the symbols in the above verses is a sign of position and acceptance. The long robe signifies distinction, the signet ring is of authority and sandals signify sonship, for slaves went barefoot. The fattened calf was kept for a special occasion.

History has labelled the younger son as a prodigal but it’s surely the father’s amazing behaviour that earns the description of prodigal – foolishly and recklessly extravagant.

And so it is in heaven. Our Father rejoices in reckless abandon and foolish extravagance when just one lost sinner returns to Him. The returning son or daughter is feted in grand style. Position and acceptance are assured, and the entry into the greatest royal family of all is accompanied by exquisite peace and unimaginable joy.

This is how it is for me. This is how it will be for all who come into the Kingdom. Misery, poverty, hunger and sickness, want of any kind will be over, to be replaced with joy, riches, plenty, health and goodness in abundance.

The kingdom of heaven is now and, whilst I may not presently enjoy the full benefits of the eternal kingdom, I can certainly know that they are there for me and that very knowledge has a positive and enriching effect on the here and now.

Yes, I am a child of God, meant for the fullness of kingdom life. I live that life now in part of its fullness, but one day I shall enter into abundance. Whilst I look forward, I do not miss out on the present moment. I rejoice that all my days are spent in His kingdom.

Father God,

You brought me back to You and I am truly grateful. The story of the prodigal son gives me some insight to Your reaction when a lost soul returns, but I’m not sure that I get the full impact of this. That You rejoice in a foolishly extravagant way is perhaps beyond my comprehension. That I am fitted with insignia of position and acceptance is overwhelming. Yet this is so, for Your Word tells me. And this is the way for all those who come to You.

Lord God, Heavenly Father, I rejoice and extol Your great and wonderful being. I pray for those who are yet to come to You. I pray for those I know – my family members, friends, neighbours and acquaintances. Lord, Your Word says that none come to You unless the Father calls them. I ask You to call them, Heavenly Dad. I offer myself to be used in any way You would choose to use me, but I ask You to call the lost that I know of, and make them Yours. And after them, others – more and more. Lord, bring all to You, in Jesus, Name I ask.

                                                                                                                                    Amen.

Who are you, Lord?

He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”                                                                  Acts 9.5

I find this question to be so exciting, and more than a little enigmatic in regard to the answer it might bring.

It is asked by Paul, as Saul, when he is bombarded by the bright light on the road to Damascus. The answer he receives is:

            “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

From what we know of Paul’s subsequent relationship with Jesus it is clear that he, in time, received much revelation and insight in response to this question. Paul knew and loved Jesus. I sense that Paul got quite a full answer to his question, “Who are you, Lord?”

I pray I will, over the course of time, receive a full answer. I pray that I might come to know and love Jesus as Paul did.

Lord Jesus,

I want to ask “Who are You?”

I know who You are, but I want to know You more. I desire a closer habitation with You. I seek a deeper relationship with You. The question, “Who are You, Lord?” excites me. It opens my mind and my heart to all sorts of wonderful revelations of You, to the most amazing insights and sharings with You, and to a life lived completely in Your company.

This is what I want, Lord. I want to know You and to live in the fullness of life in You. Show me who You are, in Your precious name I ask.               Amen.

God has made clean

The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane”.                                                                                            Acts 10.15

Peter has received a vision from God. It is obvious that God desires Peter’s attention and wishes to show him something of great significance.

What Peter sees is a large sheet coming down from heaven and containing all kinds of four-footed creatures, reptiles and birds. Peter is encouraged to eat from what is offered, but he recoils. He remonstrates that he has never eaten anything that is profane or unclean. It is then that God reminds him that He has made things clean.

The trance illustration seems to be about food but it is clear that God extends his cleansing power to mankind as well. When Peter addresses the Roman centurion Cornelius and his friends and relatives he tells them, “...God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.”

As I read of the vision Peter received in his trance, I see, in my mind’s eye, an enormous sheet being lowered from heaven containing all manner of human life – all races, all social classes, law-abiding and otherwise, privileged and abused, healthy and not so healthy, and all denominations – and I hear a voice from heaven saying, “These are my beloved. Go into all the world and love them as I have commanded you.”

