Proverbs 30:8+9
"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God."
Falsehood: false shows | false appearances of happiness | every vain expectation | trying to live up-to something that is shallow and materialistic. *Derived from the Hebrew word: SHAV = vanity.
Lies: words of deception | empty pretensions | false promises | words that fail.
Let my heart not be set on anything that is not solid, true, durable and eternal.
Keep me at a distance from material temptations. Our appetite should not hunger after ways to satisfy meaningless desires; our appetites should hunger after the true and eternal God and HIS ways. This is the prayer of a true wisdom seeker. He seeks from the Lord honesty in heart and sufficiency in Him. This is a prayer to stay dependant on God and not to be self-sufficient.
Do not give me riches - preserve my heart from idolatry.
Give me my daily bread - that I may continue to depend on YOU alone.
Give me an honest heart that honours the name of my God.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
draw near to God and he will draw near to you
Isaiah 58
"For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
How many of us can remember times when we've asked ourselves "where is God?" How many times have we felt like God has ignored our prayers or overlooked our hurts and needs. Maybe even now, you feel like God isn't coming near to you. Maybe you wonder why you can't feel God in your life the way you see and hear others describe… I absolutely love how Isaiah 58 starts out with questions just like these. If you skipped over the passage up above - go back and read it. The people are saying 'we've fasted and sought you out so that we can know your ways - get some direction - some help! We've come before you so why haven't you noticed us?!'
The problem is… the people 'SEEM eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God…' Its all outward. You can call it a show, call it fake, call it religious - their hearts just aren't in it. They are a nation that ISN'T doing what is right… they HAVE forsaken the commands of their God and yet they expect God to just answer their every request when they come before Him….
I imagine God thinking, "it's not going to work that way." The very beginning of Isaiah 58 (vs 1) starts with "Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins." Isaiah is about to do just that… so keep reading. We ALL need this wake-up call.
Isaiah is saying to the people… yeah right! Maybe you should focus first on what God wants to do IN you rather than being SO focused on what YOU want God to do FOR you. Look at your life, look at your heart; is there even room for God to do what he needs to do in there… you are so self-absorbed and insincere in your worship (fasting). Here's how...
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?"
"you do as you please and exploit all your workers"… He's saying, how does it make any sense at all for you to spend a day fasting out of worship to me, yet you make your workers continue their work so as to keep you from losing profit!!!! You aren't willing to lay it all aside. In today's terms… sure we go to church, we spend a day in rest in order to focus our lives on God - but do we turn off the cellphones and the pagers? Can we leave the office at the office? Can we leave e-mails unchecked and phone calls unanswered OR are we so consumed and concerned about continuing our work out of fear of losing money or business etc.?
Is our day of rest - is our fast - truly focused on the Lord as it should be? Are we fully consumed by HIM or are we only giving him a piece of ourselves because we aren't willing to take our attention off of ourselves, our money, our joy, our pleasures etc.
"Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists"… Can we really fast - or go to church, yet continue to argue with others, fight with our family, yell at the kids, be bitter with the spouse, hold grudges against a friend, be angry with a coworker… does it work that way? NOPE! "YOU CANNOT FAST AS YOU DO TODAY AND EXPECT YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD ON HIGH!"
BAM! You won't be heard. You aren't sincere. You aren't humble. You aren't selfless… and he won't have any of that.
Can you fast one day and feel all tingly inside and the very next day just be back at the same old life routine - nothing changed - no growth? NO! Can we seriously just walk into church and then walk out again - feel all spiritual on Sunday and then on Monday be completely back at our selfishness? NO! And then when we feel like we need an extra hand, we'll cry out to God and expect Him to respect our plea?
