Posts Tagged ‘O God’

The Truth About Maps

Posted: November 3, 2012 in Our Daily Bread
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GPS is the latest way for travelers to find the best route to their destination, but my husband and I still navigate the old-fashioned way—with maps. Since Jay is usually the driver, the role of map watcher is mine by default. In general, I am not directionally challenged, but it seems that way when I try to navigate while the car is moving. Even though I know where we want to end up, I can’t figure out the best way to get there if we don’t stop to find out where we are. I need to get my bearings.

This can be true in our spiritual life as well. When we try to figure out the way God wants us to go, we need to stop and get our spiritual bearings. If we don’t, we are likely to end up lost in unintended places, situations, or relationships.

In helping His disciples navigate life and find their way through the traps and temptations of the world, Jesus often said, “stop.” “Stop grumbling,” “stop judging by mere appearances,” “stop doubting and believe” (John 6:43; 7:24; 20:27 NIV). To follow Jesus, we frequently have to stop something we are doing that’s wrong. As we depend on His guidance, we will learn to go in the way He says is right.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. —Psalm 139:23-24
God’s way is the right way to go.

To God Be the Glory! by Mark D. Roberts

Posted: September 3, 2012 in The High Calling
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All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen.

This will be our final reflection on Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Some Bibles indicate that the verses of Romans 16:25-27 do not appear in this location in all of the ancient manuscripts of Romans. This has led some scholars to wonder if this passage was not in Paul’s original letter, but was added later. Some believe it was written by Paul. Others argue that it was penned by a follower of Paul who summed up Romans in a marvelous doxology. Either way, verses 25-27 draw this letter to a fitting conclusion. And, most fitting of all, the last words of Romans offer glory to God.

Why does God deserve glory? Because he is “the only wise God.” This does not mean, of course, that there are other gods who are less than wise. Rather, the only true God is full of wisdom. We glimpse this wisdom through Paul’s letter to the Romans. It is centered in the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ. Thus we glorify God “through Jesus Christ,” in whom we have been brought into a right relationship with God.

We who know God through Jesus Christ live for the praise of God’s glory (see Eph. 1:12, for example). Ideally, everything we do and say will bring glory to God. Of course we fall short of this ideal because we are still works in progress. But as we grow in our faith, we find ourselves more and more eager for God’s glory, and less and less preoccupied with our own.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: In what ways do you glorify God in your life? If you were to live for God’s glory above all, how might this change the way you live each day?

 

PRAYER: All glory to you, O God, because you are wise beyond all comprehension.

All glory to you, O God, because you have revealed your wisdom through Jesus Christ.

All glory to you, O God, because your grace is greater than all our sin.

All glory to you, O God, because the good news of your work in Jesus Christ has the power to save us.

All glory to you, O God, because there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from your love.

All glory to you, O God, forever, and ever, and ever. Amen.

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Calling on God in Truth by Mark D. Roberts

Posted: July 14, 2012 in The High Calling
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The LORD is close to all who call on him,      yes, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145 celebrates the greatness and goodness of God. We know God’s superlative nature because of his powerful, gracious actions. In particular, the Lord cares for the fallen and the hungry (145:16). Yet he is “filled with kindness” for all and is “close to all who call on him” (145:17-18).

This does not mean, however, that we should fashion God in our own image, making him into whatever we like and praying according to our particular biases and projections. Psalm 145:18 reminds us: “The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.” Our prayers should reflect the character of God as revealed in history, in Scripture, and most of all in Jesus Christ. They should take into account God’s will for us. It would be foolish, for example, to ask God to bless behavior that was clearly contrary to his revelation. To ask God not to be loving or to endorse hateful behavior would be silly. On the other hand, to pray in line with God’s identity and will would be wise. Moreover, in the language of Psalm 145:18, God is “close” to us when we call on him “in truth.”

