Turning Our Backs to God

They turned their backs to me and not their faces. (Jer 32:33a)

Ouch! How often am I guilty of this? I realized from this verse there are only two stances toward God. If I am not turning my face toward him I am turning my back to him. I want to think there is a middle ground. I want to think that sometimes, even though I am not turning my face to him, I’m still not exactly turning my back to him. But it is not so. Am I distracted? That's turning my back. Am I forgetful of him? That's turning my back. Do I ignore him? That's turning my back. Do I say I'm too tired? That's turning my back. God has commanded me to seek him, to pray without ceasing, to meditate on his Word day and night, and to walk humbly before him. I must forever be turning toward him continually. Lord, forgive my foolish excuses. I turn my face to you. I will fix my eyes on Jesus. Amen.

Destroy the Devoted Thing

Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, “Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.” (Josh 7:13)

After the conquest and destruction of Jericho, the Israelites confidently sent a small force to capture Ai. But the men of Ai routed the army of Israel. Joshua, grief stricken, went before the Lord to discover why. God told him that Israel had been defeated because they had sinned by keeping some of the treasure of Jericho. This was a violation of God’s command to devote it all to him, i.e., destroy it all. In this verse God tells Joshua that Israel must destroy the devoted thing they clung to before they would be victorious again.

I wonder how often I suffer defeat for the same reason? When I cling to the idols and so-called treasures that God has called me to surrender I sabotage my own walk with God. This is a most basic and profound issue. As long as I am violating God’s very first commandment (thou shalt have no other gods before me) how can I live victoriously in the strength and power of God? While I care more for my own pride or pleasure than I do God’s kingdom I will never be able to do my part in his great plan for his people. Lord, forgive me for clinging to my own false gods and worthless idols when you have commanded me to destroy them. I have surrendered myself to you as my Sovereign King and I will have no other gods. You alone are Lord. I am yours, now and forever. Amen.

An Undivided Heart

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name. (Ps 86:11)

An undivided heart! That’s what I want. To hold onto God and let everything else go. I am too attached to my material comfort, my financial security and my leisure activities. I am too worried about what other people think and not worried enough about what God thinks. I have a divided heart! Lord, I know I am yours and you are mine. You are my only hope, and the only one I can ultimately trust. Forgive me for giving away my heart to false gods. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

American Idols

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. (Acts 17:16)

By education and training Paul was a Pharisee, steeped in Jewish religion and culture. The great Shema of Israel, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deut 6:4) was the central rallying cry of Jewish belief and practice. For all the long centuries since Abraham it was monotheism, as much as anything, that set them apart from other nations. To such a man as Paul, raised in that culture, the very sight of so many idols would be upsetting.

And what about me, raised in a modern American culture? Plurality, diversity, tolerance, respect for other cultures, these are considered the enlightened mindset here. Does it bother me that so many false gods are worshipped in our society? I’m not talking about literal idols only, although there are certainly some idols in the Hindu temple near our neighborhood. I’m talking about the false gods of money, sex, food, power, pride, leisure and fame. If these don’t bother me like the Athenian idols bothered Paul, maybe it is because they form too much a part of my own thinking and values. Maybe I am prone to pause daily at their shrines and give my heart for a moment to them.

Lord, so many of these false gods still hold an appeal to me. Help me to recognize when I have transferred my affections or my trust from you to these idols that are worshipped by so many. Teach me to walk in your ways and live only for you. My heart is yours and I will not give it to another.

Slowly But Surely

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Rom 12:2a)

Toward this end, one very practical thing I can do is to devote myself daily to prayer and reading God’s Word. Another is in verse 1, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” I daily pray a prayer of surrender. And as many times during the day as my mind snaps back to it, I confess my love and service to him again. These are the very practical disciplines which I was taught in the One on One discipleship study. It is sometimes disheartening to me that I am so far from being the man of God that I aspire to be. Yet I believe and trust that slowly, almost imperceptibly, as I faithfully execute these daily disciplines I am being molded into that man of God. I know his word will not come back void, nor his Spirit fail to move.

Only You, Lord

Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters. (Is 55:1a)
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (Ps 42:2a)

I long for God; I yearn for God. I know that nothing else will satisfy the thirst in my soul. No one else can heal the ache in my heart. Nothing else satisfies at all. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. (Ps 34:8) Only he can deliver me from my fears. (Ps 34:4) Lord, when I forget, when I grow complacent, bring me back to this place. Remind me of my utter dependence on you. Amen.

Living for His Glory

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (I Cor 10:31)

I wrote this verse on the first page of this journal. It makes a great “life verse.” Truly, if God is Lord of all, if this body and this world are passing away, then there is no higher end to life than to live it for his glory. It is not just a matter of avoiding sin, we must actively seek to glorify him in every decision, every act. Lord, please remind me of this verse every day. Amen.

Give It Up

In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Lk 14:33)

Jesus said this to sum up his discussion about counting the cost before building a tower or going to war. This is one of those challenging statements that we are tempted to explain away or soften. In the context of the previous verses he seems to be saying that the price of true discipleship is high. If we just want to add a little God stuff to what we’re already doing we will not succeed as his true disciples. It must be our singular focus. God is my purpose for existence! Everything else is only meaningful in light of that purpose. Everything in my life not consecrated to him, even good and wonderful things like family, careers, and friends, is nothing more than a distraction.

