Tag Archives: obedience

Knowing God

The Knowledge of God: We Shall Know!

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We Shall Know!

What to know about God?

What does God want us to know about Himself?  What does up close and personal look like?  God wants us to know truth.  About Himself, who He is, and truth concerning His plan for our life.  Knowledge of truth is enlightenment.  That is the reason it is important to practice spiritual disciplines: to draw near to hear the revealed truths of God (2 Cor. 4:6).

Paul’s prayer for the Colossians outlines what knowing God looks like:

So, we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (Col. 1:9-10, NLT)

What does knowing God look like?  Knowledge of Him, wisdom, understanding, and spiritual growth (maturity).  And armed with these things, what will be the results?  A life that honors and pleases God and produces “good fruit.” We must remember that God has created us for “good works” (Eph. 2:10) and has spiritually invested in our lives.

In addition, through knowledge of Him and His truth, we will be strengthened with power that will increase our spiritual endurance, joy, and perseverance (Col.1:11).    Armed with God’s knowledge, is there anything we cannot do?  Are there any challenges we cannot overcome?

How will we know if we know?

Knowledge of God in the Old Testament was expressed through mediators and agreements that acknowledged what was expected by each party.  Such was the case with the various covenants God entered into with Israel (Isa. 1:2; Deut. 11:1-25).  Included in those covenants were expectations on how those entering into agreement with God were to live.

In the New Testament, knowledge of God became more personal.  No longer would God use mediators or special agreements.  It was Christ who would make God known to man (John 1:18).  Knowing God was no longer an intellectual exercise or contractual agreement, but an individual response of faith and acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior.  

Biblically to know God is not to know about him in an abstract and impersonal manner, but rather to enter into his saving actions.  To know God is not to “struggle philosophically” with his eternal essence, but rather to recognize and accept his claims. It is not some mystical contemplation, but dutiful obedience.

We shall know fully.

Besides practice of spiritual disciplines, another way to grow in our knowledge of God is to fellowship with other believers who can share their personal experiences with the Lord.  As we grow, we are to reveal our testimonies with others, so they can come to know God as well.

For now, our knowledge of God is limited. “Perfect” knowledge of God is reserved for us in eternity future (1 Cor. 13:12).  God has, however, revealed what we need to know through Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

The believer’s knowledge of God in Jesus Christ is only provisional. It is sufficient for recognizing and trusting the object of faith (John 17:3; Rom. 10:9). Without answering all our questions, it provides an adequate light for the journeyer in this darkened world (2 Pet. 1:19). But this knowledge is only a foretaste of knowing God “face to face” in the hereafter, when the day dawns and the morning star arises in our hearts (2 Pet. 1:19)[1].

What has been revealed to date is more than enough to garner our trust and our allegiance.

[1] EDBT, Timothy R. Phillips.

Knowing God

The Knowledge of God: Grow in the Knowledge of God, Part 2

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Growing in the Knowledge of God, Part 2

Keep on growing.

Why should we care about knowing God?  As we stated earlier in this series, knowledge of God accomplishes three things in our life as believers: (1) it establishes the moral authority and inspiration in our life, (2) it results in purposeful living, and (3) it enlightens us as to what God has given to us.

More importantly, knowledge of God puts us in position to experience the fullness of God in our lives (Eph. 3:19).  It is found in experiencing a loving and secure relationship that is not dependent on our acceptability but is based on God’s grace and mercy.

This relationship will prepare us for whatever comes our way.  With this knowledge, we will be able to not only persevere during difficult times, but also do it with joy, peace, and hope (Rom. 15:13).

What impacts our ability to grow?

There are many factors that impact our desire to grow in the knowledge of God, but I will share what I’ve heard as reasons.

Some individuals simply do not desire to learn about and experience God.  They have chosen other means to address their “spiritual curiosity”.  Their faith walk is more of a spiritual expedition than a personal connection.

