Satan has tripped up many Christians by convincing them they’ve lost something in the Lord. The fact is, it’s a terrible sin to doubt God’s love for you and to misjudge your position in Christ by your feelings. Your day-to-day standing with Jesus has nothing to do with your zeal, tears or intensity. It rests on faith alone.
Conversion experiences are often emotional, because they are new and so incredibly special. The change that occurs in our souls is so sudden, it can be overwhelming. It is marvelous to suddenly be turned from sin and bondage to a whole new life in Christ.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Every day you do things over and over that become boring and repetitious. For example, every weekday you get up at the same hour, eat the same breakfast and make the same drive to your office. You go to the same restaurant for lunch, stop at the same coffee shop on your way home, and listen to the same radio station during the drive.
You may be totally oblivious to the tremendous maturing process taking place inside you. Paul likens our spiritual growth to the growth of our bodies. He says our souls are nourished in the same way as our physical joints, muscles and fibers. He calls this being “[increased] with the increase of God” (Colossians 2:19).
The apostle Paul assured the Thessalonians that they had learned how to walk pleasing before the Lord. He told them, “Ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). Paul then added this exhortation: “So ye would abound more and more” (4:1).
To abound means to increase. Paul was saying, “You’ve been sitting under sound gospel preaching so now you have a solid foundation beneath you. Therefore, you ought to be increasing in grace in all ways—in your faith, your knowledge, your love.”
The Lord instructed John, “Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God . . . I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Revelation 3:1).
Jesus is saying, “You may be a good person, someone who’ll do anything for anybody. You’ve got a good reputation among both the church and the world. You’re known as being truly alive in Christ, blessed of God. But an element of death has crept into your life. Something of the world has defiled you.”
Prayerless Christians don’t realize what danger they are in. You may object, “So what if some Christians don’t pray? They’re still believers—blood-cleansed, forgiven and going to heaven. Where’s the danger in growing a little lukewarm?”
I believe our heavenly Father realizes we live in a busy age, with many demands on our time and energy. And Christians are caught up in busyness and activities as much as anyone else. Yet I cannot believe God takes lightly our rejection of His access, which cost His only Son His life.
When Jesus walked the earth, He made Himself accessible to the whole population. He taught in synagogues, on hillsides, on boats. He healed the sick, performing wonders and miracles. He lifted His voice at the feasts, crying, “I am the living water. Come to Me, and I will satisfy your thirsty soul.” Anyone could draw near to Him and be satisfied.
What is the greatest pain Christ’s soul could ever experience? I believe it is that a generation that has received full, unrestricted access does not come to Him.
For centuries, God’s people yearned and longed to see the blessing of our day. The access we now enjoy is the very access Moses yearned for. It is the same access David’s heart could see but could not obtain. It is the access Daniel never had, though he prayed to the Lord three times a day. Our forefathers saw this access happening in our day, and they rejoiced for us.
In one sudden, glorious moment, Jesus provided total, unrestricted access to the Father. The Bible says that at Golgotha, on a blood-stained cross, “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51).