Treasure In Heaven

In Randy Alcorn's book, Deception, a much loved character of mine, Obadiah says, "The one who spends his life movin' away from his treasures is goin' to despair. But the one who spends his life movin' toward his treasures is goin' to rejoice!" (p.255) Sounds like very familiar advice that I once read from Jesus. 

However a major consideration I would insert is the mortality of the treasure. Is the treasure you seek and the treasure you have already acquired eternal? 

Matthew 6:19-21 records Jesus saying, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Some eternal treasure is bad like hate, bitterness, discord and murder. These treasures and their hosts will come to a final destination one day and it will not be pleasant. Other treasures are not eternal and are found on earth to either be rotting or at the risk of being stolen. The last treasure is the one Christians should be compiling in Heaven. This then begs the question - what kind of treasures does Heaven require the believer to be stockpiling?

Have you ever seen a squirrel bury a lot of nuts? Remarkably this animal can go about its life and when the season comes, the squirrel can recall where he buried the nuts and return to all them for retrieval. Usually, this is done to get through winter or a particular part in the the squirrel's life. The seeking and storing away of this "treasure" serves a great purpose.

Humans do the same thing with monies. We have various forms and various pots we put them in for various reasons. Usually, the funds are either to withdraw later to enjoy for ourselves or to bless someone else. But there is purpose behind collection of money. But even those resources could be channeled to higher levels of treasure if we would be wise with our saving and spending.

There are so many "things" in life that pull funds and energies from us that are not going to be in Heaven. The word "Treasure" in this passage is translated in the original Greek as thesauros, meaning a deposit of wealth literally or figuratively. This term comes from a word that denotes setting aside something for a purpose.

As a start toward this purposeful end, Paul supplied a list of action items for the kinds of things to store-up in Heaven to his apprentice Timothy as a challenge to a certain group of people.

1. Challenge the rich to not be stuck-up and prideful about their finances, putting their hope in such an uncertain and fluctuating thing as money.
2. Have them place their hope in God who is The Great Provider.
3. Challenge these same people to do good,
4. Have them be very active in doing good,
5. Have them not hold back from giving to those in need
6. Have them be willing to share at a moments opportunity.

The actual passage reads -

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Tim. 6:17-19)

The fruit of a vine or tree is the result or showing of what kind of tree that has been planted. The Christian who abides or lives with Christ (also known as The Vine) will therefore showcase his/her fruit of the Spirit. These fruits or results of living with the Holy Spirit are also treasures to desire, seek and gather for eternity. Paul states it like this - 

• "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23). 

Another incentive for storing treasure in Heaven  is that God has a Reward System. While His salvation of our souls and creation is a gift by Father God through Christ; grace through faith in the completed mission of Jesus - our deeds for Him and His kingdom will be rewarded.

However, God does not honor, favor or reward the loud and proud charity givers. Practice charity to the needy privately and you will be rewarded. 

• "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." - Matthew 6:1

Reward demands personal sacrifice and is merited for those who are persecuted because of their belief in Christ Jesus. Effort and labor have to be engaged and toward a goal usually in challenging conditions for a reward to be justified. You will not see reward for nothing in God's kingdom and everything is documented. 

• "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." - Matthew 5:11-12
• "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" -Matthew 5:46
• "He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." -Hebrews 11:26

However small you aide the most youthful of The Kingdom, your reward will not be lost. 

• "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." - Matthew 10:42

The life-purpose of a Christian, be it a planter, waterer,  or harvester will be rewarded. 

• "The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor." - 1 Corinthians 3:8

Taking the higher road or better moral decision will result in higher rewards. And even knowing what to do and not doing it will have its consequences. 

• "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." - Luke 6:35
• "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." - James 4:17

In this performance-based world, many of us have a job or career and work in a company in order to achieve our goal, outcome, payment or reward. Within God's kingdom, He already paid for your family membership which includes awesome benefits. Now all your works/deeds should be out of gratitude or thanksgiving. The writer of Hebrews supports this by saying,

• "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." - Hebrews 11:6

If you have the mindset of He died for me, I'll live for Him, then God's favor of rewards naturally follows plus you begin to seek and desire the right kind of treasures. The kind of treasures that Christians see as "fruits of the Spirit", the kind that will never rot, they are eternal and they yield a return from God's reward system are the kind of treasures to store up.

What we do here will echo throughout eternity only if Christ is involved in all the details. Humans can have the best intentions of making a difference in this world, but if Christ is not in their lives, their life and their work is only temporary. 
When Christians live their daily life cherishing Christ Himself, then we have set our relationship with Jesus first and everything we find in Him follows. 

I encourage my fellow Christians and those considering the Christian faith, make the right decision, choose Christ Jesus, seek out His kind of treasure and enter God's Reward System. These correct desires, character traits, attitudes, mindsets and behaviors are ready for you to enjoy and bless others now and someday as a Treasure In Heaven.

Heavenly Graffiti And Tattoos

In the Living Bible Version of Scripture, Luke 10:20 records Jesus telling His disciples after they had returned from being sent out - "However, the important thing is not that demons obey you, but that your names are registered as citizens of heaven." I love how Jesus does not dismiss the subjection of demons altogether, He just focuses our attention on the "important thing" - the location of your true citizenship, Heaven.

Christ charges us to "rejoice that your names are written in heaven." The words "written" or "registered" come from the original word Graph0. This word means to write, engrave or to describe. I believe this is where we get the word graffiti.

The original word used for "heaven" in this verse is Ouranos. This word means air, sky and God's abode. This word derives from another word, Oros, meaning a mountain. When you place a mountain in heaven you get Mount Zion, the Holy Mountain of God.

So, applying the meanings of these words back into the text, Luke 10:20 might read....It is good that demons are subject to you in my name, but that should not be your focus. The important thing is that you know your names are graffitied all over the Holy Mountain of God in Heaven!

And why not? In the book of Revelation, Jesus shows John a vision of the New Jerusalem. On the gates of the new city are imprinted or graffitied the twelve tribes of Israel. On the foundations of New Jerusalem are written or graffitied the twelve apostles of Christ.

When many people and Pastors read this verse they tend to end it with "but rejoice that your names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Although the Lamb's Book of Life is located in Heaven and your name is there if you believe in Christ Jesus - that is not what the text seems to say here, nor portray. What an image! What a love statement - my name, the believer's name is graffitied on His Holy Mountain in Heaven because of Christ!

Still within heaven we see even more engravings, we call them tatoos. For Christians there will come a day when The King will be delivering and inscribing new names. Christ's promises to those "who overcome" -

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." - Revelation 2:17

What an extremely intimate gift the Lord has for each of believer in Christ! God only knows what the criteria is for this new name. But I am not to concerned about the criteria because I know - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)

Notice the new name given to each of us is in written-form and can only be known or read by the believer - "known only to him who receives it." To me this suggests a personal, Holy language and Holy history that is shared only between the believer and God. That will be amazing!

That inscription was on a stone, next, God takes His writing utensil and applies it to the "overcomer's" body.

"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." - Revelation 3:12

A lot of identification going on here.

1. First, Jesus writes on believer's bodies the name of Father God.
2. Second, Jesus writes on Christian's bodies the name of God's city - New Jerusalem.
3. Lastly, Jesus writes on believer's bodies His new name.  

All these tattos should come as no surprise because Christ returns to earth with us at the beginning of His Millennial Reign with a tattoo of His own - "On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:16)

Although I have never had a tattoo, I envision these names as beautifully tattooed names that claim ownership, declare citizenship and reveal relationship. Three stamps of new names, bought at the highest price, will each shout - "You are mine! You belong here! I love you!"

The Search

Searching - I beleive humanity is in this mode from birth onward. We search for what we do not possess and deem required in either the want or need columns of our lives. We search for knowledge, meaning and our next meal. We search for our mate, career and peace of mind. Most everything is done from a platform of searching.

