Last week Phil and I visited The Holy Land Experience in Orlando, FL. We’d heard good things about it and we weren’t disappointed. We both experienced an increase in our love for God that we can’t contribute to any specific attraction – it was the overall, cumulative experience that had the impact.
Worship & The Bible
We started with outdoor worship in the Temple Plaza. After that it was a combination of watching live plays and looking at static displays. The first display we walked through was The Scriptorium. Filled with authentic and ancient artifacts from around the world this display provides a history of how we got to the Bible we have today. What a new respect it gave me for the Word of God! Prior to walking through the exhibit I knew most of what was presented, but seeing the artifacts as we walked from room to room, time period to time period had a greater impact than studying in a classroom. Here’s a tidbit for you: Did you know that the first Bible printed in the United States was printed in the Algonquin language? That tells me that as a nation, we have in our origin – in our roots – a love for God and a heart to share that love with others. Yes, we have made a mess of it at times, but our roots are strong and good.
Live Shows
The live shows were excellent. Phil particularly liked the production Four Women Who Loved Jesus. The scenes occur while Jesus is on trial and four women are see what’s being done with Jesus and to testify for Him. The widow of Nain, the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years, the woman caught in the act of adultery and Mary bring their stories to life as they share with the audience why they loved Jesus so passionately. God’s mercy, forgiveness and love was expressed in a way that touched Phil’s heart. And if God is that merciful, forgiving and loving to these women, He is no less merciful, forgiving and loving to each of us today.
I am not a person who typically focuses on the passion of Christ. Yes, I saw the movie The Passion of the Christ, but I don’t need to see it again. I understand the horrific death that my Savior experienced for me. I don’t need to see it graphically portrayed over and over again. So I was not looking forward to the live show titled We Shall Behold Him. It is performed in two parts, and both had great impact. In the first location, we see bits and pieces from Jesus’ life, trial and crucifixion. What impressed me the most about this play was the authentic joy and grief on the faces of Jesus’ disciples. When He performed miracles, they raced through the audience in jubilation. As He died on the cross, they stood grief-stricken at a distance watching. The emotion brought the Bible to life for me in a new way. After the crucifixion, we moved to the Temple Plaza and Christ returns with great fanfare from angels, praising saints and a robe that fills the temple. I couldn’t stay seated as He slowly walked down the aisle and angels knelt before Him. What a glorious time it will be when we truly see Jesus!
Exhibits and Closing Worship
There were other exhibits, walking areas, praying areas, a restaurant, food stands and of course gift shops. One comment that Phil made was how refreshing it was to be in a Christian theme park. The vibe was definitely good! We spoke with someone who had worked there about three months. He said he loved his job, viewed it as a ministry and that he had led about fifteen people to Christ in the last three months. Hallelujah. Since coming home, I told a friend about the park and she had a cousin who had come to the Lord while visiting the park.
Closing worship and ministry time was excellent. The song from that time of worship that has been playing in our hearts and on our lips since we left (a week ago) is How He Loves Us.
Yep, I guess this is an ad for The Holy Land Experience. I do recommend a visit there, but there’s an underlying message in our experience: Pursue God. We don’t always know what will increase our love for the Lord, so open yourself to new experiences. Visit places you haven’t visited before, attend a service at a church other than your own, put yourself in a place to experience a different kind of prayer or worship experience. Any of these things can touch your heart in a new way and grow your love for God. And that’s a very good thing!
BTW: We didn’t see anywhere on their site that mentions it, but if you visit The Holy Land Experience and have ministerial credentials, go to the customer service window instead of the ticket windows and you’ll receive a discount on admission.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” [Jesus said]
Matthew 13:44
This is one of those passages we often use to teach about how valuable the Kingdom of Heaven is – it’s so wonderful that this man went out and sold all he had so that he could have it. I wonder how often we allow the passage to challenge us. If we have truly found the Kingdom of Heaven – that is, eternal life in Christ, do respond as this man did. There are two phrases in the passage that challenge me:
Notice that the passage says “in his joy” he went and sold his possessions so that he could buy the field. Are we joyful in our obedience when it requires sacrifice on our part? If not, perhaps our focus is on the wrong thing – our focus should never be on our sacrifice, but on the wonderful treasure that will be ours – Jesus.