"Is is only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on a sackcloth with ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" Are you doing what you should be on the outside? Back then, a genuine sign of a fast was marked by tearing of the clothes and putting on sackcloth and pouring ashes over the head - but unfortunately the people took away the significance of these things when they started to do them in a shallow and insincere, heartless way. It wasn't genuine… they did what they needed to to look all spiritual on the outside - but on the inside, they were dirty. They would bow low to the ground, call aloud to God - but it was a show. They wanted to get God's attention by using the symbols, but without having to surrender their hearts.
and Isaiah is saying it's not going to work.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
We want God to hear us? We want him to draw near to us so we can experience him on a deeper more intimate level? Well then we first need to deal with our sin as Isaiah previously touched upon (I imagine he was more-so yelling at the people to get it together…) and then we need to hear God's words on how to get it right…
Loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke. Get rid of the sin in your life that is holding you down and holding you back. Sometimes we have blatantly obvious sins that we KNOW we need to deal with {pornography, lust, lies, alcohol, addictions, anger, jealousy, greed, the list goes on.. and on.. and on} so start DEALING with them! Not alone, but by the power given to us through Christ! We CAN overcome because He HAS overcome. Galatians 5:1 "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!" Sometimes there are things that we are chained to that we aren't even fully aware of, so pray that the Spirit will open your eyes to those things and that he would help you feel release and freedom; freedom to start walking in the right direction without anything burdening you or slowing you down. Get right before God. Thats where we need to start.
Whats next? GIVE to the needy and HELP those who need help. Don't wait for someone else to come along, some homeless shelter or humanitarian - take action yourself. We all need to get this - its OUR job! Care for those who need help taking care of themselves, give to those who need help financially, feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are left on the streets in the winter, encourage those who need it, love those who feel lonely… start ACTING! The Freedom mentioned above, that freedom we find in Christ WILL express itself outwardly in our actions. If we are set free - we will work to help free others.
and.. once we begin to pull ourselves together…
"THEN your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!"
How amazing is our God? Seriously… GET THAT! Isaiah is telling the people to get it together and THEN they will experience God on a new level. They will feel that deep personal love for Christ that will change their mindset - that will change their life. Healing will come - they will be seen as righteous people. Isn't that what we want? To be seen as righteous? Living a life that when tempted is able to choose Christ. Living a life that is reflecting the life of Christ? Isaiah says that "the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard"… AMAZING! God will be there with us all the way - all the time - through it all. He will be watching us, protecting us, guiding us… that is OUR GOD! There will be times of trouble, but when we call for help he will answer us, he will not delay!
I guess in the end, this entire passage just remind me of the verse in James (4:8) "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." We need to give our full-hearted attention to God - all of who we are - truly - sincerely. Realize that we NEED him. We WANT him. Draw near to God - put aside your sin - stop living for yourself - stop living for the world - live for the King and for the Kingdom. Let Christ manifest in our hearts so that we reflect Christ himself - giving to the needy - caring for the orphan and the widow - sharing the gospel with the lost. When we do our part - God is more than willing to blow our minds. He is just waiting for us to GET IT. His gift of grace and mercy is free - but it came at a price - we need to realize what that price was and let that work in our hearts to change our attitude and our mindsets.
"For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
How many of us can remember times when we've asked ourselves "where is God?" How many times have we felt like God has ignored our prayers or overlooked our hurts and needs. Maybe even now, you feel like God isn't coming near to you. Maybe you wonder why you can't feel God in your life the way you see and hear others describe… I absolutely love how Isaiah 58 starts out with questions just like these. If you skipped over the passage up above - go back and read it. The people are saying 'we've fasted and sought you out so that we can know your ways - get some direction - some help! We've come before you so why haven't you noticed us?!'
The problem is… the people 'SEEM eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God…' Its all outward. You can call it a show, call it fake, call it religious - their hearts just aren't in it. They are a nation that ISN'T doing what is right… they HAVE forsaken the commands of their God and yet they expect God to just answer their every request when they come before Him….
I imagine God thinking, "it's not going to work that way." The very beginning of Isaiah 58 (vs 1) starts with "Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins." Isaiah is about to do just that… so keep reading. We ALL need this wake-up call.
Isaiah is saying to the people… yeah right! Maybe you should focus first on what God wants to do IN you rather than being SO focused on what YOU want God to do FOR you. Look at your life, look at your heart; is there even room for God to do what he needs to do in there… you are so self-absorbed and insincere in your worship (fasting). Here's how...
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?"
