i am my Lord’s advocate

“For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me” (Psalm 69:9 NAS95).

“My zeal has consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words” (Psalm 119:139 NAS85).

There has never been nor will it be a man like Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. He was and is perfect in every way. If we, men, would fix our eyes on Him and imitate His life so closely, instead of looking to follow the ‘big boys’ of this world, human history would certainly be something completely different than what it is. Not only was Jesus perfect in regards to sin, but also was He perfect in His love and obedience to His Father. If there was ever a man who was able to obey the first and greatest commandment of all, that was Messiah Jesus. I know we attribute the above psalms to king David, and I also know that God Himself testified that David was a man after His own heart. However, we all know that David was far from being obedient all the time. He might have been a terrific psalmist and warrior, but he also was a disaster of a father and husband. These words had to be fulfilled by someone else, as the rest of all the Law and the Prophets were, and that someone was my Lord and my God.

All throughout Jesus’ life, we hear statements like I have to be doing my Father’s business, I only do what the Father shows me, I came to do my Father’s will. He was consumed with His Father’s glory, His Father’s honor, His Father’s words and His Father’s will. It seems as if nothing else mattered to Him. He never retaliated or rebuked others when He was insulted, mistreated and rejected, but He was always ready to defend His Father. So much so that the above psalms were fulfilled while He was cleansing His Father’s Temple from the people who have turned it into the biggest business of all in Israel at that time. Oh that the church would become this zealous for Christ’s and the Father’s glory and honor!!!

I am of the opinion that many sections of the church in the West have become irrelevant because we lack this type of zeal. I am not talking about religious fervor, based on traditions and falsehoods. I am talking about this zeal that my Lord had and still has for His Father to be honored and not dishonored. I know that there are many believers around the world ready to die for their zeal towards God and His Son, but it seems that in the West, we are too busy trying to accommodate the world’s preferences. We want to dress and look like the sinful world; we accept sinful lifestyles and never say anything against them; we dismiss the Word of God as the only and ultimate authority on morality. We even have copied their singers and their song styles. I am too guilty of this, and I also understand that that is how the church had lived for all these centuries, always being tempted to compromise the Truth with the world’s standards. But I think that my Lord and my God will be most honored and praised if we would have this kind of zeal.

My circle of influence is not as big as other believers’ are, but I want to become my Lord’s advocate, even in my little bubble. I know He is my advocate before my Father in heaven and in reality He does not need my advocacy (He is Almighty God), but I want to advocate for His glory here on earth. I have given myself the task to call out sin wherever I find it, starting in me; I refuse to compromise His commands in exchange for the world’s approval. I want to exalt and honor His words by diligently studying them, applying them to my own life first and then proclaiming them to others, always striving to provide the right interpretation. I want to be willing to die, if need be, for the honor and praise of my Lord, but before I die, I want the reproaches from the sinful evil system that are meant to fall on Christ, to fall on me; days are becoming darker and darker, spiritually speaking, and I am under no delusion that the victory of the conservative party in America will change the course of this nation. The Bible predicted long ago the end of all nations, including this beautiful and amazing country that I have called my own. If persecution ends up happening here as well, I want to be willing to sacrifice my comfort, my material possessions, friends and family and even my own life for the glory of my Lord and the praise of His Name. Amen!

Father, I pray that the zeal for you and your Son also consumes me!