I have been convicted lately about how self-focused my life is at times. Yes, I regularly serve the Lord in a number of ways, but the self-focus comes in when I become aware of the cost of serving – generally, a loss of personal time, energy or finances. Perhaps that’s an indication that I sometimes allow my focus to get fuzzy or even all out of whack. Lord, help me to continue “in joy,” not giving recognition to any loss I might experience along the way.
The passage also says that he sold “all he had”to purchase the field. Have I gone all in? (I can guarantee you that I have not.)
As pondered this passage in my mind, I was in an airport waiting for my flight. Not far from me there was a young couple with a little girl. She was perhaps about three years old – at the age where little girls love to walk on their tippy toes, almost bouncing from place to place. Her mom was standing next to several pieces of luggage while giving the little girl a bit of freedom before requiring her to sit quietly in an airplane for several hours. The little girl would get about fifteen feet away and her mom would call to her and tell her to come back. The little girl would obediently turn and bounce back to her mom. It occurred to me that at any second the child could choose to disobey (as children learning about freedom are want to do). I am fully confident that the mother wouldn’t hesitate to leave her belongings for a second to run after her child. I was standing there with my laptop bag between my legs, my arm resting on my purse with half an eye on my cell phone that was laid on the counter next to me charging while reading a book* and pondering this passage. I was ever aware that at any moment my treasured possessions could be pilfered if I wasn’t diligent in the crowded airport. Yet I’m certain this mom would gladly leave all her possessions behind (not even selling them as in the parable) if her most treasured possession began enjoying too much freedom.
In my heart, have I sold all my possessions to pursue the Kingdom of Heaven? Am I willing to hear God say “give this away?” or “go here?” I want to believe that I am…
How about you? Is Jesus your most treasured possession and do you treat all your other possessions accordingly?
In my previous blog, I wrote about the disciplines practiced by early Christians before their baptism on Easter Sunday. They devoted themselves to prayer, repentance, fasting and giving. I have purposed in my heart to ask God to give me some person or organization to give financially to each week. We’re coming up on week three and God has been already identified where I am to give. It has been a joy to give, but in the back of my mind, I’m becoming aware that week four is coming up…And I’m starting to feel the financial pinch. I am excited about God using me…but it won’t be as easy in the coming weeks as it has been in the first couple of weeks. This is evidence that in my heart, I’m not “all in.”
I’m convinced that if I want to experience more of the Kingdom of Heaven, my heart needs to be predisposed to joyfully sell it all. Clearly Christ is worth the price.
How are you challenged to joyfully sell all you have? Share your story with me, as a comment below or on Facebook. As David Platt says in his book Radical, Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, “For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing him.”
*This blog was inspired by the first chapter of David Platt’s book Radical, Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, copyright 2010 by author, published by Multinomah Books ebooks, Colorado Springs, CO.
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6: 11-12
As I read this passage a few days ago, my attention was captured by one phrase: “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” What a great exhortation to consider as we look forward to 2010. I looked up the word that is translated “take hold” and found that it is a cousin to the word from which ApprehendingGrace.com gets its name.
The word katalambano is used by Paul in Philippians 3:12, when he says “I press on to apprehend that for which Christ has apprehended me.” (For more on how the blog was named, click here.)
The word used by Paul in 1Timothy is epilambanomai. It means to take hold of, to seize or to take possession of.
I want to do that with my “eternal life.” I have claimed Christ as my Savior. I have asked Him to forgive me of my sins. I seek to give Him full authority in my life. I want also to fully take hold of the eternal life to which I have been called. To me, that is much more than the eternal life I will some day live out with my Lord. It means living this life differently from those who do not have the promise of eternal life after this life is over:
It means living this life with freedom from condemnation from myself, others or Satan.
It means living this life with a willingness to take risks that I might otherwise be too timid to take because Christ is in me and has made many promises in and for my life that have yet to be fulfilled.
It means aligning my priorities with the priorities of God.
It means constant dependence on a God who has promised to supply all I need for life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and has promised to never leave or forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6, et. al.).
Our first series of blogs this year is going to focus on what it means to take hold of eternal life. I know, I wrote a blog earlier in the week in which it looked like God had given me a theme for 2010 –
“Learning to hear God’s Voice more clearly and regularly. Of course that requires listening for His voice, as it says in verse 3 – ‘…the sheep listen to his voice.’ It also carries with it the implication that I will follow His Voice after hearing it.”
