God Thinking 60 - Religion or Christ, which is it? 5

"It’s not prudish or overly spiritual to take a look at our lives and evaluate ourselves to see if we are living out our salvation experience in the manner that God prescribed for us.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5

“5.  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?:”

I can tell you this with certainty.

A little self evaluation is far less painful than the adversity that comes with chastisement by God or the empty feeling that comes with knowing that we are out of God’s will. 

It is better that we come to recognize our errors early, so we can adjust our lifestyle to avoid any more pain that comes with being outside of the will of God.

Is there pain and suffering and negative consequences with living outside of the will of God?

Is it unreasonable for this pastor to ask each of us to evaluate our relationship with God, to make sure that we are living out our calling, in Christ?

As you get closer to God - God gets real big - You sense the awesome power of God - You sense the light of God, the brilliance that emanates from the throne of God - You sense the holiness of God.

As you get closer to God something else happens also:

• The things of this world grow ever so dim.
• The so called big problems get smaller and smaller.
• The past takes its proper place.
• What was a crisis yesterday, God turns into a matter not worth mentioning.
• What was so big you thought you couldn’t get through it, gets very small.
• What use to look good to us, starts to look less delectable, because our eyes are opened to see more than the moment.
• You can see further into a thing in the presence of God, because God reveals to us more of His foreknowledge as we get closer.

I know some of you have experienced this knowing - inside, about some things, and you have moved on them and these things in your life that just weeks ago seemed insurmountable or running out of control - have taken on their true identity - which is, situations that you can manage under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. 

Do I detect an Amen?

Excerpt from God thinking 60 - Religion or Christ, which is it? by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2012