"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Who therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him I declare unto you." The Acts 17:22-23
I think this is a good example for all of us. I have had the opportunity to tell many people (those who were worshiping some god) about the true God. Even for those who are worshiping a god with a name, it is the same as worshiping an unknown god.
First of all the gods with or without a name do not answer prayer.
They are not listening.
They are not responding.
They are not speaking to the hearts of their followers.
They have never lived, nor do they live today.
They are not instructing their followers.
They do not exist.
Whether someone is worshiping an unknown god or a god with a name, it doesn't matter. They are worshiping a non-existent being/statue/idol. To reveal to them that there is a real God with a name and how to connect the dots is one of our responsibilities as a Christian. I mean, how can you really have met Jesus Christ and not have the necessary information to give someone who is desperately seeking what you possess? You have within you the key that unlocks the door from lost to found; from darkness to light; from worshiping ignorantly to worshiping with purpose and results.
Paul had the right idea, 'let me tell you about Jesus.' If you have been saved from your own ignorance of worshiping whomever or whatever, you have been set free from the hold that the world system has on people that do not know God. You have been set free to connect with God anytime, anywhere. You have been adopted into the kingdom and you have received a full share to all that is available to God's people. You have a remarkable gift from God and it is your responsibility to reveal the experience with all who might be without. I already know the argument about not being able to talk to others about Jesus, that it just isn't your responsibility and that you have decided to leave it for someone else to do, but that isn't really an argument, it is an excuse. What you think you don't know how to say to someone will come out just perfectly if you trust the Holy Spirit within you concerning the matter. You might be the only person available who has met Jesus to discuss this with a certain person.
There's other reasons that born again believers won't share Jesus. They think they will be laughed at or they are worried that it will finally be found out that they are Christians. Let me deal with both.
If you are worried that you will be laughed at, you need to get your priorities straight. Knowing God through the person of Jesus Christ is the one most important piece of knowledge you have or ever will have. If you are afraid of being laughed at, you really need to re-evaluate your priorities.
More than likely you are really helping anyone to find their way to Jesus.
More than likely you aren't really living for Jesus.
More than likely you aren't sure about Jesus.
More than likely when others are telling really dirty jokes, you just laugh and let it go as if it didn't matter.
More than likely you are really liberal with your daughter and let her wear anything she wants to, even if you are not in agreement.
More than likely you allow your son to watch just about anything he wants to and play any video game he wants.
You're not a very good witness for the gracious work that God has done on your behalf. Is it possible, that maybe you only have a cultural relationship with Jesus, that you have been conditioned to believe that God exists, but you have never confessed your sins and been born again and began a personal relationship with Jesus?
There is no other kind of saved other than saved through faith in Jesus Christ. At some point in time, you realized that you were separated from God by sin and you confessed your sins and God saved you by your faith in the work that Jesus did on the cross. If you have not done that you are not saved. You are not saved because you go to church or because you your mother or fatter told you that you are a Christian. You are not saved because you always do the right things or because a priest told you you are saved or because you take communion, have been baptized, confirmed or performed any other outward expression of an inward work. You are saved if you have recognized your sinful nature and asked God, by faith, to come into your heart and to cleanse you. Nothing else will do. Nothing else works. No one can go to God on your behalf and get you saved.
The other reason that you might not tell others about Jesus is that you are worried about being found out. I hope you are not one of these people, but you may have been at one time or another or you may know Christians that operate incognito. Operating incognito is not biblical, nor is it right. You are not protecting yourself or your family by hiding who you are. It may be different in other countries or in times past. I'm not arguing the point. But if you are in America and you have been born again, then what is keeping you from letting others know about your faith is cowardice. I know you don't want to hear it, but someone has got to tell you that trying to be like the world and accepted into all kinds of situations that do not glorify God, is not your calling. To be friends with the world is to be an enemy with God. (James 4:4) We are in the world but not of the world. (John 16:18-18) It is not godly to be a Christian and hide the fact from your friends or colleagues at work. There is too much of that going on today. You are not doing yourself a favor nor are you doing your co-workers a favor either. You are living in false pretence. You are powerless if what you do is under false pretence. God can only work in truth. The power you have within you is not activated under false pretence and you will not be able:
To effectively pray and receive the answers to prayer
To ask for a miracle with expectations
To witness so that someone else will come to Jesus
To stand against evil in your life
To take back lost territory
To make course corrections in line with God's will for your life
To fulfill your purpose for being where you are
Let me put it this way, do you want to be found out when Jesus returns?
