Day 279: Lord, Prepare Me To Be Your Sanctuary ....
Read: 1 Peter 3:13 - 20
It just dawned on me as I begin writing this devotion there are
conversations I have not had in a very long time: “Say, I’ve always
wanted to ask a Christian something. How is it that one becomes a
Christian? Could you take a few moments to tell all of us?” "I am not
making the least bit difference to anybody. I just know I can make a
difference." "How is it one becomes a Christian, because I know that
they are always making a difference somewhere? I am shamed to say it,
but these conversations just do not come across my doorstep very often. In fact I am further embarrassed to say it has only been once that I remember in the past year. Nobody asks for my witness!
It was right at this point that I thought of I Peter 3:15: “Always be
prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give a reason for
the hope you possess.” So, pray tell me for I know that if someone ever did approach me, what would I have to say? Right now I am feeling a bit convicted reading that verse. I am feeling
convicted by those words 'always' and 'anyone who asks', 'hope that I
possess'. I especially look at that word 'always' and it sends shivers down my spine, a spirit of fear through my soul. Always means just that - always! Always be prepared to give an
answer! I was never a Boy Scout. As a believer in Christ, I always want
to make a difference. Am I?
When I look at a verse like this, and I pray that each of you will likewise take the time out of your day to give it more than a prayerfully polite glance, I see
the image of a God sized Locomotive with an endless line of rail cars
far as the eye can see jamming and clanking and roaring down the track at the speed of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. I see and hear every whistle of that unstoppable Gospel train. I wonder
- "Am I now making any difference?" Is anything I am doing, Is there
anything you are doing, that is 'always' contributing to increasing the
momentum of God's unstoppable message? As this unstoppable Gospel train
rolled into your station, would it stop at your station?
Tough
questions to ask yourself, if you are asking yourself, on a long Fourth
of July weekend. But as individuals who allegedly claim the blood of
Jesus Christ as their own unstoppable witness, allegedly holding on
to the unstoppable hope found through the life, death and resurrection
of Christ in our own hearts, it is absolutely essential that we take an
honest assessment of our selves in this way. Consider this, friends,
some reject us for our faith. But some will also reject us for our lack
of faith or the desire and energy we put into sharing it. The greatest
testimony any of us have is when we are asked why we live the way we do!
So, are any of us really, truly, 'always ready', truly 'always' prepared?
Let Us Pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, Resurrected Lord seated, enthroned at the right hand
of the Father, have mercy upon me and my brothers and sisters, though
the chief of sinners we shall ever be. We confess to you, O God, that we have used only a small part of the potential that is within us: There are vast untapped energies, powers and possibilities in us that have never been released. Forgive us for growing accustomed to the 'sometimes' way we think and act, and then failing to go beyond our own usual responses to spreading the message of your eternal hope to others who
may ask. I ask you to help us yield ourselves to you again this day and
open our lives once more to joy, service, adventure. Lord Jesus, prepare me, prepare us to be your sanctuary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxB9VH3cCN4
Sanctuary - worship video with lyrics.wmv
www.youtube.com
Sanctuary worship video with lyrics Randy Rothwell Sanctuary lyrics are property and copyright of it's owners
Read: 1 Peter 3:13 - 20
It just dawned on me as I begin writing this devotion there are conversations I have not had in a very long time: “Say, I’ve always wanted to ask a Christian something. How is it that one becomes a Christian? Could you take a few moments to tell all of us?” "I am not making the least bit difference to anybody. I just know I can make a difference." "How is it one becomes a Christian, because I know that they are always making a difference somewhere? I am shamed to say it, but these conversations just do not come across my doorstep very often. In fact I am further embarrassed to say it has only been once that I remember in the past year. Nobody asks for my witness!
It was right at this point that I thought of I Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you possess.” So, pray tell me for I know that if someone ever did approach me, what would I have to say? Right now I am feeling a bit convicted reading that verse. I am feeling convicted by those words 'always' and 'anyone who asks', 'hope that I possess'. I especially look at that word 'always' and it sends shivers down my spine, a spirit of fear through my soul. Always means just that - always! Always be prepared to give an answer! I was never a Boy Scout. As a believer in Christ, I always want to make a difference. Am I?
When I look at a verse like this, and I pray that each of you will likewise take the time out of your day to give it more than a prayerfully polite glance, I see the image of a God sized Locomotive with an endless line of rail cars far as the eye can see jamming and clanking and roaring down the track at the speed of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. I see and hear every whistle of that unstoppable Gospel train. I wonder - "Am I now making any difference?" Is anything I am doing, Is there anything you are doing, that is 'always' contributing to increasing the momentum of God's unstoppable message? As this unstoppable Gospel train rolled into your station, would it stop at your station?
Tough questions to ask yourself, if you are asking yourself, on a long Fourth of July weekend. But as individuals who allegedly claim the blood of Jesus Christ as their own unstoppable witness, allegedly holding on to the unstoppable hope found through the life, death and resurrection of Christ in our own hearts, it is absolutely essential that we take an honest assessment of our selves in this way. Consider this, friends, some reject us for our faith. But some will also reject us for our lack of faith or the desire and energy we put into sharing it. The greatest testimony any of us have is when we are asked why we live the way we do! So, are any of us really, truly, 'always ready', truly 'always' prepared?
Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Resurrected Lord seated, enthroned at the right hand of the Father, have mercy upon me and my brothers and sisters, though the chief of sinners we shall ever be. We confess to you, O God, that we have used only a small part of the potential that is within us: There are vast untapped energies, powers and possibilities in us that have never been released. Forgive us for growing accustomed to the 'sometimes' way we think and act, and then failing to go beyond our own usual responses to spreading the message of your eternal hope to others who may ask. I ask you to help us yield ourselves to you again this day and open our lives once more to joy, service, adventure. Lord Jesus, prepare me, prepare us to be your sanctuary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxB9VH3cCN4
Sanctuary - worship video with lyrics.wmv
www.youtube.com
Sanctuary worship video with lyrics Randy Rothwell Sanctuary lyrics are property and copyright of it's owners
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