“I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.'"
Luke 15:18-19 (NLT) The closer you get to God, the more he will transform your life. Throughout Scripture, we see transformed lives. When Isaiah got close to God, he was transformed from being depressed to standing courageously. When Paul finally met Jesus Christ face to face, he was radically transformed from a persecutor of Christians to spreading Christianity throughout the Roman world. And as Moses grew closer to God, he transformed from a privileged son of Pharaoh to a humble man leading God’s people out of Egypt. Jesus told a story about transformation—the story of the prodigal son. It’s a story of spiritual transformation, about getting close to God after wandering away. Here’s the short version of the story. A young man takes his inheritance and wastes it on careless living. Then, when things go from bad to worse, he finally says, “I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant’” (Luke 15:18-19 NLT). The prodigal son reminds us of our tendency to wander away from our Father who made us and loves us. But more than that, his story reminds us of God’s faithfulness, forgiveness, and compassion. When the son returned home, his father saw him from a distance and “ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20 NLT). This is how spiritual transformation begins. The moment you say, “God, I’m tired of living the way I’ve been living,” he runs out to meet you. He takes the initiative. He even celebrates, like the father did with his prodigal son: “Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him . . . We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life” (Luke 15:22-24 NLT). You may be closer to God than you’ve ever been before. Or maybe you’re feeling like the prodigal—you’ve wandered away and need to renew your relationship with God. No matter where you are—near or far—you can get even closer to God and experience transformation in your life. Your Heavenly Father is always ready to deepen his relationship with you, ready to greet you with open arms, and ready to bring transformation into your life.
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“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'"
Matthew 6:9 (NIV) In the Old Testament, God is called “Father” only seven times. People just didn’t think of God as Father. They thought of him as Creator, Almighty One, God of Israel, and so on. Then Jesus came along and said this is how people should pray: Call him “Father.” Jesus uses the expression more than 150 times when he refers to God. In calling God “Father,” Jesus shattered stereotypes of God. God is not an angry tyrant, the universal killjoy, or an impersonal force. Instead, he is a personal God, and he created you with the ability to have a relationship with him. That’s what he wants more than anything else. There’s only one problem. For many people, the word “father” is a negative term; it brings up all kinds of bad memories. A lot of people say, “‘Our Father in heaven’? If God’s like my father, then no thanks.” The truth is, while many people have wonderful fathers, other fathers are fickle, moody, abusive, controlling, and violent. Saying “our Father in heaven” can carry painful baggage. Many people unconsciously think God is like their earthly father. This may not be a problem if their father was kind, wise, and loving. But if their father was unreasonable, they think God is unreasonable. If he was unreliable, that must mean God is unreliable. If they have a hard time connecting with their father, they assume they’ll have a hard time connecting with God. When you project your hurts and emotions onto God, it’s no wonder you have a hard time connecting with him. Misconceptions will keep you disconnected from God. Instead, let go of misconceptions and myths so you can understand the truth about God the Father. He loves you, and he’s with you and for you! You’ll find that truth will set you free—free to know God and to love him! “The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God."
Psalm 14:2 (NIV) Millions of Christians spend all their time seeking what God has to give them and no time seeking God himself. When you’re praying for healing and restoration, it’s okay to want a miracle. But, ultimately, it should be God himself you seek—not a miracle, a sign, prosperity, or a thousand other gifts of God. Your prayer should be: “God, I want you. I want to know you.” When you seek God, you get everything else. God gives many promises in the Bible about those who seek him: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face . . . then I will hear from heaven” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV). “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (Proverbs 8:17 NIV). “Anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). “If from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul . . . For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you” (Deuteronomy 4:29-31 NIV). Seek God, not just his blessing. That means that, whether or not you get the answer you want, you’ll find joy in knowing God better. Whether or not you get what you think is best for you, you’ll be satisfied with what God thinks is best for you. When you’re going through a divorce or a miscarriage or a layoff, seek God—even more than your deliverance from your pain. This is not a casual pastime. Don’t seek God in your spare moments, after you’re done with work or as you’re scrolling social media. Make getting to know God better the primary focus of your life. “The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God” (Psalm 14:2 NIV). It’s rare to find someone who’s earnest about seeking God. Most of us want just enough of God to bless us, but not to change us. You don’t become an Olympic athlete in your spare time. In the same way, you don’t become a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ by giving him your leftovers. Give him your first and best, and he will keep every promise. “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Romans 1:20 (NIV) The fruitfulness of your prayers doesn’t depend on how much you know about prayer but on how much you know about God. The more you understand God, the more effective your prayers are going to be. More important than learning all about prayer is understanding more about God. It starts with knowing that God is multidimensional. That means that God is in the past, present, and future. He’s on Earth and in the spirit world. Here are a few ways you can see God’s multidimensional character. You see it in God’s creation. The God who created a multidimensional world and universe is a multidimensional Creator. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 NIV). You can learn a lot about God just by looking at nature. For instance, you know that God likes variety, and he is organized, creative, and powerful. Creation is complex, so you know God has to be even more complex. You see it in Jesus’ incarnation. John 1:14 says, “The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us” (GNT). If God had wanted to communicate to ants, he would’ve become an ant. If he had wanted to communicate to cows, he would’ve become a cow. But God wanted to communicate with and love human beings, so he became one of us. Jesus is bound by neither space nor time, because he is multidimensional: “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Revelation 1:4 NIV). You see it in how the Holy Spirit moves. “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 NIV). You can’t put the Holy Spirit in a box! You can’t control him. He’s like the wind. You don’t know where it comes from, and you don’t know where it’s going. He moves in dimensions we don’t move in. Don’t let this be the end of your study about God’s multidimensional character. Knowing God is a lifelong pursuit—one that will make your life sweeter and more meaningful each day. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:22 (NIV) We’ve been looking at Mark 12:30: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). One way to restate this verse is love God with all your talk, all your feelings, all your thinking, and all your doing. Although every person is called to do all of these things, God created each person to be stronger in one area. That means God has shaped you more naturally to be a talker (heart), feeler (soul), thinker (mind), or doer (strength). Today let’s look at the thinkers, who most readily love God with their minds. Do you know that you can love God with your intellect? When you develop and strengthen your mind, it’s an act of worship. One way you can recognize a thinker is by this: When thinkers become believers, they fall in love with the Bible. Psalm 119:97 says, “How I love your law! I think about it all day long” (GNT). There is no other book in the world like the Bible! It has the answers to life’s questions, including why God put you here on earth. We need thinkers—because the world needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking through complex issues and the implications of what the rest of us are doing. We need people who think through tough problems and bring solutions to the table. But thinkers need to be careful to also practice humility. The Bible says, “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom” (Proverbs 3:7 NLT). Why? Because God is God, and you’re not. Humility is a choice. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord” (NIV). Humility is something you do to yourself. And it’s not denying your strengths; it’s being honest about your weaknesses. Thinkers also need to be careful to practice what they know. If you know it, then do it! James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV). Your personality is unique and precious to God. When you use it to serve him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you bring him glory! “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”
Psalm 42:1 (NIV) There are different ways you can love God. You can find these ways in Mark 12:30: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). We all love God in all four of these ways, but each of us tends more naturally toward one than the others. God has shaped you primarily to be a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer. Talkers most easily love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Thinkers love God with their minds. Doers love God with their strength. Today we’re going to focus on the feelers—people who are strongest at loving God with all their soul. The world can’t get by just on communication from talkers, consideration from thinkers, and contribution from doers. We also need the compassion of the feelers who love God best with their souls. The word “soul” is used many different ways in the Bible. But most of the time, it’s used as a synonym for emotions. You see this a lot in the Psalms. Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (NIV). Every emotion known to humanity is in Scripture. The Bible talks about souls that are downcast, disturbed, satisfied, yearning, troubled, forlorn, joyful, bitter, thirsty, hungry, rejoicing, and delighted. Can you hear the passion in those words? Soul people feel their emotions. Can you guess who else feels emotions? God. He gets angry, happy, sad, and everything in-between. You have emotions because you were made in God’s image. God is passionate, and feelers represent that part of him in the world. They care deeply about issues, about people, and about knowing God. They can empathize with other people’s pain and problems. They’re great examples of Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NLT). Feelers offer God’s compassion to the world. But, just like every other personality, they have their weaknesses. Feelers tend to be manipulated by their moods. Instead, they need to let God lead them. The Bible says, “Let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature” (Galatians 5:16 NLT). When feelers are led by God’s Spirit, they still have feelings—but they’re not controlled by them. They let God’s Spirit lead them in deciding which feelings to follow and which to resist. If you’re a feeler, be a Spirit-led one. Let God guide you to share with the world the passions he’s given you. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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