Monthly Archives: October 2024

A TRUE WORSHIPPER?

Prayer, ,

WORSHIP HAPPENS

We have been exploring some of the deeper aspects of prayer, culminating in what is called, in the Hebrew language, “tefillah”, translated as “prayer” or even “worship”.

What is worship? Worship is difficult to define or explain. Worship is the attitude of awe and reverence that overcomes us when we contemplate God’s majesty and greatness. Worship is not something we do. Worship happens when we see God in the spirit. “Tefillah” is the essence of prayer, lifting prayer far above our focus on needs and wants to the person of God Himself. “Tefillah” happens when God overwhelms us with His goodness in times of great need.

Isaiah experienced worship in his encounter with the Lord in the temple.

Why did Isaiah go into the temple…to seek the Lord in a time of crisis and uncertainty? Uzziah, the king, was dead. What would happen in God’s land after Uzziah’s death? Was Isaiah afraid that another wicked king would ruin what Uzziah had achieved? What next, Lord?

2 Chronicles 26:3-5 NLT
[3] “Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. [4] He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. [5] Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.”

Uzziah was a good king. He sought the Lord and followed His ways until, as so often happened with godly kings in Judah, pride caused his downfall.

2 Chronicles 26:16-19, 21 NLT
[16]” But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar. [17] Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men. [18] They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!” [19] Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead…
[21] So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord. His son, Jotham, was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.”

With this tragedy in his heart, Isaiah turned to the Lord. What did he want? Reassurance of God’s control? Direction for the future? Answers to his multiple questions? Perhaps he just wanted to be close to the Lord for comfort and security.

Isaiah was not permitted in the Most Holy Place where God’s presence was represented by the supernatural light over the Mercy Seat. That was reserved for the high priest alone and that only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Where did Isaiah go in the temple? It doesn’t matter because he was instantaneously transported into God’s presence in the unseen realm. What he saw shattered him.

Isaiah 6:1-13 NIV
[1″In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
[2] Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. [3] They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” [4] Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.”

In human words, Isaiah tried to describe his experience, a scene of glory so indescribable that he literally “fell apart”. He saw the Lord, in the temple, but exalted above all and everything else, surrounded by beings of beauty and splendour who chanted endless words of adoration and praise.

The entire scene was of ceaseless sound and movement, all around the Lord, engaged and focused on Him and His glory.

Isaiah felt himself disintegrating into a heap of dirt. He, this distinguished prophet of God, who spoke on His behalf to the nation, was nothing but a filthy sinner. He was helpless and exposed.

This is what the real insight into the Lord does. Peter experienced this revelation of himself when he , “saw” Jesus, the Son of God.

Luke 5:8 NLT
[8] “When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

Why did Isaiah concentrate his guilt on his lips? Was it because he understood that his lips were the fountainhead of what was in his heart? What came from his mouth issued from deep inside, just as Jesus had said. The entire nation he represented was guilty of having polluted hearts.

[5] Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Despite his guilt, he had seen the Lord. How could he stand in the presence of such majesty? God had a solution…the altar! The burning coal represented a sacrifice consumed, accepted, and effective to deal with sin…a picture of the most powerful and effective sacrifice ever offered, the blood of Jesus!

[6] “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. [7] He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Worship, tephillah, had happened in Isaiah’s experience, perhaps for the first time. He had “seen the Lord” in a vision so glorious that it had overwhelmed and broken him…and changed the course of his life. He was ready to face his destiny with courage and faithfulness because he was convinced of the glory and power of Yahweh to fulfil His Word.

To be continued…

THE WILL OF GOD, WHAT IS IT?

Christian Life, ,

We all want to do God’s will. We talk about the will of God for our lives, but we often struggle to know what His will for us is. We perhaps think that God’s will has to do with where we live, what we do, who we marry etc. It can and it does, but these are all details and peripheral to the perfect will of God. In His Word, God’s will has more to do with who we are and how we live than the “where” and “what” details in which we do His will.

Is God’s will the same for everyone or does His will differ from person to person? Let’s see what the Bible says.

Living according to God’s will or not, first, has eternal significance, according to John. He said that loving this world cancels out loving God. If we love the world and follow its dictates, everything we run after is transient. It will disappear. Only those who love God and do His will, will live eternally.

1 John 2:15-17 NLT
[15] “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. [16] For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. [17] And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

My second consideration, then, is…do I want to do God’s will? If so, then I must cut ties with the world and its ways. The culture and practices of the world must never intrude into the way my faith in Jesus directs my life. I cannot serve two masters. I must choose my master and stick with my choice.