Others feel that to learn more will require too much in the way of commitment.  Growing in knowledge takes time and effort. While they acknowledge regular devotional practices like prayer, scripture study, and reflection cultivate a deeper understanding of God, they feel their time is better spent elsewhere.  Their faith walk will often lack the vitality they desire because it requires a personal commitment.

What does growth feel like?

While pursuing the knowledge of God may involve connection and commitment, the driving force behind it is relationship.  If we want to know…be familiar with…understand how someone is, we spend time with them.  How do we spend our time with God?  How much time do we spend with Him?  Is it a quick “snatch-a-verse”, punctuated with an even quicker prayer?  God said, “Draw near to me and I will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

The writers of Psalms provide wonderful models for what relationship feels like.  In Psalms 91:1, the writer declares that the person who “dwells in the secret place of the Most HIGH will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”  Abide means to lodge, stop over, pass the night, or remain.

King David exclaimed in Psalms 27:4, that of all that he possessed, one thing he desired and would seek after (seek after) and that was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life to behold the beauty of the LORD (NLT, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in His Temple).  To dwell imagines one who remains or “sits down in quiet”.

Last, but not least, is my favorite verse, Psalms 42:1-2.  “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.  I thirst for God, the Living God.”  Long is translated in the King James Version as pants, meaning to long for or to cry.

Do we desire to abide and dwell with God? Do we pant for God?  These are just a taste of what knowledge of God offers.

How do we grow?

We grow by reading and meditating on His Word.  It is God’s Word that transforms our hearts and minds.  As we read God’s Word, which is alive and active (Heb. 4:12), our minds are renewed (Rom. 12:2).  This renewal causes us to be receptive and obedient to the things of God.  What God began at the moment of our salvation, God WILL PRODUCE in us (Phil. 1:6).

We grow through cultivating an active and robust prayer life.  Active and robust infers intentionality and priority.  Time should not be an issue when we pray.  It is prayer that will shift both our circumstances and shift us!  Our will, our perspective, and our desires (Ezek. 36:27).

The key to remember in embracing the different spiritual disciplines is to remember that the intent of the disciplines is to draw us closer to God.  That we may know Him (Phil. 3:7-10)!  We practice spiritual disciplines not out of legalism but out of gratitude for the grace that has saved us.  They are “habits of devotion” and a means of intimacy.

It is God’s will that we may know Him—up close and personal. Because of Jesus, we now have an incredible opportunity to experience His presence, and His extraordinary love.  Who would turn that opportunity down?  Not me!

Knowing God

The Knowledge of God: Grace and Peace in the Knowledge of God

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Grace and Peace in the Knowledge of God

Knowledge of God.

In his second letter to God’s elect scattered throughout what is now modern Turkey, the Apostle Peter expressed his concern about false teachers.  The area in which these Christians lived was a hotbed for philosophies and teachings that challenged their belief in Jesus.  Are these concerns still a threat in 2024?

Peter opens his letter with a special blessing, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:2, NKJV).  He knew that knowledge of God was key to truth and protection against error—whether it be religious or secular. And it still is!

What is it?

To know or knowledge in Old Testament Hebrew has a wider meaning than in our English language.   To know is not to be intellectually informed, but to experience it as part of one’s reality.  Divine-human relationships are often expressed in this term.  The Lord knew Moses “by name.” (Exod. 33:11, 12, 17)

In the New Testament, the thought continues that knowing God is not simply an intellectual exercise.  The difference lies in the fact that knowing God is a response of faith and acceptance of Christ (John 14:7; 17:3)

There is more to be said about the difference between knowing God and having a knowledge of God.

Knowing or Knowledge:  What’s the Difference?

The difference between knowing God and knowledge of God is a subtle but deeply important one, touching on the very nature of faith and belief.

