The Tools and the Tasks

Christians lose many opportunities to experience God's activity because they have not devoted enough time to their relationship with God. If you have not yet developed the habit of daily prayer and Bible study, why not begin now, so that you will be equipped for whatever life brings?  - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day

We don’t know what prayer can’t do! - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening.

I read these today and Our Daily Bread...which had an example in it of a man who was in Seminary school, giving his assignment.  A sermon.  The professor had really good things to say about his delivery.  But pointed out that God was missing from the sermon.

Which seems to build upon a thought that came to me last night.  Christians who lead two lives.  A popular phrase used to be : In the zone.   Many Christians, when they DO think on God or Godly things more or less are in the zone, so they focus on that.  Then they leave that area or situation in life and are just as worldly as everyone else around them. 

Scripture asks the question, can a fountain bring forth both bitter water and sweet?

We have the greatest God in the Universe.
We have, through Christ, the greatest access to the power of God.

Yet we choose to live as though we are in tatters rather than the garments provided by the King of Kings.

We wrongly divide our life between what is God's and what is ours.

Yes, we do.  No sense arguing that point.

You will think on God for a moment then run off to do other things and don't realize He never left.  Yet our behavior says otherwise.  We grumble, we complain to others as if Jesus wasn't right there.  When He was.  We dispair in situations and sometimes cry out to God and other times mourn because we think God didn't do anything. The 'why bother?' lies start creeping into our thinking.

We go out into the world as if we could leave God at home while we go tackle what today has in it.  Only crying out to God when it's beyond us.  Jesus isn't in a toolbox or tool belt.  He is in you and at your side.  Believer get your thoughts straight!

We have all desensitized ourselves to our way of life and thinking.  Praising God in one breath, stubbing our toes only to rage with expletives we know better than to use.  Odds are that we don't even stop in that moment to ask forgiveness.  We keep right on moving. 

As Spurgeon said that caught me this morning, we pray but aren't aware of just what prayer can do.  Many use the copout of saying they don't know how to pray.  Really?  It's not complicated.  In no part of the Christian experience did Jesus complicate things.  The least of which is prayer.   He gave samples and examples.

You can go to a friend's house and sit and talk.  It is natural and without trouble.  Guess what, that's the same methodology to pray.  

Look at the prayers before Christianity in the Old Testament.  Look at what was said, the fervor in what was said.  The heart was expressing itself to God.

Getting up and going out into the world without time with Jesus is like forgetting to get dressed before going to work.

Forgetting that He is there when you speak is the same. 

Forgetting that He is there when you do what you do is the same.

Paul wrote of putting off the old self and putting on Christ.  If you are going out into the world without Christ, you forgot your clothes!

Be mindful of your tongue.  When unbelievers hear you, do they hear Christ or do they hear you?  Speak without requiring that you apologize for it.

There's no slip of the tongue.  Scripture says that what's in the heart comes out the mouth. Whomever is in control of your heart will come out your mouth.

Believing.

Prayer without belief is worry.  It's words with no altitude.  Jesus told us to pray...believing. 

Do you realize that when you speak God's many names, you immediately get His attention?  So if you, in exasperation mutter, "Oh God" or say "Jesus!" You have His undivided attention.   Now consider your thoughts and actions immediately after saying such things.

These are but a few things to consider today in doing what you do today.  The greatest tool you have is your walk and talk with Jesus.  Your tasks today are meaningless if you don't have Jesus with you every single step of the way.

We are to dwell on things above.  To have praise ready on our lips for God.   I don't know about you, but I don't intend to go out into life without my clothes on. 

Make Jesus the most important relationship in your life and watch what He does to handle whatever you face.