As the Fourth of July approaches I've been thinking a bit about our brave forefathers who risked all to take a stand for freedom that birthed our great nation. Personal freedom and independence are greatly valued in our culture--indeed many lives have been lost to gain and maintain it. For a nation, these are endearing and necessary values, however, when it comes to living in God's kingdom, they are actually dangerous and deadly.
I think our cultures' free and independent spirit is one of the hardest to shake when it comes to walking with God. This independent attitude breeds pride and even isolation at times as we all think we should be able to live life through our own effort and strength. Yes, Jesus Christ died for me to be free--free of sin and bondage, but He also calls me to lay down my own life--this is far from freedom for simply freedom sake! It must be for His glory! God desires deep surrender of our heart, mind, soul and strength...to love Him fully. This is far from independence!
To know God, we need quantity and quality time with Him--to commune with Him, to be restored in Him, to have our identity rooted in His still, small voice through solitude and silence away from the rush of life...this we must fight for. To have the joy of the Lord as our strength, we simply need more of Jesus. There is no shortcut to this one but simple surrender...surrender of time and talents; ambitions and attitudes...to let go of human understanding, plotting and planning to just be with Him, to ask and receive; to revive, reflect and repent...to die to self!
Scripture speaks of body life that is sacrificial, vulnerable, interdependent and rich in fellowship at the heart level. To bear one another's burdens, we need to be willing to make our needs known, to be REAL by letting into our private world and not just looking good to the outside observer; this is humbling. To offer our spiritual giftings, we need to know one another so our spirits might become one to sharpen and encourage each other in unity--we need to spend time together deeper than just a church pot luck; this is sacrificial. We need to know each other at the heart level to be able to speak deeply into a person's life or to receive from another because we trust them and their walk with God; this is time consuming, but time well spent. We must lay down the temptation to give up and go passive or just serve, serve, serve to look spiritually mature and pat ourselves on the back at a job well done while having a tired, burned out heart; this takes self control and discernment. To love others well, we must be filled by God first, to let Him love us and quiet us so that we are His ministers of hope, joy, peace and love led by Him and not just striving to fix others; this takes listening to Him and to each other which requires great patience and committment.
This is HARD because it is not just about me, hence not just about my freedom and independence! Thankfully, none of this is possible without the Holy Spirit which He freely gives and my surrender and complete dependence on Him, who is greater than any human king or government! So as you watch fireworks celebrating our nation's brave stand through the Declaration of Independence in 1776, may the sparks go off in your own heart to make this also a courageous Declaration of DEPENDENCE on Jesus in 2011.
"Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart...rend your heart and not your garments (what's inside and not just how it looks on the outside!). Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." Joel 2:12-13 emphasis added
To know God, we need quantity and quality time with Him--to commune with Him, to be restored in Him, to have our identity rooted in His still, small voice through solitude and silence away from the rush of life...this we must fight for. To have the joy of the Lord as our strength, we simply need more of Jesus. There is no shortcut to this one but simple surrender...surrender of time and talents; ambitions and attitudes...to let go of human understanding, plotting and planning to just be with Him, to ask and receive; to revive, reflect and repent...to die to self!
Scripture speaks of body life that is sacrificial, vulnerable, interdependent and rich in fellowship at the heart level. To bear one another's burdens, we need to be willing to make our needs known, to be REAL by letting into our private world and not just looking good to the outside observer; this is humbling. To offer our spiritual giftings, we need to know one another so our spirits might become one to sharpen and encourage each other in unity--we need to spend time together deeper than just a church pot luck; this is sacrificial. We need to know each other at the heart level to be able to speak deeply into a person's life or to receive from another because we trust them and their walk with God; this is time consuming, but time well spent. We must lay down the temptation to give up and go passive or just serve, serve, serve to look spiritually mature and pat ourselves on the back at a job well done while having a tired, burned out heart; this takes self control and discernment. To love others well, we must be filled by God first, to let Him love us and quiet us so that we are His ministers of hope, joy, peace and love led by Him and not just striving to fix others; this takes listening to Him and to each other which requires great patience and committment.
This is HARD because it is not just about me, hence not just about my freedom and independence! Thankfully, none of this is possible without the Holy Spirit which He freely gives and my surrender and complete dependence on Him, who is greater than any human king or government! So as you watch fireworks celebrating our nation's brave stand through the Declaration of Independence in 1776, may the sparks go off in your own heart to make this also a courageous Declaration of DEPENDENCE on Jesus in 2011.
"Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart...rend your heart and not your garments (what's inside and not just how it looks on the outside!). Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." Joel 2:12-13 emphasis added
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