    • Knowledge of God refers to intellectual understanding and information about God. It can come from studying religious texts, attending sermons, learning about different doctrines and philosophies. You might possess a vast amount of information about God’s attributes, actions, and teachings.
    • Knowing God goes beyond mere intellectual knowledge. It’s about a personal relationship and experiential understanding of God. It’s about encountering God in your life, feeling his presence, and having a sense of connection with him. This isn’t achieved solely through information but through practices like prayer, meditation, and living a life guided by faith.

Consider this analogy:

    • Knowing about a tree: You might know its species, leaf shape, and how it photosynthesizes. You could even recite poems about trees.
    • Knowing a tree: You’ve spent time under its shade, climbed its branches, felt the wind in its leaves. You have a personal connection and understanding beyond textbook knowledge.

Similarly, knowledge of God is like the textbook, while knowing God is like experiencing the tree itself.

Knowing or Knowledge:  Which is better?

So, is knowing God better than having a knowledge of God?  For me, both are part of the same coin.  Each is important in developing a complete and personal reality of God in our life.

Our knowledge of God paves the way to knowing God.

Knowing God creates a deep desire to increase our knowledge of Him.

 That being the case, we will continue our study to know more.  I leave you with several insights from other notables of the faith who continue their pursuit of the knowledge of God.

“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2, NLT)

 

The Christian is strong or weak depending upon how closely he has cultivated the knowledge of God.   A.W. Tozer

Intimate knowledge of God is possible if we habitually search His Holy Scriptures and translate what we find into obedience.  George Mueller

 

Too many Christians are fighting graduate school sins with grammar school knowledge of God.  John Piper

 

How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into a matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer, and praise to God.   J.I. Packer

 

 

 

Knowing God

The Knowledge of God: Begin with the Basics

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Begin with the Basics

Learning from our experiences

In last week’s teaching on “Lessons Learned in 2023”, I shared those things I will take with me as I moved forward into 2024.  The “egg” I will carry includes spiritual growth, eternity, and finally, my knowledge of God.  It is in this last area that I’d like to begin a new series, “The Knowledge of God”.

Knowledge of God has always been one of the foundational tenets that forms the framework for our teachings and programs that support our mission of “Transforming lives through teaching God’s Word.”  The other tenets include knowing our identity in Christ (Gal. 2:20) and in remembering that our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).  We are part of the Kingdom of God.

Why is knowledge of God important?

Our knowledge of God…

    • Establishes the moral authority and inspiration in our life. We look to God to provide us with truth needed to guide us in this fallen world.  God gives us peace, joy, and hope needed during troubling and uncertain times.  He is our strength and deliverance (Ps. 18:1-3).
    • Results in purposeful living. We are God’s workmanship, created to do good works which He identified at the foundations of the world (Eph. 2:10).  To live out the purpose God has for our life, it is critical that we are obedient to God’s directions.  Living purposefully, the goal is spiritual maturity and ultimately, conformity to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29).
    • Enlightens us as to what God has given to us. As believers, we have everything we need to live godly in this world (2 Pet. 1:3).   First and most importantly, we have eternal life.   In addition, as children of God, we have access not only to Father God, but also to all the blessings and promises that go with this special relationship (Eph. 1:3-14).

All these things and much more are ours today.  But it requires correct knowledge and understanding of who God is—His goodness and His greatness.

The journey begins.

The rise of humanism in our world, has caused man, incorrectly, to believe he is the most important and knowledgeable creature on the earth.

Humanism primarily focuses on human flourishing in the present world, emphasizing social progress, ethical living, and addressing immediate concerns. This may not automatically lead to a focus on knowledge of God unless individuals actively seek to connect those values with their spirituality.

In his groundbreaking work of faith, Your God is Too Small, J.B. Phillips encourages Christians to redefine their understanding of who God is.  Phillips explains that the trouble facing many of us today is that we have not found God big enough for our modern needs.

Many women and men are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish or, as the old fashioned would say, godless, but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough to account for life, big enough to fit in with the new scientific age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently they’re cooperation.[1]

We invite you to join us as we expand our knowledge of God.  Let’s learn how God is “big enough” to meet us where we are today, even amid the complexities of 21st century living.

