Relationship and Work

I was talking to a friend on Tuesday about how my Christian experience is so much different than that of most Christians. She said that most people, after they become Christians, just get busy, and don't build their relationship with the Lord. She and I focus on our relationship with the Lord, and that's what makes the difference. That's something Oswald Chambers wrote about constantly in My Utmost for His Highest. Relationship with the Lord is so important, and work without building one's relationship with Him, becomes "graceless." I want Him to know me. I don't want to be among those to whom He said, "I never knew you." Do you?

Prayer

I bug my friends constantly for prayer. I need it, and it works. Praise the Lord! I'm learning how desparately necessary prayer is, and I hope my friends are learning that, too. The Lord actually lets me suffer if they don't pray, in order to teach them to pray. My prayers for myself alone are not effective. When my friends pray, I experience relief. And, when I pray, others experience relief. God could do everything all by Himself, but He chooses to involve us, which is mind-boggling to me. We are partners in His enterprises. We work with God in bringing about His purposes (which are rock-solid) in battlefields, Government halls, centers of power, homes, churches, and in people's hearts. It's exciting work. And the devil hates it. Whoever is mighty in prayer is a terror to the devil. And God commands it.

Hebrews 11:1-12:13

This passage has spoken to me today. Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel "obtained the testimony [from God] that he was righteous." Verse 11:5 says that Enoch obtained the witness [from God] that he was pleasing to God." Verses 35-40 summarize others who also obtained a testimony from God, but most of those people were not successful, from outward appearances, and did not receive deliverance. But they obtained the testimony from God, through their faith, that they were righteous, or pleased God. I'm sure this helped them not to grow weary or lose heart as they endured (12:3). Their faith was in the faithfulness of the Christ (chapter 10). So it's God's testimony, not man's, and not outward success, that counts for eternity. This encourages me.

To Blog or Tweet

The other day as I was looking at Facebook writings among people I know, it struck me how different I am from everyone else. Most people have alot more to say than I do. My blogs are too long to be tweets. Most people, it seems, write about family, friends, sports, and hobbies. I write about my relationship with the Lord, about theology, and related topics. My life is full of weighty matters that I deal with all the time. They don't seem to fit what a "tweet" is supposed to be. The little things that others write about daily have a beauty that I don't often see in the events of my life. Nevertheless, there is beauty in my relationship with the Lord, in what He is teaching me, and in what He does in my life. I focus on these few things, and am hard-pressed to say something daily. Judging from the few visitors to my blog, what I write doesn't "resonate" with most people. I believe I am dealing with end of life issues. I don't find it morbid. I'm truly looking forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face, and am trying to leave a legacy for those I love. I'll probably just print off my blog, and give copies to them.

Evangelism

I have a friend who claims to be an atheist. I have my doubts. She has too much interest in spiritual things. No doubt she has been blind, but the Lord is beginning to open her eyes. I am thankful for this, but it is only a beginning. The Lord opened her heart to the preached Word last Sunday. She told me, "Now I understand." Later she asked a question about baptism. Another friend had an outing with her two days later. It was mostly a fun time, but they also prayed together, not unusual for them me. What was unusual was that my unsaved friend asked her how she could pray her. She also said, "I pray God will accept me so I can pray for you." A prayer of faith or repentance? Follow up on my part revealed that it was not. But she is definitely on the road to faith in Christ. In another context, I have seen a well- meaning pastor pressure a young child towards baptism, because he had repeated a prayer led by his daddy. The child had not a clue what was going on. I fear we perform spiritual abortions because, in our zeal for their salvation (or for stars in our crown?), we pressure people who are not ready to be saved. We need to trust the Holy Spirit to bring about salvation in His time. He surely will.

Relationship

Many Christians focus exclusively on the written Word and assume things about the Holy Spirit. They don't know how He operates in any practical sense. They think they have a personal relationship with the Lord, but don't do it. They assume they do, but don't know they are blind. It's interesting that in the Bible the Word is both written and a Person. "The Word becme flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14). He wanted a personal relationship with us. To fail to nurture a personal relationship with the Lord is to miss half the equation. To read the Bible and assume things about the Lord is not the way to nurture a personal relationship with Him. Try to relate to your spouse only through written communication and assume things about him/her, and you'd be in big trouble. Moses is the lawgiver in Scripture, so he was big on the written Word. Alot of people stop there. They forget that his relationship with God Almighty was close and personal. "Thus the Lord used to speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11). It doesn't sound like the written Word comprised the totality of Moses' relationship with God. It was so exceptionally personal that it was noted in the Bible. Thus it has to be with Christians, only with us, it should be more personal than it was with Moses since we have the Holy Spirit. We don't have to assume things about God. We can know for sure.

New Year's Resolutions

I quit making New Year's resolutions a long time ago. It relieved me of alot of false guilt related to making promises I couldn't keep. My philosophy now is "Every day is new," based on Lamentations 3:22-23, and I ask the Lord what He wants me to do.