Renewing our Spirits

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51:10-12

 For years we’ve been talking about revival. Then the pandemic happened, and everyone’s life was changed, some forever. Our way of life has changed in many ways. I believe revival has been put aside because renewal is what is needed first. What does it mean to renew a right spirit in us? Read on as we seek to answer this question.

I have been feeling a need for a change in my life. Covid restrictions drove me inside and away from public places and people. I found I was retreating into myself and finding comfort in just being at home. It eliminated the indecision and stress of going to all these different places and events. It’s just easier to stay home and recline on the couch, and maybe just watch some TV. So, it became easy to become almost anti-social. This likely started to dull the otherwise steady desire of my heart and spirit, removing the zeal, to reach those lost and in need.

Another thing the pandemic did, in the quietness of being at home, was it brought me face to face with me. After awhile, the dust settled from all the activity I was involved in, and I found myself in a state of sorrow for the social life and near-future dreams I had to give up, not to mention plans of travel. The sorrow was natural, and yet for a Christian who is to love God first and foremost and with all my heart and soul, the sorrow for the things of the world, and even involving other people, was highlighted. In fact, it was a red light for me.

Indeed, I needed God to renew a right spirit within me. For one thing, if we take the things of the world this seriously, then perhaps we have walked out of the light of the Lord and strayed away from His intended plan for our lives. I realized I had set my affection on the things of this world. They meant more to me than I realized. These verses explain what I’m talking about:

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 What is wrong with liking the things of this world? Well, for one thing, Jesus said we can’t serve two masters; we will hate one and love the other:

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

We can’t serve God and anything else. To emphasize this even further, take a look at these strong verses:

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

I believe travel is one of the greatest worldly temptations some of us face. I’m talking about getting away. Globally, it has affected our environment, our health, our economy and so on. I read two different sources of information to confirm this. One was about the carbon tax and how, now that it is imposed on us Canadians, goods are now manufactured thousands of miles away adding to the environmental problem already there, creating even more pollution world-wide! We are sinking deeper into recession with an outrageously high cost of food and fuel.  It is staggering the cost of living!  The other was how our health is and will be affected as the world interacts with each other at a dizzying speed, spreading diseases and bringing strange species into each other’s countries. I believe the Tower of Babel happened for more reasons than we realize. 

Getting back to the opening verses. King David realized he had sinned, and he realized he was out of alignment with the God he loved. Out of that love, David essentially said, “I want my relationship restored with You. I want to experience the joy of my salvation.” This cannot happen without repentance — a sorrow for sin, rather than a sorrow for the things of this world that we may have lost. We wanted revival, but first God had to clean up our hearts and highlight what is really there. In this new year coming, 2023, in spite of all the bad news we may be hearing and dire predictions about our economy, one thing will matter for eternity—and that is the state of our heart where God is concerned. Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to ask God to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us, making those two things a priority.

Is God With Us? And Why? - Part 2

A Christmas Meditation 

 

In Part 1, I introduced the idea of God wanting to be with us.  This is crucial in our understanding of the term Emmanuel, as much more than just taking for granted that God is with us.  In this second and last part of this meditation, we take a closer look at the great significance of our God wanting to be with us and the eternal impact of our understanding and acceptance of this fact.

How did God relate to us from the start? Well, if we read Genesis 3, at the very beginning of our creation, God is walking and talking with Adam and Eve. Sadly, we don’t read too far along and things go south.  For some ill-thought reason, they disobeyed God, and broke their fellowship with God. And what occurred was a blindness that every single person that was born into this world experience; we’d all be blind to the things of God. We’d start off with a demand to have our own needs met and focus our attention on self or others to meet those needs.  And we’d be doing it by our own methods.  Scholars call it Humanism. And if ever we think we are good enough to reach God’s perfect standards, we are sadly mistaken.  It is imperative that if we are going to appreciate the magnitude of God desiring to be with us, that we need to see ourselves as we truly are:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

     They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that  doeth good, no, not one.  Romans 3:10-12    

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

    Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  Psalms 53:2-3

Scripture is clear.  We do not and will never measure up to the standards set for us.  But it is not God at fault.  Clearly it is us.  For we have rejected a merciful God who has provided a way to know Him (He actually offered up His own life to do this), and instead we have gone our own way.  Rejection of God was never what God intended, and the results have been catastrophic.  God designed us in His own image, and we are made to worship Him and fellowship with Him and others.  He wanted a family, He wanted fellowship, and He wants all of his own children to get along.