God’s perfect will is always done in His realm where His angelic hosts live in perfect union with Him, obedience to Him, and in harmony with one another. They have specific roles in His kingdom which they fulfil without question.

Psalms 103:21 NLT
[21] “Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!”

So, Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God’s will be done in this realm, on earth, just as perfectly as it is done in heaven.

Matthew 6:9-10 NIV
[9] “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We know that His will is good, acceptable and perfect. We enter this awareness through our willingness to entrust ourselves entirely to Him, body, soul, and spirit, because of His mercy to us.

Romans 12:1-2 NIV
[1] “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. [2] Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Only as we entrust our lives to God and learn to think like He thinks, do we realise that what He wants for us is the best.

Once we have accepted that God’s will is always the best for us, regardless of what it is, thirdly, we are ready to carry out His requirements because we know He is sovereign and directs our lives towards His goal.

Let’s examine one of His clear directives.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

This instruction teaches us that God wants us to pay attention to our hearts. When stuff happens, good or bad, we must decide who is responsible and what our attitude to our circumstances must be. If we are convinced that God supervises every detail of our lives, we can thank Him even in the difficult times because He has a plan. A thankful heart is one that trusts Him even in the dark because He is good and He knows where He is taking us.

There are many references but few specifics in Scripture relating to God’s will. We must deduce the details from His character and requirements. The best way to find out what He wants is to examine His commandments and His promises.

If God tells us to do something, it must be His will. In the Old Covenant, He gave detailed instructions to His people, 613 of them, to teach His people about His holiness, and their utter inability to satisfy His holy standards by their own efforts.

Romans 3:20 NLT
[20] “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”

Most of the time, they gave up on trying and went their own way with terrible consequences. God did not change His standards to meet them half way. He cannot, because He is God.

Instead, He sent Jesus, His Son, to pay for their failure, to restore them to His family as sons and daughters, and to provide help in the person of His Holy Spirit. He reduced all His 613 laws to two simple instructions that cover everything in principle that His Old Covenant laws had given them in detail.

1 John 3:21-24 NIV
[21] “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God [22] and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. [23] And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

This is God’s will for His redeemed children in a nutshell. His will is expressed in two simple commandments and made do-able through His Spirit.

Believe in the name of His Son…faith in Jesus, entrusting ourselves uncondionally to Him, takes care of our past present and future. We give Him absolute allegiance and no longer go our own way. We lean all our weight on Jesus.

Love one another…living our lives by working out our faith in Jesus in the way we treat one another through the Holy Spirit, “Christ in us”. He wants us to show who owns us by the way we treat each other.

Not only does God tell us what He wants, He also provides the means by which we can do what He wants.

2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
[3] “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

God’s promises are a declaration of what He intends to do in us, so that we know where He is going when we hit rough patches. His destiny for us is nothing less than to perfectly resemble His Son.

Romans 8:28-30 NIV
[28]”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

God’s will is all about becoming like Jesus…and, from God’s perspective, it’s already done.

So, in actual fact, although we are the players in this game of life, God is the one who acts for us and in us to move us towards His goal. For example,

Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV
[4] “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…”

Philippians 2:12-13 NIV
[12] “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

This is the marvel and mystery of God’s will. He not only tells us what He wants us to do, but He also does it in us as we obey His Word and trust His Spirit who works in us.

Ephesians 1:11 NLT
[11]”Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”

How wonderful is our God! He not only wants us to do His will and tells us what He wants but He also gave us His promises through which He does His will in and through us as we choose to obey Him. This is His guarantee that He will carry out His will on earth just as it is done in heaven.

So, although He directs us to where we should live, what we should do, who we should marry etc., in all these details He is using our circumstances to conform us to character of Jesus.

INTERCESSION, FUNCTION OR OFFICE?

Prayer, ,

Let’s chat a little bit about intercession.

Some parts of the church have been taught and have begun to believe that intercession is a specialised part of prayer. They believe that intercessors are people who have been called to a special ministry; they are anointed to be “intercessors” in an office called “intercession”. They are the specialists who dig into the unseen realm to find out what’s going on there.

When crises arise in the family, church, or country, we must call in the “intercessors” to deal with the situation. They will discern and “pray against” the evil spirits causing the problem. They will “take authority” over principalities and powers and command them to leave “in Jesus’ name”. They will pull down their strongholds and and take them captive to obey Jesus!

How Biblical is this teaching and practice? Is intercession a separate office or function in the church, together with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers?