The two subjects dovetail quite nicely – living the eternal life means living ever attentive to God’s Voice. And I think combined He has given us a great theme for 2010. I don’t have a nifty catch-phrase or title, or a perfectly gift-wrapped paragraph that defines it yet. But God is developing it in my heart as I type. I’m sure it’ll fall into place soon.
In the meantime, come back regularly as we “flesh out” what it means to take hold of the eternal life to which we have been called. Our next blog in the series will be by a guess blogger, my husband Phil. Watch for it early next week.
This last blog in the “Heart of a Worshipper” series (HWS) summarizes all the characteristics I’ve written about. You can find the articles about each characteristic here. Much of this series has been revolutionary to my walk with Christ. I hope it’s impacted you as well. Today’s blog hits the two things that have impacted me more than all the other things put together. Read on…
The Heart of a Worshipper
For almost three months we’ve studied the heart of a worshipper. We’ve seen a progression of the worshipper’s heart as he or she pursues God more diligently. Let’s review all 7 qualities:
A hungry heart –one that desires to know God more intimately.
A pursuing heart –one that follows hard after Jesus. It is the action that results from having a hungry heart.
A transparent or unveiled heart –one that allows the Light of Life (Jesus) to shine through it so that He can reveal to us what is hidden in it’s most private corners.
A vulnerable heart – the heart that suppresses our “fight or flight” response as we sit at Jesus’ feet and allow Him to change us. It is the logical extension of the transparent heart.
A willing heart – one that is predisposed to say “Yes, Lord.” It is also the obedient heart.
A free heart –the heart that is unencumbered by sin, condemnation and fear.
A secure heart –the heart that is confidently established in the knowledge of Christ’s love.
Where are you in this progression?
Are you satisfying your hungry heart by pursuing God diligently?
Are you remaining transparent and vulnerable before God and His people?
Are you obedient and increasing in your victory over sin?
Do you reject condemnation and fear?
Has that lead you to a place of steadfastness in Christ, a place of calm and joy despite life’s circumstances?
I wish I could say that I’m always at that steadfast place, but I’m not. In this final article, I’d like to share two teachings that have helped me to become a greater worshipper of God.
Developing Childlikeness
He [Jesus] called a little child and had him stand among them. And he [Jesus] said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ”
Matthew 18:2-4
While reading this a dozen or so years ago, I was struck by the word “change.” That means that being childlike doesn’t come naturally, which makes a lot of sense when you think about it. From a very young age, children are trying to be older than they are. And while we try madly to reverse the process once we reach a certain age, we still don’t want to be considered childlike. Children are unsophisticated. They’re annoyingly spontaneous. They’re immature. I want to be sophisticated, in control and mature. Yet Scripture says I should change and become like a little child.
So I began to focus on children and the qualities they possess that I lack. And then I worked at changing to become more childlike. This was a step of obedience. Being willing to be childlike regardless of what others thought was a HUGE step for me. I’ve always had an overactive “what will people think” response. But I wanted to be more concerned about what God thinks, so I began to change. Here are some of the childlike behaviors that I saw and began to imitate.
Humility and trust – Verse 4 specifically says that God values humility. I see humility in children as trust without understanding. Children trust. Period. They don’t have to understand how it works or why it works, they simply trust what they’ve been told. I often require understanding before I give my trust. When I examine that attitude under a microscope, I find that at the root of it is pride. I am essentially saying, “Unless you explain it to me in such a way that I understand it and agree with it, I’m not going to trust you.” Or maybe I’m saying, “I don’t trust you to do what’s best for me. I only trust myself. Therefore, I must understand before I extend my trust to you.” Either way, there’s too much pride in the attitude. Scripture teaches by word and example that God is more loving than I can ever imagine, that He loves me more than I can imagine, and that He desires good things for me. I believe that. (Lord, help my unbelief!) The action that’s required on my part is that I place my trust in Him. Lack of trust shows up in adults in many ways: The need to control situations, the unwillingness to fully submit to God’s will in one or many areas, and the attitude of rebellion are just a few.
