November 2, 2010 Taking It Personally

Whenever I read Scripture, whether Old Testament or New, I always ask "How does this pertain to me?"  and  "What are you showing me about yourself today, Lord?"  So even if I don't understand very much of what I read, I'm still going to come away having had an encounter with the Lord.  My goals of understanding Him more and being more equipped to live for Him are therefore always fulfilled.

One thing that stands out to me when I read the prophets is how much God hates idolatry.  This isn't going to touch me much if I keep myself at a distance from these expressions, or put them in the past tense, or aim them in someone else's direction.  In the here and now, Christ is passionate about burning away the things that I substitute for Him, the things that I worship that are not Him.  The things that I fear and bow down to-- the things that intimidate me-- or the things I try to fill up with other than Him.  Even though I know very well that nothing can fill the emptiness that we all feel without Him, I still struggle at times to keep from seeking fulfillment from other sources.  We all do. 

Accepting God's feelings about idols helps me to lay them down.  As I move from being motivated mostly by the fear of the Lord to being motivated by love for Him, I find that I don't want to grieve His heart.  Hidden idols in my heart grieve Him, and I want to be rid of them at all cost.  I have to ask Him what they are, because it is still part of my sin nature to hide them from myself.  Once we're willing to deal with this issue, He gently guides us towards freeing ourselves from all that is contrary to pure heart worship.

When I see how much Ezekiel was willing to go through to demonstrate God's Word to His people I feel pretty wimpy in comparison.  God hasn't called me to do the things Ezekiel did (whew!) but He has called me to do some things, which I often find lame excuses for not doing.  I wonder if idols have anything to do with this?  I think I'll ask Him.

I love the book of Hebrews!  What glorious visions of Christ we find here!  Today, I'm grateful to be reminded of His loving priesthood and how we can, because of Him, come boldly to the throne for mercy and grace.  Every day is my time of need!   If I want to do the works He's called me to do, I'll have to enter into (and remain in) that seventh day.  This is the place of pure worship that I'm looking for! 

Avoiding things I'm called to do is just as much outside of the Rest as doing things I'm not called to do (it's all my own works). 

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." Hebrews 4:9-10 NKJV

I embrace the sword of His Word, as painful as it sometimes is, because it so clearly shows me where I'm at, as well as vividly revealing the Lord.  As His sword cuts away the junk, it makes more room in my life for Him.