We did and still do not come into this world knowing everything, nor will we leave this world having attained that distinction. Humans will hopefully, forever be learning and God will always be glad to teach.

Talk about a personal God, God is all-knowing yet in at least four places in Scripture - Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Revelation 2:23 and Psalm 139:1 God is described as not only actively participating in the lives of those He has redeemed, but intimately investigates their hearts and minds or as the Bible says - "searches".

Barnes Notes On The Bible commentary states - "It is not to be supposed that he [the Holy Spirit] searches, or inquires as people do who are ignorant; but that he has an intimate and profound knowledge, such as is usually the result of a close and accurate search. The result is what the apostle means to state - the accurate, profound, and thorough knowledge, such as usually attends research. He does not state the mode in which it is obtained; but the fact. And he uses a word more emphatic than simple knowledge, because he designs to indicate that his knowledge is profound, entire, and thorough."

As God searches our hearts and minds - what will He reveal? If a major, permanent, spiritual and mental "Spring Cleaning" is needed then I recommend we all be sensitive to that leading. However, other questions might be posed that get the Christian searching correctly or searching to begin with. Questions like - Do we search for the lost? Do we search for the hurting? Do we search out the less fortunate? Do we search for more ways to love God?

Searching brings with it the intent on following through with whatever one finds. Sometimes the end of the search is not what was expected and you might have to discard the results, but don't throw away the journey and it's lessons with the results. In order to be a better person in all facets of our lives, we must receive God's searching us and we must search God as we continue in life with The Search.

Watch, Witness, and Wait Upon (The Lord's Action Plan)

I am convinced that Jesus desires a huge family. Speaking to His immediate disciples and all future believers, Christ declared His leaving was in preparation of our Heavenly home and to fulfill the promise of Father God sending the Holy Spirit to guide us in the meanwhile.

• "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3)
• "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—" (John 14:16)
• "But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7)
• "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me." (John 15:26)
• "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26)

The meanwhile has been long, but there has always been an action plan attatched to one's faith in Christ, because without a display of our good works for Christ how would people know to associate us with Jesus? 

• "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)

The action plan for believers after their faith declaration is to -

1. watch for His return,
2. witness to others about the Good News and God's faithfulness and
3. wait upon others or develop a character and life of servantship.

Since Jesus said in His days, 

• “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38) 

imagine how much more believers in Christ should be diligent about recruiting more disciples of Jesus today, espcially with The Lord being long-suffering in His return.

Particiaption in anything takes a measure of convincing that supports one making the decision to go forward. Paul was presented with enough proof, the risen Christ, to not only stop persecuting the Christians but become one of Christ's largest Champions of the faith. He would later declare his conviction(s) and I claim them as my own as well.

• "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

If you are convinced of your Salvation through Christ and your destination - Heaven - therefore because of Christ, then there is only the action plan to exectue. After we have accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, Jesus commands us to Watch, Witness and Wait Upon.

There is a day, even an hour and moment when The Lord will return mid-air for His Bride, the church. Many believers refer to it as The Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). There are signs this event is coming soon by reading Matthew 24 and realize the signs increase in frequency and intensity the closer we are to Christ's return. But as of the specific day and hour - no one knows. This is why Jesus says, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Matthew 24:42)

The second action item, The Great Commission, commands us to witness to the ends of the earth. "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matthew 28:18-20)

First Christ gives a word of assurance and comfort - "All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me." Second, Jesus gives all believers the "therefore". This word placed here refers back to the previous statement and says, Since all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, follow the next set of instructions I am about to give you - "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." 

So, our tasks in witnessing are -

1. travel and make disciples of the whole world
2. baptize them and
3. teach them to obey His commands.