Spontaneity and joy– The two seem to go together in children. Children are discovering God’s world for the first time and they find great delight in it. (I’ve seen more spiders than I care to see, so I no longer take much delight in them.) By nature, I’m serious and reserved. When I look at my personal history, though, I can see that part of that nature developed as a defense against being hurt or judged negatively. So I’ve made a decision. I’ve decided that God wants me to take delight in His creation. I need to see it through the eyes of a child and be willing to respond to it like a child. That means being willing to be thought a fool for laughing aloud or skipping in the rain or showing awe when it’s appropriate. My adult response is to suppress the laughter, carry an umbrella, and act nonchalant toward new things. God wants me to be childlike. And I’ve found that life is more enjoyable this way. It continues to be a struggle for me, something I must repeatedly remind myself about, but when I’m successful at it I enjoy life more, and I’m confident that it pleases God.
I am the Bride of Christ In addition to beginning to understand what it means to be childlike, I’ve begun to have a greater understanding of my position in Christ and before God: Scriptures teaches that I am the Bride of Christ. Not only does God love me, but Jesus is “in love” with me. The Bible says He “delights” in me. When I began to understand how totally, unconditionally and passionately Jesus is in love with me it changed my heart and increased my passion for Him. It also gave me the confidence to be transparent with Him and the courage to be childlike in His presence. It revolutionized my worship of Him and my desire to draw near to Him.
The Transformed Heart While I have loved the Lord for thirty years, I have only been “in love” with Him for about fifteen. It was about fifteen years ago when I began to study childlikeness and Bride of Christ teachings. That led to studying the topic of worship and pursuing God through worship. The result is that my life has been transformed from the inside out.
In the first article of this series I included a definition of worship by William Temple, the archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 to 1944. It’s somewhat long but it explains how worship transforms the worshipper. I’d like to close the series with the same quote. If you find yourself fitting the description Temple gives in the first sentence, please ask God to help you make worship a priority. It will undoubtedly change your life.
“Both for perplexity and for dulled conscience the remedy is the same; sincere and spiritual worship. For worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is:
the quickening of our conscience ………………………. by His holiness;
the nourishment of mind ………………………………….. with His truth;
the purifying of imagination ……………………………… by His beauty;
the opening of the heart …………………………………… to His love;
the surrender of will ………………………………………… to His purpose
– and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.
Yes – worship in spirit and truth is the way to the solution of perplexity and to the liberation from sin.”
Lord, help me to be one who worships you in spirit and truth.
I hope you’re enjoying this “Heart of a Worshipper” series (HWS). We’re about half way through the series, so this blog begins with a review. You can click on any of the topics to go to the blog on that topic.
A Willing Heart
Time for review. When this series is completed, I’ll have written about seven characteristics of the heart of a worshipper. We’ve covered four so far. How many of them can you remember? Can you name them? Let me help. Reading about them interspersed with “life” can make it difficult to see the natural progression, so let’s review the first four.
A hungry heart- one that desires to know God more intimately. There are many scriptures we could look at that express this sentiment, but I like these two:
“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.
Isaiah 26:8-9
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
Psalm 42:1-2
A pursuing heart– one that follows hard after Jesus. Proverbs 16:26 says: “The laborer’s appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.” So it is with God. Our desire for Him drives us to get to know Him better – the hungry heart becomes the pursuing heart.
In His book The God Chasers, Tommy Tenney explains his title like this: “A God Chaser is a person whose hunger for God exceeds his grasp…whose passion for God’s presence presses him to chase the impossible, in hopes that the Uncatchable might catch him.”
And the wonderful thing about our God is that He promises to allow us to catch Him! Review these scriptures if you have any doubts: Deuteronomy 4:29, Jeremiah 29:13-14, Matthew 7:7-8, andProverbs 8:17. (There are lots more, but these should give you a good start!)
A transparent or unveiled heart– one that allows the Light of Life (Jesus) to shine through it so that He can reveal to us what is hidden in it’s deepest, darkest corners. When our heart is transparent, we can say with David “All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.” (Psalm 38:9) Having a transparent heart allows God to reveal our sin to us.
A vulnerable heart is the logical extension of the transparent heart – it’s the heart that suppresses our “fight or flight” response as we sit at Jesus’ feet and allow Him to change us. It moves from allowing God to reveal our sin to allowing Him to transform us into the image of Christ. It also means total dependence on God – trusting Him to make the right choices for you. It means giving God the right to make the rules and put the ball in play. And it means giving up our right to say “No, I don’t want to be like that,” or “I don’t like those rules.”