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Daily Devotional August 7 - No mediation required
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;" Hebrews 10:19-20
You can boldly go before God, because Jesus made the way for you to enter into His holy place. Jesus paid the penalty for sin and thereby changed the way we obtain righteousness and changed the way we bring our sacrifices and changed the way we enter in to His presence. It's no longer through a physical door, nor is God hidden behind the veil, nor is His presence summoned by burnt offerings or sacrifices, nor is it through the prophets, nor is it through the priests. The new way is through the inner man. There is no more veil, it was torn down by Jesus. The new way is a living way where living people trust in and serve a living God and have living conversation and living cooperation and living co-creation.
We are not serving God through a textbook experience. We are serving a living God that lives within us and without. He has consecrated us by the blood of Jesus to become righteous, positionally and experientially. Positionally through the work of the cross and experientially through personal experiences with Jesus. God wants us to come boldly before the throne.
God wants us to come boldly as in confidently. We can do that if we know Him. God wants us to come to His throne with expectations. Not expectations like rubbing the genie in the bottle and making a wish, but expectations that whatever God hands you, is for you only and to be utilized for your good and the betterment of all mankind.
Yes, God has global expectations for all mankind and those parameters and instructions are established in the scriptures, but when you come boldly before the throne it is for personal instruction. We are not lemmings and the scriptures were not written so that we could all do the same thing and be the same thing. The scriptures were written to memorialize God's intent for mankind so that when you forget your way, you can go to the scriptures and find your way back.
Don't be afraid to come boldly before the throne. Nothing will happen there other than you will be made a little more like Jesus. Don't believe anyone that tries to tell you that someone must mediate between you and God because you are not able and they are. It is a lie. God wants you, just as you are, to come and meet Him, at His throne.
You can boldly go before God, because Jesus made the way for you to enter into His holy place. Jesus paid the penalty for sin and thereby changed the way we obtain righteousness and changed the way we bring our sacrifices and changed the way we enter in to His presence. It's no longer through a physical door, nor is God hidden behind the veil, nor is His presence summoned by burnt offerings or sacrifices, nor is it through the prophets, nor is it through the priests. The new way is through the inner man. There is no more veil, it was torn down by Jesus. The new way is a living way where living people trust in and serve a living God and have living conversation and living cooperation and living co-creation.
We are not serving God through a textbook experience. We are serving a living God that lives within us and without. He has consecrated us by the blood of Jesus to become righteous, positionally and experientially. Positionally through the work of the cross and experientially through personal experiences with Jesus. God wants us to come boldly before the throne.
God wants us to come boldly as in confidently. We can do that if we know Him. God wants us to come to His throne with expectations. Not expectations like rubbing the genie in the bottle and making a wish, but expectations that whatever God hands you, is for you only and to be utilized for your good and the betterment of all mankind.
Yes, God has global expectations for all mankind and those parameters and instructions are established in the scriptures, but when you come boldly before the throne it is for personal instruction. We are not lemmings and the scriptures were not written so that we could all do the same thing and be the same thing. The scriptures were written to memorialize God's intent for mankind so that when you forget your way, you can go to the scriptures and find your way back.
Don't be afraid to come boldly before the throne. Nothing will happen there other than you will be made a little more like Jesus. Don't believe anyone that tries to tell you that someone must mediate between you and God because you are not able and they are. It is a lie. God wants you, just as you are, to come and meet Him, at His throne.
Daily Devotional August 6 - The secret place
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1
Note: Reminds me of a great book written by Bob Sorge, The Secret of the Secret Place. Don't hesitate to buy it and read it. It is on my top ten list.
Where is God's dwelling place so we can dwell with Him? It is the tabernacle of our body. God indwells the believer. "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry (workers), ye are God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:9
God indwells the believer and to dwell in the secret place of the most High, we need to be in the presence of God that dwells in us. We do that by listening to the inner man, the one that God lives in.
Your inner man is in touch with the Holy Spirit.
Your inner man is saturated with the presence of God.