[1] Your God is Too Small, J. B. Phillips

Our Faith Walk

Lessons Learned in 2023: Remembering the Sankofa Bird

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It’s that Time Again

As is our tradition with WordBytes, our first teaching each new year is a reflection on the things learned in the previous year.  What have we learned as we look back on 2023?

What were the “bought lessons” learned at great expense?  What were the “taught lessons” received with meekness and humility? More importantly, how will we use the knowledge and wisdom learned to better navigate both the challenges and opportunities of 2024?

Learn from the Sankofa Bird

The Sankofa Bird is a mythical bird with its feet firmly planted forward, but its head turned back to pick up an egg from its back. This symbolizes the importance of learning from the past and bringing that knowledge with you as you move forward.

The Sankofa Bird holds various significant meanings:

    • Honoring the past: It encourages us to learn from our history, both the good and the bad. By understanding our past, we can avoid repeating mistakes and build a better future.
    • Preserving cultural heritage: Sankofa emphasizes the importance of preserving cultural traditions and values. It reminds us that our ancestors’ wisdom and knowledge are still relevant today.
    • Personal growth: On a personal level, the Sankofa Bird can represent the continuous process of self-improvement. It encourages us to reflect on our past experiences, learn from them, and use that knowledge to grow as individuals.

For this year’s “lessons learned”, we would like to offer the Sankofa Bird as a framework for sharing what we’ve learned in 2023.  It will also help to determine what things are of value moving forward into this new year and what things are “useless baggage” best left behind.

Where do I start?  Where am I headed?

I looked to previous years’ learnings to begin my list.  I asked myself, “Has my faith grown stronger?”  “Have I grown in the knowledge of Jesus Christ?” (2 Pet. 3:18) “Was I becoming more conformed to the image of Christ?” (Rom. 8:29)

It was in reading previous learnings that I discovered my first lesson from 2023.  Like the Sankofa Bird, looking back helped me understand that spiritual growth or sanctification is a continuous process.  We never stop growing until eternity.

From this review process, “common themes” began to emerge.

    1. God should be the center of our lives. Seek Him first.
    2. The importance of relationships. With God and with others.
    3. Trust and Obedience. These are essential for a successful faith walk.
    4. God is faithful and true. His Word and promises never change.
    5. God is ever present. His Presence is always with us.

These themes helped to identify my second lesson from 2023:  the importance of learning more about God, His Kingdom, and our purpose in His plan of salvation.  This lesson is best captured in Eph. 1:17-19.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,  the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,  and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

Did I learn anything new?

My final lesson learned is probably the most impactful to me.  It was learned during our study on eternity.  Unless we intentionally focus on the importance of eternity to our spiritual welfare, it will remain nothing more than theological jargon we hear on Sunday morning.

Many Christians become disillusioned as their quest for peace and pleasure on this earth feel them with despair.  If you are one of these believers who senses you’re missing something—who have hoped for more—it may be that your perspective is distorted by your focus on this world. With heaven as our point of reference, we can learn to live a satisfying, balance, and victorious life even in a fallen world.[1]

My third lesson from 2023:  To know the true God and His Son Jesus Christ, it is important that we focus on eternity.  To live on lives with an eye on eternity, is the only “sure way” to live in the fullness of God today, tomorrow, and forever.

Carrying my egg into 2024

Like the Sankofa Bird, with my feet firmly planted forward, I’m carrying my egg into 2024 by:

    • Prioritizing my spiritual growth and development.
    • Increasing in wisdom and knowledge of God.
    • Focusing on eternity.

And what will I leave behind?  All the things (and people) that hinder my journey forward.

What will you carry into 2024?  What will you leave behind?

[1]  Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, Eternity:  Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures

Advent/Christmas

Advent Revisited: God, Time, and Waiting

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God, Time, and Waiting

A Time of Waiting

Advent season is a time of waiting.  Waiting by its very definition is challenging.  It is defined as the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens.

