Lent Devotion
Matthew 7:24-2724 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Father, we confess of the times we knew the words of Jesus and chose to not do them. When life’s difficulties and times of confusion came, we were left devastated, wondering where we went wrong, when we just needed to listen and follow Jesus. We repent of the ignorance and foolishness of not taking Your word seriously, of blatantly disregarding Your truth! In Jesus name we pray.
A great many of my personal devotions have been lining up perfectly with the lent prayers and verses that we are reading together as a church. I keep wanting to take time to share and never get around to it. This morning, I thought I would type it up immediately rather than wait and have it never happen.
Our reading this morning came from Matthew chapter 7, about the wise and foolish builders and the different ways they build their houses. The text is speaking on the theme of making sure that we are both HEARERS of the word and DOERS of the word. I was reading in James 1 on Monday, and this is a theme there as well as James relates hearing and doing to being characteristics that make up pure and un-defiled religion. He states that both must be present for true religion to be present. In Matthew 7, we are learning that rain, rising waters, and winds will beat us down, but if we have been practicing DOING the things we read about in God's word, we will be able to stand even as we are beaten and bullied by the elements. However, if we have only been reading and not ''doing,'' the elements will win over us. It made me think that this personally correlates to me when I know I should accept accountability after confessing sin, but I don't. I have become a hearer of the word only and not a doer. When I know a step of obedience is being vulnerable, pursuing help or counseling on an issue, and I refuse, I am a hearer and not a doer. When I see that change is needed in my habits, personal or corporate Christian habits, and I am unwilling to go forward with those changes because it is uncomfortable or risky, I am a hearer and not a doer. And I should not be surprised when trials and depressions and every day life then knocks me down and consumes me. I have been out of shape, not making practice of strengthening my muscles of faith and finding identity and satisfaction in Christ in every day life. Surely, in the trial, my muscles will be weak and not used to any strain.
After I read these verses and contemplated, praying some about these things, I turned to the reading from My Utmost for today, and it spoke on exactly the same subject it seemed. Chambers writes that the saint never knows the joy of the Lord IN SPITE of tribulation... but BECAUSE of it. The tribulation PRODUCES joy. I take this to mean that he is speaking of joy as something far different than happiness. So a saint is not one who says, "All these bad things have happened, yet I am happy. I have Jesus, so who cares if my feet are rotting off." No! That is a false person, a non-integrated person perhaps, not a person being true to reality. Of COURSE one cares if his feet are rotting of off! So joy must be, then, "My feet are rotting off, and it HURTS. Oh the pain, but I can profess- I look to this, that this world is not my home forever... that He has gone before me to prepare a place... that the trials of this world are nothing in comparison with the joy that is to be revealed, so I can endure because I have faith in my God... and I believe He can take even my current suffering and redeem it in this life as well as much more in the life to come..." THAT is joy. Undaunted radiance built on no thing in this life that is passing but only on the LOVE OF GOD- God's promises to us, God's character, which is UNCHANGING and unable to be stripped from us, as we read in Romans 8. That is why we are more than conquerors.
Chambers continues to make the comparison that a surf-rider is super joyous riding the largest and scariest of waves. The ordinary swimmer is daunted and only terrified of the largest waves, however. The ordinary swimmer is consumed by them. But for the surf-rider, the large waves PRODUCE joy as he rides over them. That is his practice, riding waves. Big problems are consuming for the ordinary man, but for the saint, although they may require faith and courage in the face of fear, they also produce JOY. The saint, the disciple, RIDES the largest problems with his/her God as a ''more-than-conqueror," (Romans 8:37). What is a saint? What is a disciple? One who is a HEARER and a DOER of the word. One whose house has been built on a rock. Therefore my encouragement and word to myself this morning is to practice being a saint in every day life so that when the biggest waves come I will respond as the surf-rider and not the ordinary swimmer!
Praise God! Thank you God for how you are even integrating the lent prayers with my personal readings. I thank you for speaking and opening my eyes and ears to see and hear this morning. I confess that I am too often a hearer and not a doer. I ask that in your mercy, you will help me see, even today, opportunities to be a doer... places where I am tempted to take the wider path that requires less faith and perseverance and endurance... work in me God, let me not hearken back to anything lesser... let me not remain in my sin although that is what I deserve... pluck me up I pray...Amen.
