Lately The Lord has been pressing this question hard on my heart. Really convicting me through my quiet times, sermons and other people to evaluate where my heart is. What do i put in front of Jesus? What stirs my heart? I was listening to a podcast recently about Judas. And then a week later, my pastor did a sermon on Judas. And then BAM, Judas showed up in my quiet time. It definitely was a God thing because who study's Judas?? So I just wanna share what God is showing me. Judas- one of the 12. (Matt 26:14). Judas had a front row seat to Jesus and the miracles of Jesus- and yet he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:14). Judas saw Jesus feed the 5,000 (Matt 14:13-21), heal the sick (Matt 14:34), make the lame walk, the blind see and the mute talk (Matt 15)! He ate with Jesus, prayed with Jesus, reclined with Him, saw Jesus walk on water (Matt 14:22-33), and lived day in and day out with Jesus. And yet he did not Know Jesus as his Savior and Lord. How can this be? I think this means that being around the things of Jesus does not mean you Know Jesus personally. You can do great things, go to church, be in a small group but there has to be transformation in your life. Judas had knowledge of who Jesus was and what He could do but his life had never been changed. Judas never allowed Jesus to invade his soul. Judas looked to money. Money was his god. We can have intellectual knowledge but if there is no experiential knowledge or transformation- then do we know Jesus intimately? We just know ABOUT Jesus but don't know Him personally. "Its not about what you have but who has you!!" Even as believers I/we can sometimes look more like Judas. What The Lord has been showing me is this. I know The Lord is the prince of Peace but I still let fear and worry invade my life. I know that The Lord is my source of Joy and yet I try and fill my soul with material things to satisfy me. I am reminded of Genesis 32 when the Israelites built the calf out of their gold rings and worshiped it because they didn't trust God and His promises. How many times do I look to my own way because I get impatient with Gods timing? God wants our trust. To become a slave for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To experience life abundantly. Nothing compares to Gods promises. To have faith and believe that He is who He says He is and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus is the source of life. It's a daily decision. Situations in our day- do we declare Jesus as our Lord? Or money? Or Relationships? Or Worry? Or Material possessions? A sermon I was listening to stated these:
•Pay attention to what u get lost in thought about!
•Pay attention to where your money goes!
•Pay attention to what you talk about often!
•Pay attention to what stirs your heart!
•Pay attention about what you worry about!
So The Lord has been working in my heart. It's daily. Daily laying down the things that I put in front of my Savior. Daily giving up of myself. Its being rich in prayer and deep in Scripture. I struggle and fail often- but my God is big enough. He is still faithful even when I'm not. He never gives up on me- constantly working on my heart. I am thankful for these truths that are unwavering...
Thanks for reading. These are just some thoughts I have been wrestling with lately. I pray they will be uplifting and encouraging. God bless
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