Psalm 145:18 gives expression to one of my basic hopes and motivations as I write these Daily Reflections. I believe that the best way for us to call upon God in truth is to immerse ourselves in Scripture. Here we glimpse the actions of God that reveal his nature. Here we read what God says about himself. Here we can find God’s will for our behavior. The more we allow the written Word of God to permeate our minds and hearts, the more we will be able to pray in light of God’s true nature and true will.

When we pray in this way, not only will we find that our prayers are answered positively, but also we will sense the presence of God in our lives. He will be “close” to us as we meditate upon his truth, growing into a deeper relationship with him.

All of us desire God’s closeness in our lives as we relate to him in truth. But we are not alone in this desire. God also seeks this kind of relationship with us. As Jesus said, “[T]he time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How has knowing God through Scripture impacted the way you pray? How has knowing God’s will through Scripture impacted the way you pray? Have you experienced God’s closeness when you call upon him “in truth”?

PRAYER: Thank you, dear Lord, for the promise of Psalm 145:18. Thank you for being close to us when we call upon you, especially when we call upon you in truth.

Help me, gracious God, to pray in this way. It is so easy for me to lay before you what I want for myself, to pray in light of my own selfish needs and desires. Yet I want my prayers to reflect your nature and your will. So teach me, correct me, guide me, and inspire me, so that I might call upon you in truth.

All praise be to you, O God, for your strength and grace, for your majesty and holiness, and for your closeness to me. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/calling-god-truth-0

How To Wait

Posted: July 1, 2012 in O Christian.com
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“Blessed is he that waiteth” (Dan. 12:12).

It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God‘s warriors than standing still.

There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption?

No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid.             Wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him. Believe that if He keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come, and shall not tarry.

Wait in quiet patience. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses. Accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, “Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities; but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.” –Morning by Morning

Wait patiently wait,

God never is late;

Thy budding plans are in Thy Father’s holding,

And only wait His grand divine unfolding.

Then wait, wait,

Patiently wait.

Trust, hopefully trust,

That God will adjust

Thy tangled life; and from its dark concealings,

Will bring His will, in all its bright       revealings.

Then trust, trust,

Hopefully trust.

Rest, peacefully rest

On thy Saviour’s breast;

Breathe in His ear thy sacred high ambition,

And He will bring it forth in blest fruition.

Then rest, rest,

Peacefully rest!

–Mercy A. Gladwin

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/mrs-charles-cowman-streams-in-the-desert-devotional.shtml

Grass on a Rooftop by Mark D. Roberts

Posted: May 19, 2012 in The High Calling
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May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,      turning yellow when only half grown.

Every now and then as I read Scripture, a word or a phrase jumps out at me. Sometimes this happens because the Spirit of God stirs in my mind. Sometimes I am simply struck by the beauty or even the oddness of an expression.

As I was reading Psalm 129, the phrase “grass on a rooftop” caught my attention. That’s not something you hear every day. In ancient Israel, roofs of common homes were often made of beams and branches covered with thick mud. When the rains came, grass seeds embedded in the mud would sprout. But because its roots were shallow and its source of water temporary, the grass on the housetops wouldn’t thrive. It would wither and die even before it was fully grown.

I don’t want to be like grass on a rooftop. I don’t want to look as if I’m flourishing in life, only to shrivel up and die. Rather, I want to be like the trees described in Psalm 1. They are planted along a riverbank, with roots burrowed deep into rich and well-watered soil. Thus, they bear fruit in season and “their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (Ps. 1:3).

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: What aspects of your life have been like grass on the roof? What helps your roots to grow deeply so that you might live a fruitful life?

PRAYER: O Lord, I don’t want to be like “grass on a rooftop.” I don’t want to look good for a moment, only to wither away. I want my life to bear fruit for your kingdom, not just now, but for as long as I live.

So help me, Lord, to let my roots grow deeply in your soil. May I be continually nurtured by your Word.

May I be watered by your Spirit. May I spend intentional, regular time with you and your people, so that I might be like the trees in Psalm 1.

All praise be to you, O God, because you give me life abundant and eternal. Amen.

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