Your inner man has been taught all things by direct communication with the Holy Spirit.
Your inner man is the secret place.
You are body, mind, spirit and soul. You are a whole being, but you are able to operate independently one of the other to a degree. The Bible talks about carnal Christians, because God knows that you can be born again, have a spirit that has been made alive by faith in Jesus and still do things contrary to the perfect will of God. You can also, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, fight against the propensities of the flesh, using your mind as the tool to bring your flesh into subjection to your spirit.
If you want to be in the secret place with God and benefit from it, you will have to obey the laws of God while in His presence, in the inner man.
In the presence of God in the secret place, you will have to enter without an agenda. What God has to say to you when you are listening, is not what you are thinking of. What God has to reveal to you might even be foreign to your thinking, unless you have been following Jesus faithfully for some time; unless you have been on the mountaintop and also the deep valley; unless you have been through the fire, not just skirting around it; unless you have suffered a little and not just ridden comfortably in the pew; unless you have been reading your Bible and not just hearing it interpreted.
In the presence of God in the secret place, you will have to listen. I would say without a doubt that listening carefully is not the average Americans most distinguishing characteristic. Too often we want to speak so badly that we don't even hear what someone is saying. It's that way with God too. If you are more interested in railing on God about all that is missing in your life, you will not be able to hear God speak to you. God might say something to you that you don't want to hear. God is not man. God does not speak fluffy, candy coated, sayings that resemble a reading from Confucius. God is going to speak to you what brings you into alignment with His perfect design for your life. I can say without any doubt, that what God will speak to you will surprise you. If all you are hearing from God are platitudes about how you are going to get everything you want, you haven't been in the presence of God.
In the presence of God in the secret place, you will be changed. If you were to get into the presence of God, (no in the inner man) but in the flesh, you would burn up; no questions asked. When you are in the presence of God you come away changed, not a little. God is conforming you into the likeness of Himself and if you consider just how far we have drifted from the original idea, it should be clear that change, and a lot of it, is eminent. You can't help but be changed in the presence of God, because designed for you to grow in grace and to grow in faith, both of which are increased in the presence of God.
If you don't want to change your agenda, and if you don't want to hear a better idea than your own and you don't want to change what is familiar to you, don't get in the presence of God in the inner man. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." Ephesians 3:14-16
Note: Reminds me of a great book written by Bob Sorge, The Secret of the Secret Place. Don't hesitate to buy it and read it. It is on my top ten list.
Where is God's dwelling place so we can dwell with Him? It is the tabernacle of our body. God indwells the believer. "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry (workers), ye are God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:9
God indwells the believer and to dwell in the secret place of the most High, we need to be in the presence of God that dwells in us. We do that by listening to the inner man, the one that God lives in.
Your inner man is in touch with the Holy Spirit.
Your inner man is saturated with the presence of God.
Your inner man has been taught all things by direct communication with the Holy Spirit.
Your inner man is the secret place.
You are body, mind, spirit and soul. You are a whole being, but you are able to operate independently one of the other to a degree. The Bible talks about carnal Christians, because God knows that you can be born again, have a spirit that has been made alive by faith in Jesus and still do things contrary to the perfect will of God. You can also, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, fight against the propensities of the flesh, using your mind as the tool to bring your flesh into subjection to your spirit.
If you want to be in the secret place with God and benefit from it, you will have to obey the laws of God while in His presence, in the inner man.
In the presence of God in the secret place, you will have to enter without an agenda. What God has to say to you when you are listening, is not what you are thinking of. What God has to reveal to you might even be foreign to your thinking, unless you have been following Jesus faithfully for some time; unless you have been on the mountaintop and also the deep valley; unless you have been through the fire, not just skirting around it; unless you have suffered a little and not just ridden comfortably in the pew; unless you have been reading your Bible and not just hearing it interpreted.
In the presence of God in the secret place, you will have to listen. I would say without a doubt that listening carefully is not the average Americans most distinguishing characteristic. Too often we want to speak so badly that we don't even hear what someone is saying. It's that way with God too. If you are more interested in railing on God about all that is missing in your life, you will not be able to hear God speak to you. God might say something to you that you don't want to hear. God is not man. God does not speak fluffy, candy coated, sayings that resemble a reading from Confucius. God is going to speak to you what brings you into alignment with His perfect design for your life. I can say without any doubt, that what God will speak to you will surprise you. If all you are hearing from God are platitudes about how you are going to get everything you want, you haven't been in the presence of God.
In the presence of God in the secret place, you will be changed. If you were to get into the presence of God, (no in the inner man) but in the flesh, you would burn up; no questions asked. When you are in the presence of God you come away changed, not a little. God is conforming you into the likeness of Himself and if you consider just how far we have drifted from the original idea, it should be clear that change, and a lot of it, is eminent. You can't help but be changed in the presence of God, because designed for you to grow in grace and to grow in faith, both of which are increased in the presence of God.
If you don't want to change your agenda, and if you don't want to hear a better idea than your own and you don't want to change what is familiar to you, don't get in the presence of God in the inner man. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." Ephesians 3:14-16
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Daily Devotional August 5 - What are you leaving on the table?
"And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city. And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins have been forgiven thee." Matthew 9:1-2
I want to talk about faith. There is so much to gain from the scripture. The men who were carrying the man with the palsy is whose faith was recognized. The men who were carrying the man with the palsy had faith that if they could get to Jesus, their friend would be healed. Jesus not only forgave the man with the palsy his sins, but he healed him and sent him home also.
This is one of many examples where we see a direct correlation between faith of man and action from Jesus. What is your faith capable of? I'm serious. What is your faith made of? Here's why I'm asking. If your faith is made of going to church and reading a little bit of Bible there, you faith is probably commensurate with your attendance. In today's society you need faith that can move mountains. You need faith that you can speak and the heavens move things. You need the kind of faith that can pray against terrorism and at the same time pray for the terrorist. You need the kind of faith that can do battle against the world. This world's system is designed to take everything you have and even more. You need faith to come against that mind-set and take back lost territory.
You need the kind of faith that can say to your neighbor:
"I pray in the name of Jesus that you will be healed."
"I pray that your financial situation will turn around."
"I pray that your daughter will call you and make amends."
"I pray that your son will come to Jesus."
You need the kind of faith that Jesus gives liberally to all who ask. If you don't ask you won't grow in faith. You can go to church until you die and stay stagnant if you haven't started a personal relationship with Jesus. Faith grows like a tree. The root needs to be watered. The trunk needs to be protected. The branches need to be pruned. The leaves need Son-light. The flowers need to blossom and the fruit needs to flourish and be picked and used.
Evaluate yourself. What is your faith made of? Could it be that you are leaving on the table much that could and should be yours? Learn to apply your faith and get results. God designed us this way. Having faith, and a lot of it, is the way of God for man. Don't find yourself under-faithed when you might really need a miracle. Get serious and let God fill you up. Then, you can take a few friends and someone you know who can't fend for themselves and take them to a Jesus meeting and let them down through the roof and have their sins forgiven.
I want to talk about faith. There is so much to gain from the scripture. The men who were carrying the man with the palsy is whose faith was recognized. The men who were carrying the man with the palsy had faith that if they could get to Jesus, their friend would be healed. Jesus not only forgave the man with the palsy his sins, but he healed him and sent him home also.
This is one of many examples where we see a direct correlation between faith of man and action from Jesus. What is your faith capable of? I'm serious. What is your faith made of? Here's why I'm asking. If your faith is made of going to church and reading a little bit of Bible there, you faith is probably commensurate with your attendance. In today's society you need faith that can move mountains. You need faith that you can speak and the heavens move things. You need the kind of faith that can pray against terrorism and at the same time pray for the terrorist. You need the kind of faith that can do battle against the world. This world's system is designed to take everything you have and even more. You need faith to come against that mind-set and take back lost territory.
You need the kind of faith that can say to your neighbor:
"I pray in the name of Jesus that you will be healed."
"I pray that your financial situation will turn around."
"I pray that your daughter will call you and make amends."
"I pray that your son will come to Jesus."
You need the kind of faith that Jesus gives liberally to all who ask. If you don't ask you won't grow in faith. You can go to church until you die and stay stagnant if you haven't started a personal relationship with Jesus. Faith grows like a tree. The root needs to be watered. The trunk needs to be protected. The branches need to be pruned. The leaves need Son-light. The flowers need to blossom and the fruit needs to flourish and be picked and used.
