2007-01-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit leads me to continue on our parenthetical interruption of the Sermon on the Mount to share the MasterLife vision of Pastor Avery T. Willis' disciple's cross. Once completed, we will return to the subject at hand with regard to materialism. Last week, I wrote about how Christ is at the center of the two cross pieces of a disciple's cross. This indicates that He and His will is at the center of everything we do, every relationship that we have, as true believers. The long piece, extending from center to bottom of the cross is God's word. This represents the need for daily study of His word, taking classes that will broaden our knowledge of it, and using its teaching in our daily lives. Christians don't have as much experience with the OT as they do with the NT. That can be remedied in a number of ways-taking classes like those offered in Bible Study Fellowship or Precepts Ministries [for more in-depth study], getting involved in discussions with knowledgeable people facilitating them, doing devotions that deal with OT verses, etc. God wants us to see the entire sweep of mankind's history, the evolution of their ethics to conform to the Lord's, the beauty of poetry, the people of the Bible and their interaction with God, the didactics [practical teaching] that allow us to conduct our daily lives with righteousness from God, covenant relationships, the wisdom of God revealed to us, and many more levels. The Bible is like an onion, which when peeled reveals layer upon layer of what God wants us to know about Him. Since I stated that Christ is at the center of the disciple's cross, you may be wondering why I'm writing here about God. Please remember that Christ is the second personality of God, so that everything I say about God (with the exception of the Father's decision-making position) applies to the Lord Jesus. The bottom line is that God wants us to study His word and have an active prayer life, so that He can reveal Himself and His will to us.
It's hard for me to move on from the subject of God's word, because it is so much a part of every facet of the life of a true believer. But, I must go on to the part of the cross that extends from Christ at the center toward the top. [I hope you are retaining the diagram you are working on of the disciple's cross]. That part is prayer, another subject very close to my heart. Please understand that whole books have been written about each of the parts of the disciple's cross, so in this overview of its layout, I can't say everything there is to say about each part of the cross. JN 15: 7 is Christ walking out on a limb to make an extraordinary promise. "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it." Let me reiterate my own definition of prayer: two-way communication with God in which He gets to speak first. If you examine the words in JN 15: 7, we see that study of His word is necessary for Christ to be able to keep His promise, because what we ask for must have "us with Him and His word remaining in us." This is critical to the understanding of the mechanics of prayer. In my own experience, I am sure that is why God had me learn about the Scriptures first, and then become the main Coordinator of our congregation's prayer chain. God does things in His perfect time and way, and He is most definitely in charge.
PS 116: 1 is a favorite verse. "I love the Lord because He hears our prayers and answers them." A true believer demonstrates his understanding in PS 10: 17 and PS 86: 5, 7, "You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly; You will give them courage...You are good to us and forgiving, full of constant love for all who pray to You...I call to You in times of trouble, because You answer my prayers." Our attitude toward God and prayer matters, as does our motive in praying. PS 145: 18, "He is near to those who call to Him, who call to Him with sincerity." As for God's attitude, I know in my heart that He welcomes our prayers said with sincerity, and this is evidenced in JER 33: 3. "Call to Me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things about which you know nothing." The mechanism for how our prayers are transmitted to God and what He does with them fascinates me. JOB 16: 19 and 19: 22, illuminate this and interestingly enough, from the OT. "There is Someone in heaven to stand up for me and take my side...But I know there is Someone in heaven Who will come at last to my defense." Imagine the spiritual maturity Job must have had to know this in OT times. That Someone is none other than our Advocate and Intercessor, Jesus Christ. He takes our prayers to the Father, Who then decides how and when in His perfect way to answer them. The NT has a lot to say about prayer too. MT 7: 7-8, "Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks. " The promise of JN 15: 7 is reiterated in MT 21: 22 and again in 1 JN 5: 14-15. I hope you will look up these verses. JAS 5: 16b lets us know that, "The prayers of a good person have a powerful effect." Thus, praying is not a waste of time, as long as we pray for things within God's will. We learn His will both in study of His word and in listening to Him speak to us in prayer. God wants to know what is in our hearts and that we will always seek Him first.
PRAYER: O Lord, as we approach Your throne, You have told us that we need to acknowledge Who You are. We know from first-hand experience that You hear our prayers and the pleas of our Advocate, Your Son, on our behalf. You have opened the heavenly Holy of Holies to us the very day of His death on the cross. MK 15: 37-38, "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last. The curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." HE 9: 12 and 10: 20-22, "He [Christ] did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the [heavenly] Holy of Holies once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]...He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the [inner veil]—that is, through His own body. We have a great Priest in charge of the house of God. So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water." Your compassion shows through all of this in ways no human can duplicate. We are committed, Dearest Father, to studying Your word, listening for Your commands, and acting on them. Our understanding is that You love us so much that You want as many as will listen to the truth of Jesus Christ and believe Him as possible to eventually return to Your side for eternity. Christ has given us His mission statement in JN 6: 39-40, and You have given us Yours in EPH 1: 4-5. You are the Source of all goodness and righteousness on this earth. We bow our heads to You to thank You for all the blessings You give us. We have Your word, the Holy Spirit to direct us, and prayer as an open channel. We can use it any time to seek out Your wisdom, healing, direction, and so many other blessings You alone can give us. We praise You as disciples, learning how to best serve You according to Your will. Our praise and thanks is for so many things, especially for Your constant love and magnificent presence in our lives. We love You and are blessed to be in our covenant relationship with You. In Christ's mighty name we pray. Amen.
Next week, we will look the arm of the disciple's cross which extends to the right from its center, fellowship. It is my hope you will hang on to your diagrams throughout this discussion of the disciple's cross and beyond. In the meanwhile, we need to understand just how near to us our loving God is. Those of us who are mature in our faith walk can see that He is with is 24/7. While a non-believer might think this is crazy, a mature believer will speak with God any time of the day or night. Some find themselves in running conversations with God, and that is perfectly okay. God loves to interact with us, because He loves each and every one of His human creation. It would be illogical for God not to love an entity created in His own image [GN 1: 27]. If we are thinking that we don't deserve His love, we are right. But EPH 2: 8-10 illuminates God's attitude and why He loves us so much. "For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it. God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do." In giving us faith and willingness to repent of our sins, along with the Atonement of His Son on the cross, we are shown an unparalleled grace obtainable from no other source. As His disciples, we owe it to Him to worship, adore and serve Him for the rest of our lives. One more aspect to this covenant relationship with Him is that He wants us to be His friends. RO 5: 9-11, "By His [Christ's] death we are now put right with God [justified]; how much more then, will we be saved by Him from God's anger! We were God's enemies, but he made us His friends through the death of His Son. Now that we are God's friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ's life! But that it not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now made us God's friends." Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn