Two Thrones to Choose Between

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Romans 6:12,13

This morning I am picturing two throne rooms. In each a king sits upon his throne and not only allows but welcomes your presence. He smiles when you enter, motions for you to come closer, and is pleased to hear you say, “I am here to do as you wish. All that I am is yours. Please use me in your service. I am here to serve you.” At this particular moment you are there to present your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet as tools to be used as he pleases. One throne is occupied by the King of kings and the other throne is occupied by sin.

In this passage I see choice written all over the place. As God’s child, I (more than anyone) have a choice as to whom I present myself and for what I proceed to do. Neither sin nor God forces my entrance or my involvement. It is by my choosing that I enter and volunteer. I cannot be in both throne rooms at the same time….it is impossible. Each room has its own unique atmosphere. Each has an agenda with very different consequences for service. The question is, “Which will I enter? Whom will I serve?”

There are two verbs of choice that I notice……let and present. In this passage the word let means to allow, give permission, permit, agree to, consent to, assent to, and accede to. Each time I sin I am the one granting permission for sin to reign. Allowing sin to be my king in the kingdom of my body. How sad to think that I would enter, kneel, and extend the parts of my body for service to this particular ruler…voluntarily!

Yet, the whole time God Himself is wooing me into His throne room. Granting me the desire and power to leave sin’s throne room. Inviting me to let Him rule and reign in my life. May I enter His throne room and abide in His presence continually. My actions, attitudes, and spoken words will reveal where I am spending my time.

Father, help me to make myself at home in Your throne room of my heart. Have the sovereign rule over me. I choose You! Amen.

Touching the Heart of God

When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13 NASB

The stage is being set for a miracle. What has touched the very seat of Jesus’ emotions and affections? A widow who now grieves the loss of her only son! The NIV says His heart went out to her. Can you digest the tenderness of this scene? I have often heard it said that when we are in sorrow or distress, God’s tears mingle with our own. That is exactly what I see happening in this verse. Jesus doesn’t just feel sorry for the woman, He enters into the grief with her.

Think of the last time you grieved over something. Your chest could barely contain the pain, the tears flowed unceasingly, and you were consumed with such a cloud of heaviness that you feared you would never feel anything but grief again. It may have been the loss of something or someone dear to you. It may have been unalterable, horrible circumstances in your life. It may have been so wounding to you, that even now you struggle to put it into words. Got the picture? Now in that time, what did you sense Jesus doing? If you do not see Him as compassionate with you as He was with this widow, then there is work to be done!

I am moved by the fact that Jesus is about to do something radical. Not as a response to a person’s faith and not even in answer to a request that has been made of Him. He is about to intervene on behalf of this woman strictly out of compassion. How tender! But may I be so bold as to suggest that even when there is faith involved or a request being given, Jesus still acts on our behalf out of compassion.

He walked this earth for a little over thirty years as God in the flesh. During that time He experienced sorrow, loneliness, pain, rejection, loss, and a host of other deep emotions. That is why He is able to enter into our sorrows with us. He knows how we feel because He knows how all of THAT feels. Each time we go through a time of grief He looks at us with compassion and quietly says, “Don’t cry.” The next time you experience what I am talking about, invite Him into the place where you are hurting. Then get ready to experience comfort and compassion in a whole new way!

Father, there are times I need to know the kind of compassion that You give so abundantly. I am learning to cry on Your shoulder and I am always touched by Your response to my grief. Amen.

Thought of, Known, and Valued

Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, you are more valuable than many sparrows. Luke 12:6,7

We come into this world with many needs and this passage expresses three of them. We want to be thought of, known intimately, and valued. When those areas are met through loving parents it is easier to digest the fact that God feels that way toward us. But some of us lived with deprivation in one or more of those areas and it took years to realize God is different than our parents.

For me personally, the deprivation came because of alcoholism in our home. I would tell you to this day I was very close to my mom and had a special relationship with her. I cannot say the same thing about my dad. Nonetheless, in both cases they drank. My dad had a drinking problem throughout my life and my mom had a drinking problem during my pre-teen, teen, and young adult life. To this day I can remember the feelings of neglect and loneliness. There is no way for a child or even an adult to compete with “the bottle.”

I did not realize until recently that those same feelings carried over into my perception about God. They manifested themselves in feelings of being lost in a crowd, unknown, and not at all valued. The fact that God loved me was a generic, one-size fits all theology. I failed to see the preciousness of the truth of His love for myself. My soul craved more than what felt like empty words to me. After all, my parents said they loved me.

The change? It came as God introduced me to people who taught me what God’s love really looks and feels like and it came through seeing Scripture in a whole new light. The book of Psalms is filled with verses that tell me God delights in me. Zephaniah tells me God sings over me. Isaiah tells me God loves me so much He has inscribed me on the palms of His hands. My eyes get misty just reviewing these precious truths that have finally helped me see my heavenly Father in the right way.

Father, now when You say You love me it meets the deepest needs in my life. I no longer feel lost, lonely, or forgotten by You. Amen.

The Starting Place of Our Words

And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Luke 1:64

Silence had marked Zecharias’ life for almost a year. An angel had told him of his impending inability to speak because of his unbelief and said that would be his way of life until the things spoken had come to pass. Of course, God could have made his consequences for unbelief last until every prophet word about his son had come to pass but that was not the case. In actuality it lasted for eight days after his birth. Upon letting people know that he would be called John, Zecharias was finally able to speak his first words since his encounter in the temple. Can you imagine the how strange his own voice would have sounded?

His experience of living without speaking had given him plenty of time to think. I am sure he went through many emotions during that time. Maybe there were times of regret, self-pity, anger, frustration, and fear. But there is not a hint of this when he is given back the gift of speech. His ability to talk began with praise of God. This shows me that instead of harboring a bitter attitude he had cultivated a deeper walk with God. What came out of his mouth exposed what was in his heart. He had been given the gift of seeing first hand that God keeps His Word and accomplishes His will. God’s faithfulness, sovereignty, and control must have been a part of his voiced praise that day. What had built up for a little over nine months had finally been allowed to escape his lips and it was praise!

This causes me to think back to my own reaction to the uncomfortable events in my life. I have a choice as to what I choose to dwell on during those times. I can choose to dwell on the negative and grow bitter throughout my difficulty or I can choose to keep my eyes on Jesus and develop a heart of praise for what He is going to accomplish through all of it. I can take the attitude it will do me in or do me good. Whatever I choose will have a definite effect on the words that come from my mouth. If I am going to be like Zecharias when I come out on the other side of a hard time then I must take every thought captive as I go through the hard time.

Father, You have already said all things will work out for good. May I rejoice over the end of the story even when I don’t presently see it. Amen.

The Simplicity of Prayer

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17

I love this story of Elisha and his servant. The king of Aram has sent an entire army to take Elisha captive. He is angry because Elisha is thwarting his military plans. Elisha’s servant is fearful as he sees his city being surrounded by this marauding band of Arameans. When he asks Elisha what they are going to do Elisha assures him there are more with them then with their enemy. Comforting words but not enough. Elisha then prays for a specific need his servant has. He simply asks God to open his eyes so he can see the truth of the situation. What the servant then sees changes his entire outlook for he sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire! What he could not accept by faith God allowed him to see with his physical eyes.

What strikes me this morning is the simplicity of Elisha’s prayer. Jesus said we must come to Him as a child. So often I have read those words and limited it to salvation. But the same is true as we approach God in prayer. When my children were small and they came to me for something they usually got right to the point. The request was simple as they pinpointed exactly what it was they wanted. As long as it was good for them and within my power to give them what they asked for, I usually did so. Imagine the things they would have missed out on had they never bothered to ask me! James 4:2 reminds me of this truth when God says, “You do not have because you do not ask.”