Evaluate yourself. What is your faith made of? Could it be that you are leaving on the table much that could and should be yours? Learn to apply your faith and get results. God designed us this way. Having faith, and a lot of it, is the way of God for man. Don't find yourself under-faithed when you might really need a miracle. Get serious and let God fill you up. Then, you can take a few friends and someone you know who can't fend for themselves and take them to a Jesus meeting and let them down through the roof and have their sins forgiven.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Daily Devotional August 4 - Quit judging others
"And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto Him (Jesus) Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yes; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" Matthew 21:15-16
We condemn the way that the chief priests and scribes treated Jesus. We abhor that they marvelled at their own pride, while they spurned Jesus at every opportunity. It kind of sickens us that the same people that Jesus came to be with, not only denied Him His rightful place among them, but they created a plan to kill Jesus. Doesn't it amaze you that the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus did and they hated Him even more?
We still have some of that kind of thinking going on today. A man or a woman can work diligently for the Lord and do great things for the kingdom, even just be present when God heals the sick, and Christians, (not non-believers) want to spurn them. Christians talk down other Christians who don't do church like they do on Sunday or Saturday or Saturday night, or the Sabbath day or whatever day. Christians are telling other Christians:
that God doesn't heal today
that prayer is an allegory
that you must do this or that to please God
that you have to give this amount or that amount to get God's blessing
that you have to do it their way with their instruments, their lighting, their media
Christians are judging other Christians:
Because they believe a little differently
Because they worship on the wrong day
Because they use the wrong kind of pulpit
Because they use the wrong instruments
Because their choir is too old
Because their choir is too young
Because they keep the children in for the worship
Because they don't keep the children in for the worship
Because the preacher wears a tie
Because the preacher dresses too casual
Because the preacher let's his kids sing on the praise team
Because the preacher let's His wife teach
Because the preacher doesn't let His wife teach
Because they don't come to service on Wednesday night
Because they live in a nice home
Because they don't live in a nice home
Because they drive a new Mercedes
Because they drive a junker
No wonder Jesus turned to the babes and sucklings and said, "out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise."
Jesus heard enough trash talk from adults then and He is hearing too much trash talk from adults now. Learn to mind your own business. You are not an expert on so and so, so quit bashing them as if you ever met them or knew anything about them. What's wrong with admiring those who work diligently for Jesus and get something done? What's wrong with the way they do it over there anyway? What's the big deal if someone goes to a different church than you. Neither church has the license to talk down the other. Neither church has cause to defame the other. Your church denomination isn't infallible and neither is the other church down the road. God is infallible.
You should be proud of your church or your denomination, but not at the expense of cutting others down. You don't have to 'get" what they are doing, but you don't have to act like you do it better either. The chief priests and the scribes were sore displeased with the children and the way they were crying out loud to Jesus and Jesus was sore displeased with the chief priests and scribes. Which side do you want to be on?
We condemn the way that the chief priests and scribes treated Jesus. We abhor that they marvelled at their own pride, while they spurned Jesus at every opportunity. It kind of sickens us that the same people that Jesus came to be with, not only denied Him His rightful place among them, but they created a plan to kill Jesus. Doesn't it amaze you that the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus did and they hated Him even more?
We still have some of that kind of thinking going on today. A man or a woman can work diligently for the Lord and do great things for the kingdom, even just be present when God heals the sick, and Christians, (not non-believers) want to spurn them. Christians talk down other Christians who don't do church like they do on Sunday or Saturday or Saturday night, or the Sabbath day or whatever day. Christians are telling other Christians:
that God doesn't heal today
that prayer is an allegory
that you must do this or that to please God
that you have to give this amount or that amount to get God's blessing
that you have to do it their way with their instruments, their lighting, their media
Christians are judging other Christians:
Because they believe a little differently
Because they worship on the wrong day
Because they use the wrong kind of pulpit
Because they use the wrong instruments
Because their choir is too old
Because their choir is too young
Because they keep the children in for the worship
Because they don't keep the children in for the worship
Because the preacher wears a tie
Because the preacher dresses too casual
Because the preacher let's his kids sing on the praise team
Because the preacher let's His wife teach
Because the preacher doesn't let His wife teach
Because they don't come to service on Wednesday night
Because they live in a nice home
Because they don't live in a nice home
Because they drive a new Mercedes
Because they drive a junker
No wonder Jesus turned to the babes and sucklings and said, "out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise."