How well we wait lies not only in what we are waiting for but also who we trust to provide our desired outcome.   That trust is based on the provider’s ability to deliver the outcome.  That’s why as believers, it is important to remember that Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith is worth waiting for.

Godly Waiting

Waiting is a spiritual discipline.  “Godly” waiting is a spiritual discipline that we must cultivate.  As with any discipline, practice makes “progress” (perfection is not always the goal).  Advent is a time in which we should make every effort to expand our capacity to wait.  That increased capacity will strengthen us for the days ahead.

While waiting, we exercise our patience “muscles” and bolster our endurance until we receive what we are waiting for (Heb.10:36).  In our waiting, faith is activated and strengthened.  It is in the waiting that our hope becomes an expectation.  While waiting, our belief and trust become rooted and grounded in the Lord (Ps. 27:13-14).

As we continue our journey through “Advent past”, we will look at waiting from a different perspective:  God’s perspective.

“GOD, TIME, AND WAITING”

Spiritual Endurance

Keep Hope Alive: The Anatomy of Hope

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Keep Hope Alive: The Anatomy of Hope

 

The Anatomy of Hope

What does hope look like?  What is its structure, composition, or framework?  What is hope made of?

Hope is a combination of desire for something AND the expectation of receiving it.  I’m not talking about “Christmas wishful thinking” but hope that encourages us to embrace the belief that better days are possible.  Hope motivates us to preserve and continue moving forward.  

We chose to create this series on hope because hope is what the world needs most right now.  When we began the series in October, there was no war between Israel and Palestine.  With regards to mass shootings in America, as of October 31, a total of 621 people have been killed and 2,126 other people have been injured in 520 shootings.  Political divisiveness worsens polarizing communities, leaders, and even families. Can hope be kept alive?

What does hope look like?

Is it any wonder that the majority of U.S. adults agree the nations’ future looks bleak?

A majority of adults (62%) disagree with the statement, “our children are going to inherit a better world than we did,” and 63% disagree with the statement, “I feel our country is on the path to being stronger than ever.” More than 3/4 of adults (76%) said that the future of our nation is a significant source of stress in their lives, while 68% said this is the lowest point in our nation’s history that we can remember. 

 Two in three adults (66%) said the culture’s current political climate is a significant source of stress in their lives. Further, three in five adults quote (60%) said that the current social divisiveness in the nation causes them stress. Slightly more than three in five adults 62% reported that the racial climate in the US is a significant source of stress in their lives.[1]

Are these sources of stress going to go away?  Absolutely not!  And these stressors are larger than us and out of our control.  In this environment, we are expected to manage the challenge of daily living and providing for our families–feeding, clothing, and housing.  We search out ways to balance the stresses of life while maintaining healthy relationships, and personal “sanity”.   There enters the need to cultivate our hope because when we cease to hope, we jeopardize our future.

Faith or hope?

How does our faith work with hope?  Can both occupy the same space?  In my reading, I came across a statement that helped me better understand the relationship between the two.  “While faith is a function of the intellect, hope is an act of the will.” [2]  In other words, what we know about God—His goodness, His greatness, and His promises—should cause us to confidently believe God.   Hope moves us forward as we act on our faith in God (Heb. 11:1).

Hope allows us to look beyond what we can see.

Abraham, the Father of Nations, questioned when God would send him an heir, yet Abraham is known to “hope against hope” (Rom. 4:8).  In other words, Abraham did not walk by sight but by faith in what God had promised him.  His hope was built on the promises of God.  Therefore, Abraham persevered.

The Apostle Paul’s faith in Christ (relational) and hope in Christ (motivational) kept him moving forward despite “beatings, in perils, in weariness, and in pain” (2 Cor. 11:23-27).  Paul’s hope of glory moved Him through difficult times to eternity where he looked forward to the day when he would receive the crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8).  Therefore, Paul endured.