Elisha did not petition God with a fancy prayer or use a complicated prayer formula. His prayer was a mere eleven words in length but the ramifications were profound. I am not saying we should not persevere in prayer or never use a prayer formula. What I am saying is when we come before God with a request we can feel free to get right to the point. Some of the most profound answers to prayer for me have come from the simplest of prayers.

Father, may I not be intimidated by the thought of prayer. You never meant for it to be complicated or beyond my reach. I like that! Amen.

The Quality of Spoken Words

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life….the tongue of the righteous is as choice silver…the lips of the righteous feed many…the mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom…..the lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable…the tongue of the wise brings healing…the lips of the wise will protect them….the tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable…the lips of the wise spread knowledge. Proverbs10:11, 20, 23, 31, 32; 12:18; 14:3; 15:2,7

Have you ever gotten so carried away with something that you found it difficult to stop? That is what happened when I started reading verses I had highlighted this past month. These positive phrases grabbed my attention and I found it impossible to choose just one to share. They cause me to ask myself if my words are portraying and accomplishing what is stated so eloquently. I long for them to be!

The older I get the more I am becoming aware of the power of words…for good or bad. Words can wound or heal. Words can encourage or discourage. Words can proclaim truth or spread lies. Words bring life to a situation or envelope it with death. Words value or devalue another person. Words can cheer a person on or stop them dead in their tracks. Since words originate in my heart, it is imperative that I examine my heart for dangerous words that would escape from my mouth.

Just by listening to myself or another person talk, I can tell by the words spoken if that person lives in fear, hostility, bitterness, anger, selfishness, or love, forgiveness, joy, wisdom, and righteousness. That is because words are a reflection of the heart. I am not talking about occasional conversations. I am referring to the patterns of a person’s speech. But I am here to tell you that as God begins to change the heart, the words will be transformed as well.

What would happen if a person took the above verses and prayed each one over themselves for a week? Asking God to anoint her with the kind of words that demonstrate the qualities listed. There is no doubt God would delight to hear such a request. Even praying just one of the phrases would result in a change for the good.

Father, Your Word is full of the qualities I desire in my own life….my speech in particular. Help me to be aware when my words do not reflect Your character and heart. Amen.

The Power to Turn the Words Away

Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left. 2 Kings 19:4

We can so easily accept the things that are said about us. Some adults still carry the words spoken to them or over them from their childhood. Words that were spoken in anger, words that were spoken to hurt, words that were not true. I would venture to say that most of the negative thoughts we have about ourselves can be traced back to something that was said about us by our family, classmates, neighbors, or even church members. For some reason, we too easily dismiss what is true for what another person says or thinks. And worse yet, we accept what another person says over what God says in His Word about us.

I am learning more and more how important it is to know what God says about me. To find my value and worth in His Word. He has heard every negative accusation that has been leveled against me. His ears have been witness to the lies, misperceptions, and unreliable words spoken to, over, and against me. Each one of us have a trail of such sentences flung at us that stick like darts in our souls. God is the only One who can truly define me and place the appropriate labels over my life. For He is the only One who knows me thoroughly and can read my thoughts, motives, and intentions. Others are limited by what they see, perceive, and understand. But they are limited to the external view. Only God can look on the heart.

I love the reminder in this verse that God can rebuke what He has heard. One definition of rebuke is to turn back or keep down. I like to imagine the negative words like arrows being turned back by my Father.

Whether it is something presently being said or something that was said years ago I can rebuke it. I can stand up and say it is not true! Spoken out loud, my rebuke carries the power to turn back the words. It grounds me once again in the reality of who God says I am. While God says I am a sinner, He also says I am cherished, loved, the apple of His eye, delighted in, rejoiced over, engraved on the palms of His hands, and made in His image. He not only loves me unconditionally, He loves me completely!

Father, keep reminding me of what You know to be true. I turn my ears to hear Your whispers. Amen.