So what do you say in a blog after eleven months of absence? I'm back home from attending college in Florida. I went to one of my favorite little Texas diners for breakfast this morning. My one-year-old niece is walking now. And in even bigger news, my dad and brother left for Portugal this morning on a mission trip, and I can't wait for the big things that God has planned for them to happen! That's exciting blog material.
How about I share something I read yesterday.
I am going through Kay Arthur's Bible study, "Teach Me To Pray," at the moment with a small group at church. Each day has been so refreshing through Kay's solid, Biblical study on prayer. She has a very nurturing writing style, which appeals to my biblical need for older godly women to invest in my life (Titus 2). I feel as though the topic of prayer is being unveiled to my soul anew. It is obvious that God is working through this study to make me look more like Him. What an exciting process! Something I read yesterday in Kay's lesson is very convicting. While reading it, what was intended for a wide audience became more like an exposing personal biography. Here's an excerpt:
"Unfortunately, many of us-even those who attend church and profess Christianity or a belief in God- have fallen flat on our faces in the mud of the world! Instead of living in total obedience, unwavering allegiance to His kingdom and His reign as King in our lives, we are double-minded, desiring the best of both worlds, forgetting that 'our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ' (Phil. 3:20).
We are not eagerly awaiting Him because we have entangled ourselves in the affairs of everyday life and have forgotten we are to please the one who enlisted us as soldiers (see 2 Tim. 2:4). Too often our allegiances are to money and what it provides, to position and its prestige, to things and their pleasures, and even to "churchianity" and its works. Notice I say churchianity, not Christianity. Churchianity puts people first; church is about them and their desires. Christianity puts Christ in His rightful place as head of the church.
Don't we often only give lip service to God? We want only enough of Christianity to get us to heaven, only enough to get our prayers answered and the benefits of healing and prosperity. We do not want to give total allegiance to His kingdom because it calls us to a cross. We do not want His kingdom to come today, tomorrow, or even within a few years because, like Demas, we love this present world more (2 Tim. 4:10). Is this right or is it wrong? Does any of it describe you?
I don't mean to sound harsh, beloved, but as I write this, truth is "in my heart... like a burning fire shut up in my bones" (Jer. 20:9). Oh, how my heat grieves as I see multitudes who name His name yet who have not given Him their total allegiance. Oh, how my heart grieves when the Spirit of God shows me incidents when I failed to give my absolute, total, unwavering allegiance to Him, the Lord God of all heaven and earth. Do you realize that God calls us to discern? Study Matthew 7 carefully, and you will see that our fruit- our doing or not doing of the Word- bears witness to our allegiance.
When people have time for everything except a personal, diligent study of God's Word, we know they are not approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15). They know much about the world but little about God! Why? Because they have time for the things of this life but not time to study God's Word. They refuse to believe that "man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Communion with God through His Word and prayer is essential to the fruitful life that will hasten the coming of His Kingdom."
Arthur, Kay. Teach Me to Pray Workbook: Practicing a Powerful Pattern of Prayer (Nashville, TN. LifeWay Press, 2010).
I found myself convicted of my laziness in studying God's Word. Every time I do get to soak, so-to-say, in the richness of the Bible, I don't understand how I ever go without spending time in it. So, needless to say, the process of being transformed into the image of Christ (Rom. 12:2) took a definite step yesterday. I desperately desire to be approved unto God as His follower (2 Tim. 2:15). I hope this encouraged you if you are a believer who is giving God your full allegiance. Or, maybe this challenged you, as it challenged me, if you are a believer but are not walking as closely to God as you could be. If you haven't trusted Jesus as your Savior, perhaps this post brings up questions or thoughts to your mind. Whatever the case, I hope you will receive and/or wrestle with it.
