Tues, 03/14/17, "Day of Praise"
In 2017, our church is focusing on prayer. During this season of Lent leading up to Easter, our church is narrowing that prayer focus to "transforming prayer." At the heart of the transforming prayer book we're reading together is the truth that prayers filled with heartfelt praises for who God is (distinct from prayers that focus on asking God for all our requests) are prayers that flow from knowing the God of creation (distinct from praying to a god of our own creation, which of course is no god at all).
So transforming prayer is praise prayer flowing from the deep desire to know God as God has revealed himself to us in his mighty acts of creation, in Holy Scripture, and ultimately in Jesus Christ. It is prayer flowing from seeking the face of God. It is prayer resulting in both an ever-deepening relationship with the true God of creation and also an ever-deepening confidence that God has already made plans to provide us with all that we ever truly need. Requests are welcome in transforming prayer, but in light of the face of the living God, we just know that we know that we know that we know that God has already planned to answer all the requests for the things that we really need.
Earnestly seeking God's face leads to praising God for who God truly is which leads to radical confidence in God's radical provision.
Prayer desiring to know and praise God changes things. It changes us.
In seeking to know God through Jesus, we are given to see that God knows us, warts and all, and still loves us with a never-failing love.
There are few greater joys than being known and still being loved. In this vein, we often think about being known as the reason for not being loved. But what about being loved while not being known?
It is easy for us to love God because, through Jesus, we know that God has saved us and "will save us" (Isaiah 33:22). But do we love God without really knowing God? Yes, God saves us, and praise God for that! But today's verse makes clear that God is also judge, lawgiver, and king.
Do we know and love God as judge, lawgiver, and king? In my experience, people don't want to hear about God as judge, lawgiver, and king. But how can you really love God if you don't know God?
In brief, that God is Judge is to be an authority who is able to estimate worth or quality. God estimates that you are of such great worth that God sends his son, Jesus, to die for you! So let's love God as Judge.
That God is Lawgiver is to be one who gives a code of laws to a people so that they're not constantly hurting each other. God is very clear in the Bible as to how we can have good relationships and not constantly hurt each other. So let's love God as Lawgiver.
That God is King is to be a ruler of an independent state, especially one who has the position by right. There's no doubt that God has the right to be King. But obedience to God the King, where obedience equals "trust in action", is a major part of being "a citizen" in God's "independent state." As we hear in Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." So let's love God as King.
Judge, Lawgiver, King. God calls us in today's verse to know that the Lord God "is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king" in addition to being the one "who will save us".
We certainly love God for saving us. But let's read our Bibles and love our neighbors on Mondays through Saturdays and be in church on Sundays so we can grow in our knowing God and our love for God as Judge, Lawgiver, and King too.
After all, as we said at the start, there are few greater joys than being known and still being loved. So just as God clearly knows us and still totally loves us, let's get to know more about God so we can grow in our love and praise for God too!
Praise God!
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