40 Days Closer to Christ

What if they decided to hold a concert and every member of the orchestra showed up with their instruments tuned anyway they wanted? I’ve been to a few middle school concerts and I have to tell you that it wouldn’t be good. There must be some standard to which all the instruments are tuned, or else you end up with a cacophony. But not only do the instruments need to be tuned, but they need to be tuned to a Master note.

In my house I have three guitars. (Actually since my kids played rock star with one of them only two are playable, but for illustration purposes lets suppose all three can be played.) If I tune one of them to with a pitch pipe or with an electronic tuner than I am pretty sure that it is conditioned for optimal performance. Now I can go to the second guitar and tune it by the first one. And I can get around to tuning the third one by using the second. Theoretically, all three should be tuned up just right. But if I strum a note on the third one, and check it with the tuner, more than likely it will be a little flat or a little sharp. It is just not quite in tune. No matter how good my ear is, a little variation sneaks in as they get tuned down the line. All three guitars have different tones and pitches but if they are all tuned with the electronic tuner and to the same standard then they sound good together.

It is the same way with us. We can get pretty close to where we should be in our spirituality, in our righteousness, and in our walk with God by sharpening ourselves against each other, but we will always be a little off. We need to go back to the Master to make sure that we are where we need to be. It is Christ alone who is the standard by which we measure ourselves. And it is by Him alone that we will be able to perform as we should. That is why we take forty days leading up to Easter and use it to draw closer to Christ and to reestablish our discipleship.

Forty days is the optimal period to form a new habit, to establish a new practice, and to change the pattern of your life. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an activity (we won’t use the word program) that can change your life.

Forty is a significant number in the scriptures. When God brings about change, the scriptures often represent a significant event as having a forty day duration. Noah’s world was changed forever in forty days. Moses saw God face to face and in forty days received the word which is still the basis for law and government. The city of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes and turned away God’s wrath in the space of forty days. David became a hero after all Israel cowered under Goliath’s forty day challenge. Elijah lived by faith for forty days after God sustained him with one meal. The disciples were given the mysteries of the kingdom as they were taught by the Lord during an intensive forty day seminar after the resurrection. Jesus prepared with a forty day fast for a ministry which culminated in the salvation of mankind.

We can grow closer to the Savior as we study His life and His appearances throughout scripture. We become the people we should as we strive to lead a life of diligent discipleship. In these forty days we can review and renew the vital things that bring us to the Lord. We can refresh our memories and recall the eternal truths of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a close relationship with Him. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an opportunity to more fully develop that relationship, so that we may see as we are seen and know as we are known.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Day 33 ~ Angel of the Lord (Exodus 3:2)


Angels. We live in a very pro-angel society. We're angel obsessed. We're angel crazy. We've even been "Touched by an Angel." What do you think of when you hear the word "Angels"? Do you think of Clarence getting his wings? How about Monica explaining patiently that God loves us and has a plan for our lives. Have you heard the stories about the sudden appearance of three strangers who arrive just in time to help a church leader meet an important appointment. Were they Nephite disciples? What do we really know about angels? What is the truth about angels? Do we have it right?

Jesus is known as the Angel of the Lord. It makes perfect sense as the word angel means "messenger." As the "messenger of Jehovah" Christ has pre-incarnationly appeared to His prophets and brought them the good messages of the gospel as well as warnings to those who would not heed the commands of God. After His resurrection He appeared to John as the Angel of the Lord.

One of the most important duties of angels is to give heavenly assurance of God's eternal truths. Alma taught that angels are sent by God unto men to "converse with them," that they may "behold of His glory" (Alma 12:29). In Moroni 7:22, Mormon writes to his son that Angels are sent to "minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ, and in Christ should come every good thing." He continues in verse 25 that by the ministering of angels and by the word of God, "men began to exercise faith in Christ." Furthermore, in verse 31 we read that in the office of their ministry, angels are to declare "the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of Him."

Certainly, if anyone comes to mind as a chosen vessel of the Lord it would be Mary, the mother of Jesus. She received the visit of an angel. An angel named Gabriel,"that stand(s) in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings" (Luke 1:19). He declared unto her "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:31-33). Gabriel declared the good word unto Mary and Joseph. He also declared unto Zacharias and Elisabeth that their son John would be the Messiah's forerunner. What a glorious and wonderful mission entrusted to Gabriel! He will forever be known as the harbinger of the good news; a messenger of the advent of the birth of Christ, and the coming of God in the flesh.

We may think of Gabriel when we think of Angels at Christmas time. But perhaps we more readily think of another manifestation of angels during that blessed season; the angels singing to the Father's glory on that first Christmas Eve. A question could be posed here - What does God's voice sound like when He sings? Certainly He sings. Logic dictates it. His children sing. His creations sing. He surrounds himself with heavenly strains of praise. The Lord called David a man after His own heart - remember that David wrote hundreds of Psalms unto the Lord - it is not coincidental. We read that Christ sang with His disciples at the Last Supper. A song of praise is at once two prayers unto the Lord. Music has power. So perhaps the image of angels that we are most drawn to is the heavenly concert that was performed on that sweet Judean night. When angels sang the sweetest notes which were ever heard upon the earth as shepherds listened in the field. Shepherds are a strange choice of audience. They were the lowest of the caste system. Smelly, dirty, and rugged, they didn't fit into polite society. Yet God in His Grace made them "chosen vessels of the Lord", and sent angels to declare unto them the word of the coming of Messiah, the birth of Christ, the Hope of Israel. Perhaps the Father Himself joined in as the angels sang at the promised event.
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