Father, we confess of the times we knew the words of Jesus and chose to not do them. When life’s difficulties and times of confusion came, we were left devastated, wondering where we went wrong, when we just needed to listen and follow Jesus. We repent of the ignorance and foolishness of not taking Your word seriously, of blatantly disregarding Your truth! In Jesus name we pray.
A great many of my personal devotions have been lining up perfectly with the lent prayers and verses that we are reading together as a church. I keep wanting to take time to share and never get around to it. This morning, I thought I would type it up immediately rather than wait and have it never happen.
Our reading this morning came from Matthew chapter 7, about the wise and foolish builders and the different ways they build their houses. The text is speaking on the theme of making sure that we are both HEARERS of the word and DOERS of the word. I was reading in James 1 on Monday, and this is a theme there as well as James relates hearing and doing to being characteristics that make up pure and un-defiled religion. He states that both must be present for true religion to be present. In Matthew 7, we are learning that rain, rising waters, and winds will beat us down, but if we have been practicing DOING the things we read about in God's word, we will be able to stand even as we are beaten and bullied by the elements. However, if we have only been reading and not ''doing,'' the elements will win over us. It made me think that this personally correlates to me when I know I should accept accountability after confessing sin, but I don't. I have become a hearer of the word only and not a doer. When I know a step of obedience is being vulnerable, pursuing help or counseling on an issue, and I refuse, I am a hearer and not a doer. When I see that change is needed in my habits, personal or corporate Christian habits, and I am unwilling to go forward with those changes because it is uncomfortable or risky, I am a hearer and not a doer. And I should not be surprised when trials and depressions and every day life then knocks me down and consumes me. I have been out of shape, not making practice of strengthening my muscles of faith and finding identity and satisfaction in Christ in every day life. Surely, in the trial, my muscles will be weak and not used to any strain.
After I read these verses and contemplated, praying some about these things, I turned to the reading from My Utmost for today, and it spoke on exactly the same subject it seemed. Chambers writes that the saint never knows the joy of the Lord IN SPITE of tribulation... but BECAUSE of it. The tribulation PRODUCES joy. I take this to mean that he is speaking of joy as something far different than happiness. So a saint is not one who says, "All these bad things have happened, yet I am happy. I have Jesus, so who cares if my feet are rotting off." No! That is a false person, a non-integrated person perhaps, not a person being true to reality. Of COURSE one cares if his feet are rotting of off! So joy must be, then, "My feet are rotting off, and it HURTS. Oh the pain, but I can profess- I look to this, that this world is not my home forever... that He has gone before me to prepare a place... that the trials of this world are nothing in comparison with the joy that is to be revealed, so I can endure because I have faith in my God... and I believe He can take even my current suffering and redeem it in this life as well as much more in the life to come..." THAT is joy. Undaunted radiance built on no thing in this life that is passing but only on the LOVE OF GOD- God's promises to us, God's character, which is UNCHANGING and unable to be stripped from us, as we read in Romans 8. That is why we are more than conquerors.
Chambers continues to make the comparison that a surf-rider is super joyous riding the largest and scariest of waves. The ordinary swimmer is daunted and only terrified of the largest waves, however. The ordinary swimmer is consumed by them. But for the surf-rider, the large waves PRODUCE joy as he rides over them. That is his practice, riding waves. Big problems are consuming for the ordinary man, but for the saint, although they may require faith and courage in the face of fear, they also produce JOY. The saint, the disciple, RIDES the largest problems with his/her God as a ''more-than-conqueror," (Romans 8:37). What is a saint? What is a disciple? One who is a HEARER and a DOER of the word. One whose house has been built on a rock. Therefore my encouragement and word to myself this morning is to practice being a saint in every day life so that when the biggest waves come I will respond as the surf-rider and not the ordinary swimmer!
Praise God! Thank you God for how you are even integrating the lent prayers with my personal readings. I thank you for speaking and opening my eyes and ears to see and hear this morning. I confess that I am too often a hearer and not a doer. I ask that in your mercy, you will help me see, even today, opportunities to be a doer... places where I am tempted to take the wider path that requires less faith and perseverance and endurance... work in me God, let me not hearken back to anything lesser... let me not remain in my sin although that is what I deserve... pluck me up I pray...Amen.
Comments