OzThoughts – Tuesday 2nd September 2008

What does God want of us? We can see a great crowd of examples of God’s interaction with people in the Bible. God had individual missions for many. Some he had tests he put them to first.

Abraham was a good example. In such a long life we do not see many incidents and his story in Genesis is certainly not a biography. What we do see is the key points of his interaction with God. One of these surely is god commanding him to take his son, Isaac and offer him as a burnt sacrifice on an altar (Genesis 22). The passing of the test and God providing a ram for sacrifice comes as a challenge to us to explore our commitment to God.

Jesus challenged many to look at their relationship with God. I think of the rich young man who came. Jesus told him to sort out his priorities. He need to sell the things he trusteed in and give the money to the poor then come and follow him (Mark 10.22). I think of Nicodemus, a leader of the community, Jesus told him he must begin again (be born again) with a new faith in God that was conceived by God not man (John 3). To the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, Jesus told her that there was more to life than the daily ritual of drawing water and seeking a fulfilment in human relationships and cultural spiritual comforts. Jesus told her to worship in spirit and in truth and she did! (John 4).

PRAYER:

Heavenly father, may I know that I am in a right and truthful relationship with you. Help me to see today more clearly the path you would have me walk with you. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, thou guest of the soul,
Make thine abode in me;
Bring in the calm thy sweet presence bestows,
Let me thy temple be.
Come to my heart today,
Come to my heart today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Come to my heart today.

Come, Holy Spirit, companion divine,
Walk with me in life's way;
By thy rich fellowship confidence give,
Walk thou with me today.
Walk thou with me today,
Walk thou with me today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Walk thou with me today.

Come, Holy Spirit, thy guidance we crave;
Speak out thy will we pray;
We would be sensitive to thy control;
Speak to our hearts today.
Speak to our hearts today,
Speak to our hearts today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Speak to our hearts today.
Author: Albert E. Mingay
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 209

Hebrews 12 (The Message – Selected verses)1 Do you see what this means--all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running--and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.

2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
4 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through--all that bloodshed!
5 So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,but don't be crushed by it either.
6 It's the child he loves that he disciplines;the child he embraces, he also corrects.7 God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training,
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12 So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!
13 Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
14 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God.
15 Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. 16 Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.
17 You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing--but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
18 Unlike your ancestors, you didn't come to Mount Sinai--all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble--
19to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop.
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22 No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels
23 and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just.
24 You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's--a homicide that cried out for vengeance--became a proclamation of grace.
25 So don't turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn't get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings?
26 His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time--he's told us this quite plainly--he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern."
27 The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
28 Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander.
29 He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

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