Longings

Last week, I had a lot of time to sit, think, pray and spend time with Jesus. I was deer hunting. Considering I didn't see many deer, I had a lot of solitude and idle time because I wasn't looking at deer through binoculars, or getting my gun ready to pull the trigger, or even following a blood trail through the woods. When you sit, in the middle of the woods, it is very easy to connect with God and hear His voice. There are no distractions. It is peaceful. It is quiet. This is a formula for personal renewal.

As I sat in the stand, the Lord quickened my heart with His word from Psalm 42:1. Of all things, this happens to be a passage that speaks of deer. The verse says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, my God." As I sat and reflected about this verse, there was one principle the Lord was teaching me.

I sat and considered the analogy of this verse. Since taking up deer hunting, I have learned a lot about the habits of these animals. Deer get up from their bedding to eat and drink. They will move for miles in order to fulfill their need of hunger and thirst. Deer are known to settle down near a river because water is a necessity to keep them going. Out of all the analogies the Psalmist could have used here, he used the deer and their longing for hydration.

The Psalmist used this analogy as a description for his own personal longing for the Lord. The Lord used this verse, in my heart, as a barometer for my own passion and longing for Jesus. One of the litmus tests for a person's passion for Jesus can be found in how they treat corporate worship in singing. Is worship a time to read the lyrics to a song or is worship a time to give our all and to exalt the name of Jesus? Is worship a time to day dream about Sunday lunch or do we long for the manifest presence of God? There are many things in this life that can get a person excited in anticipation. I was reminded of the anticipation I was having in waiting for a deer to walk out in front of my stand. I wanted so badly to see a large buck come out. The Lord inspired the question in me, "Do I anticipate being in the presence of the Lord just as much?" This was a convicting question.

God was challenging me to anticipate meeting Jesus each and every day, and especially on Sunday. The description the Psalmist uses is a longing. We all long for something. Some fill that longing with the wrong things such as money, sports, popularity, sex or alcohol. The only Person who can satisfy the longing we all have deep down inside of us is Jesus Christ.

Jesus, in a conversation with the woman at the well, talks about the satisfaction we receive from Him in John 4:14. Jesus says, "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus is the living water. Anytime we come into His presence, He will satisfy every longing that we have.

Do you long for His presence?  Do you long for more of Jesus in your life? May we take the example of the deer as we seek to satisfy the longing that we have. Only Jesus can truly satisfy. Seek Him. Spend time with Him. Receive Him. Live for Him. 

Stop Doubting and Believe

I see too many Christians living as if Jesus were dead.  C'mon man, there is so much evidence to the contrary.  First of all are the eyewitness accounts of those who were with Jesus.  We read of those in the Bible and other books.  Then, we have the power of the Holy Spirit which came on the day of Pentecost.  Jesus promised there would come a Helper following His ascension the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit now resides in believers and is operational in those who have surrendered completely to Him.  I have seen the Holy Spirit work in my life and in the lives of others, further evidence that Jesus is alive.

Too often we allow our circumstances in life to create doubt that leads to our falling away from our faith in Jesus Christ.  This happened to Thomas.  We read in John 20:24 that Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared on the first Easter.  Thomas withdrew from fellowship.  Thomas was dealing with the fact that his master, Jesus, had just been arrested and crucified.  He was distraught, depressed and had fallen away from his faith in Jesus.  We know this because when the disciples told him they had seen Jesus, he didn't believe them.  He wanted visible evidence.  Jesus met Thomas in his doubt.  Jesus wasn't turned off by Thomas' doubt.  Instead He proved to Thomas that He was alive.  Jesus told Thomas, "Stop doubting and believe."

Many of us need to hear those words, stop doubting and believe.  Are your circumstances so great, that you are questioning God's goodness and love?  Jesus wants to meet you in the middle of your circumstance.

If Jesus were to walk into the room where you are right now, how would you respond?  I know that I would fall on my face in worship.  This is how I want to live my life.  Romans 12:1 says, "Offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship."  We can worship God with our lives and live in light of Jesus' resurrection, by the power and filling of the Holy Spirit.  

In order for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we need to be completely surrendered.  If we're riding the fence of doubt, our witness will be mediocre.  Jesus doesn't deserve a mediocre follower.  There is no room in the kingdom of God for fence riders.  Jesus deserves His followers to be all in.

These are difficult days to follow Jesus.  The government is making it more difficult to hold to our Biblical values and faith.  When persecution comes, our faith will be tested.  Only those who are all in will take a stand for Jesus.

May our lives be empowered by His Spirit, may we be ignited with a holy passion to represent Jesus well.  May we live as if we've just seen Jesus.

Lifesong

It has been said that actions speak louder than words. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. I can think of several instances over the years where I have heard someone talk a good walk, but when the rubber met the road their lifestyle didn’t match what came out of their mouth. God desires and deserves so much more.

We live in a fallen world. The world we live in today is more sinful than it was ten years ago. There are so many temptations that cloud our vision every day. God has called us to holiness. Holiness means set apart, different. Just as God Himself is holy, so He desires us to be holy, striving to live a sinless life. So often believers can get caught in a rut of taking advantage of God’s grace. We can catch ourselves thinking, “God will forgive me and therefore I can continue sinning.” That’s the wrong mindset to have. The Bible says in Romans 6:1, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase, by no means, we died to sin!” Our lives should not conform to the world around us. We should not desire to be camouflaged Christians. God calls us to stand out, to be salt and light!

As believers, God has given us absolute freedom. Scripture says in John 8:36, “If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.” What a joy it is to be called children of God. We are loved with an everlasting love. We are able to love because He first loved us. This freedom we experience in Christ should cause our countenance to be different from the world. The inner freedom that we experience should cause our personality to overflow with the joy of the Lord. Our lives should be different.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” This is a great verse, and I have, over the years, debated in my mind about what that exactly means. I have concluded that as believers God has called us to worship Him with our lives. This happens 24-7-365. This is not just something we do on a given Sunday morning or simply during a Bile study experience. This is daily dying to ourselves and taking up our cross and putting Jesus first. It is complete surrender, saying, “Lord, not my will, but yours be done.” It is doing everything in life to the audience of One, for His praise and for His glory.

Several years ago, I took a group of middle school students to Night of Joy at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando FL. One of the featured bands at this event was Casting Crowns. They had previously released an album entitled Lifesong (lyrics below). The title song is featured first on the CD and has become one of my all-time favorite songs. This song speaks of this challenge we face as believers to allow what happens at church to be carried over into our daily lives. Our lives should reflect Christ’s work in us. A statement that lead singer Mark Hall made that Friday night, years ago and has stuck with me today is: “All of life is worship.” He hit the nail on the head. That statement has continued to resonate in my mind as I strive to worship Jesus no matter what I'm doing.

In conclusion, I want to ask you, what song is your life singing? When people observe your life and character, what do they see? Are you above reproach in every area? When you do mess up, are you quick to admit you were wrong? My challenge to you is to take a spiritual inventory and allow the Holy Spirit to empower you to live a life that is without compromise. A life that says, “I am in madly in love with Jesus.”


Lifesong by Casting Crowns
© Copyright 2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI)

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight
May the words that I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to you

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sing Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord, I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet
So may the words that I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to you

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to you