Then the Lord comes full-circle with supportive, comforting words saying, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The last part of the action plan, Wait Upon, is serving God by serving others. Like a waiter or waitress - waits upon you at a restaurant or serves you, we should be servants of God and His kingdom. Jesus gave Himself as a wonderful example. He gave up His glory and clothed Himself with humanity to live our life - good and challenging - while not making one mistake and getting killed for everyone else's.

The verses that the Holy Spirit reminds me of and ties the Watching and Witnessing and Serving altogether is Luke 12:37-38 -

"It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak."

This passage is a call to action. Actually, this passage is a reminder you should have already been acting - as in watching for Christ, witnessing about the Lord and waiting upon others. So, how are you doing on The Lord's Action Plan?

The Christian's Vocabulary

James 3:1-12 speaks to all of us, especially Christian teachers, about our speech; our word choice. He compares our speech to bits in the mouths of horses, rudders on the rear of a ship and the spark that ignites the forest fire. No matter what kind of vocabulary someone may have grown up with, God can change it for your better and His glory when you decide to work with Him.

Praying as often as possible whether it be in your mind, aloud or in a private place is a good start to developing The Christian Vocabulary. Reading the Word of God or Bible is another source of words that will inject His words into your prayer life and common speech. Then hanging around the same kind of people that promote good, clean, wholesome speech will bolster your vocabulary and resolve to continue with God's developing plan.

While the above steps are aimed at eliminating the negativity, the cussing and the cursing in one's speech - God would also love to develop actual word selection. Not only should the every-day-Joe know their grammar, which sadly I have observed is going by the wayside, but public speakers should know grammar and the proper word to use.

Concerning grammar, I've heard so many public speakers and hear one on a regular basis continue to get the "You and I" incorrect. In fact, this individual will never say, "You and me" whether it is right or not. This person always says, "You and I" and that is not right. The rule for this is to take the other person out of the sentence or equation and say how would you say the sentence. For example, "Susan was kind enough to bring you and me a donut." This is correct because if you take the other person out, "you", and state the sentence, then it would make sense. It would then read, "Susan was kind enough to bring me a donut." NOT - "Susan was kind enough to bring I a donut." The process is a matter of practice and thinking it through before using, but getting it right especially if you are in public speaking.

Another concern for all Christians, especially those who teach the Word of God is word selection. One form of this is picking a fancy, important sounding word when a commonly understood word would do just fine. 

A last encouragement to all believers in Christ, but especially Pastors and Teachers and those in the public eye concerning The Christian's Vocabulary is semantics. Lately, I have personally been challenged to use the word "Since" NOT "If" when speaking about the promises of God or God's character and so forth. For example, the phrase - "If God did....then...." leaves an air of doubt about God actually performing said act. But replace the word "If" with "Since" and the statement no longer calls into question God's action but delivers a comment of powerful fact that one can depend upon - "Since God did...then...".

Believers in Christ should be noticed or distinguished by several things, one of those things is our speech, our vocabulary. Before the words exit our mouths we should be taking care to filter them through prayer in the Holy Spirit and surround ourselves with a wholesome environment. Within our word choice, the words should be clean and honorable. And the believer's words should be as much on point grammatically, selectively and semantically as possible. God loves a compliant piece of clay to develop into a man or woman of excellence and one of those submissions and developments is The Christian's Vocabulary.

If God Does Not Go With Me

There is no such thing as an unformed life. There is something or someone that forms or develops everything and everyone. Who or what are you following today? Whose disciple are you?

If you consider yourself a follower or disciple of Christ then at some point in your faith journey the question may have come up - What does God want out of creating me? 

A relationship with Him provided by His Son's sacrifice on the Cross and victory from death and the grave is what God says He wants for everyone (John 3:16). But He desires an authentic, genuine seeker after His own heart, after His ways. I imagine those who pretend or who role-play disgust Him much like the Laodicean church made Him want to vomit (Revelation 3:14-22). God can work with genuineness. He loves us and calls us just as we are then begins to develop us, but we must put in the effort as His disciple, we must live His lifestyle. When you observe and study the lives of The Twelve Disciples that Christ first called into His ministry, you will see this truth of how God loves to use broken vessels/humans.

