Consecration: Day 14

“For by Him (Jesus Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Col. 1:16, 17)

The Maker of heaven and earth has called each of us to discover the pinnacle place in life for us to live.  That place is in close relationship with Him, it is in desiring His will for our lives and not trying to squeeze Him into our will. The purpose of humanity is to worship God, to love and serve Him. When we discover this threshold and wisely walk through it, we find the catalyst for life as God designed.

In this discovery is a freedom difficult to explain to others, but one unrivaled by all else.

Consecration: Day 13

David Brainerd was born in 1718 and died in1742, was a missionary to the Indians in New England and son-in-law to famed Jonathan Edwards. Though his life on earth was relatively brief, because of his unusual love and zeal for God he was and continues to be an inspiration to many.

The following are entries from his journal I read today the spirit of which represents many of his entries.

“I retired early this morning into the woods for prayer; had the assistance of God’s Spirit, and faith in exercise; and was enabled to plead with fervency for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom in the world, and to intercede for dear absent friends.  At noon, God enabled me to wrestle with Him, and to feel, as I trust, the power of divine love in prayer.  At night I saw myself infinitely indebted to God, and had a view of my shortcomings.”

The very next day his entry read this, “I set apart this day for fasting, and prayer to God for His grace, and to prepare me for the work of His ministry…”

“The Lord refreshed my soul with many sweet passages of His Word. O the New Jerusalem! My soul longed for it.”

There is a story told by someone who once observed him kneeling in the snow and praying, they reported he prayed with such fervency, that when he rose, the snow had melted from around him.

I am certainly not there yet, but along with many others who have observed this consecration time together, God is meeting us as He promised.  If we determine to be done with lesser things and draw close to Him He draws close to us.

Consecration: Day 12

These are few words, but they contain huge truth for us during these days of consecration, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Pro verbs 3:5,6

I have heard it said over the years, if you want the thrill walking on water as Peter did, you have to get out of the boat. And, you have to keep your eyes on Jesus, and not the waves around you.

 

Consecration Day: 11

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Ps 73:25,26

Have you ever read this Psalm and discovered yourself not being able to really understand or relate to it? Most of us if we are honest, would say yes.  How could it be possible for anyone who lives in the western culture in this hour ever possibly get to a place to relate to what the Psalmist said in this passage?

Here is another scripture most people read, but don’t dwell on long because living in the emotion of what Paul was experiencing seems too impossible a place to understand not to mention getting to it spiritually and being able to experience it ourselves.

“I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.” Phil. 1:23,24

These passages reveal two people who were so in love with God that they had detached themselves from the all the earth had to offer. How did these guys get to the place where they could make statements with such impact and sincerely mean it? Was it because everything in their lives was going wrong, lived in deep depression, and had some sort of death wish? No, not for a second!

Is this the kind of depth in relationship Jesus is wanting us to experience?  If it is, is it even possible  for us to get there and if so how?  Honestly, with the current obsession of self-absorption and self-gratification reflected in almost every corner of our culture, which has also seeped into the church, few may discover it even though God deeply desires for us to find this wonderful place of unexplainable freedom. It will certainly not come without a deep desire for change and the willingness to trust God’s ability to get us there. As with all things in the Kingdom of God, the invitation is there, but will we say “Yes, whatever it takes.”

Our struggle is in the unplugging step. Most of us have simply become too comfortable and familiar with the temporary gratifications the world offers us, slowly we have been lulled to sleep, and we have believed a lie. We have settled in the shallowness of trying to get our best life now, instead of realizing God intended this earth life to be like a mere breath, a fleeting moment before we cross to eternity to be with Him forever. It is like a trailer for an upcoming epic movie. We have become so infatuated with the 30 second trailer, we’ve forgotten the movie itself is coming soon, and is the zenith experience.

What I am not saying, is to unplug from people, and isolate oneself in the desert. What I am saying is there is a deep, rich, fruitful place God wants us to discover in this life which causes the things in this world to appear dim in comparison. Satan does not want us to find this place because it makes us dangerous to him, so he keeps placing pretty little distractions in front of us, and robbing most from living in the place the Psalmist David and the Apostle Paul discovered.

Don”t be robbed, don’t be distracted! This place in Christ is not for a handful of people, but is for anyone hungry for God! Press in with all your might to get closer to Jesus in relationship with Him. If you keep moving toward Him, He WILL draw close to you, and you will not want to live any other way. You will be able to say, “This earth has nothing to offer me, I am God’s, He is my portion.”

Stay the course!

 

Consecration:Day 10

Late Monday night Dianna and entered a very active hospital emergency room, registered her, and then began to look for a place to wait. The main room was packed with some sitting on the floor, so we walked down the hallway, found some seats and began hours of waiting. The area was filled with people leaning on one another trying to get comfortable, people pacing, infants crying, faces filled with concern and some filled with fear.

Around 3:00 am after a few hours consisting of prayer for my wife, and others around the room, I began to focus on a young child who was obviously very ill. I found myself begging God to please heal the little guy. Then I saw a very frail elderly woman, and prayed for her. The room was full of people in need unable to help themselves.

Our community, our nation, the world is full of people in need. This is what Jesus saw when He looked on the crowds  seeing their condition and He was filled with compassion for them.  The world has a heart problem!  The human heart, the spiritual one, will never function properly outside a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, it is diseased and dying without Him.

Jesus did not just acknowledge the need of people, but began to do something about it.  He had within Him the capacity to offer hope to the hopeless and that is what He did. For those of us who say we are Christians, we have been given the capacity to share that same hope. Not just acknowledge there is need in humanity to be healed from the ravages of Satan, but to begin to do something about their hopeless condition.  Not just see them, but be moved by the compassion of Jesus and respond, rise up and declare, ” We have a solution for your heart disease! The hope of Jesus  Christ!”