"you do as you please and exploit all your workers"… He's saying, how does it make any sense at all for you to spend a day fasting out of worship to me, yet you make your workers continue their work so as to keep you from losing profit!!!! You aren't willing to lay it all aside. In today's terms… sure we go to church, we spend a day in rest in order to focus our lives on God - but do we turn off the cellphones and the pagers? Can we leave the office at the office? Can we leave e-mails unchecked and phone calls unanswered OR are we so consumed and concerned about continuing our work out of fear of losing money or business etc.?
Is our day of rest - is our fast - truly focused on the Lord as it should be? Are we fully consumed by HIM or are we only giving him a piece of ourselves because we aren't willing to take our attention off of ourselves, our money, our joy, our pleasures etc.
"Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists"… Can we really fast - or go to church, yet continue to argue with others, fight with our family, yell at the kids, be bitter with the spouse, hold grudges against a friend, be angry with a coworker… does it work that way? NOPE! "YOU CANNOT FAST AS YOU DO TODAY AND EXPECT YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD ON HIGH!"
BAM! You won't be heard. You aren't sincere. You aren't humble. You aren't selfless… and he won't have any of that.
Can you fast one day and feel all tingly inside and the very next day just be back at the same old life routine - nothing changed - no growth? NO! Can we seriously just walk into church and then walk out again - feel all spiritual on Sunday and then on Monday be completely back at our selfishness? NO! And then when we feel like we need an extra hand, we'll cry out to God and expect Him to respect our plea?
"Is is only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on a sackcloth with ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" Are you doing what you should be on the outside? Back then, a genuine sign of a fast was marked by tearing of the clothes and putting on sackcloth and pouring ashes over the head - but unfortunately the people took away the significance of these things when they started to do them in a shallow and insincere, heartless way. It wasn't genuine… they did what they needed to to look all spiritual on the outside - but on the inside, they were dirty. They would bow low to the ground, call aloud to God - but it was a show. They wanted to get God's attention by using the symbols, but without having to surrender their hearts.
and Isaiah is saying it's not going to work.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
We want God to hear us? We want him to draw near to us so we can experience him on a deeper more intimate level? Well then we first need to deal with our sin as Isaiah previously touched upon (I imagine he was more-so yelling at the people to get it together…) and then we need to hear God's words on how to get it right…
Loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke. Get rid of the sin in your life that is holding you down and holding you back. Sometimes we have blatantly obvious sins that we KNOW we need to deal with {pornography, lust, lies, alcohol, addictions, anger, jealousy, greed, the list goes on.. and on.. and on} so start DEALING with them! Not alone, but by the power given to us through Christ! We CAN overcome because He HAS overcome. Galatians 5:1 "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!" Sometimes there are things that we are chained to that we aren't even fully aware of, so pray that the Spirit will open your eyes to those things and that he would help you feel release and freedom; freedom to start walking in the right direction without anything burdening you or slowing you down. Get right before God. Thats where we need to start.
Whats next? GIVE to the needy and HELP those who need help. Don't wait for someone else to come along, some homeless shelter or humanitarian - take action yourself. We all need to get this - its OUR job! Care for those who need help taking care of themselves, give to those who need help financially, feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are left on the streets in the winter, encourage those who need it, love those who feel lonely… start ACTING! The Freedom mentioned above, that freedom we find in Christ WILL express itself outwardly in our actions. If we are set free - we will work to help free others.
and.. once we begin to pull ourselves together…
"THEN your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!"
How amazing is our God? Seriously… GET THAT! Isaiah is telling the people to get it together and THEN they will experience God on a new level. They will feel that deep personal love for Christ that will change their mindset - that will change their life. Healing will come - they will be seen as righteous people. Isn't that what we want? To be seen as righteous? Living a life that when tempted is able to choose Christ. Living a life that is reflecting the life of Christ? Isaiah says that "the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard"… AMAZING! God will be there with us all the way - all the time - through it all. He will be watching us, protecting us, guiding us… that is OUR GOD! There will be times of trouble, but when we call for help he will answer us, he will not delay!
I guess in the end, this entire passage just remind me of the verse in James (4:8) "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." We need to give our full-hearted attention to God - all of who we are - truly - sincerely. Realize that we NEED him. We WANT him. Draw near to God - put aside your sin - stop living for yourself - stop living for the world - live for the King and for the Kingdom. Let Christ manifest in our hearts so that we reflect Christ himself - giving to the needy - caring for the orphan and the widow - sharing the gospel with the lost. When we do our part - God is more than willing to blow our minds. He is just waiting for us to GET IT. His gift of grace and mercy is free - but it came at a price - we need to realize what that price was and let that work in our hearts to change our attitude and our mindsets.
