παντελὲς

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

-Hebrews 7:25

παντελὲς - completely, fully, to the uttermost, forever

Can't you hear Him practically begging you?  "Come to me, let your soul find rest.  My burden is easy, share your burden with me.  Let's shoulder your heavy load together, do not be too proud for my help."

Been sinning lately?  Think you are unworthy?  Well, you are unworthy--unless you submit to  God.  To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, God does not need us, but chooses to want us so badly because we humans have a craving to be needed and wanted.

God actually chooses to chase us.  He does not chase us with overbearing ruthlessness, but gracefully.  Why?  Because He knows that without Him you are doomed, literally.  You see, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time.  God is begging us to come near to Him so He can help us, not rob us of our fun or independence.

Is Christianity just a "crutch?"  Absolutely.  You have a shattered femur and have to walk a while.  Are you too reserved or intellectual to use a crutch?  You will not get very far crawling on your belly.  There is a story of a guy who refused to let God be his crutch and ended up crawling on his belly.  Check out Genesis chapter one.  His name is Satan, the Serpent--and he is not as cool as the Rolling Stones make him out to be.

This is not just some life enhancer, though it does that.  It is not some religion, though there are a few rules to follow.  It is this: we need help, and Jesus is trying to help you.  All to often we refuse to stick out our hand for His help... we love ourselves and our sin more than our souls.  Which is fine, I suppose, so long as we do not mind the consequences.

Take a load off.  Read these old lyrics.  Make them your own.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
fore_the_throne_of_god_above.html ]
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Oswald Chamber's Wisdom on Sin and Grief

"A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isaiah 53:3

We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we find the presence of something which we have not taken into consideration, viz., sin, and it upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and as the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life.

Perfecting Prayer Audio Sermon

Korean Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis 6/12/2011

click here to listen or download!

Motivation! Thumbs Up!

The Jesus Prayer

For Christians, prayer should be like breathing. You do not have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and essentially forces you to breathe. That is why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we are born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual atmosphere where God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our lives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer.

Unfortunately, many believers hold their “spiritual breath” for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is that every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, to be fully functional. ---GotQuestions? Ministries

These guys say it better than I ever could.  Check out their article What does it mean to pray without ceasing?

However, I have had something else in mind.  It is an old Russian spiritual book by an anonymous pilgrim with a withered arm who was dead-set on praying the Jesus Prayer (an ancient mantra used by Eastern Orthodox, and other, Christians.  The book is called The Way of a Pilgrim.

I'm only into chapter 3, but have learned quite a bit so far.  Being the protestant I am, I blissfully disregard the extremely few-and-far between parts that speak about the Mother of God, Mary, and other things such as icons and feasts which I do not celebrate.  A true child of God will not fear such petty issues because a true child of God serves the Highest Authority possible who will punish falsehoods and heresies.

That aside, I have been really interested in this Jesus Prayer, to the point of using it myself the past few weeks.     I have been afraid of falling into some mystical false religious meditation, but reciting the short mantra, or chant (not to be confused with the Buddhist or Hindu use of mantra), "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me," has enriched my prayer life lately.

As the pilgrim in the book says, and I believe many Eastern Orthodox Christians will affirm, the Jesus Prayer is a sort of summary of the Gospels. This is a stretch to me.  There can be no replacing the Gospels since they are the inspired and entirely infallible words of God.  But this thought did spur me on to think about each individual word in the mantra.

Lord- ruler, king, master, higher than us, sovereign
Jesus- loving, passionate, righteous, sinless, Son of God, Savior, our atoning sacrifice, bold, able to forgive sins and punish sins
Christ- Messiah, Chosen One of God, our hope
Have Mercy- what our plea and prayer should be for everything, what to beg when we sin or need help overcoming
On Me- the once-perfect creature known as man who continually chooses to rebel God and re-crucify the Savior with sin

Of course there are other prayers to pray and this is not a necessity, but reciting it for myself has helped me keep my mind on Him.  It is short and sweet and to the point, but is not to replace other prayers.

Also, I am running late for work!  See ya.