Peter’s vision resulted in the first salvations among the Gentiles. What, I wonder, will my vision lead to? I don’t think I need to know. I simply need to be obedient, to be willing to go where He sends me, and to do His full and perfect will. O yes! Hallelujah!

Lord God,

I am mindful that You have made me clean. Your love has cleansed me. Your love continues to purify me, for I surely continue to get myself dirty.

I look to You for vision. And I look to You for the outworking of any vision You would give me. I want to serve You and I want to do so with all of my being. But, like Peter, I am likely to recoil. In my weakness, then, I offer myself. Take me, show me and lead me, in Jesus’ name I ask.                                                                                                                                   Amen.

Cease Striving

Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.                                   Psalm 46.10                

The New American Standard Bible has ‘cease striving’ for ‘be still’. This reminds me of the day some time ago when I awoke to hear God say to me: “Stop striving.”

I will not know God’s power on this earth by striving to find it and to see it. God’s might among the nations will be ‘revealed’ to me as I am still and as I acknowledge the Almighty as all-mighty.

Mighty God,

I thank You for this reminder of who You are. I thank You that this has come to me in the stillness of the early morning. I truly feel as if I am not striving, yet I am aware of Your greatness.

I marvel as the light slowly reveals the day. The shadows disappear and Your creation is unveiled. The birds start singing. Are they the first to exalt You? Today is Sunday. All over the world people will be singing praises to You and glorifying Your name.

Great God, I bow down before you in worship and adoration. I declare You my Lord Almighty. Hallelujah!                      Amen.

Wake Up!

For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep; he has closed your eyes, you prophets, and covered your heads, you seers.

The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to those who can read, with the command , “Read this, “ they say, “We cannot, for it is sealed.” And if it is given to those who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” they say, “We cannot read.”                                                                                           

Isa.29.10-12

It seems to me that these words apply to much of the world today. God acts, but people do not see God in the action. Indeed, they don’t want to see God anywhere.

The instance from Isaiah is where God has shut off recognition of His doings from humanity. His work is like a sealed document which, when offered for reading and understanding, is met with one of two responses. Either the recipient cannot read or they see the document as sealed and themselves unable to open the seal. The result, either way, is that God’s work and His participation in human affairs is not seen. Consequently it cannot be recognised, nor accepted or encouraged, nor sought.

I would suggest that much of the world today is closed to God and unwilling to allow Him in, unwilling to look to Him for His way. Can I do anything about this?

On a small scale I can be encouraging to those who seek my help. Perhaps these are “the converted”, but we can all benefit from Godly support and, if I am open to Him, I know He will work through me to assist others. So I can be willing to be used by Him in those times He orchestrates. And I can pray. Against the immensity of the perceived task my prayer really can count. I must not be deterred by thinking I am too small. I believe God hears every prayer. If I withhold, then the prayer will not be offered, and He will not hear or respond.

Apart from the world, I have choices to make in my own life and actions. Such choices are part of the fabric of everyday living. It would be helpful if I could say, once and for all time, “Lord, let me be fully open to You. Let me lay my life before You to be led by You. Let me see clearly and hear unhindered what You would have of me. And let this be so for all time.”

Sadly, I know this is not the case. Whilst I believe I read quite well, I sense there are times when I might say, “Don’t ask me to read this, for I cannot read.” There might also be times when my response is, “Lord, this is sealed, and I can’t break the seal.”

My prayer is that there will be no impediment of my making to prevent God leading me and having His way with me. I pray that He will bless me to see all I need to see, with no vision hidden because I am in a “deep sleep”. I pray for alertness to all that God may be doing.

Holy God,

I come to You in thankfulness for a new day and the opportunity to live this day in You.  I offer myself to be used by You. My strong desire is to serve You. I lay my life before You and invite You to lead me into Your purposes. Let me neither construct nor allow any impediment that would keep me from Your will for me. I boldly ask that You bless me to see mighty things in and of You. May I travel deeper into You? May I be privy to divine secrets previously undisclosed to me?

I cry out for the salvation and sanctification of the world. Draw us back to You, Lord. Use us as You will to minister Your amazing and unlimited love to those who desperately need it, but can’t see the source.

You love the world. Lead us forward to a fuller life in You, in Jesus, name I ask.      Amen.

