Verse of the Day: Hebrews 10:39 My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.
Memory of the Month: Proverbs 15:1-A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Today's reading: SONG OF SOLOMON 4-5 GALATIANS 3
Dust In Our Eyes?
1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel: Does the Eternal One delight in sacrifices and burnt offerings
as much as in perfect obedience to His voice?
Be certain of this: that obedience is better than sacrifice;
to heed His voice is better than offering the fat of rams.
John 14:21 The one who loves Me will do the things I have commanded. My Father loves everyone who loves Me; and I will love you and reveal My heart, will, and nature to you.(John 14:21).
St. Gregory wrote: “In sacrifices a man offers only strange flesh, whereas in obedience he offers his own will.”
"When I pray, is my heart in the right place?"
This is the question that we should all answer. We go before God with all our requests and petitions and wait for answers but do we offer our will in obedience or do we even think about obedience.
Obedience to what? Wrong question-Our question should be "...in obedience to whom"?
Believers have the Spirit of God-the mind of Christ-all the time. Are we paying any attention at all?
When people cry out to God, why do they 'cry out'? In all honesty, have you ever really cried out to God? If you have, under what circumstances? Many of us have never cried out to God unless the pain of our lives has brought out the 'cry'.
Have you ever really cried out to God for the lost? Have you ever cried out to God for the oppressed or those whose lives are in real mortal danger for their faith in Christ? Have you ever cried out to God for the hungry and homeless? Have you ever cried out to God for your neighbor?
Have you ever cried out to God from the weight of the guilt of your own sin?
Crying out to God does not mean we are living in obedience. How can we pray for 'revival' when there is disobedience, sin, in our lives?
A mass prayer for a cause that is the will of God should bring God's positive answer. If the answer does not come, what is the evident reason, then?
The prayers of a disobedient people are no better than the fat of rams in 1 Samuel 15:22. If the will of the woman or man that prays is not surrendered to God, it is like a man writing a check to the church expecting that money to cover his sins.
Ok. What does it mean for any of us to be obedient so our prayers do not smell of fat...?
That is the point-that any would ask this question. Obedience to God is done one heart at a time. In Christ, we must see our lives measured by the word of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit and do what God's word says-that is the written word as well as the 'living word of God'. The will of God for your life is different for each heart, but we must start in the beginning.
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
"The one who loves Me will do the things I have commanded. My Father loves everyone who loves Me; and I will love you and reveal My heart, will, and nature to you."(John 14:21).
How can we expect to have prayers answered if we do not love God the way He says? How can we expect answers if we do not love our neighbor as we love ourselves?
Learn to love God. How? Confess to God that you do not love Him as the Bible says but that you want to.
Learn to love yourself. God has redeemed you-set you free in Christ-learn to love the part of you Jesus died for-After all, He loved you so much He died for you-must be something there to love...
Learn to love your neighbor. Do not judge.
In Matthew 7, Jesus said, "3 Why is it that you see the dust in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but you can’t see what is in your own eye?"
Confess the dust in your own eyes and ask God to let you see you as He sees you-washed clean in Christ Jesus. When we can see the way He wants us to -through the mind of Christ that made Him sweat drops of blood for the sin of the world-we will cry out to God in divine compassion for the lost world.
Having said all of this, God still welcomes the brokenhearted before His throne. When grief is so horrible that we cry out to God, He hears it all. In the midst of all the pain, God will let us see His will if we look. There is much to learn for all of us. God wants to see our real desire-desire that He changes to His desire because we are desiring to be obedient.
The dust in our eyes is our sin. Define yours before God and confess it.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Have mercy on me and forgive my sin of not surrendering my will to You. Let me feel Your compassion for the lost so my prayers are in Your will.
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