Below is Part Two of an article by my wife, Colleen. Part One Here.---------------------------------------
During my prayer time at the church, the Lord started asking me one question over and over again. “Are you willing to die for me?” I admit I wasn’t thrilled with the question, so, I asked are you talking about spiritual, physical or emotional death?. He never answered but patiently waited for mine. I didn’t do it lightly but I said yes. Over a period of time, my answer to God’s simplest, yet hardest question has changed my life.
The Lord’s presence is a gift that he gives to his children, but it’s not without cost. The price is everything we own, all that we are, our dreams and all of the people we care about. How are we to pay such a price? We can’t, not on our own. Each time we worship God, we hand over a small part of ourselves to him and he in return replaces that part with his character. God’s gracious gift of himself is what allows us to walk deeper into his own presence. The more we give of ourselves to the Lord in worship, the more we are changed into his likeness. God’s presence inside of us is what gives us the ability to accomplish whatever he asks of us.
The Lord uses people that are willing to come before him. God never forces his will on anyone, but waits patiently until we are ready to give our all for him. I started thinking of different times in history when the Lord used people to help bring about his glory in their era. Each person was flawed, and with as much sin in their lives as anyone else. What made them different were the choices they made. All were worshipers and had a close relationship with Jesus. Each one made massive mistakes, but when they did they cried out to God, repented and went on with God’s original plans for them.
Here are a few examples of people that had an intimate relationship with God and because of it, changed history. In Genesis, the Old Testament, in the Bible is Abraham. Abraham helped to create the beginnings of the nation of Israel. Joseph, also in Genesis, saved his people, the Jews, from annihilation. King David is in the books of Chronicles and Kings in the Old Testament. David was known for his intimate worship and love of God. David sinned greatly, but when he was confronted he repented with his whole heart. David brought the nation of Israel into it’s glory days. It was the most powerful nation of its time.
The twelve disciples in the New Testament knew Jesus personally and spread the gospel to the Jews. Paul who wrote over 1/3 of the New Testament helped to spread the gospel to the gentiles. Martin Luther, the founder of the Methodist Revival created a stir in the early 1500's. He stood against church heresy and helped to bring God’s saving grace to a whole continent. Charles Finney was a big evangelist in the 1800's. Finney sent a man into a city to pray one week before his arrival. Revival broke out everywhere he went, and sometimes without his saying a word. Finney helped to bring the gospel to a whole nation. The nation that was changed was the United States of America. There are many, many more who changed history with their love of God and their obedience.
(Part Three Tomorrow)
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