What do I want out of God's Presence in my life? 

I should want to have Him as Priority. Every thought, every decision, every word, every action should be approved by the Holy Spirit first. 

I should desire a Personal relationship because He is a Personal God. Access to Father God came at an extremely personal cost - the life of Father God's only Son - Christ Jesus. Now, because of that paid price, the path to God and God to us is mediated by The Mediator - Jesus Christ.

If we want the life of Jesus, we must seek and adopt the lifestyle of Jesus. "Grace is not opposed to effort, it's opposed to earning." (Dallas Willard - The Great Omission) God loves us in spite of ourselves and because of His grace, His unconditional love - my acceptance of His grace compels me to make the effort and live for Him. The need boils down to the change of my wants and that will begin to modify my behavior accordingly. If I try to modify my behavior without changing my desires, the behavior will not last and I will return to square one.

Trust in Christ's Promises and the manifestation of them are additional desires of God's Presence in my life. Hope for a better anything when concerning the Christian - a better job, a better marriage, a better year, a better relationship with Christ - is more than a wishful gesture or flippant goal. The believer's hope is always based on a track record of Christ's faithfulness and His declaration to execute His promise(s).

One of my favorite verses in Scripture and one that magnifies God's faithful and powerful presence is found in Exodus 33:15-17. Moses said to God after the Lord threatened not to go any further with the Hebrew people -

"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.'"

I imagine Hell and the eventual Lake of Fire to be beyond awful. One of the contributing factors to making these locations justifiably terrible is the lack of God's personal, manifest presence. The part of God that holds all things together will be the only thing represented. 

Make sure you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior and your daily life (thoughts, words and actions) is in line with Him. Heaven and new adventures that go way beyond strumming a harp and floating on a cloud - await. 

Meanwhile, notice Moses made His communication to God personal and corporate. He desired to be personally "distinguished" and he wanted the Hebrew people to be specially "distinguished" as associated with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and His promises. Like Moses, I also desire to be Holy, which means set apart, distinguished, special among all humanity for the Lord and His kingdom. Like Moses, I cannot do or be anything of eternal value - If God Does Not Go With Me.

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

I believe the meaning of life is relationships, specifically a relationship with Christ Jesus that governs all other relationships. 

Having this kind of foundation in my life grants me clear direction on my goals, attitude, mindset and over-all orientation of my life. My objective throughout life is to share with others my relationship with Christ. 

Unfortunately, there are some individuals that when I share my relationship with Christ with them, they receive it as an attempt to force-feed them my religion. I've got news for everyone - I don't force-feed anyone. Everybody has a mind and heart of their own, all I am doing is sharing, just exposing anyone who would listen and consider a relationship, not a religion, like I have with Christ Jesus.

Knowing and working within my foundation, direction and objective of life - I still get caught up in the minutiae, the routine of life. Routine and details are great for consistency and possibly feeling secure in what you do, but it certainly brings with it boredom and a sense of the doldrums. It can be an enemy to the newness and further development of some unique adventure that God desires to take me on. 

Every start to the new year brings with it a sense of a fresh beginning. I desire for that sense to stay with me every day of the remainder of the year. My prayer this year is that the Holy Spirit will download His revelations to my mind, heart and spirit every day and that I will walk closer to Him. I believe that will certainly go a long way in eliminating the doldrums. 

I also pray and look for renewed excitement and different effective methods of communicating my enthusiasm for Christ's continual love. The Vikings had a boat for the inter-waterway that contained a sail for when there was wind and oars for when there was no wind. This boat could travel everywhere not just on the streams, but on the oceans as well. I desire to be this versatile for the Lord. I want to strike the oars and be active when the doldrums arrive. Love is an action word and He first loved me, now I desire to increase my action, my love for Him.

"Just a closer walk with thee, 

Grant it Jesus, is my plea.

