THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Lord, why does man make religion so burdensome and taxing? Man created religion in efforts to gain your favor. “Look at me, God,” they boast. “See how holy I act. See how well I keep our rules.” The religious leaders tried that approach with you. You saw right through their “fake piety” and brutally dismissed their hypocrisy

They came unglued from your scolding. “Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity” (Matthew 23:27). They shook their fists. How dare you, Jesus, just some two-bit, uneducated teacher from a hick town like Nazareth. Who are you to disrupt our religion. We’re so holy, we prohibit our followers from even mentioning God’s name, let alone approach him.

The religious elites, blinded by pride, considered your message of our heavenly Father’s love and grace as foolishness. But the common folks saw clearly your message for lost mankind. You revealed to their receptive hearts that, yes, the sovereign Lord God, the Creator of all mankind, knew them individually and desired a personal relationship with each one. Yet, you required one thing of each person coming to you. We must approach our heavenly Father with a humble heart. Forget bragging how “good and religious” we think we are. That closes the door to the Father.
Lord, as sinful as mankind is, you never turn anyone away. Scripture states all who trusts in you, Jesus, that our heavenly Father adopts us as sons and daughters. Lord God, you even give us the privilege to call you “Abba.” In modern language, that’s “Daddy.” Or what I like, you’re our “Papa.”

Amen, Papa.

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Chatting with Jesus
Wednesday, July 17, 2024

 Lord, you see the spiritual warfare that rages within me. This lifelong conflict pits my mind against my spirit. You might say this warfare is between your desire for me and my desire to do what I want, to control my own destiny. Scripture claims all believers wage this war.

 “The ‘flesh’ [our carnal self] sets its desire against the Spirit [God’s plan] and the Spirit against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17).

 Many believers profess, “Sure, I want God’s will for my life as long as it aligns with what I want and fits within my plans.” I’ve been there, done that.

 Your Spirit never fails to slap me upside my spiritual head with a warning when I resist his leading. How can you say with a straight face that surely these struggles I encounter are from the devil, the enemy of my soul and not because I insist on having my way. Without total surrender to your plan, Lord, which is always best for me, my flesh puts up a fierce, yet mostly losing, battle. In my mind, I acknowledge that, Yes, Lord, you know what I need, but in practice, I refuse to let go of my self-determination.

 Reviewing my circumstances where struggles and problems continually exist, am I surprised my biggest problems are in the areas I insist in controlling? Those lingering habits that, in and of themselves are not bad, yet, they hinder your Spirit’s transformation in me. Those activities that, again, are not bad, yet, are distractions that tempt me to compromise my values.

 Lord, reveal to me areas where my flesh insists on rulership. May your Spirit help me order my life according to your will and your values. May your Spirit always win against my flesh.

 Amen, Jesus

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Chatting with Jesus

Monday, July 15, 2024

Lord, what have we become? How did this contentious spirit spread throughout our nation? Hateful, vitriolic dialogue dominates the air waves. The Left demonizes the Right. The Right demonizes the Left. The “ungodly” declares the “godly” as dictatorial, wanting to take away our freedoms. In return, the “godly” portray the “ungodly” as degenerates who will lead our country down the toilet. Many blame the Left for stirring the pot with these horrible accusations. The Right doesn’t hesitate to retaliate with both fists making the same accusations. Finally, the continued demonizing of political enemies came to a head (literally) Saturday with the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Thank you, God, for your divine protection.

Sadly, many Christ followers have added fuel to the fire. Forgive me, Lord. I’ve thrown a log or two into the fire. As a Christ follower, I’ve set a bad example by harshly criticizing our current administration. Yes, we have the right to protest and state our disapproval of our leaders. But do we have the right to wish them I’ll and rot in Hell? Lord, muzzle my mouth. Defusing this vitriol begins with me. Scripture commands me to do so.

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. [2] Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. [3] This is good and pleases God our Savior,[4] who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1–4 NLT).

Lord, I admit I need to be more like you, and less like my carnal self. Amen.

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