Tag: connect with God

January 15, 2023 – Leviticus 16 – An Audience with a Holy God

Because of the lovingkindness, patience, and forgiveness we receive through the grace offered to us in Jesus Christ we sometimes forget that God is a Holy God. Now, we are always able to go to God with our praises and petitions. There isn’t a time too early or too late. We are told to be in a constant conversation with God. The Apostle Paul tells us to, “pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians5:17NRSV  However, it wasn’t always that way.

In Leviticus 16, God is giving Moses instructions to give to Aaron about when and how he is to approach him. The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.” Leviticus16:2NIV He goes on in detail giving instructions on how Aaron is to make atonement for his sins and for the sins of the people. All of this is important because God is a Holy God. Our sinfulness and our sins make it impossible to live in the presence of a Holy and righteous God without having atoned for our sins.

Thank God, he removed the barriers and now we can come to him without fear, fully atoned for through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews4:14–16NIV

Let us never forget that God is a Holy God. It will help us to appreciate the wonderful work of atonement that Jesus the Christ did for us in his death and resurrection!

Prayer:

Holy God, thank you for Jesus, his death, and resurrection that made atonement for all of my sins. Help me to come to you in complete confidence in the grace you offered to me and the world in Jesus. Amen.

January 1, 2023 – Matthew 2 – Looking and Listening for God

Leviticus 2, Matthew 2, Colossians 4

In Matthew 2, we read about the wisemen, following the star, coming to discover the child “who was born king of the Jews.” Today can be celebrated as Epiphany on the Christian calendar. The day celebrates the revelation of Jesus as God incarnate. Scriptures used for Epiphany are the Magi’s visit and the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

The wisemen were ecstatic to find baby Jesus.  When they found him, they worshipped him and presented treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Not everyone was ecstatic. King Herod, perceiving a threat to his throne with the birth of this newborn king of the Jews, wanted the wisemen to tell him where he could find him so he could kill this threat. At first, the wise men were unaware of Herod’s intentions. They must have planned to return and tell the king where they found a child. However, God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they went home another way.

Joseph was also warned in a dream to leave and go to Egypt. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew2:14–15NIV

I have always said I would love it if God sent me a daily fax or an email with his specific will for me. That is not the way God works, even with his own Son. The wisemen, Joseph, and Mary had to be intention in looking and listening for God to speak to them even with God’s own Son.

We have the benefit of the Holy Spirit living in us and with us. God is always speaking to us. However, if we are not looking and listening we can easily miss God’s direction and will.

Even in the most threatening circumstances, God is with us. He speaks to us in a variety of ways, perhaps even in an email or fax. As we head into the new year, we have to be intentional in looking and listening for God to speak to us. If we are looking and listening, we will hear God speak and we will know his will.

Prayer:

God, I know you are with me. I know you are speaking and revealing your will to me. Help me to be looking and listening, expecting you to speak. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

December 16, 2022 – Galatians 4 – God’s Precious Child

Exodus 27, John 8, Galatians 4

Probably most of you have seen the musical Annie. It is about a girl named Annie, who became an orphan during the Great Depression. I will not give you all of the details, but spoiler alert, in the end she is adopted by a generous millionaire. It is fascinating to think about going from a dirty, penniless orphan to someone who lives in a mansion and has everything that could be wanted. Not only that, being adopted into the family also made her an heiress to the fortunes of Daddy Warbucks.

In Galatians 4, we realize that Annie’s story is our story too. We were filthy and penniless. We had nothing to offer God. Yet in his great love for us, he paid our ransom and redeemed us. He adopted us as his own children. The Apostle Paul says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Galatians4:4–5NIV

Paul tells us, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Galatians4:6NIV  Scholars have noted that Abba is an affectionate name for father, like dad or daddy. The idea that God loves us so much that he gave us the Spirit of Jesus so that we could call out to him as our dad is overwhelming! We are God’s adopted children and he makes no difference between us and his own beloved Son.

To be sure we understand the relationship, Paul says, “so you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians4:7NIV  We share the full benefits of being a child of God. We are not slaves or ill-treated stepchildren. We are heirs who enjoy all the affection and benefits of being a child of God in his glorious kingdom.

Prayer:

Abba Father, thank you for loving me so much that you sent Jesus to ransom and redeem me when I was a filthy sinner with nothing to offer. Thank you for the Spirit of Jesus, living in me, that helps me to embrace you as my dad! In Jesus’ name.

December 12, 2022 – John 4 – Spirit and Truth

Exodus 23, John 4, 2 Corinthians 13

In John 4, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well who has come to draw water at midday. His disciples have gone into town to buy food. Jesus asks this woman for water and initiates a series of verbal defenses the woman tried to use to avoid having to answer too many questions.

