Last week of SBS was filled with
challenging and invigorating messages. As I studied 2 Corinthians I was
convicted by the life of Paul and how he was spent gladly for the sake of the
Gospel. My eyes were opened to the worthiness of Jesus on a whole new level.
Paul pursued the Corinthians even when they rejected him because he truly
believed that the Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive the reward of His
suffering. He believed this so much so that he endured in afflictions, hardships,
calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, and
hunger. He was often near death, and was even stoned once. He was shipwrecked
three times, adrift at sea, in danger of rivers, in danger from robbers and
from his own people, in danger in the city and the wilderness and at sea, in
toil and hardship, in cold and exposure. He considered all of this
worth it because He understood the Gospel.
Are we living for the sake
of the Gospel?
Paul challenges us that though there are afflictions and the
outer self wastes away, we are to look not to the things that are seen, but to
the things that are unseen and eternal; that we do not lose heart in order that
the treasure that is Christ would be magnified (2 Cor. 16-18).
I
studied the themes of prayer and perseverance in the book of James, following 2
Corinthians. I am challenged to persevere in the footsteps of the prophets and also
trust God even in seemingly impossible circumstances. I am learning to rejoice
always because I know that in Christ I am victorious and that trials can teach
me and bring me into a more dependent relationship upon Christ. Circumstances
should not shake my position of faith. I should be steadfast at all times,
focusing not upon my earthly difficulties, but upon what I have in Christ and
who He is shaping me into. He transforms me into His image when I allow Him to
if I learn to lean into Him in dependence.
Are we impacting our environment or is our
environment impacting us? Are we tossed like a wave in the sea, or are we
firmly established in Christ, unmoved by the trails of life?
I am being challenged to grow in my prayer life by asking
God for things in faith. I am to grow in intimacy with Him so that I pray in
alignment with His desires. Strongholds must be torn down in my life so that I
can pray effective prayers that are not hindered by sin, which separates us
from God and fully knowing His heart. I am challenged to seek holiness and pray
with perseverance until I see breakthrough. In our culture, we like to see
results fast. I must be willing to keep persevering in patience even when there are not instant results. We can be encouraged by the example of Elijah to keep praying and
asking in faith, believing that God has the power to move.
Are we wrestling in prayer
until the breakthrough comes?
I
listened to an Eric Ludy sermon that challenged me at the core. It is titled
“Embracing the Inconvenient: A study in Christian Rescue Work” http://ellerslie.com/sermons/eric-ludy/9-14-14/embracing-the-inconvenient
What level of inconvenience
are we willing to go to and persevere through to see the benefit of another?
Do I see people as Jesus does? If the person next to me was
Jesus, would I give him all that I have? If I see the cross and understand the
Gospel, there would be nothing that I would withhold. Jesus says that whatever
we do to the least of these we do unto Him (Matt. 25:40). True religion is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself
unpolluted from the world (James 1:27). Am I loving others in the way that I
love Jesus? Am I allowing Him to burden my heart with the things that are on
His heart? Am I being His hands and feet to those in need of His love? Am I stopping daily for the one in front of me to practically show them the love of Christ?
No comments:
Post a Comment