Daily walking close to thee,

Let it be, Dear Lord, let it be." 

(Just A Closer Walk With Thee, by Patsy Cline)

I'm Trusting In His Plan

Dear God,

You still are knitting humanity together in our mother's womb (Ps. 139:13) and still humanity is being born with their default, faulty wiring and/or programing - the sinful, rebellious nature.

I get that after The Flood, the sinful nature was still around, even in an upstanding man like Noah and his family. And that you had a plan to ages later provide Salvation from this nature for the past individuals who had died, the present you encountered and future generations to come through Christ Jesus.

However, knowing your revealed plan to come back and receive us so that we may be where your are (John 14:3) - why the long delay, the need for wickedness to have its day and more people to be born that you know will decide not to follow you?

I hear you say, "Because there were promises made to a nation, a cherished people - Israel. Prophecies made that will be fulfilled. Faithfulness that must still see full manifestation. Faithfulness to my character. Faithfulness to my promises. Faithfulness to my prophecies. Faithfulness to my Word. Faithfulness to my plan."

As a human that deals in the affairs, situations and circumstances of human things - I trust in certain observations and patterns for good outcomes. How much more should I trust in you, Oh Lord, the Omni, who has deemed the plan worth doing, even with the plethora of Christ rejections.

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares 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)

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways and faithful in all He does." (Ps. 145:17)

I'm Trusting In His Plan.

Pre-Prayer Mindset

Prayer is an anytime, respectful communication with God. And with these wonderful, personal times with the Lord, knowing and executing a certain pre-prayer mindset would go a long way in honoring your relationship with God. 

A grateful, thankful heart and mind is a wonderful pre-prayer condition to bring into your prayer life. It properly sets the atmosphere of the room and attitude of our heart to communicate with God. A wise practice would be not to go into prayer with The Lord empty handed. Just like bringing tribute to a king, the King of Kings deserves our praise up front, in advance of any requests. 

In Exodus 23:15; 34:20 and Deuteronomy 16:16 God comes flat out and says - "No one is to appear before me empty-handed." And in Psalm 100:4, David wrote - 

• "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." 

This speaks of a way to proceed into God's manifest presence.

Paul also encourages this in the New Testament when in Hebrews 13:15 he stated - 

• "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name."

Though Matthew 7:7 instructs believers to "ask" as a first step, the next two instructions supplies readers with even more action words - "seek" and "knock". I would venture to say that most of the time believers pray, our answers are not instant. Notice all three types of actions are pursuits after God. All these instructions require that the Christian actively participate in the journey toward God's solution. So, coming to God in prayer with the mindset that God may answer us like the judge answered the persistent woman in Luke 18:1-8 would be very beneficial for the believer in Christ.

Another thing that both Christians and God are going to appreciate in prayer is brevity and humility. Matthew records Jesus saying, 

• "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6:7-8) 

There are some CEOs, company Presidents, management and simply corporate employees that fit this need-to-be-heard bill. In their presentations and small group speech they do their best to use big, impressive words when common ones would suffice nicely. Many meetings have been nothing but a dog and pony show with a bunch of fluffy words and nothing understood or carried away as productive from them. This is what God wants to avoid in our meeting with Him during prayer.

The advantage of being specific with God is He will be specific with you. Ask a specific question, receive a specific answer. Plus, this leaves no shadow of a doubt that God heard you and has informed you when He responds. Ask a broad, generic question to God and don't complain when the answer does not suit your liking. Be short, to the point and specific with your words/request.

The Lord also informed us not to broadcast our prayers for the sake of vanity but make prayer a more private matter.

• "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:5-6

So we approach God in prayer with a thankful heart, giving Him praise, using specific requests and in a private setting, knowing that we may have to return and seek more from Him. But sometimes the request(s) seem not to be heard or possibly denied. What is that about? What is the answer?

