Yeah..its been a really long time since Ive last posted.
I get the chance to give a quick devotional tonight at the youth groups bonfire, so I thought i mine as well write out my thoughts on here.
Ive been really struggling with having a desire and passion for God. Which leads me to not spending the amount of time with Him that I should or worshipping Him in a way which He deserves.
And Im fairly confident a lot of people go through this..often. Especially when we are so busy with fun things to do during our crazy summers. I know Im not the only one who gets bored in the middle of sermons, worship, or reading my bible. Id rather be doing other things.
But I reached the conclusion of why we feel this. Its because we simply do not know WHO HE IS, are not SEEING HIM currently for who He actually is, or realize all HE HAS DONE.
Because when our minds can wrap around that truth, thats when we desire God. Desire to read and hear about Him. Desire to worship Him.
So i picked out some verses that can remind us of who God is...and who it actually is that we talk about and sing and pray to.
first- Isaiah 6:1-4 "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is filled with His glory!' And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him who called, and the house was filled with smoke."
We see another pretty intense view of God on His throne in Rev 4:1-8
"After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.' At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four throne, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 'HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME!'
-Pause. How often do we get sick of singing worship in general, let alone a single song..or better yet, a single word! HOLY!! But why is it that they can do that for eternity? Because they are covered in eyes. So they are constantly looking at the NEVER ENDING GOD. Not because theyre forced to, but because they have no other desire except to look at Him! They constantly have more qualities of God to discover..because He is endless! They constantly see new qualities of God that make Him worthy to be praised.
Shows if we ever think we know a lot about God..we have a far way to go!! Just like the creatures with all their eyes, who have been staring at God for eternity, never run out of new things to discover about God, so will we never run out of new realizations and revelations about Him! crazy.
Okay to continue Rev 4 (vs. 9-11)
"And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.' "
-How often do the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to God? CONSTANTLY FOR ETERNITY. So how often do the elders throw down their crowns before God and worship Him? CONSTANTLY FOR ETERNITY. And why? The elders say it in vs. 11. Because WORTHY are you our Lord and God! Because HE IS WORTHY!!!
Next- Rev 1:12-18
This is written by the apostle John, who at the time was caught up in a vision in heaven when He saw Jesus.
"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many wates. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore."
Woah. Intense. Thats not the Jesus we tend to see in paintings..holding a fluffy little sheep. And its important to remember this is John speaking..the disciple who stated he was Jesus' beloved disciple. Him and Jesus were close friends while Jesus was on the earth. But that did not hinder Jesus' glory when John saw Him in His heavenly form! John saw Him and fell as though dead! Thats how GLORIOUS He must look!!
Or next..how about a really simple one. Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Even the first four words by itself is enough..."In the beginning, God.."
Nothing else existed. No matter. No form. There was NOTHING. Just Him.
If that doesnt blow your mind== then either your mind is not comprehending it, or nothing would be able to blow your mind. Because thats insane to think about.
Or my last example, another very well known verse- John 3:16-17.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."
-To think about Jesus leaving the place He had in heaven..completely perfect with no pain, and he sacrifices all of it to come to earth and take the wrath of God on himself- so He can spend eternity with us! Which none of us deserve in the first place! Thats all crazy as well.
Basically what I want to get across is how WORTHY God is of our time and attention. We get so distracted so easily. All of us.
The creatures and elders praise Him constantly for eternity. Can you think of anything worthy enough to be able to do for eternity? Or even a year straight? Nothing except for Him is worthy of that amount of time and attention!
But until we get our minds to understand how big and great He is- we wont be able to gain passion in our hearts for Him. And as long as we are serving and spending time with Him out of obligation, it will NEVER last. Its the same reason why new year resolutions dont last...they are attempted out of obligation. Not out of desire and passion for the goal.
So when we begin to wrap our minds around who He actually is and what He has done- Then praying to Him wont seem like an obligation, but instead an honor. We GET TO personally speak to the God that created the earth and the universe and the same God who is sitting on the huge throne in heaven RIGHT NOW.
Or when we read our bibles- it wont be out of obligation, but instead itll be like reading and learning about a significant other or a crush- you can not wait to learn more about who they are and what they like and dislike!
And worshipping will seem like the least we can do in comparison to what He deserves..which is EVERYTHING.
So I encourage and challenge you to spend time with Him..but form your mind to understanding God, so that your heart may feel the passion towards Him!
