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.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Day 9 ~ Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)


The snow was falling lightly, and the wind was blowing the flakes in tiny swirls around the roadway. Ahead of me suddenly, frozen in the headlights was a beautiful creature; a large stream-lined dog. It took me about five seconds to realize that it wasn't a large dog. It was a wolf. Wolves are somewhat rare in Erie County. But there he was - and after a moment or two he slipped off into the darkness, a ghost in the night. A hunter by nature, God had designed him to thrive in his world. The wolf had the tools of nature to satisfy his needs. God had given him instincts and traits which would allow him to fulfill the measure of his creation.

Those instincts can be turned against him, though. Paul Harvey once related a legend about how people living above the Arctic Circle used to deal with wolves when they became a problem. The Eskimo would take a knife and coat it in blood, let it freeze, then re-dip it. In this way it got many coats on it. Then they planted it in the frozen ground with the bloodied blade sticking up. The wolf could smell the blood, even frozen, and was attracted to it. He begins to lick the knife - cautiously and gingerly at first - but with increasing eagerness with each passing moment. The hunger overcomes him and he cannot help himself as he continues to lick away the coatings of blood on the trap. The blade, slowly exposed, begins to cut away at the lips and tongue of the animal. The wolf, entrapped in his own bloodlust, does not even notice that now it is his own lifeblood which is feeding his passion. Eventually, and much quicker than some would imagine, he succumbs, more a victim of his own passion than of the men who fastened the blade.

Sometimes our desires and appetites are like the bloodied blade. Traps like drugs, gambling, and sexual promiscuity offer a tempting but destructive end if we partake of it. Our attitude concerning money, power, and even unbridled feelings towards each other may become the blade which is turned against us. The trick is to realize when we are letting our bloodlust overcome us. We have to step back from the blade and realize who put it there in the hope that we will injure ourselves on it. Even virtues may become vices if wrongly focused. Being passionate and enthusiastic is one thing, but being consumed by "bloodlust" is another.

We need a tracker to get us by the wolf traps. We need a guide who has seen the lay of the land and can not only lead us to our needs, but keep us from harm. We need a life counselor. Christ, the Son of Man of Counsel (Moses 7:35), has learned all from the Father. He, too, bears the name-title Counselor. Isaiah so designates him as Counsellor (KJV spelling) in the most famous of Messianic prophecies in Isaiah 9:6-7. Bruce R. McConkie said, "The name bears record of his pre-eminent position among men where the exercise of deliberate judgment and prudence are concerned. His counsel is: Come unto me and be saved."

Come unto me, He calls. Shouldn't we heed the summons? Trackers are no good if we don't follow them. Guides are useless if we walk away from the group. Counselors avail nothing if we don't sit in session with them. Too often we try to tell the Lord what we think is best for us, we counsel Him instead of letting Him counsel us. Jacob reminds us "brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works" (Jacob 4:10).

The Holy Ghost, prayer, scriptures, prophets, many things show us His leading. We have so many gifts that we can consult to learn His ways. Therefore, let us "counsel with the Lord in all [our] doings, and he will direct [us] for good; ...and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." (Alma 37:37)

*The KJV translators put a comma between Wonderful and Counsellor. Most scholars believe that the title is actually "Wonderful Counsellor" (no comma).
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)