The Prophet’s Place

The new year approaches, and I have awakened from a dream with a new sense of purpose.  As I look back on the old year(s) I see that I have often set goals that were self-focused, selfish.  They might have been framed in a way that would look good to others, but stripped of the facade they were . . . about me.  It is time, past time, that I set a worthy goal, not just for this year but for the rest of my life.  My new goal is to be GRATEFUL!

The Bible says to Rejoice in the LORD always and that is what I intend to do.  Gratitude takes the focus away from me and directs it to my Creator and Savior.  It reminds me that HE does not owe me anything, I but I owe HIM everything.  That even when I am expressing gratitude for what others have done, it flows through HIM.  If not for HIM I would not be alive to receive, have the mind to appreciate, or the strength to enjoy anything done for me.

So, JESUS, I am GRATEFUL for the new life you have given me by saving me.  I am GRATEFUL for the things I have and will not focus on what I do not have or on what others have.  I am GRATEFUL for the faithful friends I have and with not waste my emotions on lost friends.  I am GRATEFUL for today, for this moment, and will not waste sleep on the past, even the past day.  I am GRATEFUL for the health I have and will enjoy it and not get lost in former health.  Most of all, JESUS, I am grateful for you because even though I have been a poor friend, you have been faithful to me.

I have so much more to be GRATEFUL for, but that’s ok, because I am GRATEFUL for the opportunities I have and will have to be GRATEFUL.

We often view, unintentionally, our walk with God as a way of getting things. We want comfort, peace, children, mates, jobs, positions, power, health. We judge then the power or value of a god not by his/her nature, holiness, or righteousness, their attributes, but by the ability and speed to give us what we want. It truly becomes all about us. Jesus, however, said he come not for His needs but to meet the needs of the world. He came to truly meet needs, to give true life beyond what the world views as life and their needs. If we have His life living and ruling within then we have the same goal. If we do not know Jesus personally or do not have Him controlling us then we will reflect the world. It will all be about us. When His life saturates mine, then my desire is to give more than receive and my concerns are more about the needs of others than myself. My vision is not a comfortable life for me and mine, but for a life poured out to affect others for their needs, that they may have life eternal of precious value in this world and the world to come. The rub is that to get to this place I must be willing to be like my Master. I must be willing to lose my comforts, my desires, my prejudices, my dreams, my health, my family, my life, my choices, just as He did. He was guided by the will of the Father. That is what He did even when it resulted in pain, hunger, rejection, abuse, misunderstanding, and death. Great men and women of God are not superhuman. They have just chosen against themselves to give up their lives for others. It was not a decision they made once and never revisited. It was a decision made moment by moment, day by day, often in places where they could not see the benefit. By faith they believed the truth that a life lived empowered by Jesus for His purposes was best. As I look upon the lives of such people, there is a hunger in me to be a light in this very dark place. Although, I may fail to live up to that goal, might even desire to turn away from it, I have been so greatly changed by the lives of those who have lived it, primarily the Source of such sacrifice, that I cannot remain in my self, in the darkness. I have to move into the light and be a channel for the light. You know, it’s not bad burning the candle at every end if you only long to be a light.