Another observation in the ER waiting area occurred when the nurse would call a someones name to finally see a physician. Their  facial expressions changed, relieved at the possibility of getting help for their situation. I was surprised though of the number of people who left prematurely before their names were called, perhaps choosing to take their chances as opposed to seeking medical attention.

As Christians, we cannot make people accept the hope and grace of God, but we certainly should be letting people know there is a place for the healing of the heart.

Desperate people and desperate times require spirit led active and decisive responses.

I believe as we are determined to place ourselves openly before God, He will be determined in leading and revealing things to us.

stay determined, stay strong in the power of God’s might, and stay the course!

Consecration: Day 9; “Rejoice Always”

Even in the circumstances and places we do not choose for ourselves, and seem the least likely for hearing and being Christ focused, it is still possible to not only draw close to God, but to begin hearing Him.

When we began our quiet day yesterday, we had no idea we would be spending 10 hours in very crowded emergency waiting rooms.

Dianna, who has never had blood pressure issues, experienced some symptoms and thought she should drop into a walk-in clinic, after a couple of hours wait, they sent us to a hospital emergency room. After checking in we began a long process of testing and evaluations. None of tests revealed anything wrong, but the symptoms remain present.

We are not going to be foolish, we are doing what the doctors have advised, but our hearts are steadfast and moving from fear to fight! By that I mean spiritual fight. The Bible tells us the battle belongs to the Lord. Through tears at one point I turned to my wife and said, “God and His Word are either all true or not at all”  we are desperate for Him, have and can do nothing without Him,   we are acknowledging our Lord as the one who made heaven and earth and our destiny’s within them for His purpose. We are not shrinking back, turning back, or compromising in fear. We have no ability in ourselves to change a thing, but God has no limitations…none! We embrace Him and His will and we are hearing and seeing Him move in the midst of this consecration time and even in the midst of this trial we have entered.

In tomorrow’s “Consecration: Day 10″‘ I will share some things we believe we have heard.

Stay the course!

Consecration: Day 8

What we love most we will seek to learn more about.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Eph. 1:17)

In his one place in a letter to the Christians in the city of Ephesus, Paul the Apostle told his spiritual family that he was constantly praying for God grant them the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they would expand and grow in their knowledge of God.

God is far too vast in depth and scope to ever completely understand, but He nevertheless invites us to the deeper spiritual places for a greater experience in our relationship with Him. We say we love Him, and if we do we will seek to expand our understanding of Him.

I believe as we place ourselves before Him to learn more about Him, He will help the process by reciprocating with super natural helps, namely the spirit of wisdom and revelation. During this time of setting ourselves apart to spend more time with Him and hearing Him, let’s begin to ask God to help us know Him more deeply.

Don’t be surprised if you begin seeing things in the Bible you haven’t clearly seen before as well as things He will encourage you to begin applying to your life.

Stay the course, harvest the fruit!

Consecration:Day 7

Stillness

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

(Ps 46:10)

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him”

(Ps 37:7)

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

(Ps 23:2,3)

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

(Mark 6:31)

Quietness is defined as silence, free from noise, refraining from activity, and Stillness is defined as the absence of motion.

Before we began this spiritual exercise of dedicating a time of consecration, we shared that given the current out-of-control lifestyles most of us live, that it would be a real challenge for many to quiet themselves for 14 days. Please let me encourage you to stay the course. If you do you will discover a greater place spiritually.

Jesus practiced and modeled time alone with God, and if we want to be His followers, we must do the same thing.

Consecration Day 6

Waiting

We live in a culture that has conditioned us to grow impatient if we have to wait for almost anything. When it comes to a deep, rich relationship with God though, waiting on Him is something we are encouraged to do, and if we do, we will discover it to be greatly to our advantage.

“…they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isa.40:31 ESV)

One of the things this time of consecration is capable of producing for you is a renewal and increase of your spiritual strength, spiritual insight, and discernment. Time with God will produce focus and clarity in you. You will begin to see and understand things in the Bible you may have passed over before not thinking they were very significant for you.

Being still, quiet, reading the Bible, and praying will pass from being a real test of your patience, to a place you can’t wait to get into. Don’t get discouraged if you have  found yourself getting anxious or giving into something you said you were going to give up during these two weeks. Again I want to say, the last place Satan wants you to be is alone with Jesus. When we discover the strength, clear thoughts, peace, and focus awaiting us that the Spirit of God desires to give, we will want to make this 14 day exercise a way of life. We can learn to practice, acknowledge, and sense God’s presence no matter what we are doing at work, school, and home.

If you re-entered the noise and clutter of the world designed to keep us from God, do not be condemned, determine now to step right back into the place you departed from whether it was two days ago or an hour ago, and you will discover the Lord waiting for you.

“He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb 11:6,7; NASU)

Consecration day 5

I have had several opportunities this week to hear people share their experiences to this point in the consecration, and many are already seeing and experiencing the wisdom and fruit of dedicating more time to the Lord and less time to entertainment and shallow ventures.

One who once enjoyed being very close to the Lord, but had slowly allowed other things around to occupy their time. Not evil things, just things, other things filling time slots instead of spending time with God in worship, prayer, and the Bible.

Some have commented forgetting how good it was to spend more time in quietness with the Lord.  Some had not been in this place before. Others who said they didn’t want things to be the same after these two weeks, or for this time to end.

This is a season we are setting aside as a church family to encourage one another to seek the Lord’s presence, it is important to all, and has no age boundaries.  If you continue to set time aside and pray something like this, “God, I desire to be with you, learn more about You, and to do whatever You want of me more than anything else.”  He will meet you, and you will not be disappointed.

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” Ps 119:37 ESV

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Ps 84:1, 2 (NIV)