First, she points out Jesus’ race. Jews, John tells us, do not associate with Samaritans. Then she takes issue with what Jesus says about giving her living water. Next Jesus, confronts her about her husband and she is deceptive in her answer. After Jesus, calls her out for her half truth answer, she tries to make a defense with a religious argument. “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” John4:19–20NIV

Jesus had brought the woman to the place where she had just about exhausted her resistance to the Spirit of God. “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John4:21–24NIV

She had one more argument. The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John4:25-26NIV

Through the Spirit of God, Jesus brought the Samaritan woman to a place where she could drop her defenses and worship in the Spirit and truth. He is doing the same thing in our lives today.

What defenses are you holding on to that keeps you from worshipping in the Spirit and truth?

Prayer:Lord Jesus, thank you for your persistence in leading me to the Spirit and truth. Help me to hear you as you tear down the walls I try to build. Help me to worship in the Spirit and truth. Amen.

December 6, 2022 – Exodus 17 – Is God Among Us or Not?

Exodus 17, Luke 23, 2 Corinthians 7

In Exodus 17, the Israelites were being led from place to place by the Lord. Verse 1 says, The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Exodus17:1NIV

The result of being led to a place that didn’t have water was trickle down complaining. The Israelites complained to Moses, and he in turn, complained to God. “…The people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Exodus17:3NIV When they began grumbling, Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” Exodus17:2NIV Then Moses goes and complains to God. “…What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Exodus17:4NIV

God comes through for Moses and the people. The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not? Exodus17:5-7NIV

Christian orthodoxy teaches us that God is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. God knows everything. God is everywhere, transcending time and space. God is all powerful. Knowing these attributes of God, when we encounter difficulties in life, we have questions. If God knows everything, he knows what I need. Why don’t I have _______? If God is all powerful why didn’t he do_______? If God is with us why did _______ happen? Our questions resonate with the grumblings of the Israelites when they came to the camp without water. “Is the Lord among us or not?

Those would be valid questions if God’s goal was for us to never suffer. However, that is not God’s goal for us. God created us to know him. The Apostle Paul, in a speech to the Athenians, said, “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts17:26-28NIV

God doesn’t give us everything we need even though he knows we need it, because God wants us to realize we need him. God doesn’t do everything that we think he should to make life good, because if life were perfect we would scarcely think of him. God allows bad things to happen in life, so that we will come to him to experience peace that passes all understanding. God allows difficulties because his goal is not to make life perfect for us. Rather, his goal is for us to know him. We do just that, we come to know God as we navigate life, good times and bad, with him.

Yes, the Lord is among us!

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your presence that has been confirmed to me through the good times and the bad times of life! Let me never forget that you are with me. Help me to never stop seeking to know and love you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

December 1, 2022 – Good People – Luke 18

Exodus 12, Luke 18, 2 Corinthians 2

I was in a conversation with a person once and he was explaining why he felt he was going to be in heaven. He said I am a good person. I do this… and I do that… I didn’t use quotation marks because people say it all the time. It is a common misconception about getting into heaven. The idea is, our good deeds will be weighed on the balance against our bad deeds and if we have more good than bad, we are in. As I said, it is a common misconception.

We are judged for what we do in life and we will give an accounting of how we use what God has given us. However, whether we are saved or not, whether we go to heaven, will depend entirely on whether we know Jesus or not. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” Ephesians2:8NIV

That should give you a considerable amount of comfort. You are free to approach and know the Holy and Righteous God of the universe without worrying if you are good enough. If you have received this gift of God, if you have made Jesus your savior, you will be in heaven. You will still give an account of how you used what God gave you and hopefully you will be rewarded for your faithfulness.

In Luke 18, Jesus is addressing our attitudes about our righteousness or goodness. He tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee could have been the man I was mentioning a minute ago. He told God how good he was. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” Luke18:11–12NIV

The Pharisee did what we all do. He compared himself to other people in order to measure his goodness. Look at the people he had to compare himself to in order to feel good… robbers, evildoers, adulterers, and tax collectors. With robbers and evildoers as your standard of measure, it is not too hard to look good. The tax collector, recognized his sinfulness and humbly asked, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke18:14NIV

To further emphasize that our standard of measurement for whether we are good enough for heaven is God and not other people, Luke tells the story of Jesus’ encounter with a rich, young ruler. The man addresses Jesus as “good teacher.” Jesus replies, “Why do you call me good?…” “…No one is good—except God alone.” Luke18:19NIV

Are we good enough for heaven? Maybe if we compare ourselves with robbers and evildoers we would appear righteous enough. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. We don’t measure ourselves against others. We are measured against God.  Compared to the Holy and Righteous God of the universe, we are woefully inferior. We too should pray, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

The Good News, the Gospel, is that is exactly what God has done! Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God sees us as righteous because Jesus imparted his goodness and righteousness to us. When Jesus said, only God was good, he meant we were not good. He, however, is good because as the Son of God, he shares the righteousness and goodness of the Father.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for seeing me as good and worthy because of my faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Help me to be humble before you and my fellow man, recognizing that my goodness and my salvation are a gift from you. Help me to share the Gospel with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.