Jesus heard enough trash talk from adults then and He is hearing too much trash talk from adults now. Learn to mind your own business. You are not an expert on so and so, so quit bashing them as if you ever met them or knew anything about them. What's wrong with admiring those who work diligently for Jesus and get something done? What's wrong with the way they do it over there anyway? What's the big deal if someone goes to a different church than you. Neither church has the license to talk down the other. Neither church has cause to defame the other. Your church denomination isn't infallible and neither is the other church down the road. God is infallible.
You should be proud of your church or your denomination, but not at the expense of cutting others down. You don't have to 'get" what they are doing, but you don't have to act like you do it better either. The chief priests and the scribes were sore displeased with the children and the way they were crying out loud to Jesus and Jesus was sore displeased with the chief priests and scribes. Which side do you want to be on?
Daily Devotional August 3 - Behind the scenes
"Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive Him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22
The kingdom of God is made up of people who believe what Jesus says and does it. This was a little thing for Peter to ask and I'm sure Peter was trying to be spiritual and come up with a good answer to show Jesus how spiritual he was. Peter was trying to impress Jesus with his spiritual prowess. Jesus didn't rebuke him or make him feel like a fool or belittle him in any way, but Jesus did set him straight. I want Jesus to set me straight on all the things I believe that are from my own vision/version of what God desires of me. I hope you do to.
Not knowing something and making this mistake that Peter made is a normal part of learning and neither Peter or you are going to be chastised for testing the waters and trying to be spiritual, but once you get the answer, you have a different set of parameters to live by. Sometimes when we are reading the Bible or listening to our pastor we learn something that we don't like, something we don't want to live by, something we have rationalized just doesn't fit our current life/lifestyle. That's not kingdom living. Kingdom living is when we look for opportunity to observe, follow and abide in the things of God. Religious living is when we look for loopholes that fit our current perspective on the issues of our life/lifestyle.
You will always be able to find a church or denomination that fits your agenda, but adhering to a system, any system, to fit what what you desire into a religious or non-religious system is wrong.
Kingdom living is for you to fit into what God designed for you. Kingdom living is for you to read the Word of God or hear the Word preached and to find solace in the many changes you will have to make to conform to the image of Christ. After a season of kingdom living you will start to look for changes you can make in your life/lifestyle that better suit your relationship with God in the pursuit of fulfilling your purpose in life.
You look for what God purposed for you and you look for what you were purposed for and when the two meet, you find your place and you understand your commission. Being godly is not following a complex set of rules, or following a specific program or formula. Being godly is more about abandoning a great may rules and human notions and allowing God to work in you and through you without any aids, than it is following some predetermined school of thought. Listening to and following God is the goal. Trying to act spiritual so that everyone can uh and ah at your magnificence is not part of God's great design for your life. More often than not, true spiritual work is done behind the scenes, without personal recognition and without formal reward.
The kingdom of God is made up of people who believe what Jesus says and does it. This was a little thing for Peter to ask and I'm sure Peter was trying to be spiritual and come up with a good answer to show Jesus how spiritual he was. Peter was trying to impress Jesus with his spiritual prowess. Jesus didn't rebuke him or make him feel like a fool or belittle him in any way, but Jesus did set him straight. I want Jesus to set me straight on all the things I believe that are from my own vision/version of what God desires of me. I hope you do to.
Not knowing something and making this mistake that Peter made is a normal part of learning and neither Peter or you are going to be chastised for testing the waters and trying to be spiritual, but once you get the answer, you have a different set of parameters to live by. Sometimes when we are reading the Bible or listening to our pastor we learn something that we don't like, something we don't want to live by, something we have rationalized just doesn't fit our current life/lifestyle. That's not kingdom living. Kingdom living is when we look for opportunity to observe, follow and abide in the things of God. Religious living is when we look for loopholes that fit our current perspective on the issues of our life/lifestyle.
You will always be able to find a church or denomination that fits your agenda, but adhering to a system, any system, to fit what what you desire into a religious or non-religious system is wrong.
