“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Rev 3:20).
A certain student desparately wanted to get into a top elite school. One person advised him that he might not survive the competetion there. Nonetheless he insisted. No sooner had he got there than he realised his mistake. Everyone, starting with the teachers, were all talking above him. He struggled to catch up but it was a futile battle. He failed to make the grades to be promoted.
When he dropped out he decided to join a less competetive school. Immediately he noticed this school accepted him for what he was. It embraced his average marks and started working with him from that point. No longer under pressure to perform the way the last elite school was, he flourished and excelled.This was the right environment he needed all along!
What do the scriptures mean when we are told that our God accepts us as we are! Romans 15:7 says “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God”. There are many relationships where one has to strive to be accepted. In fact, if you fall off the expected standards you are rejected. But here, like this student in a welcoming school, we see Christ accepts as the way we are here. And it is from here that he starts working a new life in us.
This should be an encouragement to everyone. And also, for believers, a caution not to become stumbling blocs, to those who wish to know Christ in earnest, by setting up impossible standards other than, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mathew 11: 28-30).
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a privilege to know we have a God who accepts us as we are, to begin a new wonderful work in us, and with gratefulness, all this we pray in Jesus’s name.
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17/05/2024 - 18/05/2024 All day“And I in righteousness I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (Psalm 17:15)
One of the defining aspects we see in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He began the day with prayer. “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). As he was always surrounded by crowds and after such a busy day before of preaching and engaging the Pharisees in debates this must have been a therapeutic moment for Christ when he would have some good time to himself.
But there was also more. For Jesus being away in a secluded place would also mean a chance to pour out His heart to God, meditate in quietness, plan for the day ahead and listen to the Father. Jesus must have looked up to this moment every day knowing its benefits. Conversations with His Father must have been real and intimate, bringing a certain soothing and uplifting of His spirit. You do not wake up and stick to something on a daily basis that is a drag – this must have been his best time of the day!
Martin Luther the leader of the protestant reformation is reputed to once have said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Here is the point. In the olden days before the arrival of locomotive transport those who were setting out for a long journey on foot had to start early with the first cock crow before the punishing sun came out. One of the things they had to start with also was a good meal, which was fuel needed to give them energy through the long walk to their destiny.
There are no rules about waking up to pray as first thing- or even saying prayer at a defined hour of the day. God is everywhere and ever with us. He is accessible at any time of the day. But there is something special about prioritizing our lives that the first thing we do is to talk to God. Just like the early traveller we need fuel, for the long day ahead!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a joy and privilege to make time at the start of any day, talk and hear from you, for the power I need through the day, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
