Day Four - God is God and You are Not

Welcome to day four. You doing okay? I know that a few reading this have been fasting and praying, reading their Bibles and having daily devotions longer than I have been alive. I always want to teach, but mostly I remind and encourage. If you are just adding this blog to your already-daily devotion, stay with me. If this is new to you, or you are trying to get back into God's Word, having quality time with Him regularly, I am so proud of you. Stay with me.

I want to break down A.C.T.S. two and two over the next two days. As vital as it is to pray and spend time in God's presence, it is just as critical to appreciate who He is as well as who you are and where you are.

Allow me to explain.

Read Leviticus 11:43

When Christ came, lived, died, was buried, and then resurrected, everything changed. In the Old Testament, a great degree prayed at the Temple. That was the way our God set it up. Everything then pointed to Christ/Messiah coming to be a ransom for God's children/Israel, to buy them back out of the bondage of sin, death, hell, and the grave. Hebrews makes it plain that Jesus is our High Priest.

Read Hebrews 4:14-16

He not only purchased for us our salvation but made a way for us to come into the presence of a holy God. When Christ was on the cross, the veil in the Temple split during the earth shaking, symbolically showing our access to the Holy of Holies. We no longer need a priest, nor a temple, to pray. The person who has entered into a personal relationship with Christ now can communicate with their Creator and Savior directly.

Read Romans 8:26-27 

When we pray, we are before God's Throne. We are talking to the Almighty. The very least we can do is A - Acknowledge Him, Adore Him. Take just a moment and say, for example, "Oh, God, You are awesome, worthy of praise. I love You, Lord. I know You are holy, supernatural, sovereign, loving, merciful, just, good, vengeful and jealous. I humbly come before You now. . .".
On our website, under What We Believe, you will find a list/description of what the Bible says about God the Father, Son, and Spirit. Read it. Know it. Pray it back to God.

When you do, you will join Isaiah. You will be led to C - Confess your sins.

Read 1 John 1:9

Romans 3:23 is so plain: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."'

Read Ephesians 2:1-4

We are not worthy to have anything to do with God. But God, who is rich in mercy, first loved us (v. 4). Wow!!! I try to never have my devotion without doing these two things.

He is God, and I am not.

BTW, public prayer is so not devotional praying. Public praying is usually purposed around the setting - i.e., before the offering, before the sermon, before the game or race. For that matter, so is sentence praying, like "God, help me _________." I encourage devotional prayer of a morning. Start your day with God, so as you need to talk to Him for various purposes through the day, and you will have already praised Him and repented of your sinfulness. Practice a form of this praying, and watch your intimacy grow.


In Christ,
Pastor Todd