Failing to recognize God

(Note: For the second straight post, I am drawing inspiration from "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon.)

Luke 24 records the famous "Walk to Emmaus" in which, following Jesus' resurrection, Jesus joins two of his followers on a seven mile walk to Emmaus. However, his followers do not recognize him! As recorded in Luke 24:16 (NLT),

But God kept them from recognizing him.

The wording notes that God was responsible for their lack of recognition. But even so, their lack of immediate recognition seems hard to fathom. After all, they knew Jesus!

But on the other hand, doesn't this exactly describe our own lives? God tries numerous methods to grab our attention, but we often close our eyes and ears to spiritual matters, and instead we focus on tangible, earthly pursuits.

Today, let us pray for spiritual awareness, so that we can respond to God's call.

Paul's "faithful sayings"

(Note: Material in this post draws inspiration from material in "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon.)

In Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus, he provides four "faithful sayings," which, when put together, provide excellent concepts upon which to meditate in prayer. Here are those four sayings, all from the KJV.

1 Tim 1:15

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

1 Tim 4:9

Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

2 Tim 2:12

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.

Titus 3:8

They which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.

Those sayings summarize what we are to believe, and how we are to behave. Today, let us find a quiet place and spend several minutes of reflection upon those "faithful sayings."

Washing our feet

In John 15:3 (KJV), Jesus declares

Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

What a powerful statement! He has cleansed us of our sins.

But, even after being cleansed, our human nature means that we continue sinning. Do we remain clean despite our continual sinning?

In John 13, Jesus says the answer is "yes" (John 13:10, NLT),

A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean.

In our daily walk through life, we sin, which accumulates sinful "dirt" on our "feet." Therefore, we need to "wash our feet" (that is, repent and humble ourselves before God) every day. (And if you think you haven't sinned today, think harder!)

But our constant need to wash our feet does not mean we need to be re-saved every day. Jesus is telling us that we need to continually cleanse ourselves of the daily sins that are a routine, albeit unfortunately, part of life. And that continual cleansing can happen by praying without ceasing!

Strength in God

1 Samuel 30 finds David in dire straights. After a humiliating military defeat, his troops were on the verge of mutiny (1 Samuel 30:6, NLT),

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter ... and they began to talk of stoning him.

Facing the possibility of death, how did David respond? In the second part of verse 6 (NLT),

But David found strength in the Lord his God.

I'm always amazed that, when faced with grim circumstances, David manages, despite his imperfections, to find the appropriate spiritual response.

David's entire life serves as an example for us. In our prayers, let us try to emulate his spirit.

God's absence: our greatest fear

What should we most fear? Many people would answer "death" or "disease," because certainly we fear harm to our physical bodies. But Jesus tells us not to fear those. In John 11:26 (NLT), he says,

Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.

Again, in Luke 12:4 (NLT), he says,

Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that.

Rather, our biggest fear should be an absence of God's presence in our lives. In Psalm 104:28-29 (NLT),

When you supply it, they gather it.
    You open your hand to feed them,
    and they are richly satisfied.
But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.

Sin causes us to remove ourselves from God. David understood this. Following his sin with Bathsheba, David pleaded to God (Psalm 51:11, NLT),

Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Thankfully, God is more faithful toward us than we are toward him. If we pray for God to fill us with his spirit, he certainly will!

Receiving from heaven

In John 3:27 (KJV), John the Baptist, responding to a line of inquiry from his followers, says

A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Quite a humbling thought. It reminds me of the line from Hannah's Prayer (1 Samuel 2:9, KJV),

By strength shall no man prevail.

The point is this: We cannot rely on our own physical strength or intellectual cleverness. Instead, we are to rely on God, and God alone.

Repent, and then what?

1 Samuel tells of the Israelites asking for a king, similar to the government structures of the surrounding nations. That request displeased God for two reasons. First, it showed the Israelites trying to emulate the practices of their neighbors. Second, in showed the Israelites trusting their security to something other than God. Nonetheless, God relents and names Saul as Israel's first king.

Samuel, Israel's spiritual leader at the time, chastises Israel for its sinful request. The Israelites, to their credit, repent (1 Samuel 12:19, NLT),

“Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”

Whenever we conform to the sinful ways of this world, or whenever we place our trust in something other than God, we likewise are to repent.

But then what?

Samuel responds (1 Samuel 12:20-21, NLT),

Don’t be afraid. You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless!

It does no good to repent, and then continue sinning. We must repent, and then change our ways.

Godly Thoughts

In John 4:24 (NLT), Jesus explains,

God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

As a spirit, God courses through our physical world. Sometimes, he reveals himself to us via our natural senses, which explains why some people report seeing visions of Jesus or angels. But more often, God, as a spirit, speaks to us in the spiritual realm. It's our responsibility to extract ourselves from physical concerns and connect with that spiritual existence.

And herein lies the major problem with sin. Yes, sin imparts worldly pain on ourselves and others. But the much bigger problem with sin is that sin injects static into our spiritual harmony with God. That's why, after sinning, reconnecting with God seems so difficult.

Most sins begin with ungodly thoughts. Today, let us work to avoid sinful, earthly thoughts by praying this passage (Psalm 103:34, NLT),

May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.

Ruth: An Example to Follow

The short book of Ruth focuses on a Moabite woman who faces dire circumstances after losing her husband, so she decides to accompany her mother-in-law, Naomi, to the foreign land of Israel. Naomi warns that Israel might not offer improved circumstances, and, therefore, Naomi suggests that Ruth should remain in Moab.

Ruth responds (Ruth 1:16, NLT),

Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

Facing near-certain poverty in an unknown land, that is a response of faith! Let us emulate Ruth's attitude. God doesn't ask much of us. He wants us to follow him, put our trust in him, and, ultimately, leave the consequences of life to him.

As it turns out, Ruth's circumstances did improve in Israel. Today, we know her as the great-grandmother of King David!