First, nowhere in the New Testament, not even in Paul’s masterful description of the way the church functions, in Ephesians 4, are intercessors part of Jesus’ gifts to the church.

Ephesians 4:11 NLT
[11] “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.”

This group of people Jesus “gifted” to the church are to train the members of the church to use their spiritual gifts for the good of all.
They all work together to move the church as a whole towards spiritual maturity.

Ephesians 4:12-13 NLT
[12] “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. [13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

Instead of an office or spiritual gift, intercession is listed as an integral part of the “all kinds of prayer” that Paul urges all believers to pray.

Ephesians 6:18 NIV
[18] “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Paul specifies to Timothy some of the “all kinds of prayer” he is to pray for all people…

1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
[1]” I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… “

It seems, then, that prayer is the general description of our interaction with God, and “all kinds of prayer” the various ways and purposes for which we engage with the Father.

What is intercession, and who are the intercessors?

An intercessor is one whose specific function is to act as a mediator or go-between, between God and people, to stand in the gap and represent people to God.

A true intercessor must have access to the Father as well as to those he represents. He must understand both parties he represents. He must make a valid case for the one he represents. He must seek God’s favour on behalf of those he represents.

There are examples in Scripture of people standing in the gap for others before God. In fact God is looking for those who will comply but…in Israel’s case,

Ezekiel 22:30 NLT
[30] “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”

Sadly, God was obliged to judge Israel because there was no one fit for the task of interceding for them.

Who, then, are the intercessors God has appointed to represent us before Him?

Only two in all of Scripture qualify, Jesus for us and the Holy Spirit in us.

Jesus qualifies to intercede for us because He will never die again. Unlike the earthly high priests in Israel’s religious syistem, Jesus is our eternal intercessor.

Hebrews 7:23-25 NLT
[23]” There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. [24] But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

Jesus qualifies to represent us to the Father because He is one of us.
He came to earth as a true human, born of a woman and born to live and die under God’s law to free us from its curse.

Galatians 3:10 NIV
[10]” For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

Galatians 3:13 NIV
[13]”Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

Jesus experienced life just as we do.

Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV
[14]”Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. [16] Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Jesus qualifies as our intercessor because He shed His blood for us.

Jesus is qualified to intercede for us because He presents His own blood to the Father as an atoning sacrifice for sin.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT
[5] “For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. [6] He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.”

The Holy Spirit intercedes in us because He takes our bungled prayers and reinterprets them to the Father. He helps to us understand and regulate our walk in righteousness on earth.

Romans 8:26-27 NIV
[26″In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Can you see, then, that Jesus and the Spirit are the only ones who hold the office of intercessor. This is their ministry on behalf of humans who would otherwise have no right to approach the Father. Jesus stands before God for us; the Holy Spirit represents us to God because He is in us.

All of our “intercession” is part of the “all kinds of prayer” we are to pray as partners with God in His work of perfecting His saints for their role in glory.

How important it is for all God’s people to play our part according the Word and not, first, addiing to Scripture what is not there and, second, wasting time and energy in useless rituals that achieve nothing instead of encouraging all God’s children to partner with Him in managing the earth as He decreed.

Through prayer, we commune with the Father, we speak, He speaks, we learn to discern His will, and we partner with Him, again, through prayer, in His, work of administering His kingdom on earth.

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?

Christian Life, ,

Everyone is born with two hearts. One heart pumps blood around our bodies to keep us alive. The other heart regulates our thoughts and intentions, the deep inner part of “us”, the core, if you like, that cannot be seen but is real and powerful in its effects on us and on others in the world around us.

This may sound somewhat spooky, like some unseen force that drives us from within, but its not that bad! Our “hearts” encompass our thoughts, choices, decisions, and feelings, which reveal everything about us that relates to who we are, and influences the way we show who we are to those around us.

Unfortunately, everyone is born with a birth defect, a diseased “heart”. The diagnosis is ominous and has serious repercussions if we do nothing about our condition.

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
[9] “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

The Bible has a lot to say about this heart. Apart from the diagnosis that every heart is initially rotten to the core, God’s Word helps us to understand what it does, and reveals how this “diseased heart” can be cured and made new.

Romans 1:18-32 gives us a resume of the way the wicked heart functions. What we desire, we do, and what we do reveals what is in the heart. Since the heart we were born with hates God, everything we think and do defies who He is and what He requires of us.

Romans 1:28, 32 NLT
[28] “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done…
[32] They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”

Isaiah 64:6 NLT
[6]”We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”

Now, let’s see what can be done about our wicked hearts. Is there any possibility that we can change? Does God have a cure that will alter the course of our lives from where our evil hearts are taking us?

