Note:
I wish I hadn’t changed it. I tried making some modifications to my database, and down she went. For a month. I finally decided to delete everything and start from scratch. So, if you notice anything missing that used to be here, drop me a line. And, sorry for the extended leave.
-Jon
Prayer meetings at the church have been increasingly fun. There’s nothing like spending time with God, but lately it seems we’re making headway toward something. Monday night was especially successful, and I came out of there a changed person. I’m not trying to belittle corporate prayer to the likes of a fast-food joint; it’s just that being in God’s presence—with a sole intent to pray out some things—garners personal change as well. And this night was no exception.
Three different people had an inspired word for the group Monday night, and I was thrilled to be one of them. I’ve always loved being used by God in speaking. I don’t know what it is about the vocal gifts that so intrigues me, but I have a longing for inspired utterance more than any other spiritual gift. And I suppose that’s scriptural; Paul told the Corinthians: “…Earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
” (I Corinthians 14:1 WEB)
The neat thing is that all three of us spoke what God had put in our hearts at an earlier part of the meeting, yet everything said flowed together as if it were being said by the same person. There’s lots of scripture I could put here to back this up, but no one likes drudging through all that to get to the meat of the story. :o) So, moving on…
What I had was something that fell into my heart toward the beginning of the service about the totality of true servanthood, something I’d never seen before, and something I thought was just for me. But at the end of the service I felt the gentle nudge of the Spirit to share it with the group; it just seemed right to do so. I knew that when I spoke to them what I had written down, other words would flow. So, after waiting for the right place in the service (you don’t just start blurting out when you have something to say; that’s rude), I asked if I could share what I had on my heart.
Did you know that the drink offering mentioned in Deuteronomy still exists today? It was actually a foreshadowing of the suffering of Christ in our stead. Yet we are encouraged to “…Take up [our] cross” and follow Jesus. Our cross isn’t a cross unto death, as Christ’s was; it is actually a cross unto life. It’s true we die to self—yes, sometimes even to the point of martyrdom—but the reality of it is we now have genuine life with the Father that we didn’t have before.
Matthew 16:24 (AMP)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].
So what is our drink offering? If it’s not dying on a cross of wood beside Christ (because only two people had that distinction, and only one of those made it to Heaven), then what is it? The answer is in Galatians:
Galatians 2:20 (AMP)
20 I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Why did Christ give Himself up for us? What purpose did it serve, and what is expected of us in return? Certainly salvation is a free gift. But there is still a service, not as payment, but as an offering from the heart. Ephesians 2:1–10 is the very crux of this discussion, explaining in brief the totality of God’s plan:
Ephesians 2:1–10 (NLT)
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
We were created in Christ Jesus for good works. We were not created for selfishness and gain, but for selflessness and giving. God desires for us to serve others’ interests ahead of ours. God wills for me to choose your preference, not mine. We are to help the needy, rather than helping ourselves. (Whoever said, “God helps those who help themselves
” obviously wasn’t reading their Bible.) We can only be our greatest service to the Father as we are our greatest service to others.
That is our cross, and that is our drink offering. Give to others just as Christ did. Jesus’ life on the earth wasn’t about the cross; it was about people. He didn’t come to die on the cross; He came to make a way for people to approach God. In fact, the cross itself had very little to do with it. But so many people focus on that when they should be focusing on people. The heartbeat of God is folks. If we will make it our aim to chase after that, then we will be hot on the trail of God’s plan for us.
~Jonathan
Burn this feed.
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