Skip to main content

Weeping Inside

Translation of the previous post: Плачам внатре

 I must confess that something is burning inside of me today.  I was thinking like Jeremiah of old: Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. (Jeremiah 20:9). God's Word is burning in me because it is the truth. The truth can only light our path. David writes in Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I ask myself if I love God's Word as God's authority on earth or are the thoughts of man more important? The question entered my mind yesterday after a conversation with a very dear lady. We talked about our faith, but the woman was more enthusiastic about the saints and icons in her hair salon than about Jesus Himself. In all honesty, I was weeping inside. Which saint died for me? Which icon suffered for my sins? I weep as I write. When will we understand that our Saviour, the beloved Son of God paid a huge, inexpressible price for us? Only through His precious blood do we have access to God's throne and presence. The Bible says:

 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:15-20

 There is no one greater, more powerful or more worthy than Jesus. He is preeminent in all of in creation. If we bow down to anything else, before any object or image, we are blaspheming the Son of God. Today, the following words are burning in me: 

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

These words are found in Exodus 20:2-5 - THE FIRST COMMANDMENT!!

Jesus said: God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

What does this look like?

Do we still have to bring sacrifices?



Definitely NOT! But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:12

This is what worshipping in spirit and in truth looks like:



May God's Word burn in us from today and forever! Jesus said: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words. John 14:23-24

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Mystery that is Macedonia

When I first came to Macedonia on a visit in 2001, I found this little country so intriguing and breathtakingly beautiful that I happily accepted the invitation to return for a longer period. That ‘longer period’ has now extended itself to several years during which I have had many enriching, memorable experiences. I thought it might be interesting to jot down a few observations about the difference in culture. I appeal to my Macedonian readers not to misunderstand my intentions. What I have observed are customs and habits which are as normal to you as breathing and sleeping, but to someone from an entirely different culture, they are both interesting and noteworthy. It is always thrilling for me to explore how various nations function and it is nothing short of a privilege to experience a foreign culture first-hand. Hospitality Macedonians are a friendly, hospitable people. I do not know how many times they have almost literally killed me with kindness. Indeed, I have often...
8 comments
Read more

Is Belief In God Blind Faith?

Stephen Hawking famously said: There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark. Comparing the human brain to a computer, he firmly declared his atheistic stance. Dr John Lennox’s reply to this statement turned it on its head: Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light! Who has the correct perception? Are we just living in a sphere of darkness without God or can we find evidence for God’s light and creatorial power? Evidence for God’s existence The order and design of creation. This is the most compelling sign in my opinion. I cannot look at the beauty and detail of creation without marvelling at the Creator. In the 1980s theoretical biologist, Dr Hans Meinhardt, began to wonder how the beautiful patterns of shells formed. As he researched, he discovered that the rules which govern the formation of the patterns in nature such as leaf arrangements, sand dunes and snowflakes, were the s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Christmas Memory

As I settle in my seat on the balcony of this historical German church, I can hardly contain my excitement. A feeling of jubilant anticipation pervades the air as people find their seats and the orchestra warms up. The  Thomanerchor  (St. Thomas Choir) *  files into lines at the front of the church and a reverent hush finally settles over the audience. The timpani drums roll, the notes from the flutes and oboes flutter delicately to the church rafters, and the trumpets sound joyfully: Jauchzet, frohlocket! Auf, preiset die Tage …   (Shout for joy, exult, rise up, praise the day) resounds the choir. Transported by the heavenly tones, I close my eyes. In my mind, it is the 25th of December, 1734. Cantor Johann Sebastian Bach is leading the elite male choir on this chilly, Christmas morning. For the first time, the magnificent tones of the  Christmas Oratorio  are reverberating in St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn ...
Post a Comment
Read more