A Willing Heart – The Second Half of the Equation
A key phrase in the last paragraph is “put the ball in play.” In other words, having a vulnerable heart that allows God to change us is only the first half of the equation…we must also have a willing heart that allows God to use us.
Chapter 6 in Isaiah is a fascinating illustration of the vulnerable and willing heart of Isaiah. Let me do a quick outline of verses 1 through 11 for you
Verses 1 – 4: Isaiah is given a glimpse of the throne room of heaven
…I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs…And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty…” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Verse 5-7: Isaiah experiences conviction for his sin
Woe to me!…I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…
Verses 6 and 7: God demonstrates that Isaiah’s sin has been forgiven by having an angel take a coal from the altar and touch his lips with it
With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Verse 8: God makes a request and Isaiah enthusiastically responds
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Verse 9-10: God elaborates on the assignment, revealing that it won’t be a pleasant one
“Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes…”
Verse 11: Isaiah remains committed to carry out his task
Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged…”
There are no words in scripture to give us an idea of what inflection to put into Isaiah’s response, but we do know that the last thing he said was spoken with enthusiasm or passion: “Here I am! Send me!” It seems reasonable, then, that the next line would continue in a similar emotion. So even though the Lord has told him to go do this seemingly miserable task, his response is “For how long, Lord?”
I don’t think Isaiah was dragging his feet and saying “Oh man, how long do I have to do this?” I think He was saying with eagerness “How long can I do this for you Lord?” or “I’m happy to do it as long as you want me to, Lord. How long?”
Isaiah sees worship in heaven and his first response reveals his transparent heart “Woe is me, I am undone.” His second response reveals his willing heart: “Here I am. Send me.”
Oh, that I might be as enthusiastic when I receive assignments from God. I’m tempted to pray here, “Lord, make my heart and spirit cry with enthusiasm, ‘Here I am, Lord, send me,’ even when Your assignments mean obscurity or unpopularity or drudgery.” And that would be a good thing…but you know, sometimes my heart isn’t really there!
It’s at those times that I am tempted to feel condemnation because I think my heart should be always willing, no matter what the circumstances or assignment. So I try to get my heart to the right place…yeah, right!
One thing I’ve learned is that I can’t manufacture a change in my heart any more than I could manufacture the heart itself! I cannot rely on myself for such things. Charles Spurgeon made this point well in a book called All of Grace.
If we trust to ourselves for our holding on [i.e., continuing in Christ] we shall not hold on. Even though we rest in Jesus for a part of our salvation, we shall fail if we trust to self for anything…Beware of mixing even a little of self with the mortar with which you build, or you will make it untempered mortar, and the stones will not hold together. If you look to Christ for your beginnings, beware of looking to yourself for your endings. He is Alpha. See to it that you make Him Omega also. If you begin in the Spirit you must not hope to be made perfect by the flesh. Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began…
In other words, don’t look to yourself, look to God. Don’t trust yourself, trust God.
Returning to our passage in Isaiah, we see that he didn’t work up his own obedience – it was a natural response to having seen the glory of God. So perhaps my prayer shouldn’t be “Lord, make my heart and spirit cry ‘Yes Lord’ with enthusiasm;” perhaps the secret lies in sitting at Jesus’ feet in worship and praying “Lord, give me a glimpse of Your glory as you gave to Isaiah.” And that brings us full circle – it all starts with having that heart which is hungry for God and it leads to the wonderful privilege of being used by Him.
If your response to God isn’t as whole-hearted as you’d like it to be or you’re feeling condemnation from the enemy for lacking enthusiasm for the things of God, let me encourage you to take time to sit at Jesus’ feet in worship. Just for a while, stop doing things for God and simply spend time with God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a new way. He delights to do so!
The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, page 17
A God Chaser is a person whose hunger for God exceeds his grasp, whose passion for God’s presence presses him to chase the impossible, in hopes that the Uncatchable might catch him. Tommy Tenney, in his book The God Chasers
1Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.2How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!
Woohoo! Woohoo! Shout for JOY!Hallelujah! How GREAT, how AWESOME is the Lord most high!
3He subdued nations under us,
Peoples under our feet.
He had made us victorious. It’s not our own strength that has won victories in our lives – it’s been Him, preparing the way for us, running interference for us, and winning battles for us. Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord.
4He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah
What an honor – to be recognized as one who inherits from the King of Kings!
He has adopted us into His Own family!
