Praise The Lord

Sometimes I think we may grow so comfortable with God that we forget that he is – well, you know, God. Yes, he is our friend and helper, but he is also the creator of the universe and master of everything we know and can even conceive. He is God and worthy to be praised as God in reverence, love and admiration. But thankfully, he is also a God of love and faithfulness. Psalm 117 puts it this way:

"Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord."

I don’t think we’ll ever be able to grasp how much God loves us. Yes, we know that he sent his son to die for us. In our human minds, we might conceive that act as the pinnacle of love. But could his love for us extend beyond our human understanding? We’ll probably never know this side of heaven, but we do know, as this portion of scripture states, that his love is great and his faithfulness endures forever. That’s right forever. So, I encourage you to never forget who we pray to, who we serve, and who loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us. He is worthy of all of our praise, all of our love, and all of our lives.

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Remember that God is not just our Father, our provider and our friend, but that he also must be reverenced as almighty, as God, and as absolutely everything to us. I love this psalm that reminds us that his love is great and his faithfulness endures forever. I encourage you to praise him today for who He is. Sometimes we need to take a step back and realize that we pray to the God of all things.

Restful Souls

ou know, sometimes I think we make this Christian walk too difficult. In fact, we might even go so far as to make life in general too hard. We put unnecessary pressures on ourselves and burden ourselves with worries and cares that in the grand scheme of things don’t really matter all that much. However, when we focus on Jesus, our perspective on life changes and as a result the burdens are lifted because we know that we can hand them over to him. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This portion of scripture makes me think about the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus came to their house and Martha was so concerned about cleaning up that she became wrapped up in the task, while Mary just sat at Jesus’ feet. Martha got upset that Mary wasn’t working, and Jesus said that Mary had chosen what is better. Sometimes we take life too seriously. We focus on things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, when we should be finding rest in what – or actually who – matters; Jesus. I challenge you to try and find rest in him. Notice that the scripture says that Jesus will give you rest for your souls. That is a different type of rest than rest for your body. I believe that rest for the soul deals with a cleansing peace and a refreshing that goes deeper than body rest. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders”. I think we all know what that means. It isn’t physical. But when someone says “a huge weight is lifted”, it is lifted off of the soul. And that is what Jesus offers. So, if that is you, I challenge you to come to him for rest.

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I challenge you to find rest in Jesus. He says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light; that he is gentle and humble in heart. To me that sounds very inviting. So, whatever is burdening you, or troubling you, look at it through the lens of Jesus. If you’re making your situation out to be larger than it is, then consider adjusting your perspective, looking at it in the scheme of eternity. And if you are truly facing something that is larger than yourself, remember that when placing your trust in Jesus, there is nothing too difficult for him. It is out of your control anyway, so hand it over to someone who has control. In either case, I hope you can find rest in him.

Justice

Have you ever taken a step back to think about all of the injustice in the world? The harming of the innocent, or the weak? The selfishness of our society? Basically, evil at the expense of others. The bible tells us that evil people may have a difficult time understanding justice, but believers in our Lord should have a different mindset. It says in Proverbs 28:5:

"Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully."

I think it comes down to the principle of doing unto others what we would have them do unto us. Or treating others as we’d like to be treated. I believe that this verse is bringing light to the idea that evil people think about what they can get for themselves, and do not put themselves in the place of their victim. You see, Jesus teaches us to do that. To think of other before ourselves; to do unto others as we’d want them to do unto us. With this principle, believers in the Lord should understand justice. So, I encourage you, when dealing with others, always try to put yourself in their shoes as if you were actually being treated the way you are treating them. And I also encourage you to always pray for those who are being abused, those who are helpless, or those being taken advantage of.

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I believe that in as much as possible, we should strive to have the heart of Christ. The bible tells us that our God is a just God. He cares about the orphans and the widows. He uses those who are weak to shame the strong. He calls us to love everyone, even our enemies. He says that it isn’t for us to judge, but to leave that up to him. In understanding God’s character, we understand what is important to him. And what is important to him, should be important to us. It is clear that God hates injustice. I encourage you to be mindful of injustice happening around you and to pray for those who are experiencing injustice in our homes, neighborhoods, schools, country and even our world.

The Work

Often times I feel as if I have to please God by the work that I do in his name; as if the things I do will gain a greater love from the Father, prove that I’m a Christian or maybe even make me feel somewhat justified in the salvation that he has offered for free. It is difficult for us humans to understand that we don’t have to physically do anything to be in right standing with God. Take a look at John chapter 6 verse 27-29. It says:

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.'”

Often times we forget that our works or our righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s sight. Yes, I believe that there is a place for works, but it has nothing to do with our salvation nor is it a factor in whether God loves us or not. Jesus tells us that the work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent. So, it really comes down to belief in Jesus. And what does that look like? I think the old hymn “Trust and obey” puts it best. I truly believe that to trust and obey, directly reflects our belief in Jesus. Having the faith to trust him to lead our lives, to answer our prayers, to know what is best for us, and to accept the gift of eternal life that he has promised those who believe. And to obey his word and his way is what it means to believe in Jesus.

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The question his followers asked was, “what must we do to do the works God requires?” and Jesus answered, “The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.” So, I challenge you not to make salvation too difficult. Do not put extra burdens and requirements on yourself. To be considered a believer in Christ is just that – to believe in the one he has sent; which is Jesus. To trust and obey him. Now, to follow Jesus is to be like him. By reading his word we learn how to be like him. We see how he responds in certain situations and we find out what matters to him. But the work that God requires for salvation is to believe in the one he has sent.

Agonizing Choice

As believers, we’re told to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection often. Of course, we do that on Easter and any time we have communion at church. But I encourage you to do it even more often than that. There is nothing preventing us from taking communion at home in our prayer closet and thanking Jesus for what He did for us on the cross any time we choose. When I think of Jesus’ sacrifice, I think of the portion of scripture from Mark 14:35-36 which says:

"Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'”

That, of course, was in reference to Jesus right before he would be taken and crucified. I challenge you to try and imagine this moment in Jesus’ life. From the time his mission was revealed to him up to this very moment, he knew that he was going to die for all mankind. Could you imagine knowing the time and manner of your death? There is never a time when we are ready and prepared to be tortured. Jesus knew what was coming and he knew it was coming soon. He agonized even to the point of not wanting to go through with it. Being fully man he asked that God allow this burden to pass from him. But even in his agony, he was faithful to God, obeying his will. It pains me every time I read it. I try to identify with Jesus’ state of mind as if I were in his shoes. How would you feel if you knew that you were about to be tortured and crucified, knowing that God has the power to stop it, but ultimately releasing your will and accepting God’s? Wrecks me every time I think about it. And it is something we should think about often, so that we don’t take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted. But praise God that he is alive today interceding on our behalf even as you read this.

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Imagine yourself in Jesus’ shoes when he prayed to God the night before he was taken to be crucified. What if you knew you would be taken tonight and crucified for something of which you are totally innocent? And what if you had total power to stop what was about to happen to you, but God called you to go through with it. Jesus chose to sacrifice himself for all mankind, but that didn’t lessen the fear of what was about to happen, nor the incredible pain and humiliation that he endured. Jesus, the son of God, the creator of life itself, did this for us. He was the only one who ever took on flesh and lived without sin. We honor lots of people ever year for their sacrifice to mankind. But no one comes close to what Christ did. And even though we have our freedoms in America, no one has won us freedom from eternal damnation except Jesus. I encourage you to remember that often, even when it isn’t Easter or communion Sunday.