Is There Any Part of my Life that I Withhold like a Fraction from The Father?

Walking in a way worthy of the Lord is impossible apart FROM Him. If we desire His Presence, there’s a wholeness required that can only be attained by HIS holiness.

Psalm 15 begins by asking who may enter God’s holy Presence.

What follows is a list of qualities, all pointing to one thing: integrity. That word shares the same root as, “integer”, which is a whole number with no fractions.

Verse 2 tells us that those who lead blameless lives, do what’s right & speak truth with sincere hearts will stand firm forever.

One version says, “to walk uprightly”. “Walk” is often used to refer to life as a journey & “uprightly” means complete in all of its parts, not defective. Kinda like a whole number with no fractions or decimals! 😉

Heres where it gets tricky. When you read the list of what makes a person worthy to worship before God, there can be a temptation to 2 directions:

1) Determine within to keep promises, be kind, not gossip, etc. but that kind of determination only lasts as long as our resolve…

2) Continue in our partially godly life & stamp the word GRACE on the flagrant sin in which we continue to walk 

Neither are good options.

Walking, doing & speaking truth with sincere hearts requires a transformational encounter with the personhood of Truth!

When someone finally realizes their own propensity for sin & need for a Savior, something remarkable happens…the striving for wholeness ceases & the desire to hold a fractional part of ourselves from God fades!

We can’t fully enjoy the perfection of God when we choose imperfect lives (& “perfect” simply means whole!) So the question that surfaces is this:

Is there any part of my life that I’m withholding like a fraction from my Father?

When we let Him reveal the fractional part of our hearts, we can confess, repent & become whole through the salvation of the Holy One!

Father, reveal hidden parts in our hearts that restrain us from experiencing the wholeness of your Presence! The only way we can walk, act & talk in truth is by allowing Truth to have His Way! Jesus, Your alone are The Way to wholeness through Your holiness! Remind us of the much we’ve been forgiven so we might fully give You every part!

#OneYearBible

June 19th One Year Bible Readings

1 KINGS 20:1-21:29

ACTS 12:24-13:15

PSALM 137:1-9

PROVERBS 17:16

Don’t Let the White Noise of Hardship Drown Out The Still, Small Voice of God

Sometimes seeing doesn’t always solidify believing because hard circumstances have a tendency to speak WAY louder than God’s still small voice…& that can be hard.

That’s where I find the prophet Elijah this morning. He’s so distraught by Jezebel’s death threats that he sits under a tree & prays that he might die.😳

He doesn’t just want to be done with life, he PRAYS for it to happen! Jezebel’s threats fill his ears like white noise drowning out the voice of God.

God hears his desperate plea to die, but when He sends an angel, He doesn’t address Elijah’s prayer. He simply provides & tells him what’s next.

When Elijah arrives at the mountain of God, God asks him why he’s there. Elijah complains that even though he’s zealously served God, the Israelites have turned away & are now trying to kill him!

God seems to ignore the prophet’s complaint & tells Elijah to go stand before Him on the mountain.

As he does, the Lord passes by & then Elijah witnesses:

- a mighty windstorm that tore the rocks loose, but the Lord was not there

- then a terrible earthquake, but the Lord was not there

- & lastly, a fire, but again the Lord was not in the fire.

Ater the fire, however, something truly awesome happens. The Lord allows the wind, earthquake & fire, but He’s not IN them.

It was only in the still space AFTER the tumultuous events that Elijah hears the gentle whisper of the Lord.

The wreckage of the windstorm, earthquake & fire litter the scene before Elijah, but it’s in the middle of the mess that he hears the whisper of the Lord.

I heard a song today & it felt like a whisper from the Lord for hopeless moments like this. May the lyrics act like white noise, drowning out circumstances so you can tune your ears to the faithfulness of our Father:

I see you trying

Though you can't see me

And I know your thoughts

Before you even think

I heard every last prayer you prayed

Though I answered all the time

You just didn't hear my reply

And I know it's not easy, oh

Don't you give up on me

'Cause when the night's at its darkest

That's when the light hits the hardest

Don't you give up on me

You ain't seen what I promised

Child, we're just getting started…

~Your Father Who Sees You

#OneYearBible

June 18th One Year Bible Readings 1 KINGS 19:1-21 ACTS 12:1-23 PSALM 136:1-26 PROVERBS 17:14-15

P.S. The song is, “Don’t You Give up on Me” by Brandon Lake

Be Wary of the Spiritual Hobble

My son told me a story today of a basketball player who refused a cazillion $ Nike shoe deal because he couldn’t use the verse, “I can do all things…” He did eventually secure a super successful deal with Under Armor, however, who let him use the phrase!

When my son finished the story with, “And EVERY time he makes a shot, he taps his chest & points to God”, tears immediately began to fall.

What if we all worshipped God like that, letting the gifts OF God glorify Him instead of USING His gifts as self-serving gods?

I’d just finished reading about the Israelites’ wandering hearts. Aside from a few prophets, the entire nation turns from God to worship other gods.

The prophet Elijah rebukes them, saying,

“How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions?

If the Lord is God, follow Him.

But if Baal is God, then follow Him!”

But the people remain completely silent.

When he challenges them to prove who the true God is, however, they suddenly find their voices & begin shouting & “hobbling” before their gods, begging them to set their altar afire!  But in the same way they stood deaf, dumb & silent before God’s prophet, “there’s no sound or response of any kind.”

The word “hobble” means to leap. The prophet asks how long they’ll continue to spiritually hobble, leaping back & forth between their gods & the One True God, yet they remain silent JUST LIKE the gods they serve! Then they PHYSICALLY hobble before their silent saviors!

Psalm 135 tells us that those who make idols are just like them, as are ALL who trust in them! They have mouths but can’t speak, eyes but can’t see & ears but can’t hear!

Y’all, Steph Curry could’ve gone with the Nike shoe deal, but he would’ve missed out on the much more God had in store! Today he’s the leading NBA 3-point shooter of all time! His team is currently in the playoffs & he just became the ONLY player in NBA history to make 500 career playoff threes! Come on!

Oh, God, may we be like Steph & use our gifts to glorify You ONLY! Make us deaf, dumb & blind to the temptation to let those gifts become gods! We call on You to use our gifts for your glory, even when it doesn’t make sense!  

#OneYearBible

June 17th One Year Bible Readings

1 KINGS 18:1-46

ACTS 11:1-30

PSALM 135:1-21

PROVERBS 17:12-13