The Simplicity Of Intimacy

We are great at complicating simple things. Simplicity is not that hard but it does mean removing a lot of junk. It means cutting out the unnecessary. It means reducing life to the basics. But we like our frosting. We like the frills. We enjoy the clutter. We take solace in the noise. The problem is, simplicity is avoiding the complicated by avoiding the clutter we love.

We say that we want intimacy with Jesus. We say that we want to be strong and sensitive to the Spirit. We say that we want to live for God and God alone, but then we complicate our lives by filling it with clutter. Jesus told us this:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be!" (Matthew 6:22-23)

Sounds all philosophical but it is straight forward. If you want God, seek God. If you want the world, seek the world. If you want God, stop entertaining yourself in this world. If you want the world, don't mess yourself up with God. If you want intimacy with Jesus, stop making love with the world. If you want to be pleasured by the world, stop playing around with God.

It is a really bad place to be, in a relationship with one person when your lusting over another. This best describes most of us in a relationship with Jesus. We want Jesus but not enough to make ourselves unavailable to other lovers. It makes for a bad marriage and it makes for a weak relationship with Jesus. It waters down our worship and makes us liars to ourselves. We convince ourselves that we are okay, that this is normal because we are "only human".

But we aren't only human.

If we had the exclusive relationship we are suppose to have with Jesus we would know that we have been changed by this marriage, that we are no longer what we once were, that we are now a new creation. The old is gone. The new has come. Jesus stated to us:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other." (v. 24)

You can't have two lovers. You can't give your heart to two people. You can't be married and prostitute yourself and expect to maintain intimacy with your husband. In the end, simplicity is only complicated if we are double minded.

If it is intimacy with Jesus that we desire understand, it is only possible when we forsake all other lovers and devote ourselves fully to our Lord. Not complicated unless we make it complicated.

How Serious Are You About Jesus?

I don`t think we take Yahweh seriously. I don`t think we know who we are to him and I don`t think we know how to respond properly. If we did then we wouldn't act the way we act, speak the way we speak or be involved in the things are are entangled in. We look to Israel`s history and criticize them for their stupidity and yet we are doing the same thing. We are half-hearted in our love and service to Jesus. We have no discipline to speak of and we treat the Lord of lords as if he is our "get out of jail free" card. Our lives are filled with idols, distractions and emotions have over run our devotion.

Pretty harsh? Not as harsh as the justice of Yahweh.

The Law of Moses was a simple thing; love and be devoted to Yahweh. Everything flowed from that just as it does today. In explaining the essentials of this Law to Israel Moses said:

Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it. The Lord delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 10:14-15)

So the Creator of all things looked upon a man and loved him, setting him apart, and grew a nation from him. He delighted in them. What a privileged place to be. What he asked for in return is that same love and devotion:

Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. (v. 16)

So often we think that the circumcised heart is a New Testament thing but the circumcision of the flesh was only a symbol of what really matter: the changed heart that said to Yahweh, I belong to you and am devoted to you, to obey you and serve you out of my love for you.

There should be no one sitting in our churches feeling obliged to be there. No one can ever be coerced or manipulated into faith. No one can ever hold a gun to someone's head and say love Jesus. Love is a voluntary thing; a thing of devotion and dedication, of wanting to please the other person. There has to be a circumcision of the heart, when we declare our love and devotion because of our response to the Father's great love for us. And this love changes us.

By this circumcision we recognize that we belong to him, that we are his people and his people's great desire is to obey him. His commands are not a burden but a delight. We cut out of our life anything that does not add to the relationship, anything that interferes and we guard it with a jealousy because he is our first love. We check ourselves often to insure that no idols have crept in, that we haven't set up any high places, and if we discover we have, we destroy them immediately. We belong to Yahweh, God of gods, and Lord of lords, and our love for him have us fastened fast to him. Nothing can move us our pursued us to turn away.

Now understand that everything in this world works against that love and there is an army out to destroy it in you. But they can't touch you. The only one who can disturb that relationship is you and your negligence. Consider your life, your goals, desires, activities, words, actions. Do they reflect those of a people who have circumcised their hearts in great love for Jesus, the Father and the Spirit? I don't think we take Yahweh seriously.

