Morning Prayer

Open our ears that we may hear, our eyes that we may see,
our hearts that we may truly know Thee- the only true God.

May the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead
dwell within us and quicken our mortal bodies to eternal life
through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever. Amen.

(Romans 8:11)

Don't go 'round hungry

Sitting by a well, Jesus told the Samaritan woman- "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13)

Not long after the miracle of feeding the 5000, he told the crowds who came to him, who were once again looking for free food; "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)

In both places, Jesus is illutrating a truth, using one of our most basic needs in life- food and water.. Simply put, He alone can satisfy our inner desires. Problem is, many Christians walk around feeling very empty. They don't experience that "spring of water welling up to eternal life". They often feel very hungry and thirsty. Why is that?

Go back and look at those two verses.. It says "everyone who drinks this water" and "he who comes to Me". In other words, there is action required on our part. We have to come to Jesus and we need to drink the living water He offers. So many Christians don't make time for either activity, then they wonder why they feel so dry and empty. Eventually they find other desires to try and quench the longing they feel within.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) If you turn it around, you could say- those who don't hunger and thirst for righteousness shall never be content. So basically we have to choose. We can eat, drink and seek fulfillment in our relationship with God and be satisfied, or we can seek other things and always go 'round hungry.

God will lead us to living water, but He won't make us drink it. That's up to us.

One Thing I Ask

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple. (Psalm 27:4)

I've heard it said, if you want to find out what's most important to you, just look at where you spend your spare time, where you spend your money and what you think about.. It quickly becomes obvious what you value most in life. David said there was one thing he wanted from God and even said "that I shall seek". In other words, not only did he ask God for this one most important thing, he also intended to do his part to make the request a reality. He valued being in God's presence more than anything. He just wanted to be in God's house, behold His beauty and meditate on God Himself. I want to have a heart like that, to value my relationship with God more than anything else, to "behold the beauty of the Lord and meditate in His temple".

Eagerly Seeking

Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

In this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us not to worry about things that aren't important, that we should seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness first and foremost, that God will take care of the rest. We've all heard this passage a million times, but do we really live it?

As Jesus stated "for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things".. By saying that, He contrasted the way the Gentiles of the day lived in comparison with the way the people of God were instructed to live. In other words Jesus is saying, it's a worldly thing to eagerly seek "things" more than we seek God. How does that truth relate to present day? Today it's much worse. People of the world still eagerly seek things more than they seek God, but today it's much more than concerns about food and clothing. They worry about the car they drive, the house they live in and even whether they have the latest and greatest cell phone. Peoples minds today are nearly consumed with things that don't matter. Are the God's people any different? Many times they're not. Personally, I think it's the enemies way of distracting God's children, to keep them so occupied that they don't spend any quality time with God.

Wouldn't it be radical if the church took these verses to heart and lived them out? While I can't speak for the church, I can speak for myself. I intend to do everything possible to live these truths, to earnestly seek God's Kingdom first, and also His righteousness. Not my own righteousness, but His alone.

Seek ye first the kingdom of men,
treasures of earth and pleasures of sin.
But still in the end, you'll never find
true happiness in your heart and mind.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
you'll find worth and God will applaud.
For He rewards the soul who seeks Him-
they're the wisest of women and men.

Gethsemane

In Matthew, it says "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray'".. In Luke 22 and John 18 it mentions this was the place he usually withdrew with his disciples. It was a place of solitude, a place to escape the maddening crowds, get quiet and pray.

Jesus had a secret place,
away from the loud and noisy crowd,
where He would seek the Father's face..
Often He stayed all night and prayed -
with heavenly power He was endowed..

We need a garden such as this,
a place to come when the day is done..
a sacred place of solitude and bliss,
to safely rest from earthly stress..
to know the Father, Spirit and Son..

We all need a special place like that, and we need to go there often.

God's Perspective

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted.." (Isaiah 6:1)

King Uzziah reigned over Israel over 50 years. That's hard for us to relate to since in our country Presidents serve 4 years.. 8 if they're elected again. But that's it. We don't have Presidents who stay in office longer that that. But Uzziah was the only king most people in Israel had ever known. Not only that, he was a great king. The Bible records "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". He also did a lot to make Israel a better place to live. Second Chronicles 26 records his many, varied accomplishments. Then after 52 years of stability and peace, Israels great leader passes away. You can imagine how everyone felt, the cloud of uncertainty, the sadness.

Then in the middle of that confusing time, God gives Isaiah a vision. He sees things from God's perspective. God's not standing up walking around heaven, in some kind of panic, wondering what He's going to do now that Uzziah is dead. God's isn't even standing, he's sitting down on His throne. In other words, He's still in control! If only we could keep that perspective when we start to panic about things on earth. It's a safe bet that God's still sitting on the throne, high and exalted. We should realize that truth, and then cry out with the angelic hosts..

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, the whole earth is full of His glory!"

First Love

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place" (Rev 2:2-5)

Sounds like a good church at first. They were hard-working, didn't tolerate evil men, they persevered in the midst of adversity, and they even tested those who claimed to be apostles, just to make sure their doctrine was sound. But Jesus told them plainly REPENT! They'd done all the right things, but they'd forgotten the most important thing of all- loving the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.. You could say they made their church and their doctrines more important than the relationship they had with Christ. And Jesus made no bones about it, unless that changed, He would come and "remove their lampstand". In other words, their church would be taken away. From God's perspective, if you don't love Him first, then you shouldn't "play church".

Lord, hear our prayer- Help us love you more than anything or anyone, always!