Hopelessness and true hope

True hope comes from the One who created hope: God.  It comes by trusting God even when circumstances are difficult. I’ve heard many theologians and teachers disparage believers who struggle with hopelessness.  While their intentions may be good, such belief discounts the fact that we are mere humans.  We need hope, too.  It’s important to remember that we are not perfect, simply saved.  And that is more than enough.

Psalms captured this thought in several of its passages.

For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again. (Ps. 78:39, NKJV)

For He knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone as though we had never been here. (Ps. 104:14-16, NLT)

Unless we acknowledge the frailty and fragility of our flesh, we may fail to understand the need for God’s power and presence in our lives.  We must embrace our dependency on God which will solidify our hope.  Can hope be kept alive?  Absolutely!

Trust produces obedience, which produces hope, which results in joy and peace; and that is the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13). When we walk by faith and trust in God, we can persevere and endure.  We have hope.

[1] Stress in America 2022, American Psychological Association.  

[2]Wikipedia, Hope

Victorious Living

Throwback Wednesday: Truth: The Divine Perspective

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Throwback Wednesday: Truth: The Divine Perspective

For the past few weeks WordBytes has focused on the process of  “returning”.  Return by definition means to come or go back to a place or person or thing.   As a part of speech, it is an action word that demands a personal response to accomplish a desired outcome.

In our series we suggested that to live victoriously, it is critical that we as believers not forget key spiritual virtues.  If we have “drifted”, it begins by returning to our first love, God.  Other areas include fellowship, faithfulness, joy, and repentance.  Returning is an indication and an admission, that we, at one time, have been in the “right place”.

With that in mind, for Throwback Wednesday we’d like to “return to basics”; and that basic involves truth.  More specifically, God’s Truth.  We offer for your consideration, “Truth:  The Divine Perspective.”

Truth: The Divine Perspective

Spiritual Discipline

Return to Our First Love

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Return to Our First Love

Do you remember?

Who can forget their first love?  The excitement we felt when that special person entered the room.  The anticipation of seeing them and the connection that was made as eyes met.  The experience of first love, with all its innocence and purity, was never to be repeated—for that is the way of “first things”.

Remember the first time you professed your love for Jesus Christ?  With that experience came the same excitement and anticipation as our first earthly love.  Unlike most first things that eventually lose their luster, it is important for us to make every effort to nurture and cultivate our personal relationship with our First Love, Jesus Christ.

How’s love today?

Are we feeling distant and estranged from God?  Do our prayers appear routine and repetitive?  Is our praise predictable and puny?  If we answered yes to any of these questions, then it’s time for us to examine ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5) and see what is hindering our personal relationship with the Lord.  God never changes (Malachi 3:6) nor has God moved.  Maybe it’s time to return to our first love for Jesus.

The church at Ephesus had persevered and endured hardship for the Lord.  This was a critical part of the early church’s responsibility to insure a clear and true presentation of the gospel (Eph. 4:1-2).  In general, this church had continued in its faithful service to God for more than 40 years.   While all these “efforts” were important in the development of the early church (as it is now), there was something noticeably absent.  They had left their first love for Jesus.

Time to return.

Jesus lays a charge of carelessness in Ephesus’ relationship with Him in Revelations 2:4:  ” Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

In the literal translation of today’s text, the order of the words in Greek emphatically denote the strong rebuke directed to the church. “Your first love you have left!”  This second-generation of believers, had retained purity of doctrine but were lacking in deep devotion to Christ.

As believers, we must ask ourselves if we too are careless in cultivating our relationship with the Lord.     Remember the first time we professed our love for Jesus Christ?  With that experience came excitement and anticipation.  Are we now guilty of taking our eyes off the Lord?  Are we more concerned with our personal agendas than practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit?  Have we left our first love?