Fitting In Prayer

Five minute prayers. That's all most of us can afford. We fit it in between the alarm clock and shower. Or perhaps it is in the shower as we try to think through our day. Maybe it's in the bus on the way to school or work. Perhaps it is while we sit in the doctor's waiting room or just before we slip into sleep. Usually a few words: "God help me", "Lord give me strength", "Jesus bless them". There is nothing wrong with this but do we really think these are relationship building or powerful moments of petition?

Let's be honest, many of us have lost the understanding of what it is to pray with purpose. Many of us do not know that these are the greatest moments of our lives, well worth getting up early or delaying going to bed. These are moments when God releases his power through us, to see great things happen in this world and in the lives of others. It is in prayer that we become the true warriors of God. Apostle Paul gave this charge:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4)

Being watchful so we know what to pray for in other people's lives and in this world. Being thankful that we are always praying in a right heart condition. Devoted to prayer. When you are devoted to something you give it priority or you soon lose your devotion. A husband who is not devoted to his wife, not making her the priority in his life, will soon lose her. When we are devoted to something we give ourselves to it. Does that describe our attitude or approach to prayer? Are we devoted prayer warriors?

Being devoted to prayer is not a "fitting it in" but having a plan and purpose. It is having a time when you shut out everything else and allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the presence of God, presenting the needs of others to him. It is when we join with him in battling for the souls of those we have encountered. It is praying strength for a brother or sister who is involved something where they need the strength of the Lord to make it through. It is in these moments that we are overwhelmed by the love and compassion of our God, where we often receive instruction and when we are empowered to do his will.

It is also out of these moments that we emerge as empowered prayer warriors who continue to pray without ceasing. We become so sensitive to the Spirit that we hear his prompting to pray for the hidden needs of the people we encounter. We are given words of knowledge to speak into their lives. We become his presence in their lives as he empowers us to act in their lives without needing to ask questions. It is when he reveals to them that he not only knows their situation but he cares as well. That doesn't happen when we are "fitting in" moments of prayer.

We are a people of purpose and power. We carry the Light of God to this world and it all ignites in us in prayer. We have to give it priority. We have to approach it with purpose. We have to give it time in our day. We have to realize what is happening in this time. We have to realize that after Paul told us to put our spiritual armour on every day he gave this charge:

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)

Prayer defies description. It is a time of intimacy with our King. It is a time of power releasing and a time of empowerment. It is like a battering ram against the enemy's forces. Without it nothing will be accomplished;  with it all things are possible because of the One who strengthens us. We need to be devoted to prayer, watchful and thankful. Come on mighty warriors, let's get in the battle.

Stand

Could you imagine being an athlete preparing for the Olympics. All those years of eating well, sleeping properly, training hard. All those days of forcing your will to submit to that one goal. Those days when you just don't feel like it, forcing your body to submit. Doesn't matter the other circumstances in your life, everything must submit to this one goal. You have to admire the dedication and hard work of  athletes. But imagine being that athlete who puts in all those years of training and then doesn't bother showing up for the Olympics.

Imagine the student who has put in over 2,280 hours of homework in their time as a student. Who has attended 13,680 hours of classes. Who has written a few thousand books of notes. Who has been taught by at least 42 different teachers. Who has gained knowledge and learning skills. Who has used the resources of his parents to go through 348 pencils, 87 pens, hundreds of trees worth of paper, countless rulers, compasses, protractors  lunch boxes and other various school supplies. Imagine the students how has put in all this time, throwing away his last year of High School.

Imagine the Christian who has spent their lifetime believing. Who has spent decades in training, learning, being shaped. Who has spent years studying the Word and applying it to his life. Who has spent countless hours in conversation with God. Who has had a deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Who has learned to wear the Armour of God. Who has been trained in spiritual warfare and is prepared for battle. Who has learned what it is to trust, to have faith. Imagine such a Christian walking away when the battle is upon him.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

The whole purpose of our training and equipping is so that we will stand. What is the sense of all the training and preparation to prepare us to stand if, on that day of battle, we walk away? That would be a very sad life and one I would not want to live.

But truth be told, those who are active in their training and preparation never walk away. It is those who forget to train, who forget to prepare, who get distracted by other things, who end up falling away. It doesn't take long and it doesn't take much. In the end, we are very weak creatures, prone to failure and defeat. Our success is found in our source of all things. Our strength is never found in us but in Jesus Christ. It is when you unplug from that source or neglect the relationship that things begin to fade away quickly and we forget. Then when the day is upon us, we fold and are blown away with all those who are without Jesus. It is sad.

I have put in too much time to give up now. I have invested too much to walk away. This relationship is far too valuable for me to throw away. There is nothing of any greater value in this world and I must remind myself of that constantly. Every day is a training day, a day of preparation. When that day of evil is upon us I will stand because I have been trained to stand. What about you, mighty warrior of God? Have you settled the matter in your heart? Are you going all the way? Are you prepared to stand?

You Are Not Powerless Against The Sin That so Easily Entangles You

Our struggle between sin and devotion is the constant war within. Sin has an impossible-to-break grip on us and can end up as an addiction even after Jesus sets us free from it. It is a constant draw to us, a thing of enticement. Before Jesus sin did not have to try very hard because it already had us but after Jesus set us free it became a seductress, always trying to lore us away from him. Yet the devotion we have for Jesus is real, compelled by his love for us. We want to live to please him. We want to obey his command to love. It is our sincere desire to serve him all the days of our life. It is now a choice for us because Jesus broke sin's grip on us. We are free to choose.

King David asked this question:

LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? 
   Who may live on your holy mountain? (Psalm 15:1)

Remember that our God is holy and cannot have anything to do with sin. He told us to be holy because he is holy. David answered his own question. Have a look at this:

The one whose walk is blameless, 
   who does what is righteous, 
   who speaks the truth from their heart; 
whose tongue utters no slander, 
   who does no wrong to a neighbor, 
   and casts no slur on others; 
who despises a vile person 
   but honors those who fear the LORD; 
who keeps an oath even when it hurts, 
   and does not change their mind; 
who lends money to the poor without interest;    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. (Psalm 15:2-5)

Use it as a check list. How do you do against it? Are you moving in or out of God's holy mountain? Of course we are moving in by the grace and mercy of God, our imperfections covered by the blood of Jesus. This is a hard list that most of us would be hard pressed to say we meet but that should be no excuse for not working toward it.

We know we are a bunch of misfits in the flesh, that discipline is hard for us, and doing the right thing all the time seems impossible. If we were capable of doing it on our own we wouldn't have needed Jesus. But don't use it as an excuse for not applying it to your life. Jesus came to cover us by his blood but he also set an example for us of how to live once we received the Holy Spirit. We should read that list and say "Yes Lord, that's what I want to be" and hear him declare over us "You are my holy people". He declared it so now we have to walk in it.

That war that is battling in you should be decreasing as you live for Jesus, not increasing. If you find the desire for sin increasing it is because you are not growing in your relationship with Jesus. Time should bring you closer to Jesus not further apart as you seek to get closer to him every day. You can't ignore this relationship and then expect it to grow. You can't stay spiritually weak and then blame God when you fail in the face of temptation. Jesus is more than capable of saving you and preserving you from sin until the day of his return, but we have to give him the power to do that. This is part of the "growing up" process as we learn to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

Just because we fall a lot in the beginning does not mean we give up or accept it as typical. It may be typical of an infant but not of adults and we are all progressing toward spiritual adulthood. That's why God's grace and mercy are so important in our "growing up". Just because we fall does not mean our Father loves us any less, it only means we have more to learn. We get up when we turn to God in repentance, accept his forgiveness, learn and move on. We do wrong when we accept our sin as normal and decide to live with it. There is only one result with sin - death. We have been given this Word as a reminder and encouragement:

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:22-25)

We are not powerless against sin. Jesus Christ has delivered us from this enslavement and has set us free to make our own choices. The best way we can insure that we make the right choices is to completely devote ourselves to Jesus with no half measures. We must learn to love him with all of our heart, mind, soul and to dedicate our bodies to him. We need a renewed devotion to Jesus, the Word and obedience to the Spirit like the Church had in years gone by. We need to walk in the holiness of our God once more, a people set aside for his purpose, a nation of priests. We need to learn to love as he loves us.

LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? 
   Who may live on your holy mountain?

Through the blood of Jesus Christ we all can and that should be the great desire of our heart.