Friday, August 7, 2009

Devotional 070809

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I have been extremely busy in trying to meet many deadlines for conferences, sermons, seminary studies, work projects and annual evaluations. I wished I had more than 24 hours per day. But God is fair and kind; He only gives each one of us the same amount of time, and holds us accountable to work within that time frame. Therefore, we learn to work faithfully with the best of our knowledge as a good steward, and rest faithfully to acknowledge who is God, just as the Lord said, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49) Our Lord's childhood was not immature man-hood; our Lord's childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy innocent child of God by identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look upon life as being in my Father's house? Is the Son of God living in His Father's house in me?

The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in Holy Communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. "I had to be in my Father's house " - live the moments in My Father's house.

Narrow it down to your individual circumstances - are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His work flow through you in your home, in your business, in your inner circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them; it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in accordance to the Will of God for your sanctification. Let Him be the Lord of your life, and keep in perfect union with Him.

The redemptive life of your Lord should become your vital simple life; the way He worked and lived among men must be the way He lives in and through you. This is how our Lord’s “incarnation” continues to take place through His Body on earth. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Each member of the Body of Christ must be closely connected with the Head and one another, before this Body can fully effective in living out the life of Christ on earth.

Satan knew he lost his significant battle on the cross. Many of his “prisoners or slaves” had been delivered from his domain since then. In order to slow down his final judgment, he will do whatever he can to reduce the effectiveness of the church on earth. Satan knows the compassion of Christ for the lost, and he knows the love of God, “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore if the church fails to live out the life of Christ on earth, Satan will prolong his evil influence in this world and within the hearts of all men. We will see more suffering, human disasters, horrible tragedies among men, severely domestic violence, lawlessness, senseless and cold blooded killing, and evil will continue to rise. Governments will only compromise their laws to accommodate evil because of their helplessness. In deed, we are helpless in curtailing evil on earth. There is only one way to resist and overcome evil on earth, and it is by the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Body of Christ on earth. Let’s pray that God will give us a revival for His church like He did for His people in Ezekiel’s time, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: ‘I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord…Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them’” (Ezekiel 37:5-6, 13). Somehow God chose to use a messenger to ignite this miracle; unless the Prophet obeyed to proclaim accordingly, revival would not take place. God posted the same challenge for the church today. Will you obey what the Lord has already spoken to you?

Have a blessed and fruitful weekend in enjoying the presence of God!

Love you because of His love,
Lawrence

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