Friday, November 22, 2013
lay aside your religious pride
"I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
It was awhile ago now that I started this blog, 'Alive in You', almost 3 years ago I think. I have continually come back to say, 'how cheesy is that title - I should change it…' I've had plenty of ideas and thoughts in regard to a new look for my blog… but, I've never followed through with any of them. To be honest, blogging to me isn't about being trendy or being heard {although at times it is tempting to think this way}, rather it is about putting into words what God is teaching me… and of course I blog because I LOVE to write… you should see the amount of books and notes I have down here in our small apartment… ;) Anyways, the point is, today I was reminded as to why I chose that silly little title {which isn't really silly after all}. The whole point as to why I chose 'Alive in You' was because I wanted the over-all theme to be about laying down my life at HIS feet and picking up my cross for HIS purposes. It's a pretty central idea to the bible. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…" this is a motto we as Christians need to continually adopt for our lives.
Galations 2:20 reminded me of this.
End of side-trail.
Back to what I really wanted to write about today…
We as Christians are to be Ambassadors of Christ. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God" | 2 Corinthians 5:20. So what is an ambassador? It is a person who represents his country in an alien land. A person who is given authority by their government to represent the best interests of their nation. An Ambassador exercises enormous power and influence, especially when they represent a powerful kingdom. If you claim to be a Christ-follower, then you are to be an ambassador of Christ. WE have been given the enormous responsibility of representing Christ in this dark world, and our citizenship is in Heaven… the most powerful kingdom.
Whats the point of me saying this? Well, are we doing our duty? Are we doing our job? There is this quote that I just found today, the author is unknown but I'll share it anyways… "if self is on the throne, then Christ is on the cross. If Christ is on the throne, then self is on the cross." Christ DID his part. He DIED and he ROSE. He IS currently on the throne which means we should be on the cross. But if we place ourselves on the throne, that means we have not actually come to realize the true meaning of the cross, and therefore we leave Christ there - not embracing the authority and power given to us through his death and his giving us the holy Spirit. We leave Christ on the cross and say 'thanks for dying to give me this awesome gift of eternal life, I'll take my seat now on my throne'. Wake-up call, the gift of salvation IS amazing, no words can really do justice, but thats not the end of the story - we were given a task - a task that we should WANT to do well. We need to let Christ take his rightful place on His throne and we need to pick up our own cross and get to work.
The problem is, we don't seem to be placing our lives on the cross. KP Yohannan says, "the measure to which I will manifest the life of Christ is the same measure to which I am willing to put my self to death". Amen! We expect great things of God, but we aren't willing to make room for Him in our lives. The more we give up ourselves, the more of Christ we will see manifested in us… so why wouldn't we want to give all of ourselves up? Well, because our sinful appetites are too strong… and truthfully, it IS hard to change our appetites when our sinful nature is constantly battling our spiritual nature. When we are born again, our old nature doesn't just disappear {wouldn't that be nice!} rather a new nature is introduced and a minute by minute battle begins. Galations 5:17 "…for the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other…"
As ambassadors of Christ, we are supposed to change our appetites to reflect the appetite of Christ in order to better represent HIM to this world. Are we satisfying our own cravings or do we strive to hunger in a new way? It's not about just satisfying ourselves in 'good' ways, no its about completely changing your appetite. Every decision you make through-out your day {what you view, what you listen to, what you eat, what you drink, what you laugh at, what you talk about, what you wear, how you act, what you read etc.} needs to start with Christ. Its no longer about me, myself and I, its about what would HE have me do…
Sometimes as ambassadors however, we can get pretty caught up in ourselves, which is another sinful craving we satisfy without even knowing it because all the while, we think we are putting Christ first. Our religious pride {regarding knowledge, traditions and denominational identities} however will get in the way of Christ manifesting himself within us so we need to lay it aside. Whether you are fundamental, evangelical, spirit-filled etc. whatever your label is, it doesn't change the fact that the bible STILL says, "if you live after the flesh, you shall surely die!" - living outwardly the way your little group says to, but living inwardly after the flesh will still get you the same result… death. Do we really think that on judgement day, the Lord will ask us about our fundamentalist beliefs? Or whether or not our church can be traced back to the apostles? Or what manner we were baptized in? Do we really expect God to say, "you had it right because your denominational label was 'such and such'…. NO! The ONLY thing that will matter when we stand before God will be what is spoken of in Romans 8:13-14, "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."
