2005-12-09
Good Morning Cherished Ones,
Doesn't it give warm feelings to know that no matter what the circumstances of our lives here on earth, that with our faith true believers can count on being cherished by each other and our Father in heaven? That's what true faith and willingness to make God-pleasing changes in our lives brings. Last week, I packed a great deal into one devotion. I hope you will go over last week's devotion and read it again. That will get you set for what I write here today. There is so much love that our Lord Jesus has put into every word of the Lord's Prayer. It shouldn't be missed.
Christ's admonitions in the area of giving, prayer, and fasting follow God's consistent pattern in His will. Look at MT 6:1-2 (on charity), 6: 5-6 (on prayer), and 6: 17-18 (on fasting) to see what I mean. "Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets...When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you...When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others can not know that you are fasting-only your Father, Who is unseen, will know. And your Father, Who sees what you do in private, will reward you." Our Lord Jesus is giving us a real lesson here in humility, one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in GA 5: 22-23.
Cynicism is my general attitude toward the very public almsgiving that goes on from sources in Hollywood and the pro sports scene, for example. There's a lot about that culture that many true believers find disgusting. Their excessive materialism seems to have no bounds. My attitude extends to believing that the only reason they give to charity is to enjoy the tax advantages it brings. Prayer and fasting, I would believe are not a part of most of their lives. Of course, there are always exceptions, but we don't hear much about them from the media. And yet, Christ has been so very outspoken and clear about the Father's will in these matters. I don't see how we can miss it. The Spirit reminds me to cite 1 COR 2: 14 to give God's perspective. "Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them; they are foolishness to him, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis."
Where prayer is concerned, the Father makes it clear we should at times pray privately for another important reason. He wants us to find a way to quiet our human spirits down from the hustle-bustle and emotional turmoil of the lives we live. Praying privately can help us to do that. Fasting, which I will take up in a later message, will also help to do that. The idea is to focus on God, not on everything else. And yes, there are times when this is easier said than done. There are two kinds of time-outs in our lives, the kind we remember when we misbehaved as kids and the kind where God is saying, "redirect your focus on Me." The latter was one of God's motives in GN 2 : 1-3, "And so the whole universe was completed. By the seventh day God finished what He had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day He had completed His creation and stopped working." God knows that we don't always complete our task, but He wants us to spend one day in seven with our attention on Him [EX 35: 2]. My own experience with this has been that observing the Sabbath refreshes me spiritually, so that I can go on with my regular duties the rest of the week.
Of course, prayer doesn't all have to be "in one's private closet." It's also important to pray corporately as a part of a congregation of believers in a Christ-led church or Messianic synagogue. This is not a time to show off one's piety. Other believers don't need that message; they will know by one's lifestyle and actions whether or not he is pious. Ideally, the kind of corporate prayer is a melding of hearts with the Lord's and with those of the others around us. Having a full prayer life is from my own experience having a life which is actually always with the Lord and His word at its center. I've spoken to many people who, like me, say they have a running conversation with the Lord, even sometimes when they are driving a car, sitting at their desks at work, working at a factory, or tending to their children at home, for example. I believe that God loves this. He is only too eager to enter into these "conversations" if the person praying is willing to listen for Him when He speaks. Many pastors I've heard, including Pastors Dean, Deane, and Marlin from our congregation, have said that there is no matter too unimportant for us to take to the Father. Whew! That blows me away! I've experienced praying about something that might seem mundane or unimportant, and He has given me direction on it. Bear in mind the picture we are given in JOB 16: 19-21, "There is Someone in heaven to stand up for me and take my side. My friends scorn me; my eyes pour out tears to God. I want Someone to plead with God for me, as a man pleads for his friend." We can put this together with HE 8: 1-2 and HE 9: 12 and come out with a compelling picture of the support we have when we cast up our prayers.
PRAYER: O Lord, we bow before Your mighty throne with words of thanksgiving and praise for Your compassion and the Son's courage in going to the cross for us. Had He not done this, the heavenly Holy of Holies would not have been opened to all who believe. As saved but imperfect creations we acknowledge our need to open our human spirits to the Holy Spirit's love, guidance, and influence in our lives. We also acknowledge that our former lives were stained with sin, as blood seeks to travel when staining a piece of white linen [IS 63: 3]. We are still capable of sinning now, but Your Spirit has given us a conscience, so that we can know when we are putting distance between You and ourselves [RO 6: 6]. We now have the choice to stop that sinning and to focus our attention on You, Your will for our attitudes and behavior, and Your plan for our lives. You are a God of great deeds, One Who has qualities of righteousness, justice, patience, compassion, and even righteous anger in His character. You love to reveal Yourself to us and do so as much as we allow. You have called us to make You and Your word the centerpiece of our lives, and we dedicate ourselves to doing this. We have many supplications, Dearest Abba. We will now each take some time to place them before You, knowing that You will hear our prayers and answer them in Your own perfect time and way. Our promise is to listen for Your responses, obey You faithfully, and to encourage others to do the same. We will use Christ's lessons in the Lord's Prayer on how to pray as we express our own pleas to You. You deserve nothing less than worship, thanks, and praise. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
There is much more to say about the issue of prayer, so that will be next week's subject. As I go along writing these messages based on the Sermon on the Mount, the Holy Spirit delights and surprises me with the lessons He has for all of us. I hope He is doing the same thing for you. If there is one lesson I can't ignore, it's the power of prayer! We are given a bird's eye view of God at work, especially if we are journaling. This allows us to go back over God's work and lean something about His method and timing. My own experience waiting 1 1/2 years for our former home to sell, all the while watching it drain away 21 years of savings, is one example. I began angry at God for allowing this to happen. But after awhile, I learned more about His agenda in this. He wanted us to be financially humbled, so that Peter and I could be properly prepared for the next task He had for us-being caring Stephen ministers. He also waited until the perfect condo was made available-one with the hardwood floors that I had always wanted. This tiny home on two levels has been the site of the Woodbury Lutheran Chorale Christmas party one year. I stand in amazement that 70 folks, with lots of help from some of the men in moving furniture and replacing it afterward, were able to have a great time! God was showing us that we could get along beautifully on much less than we had before. His lessons are humbling and awesome at the same time. His answers to prayers are always in the best eternal interests of the person praying. We are living proof of that, and if you each look at your own lives, you are likely to come to the same conclusion.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn