Friday April 29, 2011

Theme: Life - If Only...

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Sing To The King - Billy Foote, Let God Arise - Chris Tomlin, You'll Come - Hillsongs, Before The Throne - Shane & Shane

Read: II Chronicles 7:14

Think: This week, we’ve been looking at the ‘if only’s’ of life, different outcomes we’d like to see in the future.  But so far, we’ve only consider the ‘if only’s’ from our own perspective.  Today, let’s end where Pastor Ben ended his Easter sermon, looking at God’s ‘if only’. 

Does it seem strange to think that God might want things to go differently?  He’s God, after all, and He could choose to make everything go exactly as He wants.  But instead of imposing His will on us, simply forcing everyone to do exactly what He knows is best, God gives us free will.  He invites us to follow His lead, but permits us to do otherwise.  Sometimes, the cost of this seems too high to me.  Given free will, mankind has made mistakes; I have made mistakes.  Pain and brokenness have, inevitably, followed.  But something in the moments when we make the right choice is important enough to God that He only invites, never compels.

Though He doesn’t force our choice, He does make it clear what He wants.  Obedience? Yes.  Worship and praise?  Yes.  But more than these, God wants fellowship with us.  He wants to live in relationship with us, with a shared love.  Obeying and worshiping Him are part of the right relationship because He is God.  But the real message of Easter is how much God desires to fix the relationship that we’ve broken.  God suffered the pain of Good Friday to bring us the joy of Easter.  ‘If only’ we will respond affirmatively to His offer, we can live in fellowship with God.

Do: The first of God’s ‘if only’s’ in our scripture reading for today is ‘if my people….will humble themselves’.  Find a quiet place to pray alone today, and, as a way of acting out humility, kneel.

Pray: Dear God, Thank you for loving me so much, and thank you for wanting my love, too.  Teach me to want what you want, God.  Show me how to humble myself and pray, to seek your face and turn from my wicked ways.  I want to know all the joys of a great relationship with You.  Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.