An Angel's Message

A couple of months ago I had a dream.  In my dream I read a story about a man who was talking with an angel.  In my dream I underlined and starred the end of the story for future reference, but when I woke up I did not remember even having a dream and went on with my life.  Last night I had a similar dream.  In the dream I was in the same setting and was looking over my notes to find that same story.  However I woke up before I had accomplished that task.  But this time, when I woke up I remembered the dream.  I had to think for a while if I had really read the story in the first dream or if I had read it somewhere else prior to the dream.  After I thought about it I concluded that I had never read the story outside of my dream.  So then I had to try to remember the story from my previous dream without being able to look back at it.

It’s About The “All”

“The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.  These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”  - Hebrews 11:38-40

Wow, how awesome would it be to have God say of You, “the world was not worthy” of you?  That is pretty amazing to think about, pretty cool.  I also couldn’t help but notice, once again, the mention of not receiving God’s promises while on earth.  However this time it adds “because God had planned something better for us.”  Like I mentioned in my post God’s Promises are True! it is not about the “me” it is about the “all.” 

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declare the Lord.  ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Dear Lord,
Thank You that Your ways are not our ways and that Your thoughts are not our thoughts.  For we would all be in great trouble it they were!  Thank you looking out for me and for loving me even though I don’t deserve it.  I pray that You will teach me what it means to live for the “all” and not for the “me.”  I pray that I would have faith to obey You and that one day it can be said of me, “the world was not worthy.”  Lord I know that the only way that can happen is if You do it through me.  I pray that I would daily surrender myself to You can become increasingly filled with Your Spirit.

In Your great and powerful name I pray.

Amen!

Unashamed!

“If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”  - Hebrews11:15-16

Dear Lord,

Teach us to long for You.  Teach us to long for the day of Your return.  Teach us to long for Your kingdom to come.  Teach us to long for this more than we long for this world.  Lord teach us to live in such a way that you will be honored and unashamed to be called our God.

Amen

Quick note:  If we truly long for His return and for His kingdom to come to earth, if we truly long for that more than we long for this world our choices will be the same as those mentioned in these verses.  “If they have been thinking of the country they left, they would have had the opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one.”  It is not enough to say we are longing for a “heavenly one” if all we do is sit back and pray for Jesus’ return.  If we really long for His kingdom to come we must take the words of Matthew 24:14 (“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”) to heart, and go.  Just like the verse says, “if they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had an opportunity to return.”  In order for the “better country,” the “heavenly one,” to come we must first be willing to go.  We cannot say we long for the day of Christ’s return if we are not actively apart of His mission to save the world.

God’s Promises Are True!

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”  - Hebrews 11:13

I like the reminder this verse gives that just because our reward for faith isn’t seen right away doesn’t mean that God isn’t faithful in fulfilling His promise.  I think so many people today expect free handouts from God just because He is “good.”  Non-believers and believers alike throw out the argument that “if God is good why does He allow so much evil to take place,” and underneath the question is the attitude that we deserve more than God has given us.  Of course this is not the case!  In fact it is the exact opposite that is true.  We deserve nothing but judgment and death from God and instead He has given us freedom and life.  The promises of God are not always seen during our lifetime, but we can be 100% assured that they will be seen in God’s perfect timing.  What we must remember is that God’s promises were never about us, they have always been about Him.  We must stay away from the futile thinking that demands God’s blessings now and remember that it is Christ’s Kingdom that is at stake and not our comfort.  God’s promises are for all believers and it is only when the “all” is included that Christ can accomplish things beyond our imaginations (Ephesians 3:20).  We must live our lives for the “all” and not for the “me.”

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your sacrifice that made available to me the gift of salvation.  Thank You for the many promises You have given to me.  Teach me to live for the advancement of Your kingdom and not for the advancement of myself.  Help me to remember that Your promises are trustworthy and true even if I don’t see them in my lifetime.  Use me to bring Your promises to earth. I love You and want to be used by You.  Forgive me for not always showing it.  Live in me more and more so that our power might be displayed in my weaknesses, for I am very weak and in need of You.  Forgive me for the selfishness  and obstinate choices that I make on a daily basis.  Teach me to be self controlled.  As Zechariah 4:6 states it is not by might nor by power but by Your Spirit.  I want to be Spirit filled Lord, please make me Spirit filled.

Amen

Follow His Lead

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.   Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.  But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.  It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased. Then I said, “Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do Your will, my God.”’”  - Hebrews10:1-7

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your willingness to come to earth and do Your fathers will.  Your sacrifice has given me life and now I lay my life at Your feet.  As I repeat Your words give me the faith to live them out.  “Here I am, I have come to do Your will, my God.”

Amen