Let’s talk about being GODLY

Many of us are ready to get back to ‘normal,’ aren’t we?  Thousands took the streets in Michigan yesterday to express their desire to get the world moving again. The enforced isolation is not ‘natural’ causing us to feel disconnected. We are not always all that comfortable being left alone with our thoughts, are we? The routines of life can carry us from day to day, helping us to avoid much reflection. When it all slows down or even stops, we become aware of inner pain, of unresolved conflict, of unanswered questions, perhaps even of the gaps in our soul that were not so evident four weeks ago.

This pause in life, while pleasant for no one, could become a time of renewal, IF we are willing to change our inner dialogue. Instead of longing for what was are you courageous enough to ask the Lord to “give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you?”  Are you ready for Him to “remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh?” (Ezekiel 36:26) 

Before we say “Do it, Lord,” we need to understand that rich and deep intimacy with God, the Spirit, comes with a price. The process involves letting go of the familiar, even the things we always assumed to be true, so that we can take hold of the eternal riches.

Jesus, in that Sermon found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, talks about the life God desires for us. I have read that passage many times, nodding my head as if I agree, but honesty with myself demands that I admit that I sometimes regard His words as impractical or out of touch with life as I know it.  My heart holds a hidden arrogance, disguised as self-sufficiency or wisdom. But, this last month; jarring and dislocating for me, has let me see glimpses of a heart that is often resistant to the radical call of discipleship. What about you, Christian?

Let’s take a look at just three verses from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Here He offers us a prescription for healing. He sees the desperation of an empty soul, the disillusioned heart, the life that has not found meaning beyond food, fun, and comfort and invites us to let Him lead into a new place.

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less.

That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”

Matthew 5:3-5 MSG

Really, Lord?
There is a state of joy to be found in utter desperation?
You’re telling me that I can find contented peace when things and people I deeply love are lost to me? 

If we read His words superficially, not allowing them to get into our heart and head, they sound ‘nice,’ spiritual, churchy. But, Jesus is not uttering platitudes. He is inviting us to leave the old way of life that is focused almost exclusively on things we can touch, see, hold, smell, and taste to find a reality in God, Who is found only through faith. I am not really all that sure that is the life most of us want because we have so little appetite for God. Jesus spoke that when He counseled the Laodiceans. "You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be shamed by your nakedness. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference." (Revelation 3:17-19, NLT)

Are you ready to accept Christ’s invitation to grow? Or, in all honesty, are His words without meaning to you? It is just fine to admit that. In fact, that confession may well open the door to discovery. God’s truth is not ‘figured out’ like a math problem, it is received as the Spirit reveals the truth. We pray, “Lord, open my mind to truth. Put a willing and teachable attitude in me I can join you in the school of wisdom.”  And, He promises that when we ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be filled.’

Our word from the Word is a starting point. Meditate prayerfully in this and invite the Lord to start to do a ‘new thing’ in you. "But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets. No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:10-12, NLT)

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Way Maker

You are here moving in our midst

I worship You I worship You

You are here working in this place

I worship You I worship You

(You are) Way Maker
Miracle Worker
Promise Keeper

Light in the darkness

my God that is who You are

You are here touching ev'ry heart

I worship You I worship You

You are here healing ev'ry heart

I worship You I worship You

You are here turning lives around

I worship You I worship You

You are here mending ev'ry heart

I worship You yeah I worship You Lord

That is who You are

That is who You are

That is who You are

That is who You are

Even when I don't see it You're working

Even when I don't feel it You're working

You never stop You never stop working

You never stop You never stop working

Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu

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