5God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.
Picture it in your mind – God, the Lord, ascending to the heavens among great shouts of Lord and the sounding of trumpets. Fanfare beyond our wildest imaginations…both formal – as in a majestic procession – and informal – as in the largest crowd you’ve ever seen shouting for JOY!
6Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
Sing praises to our God and our King. Praises of all kinds – the Hallelujah chorus and the simple phrase “I love you Lord.” Sing to praises to Him throughout your day. Do it NOW!
8God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
God reigns! Over all of it! He is greatly exalted! But he doesn’t usurp the authority to rule our lives. Let Him rule your heart today. He is great and awesome and indescribably good! Hallelujah! Verses 1 and 2 are worth repeating:
1Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” Exodus 19:10-11 (NIV)
Imagine if you knew the Lord was coming to visit you the day after tomorrow. How would you prepare? What would you do for the rest of the day today and all day tomorrow? When I read this passage, I was caught up in such excitement that God was going to come down from heaven to visit with the people of Israel.
Moments later I was a bit convicted. God wants to come down and visit with me regularly, but I don’t always spend the time and effort necessary to prepare myself to receive Him. Perhaps even worse than that, I don’t anticipate God’s visit. I want to always be excited that TODAY is the day I will meet with God and He with me. What a way to live! In anticipation of hearing from the Creator of the universe.
God told the Israelites to “consecrate” themselves, to wash their clothes and to “be ready.” The word translated “consecrate” (or “sanctify” in the King James Version) is qadash and means “to make clean” or “keep holy” or “purify.” Before the Israelites were to meet with God, they were to clean themselves up and remain holy or set apart for Him. If I want to meet with God, I need to do all I can to make myself clean and keep myself holy. That means avoiding those conscious sins and asking God to reveal things in my life that are impure. It means going to God regularly and asking for His forgiveness and sanctification.
God also told the Israelites to “be ready.” As I read the passage, I was reminded of the night before a family vacation – we were to “be ready” to leave when we woke up (which was always at 4am because my dad was a truck drive and he wanted to do as much driving in the dark before the rest of the world woke up). That means we had our bags packed and our clothes laid out, but more than that, it meant that we were emotionally ready to jump out of bed and hit the road. And we were excited about it.
Being ready to meet with God is very similar – it means that we have an anticipation, a physical and emotional willingness to “move” when God says to move, and a spiritual openness to hear what He says. Perhaps most of all, it means that we are excited to hear from Him. God wants us to want Him. He responds to our openness to Him. The oft-quoted verse from Revelations is “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20) Jesus is speaking to believers. He is saying that He won’t knock the door down, but he will knock. If we open the door, He comes in. He waits to be invited.
I want to live my life in the mode of making myself ready and anticipating God’s visit. Then when He knocks, I want to be there to say “Lord, I’m so glad you’re here. Welcome. Let’s share the day together. Make my heart your home today, Lord.”
God spoke to me during worship at our church today.
Before I share it with you, let me get the “business side” of the blog out of the way. I know that readers of this blog are of many different spiritual backgrounds. When I say God spoke to me, I do not mean that I’m hearing the audible voice of the Lord. Rather, He spoke to me through the unexpected thought planted in my mind and the stirring of my spirit that says “pay attention to that thought” (again, not audible of course).
Back to God speaking to me…We were singing “I Will Never Be The Same Again” (words and music by Geoff Bullock, copyright 1995, Word Music, LLC and Maranatha! Music, made popular by Hillsongs). If you want to hear Hillsongs sing the song, click here.
I also worship through sign language as I sing.
The last lines of the song are “The Glory of God fills my life and I will never be the same again.” While singing, I unintentionally signed “satisfies” instead of “fills.” Upon realizing the error, God spoke to me, and He did so in such a way that I don’t believe the word was just for me, that it was a word for others as well.
I signed “The Glory of God satisfies my life” and God asked “are you satisfied with Me? Let Me be your ‘all in all.’ I do that by filling your life. Let me fill you — and you will never be the same again.”
Does the Gory of God satisfy your life? I confess that there are times when I don’t feel like He does. But I want Him to. I want to be satisfied with only Jesus. Lord, sweep away the darkness in my life and fill it with your light. Burn away the chaff and fill me with Your presence, Your thoughts, Your desires. I don’t want to be the same tomorrow as I am today.
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