Yesterday, I went to a Bible Study. Typically, Bible Study at my church is conducted by one of our pastors. So I was surprised to see one of our church members leading out the study. But I was also encouraged, quite encouraged, to see her leading out. It reminded me of when I was in college. My "church" at school was a small group of students under the name A.C.T.S. (Adventist Christians Together to Serve) who met in one of the campus buildings on Sabbath mornings. Our pastor had five churches that he pastored so he was not always able to preach at ours. Therefore, on many occasions, we conducted the entire service ourselves, from the praise and worship to the spoken word. And it was always great to hear other students who were just like me, teach me about this Jesus who we all strove to know more. It was encouraging because they didn't come from a theological standpoint with several Bible translations and a mix of Hebrew and Greek along with concepts only those who studied religion would understand, but they spoke from their experiences and their knowledge, and from what the Holy Spirit gave them to put in our hearts. My current-day church took the same approach. Bible study was intended to not only read the Bible but to use its teachings in a practical manner in our lives. And when the words are coming from someone just like me, my age, familiar with the struggles I go through, and facing the same challenges I do, it shows me how possible it is to put such lessons in place.
Last night, we were studying the transfiguration of Jesus on the mount when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus and the disciples Peter, James, and John (Matthew 17. 1-8). We started discussing how the disciples did not quite understand what this moment of transfiguration meant. We discovered that there were three purposes to this moment. The appearence of Moses foreshadowed the people who will die in Christ but will be risen, just as Moses died but was now in Heaven (Jude 9). Elijah represents those who shall not die but will be alive when Christ returns and be taken to Heaven (2 Kings 2. 1-11). In addition, Moses and Elijah appeared as encouragment to Jesus and to show the disciples that the Kingdom is Heavenly, not earhtly.
However, the disciples resposne to seeing Moses and Elijah on the mount was to build tents for them to lodge in (Mt 17.4). Why did they not understand the transfiguration? Why did they not see the message Jesus was trying to portray to them? If anybody would understand Jesus, it would be the disciples, right? They walked with Him, talked with Him, ate with Him, lodged with Him. They were always togehter. Yet even though Jesus was clearly speaking to them and clearly demonstrating a message to them, there was some static in between that created a minsinterpretation of this vision. If that static occured even with the dicisples, some of the closets people to the Savior as He walked the earth, how much more is that static apparent for us in this day and age?
Static comes in many different forms. The two we pointed out in Bible Study was our motives and our distractions. Sometimes, we come to God with a motive already in mind. We ask God to send us to California. So we look for jobs in California. We look for apartments in California. We talk to people we know in California to learn more about the area. But in acuality, this may never be the plan God has for us. When we listen to His response, the only thing we hear are those things that pertain to getting us to that place WE want to be. Then, the message we do receive from God is misinterpreted becasue we interpret it with a mind that is already made up. We try to understand it in the context that allows us to go where we want to go and have our way. When we come to God in prayer, we should tell Him our plan. But, more importantly, we should ask God to make our plan HIS plan. We should allow God to lead our lives. If we focus on our own motives, we will only hear what will put us where we want to be. But if we free ourselves from determining our own fate and put all in the hands of our Father, trusting in his predetermined destiny for us, we will be able to hear a clear connection. Then, we must obey. No matter how different it is from what we expected, what we want, or what we even like to do, it must be obeyed. His way is always the best way. In addiiton, we sometimes cannot hear God clearly because we are dsitracted. To borrow an example from a church member, imagine talking on the phone, while driving, with kids in the back seat bouncing off the walls, while in traffic, trying to eat a breakfast sandwhich, in the pouring rain. How well do you think you will be able to focus on your phone conversation? Probably not very well. It is the same with God. When we come to Him in prayer, do we do it while we are tired and falling asleep? Do we wait until we are super hungry and want to quickly bless our food before we eat? Or do we emulate Jesus and go to a quiet place (such us up a mount) during a time when there are no distractions (such as when the disciples were sleeping) and when we don't have work to worry about work (such as after a day of teaching and healing) to spend time one-on-one with the Father? If not, our connection with God can have some static in the middle. If we are so focused on what we have to do next after our prayer is over, we might not get a clear response because our head is clouded with other things. Even during church service, we might find ourselves drifting to thoughts about plans we have after service. (Note: There is nothing wrong with walking and driving and excersizing and working and doing all our daily activites while talking to God. We should let every breath be a prayer and stay in the spirit of God all day). But, there are moments when we need to reduce the noise, eliminate the areas of distraction, and focus our attention and our motives directly on the Lord. In that moment, in that time of peace and solitude, we can hear the still small voice of the Lord (1 Kings 19. 11, 12).
I encourage you today to make a conscious effort to find time to spend with the Lord and Him alone. Work towards setting a time out in the day for just you and Him. It may start as a few moments of solitude and eventually grow into hours on end of meditation of His love in your life. Despite our motives and despite the many things in this world intended to keep us away from fellowship with God, don't let these distractions determine your fate. Only you can control how you spend your time and what you do with the knowledge you posses. Simply by removing static from your life, you can reach a new level with the Lord and experience a deeper sense of His love.
Blessings
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