Confident

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will go on doing the things that we command.                                                  2 Thess. 3.3,4

In this letter Paul has already pointed out to the Thessalonians some of their shortcomings. He will further this before the letter ends. He also gives then directions for overcoming. He tells them clearly here that he expects them to obey his instructions.

But also, as Paul does regularly in his writings, he turns away from our difficulties to the God upon whom we must all depend. In using the very name of the Lord, he reminds us of the One who deserves, and indeed demands, that position of authority and guardianship in our lives. Yes, the Lord is my guardian. He will look after me. I can feel safe for He protects me, He directs and guides me, He is the way for me.

Paul reminds the Thessalonians, and us, that our great and gracious Lord is faithful. For me this means, firstly, that He is always there, and He will always be there. But His faithfulness is not restricted to His presence with me. In His Word He has set out many promises to me. His faithfulness is such that He will, in time, fulfil each and every promise.

He will strengthen me. He will guard me from the evil one. This is so encouraging. So often when I tussle with the contrary thoughts in my mind, the leanings of the sinful nature that seek to draw me into Satan’s power, I feel as if the fight is my personal challenge. Of course, I am not up to it, and so I struggle. I need to realise, and walk in the knowledge that God is with me. He knows all the grubby details of my thoughts and He will help me. He will fight with me. Indeed, He is ready to do this at any time.

I think it might be this knowledge of God’s intimate involvement in all of our life, the clean and the not-so-clean, that prompts Paul to state his confidence in the Lord that we will do the right thing.

I cannot ignore or minimise the difficulties that confront me and will continue to confront me. But I can lay hold of the character of my Lord God and know that He is greater than my lack of will power or my total integrity. He is greater than any of the wiles of the devil.

On Paul’s encouraging, I choose to place my confidence in the Lord and not in my own feeble nature and insufficient ability.

There are several prayers that Paul breaks into at different stages of this letter to the Thessalonians that I feel to record. In the midst of his identifying of difficulties with the Thessalonians, and his issuing of directions to them, Paul spontaneously opens in prayer for them. There is an immediate focus to this prayer, a focus that I adopt for myself today.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.                        (2 Thess. 2.16,17)

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

                                                                                                              (2 Thess. 3.5)

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.                         (2 Thess. 3.16)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.                     (2 Thess. 3.18)

Lord God,

I salute You and honour You as I come before You in this time of prayer. I offer myself fully to Your Lordship. I ask You to be Lord of all of me: Lord of my mind and all of my thoughts; Lord of my emotions and all of my feelings and reactions; Lord of my will and all of my behaviour; Lord of my spirit and my relationship with you.

I look to Your many promises to me, and I claim each and every one. I ask You to strengthen me. I know You do, and you will. Guard me, Lord, from the evil one and empower me to fight, with You, against his wiles, his deceits, and his dishonesty. The truth is: I am a child of God. I am Your son. My Dear Father, I bow before You in grateful thanks.                        Amen.

Turn to...

...The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.                            2 Chron. 15.2b

These words were spoken by the Spirit of the LORD through Azariah to Asa. Asa was a good king who reigned over Judah for forty one years. However, in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, Baasha, king of Israel sought to wage war on Asa. Asa turned to Ben-Hadad king of Aram who had a treaty with Baasha. Asa sought a treaty for himself with Ben-Hadad, asking him to break his arrangement with Baasha. This occurred and Israel was put down. Asa enjoyed temporary triumph but the word of the LORD came harshly to him through Hanani the seer: “Because you relied on the King of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the King of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” (vv 7-9).

Asa’s reign changed from that time. He oppressed the people and himself suffered illness and affliction.

For thirty six years he had prospered. Then he turned to man instead of God and his life, and fortune, changed.

God requires total commitment from us, the fullness of our hearts. Over the past little while He has been reminding me that 95% of my trust in not enough. He requires 100%.

Lord God,

I love You and I want to give You my full commitment. I ask for Your help in this. I believe Your Holy Spirit can strengthen me.

I ask You to convict me , by the power of Your Holy Spirit, when I am tempted to follow a course other than the one You set for me. I give You 100% of my devotion. I bind my will to Your will. Have Your way in my life.      Amen.