 Why do you think God would go to the lengths that He did when he sent Jesus to this earth as an innocent, helpless, and vulnerable baby?  Talk about having to trust people to look after him!  And then he would allow Him to be crucified on the cross at the hands of the cruel Roman soldiers who would ultimately carry out His death sentence; this sacrifice that ultimately would save us all from certain eternal death without God.  This sacrifice applies to all who call on the name of the Lord and continues to miraculously change lives to this very day.  Are you in need of a Savior to deliver you from your sin nature today? Come to Jesus; He is ever ready to forgive. You’ll never regret it.

 What does Emmanuel, God wanting to be with us, say about God? Let’s bring it down to our level of what we can understand. Why would God want to be our friend when our hearts are evil, and we love our sin, and we are enemies of God (see Romans 5:10)?  Why would He want to come to this earth and go to these great lengths to be with us?  I want to emphasize again and again that yes, we sing carols about Emmanuel God with us, that Jesus came to this earth as a baby and we all know the manger story.  We all know the Easter story, but let’s put this in a real perspective here.  God is with us, yes, but let’s let this sink deeply into our soul – God wants to be with us in spite of our inherent godless and sinful nature. 

 If this doesn’t somehow make us pause and reflect on this incredible offer from a perfect and holy God, then I don’t know what would.  Do we just take the Bible and God and Jesus for granted? Or are we truly and humbly thankful and grateful that He would want to be with us?  I’ll take it further – do we welcome Him into our heart and into our life at the level where we live?

I think this is a crucial issue in all that I’m talking about today – I’m going to ask an important question.  Is Jesus welcome in your life? Think about friends you look forward to getting together with, or you talk about things you enjoy.  Who do you talk on the phone with or text most often?  Maybe you go for coffee, or you go shopping together.  Maybe you go bowling or have a golfing partner.  Perhaps you’re in Bible study, and you go to church together.  You look forward to seeing your friends because they make you feel loved and they make you feel accepted.  They pray for you, they hug you when they see you, they love on you. Do you want to be with people who lift you up, that you have fun with, and that listen to you and care about what you think and what you say?  Well, how much more does Jesus feel about being with us?  He cares about absolutely everything that we care about.  He created us for His purposes and pleasure!  He rejoices over us!  And He’s into the details! He knows the number of hairs on our head. He calls us by name.  He wants to bear your burdens, all of them!  He’s the best friend you’ll ever have, He loves you unconditionally, warts and all, or wrinkles or whatever imperfections you have; He doesn’t care about those things.  He cares about YOU not the packaging! We are all imperfect, and He loves us just as we are! And He’ll never leave you or forsake you. Maybe others will, but Jesus never will. 

We think of the disciples and how they were imperfect and full of flaw. Why did Jesus choose these 12 as His closest confidants and friends? Most were mere fishermen, blue collar workers, unlearned as far as scholarly knowledge went.  They failed Jesus, especially at the end when they all fled in fear after Jesus was arrested.  Thinking about how flawed they were gives me such hope and such an appreciation for the kind of God we serve, right?  So, what then is God looking for in a friend?

