Keep burning

Romans 12: 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord

Keeping our passion ablaze can be very difficult.  As I said in my previous blog “zeal needs a fuel” and the fuel is Jesus himself and our persistent pursuit of him.

Too often Christians look for a change of circumstances to keep their passion burning. Their thoughts might run along the lines of if only my husband / wife was a Christian it would be so much easier, if only I could change my job, house, car, school or even church I would regain my passion.  Some Christians go from conference to conference to keep their passion alight. 

But passion comes from the inside not our outward circumstances. We can be passionate people in the midst of the most mundane tasks when we get the revelation Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3: 23 – 24).

 In the day, I was a stay at home mother with four small children and there came a time when I resented this. Our church was hosting one ‘big name’ speaker after another and for various reasons I always seemed to be missing out at home.  One day I was having an almighty grumble to God about this and then very quietly I got the amazing revelation of how God viewed motherhood.  He told me motherhood is one of the highest callings a woman could have. (Please if you are single or cannot have children this does not mean you cannot live a fulfilling and satisfying life.) I thought of Mary, Elizabeth and all the nameless women in the Bible and down the years who had birthed and raised men and women of God. What an honour.

This changed my outlook on my life completely.  No longer was motherhood something to endure till I could get a ‘proper’ job but a God given calling. There were still many times in the midst of the domestic humdrum that I grumbled but now undergirding my life was a sense of purpose that sustained me through even the most tiresome of situations.

God also promised me that if we ever needed a babysitter he would provide and if I was unable to get to a meeting or conference because of childcare commitments, I would never miss out.  Immediately my heart was at peace and God has been utterly faithful to his promise.  My husband and I were even able to go to Uganda for two and a half weeks whilst a wonderful couple in the church took over our lives and children.  I can confidently assure you that 25 years later, I have never missed out on anything by looking after my children. Today it is my privilege to encourage other young ladies struggling with their calling to motherhood to stand firm against the voice of the world that says you can only find true fulfilment in going out to work.

As Simon Ponsonby writes our passion, our destiny and calling come from within not from our outward circumstances. The Westminster Catechism says, ‘Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever’. That does not come from our education, work, relationships or even church. It comes from our relationship with our heavenly Father where we can truly find satisfaction and fulfilment in even the most boring duties.

God has called us to a life of love with him and others. As we pursue him we find that our destiny is not in some mighty ministry or incredible career but in loving our family, the lost, the hurt, the rejected, those we find ourselves around every day. We are there to share God’s light and love with them and our part is to keep the light shining brightly through a passionate pursuit of the one who came as the Light of the World. 

Prayer - the first fruits of our day

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven Ecclesiastes 3: 1

There can be a great temptation at busy times or on busy days to ditch the one thing that will help us to have a productive and fruitful day.  Prayer and spending time with God is essential every day and how much more on a busy day.

I think it was Martin Luther who said that if he had a busy day, he must spend more time not less in prayer. We deceive ourselves when we think that we can manage without any time with God. It is unlikely that we will catch up on prayer later or tomorrow – we need prayer and time spent with God for today and every day. There are some wonderful quotations by some of the great men and women of God on the matter of prayer.

"Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees." Corrie ten Boom

"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." E.M. Bounds

"Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying. Paul E. Billheimer

I can go on! Look up these and many other quotes on the internet – they are inspiring but they must not just stir our hearts but inspire us to pray. The devil wants to persuade us that our prayers are not making a difference, that we are wasting our time and we would be far better getting on with some work than waste time praying. Lies and more lies. We can accomplish so much more on our knees.

If you are feeling discouraged in the place of prayer or if you have a very busy time ahead of you – let me encourage you with a testimony. When I was still working God encouraged me to rise early to meet with him every day – it was hard because I was tired and stressed – yet these precious times were the lifeline that enabled me to accomplish all that needed doing in my busy schedule.  On another day when time was not an issue I had a wonderful time of prayer with God – it was extended and could have seriously cut into the rest of the day but the incredible thing was that this day was the most fruitful day of my life.  I accomplished so much I was amazed.

Time in prayer is never wasted but it can take an effort to get going.  Be encouraged today to place the first fruits of your day in God’s hands and trust him to fulfil his plans and purposes through your prayers. He will guide your days to be fruitful and a source of great blessing to many.

Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ Jesus

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1: 3 – 6

What a wonderful declaration these verses are. God our Father has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. Just stop and consider for a moment what that means. Everything that God has can be yours. All the resources of heaven are freely available to the believing Christian through faith and what is more God wants to use us to bless the world.

The way we access these wonderful blessings is by faith. Faith is the hand that reaches into the heavenly realms and lays hold of the blessings of God for ourselves and others. Faith says ‘God is good’ and then acts on it. Faith refuses to believe that God sends bad things.

It can take perseverance to access his provision but sometimes our persistent asking is hiding a lack of faith. We go on asking yet never receive because we do not really believe we can have what we are asking God for.  How sad when Christians doubt if God wants to heal them or provide for them or when past disappointments, apparent lack of answers to their prayers or a sense of unworthiness hinders them. However instead we must let the word of God decide our actions and not our previous experiences which means we must persevere even when there is no evidence, believing our prayers are making a difference.

There must come a time when we unequivocally settle in our hearts that God wants to bless us.  Too often Christians are just not sure of God’s love for them but it is not to do with who we are but who he is. His very nature is to bless and to give freely; that is the God who has called us into his family. We don’t deserve anything but instead his grace which he has freely given us (verse 6) blesses us with all we could ever need or desire. However he also wants to use us to bless others.  If there are those around us who need God’s love, healing, deliverance, protection, peace, provision, guidance or anything else, we can be the ones to open the doors of heaven into their lives so they can know that God really does love them.

It is so good to offer to pray for people and with faith filled prayers, confident in our wonderful Father, we can see him bless the lives of others. Faith opens the doors of heaven so we can reach in and take hold of God’s blessings for ourselves but so much more we can connect others with God’s abundant provision.