Here I Am Lord

"I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is written in my heart." (Psalm 40:8)

I awoke this morning to the sound of an "Infomercial" tauting that a person could make hundreds of thousands of dollars a day selling items on eBay. Having fallen asleep with the television on, which I often do when I am on a business trip, I arose to find the remote and see if the morning news was on. "Colin Powell endorses Barack O'Bama," was the buzz of the minute as I quickly flipped through all of the so-called news choices. The Holy Spirit quickly prompted me to turn it off, make some coffee, and get into God's word. Thank you Lord!

So many things are pulling for our attention these days. The world is clamoring about everything and the media is continuously awash in the latest moment never taking the time to explain at more than a superficial level before moving on to the next "Breaking Story." The coverage and depth of substance on almost topic today is so thin that it doesn't take an astute person to see through it. Rush Limbaugh aptly calls this style of coverage and its perpetrators the "Drive-by Media."

As Christians we can fall into this trap of superficiality when it comes to our relationship with God. The pace of life and our sinful nature constantly pull at us to move on to the next thing. We must fill up our days with stuff, often ignoring or perhaps avoiding the weight and the substance of God's Word. Perhaps its the busyness or maybe, deep down in our hearts, we don't want to be bothered with that which God wants us to do.

I carry around a piece of paper entitled "The Cost of Discipleship;" it is a list taken from a sermon delivered by the Reverend Mary L. Jacobs on June 23, 2002. The list gives an answer to the question, "What happened to the twelve apostles?" While there is much controversy about the exactness of the historical record surrounding these passionate men, the fact of the matter is that this tattered document shoved into my Bible is a record of the hearts of Christians who got beyond the surface in their walks with God.

Of the 14 men listed, which represent the original twelve and the replacement (Matthais) for Judas Iscariot and Mark (writer of the Gospel), all of them except for John experienced horribly violent deaths because of their faith. These gruesome endings while fascinating from a macabre perspective, serve as a humbling reminder that faith in Jesus Christ and a relationship with God is not a trivial, "only on Sundays" activity. It is a matter of life or death, "eternal life or death.!"

While, in our current political environment, we may not be beheaded, or crucified for sharing our faith with others, we will experience other forms of "persecution" from family, friends and co-workers who do not share our passionate belief. Whatever our current circumstance, however, we must be prepared to do God's will wherever it takes us and whenever we feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

David writes prophetically in Psalm 40:7-10 (NETBible): "Then I say, “Look! I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me. I want to do what pleases you, my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.” I have told the great assembly about your justice.
Look! I spare no words! O Lord, you know this is true. I have not failed to tell about your justice; I spoke about your reliability and deliverance; I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness."

The passion here of David's words ( "your law dominates my thoughts") is the same that ignited the hearts of the disciples to go into the world at their own personal risk to tell others about Jesus. We must all have this passion especially as we face the times ahead. We must daily pray and study God's word and walk boldly into our world and not be timid about sharing what God has done in our lives.

We our live must be "living sacrifices holy and acceptable unto God." "Sacrifice" means that our lives are no longer ours, but His. We must therefore, serve him in everything we do. Let's turn off the TV and put down the remote and get off the couch and get into the game for our Lord and Savior and in humble remembrance of our fallen brothers who went bravely before us.

My prayer. Father, strengthen us today and empower us to go into a tumultuous world and walk boldly proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Prepare a way for us and let your light shine on our footsteps today. Give us the words through your Holy Spirit and prepare the hearts of those to whom we will minister. Use us today according to your will and not ours. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!