I believe the answer is simple.  He wants a friend who wants Him.  The disciples left all to follow Him because they recognized the great worth in knowing and following Jesus.  But the crucial thing is, do we invite him into our life without hesitation?  Do we spend time with him?  Do we make a point of being thankful, and do we worship Him and praise Him simply because He deserves that for Who He is to us? I think we need to take time to think about how we feel about God and our relationship with Him because he longs to be with us. I’m not just saying this. It says in Revelation 3:20:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 God doesn’t demand a relationship: He asks for one.  He stands at the door, and knocks, and He waits.  He never barges in. He’s a perfect gentleman. He longs for us to open that door, and let Him in, and have fellowship with us. Think about this; if someone who loves you with their life (could be anybody, your husband, wife, parent), and they love you so much they just want to spend precious time with you, but you fail to open the door, and just ignore it.  How would your loved one feel?  How does God feel? Remember, He made us in His own image so He definitely feels what we do – pain, rejection, sorrow, joy, love.  Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane, no one stayed up with Him to pray, and the agony He endured all alone. 

 Remember who God is. Remember these are all His choices – He doesn’t have to reach out to us.  But He longs to.  He wants to.  When we get too busy do we really know what we are missing out on? Fellowship with Jesus brings so much benefit to our life I can’t even begin to list all the benefits. For me I have a sense of peace, I have joy, I feel loved and uplifted.  Many times I am given words of knowledge that I can’t even describe it, it is so profound. I’m taken out of my stressful life for that time.  Time spent with Jesus, Emmanuel, is so so precious I covet every second I can be with Him and listen and learn.

I think about Jesus’ good friends Martha and Mary mentioned in Luke 10.  Jesus came for a visit and Martha was preparing a meal for them. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sat at Jesus feet and listened to His teachings.  Martha didn’t like that she was doing all the work and told Jesus to tell Mary to come and help her.  But here we have Jesus famous words in response that remind us what is really most important after all.

      And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.  Luke 10:41-42

Think about what you’re going to do this season, rather than be stressed out, to spend precious time with the Lord.  He’s waiting for you to respond to Him and He wants to be with you.  No one’s forcing us to be with the Lord; it’s all by choice every single day. But it’s the most rewarding place to be – in the presence of the Lord, and in sweet fellowship with Him, sitting at His feet while learning His incredible, life-giving ways. Many might feel alone this season with no one to celebrate with.  But remember this:  we are never truly alone.  What a Friend we have in Jesus!

Please go to this link for steps to accepting Jesus into your life. Please don’t delay. Today is the day of salvation.

 

Is God With Us? And why? - Part 1

This is a two part meditation on the topic of God being with us.  It is split up into two parts due to its length; but in order to get the full impact of the message, please take the time to read both parts.  Blessings!

A Christmas Meditation

This morning I was thinking about Jesus coming to earth.  It’s an incredible thought, really. God coming to His earth that He created and becoming one of us.  Then again, there are some people who don't believe God even exists, let alone is here amongst us.  After all, the world is indeed in such a mess that many people have chosen to believe a good God couldn't possibly exist! But this is where faith comes in, and reading and accepting God's Word.  Let's assume we all believe that God exists and He is who He says He is in His Word.  Why, I’ve often wondered, would He subject Himself to His own flawed creatures?  After all, in our raw, unsaved, sinful state, we are untrustworthy enemies of God.  But, the more I thought about it, the more it became clear that this is something God really wanted to do.  Then my thoughts went a step further, which is the main focus of this meditation. 

 Did you know that one of Jesus’ names is Emmanuel?  It is found in Scripture:

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  Matthew 1:23

We sing about Emmanuel which means God with us. But do we really think about the great significance of what that means? I believe to go deeper with this, that it means God wants to be with us, not just God is with us, and we say it casually or as a matter of fact without realizing the full impact of what it really means.  He wants to be with you! He wants to be with me!  There’s a big difference here: instead of just assuming the existence of God and that we’re in His presence, and that He’s with us, as we get to know Him, we actually come to realize that He truly WANTS to be with us. Think about it!  Why would He want to be with us in the first place?

 I think of Jesus and the way He first approached me when I was a mixed up kid at Bible School.  He talked to me as a friend, and so my first introduction to Jesus on a personal level was that over time, I came to realize that He was my friend and He cared about me, and I could trust Him with my innermost feelings and thoughts!  And He wanted to be with me and talk to me as a friend to friend.  It blew me away! I discovered that Jesus wasn’t about religion, He is about relationship.  To this day, I still marvel that He puts people over politics, policy or papacy (rank of office).

