Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world...Probably earthly pleasures were never made to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage.
~C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity~
Yes, there are temptations in the world and they are hard to resist. Yes, the social pressures, culture and influences are very real and challenging to face, let alone stand against. Yes, there will be times every human in the world will stumble and fall, only to be faced with the decision to pick oneself up again for the millionth time or to throw in the towel.
But along with all these practical realities and difficulties, we have to realise the truth that only a genuine relationship with God will fulfil the core desires of our hearts. Nothing more and nothing less.
As Blaise Pascal describes, "the infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words, by God himself".
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'" (John 6:35)
"Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)
"The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." (Psalm 145:15-16)
I heard something yesterday which I found quite interesting about peer pressure. It's probably something that most people realise but it made me think.
Peer pressure in the past for older generations took a more verbal form, where verbal statements are made to persuade someone to engage in behaviour that is most often understood to be wrong.
Peer pressure in more recent times has taken on a far more potent and influential form. It now often takes on a nonverbal and implied influence that pressures someone to engage in behaviour that a large number or majority of people in the world think is all right.
The world has been moving in a direction of individualism and and relativism, where an individual's perception and experience negates the need for clear standards and truths.
Truth has become relative without any absolutes and I have regularly debated with people who claim that truth can't be absolute because everyone has their own perception and no one can say for sure whether anyone's perception is right or wrong.
The one question they have been unable to answer is why their claim that all truth is relative is an absolute truth. And suddenly their surety in their statement is challenged by the very thing they want to argue for.
There has to be standards and truths that go beyond the bubble of human comprehension and perception. Truth and moral standard cannot be limited to a fallible and imperfect humanity. If it is, then there is no hope for us.
OK, I've gone on a tangent from what I intended to write. I'll end the post with this.
In a world where moral signposts keep moving, what the world propagates does not make it right, even if the majority of people support its stance. There is an unchanging and unmoving standard of morality that can be referred to: the person of Jesus and His word.
Self-regulation according to one's own perception and sense of morality is just not going to cut it. Demonstrated even in the global financial markets, maybe leaving people to their own devices and individualism without clear boundaries is not the best solution.
The law of the bible ultimately liberates rather than restricts humanity. It liberates us to be the people that, at heart, we want to be. It liberates us to achieve the purposes that God has planned for our lives. It liberates us to receive the blessings that come from obedience and living under the covering of the Holy Spirit.
Are we ready to make a stand?
Many times we pray for power and anointing to overcome the world and in our minds, we're seeing obstacles like our bosses, our parents, people who speak against us, etc, that God will give us the breakthrough to overcome.
As I was praying this week, I kept coming back to the impression that the way we define power is the opposite of the definition found in the world. And I wonder if we fully understood, whether we would still be praying for it.
What if praying for power and breakthrough meant a life of brokenness and submission to God in a manner unlike what we perceive?
Power to fully submit to God's will. Prayer to live a life of brokenness and humility, stepped on and humiliated by the world. Power to be a servant...power for a life that pours out like a drink for the sake of the Lord. Power to comprehend the sorrow of God's heartbeat for the people. Power to weep and stand in the gap.
The power to completely surrender to the purpose and calling that God has predestined for your life...to live a life that may be the tougher than anything you ever envisioned, but yet the most fulfilling that could be accomplished. To be at the center of God's will and fully tapped into His power.
Is that really what we want? Are we willing to pay the cost?
The irony is that the power to submit to God and His will brings the breakthrough and overcoming power over our tangible obstacles. The more we are able to submit to Him, the more we will be able to overcome.
Submission brings the breakthrough because we stop relying on our own strength and wisdom, and begin trusting in the One that has already won the victory.
I mentioned in a recent post that I wanted to share about burnt offerings and it's been on my heart for awhile now but my schedule has just been too overwhelming recently. Before I completely forget what I wanted to say, I'm going to share it in this post although I haven't really thought it out enough yet.
The bible passage is from Leviticus 6:8-13 when God was instructing Moses on the burnt offering that is to be offered.
I won't copy and paste the whole passage but the lines that jumped out at me were:
"The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar."
"The priest ... shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar ..."
"The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out."
"The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out."
There have been many times when I've left camp, a conference or an event completely on fire for God only to start losing steam weeks or months later. I wasn't able to keep the fire burning. And in this short passage, three times it is written that the fire must be kept burning and must not go out.
Relating it to our lives, how do we stay on fire? How do we step on the altar as living sacrifices, put fresh wood as an offering to God and not crawl off the altar when it gets too hot or uncomfortable?
There were two things that spoke to my heart when I read this bible passage.
Firstly, fresh wood has to be added daily. Burnt offerings don't continue to burn forever on old fuel because the fire consumes what is on the altar. That means that there are things in our lives that we need to bring to the altar regularly; It doesn't mean that something sacrificed in the past will continue to be 'sacrificed' in our lives if we don't continue to lay it down.
Secondly, the ashes have to be removed from the altar or it will get in the way of the fire continuing to burn. Once offerings have become ashes, there's no point trying to burn it again. Many times we like to look back at the things we have done, the sacrifices we have made, and the times that God has used us powerfully for his purposes.
We forget to rely on new mercies everyday and instead try to rely on our past experiences and sometimes even our 'past anointing' to carry us through new periods of our lives. Just because God moved in our lives in a mighty way in the past does not mean that He will continue to do so in exactly the same way today, especially if we neglect to bring fresh offerings to the altar.
Don't hold on to the past. The past reminds us of God's faithfulness but it doesn't give us the power and anointing for the present. The only thing we can continue to hold on to are the promises that God has placed over us that are yet to come to pass in the physical.
Seek fresh manna, fresh anointing, fresh purpose for today. Forgetting what lies behind and just pressing on towards the goal, fully focused on our Lord, Jesus. Don't try to fall back on past accomplishments and achievements, past anointing or past experiences with God.
Although He is unchanging forever, He has something new for us every single day as He carries us through new seasons, from glory to glory. Don't restrict Him by looking backwards but realise that He has a wonderful plan and purpose for our life that will come to pass, and that is coming to pass.
I apologise if my points above haven't been as concise as I originally planned and hope that it captures the essence of what I wanted to share.
Keep the fire burning.
Put fresh wood...fresh offerings.
Clear away the ashes.
Don't let the fire go out.
Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that's where life starts.
Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust.
(Proverbs 4:23-27 - Taken from The Message)
I was reading last night about the story behind Lance Armstrong's success and I am amazed by the perseverence he showed. In 1996, he was considered one of the top-rated cyclists, if not the top, in the world. He was winning tournaments, making good income and at the top of his game. Everything looked bright for his future.
Then, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He tried to maintain a positive outlook throughout his treatments but then the cancer metastasized to his lungs...then to his brain. He almost lost hope then because he knew that when the cancer spreads to the brain, it usually means death.
But he didn't give up and he fought through testicular and brain surgery, and extensive chemotherapy to recover. A doctor told Lance that he had been given a 3% chance to live when the cancer spread.
Not only did he live, he went back to cycling. And he won the Tour de France a consecutive 7 times from 1999 to 2005. The Tour de France is a grueling 23-day, 21-stage road race usually covering more than 3,500 kilometres.
I just wanted to share this story and encourage you not to give up, no matter what you are facing. The blessing that we have is that we don't have to walk alone through the storms of life; Jesus walks beside us and the body of Christ stands alongside supporting as well.
Cheers!
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