"He walked away, about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.' Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him." -Luke 22:41-43
Have you ever prayed the prayer above? Have you ever said to God, "Not my will Father, but yours be done"? What an amazing statement by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It may seem like quite a dangerous statement. Do we really trust God enough to completely give our lives over to Him? Are we really willing to do anything? However, I would argue that it is even more dangerous to get to the end of our lives, stand before God, and fail to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant..."
When we first accept Jesus as our Savior, we entrust our spiritual well-being and the destination of our soul to Him. Then, we progressively begin to understand what it means to live out the words, "not my will, Father, but yours be done."
Even though Jesus was Lord over the universe, He still deferred His authority to His Father, God - God of all creation. And through Jesus' willingness, God was able to accomplish something miraculous through Him. His death... His resurrection. He completely changed the world.
Have you ever prayed that prayer, "Not my will, but Yours be done?" I wonder how the world could be changed by our willingness to do anything, to be whatever God needed us to be. Will you have the faith and courage to pray it today?
“I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me.
Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.” -Galatians 1:12
Have
you ever gotten a revelation before? A revelation is different from
just receiving information. I remember when I got the revelation that
God really did love me... my life has never been the same!
There is plenty of information going around in the world, and in
churches too. But what about revelation? How do we know when we’ve
received a revelation? You’ll know that you’ve received a revelation on
something when you receive something powerful in your spirit, along
with the words that are being expressed. Revelation comes through the
heart, while knowledge comes through the mind. However, revelation, if
it’s truly revelation, will not only change our hearts, but it will also
renew our minds. Getting a revelation transforms us, helping us become
more like Christ.
How can we get revelation, or - how can we give it to others? In
the Bible, it says revelation was given by the spirit. We can share the
revelations we have received with others, so that they will receive the
same revelation too. But, there will be people in your life that may
not get the same revelation even if you tell them about it. Revelation
is caught, not taught - and can be received in church services, in
prayer, or at any time we are attune to God’s voice in our lives. True
revelation will always align with the plumb line of God’s word.
Have you gotten a revelation lately? I pray each of us receive regular
revelation, not just information, concerning the things of God, so that
we and others might be truly transformed.