 And so, I was thinking about friends and how do you make a friend?  You usually make a friend by giving something of yourself, a gift or being kind, amicable and generous.  You make that person feel loved, accepted and needed. You have things in common. You spend time with them.  I want you to put God in this place of a friend.  The Bible says in Proverbs 18:24, “There’s a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”  To me, that friend being referred to is Jesus. Jesus sticks with us; He doesn’t leave when the going gets tough.  

Thinking back, there have been times in my life that I felt alone and friendships seemed illusive.  Before I was married I was alone for twelve years and it felt at times, more like twenty years.  When you feel alone, a moment is like an eternity.  But I can tell you, Jesus was always there for me when I needed Him and when I reached out to Him, which was quite often, daily as a matter of fact.  He was always the first cheerleader in my life, cheering me on, picking me up every time I fell, and nursing my wounds when I’d inevitably get hurt.  I learned the world can be a pretty cruel place when you mingle with people who truly do not know God’s love.  With all my scrapes, scars, bruises and inner wounds, I can attest that He has brought welcome healing to my body and soul many a time.  Yes, Jesus indeed has consistently been a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

 Maybe some of us aren’t close to our family.  I know I am, but I know there’s people that aren’t because they don’t feel accepted as they are.  And Christmas will usually highlight these painful relationships when the family all gets together.  Some families, especially if they don’t know the Lord, can make you feel that they don’t really want you around unless you play things their way. But Jesus is everything that we look for in a friend, and so much more.  When all else fails, and our friends may reject us, Jesus never will.  He comes bearing gifts, He loves us unconditionally, and He wants to be with us.  When I was an older teen, Jesus love changed my life and turned my life around.  I could hardly fathom why God went out of His way to want to be with me, especially after all I had done as a teen, living a backslidden life!  My life was like the Prodigal Son and I always knew how undeserving I was of anything good that might come my way.  I deserved nothing and could only hope that God would spare my unruly and ungodly life and let me live.  As a young woman, I was lost and had no purpose or future.  All in good time, Jesus gave me hope and a future.  I ended up in Bible School, the best place I could ever be, and learned all about this incredible God who loves me so much!  If you are a parent or a grandparent, never give up praying for your wayward children and grandchildren. Jesus cares, He really does.  I am alive today because of my mother’s persistent prayers for me. She went to battle in prayer hour upon hour, and I’m sure was sleep deprived all throughout my teen years.

 God is with us.  This is the one and only God we’re talking about, not just anybody.  This is Almighty God.  The great Creator of all things; the mighty God who could wipe us out it with a mere breath, and deservedly so.  For we have all turned away from God. There is none that doeth good, no not one.  So what do we know about God? We know what He says about Himself and His Word. Let’s think about the magnitude of our God – He has always been and He will always be.  He has no beginning and no end.  He’s the Alpha and Omega, the bright morning star, the Creator of all things, Father to His own children.  There is no one beside Him; there is no one greater than Him and He inhabits all things.  He is omnipresent and omniscient; He knows all things and nothing can be hidden from Him.  The essence or spirit of God is a fire and if you were to look at the essence of God, well, you couldn’t.  It would destroy your frail human body. Moses couldn’t look at God because of the brightness and the intense heat that came from the presence of God.

There’s many many things that we don’t know about God, but we will learn about God over eternity if we know him as our Lord and Saviour.  But, even in an eternity we will never know all there is to know about God. Now you tell me if this is not an awesome God?  And that word “awesome” belongs to God and God alone, because it means “full of awe,” as in so awesome you would bow down and worship Him if you could stand at all in His glorious magnificent presence. There is so much to unpack when we’re talking about God – our God is also a God of mercy, a God of grace, He forgives; He doesn’t hold our sins against us; He is a Counsellor, a Healer, a Friend, and a Brother, and much more.   

Please stay tuned for Part 2 of this meditation.