God will spank you! Understanding God’s correcting hand in our lives.
Ezekiel 4,5,6,7, Revelation 3
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. – Rev. 3:19
Strong words from our Lord Jesus. He’s speaking to the churches of Asia Minor through the letters that He had John write. He’s brining correction, edification, discipline and comfort to His churches. Notice that they are His churches. He loved them, and earnestly wanted to see them faithful to Him and fulfilling His purpose. He desires relationship, fellowship, worship, faithfulness, love and . . . fruitfulness. That’s thet bottom line. Were the churches being true and fruitful? And if not, well that’s where the rebuke and discipline come . . .
Today, to the church in general, local churches specifically, and in my life, do we/I understand and recieve the discipline of the Lord? Do we understand His motive for the rebuke? How do we respond to the correction of the Lord? I believe we/I have alot to learn within this regards. But I know this too, that His rebuke and discipline is done so in perfect love of a Father, and for our good. Take for example His dealings with Judah prior and after the exile to Babylon. He loving warned for years, they did not respond, but then even after the exile, Jeremiah 29 shows that He had a plan and a future. So, regardless of the pain and wondering of chastisement, I know that it is for my good and blessing of the future.
Father I pray this day that I understand Your ways and that You’re teaching me to respond correctly to Your correction. I thank You that You do love and care enough to correct so that I can still bring forth fruit – even in my latter years. . . .
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Finishing Strong – Returning to your first love by the Holy Spirit
Ezekiel 1,2,3, Revelation 2
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first – Rev 2:4-5
Forsaken first love . . . many sermons have been preached on this topic. Some very good, some with much condemnation and judgment browe beating people for a variety of reasons for not measuring up somehow. Forsaken first love of Christ, soul winning, or any number of subjects that can be implied here. I believe the Lord wants us to know what the first love was, or how else can we remember from which we fell. How can we repent, turn, come back to something that don’t know of understand.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians some 30 yrs earlier. He spoke of our relationships with the Lord, raise up with Him, our behaviour in the Church and the warfare we face. Paul also told Timothy, as pastor of the church in Ephesus that he was to stir up the Holy Spirit and mentor others (2 Tm 2:2). So yes, it could be our relationship with Christ, which is obvious, but also if we see what Paul warned in his letter to the Ephesians as well as his exhortations to Timothy, I believe we’ll get a greater glimpse of what we have fallen from. Yes, we are to turn back to a church with a deep intamcy with Christ, we married to Him (Eph. 5). We are also to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul told Timothy – Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (2 Tm 2:14).
Father, you are my first love! Who you are, what you’ve done and all that You stand for in Your church, the Holy Spirit and my Lord Jesus. Teach, reveal and show what to turn back to so that I may continue on and finish strong in Your purpose for my life – - – in Jesus name.
Fruitful Prayer – all the time.
Jeremiah 33,34 Psalms 74 1 John 5
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
Prayer, victorious, conqueroring, fruitful, and empowering prayer. John here speaks of a place in prayer where “we know that we have what we ask” . . . such condifence, such assurance. This is the life of faith in prayer. To be in place of pryaer, where you know the Lord hears and answers prayer is the goal and desire of all believers.
However, all to often we fall short of this confidence for a variety of reasons. There are not many believers today that can boldly say that this verse is working in their lives. Why not more success and fulfillment? I believe a key is found in verse 3 of the same chapter, This is love for God: to obey his commands. Are we obeying His commands? We’re told they are not burdensome. Could there be a directo relationship between obedience and God being faithful to His being faithful in our prayer life. I believe there is a direct realationship here . . . our obedience to Him and His faithfulness to us.
Lord this day is Yours. I commit this day to you to obey and worship and walk with you. As I seek to obey, I ask also for the confidence of my prayer life to be full. My desire is to see this verse become more of a reality in my life . . . to pray and receive . . . .whatever I ask . . . Amen.