As I have said in previous posts - some say God's answers are in one of three forms - 

1. I will do the very thing you ask.
2. Not yet.
3. I have something better for you.

However, James adds that different wants, other desires and/or covetousness will keep us from being aligned in a relationship with God and His desires. In fact, James attributes discord in individuals, couples and families to this difference of wants. The start of arguments and fights as wells as personal conflicts within our own selves are also consequences of not being on the same page with God.

 

James 4:1-3 stated this idea like this -

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

James not only says that our desires are not aligned with God's, but that by the time we get around to looking for help we either don't ask God at all - "You do not have because you do not ask God." - or we ask God but with selfish intentions - "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." 

If Christians do make the effort to align their motives with God's when they petition the Lord in prayer then that verse could read - When you ask, you receive, because you ask with the correct motives, that you may apply what you get according to God's will. (Pritchard Perceving) The decision comes down to what do you want and that is exactly what Christ is asking each time we come to Him in prayer with the hope our choice is His desires and will for our lives, because He will honor that request.

What believers in Christ do in preparation for prayer or in their approach to God's personal presence is so important. A grateful heart, seeking and knocking after asking, keeping your prayers brief, private and humble. Plus, aligning your questions to God which are driven by your motives to be one with the Lord's. This is why Christians should have or develop a Pre-Prayer Mindset.

GO AHEAD, ASK YOUR QUESTION

God is more than enough in any category of our lives, so go ahead, ask your question. There is freedom, in Christ, to ask God about and for anything. I would go out on a limb and say most of the time the Lord will answer in one of three ways - 

1. I will do the very thing you ask.
2. Not yet.
3. I have something better in mind for you.

Many times the second and third answers blend with His timing being an uncomfortable learning lesson that develops more Christ-like character in us.

Concerning the ways of God and His promises, Doubt and Fear are evil spirits that will use negative situations, especially prolonged ones, to inject their poisinous ideas. I know, as a Christian, I am not the only one who has been challenged with these spiritual aggravations, but even those close to Christ experienced this and Christ's reply was amazing.

John the Baptist. This man went from leaping in his mother's womb as a reaction to being near Jesus in Mary's womb to dressed in camel hair, eating locust and out in the desert by the Jordan River baptizing people as he proclaimed the Kingdom of God is near to baptizing his cousin and hearing the voice of Father God saying that Jesus was His Son and was pleased with Him.

At this point, Jesus would go His way and John his, but later John would be imprisioned. There, facing death, Doubt and Fear worked on Christ's forerunner. In Matthew 11:2 John sends messengers to ask Jesus - "Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?" 

My human side can sure relate to this inquiry. John is about to die and wants to know if his commitment to the cause of the Messiah and His coming was worth it and if his cousin was the right one.

My spiritual side wants to travel back in time and counsel John - look at your life and God's hand on it; now look at Jesus' life and God's hand on it - you are paired with The Savior, John.

Before John was beheaded, Jesus not only gave him a "yes, I am the one who has come - Emmanuel." but sent him these encouraging proofs - 

1. the blind see
2. the lame walk
3. those with leprosy are cleansed
4. the deaf hear
5. the dead are raised and
6. the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. (Matt. 11:4-6)

Then Jesus goes the extra mile and dotes on His cousin calling him "the Elijah who was to come" and "among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater." Jesus knows what is about to happen to John and takes a moment to eulogize His cousin, His servant, His Kid of the Kingdom - John the Baptist. Even after John's death, when Jesus learns of the beheading, Jesus shows emotion and goes to reflect and this is recorded in Matthew 14:13 - "When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place."

God can and has been specific with His answers to questions. The person answering the question is always at liberty to answer in any fashion they deem appropriate, but especially God. The reader of God's Word can observe this once again in the life of Job. As a reader depression is easy to catch with all that Job experienced. But just like John, Job asked his question(s) and God answered. So, I encourage my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ - wherever you are on your faith journey God is more than enough in any category of our lives, so Go Ahead, Ask Your Question.