Saturday 11/22/14

Saturday, November 22, 2014 [by Keesha Sullivan]

     I felt a warm, heavy burden on my chest. My eyes were tightly shut. Although I knew there were many people around me, I was only aware of the presence of the Lord and myself. As the warmth grew hotter, revelation began to come. I felt as though God began to gently speak to me. What the Lord would reveal to me had been revealed to David long ago. 

     Psalm 119:19 says, “I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me” (New American Standard Bible). In this scripture, the psalmist calls himself a stranger. To be a stranger according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is to be “one who does not belong,” a “visitor,” “outsider,” or someone in an “unfamiliar place.” Due to him being a stranger, he wasn’t looking to follow the commandments/ways set by the world. He was looking to follow the commandments/ways of our Living God. He wanted to know and follow the ways of his true home, so that He could please God. Like David, the psalmist understood that although he was in the world that he was not of this world (see Psalm 39:12). He was a man after God’s own heart, and his one goal was to please God. 

     In Romans 12:1-2 Paul writes, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (New International Version). Another translation says, “Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God's compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants-what is good, pleasing, and perfect” (God’s Word Translation). 

     The only way to determine what God really desires and to please Him is by becoming a stranger of this world and a citizen of heaven. 

     Lord, thank You for giving us Your Word and examples of men and women that desired to please You. Thank You Lord that David’s greatest and only true desire was to please You. Soften our hearts O’Lord and make them hearts of flesh. Help us to present our bodies to You. Help our one desire to be holy, set apart for you Lord. Help us to choose to be holy and ready to do Your will. We love you Lord. We thank You so much for Your love and Your mercy. Thank You for answering our prayers. 

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Psalm 39:12 - ““Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.”