Monday, June 25, 2018

Lord Teach Us To Pray

God is the Creator. He is the maker of everything that is holy and good. Satan, on the other hand, is not. He distorts what is of God and perverts it until what's left is counterfeit and wrong. Things have always been this way since the beginning. However, for over two thousand years now, saints have been praying the Disciples prayer for God's kingdom to come, His will to be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.




And I know since we are human beings in God's likeness, we also have the ability to create as well. It's just who God made us. Now we as free moral beings are given a choice to either create in the moral fabric of this world's system (which is evil) Or we have the opportunity to create things which are good and useful. And we as people of God and the Bible know, the difference between these two spectrums of how people will ultimately gravitate to hinge on  two realities:

1. Has a person been born-again and given a new heart which has God's truth written on it to live out?

Or

2. Is that person unregenerated and still dead in their trespasses and sins?

Jesus said that by their fruit you would know them. He was talking about the fruit of the Spirit. But for this blog post I will not delve into that right now.  What I'm trying to do is establish a foundation for what I'm aiming to talk about here, and that's the topic of the first few words of the Disciples prayer found in Matthew 6.

God's kingdom come. His will be done. On earth, as it is in Heaven.
 
I realize there are many definitions and examples the Bible gives for God's kingdom. And I readily accept and believe the fact that it's firstly a kingdom that resides in each believer as they are filled with God's Holy Spirit. But for the sake of discussing the subject of creating things let's go back to what I started with at the beginning of this post:

God is the  Creator. And the Bible says that what the Lord makes is good. (Genesis 1:31) And moreover, the Bible says what the Lord then gives is good as well. So let's pause, reflect, and share some things that we know the Lord has given us:

Breath/life
Daily food
Shelter
Clothing
Transportation
Jobs

Seriously, the list could go on and on. And it would be enough to give us the peace that Paul talked about as we are thankful for how He has truly blessed us. And if we took the time to meditate on other things God has done for us, it would inevitably bring us back to God's kingdom come. His will be done. On earth, as it is in Heaven.


Think about this for a moment. Salvation came at the expense of Jesus Christ crucified on a cross for our redemption. His blood shed for our forgiveness. Now no matter what anyone says, that right 
there is the most important blessing anyone could ever have. There's nothing that compares to knowing Christ. I heard one preacher put it this way when asked what does Heaven mean to him. "JESUS!," was his answer. And how true that is.

But did you ever stop to think from the perspective of the Bible when scripture says that He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth? You see, it was a done deal. And when Christ came over 2,000 years ago, it was just God's kingdom come. His will be done. On earth, as it is in Heaven.



I'm telling you. I could share much about this that entails what I believe Heaven will be like when we get there. Imagine every joyful thing. Every pleasurable thing. Every good thing that we have experienced on earth – Experienced in Heaven with Jesus.


When I think about this, I'm reminded of Hebrews 8 where the writer alludes to the fact that things on earth are a copy and shadow to the things in Heaven. So the question I pose is this: What are all those things? What I submit here in this blog post is my answer: Everything good that God has made.




But here's the kicker: All these things will take place minus one thing: The taint of temptation and sin. I don't think a lot of people realize how much Satan has disfigured and corrupted this earth from God's original plan. That goes a lot into having our minds renewed and transformed by the Truth of God's Word. And that's a topic for another day. The one other truth I would leave here as a side note is found in Titus 1:15 which is a remarkable verse in my opinion. It's one of my favorite verses to remember when the topic of sacred vs. secular comes up. 


Nevertheless, I end this post on three takeaway notes for people reading. The first one is to consumer Christianity that wants all the things of God and revelation served up to them on a platter without doing the due diligence of spending time with God themselves and obeying what the scripture has revealed. Can I say to you this: 1.  Be the Berean. 2. Don't take someone's morning leftover manna for your daily spiritual diet. 3. Get with the Lord yourself and let the promise of 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 sink in until you are sure and satisfied in Him

The second message is to folks who are on the pathway of obedience and have given their hearts to God. Can I remind you of something Jesus said: John 16:12-14

The point is it takes time. My prayer for you is that faith will arise, and you will keep your eyes on the prize no matter what men and institution may argue or debate otherwise. The report of the Lord is still true. And it's up to us to believe it and walk in ways that put our faith into action.

Lastly, my concluding message is for those who are neither of the above. In fact, you are lost. And when I wrote about the taint of what all the devil has done to God's creation, you are the ones who practice and bask in it. You use temptations as opportunities to do what you know is wrong. What Jesus told people during His days of walking on the earth was relevant then as it is today. Repent and believe the gospel!

Yes, the sin you are taking pleasure in now is only but for a moment. And many of you know that. Comparatively, so is your life. The Bible asks and answers a question when it states this: 

"What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14)

However, if you have an interest in reading about how you can be reconciled to God and saved, please read the following link:

How To Become a Christian

Good day and God bless!

1 comment:

  1. Great post. I agree that more of us should take some time to sit down, breath, and just ponder on what the Lord's done in our lives. The world's always telling us we constantly need to be gaining and wanting (which isnt necessarily bad) but this alone can lead to us never being satisfied. Just by being alive is grace from God which we should count as a daily blessing.

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