Praying For a Good Hard Reign

In Texas, we don’t get to experience seasons like many other regions of our great nation. No, our 4 seasons could be called Pollen, Mild Summer, Extreme Summer, and Light Jacket. We live in a very wooded subdivision, so the pollen is extreme and at any given time our cars parked outside could be mistaken for a pale yellow color. My daughter lives in Lubbock where they experience dust storms so bad that after the winds die down and the tumbleweeds roll out (no joke) everything is coated in a thick layer of tan. Neither of these things is horrible in and of themselves, but when your cars are covered in muck and you get a light drizzle, or misty dew, it only creates a muddy mess. Until you can get to the carwash, you pray for a good, hard rain that could actually remove some of the dust and reveal the car’s true colors.  

In our church, we use the word ‘believer’ to describe ourselves, because to be a Christian is to be Christ-like, and none of us fit that bill. The problem with some people is they think BECAUSE they go to church on Sundays that it makes them a better person, as if nominal Christianity will get them to heaven. It’s like being sprinkled with water…it may be enough to get you wet, but will it clean you up? A believer understands that getting clean requires soap and water, and oftentimes, a good scrub brush. You mean there’s pain involved with following Jesus? Yes, sometimes. God didn’t promise us a fairy tale life, He promised to be with us through the pain, to cleanse us and restore us to our true colors. 

Jesus told us that no one gets to the Father except through Him. No matter how many Sundays you sit in church, no matter how many casseroles you take to the shelter, or how many animals you rescue, the only thing that matters is your relationship with the Son. Yes, your actions matter, but it’s the blood that Jesus shed on the cross that will get you to heaven. 

Matthew 7:22-23 says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me.” Isaiah dealt with this as well in chapter 29:13 “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” So, we see here that it’s not enough to just “say” that we know God, it’s more important that God knows us; and the only way for God to know us is to submit to His will, trusting and believing in His Son. Ephesians 2:10 “Those who are born again by faith in Christ will produce good works to the glory of God.”

Inspired by Dennis Malek