by David Brenneman
The things that people fail to notice about Jesus keeping His word.
We can easily look over stories in the Old Testament and miss the little morsels that change the story to something that spans the centuries. Am reading in 1 Samuel and the interactions between Eli and Hannah are actually rather profound. With regards to Eli I am rather dumbfounded because he chose to be weak towards his disobedient sons whom the Lord told him were going to die because of the evil they refused to depart from. When Hannah reveals Samuel it was Eli who worshiped God first...then we have Hannah's worship song.
As this day dawns on you, my Dear Reader, there are choices before you. By the grace of God these choices are yours to consider.
Choices that are the very same as those faced by even these of the Old Testament.
They all begin the same: Will you obey and honor God, His Son Jesus Christ, above all names?
Will you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness today?
Will you be in His Word today with all seriousness...as in with all your heart?
Will you indeed pray for His will to be done rather than your own?
Will you look to the horizon for the return of Jesus Christ with all expectation because the Word of God says that day is quickly approaching?
Will you be bold enough to not assume what you are doing in your life today is for you to be doing but rather will stop and ask Jesus, through His Spirit, what needs to change in you for you to become more like Him?
Will you begin today to reflect on what is taught in your Bible as more than mere suggestions?
Questions questions questions.
These and more. Matters of the heart they all are. Matters that are everything to the King of kings and Lord of Lords. Your heart.
Your heart is only fully understood by Jesus, not you. Think hard on that one. He, according to the Scriptures, weighs the hearts. He knows all the intricacies of thoughts and intentions you have in every moment of your life. He knows every dream you ever had and why they were that way.
Shortly after confirming Samuel there was a situation where indeed the Word of the Lord was confirmed in reality: both of Eli's sons died in the same day.
"May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.” Romans 3:4.
Are you aware that in this very moment it is by His grace that you are even considering what He is saying here?
As in Eli's case so it is with yours and mine: Will we put obeying Jesus before ourselves. Will we put trusting Jesus before relying on ourselves.
For all his wisdom Solomon failed to keep obeying God and trusting in God.
You and I are tempted every single day to not think that whatever is on our hearts and minds is important enough to bring to Jesus in prayer.
We will be tempted to just handle it ourselves.
We will be tempted to consider that we need 'me time' and in turn neglect the Word of God that awaits our consumption.
We will because throughout the centuries that's been the temptations that mankind has faced. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are even today and He chose the will of His Father in Heaven.
Some think this means giving up on dreams and desires. Sometimes yes. Sometimes it's not because they are inherently bad but rather they aren't going to fit in with the plan of God for you and your part in His plans for mankind.
I have many various aspirations and dreams. Yet in seeking them God's let me know that while they would work or that I would likely accomplish them...they don't fit His plans. So I stopped pursuing them and just trust Him in those things. It's enough for me to know that I was onto something that would have worked.
Do you make it a point to check yourself in whether you are trying to trust the Lord with all your heart And to not lean on your own understanding? Are you looking to see if in all your ways that you are acknowledging Him?
When you are being truthful with yourself are you embittered against anyone? Are you wishing for their downfall rather than them finding Jesus? Are you rejoicing in their sufferings rather than praying they open their hearts to receive the free gift of salvation that you did?
When we hold onto such things we hinder our prayers. When we don’t forgive we aren't forgiven. When we are not honoring our relationship with Jesus above our relationship with those in the world or the world itself we are being just like Eli and others in the Old Testament who were called out by the Lord.
This is how the Old Testament applies to your life today.
Truth be known...every single professed Believer in Jesus Christ who is saved by His blood...has absolutely no excuse for not pursuing a life that fully honors His work in their lives.
There's no excuse for not developing a prayer life that grows in its depth with Jesus.
There's no excuse for not being in the Word of God daily with all seriousness to be fed by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit.
There's no excuse for not developing the spiritual gifts we were given upon being saved.
There's no excuse for putting people or things ahead of what the Spirit wants to do in our lives to show the world their need for a right relationship with Jesus and His free gift of salvation.
There's no excuse for unforgiveness for all we were forgiven of.
There's no excuse for not praying for those who have or are persecuting us. Likewise no excuse for rejoicing when the Lord Jesus Christ deals with them...when Scripture explicitly states we should never do that.
We read of all kinds of lives in the Old Testament who tried making excuses. Even Abraham did, so did Moses. From the greatest to the least.
So, my Dear Reader, consider your ways. Consider these truths that take away our excuses.
What will you now do differently?
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org
No comments:
Post a Comment