Patchwork Christians

No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. (Lk 5:36)

All too often, we want to take a little bit of the new life in Christ and graft it onto our old life in the flesh. We don’t really want to give up our old, comfortable ways. So we just add a little God stuff to what we’re already doing. But the two can never mesh – they are like night and day. Think of how much we give up of our new life in Christ when we do that! We get a tiny little, ill-fitting patch that only serves to remind us of the abundant life we are missing out on! God, I want all of what you have for me. I know I’ll never have it as long as I cling to my old, selfish and sinful ways. Show me how to cast aside the worn out tatters of my old life and truly begin to live as the new creation you made me to be.

Desiring God

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Ps 63:1)

What a tremendous picture of seeking and desiring God. Lord, I want to desire you this much. I want to seek you as urgently as I would seek water in a desert. Lord, increase my desire to know you. If I were dying of thirst you can bet my thoughts would never be far from water. In the same way, I want my thoughts to always be for you, Lord.

A Pure Heart

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Ps 51:10)

It is only by God’s power that we are renewed and made clean. We invite him in to do the work he desires to do in us. The good news: this is a prayer he always answers. Lord, give me a pure heart and a steadfast spirit for you.

Thirsty for You

As the dear pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (Ps 42:1)

I need these times of refreshing with you, God – even throughout the day. My soul dries up if I go my separate way. You are never far from us, even if we cannot feel your presence. I am “practicing the presence of God” now, and I long to deepen and strengthen my connection to you. I don’t want to slip back into laziness and apathy as I have in times past. Lord, increase my desire for your presence.

Single-Minded Devotion

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Ps 37:4)

I want to truly and comprehensively delight myself in the Lord, by which I mean to seek only him, his Kingdom, and his righteousness and to be filled with the joy of his presence at all times.

Seek him  =  know him
Seek his kingdom  =  glorify him
Seek his righteousness  =  be like him

So it’s really all the same thing. This is just what One on One is all about. When the desire of my heart is just to know him, to glorify him, and to be like him, I will surely receive it and be filled with joy. I can’t believe I just said “surely” but it’s true. If I delight myself in the Lord (i.e. make these my life goals) it will happen. I have confidence in God and not myself. I will eat and be satisfied at the table of the Lord.

No Higher Goal

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. (Ps 27:8)

The desire of David’s heart was God himself. He wanted to meet him and to know him. Lord, let this be my singular obsession, to seek your face. May I have no higher goal than to know you. May my heart leap at the thought of being in your presence. This is my determined purpose, Lord, to seek your face.

Let's Make A Deal

Then Jacob made a vow saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me…then the Lord will be my God…and of all you give me I will give you a tenth.” (Gen 28:20-22)

Clearly Jacob has a ways to go in his understanding and his spiritual maturity. No wonder he had long years of hardship and discontentment ahead of him. It almost made me laugh to read this. Jacob is so obviously bargaining with God and his commitment is so limited and conditional. But I wonder, is my devotion really so complete and unconditional? Intellectually I assent to it, but what am I doing in practice? Are there things in my life I’m not willing to give up? Am I prone to reconsider my commitment to his plan if I don’t like the way things are going? My faith is weak. I always have a plan B. I love that image in the second Indiana Jones movie of the crystal bridge they must step out onto in faith. I want to believe so strongly and be so committed that I would risk everything on absolute obedience to God. Lord, please make me that kind of believer. Holy Spirit, take control of me in that way.

The Good Soil

But the one who received the seed that fell on the good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Mt 13:23)

This is the man I want to be. I don’t want to be the one who lets life’s trials or the cares of the world snatch away what I have in Christ. I marvel that my life is so unproductive. I let timidity and laziness keep me from being obedient to his Word. Lord, transform me from the inside out, by the power of your Holy Spirit. I want to yield a good crop in whatever time I have left.

Give Your Life Away

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mt 10:39)

We have such a high calling to fulfill! Jesus asks us to give our life away. Not to live it for ourselves but to live it for him and for his Kingdom. It is truly not about us anymore. It’s about him, living for him and living for others. Our reward is in heaven.

Toss the Idols

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his. (2 Chr 16:9)

This was the text of Mark’s sermon today (1/4/2009). He challenged us to live a life wholly devoted to God. A heart that is completely his gets heaven’s attention. These are the kind of people God can get something done with. Mark used King Asa as an example. Like Asa, we have to throw the idols out:

1. It’s easy to set up an idol 
2. Good things can become idols 
3. Getting rid of them can be painful (Mt 5:30) 
4. But peace comes to your heart when the idols have been removed (Is 26:3-4) 

Getting rid of idols:

1. Identify them 
2. Tear them down 
3. Refocus the energy 

Lord, I want to get moving with this. I want to refocus on you and on being a true disciple and on making disciples. Holy Spirit, strengthen my resolve and my ability to devote myself to you.