Some of the most knowledgable people I've ever known, who live 'good' lives doing 'good' things are so confused because they are living by code. Outwardly they are following all their traditions and rules but inwardly they are not changed, Christ is not manifesting himself in them and they are still sitting on their throne, leaving Christ on the cross. They put themselves first, they would never jeopardize their comfortable lifestyle or abundance of 'stuff'. They live in financial debt, or materialistic greed, all the while giving a bit to the church or to an organization to mask their inner sin.
the point is… Christ IS on the throne, seated at the right hand of God our Father...and for us that means the cross is OURS to bear. We need to place ourselves on the cross, crucifying our old nature and letting Christ manifest in us to give us a new one.
Galations 2:20 reminded me of this.
End of side-trail.
Back to what I really wanted to write about today…
We as Christians are to be Ambassadors of Christ. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God" | 2 Corinthians 5:20. So what is an ambassador? It is a person who represents his country in an alien land. A person who is given authority by their government to represent the best interests of their nation. An Ambassador exercises enormous power and influence, especially when they represent a powerful kingdom. If you claim to be a Christ-follower, then you are to be an ambassador of Christ. WE have been given the enormous responsibility of representing Christ in this dark world, and our citizenship is in Heaven… the most powerful kingdom.
Whats the point of me saying this? Well, are we doing our duty? Are we doing our job? There is this quote that I just found today, the author is unknown but I'll share it anyways… "if self is on the throne, then Christ is on the cross. If Christ is on the throne, then self is on the cross." Christ DID his part. He DIED and he ROSE. He IS currently on the throne which means we should be on the cross. But if we place ourselves on the throne, that means we have not actually come to realize the true meaning of the cross, and therefore we leave Christ there - not embracing the authority and power given to us through his death and his giving us the holy Spirit. We leave Christ on the cross and say 'thanks for dying to give me this awesome gift of eternal life, I'll take my seat now on my throne'. Wake-up call, the gift of salvation IS amazing, no words can really do justice, but thats not the end of the story - we were given a task - a task that we should WANT to do well. We need to let Christ take his rightful place on His throne and we need to pick up our own cross and get to work.
The problem is, we don't seem to be placing our lives on the cross. KP Yohannan says, "the measure to which I will manifest the life of Christ is the same measure to which I am willing to put my self to death". Amen! We expect great things of God, but we aren't willing to make room for Him in our lives. The more we give up ourselves, the more of Christ we will see manifested in us… so why wouldn't we want to give all of ourselves up? Well, because our sinful appetites are too strong… and truthfully, it IS hard to change our appetites when our sinful nature is constantly battling our spiritual nature. When we are born again, our old nature doesn't just disappear {wouldn't that be nice!} rather a new nature is introduced and a minute by minute battle begins. Galations 5:17 "…for the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other…"
As ambassadors of Christ, we are supposed to change our appetites to reflect the appetite of Christ in order to better represent HIM to this world. Are we satisfying our own cravings or do we strive to hunger in a new way? It's not about just satisfying ourselves in 'good' ways, no its about completely changing your appetite. Every decision you make through-out your day {what you view, what you listen to, what you eat, what you drink, what you laugh at, what you talk about, what you wear, how you act, what you read etc.} needs to start with Christ. Its no longer about me, myself and I, its about what would HE have me do…
Sometimes as ambassadors however, we can get pretty caught up in ourselves, which is another sinful craving we satisfy without even knowing it because all the while, we think we are putting Christ first. Our religious pride {regarding knowledge, traditions and denominational identities} however will get in the way of Christ manifesting himself within us so we need to lay it aside. Whether you are fundamental, evangelical, spirit-filled etc. whatever your label is, it doesn't change the fact that the bible STILL says, "if you live after the flesh, you shall surely die!" - living outwardly the way your little group says to, but living inwardly after the flesh will still get you the same result… death. Do we really think that on judgement day, the Lord will ask us about our fundamentalist beliefs? Or whether or not our church can be traced back to the apostles? Or what manner we were baptized in? Do we really expect God to say, "you had it right because your denominational label was 'such and such'…. NO! The ONLY thing that will matter when we stand before God will be what is spoken of in Romans 8:13-14, "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."