Faith is a foundation of most of our lives. It is the basis of all religions. It is the glue that holds all relationships together. Faith is the fundamental requirement for Christianity.  It says in the Bible that Faith is the Substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Salvation according to Christianity is a work of God in Christ through our faith. Faith is the trigger that releases the salvation that is a gift of God. What happens, however, when we lose our faith. A fundamental principle is that faith will always be tested. Whether is a result of circumstances and or an intentional act of God to develop a person is up for debate, but faith will always be tested. A tested faith has three results: A Broken Faith, a Bent Faith, or a Tempered Faith. A Broken Faith is when there is no faith left. With a Broken Faith the person does not believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, or the Church. They may say they still believe, but for all practical purposes they do not believe because they do not live or make decisions based upon their faith. There is no trust and therefore no results flowing out of faith. A person with Broken Faith can regain their faith even when they may deny any belief at all. There is not bottom to a person with Broken Faith that Jesus cannot mend. A person with Bent Faith still holds to the basic tenets of their previous faith, but because of disappointment or failed expectations no longer walks strongly in faith in their daily living. They may walk in faith in one area, but not in another. When examined one would class them as broken if one only looked at the bent area, but other areas can be quite strong in faith. This person might have great faith for the work of God in the lives of others and have great understanding and discernment and yet have no faith for the work of God in their own lives and therefore does not practice their faith throughout their life. This person too can be healed, but it often takes a greater work, because they have some and that can be regarded as enough even though some faith is never enough to satisfy and live by. Finally, Tempered Faith can be a consequence of a time of testing. This person chooses to trust Jesus through the trial. They have faith irregardless of the kind of test, the length of the test, or what the future looks like beyond the test. Their faith is based on their relationship with Jesus and although they may wonder about when the test will end or its purpose they do not stop trusting. As a result they are able to be successful with additional and even larger trials. They are equipped to aid others as they are tested. Their relationship and fellowship with their Savior grows deeper and more intimate. What is the difference between the three? Sometimes it is personality, rearing, peer group, training, or previous experiences. Ultimately, they hit a wall and choose to no longer trust, to partially trust, or to simply trust. Today is good day to restart your faith. Begin at any point: a thought, an act, a choice, a life. But begin!

The advertiser shouts, “Satisfy your hunger!”  It is stated as an issue of life and death.  It is as if the hunger was not satisfied, all life, all purpose would end.  The reality is quite different.  A hunger to be victorious leads one to take the steps required to experience triumph in any situation.  An athlete will endure pain for the prize.  A soldier will risk all to represent their country.  A true believer will embrace being a martyr and even longs to pay the greatest cost in order to reach the goal.  The desire, the hunger, exposes our weaknesses, our flesh, in a bright light as we yield to our desires rather than being willing to experience hunger.  Then a decision is made:  hunger or loss, surrender or defeat. Jesus said those who desire, hunger and thirst for, righteousness gain righteousness. He could have meant physical hunger or thirst, but I believe he means an unbreakable desire that will not be content and is willing to pay any cost for this righteousness.  It also implies that this hunger, this thirst, is not a one time event, but a lifetime experience, because the righteousness of God is something that continues to envelop us as the hunger makes a place for it.  We cannot hold onto the things, people, past, self that we have stuffed into the hole of our hunger and expect Jesus to fill us with His righteousness.  It is not that He is unwilling.  It is improbable that His righteousness will coincide with our selfishness.  I know that He has loved me in spite of my habit, lifestyle, of satisfying my hungers. He desires an unbroken fellowship with me, and He cannot abide in my sin.  If I walk in His light, His presence, a continual cleansing is part of that walk.  When I desire that fellowship, that walk in the light, more than my desires, He will guide me into what is required to always have it.  Don’t run from hunger or thirst for the things of God.  Don’t run to anything to fill that desire, because much poison is being offered today.  Run to Jesus.  Wait upon Him.  Let Jesus do His work in you.  He will satisfy with a satisfaction that is like an artesian well.  For those who truly want Jesus life is a continual hunger that is continually satisfied.

The Bible describes true believers in Christ, who we are as walking, talking beings, as a place where the Holy Spirit lives. The Lord puts in those terms to get us to take seriously this house we are carrying around. Many walk around with houses that are beautiful on the outside, but are not much to see on the inside. On the outside we dress up our houses with designer clothes, abs of steel, cologne, and makeup. We accessorize our houses with witty words and fake smiles, but when one looks inside the picture is different. We throw inside the pictures, music and attitudes of the world around us. We trash the inside with lazy disciplines and secret sins. We fill our closets with old grudges and junky feelings. We don’t empty out the trash and the containers overflow. The stench of all the garbage within is very clear to us, because the Holy Spirit is speaking to us, poking us at times, shaking us violently at other times, to get us to clean our house up. Sometimes the Lord will even speak to us quite clearly. He has done that in love and mercy through out the centuries, and the record of many of those warnings is found in the Bible. The words used may be repent or confess but the meaning is the same: Clean up your house! He might speak through a quiet voice, His angelic messengers, His book the Bible, or through His prophets or pastors.  He does speak to us because a clean house is necessary for Him to live close to us.  He wants a house so clean that there is not a barrier between us and Him.  Maybe its time for a spring cleaning.