Thankfully, there is! We can do nothing to change our hearts but God can.

God promised wayward, idol-worshipping, stubborn Israel,

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT
[25] “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. [26] And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”

God promised His people a spiritual and supernatural heart transplant. How would this happen? Not by trying harder but by putting their faith in God’s solution.

Romans 10:6-9 NLT
[6] “But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). [7] And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” [8] In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: [9] If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

What is Paul saying? “Don’t try to fathom the mechanisms of God’s salvation. How can Jesus save us by coming to earth and dying? Believe that He did it and confess that He is Lord! If you embrace this truth in your heart, you will become a new you with a transformed heart and life.”

Whew! God’s escape route from the destiny that our evil hearts threatened is faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. He paid our debt of sin and changed our status before God and the direction of our lives from hell to heaven. Now we are going to Him, not away from Him. Not inly does God forgive our sin but He also changes us from the inside out.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
[17] “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

However, although God has given us new hearts, we are still capable of following sinful desires, depending on which desires we cultivate. The Holy Spirit in us grows fruit that reveals His life at work in our hearts. At the same time, we are surrounded by temptations from within and without, to follow our old desires.

God has given us the responsibility to feed holy, not selfish desires.

Proverbs 4:11-13, 20-23, 26-27 NLT
[11] “I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. [12] When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. [13] Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life….
[20] My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. [21] Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, [22] for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. [23] Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
[26] Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path…. [27] Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.”

Three simple instructions for preserving the integrity of our hearts.

Feed our hearts with God’s wisdom.
Guard our hearts from unholy desires.
Stay away from evil behaviour.

How do we know what is in our hearts? David asked the Lord to search his heart for any “anxious (disquieting) thoughts” that lurked inside him. “Disquieting” means anything disturbing, that causes uneasiness.

Paul has a solution for “anxious thoughts”…

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God’s peace acts as a referee in our hearts to tell us whether our thoughts are anxious or not. Anxious thoughts reveal that we are not trusting God in uncertain circumstances. We allow fear, anxiety, insecurity to cancel our faith, and our loss of God’s peace alerts us to the problem. He restores His peace in our hearts when we confess these toxic thoughts to the Lord.

We need never leave the condition of our hearts to chance. God gives us clear teaching in His Word that He will transplant our hearts when we put our trust in Jesus, and He will transform our hearts as we keep replacing our old sinful thoughts with holy desires.

The acid test is simple. Like a computer, what we put in must come out. If we put truth into our hearts, truth will come out of our mouths because what us inside will come out.

Proverbs 18:21 NLT
[21] “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

Luke 6:45 NLT
[45] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

What is in your heart? Listen to what you say!

MOLLY AND ME – GOAD TO THE GOAL

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Molly doesn’t know it, but when we go outside for toilet purposes or for our daily walk, I have a goal which I intend to achieve. She meanders around with no set purpose. Everything is interesting, to be smelt and explored, and time means nothing. My goal is to finish what I intended. Her goal is…well…I’m never really sure!

You see, being a dog, she doesn’t understand my thinking. Even if I encourage her with words, she is none the wiser. She lives in her “dog” world which is very different from mine. The only way I can guide her towards my intended purpose is to goad her, gently, in the right direction.

Molly reminds me of myself and God. Since I live in my “people” world, I don’t always know where God is leading or in which direction to go. I need Him to nudge me along the correct path with a goad that sometimes pricks and hurts.

Before he found the correct path for his life, the Apostle Paul was subject to God’s goad. He was on a path to destroy the early church by arresting and hauling Christians before the Sanhedrin for trial and execution. Wrong way, Saul! That’s not God’s plan for you.

So, this fanatical Pharisee was stopped short on his murderous mission. Flat on his face in the dust, Jesus Himself confronted him.

Acts 9:4-5 NKJV
[4] “Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” [5] And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

Until that moment, Saul resisted the goads that Jesus used to steer him towards His plan. Now it was time to change.

Sometimes our conscience, sometimes our circumstances, sometimes God’s Word, and sometimes the people in our Iives act as goads. Whatever God uses to get our attention and redirect us along His path, best we heed the goads if we want to end up where He wants us to be.

The solution is simple

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
[5] “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Let’s not wait for the Lord to use His goad against our stubborn resistance. He will get us to where He wants to be, whatever it takes. Goads hurt! Seek His will to avoid the pain. He only uses goads when necessary.