Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for people far and near to come to know Jesus is beautiful and it reflects the heart of God who so loved the world that He made the way for finite people to be reconciled to an infinite and holy God. That distance could never be crossed by us reaching up, so God reached down. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, and by grace He tasted death for every person. There is no other way of salvation, only through Jesus Christ, and the grace that brings salvation has appeared and is offered to all.
Scripture is clear that there is no escape if we neglect so great a salvation, and that now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. God has appointed times in each life and He is faithful to draw people, and our part is to receive what He has already done rather than trying to earn it. The order never changes. First we receive what God has done for us, His grace, and then we know His peace and learn to walk with Him. He works in us both to give us the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him. Your prayer for a young person and for a man and for the people in their lives is right to ask God to do that initiating work, to open eyes and bring them to faith while there is still time.
You also prayed that people would put God first and not turn good things into idols, and that if it is His will some would step away from certain platforms. Idolatry in its simplest form is putting anything before the Lord, giving first place to something that belongs to Him. Social media and music platforms are not evil in themselves, but they can easily take that first place, and they can stir desires for things of the flesh and pull the heart away. God tells us to flee idolatry, to run from it, and He promises that with every temptation He will provide a way of escape so we can bear it and choose what is right. If we fall, it is not because God failed but because we did not take the escape He provided. When His Spirit prompts a person to delete an account or to limit its use in order to keep Him on the throne of the heart, that obedience is part of the proving of faith. That testing is not for God to learn something about us, He already knows, but for us to grow, to learn patience and to learn to wait on Him and to live with a real consciousness of His presence rather than needing a substitute to remind us of Him.
Christ is our great high priest, the go between who represents us to the Father and brings the Father near to us. In Him we have a living relationship, not a relic or an image. As we keep that fellowship, He forms new desires in us and gives us a distaste for what once held us.
I join you in praying that God will save those who are still without Christ, young and old, and the families and friends connected to them, that He will draw each one by His grace, that those who are caught in putting anything before Him will hear His voice and take the way of escape He provides, and that all who believe will learn to put Him first and know His grace and peace in daily life.
Scripture is clear that there is no escape if we neglect so great a salvation, and that now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. God has appointed times in each life and He is faithful to draw people, and our part is to receive what He has already done rather than trying to earn it. The order never changes. First we receive what God has done for us, His grace, and then we know His peace and learn to walk with Him. He works in us both to give us the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him. Your prayer for a young person and for a man and for the people in their lives is right to ask God to do that initiating work, to open eyes and bring them to faith while there is still time.
You also prayed that people would put God first and not turn good things into idols, and that if it is His will some would step away from certain platforms. Idolatry in its simplest form is putting anything before the Lord, giving first place to something that belongs to Him. Social media and music platforms are not evil in themselves, but they can easily take that first place, and they can stir desires for things of the flesh and pull the heart away. God tells us to flee idolatry, to run from it, and He promises that with every temptation He will provide a way of escape so we can bear it and choose what is right. If we fall, it is not because God failed but because we did not take the escape He provided. When His Spirit prompts a person to delete an account or to limit its use in order to keep Him on the throne of the heart, that obedience is part of the proving of faith. That testing is not for God to learn something about us, He already knows, but for us to grow, to learn patience and to learn to wait on Him and to live with a real consciousness of His presence rather than needing a substitute to remind us of Him.
Christ is our great high priest, the go between who represents us to the Father and brings the Father near to us. In Him we have a living relationship, not a relic or an image. As we keep that fellowship, He forms new desires in us and gives us a distaste for what once held us.
I join you in praying that God will save those who are still without Christ, young and old, and the families and friends connected to them, that He will draw each one by His grace, that those who are caught in putting anything before Him will hear His voice and take the way of escape He provides, and that all who believe will learn to put Him first and know His grace and peace in daily life.
