Monday, April 16, 2007, 05:53 PM
Lust
By
Nancy Howe
Lust means I must have it now. We usually think of lust in the context of sex but there can be lust for many things—even in our walk with God. In Numbers 11:34 we see the Israelites craving good food. The desire was not wrong. But if it turns into greed it is lust. And lust can affect your perspective on everything else. A desire can turn to lust very easily. We can claim to be in love but in many cases it is lust. Here are some ways to tell where your heart is. Love is patient—lust requires immediate satisfaction. Love is kind—lust is harsh. Love does not demand its own way—lust does. When we pray, how is your heart and mind set? Is it a demand of God and is it wanting your answer from Him immediately? If this is the condition of your heart then it is not a prayer to God. This is a lust and a demand for your own personal gain. We are to first seek God and than He will give us our hearts desire. When we demand and our focus is on our own personal needs—this is not after God’s heart. It is on ourselves. To go after God’s heart our focus must be on God. The condition of our heart must be in love with God. God’s love is directed out toward others. It is not selfish. We are to be the same. Because we are sinful this is very hard to do at times. Only God can give us this unconditional love that we are to show others. When our heart is in this state we will benefit in many ways. We will benefit from the joy and peace that God puts in our heart. We will experience His comfort. We will see His love at work in our lives and in others lives that we reach out to. Our focus is steadfast on Him who gives all good things to those who love Him.
We are to love God above everything and everyone else and that includes ourselves. To do this we must repent of our self-righteousness and the “me” syndrome. Our eyes must always rest on God and His goodness and His righteousness and not on ourselves. When our first love is for God he will fill all our needs.
If we are seeking things for ourselves then we are not seeking God. When we seek God first He gives us the answers to our prayers. They may not be the answers we were expecting or desire but they are the ones that are best for us. He is our loving father and He will only give us good gifts. He knows the future and He knows what is best for us.
We may want to ask ourselves—what do my prayers consist of? Are they filled with a personal desire, or are they filled with praise of the glory of God? Are they filled with humility or pride? Are they filled with love for God first and it reaches out to others? Are they repentant and filled with the desire to only do God’s will? Do you pray your prayers in faith or are there seeds of doubt in your heart. When we do not receive an answer from God or it is different than what we desired we may have a tendency to blame God. But we can always be assured that God always answers all prayers for His glory and for our good.
The first purpose of prayer is to praise honor and worship God and not to hold on to our desires and demands for worldly things. When we feel like God has rejected us and our prayers-- this does not come from God but from ourselves. We are always to blame for it. We cannot blame God for we have failed Him again with our selfish and self-centered desires. We are to praise and honor God in all things even when the answers are not what we had in mind.
We look for God’s mighty hand to do miracles and wonders and we look in the wrong way and places. We desire earth shaking evidence and he is always doing them in every day life. Most miss them. Many are so preoccupied with lust for things and experiences that that they miss God at work in their lives. We are all guilty at times.
No matter where we are—we are to do His will. We are to obey Him. Whatever is close to us—where we live, who we are, are all a part of God’s plan in our lives. Ask Him to show you what He wants you to do with this? It may very well be in a suffering situation. It is still to God’s glory when we look at the cross of suffering. God desires us to be His personal loving children and He desires that we obey Him. He desires our praise. When we fail He is there to catch us. On the cross Christ took all of our sins which allows us to have forgiveness of sins. He took them all into Him self because of His great love for us. This is a free gift from God. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. How great is your faith? How great is your love for Him? Our lust for God should be a total commitment and not just bits and pieces. When it is total we will do His will and He will give us the desires of His heart. When we are humble and obey God our desires will fit what God desires for us. The lust in our heart will only be for God. We will only want all of Him and we want all of Him right now, however God will make us wait and give us our growth in His own time. Patience is one of God’s lessons but that lesson is for another time.
You can reach Nancy at:
Crossing the GAP
PO Box 384
Marshall, IL 62441
Monday, April 9, 2007, 05:43 PM
The Mirror
By
Nancy Howe
You look in the mirror and what do you see? Is your nose too big and your chin to prominent? Maybe there are wrinkles that you did not see yesterday. Are there laugh lines or frown lines? Look deeper—do you see Christ in the mirror with you? Are you a reflection of Him? Our body and soul are a reflection of who we are to others. The only way for others to see who we truly are is by how we act and how we respond to situations that occur in our life. Our words can either sooth or destroy others. Our bodies are an active unit that is always a witness to who we are to others. When our actions are a contradiction to our words we present a very distorted view of who we are. When we look in that mirror do we see anger, hatred, distrust, unrest, loneliness, defeat, heartache or pain? And our words are saying, “I love Jesus.” This is very confusing to not only the believer but to the unbeliever. Our actions should say along with our words-- love, compassion, trust, joy and peace when we are a Christian. What we see in a mirror is what others see in us. Our actions will speak louder than our words.
What do you live for? Make a list and read them over to see what is most important in your life? We are usually controlled by the most important thing in our lives. Maybe it is our job, a person, a sport, or it may be an experience that has happened to us. Or maybe our disappointment in something has changed our lives and is now in control of our very being. What you see in your life as important is what others also see. Have you experienced Christ? If so can people see him in you? Are you a mirror of Christ? When we are truly filled with the Spirit of God we are transformed. We are the mirror of Christ’s character. If others cannot see Christ in our character we have not truly experienced him. Most of us have a tendency to stifle God’s Spirit. This is done by stifling God’s presence in our lives. It can be worry or wanting to experience something that is not God pleasing. So much of the time it is our desire to satisfy ourselves. Our emotions may also play a very big part in stifling God’s Spirit.
When we come to faith we have a complete turn around. We personally do not do the turning. God works this miracle in us. It is not a concept of -I will try to do better- but it is something that we do not have any control over. God does it in us. This is when we have received the Holy Spirit and He does the transformation in us and for us. We see our sins for what they are and we experience a deep sorrow and remorse. We come to repentance. We turn from our old ways and again it is not by our own will but the Holy Spirit turns us to His ways. Our life has changed. We are now a witness for Christ. Are you a witness for Christ? Can people see a difference in your desires, goals and life style? This is a strong witness to Christ when people see a huge difference in us. When we are put down for this change by unbelievers it is a strong testimony and we know that we are right with God. Paul only lived for one thing and that was to be a witness. He preached judgment to unbelievers and salvation to those that came to faith. And he did not let anything sway him in any other direction. He carried the cross and suffered greatly for his faith in Christ’s Name. And he saw it as victory and he saw it as a privilege to be able to do this for Christ. Paul is a very strong witness of who and how we should be. You can see Christ in the mirror when you see Paul.
As we grow in our faith we will also fall flat on our face. We look in the mirror and we must ask ourselves- why did I do that thing that God says not to do. We sin every day and that is a part of our character. We are born in sin and because of this our sinful flesh is always at odds with our divine nature. We can not in our own flesh do anything about it. We must put on the full armor of Christ daily. This armor is staying in God’s Word. To win a race we must stay in shape. To win battles of life we must stay in God’s Word. We must have daily prayer and worship. We cannot win this daily battle by anything that we have done or will do. It has been won for us on the cross. All of these sins that we still do were taken to the cross. Christ took them from us when he suffered and died in our place. We are free of them and even though we are free of them we must come to Christ with a contrite heart and repent daily. To put on the armor is to grow in our faith and we strive to live the life that God desires for us to live. He has given us the awesome job of taking His message to the world. And so we are to be a witness to Christ just as Paul was a witness. What do you see in your mirror? What do others see in your mirror?
You can reach Nancy:
Crossing the GAP
PO Box 384
Marshall, IL 62441
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