 How to remain on the straight and narrow.
If we find that a few months or years along our christian journey we dont have the 'fire' we had for god as first we had,there is hope. If the initial encounter you had with the sovereign God was real, this period in your life will never be forgotten. And sometimes we look back and think....i dont find God all that spectacular anymore. What has happened? oooohhh lots of things...shall we rather focus on how to fix it?
The bible says we need to keep our eye on Jesus. When you look at Jesus with your spiritual eyes, what do you see? Do you see the complete reflection of God glory, holiness, power, sovereingnity, grace, awesomenes? Or do you see a Jesus that is watered down somewhat? More like the neibourhood watch kind of guy.
When Paul started his journey he started it the way we all must start. In awe of God. When we dont have our focus on who our God is we quickly loose focus on what we are IN christ, and then start to live like paupers rather than kings.
When Paul first bumped into Jesus, on the road to Damascas something happened in him that changed him forever. He had an encounter with God and could thereafter not deny His glory, holiness, grace and utter awesomeness thereafter. He had spent a great deal of His life persecuting Jesus. Paul did not convert because he felt he should, he converted because after that day on the road to Damascus, there was nothing that could GRIP Paul like God could. And it was enough to see him through many years of ministry.
We need that. We need to have our vision restored. Our vision of what an awesome God we have. What it means to tremble in his presence. What it means to behold him and be in awe. We need to go back to feeling a holy fear in his presence, and ample doses of wow at his greatness. We serve a MIGHTY GOD! He is the ruler of the entire Universe. He commands the seas and births new galaxies. He keeps it all in the palm of his hand. He clothes the morning with dew. He sets the stars in their place and feeds the little crickets. What kind of God do you have? Think about it for a while. Do we long for the dramatic? For signs and wonders? NO, we long for the unmistakable, the genuine unveiling of the glory of God. And when this glory fills your temple you know that you have met with greatness, and you are flooded with love and admiration and hope and corouge and ready to put down anything that will not do Gods glory justice.To think that you belong to such an awesome GOD! And that He is mindfull of you. He thinks about you all the time, and he has thoughts of peace and goodwill towards you.
Look at Isaihah, a powerful prophet in the OT. How could God gaurentee this mans success? He let him behold his glory.
In Isaiah 6:1-7 we see that God affords isaiah one of these experiences. He takes him to the throne room. Either in the spirit, or a dream or a vision, it is not known. But what happens there? Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne. Seated, like a mighty man who has things under control, and he was lofty and exalted. There were angels above Him who said HOLY HOLY HOLY is the lord of hosts. The foundations of threshold of the temple were trembling! When Isaiah returned from such an experience, do you think he might have wondered if god was so great as they say He was. God WAS greater than they said he was hence he says in desperation 'WOE IS ME, for I am ruined!'' Yes, that is what the presence of the ruler of all, the king of kings, the bright morning star, the LION of judah will bring to your mind when you see him. Utter ruin! WOE WOE WOE!!! He says. But then, a seraphim flies down to him and touches his lips with a burning coal taken from the altar. As the burning coal touched his lips he was forgiven all his sin and all his iniquity were taken away. And untill Jesus did that for us, all we could hope for at the return of god was a frightfull cry of WOE IS ME, I AM RUINED!. But when he forgave us our sins he said, come BOLDLY to the throne room of grace. Not boldly as in arrogant, because if you understand who you are approaching, you shall never attempt to do it in the wrong manner.
Now this GOD who is awesome, lives in you. His throne is also in your heart. When you swear or lust, or are greedy, or sleep around, wouldnt you say doing such a thing in the presence of God, in your body which is his temple, is showing a rather frightfull and arrogant and ignorant display of foolishness? How shall God put up with it? How can He allow you to do that in the presence of his throne? Think about that, and understand why grace is not a gift to be treated lightly. Neither is the God to whom you belong. And his arm is MIGHTY to save you, but indeed also mighty to discipline. Shall he come to you in meekness or with the rod of discipline? That would depend on how you honour Him. If you love your lord, like you certainly will when you understand his glory, can you do those evil things in his sight? The best remedy for sin and the flesh, is a healthy understanding of WHO YOUR GOD IS. Pray this simple prayer. God RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION, and open my eyes to your glory!
How do you know that you have been restored? You are joyfull. Knowing that this frightful, terrible, holy, awesome, just and powerfull God, loves you.
heneni  |
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