And what can we say about the Church, Christ’s bride (Rev. 19:7-9)?  The Church needs to heed the same warning given to the Ephesians.  Orthodoxy and service is not enough.  Christ wants hearts as well as our hands and heads (Matt. 22:37).

How can I return?

Last week, we agreed that repentance is the starting point to return to God.  Once this has taken place, we might consider the following strategies to return to His side (1 John 1:3).

Recommit ourselves to Him.   Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (Rom.  6:16) Recommitment involves renewing your loyalty to Christ and His lordship over your life.  This includes directing your time, talents, and treasures to the service of the Lord.  We are so grateful that there is nothing that can ever separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:39).

Renew our love for Him.  I will love You, O LORD, my strength (Ps. 18:1).  Tell the Lord how much you love Him.  Although He is all-knowing, He still wants to hear us tell Him how much we adore Him.    We must let Him know that we desire Him with all our heart and soul (Ps. 42:1-2).  Let us show our love for Him through our praise and worship.  We are never closer to Him than when we “love on Him” (Ps. 22:3).

Reprioritize our life around Him.   Christ set the standard for priority when He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt.  6: 33).  However, to make God the center of our life is counterculture.  When we place Christ first in our life, we are assured that we have chosen the “Good Part” (Luke 10:42).

It’s time to return to our first love!  He is waiting for us (Isa. 30:15, 18).

Spiritual Discipline

Return to Repentance

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The truth sometimes hurts.

As part of my devotions today, I read Isaiah 59.  Although I have read individual verses from this chapter before, today’s full reading of this chapter struck a “spiritual nerve”.   Isaiah 59:2,  in particular, caught my attention.

Your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.  (NRS)

It’s all about us!

Isaiah 59 was not written for people who had no knowledge of God; people we refer to as  “the unsaved”, but it was penned for those whom God had entered into a special covenant relationship with.

Israel had been hand-chosen by God from all the nations in the world (Deut. 7:7-9) to carry out His purpose and plan of salvation.  They were to be a “holy nation, a peculiar people that would show forth His praises” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Unfortunately, instead of heralding God’s praises, Israel went a “whoring” after other gods (Jer. 3:2; Ezek. 43:7), relying on itself and other nations.  The result was punishment—70 years captivity in Assyria and Babylon—away from the land God had promised and given to them.

How do we measure up as a nation?

In reading Isaiah 59, I see an unsettling similarity between the events leading up to Israel’s exile and where we find ourselves today as a nation and yes, as the Church.

As a nation, we have walked away from the spiritual guidance and direction of God.  If you survey our social institutions and political systems, you will see remnants of what we once knew as “one nation under God”.  We have exchanged our “moral compass” for “individual rights”.

The lines of “right and wrong” are no longer determined by God’s holy standards but have been replaced by political affiliations and social relationships.   Man has placed himself on the throne of his heart—doing “what is right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).  Servility and kindness, community and brotherly love have all been sacrificed on the altar of man’s selfishness.

How about the Church?

As the Church, we have retreated into the safety of our church walls.  Internally focused, we are more concerned with our personal needs and how we can achieve “our purpose to be all we can be”.

We have forgotten about the helpless, the homeless, and the hungry.  Jesus went outside the walls to serve mankind versus being served (Matt. 20:28).  Jesus came “to preach, to bind, to proclaim, and to open” (Is. 61.1).  Can we as the Church do any less?

There is hope!

Hopefully, one of the key outcomes from reading Isaiah 59 is that we will begin to recognize and repent from those “iniquities that have separated us from God” (verse 2).

God wants to be reunited with this nation and His Church.  That’s why Jesus Christ came that our sins—personally and corporately, might be forgiven AND our relationship with the Father restored (2 Cor. 5:18-19).

The Redeemer (Jesus Christ) “did come to Zion” (verse 20) and to the rest of the world—that we might turn from our transgressions.  Let us pray continuously that we as a nation and the Church will repent of those behaviors and attitudes that cause us to transgress against God.