This morning I seemed to be flooded with emotions... Man, we live in a messed up world. I read an article about women confessing their instances of infidelity and what spurred them to do so. I heard about one of our students that was sexually abused as a child and the massive effects it has had on his life. I also thought long an hard about a sermon I heard while in Africa last January about our nearness to sin and how we are one step away from falling down in our faith(from 1 John)... And, I thought back on a meeting I had with a pastor last week who has served for many years and witnessed, first hand, ministerial failures and watched other pastors go through moral failures. I honestly was a little shook up this morning. I resolved that the best thing to do for my own soul and for those that I lead, is that I should just spend a lot of time with Jesus today in prayer and in the Word. I know that the school year is coming and we need to make a lot of things happen for our student ministry, but right now I am spending time with Him before I pretend to know His plan for the ministry.
He led me to Romans 8: 18-27... "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not only by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we await our adoption as the sons.... we wait patiently... the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not even know what to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
Our world is subjected to frustration on account of sin that the grace and glory of God will be magnified in the objects of his mercy(Romans 9)... Eventually the creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay, but for now we are experiencing the pains of childbirth. And while this is happening I myself am greatly affected. It makes my heart weak and overwhelmed to know that those sins and calamities are surrounding myself and my family and my students and yet I don't even know how to pray. Thank God for the Spirit that intercedes for us on behalf of others and on behalf of the saints!
And thank God "that he is working all things together for the good of those that love him and have been called according to his purpose... conforming us into the likeness of his Son... In all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us! Neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:28,29b,37-39)."
So, today I ask that you would join me in prayer. Take time to pray for the world around you. A broken and fallen world. Pray for your family and friends and coworkers because sin is crouching at their door... it is looking for those that it can devour. Pray for pastors that you know, that they would take a look at Romans 8 with blood earnest seriousness and pray with a fervor like never before at the plight of our world. I refuse to be dead to this. I refuse to shut my eyes to the real issues going on in our world and not take sin so insanely seriously. I am scared of sin. I am terrified by it. And I want to live as a conqueror.
God bind me to your ways. Lead me in righteousness. Don't let me fall. God I am prone to wander. I am prone to gravitate towards sin. Please don't let me fall into temptation. Make me dead to this world and the world dead to me! You are my treasure Jesus. You are my everything!
God be near to students like my friend... You are redeemer of all situations and I pray that you would give my friend perseverance... that as he limps through this life please give him a glimpse of the glory that will be bestowed upon him in eternity. Keep his head up. Keep his eyes fixed on you. Help him to persevere. Lord be near to the broken.
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