Some of the most knowledgable people I've ever known, who live 'good' lives doing 'good' things are so confused because they are living by code. Outwardly they are following all their traditions and rules but inwardly they are not changed, Christ is not manifesting himself in them and they are still sitting on their throne, leaving Christ on the cross. They put themselves first, they would never jeopardize their comfortable lifestyle or abundance of 'stuff'. They live in financial debt, or materialistic greed, all the while giving a bit to the church or to an organization to mask their inner sin.
the point is… Christ IS on the throne, seated at the right hand of God our Father...and for us that means the cross is OURS to bear. We need to place ourselves on the cross, crucifying our old nature and letting Christ manifest in us to give us a new one.
Monday, November 18, 2013
a culture of spiritual babies
How can a 'Christian' culture, one that has SO much access to the gospel and supposedly 'knows so much truth', still fail to preform? Why is that we, who have endless services, studies, groups, meetings, programs, seminars, conferences, books, magazines, websites, broadcasting and MORE, are still so self-absorbed and as a result, unproductive…?
All too often, we're willing to be students of Christianity, rather than disciples of Christ. We're willing to take the title, but not the cross. We're willing to have the knowledge, but we keep in stored in our heads where it can't transform our hearts. So many Christians could quote the Great Commission to you, but their lives don't reflect the very words they speak. All too often we fall short.
"We have shamefully hoarded Christian knowledge, preventing the rest of the world from finding out the truth - while not taking advantage of the knowledge it possesses." K.P. Yohannan
2 Timothy 3:1-8 speaks of Godlessness in the last days. "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness, but denying its power…they are the kind who are… always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth."
I think these verses speak so boldly to Christians in our North-American, Rich and self-absorbed culture. We live in a culture that is greatly obsessed with pleasure and comfort. "How can we get the most out of life in a way that is most pleasing to me?" We are lovers of self rather than lovers of God. We are called a 'Christian Nation', but we are FAR from such a thing. We are not a nation that worships and serves the one true God, no, we are a nation that worships and serves itself. There are so many that have this 'form of godliness' that Timothy speaks of, but even though they have the knowledge and the moral code of a Jesus-follower, they deny the power of the very thing they believe, or the very ONE whom they supposedly 'follow', {DENY} meaning their lives contradict it all. There is no action, no desperation to serve… rather there is empty words and empty conversations had by people who are more eager to debate over shallow religious preferences rather then pick up their cross and walk the narrow path.
Seriously? We would rather sit around the coffee table and debate over baptism and church music styles rather than challenge ourselves to actually DO what the bible says?
The bible says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO what it says…" {James 1:22-25}
How many have deceived themselves? How many have our cookie-cutter churches deceived? How many believe truly that they are saved because they walked the aisle to the alter and repeated 3 heartless sentences after the pastor? How many of us go day-by-day, week-by-week, year-by-year absorbing knowledge but seeing no transformation in our lives? How many of us can have an hour long conversation with a group of Christian friends, but when the conversation leads to 'So where does all of this play out in your life personally', we are silenced?
If you UNDERSTAND the Gospel, you will be GRIPPED by the Gospel and you will be CHANGED by the Gospel, all through the grace of our amazing God. We are called to be salt and light. We are called to be a lighthouse. The problem is we ARE a lighthouse, we have all that we need to be a strong, sturdy and powerful structure - and light is shining, just not outside of our own walls. What good is that? What a waste…
We cannot be selfish. We were not given this gift of salvation so that we could enjoy our selfish lives even more selfishly having no fear of death. NO, we were shown salvation for a purpose, for a mission. Don't waste your time, don't waste your opportunities, don't waste your life.
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