We are deluged with reminders that the prince of the power of the air is ruling. Our sojourn on this planet is a gift, an opportunity, a responsibility. Jesus was on earth for a mere thirty-three years, just three of them public, yet He initiated a commotion that has reverberated through the subsequent millenniums. The early messengers of the Way ‘turned the world upside down by their teaching’. This was definitely not by mere adherence to correct doctrine, but as passionate lovers of Jesus. Their faith did not inspire them to vitriolic backlash to the wickedness of their culture, though there was plenty of it. Their response was unapologetic loyalty to a Man Who had died to be the antidote for the poison of mankind’s mortal enemy. They demonstrated His sacrifice in their care for their neighbors who maligned and rejected them. Their reputations and welfare were secondary to their desire to honor their Master.
The fact that Satan is still alive and well on planet earth is obvious from the headlines and outrageous lies that are currently promoted and believed. Yet it is also grievous to see the memes and snarky ‘Christian’ responses on social media. Today’s religion somehow allows, perhaps encourages superficial retaliation, applauding such condescension as boldness. What happened to loving our enemies? Generosity and understanding towards those with whom we disagree is sadly not the norm. We do not seem to believe a perspective like Tim Keller’s that “the Gospel gives us the resources to love people who reject both our beliefs and us personally”. Do many of us believe that – I mean really believe it? Somehow it seems ‘holy’ to opt for outrage, indignation, or condemnation. That response takes absolutely no empowering from the Holy Spirit. Instead, such ranting could be considered the collateral success of the enemy’s current program. He not only fatally deceives society, but delightedly drags us down in the process. Brant Hansen’s book “Unoffendable” is a forthright and excruciatingly convicting ray of truth piercing the murky version of Christianity we live in today. He calls us to liberate ourselves to truly love others by practicing the fine art of forgiveness, an intense and unrelenting choice to esteem others as better than ourselves, convinced of how much we ourselves have been forgiven. We should remember Jesus’ terrifying teaching of that we will be forgiven in the same way that we forgive others.
If we choose the forgiveness path, we soon realize that it is not something we can manage by the power of positive thinking or determination. It’s definitely not a one and done! We need the grace of God to enable us! Look at Jesus, who faced exponentially more evil, hypocrisy, deceit, and manipulation in the name of God than we ever will, and yet He continued to love. The only One Who truly had the right to righteous indignation did indeed display frustration on a few occasions, but He always spoke the truth in love. Since we know He did not rely on His divine nature, how did He manage? It just might have something to do with His incessant habit of prayer. He prayed before during and after the situations He faced. His close followers recognized this and asked Him to teach them how to pray. The beautiful answer, which is universally recited in liturgy and personal devotion is simple, direct, and confident. We have all probably heard sermons on the Lord’s prayer. If Jesus’ example is to be trusted, prayer is precisely where God’s people need to start to reverse the damage that ‘religion’ has inflicted on the reputation of God. Those church goers among you, when is the last time your church had an earnest prayer time? And how about you? Maybe we can start something together!
“It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfillment, the kingdom for its coming, the glory of God for its full revelation… Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing.” (Andrew Murray)
So…. Lord: “Forgive us for holding offense at others.” “Transform our lives to be open-hearted to our neighbors.” “Grant us freedom from patterns of pressured, self-absorbed lives that have no room to love or encourage others.” “Grace us to remember the depth of our depravity without You so that we may embrace the broken ones around us as You did us.” “ Lord, have mercy on our generation, who have obscured You with our disdain for sinners.” “Give us the honor of becoming Your life-bearing gift to others.” “Bring spiritual revival to Your withering church for the good of Your kingdom.” “Inflame our cold prayerless hearts.”
“Lord, I believe – help Thou my unbelief.”
This is a “choose your own adventure” blog post. Add your own prayer here…..
In Jesus’ name – Amen
Selah
PS – If you are really interested in enhancing your prayer life, pray the devotion on the You Version BIble App or go to waymakers.org for prayer tips.
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