Kingdom living is for you to fit into what God designed for you. Kingdom living is for you to read the Word of God or hear the Word preached and to find solace in the many changes you will have to make to conform to the image of Christ. After a season of kingdom living you will start to look for changes you can make in your life/lifestyle that better suit your relationship with God in the pursuit of fulfilling your purpose in life.
You look for what God purposed for you and you look for what you were purposed for and when the two meet, you find your place and you understand your commission. Being godly is not following a complex set of rules, or following a specific program or formula. Being godly is more about abandoning a great may rules and human notions and allowing God to work in you and through you without any aids, than it is following some predetermined school of thought. Listening to and following God is the goal. Trying to act spiritual so that everyone can uh and ah at your magnificence is not part of God's great design for your life. More often than not, true spiritual work is done behind the scenes, without personal recognition and without formal reward.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Daily Devotional August 2 - Therapy for Apathy
"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Peter 3:1-4
You might know someone that simply doesn't believe or acknowledge that God is real and that our Saviour is alive and well and is working on a daily basis on our behalf. For all those who say, "all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" I say, The only thing that has stayed the same is your thinking.
God inhabits the praises of His people.
God answers prayer.
God speaks to His people.
God call out to every living soul (those who have not been saved) to come to His Son for salvation.
God intervenes in the affairs of mankind.
God answers prayer.
God changes the minds and hearts of men and women.
God alters outcomes through His supernatural intervention.
God heals.
God blesses people through others and personally.
Those who deny that God exists or that God stopped interacting after creation are mistaken. I'm unwilling to use harsher language than mistaken, because we have all been there at one time. I don't wish any hardships on the unsaved more than any of us have faced, but I also don't want the Christian community to think that silence on the issues concerning God is acceptable. Even Paul said, "and how shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard?" Romans 10:14
Many people deny God His rightful place in their life. It could be your spouse or one of your parents or one of your children or a friend or co-worker. If you aren't outgoing and wish not to speak about God to others, that's your business, but if the opportunity comes up through conversation and you don't stand up for what you know to be the truth, it's possible that you never really believed the truth, i. e., the truth about Jesus.
You have been elected as God's spokesman/woman for Jesus. You can't stop others from railing on God or speaking their pitiful excuses about why they don't believe in God, but you can stand up for God. You were once lost and destined for hell and now you are saved and your residency is reserved for you in heaven and during this life you have the power of the Holy Spirit within, and in you lives the creator and in you is all the knowledge necessary to become a child of the living God and through you, prayers are answered and by your own words God moves and makes earthly alterations. Just tell them what you know. And if there is nothing to tell them, I would be praying about that. No Christian should be ignorant of the basic truths that have set us free. If you are the kind of person that goes to church, but you have no real interest in the things of God, you always let someone else do the lion's share of the work and you complain all the time, you should be ashamed. That's not Christianity, that's religion.
It's not your age that has made you apathetic. Moses led the Israelites away from bondage starting at age 85. Why don't you take back some lost ground, claim it for Jesus and plant something, water it, cultivate it and then give away the fruits of it. That's good therapy for apathy.
You might know someone that simply doesn't believe or acknowledge that God is real and that our Saviour is alive and well and is working on a daily basis on our behalf. For all those who say, "all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" I say, The only thing that has stayed the same is your thinking.
God inhabits the praises of His people.
God answers prayer.
God speaks to His people.
God call out to every living soul (those who have not been saved) to come to His Son for salvation.
God intervenes in the affairs of mankind.
God answers prayer.
God changes the minds and hearts of men and women.
God alters outcomes through His supernatural intervention.
God heals.
God blesses people through others and personally.
Those who deny that God exists or that God stopped interacting after creation are mistaken. I'm unwilling to use harsher language than mistaken, because we have all been there at one time. I don't wish any hardships on the unsaved more than any of us have faced, but I also don't want the Christian community to think that silence on the issues concerning God is acceptable. Even Paul said, "and how shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard?" Romans 10:14
Many people deny God His rightful place in their life. It could be your spouse or one of your parents or one of your children or a friend or co-worker. If you aren't outgoing and wish not to speak about God to others, that's your business, but if the opportunity comes up through conversation and you don't stand up for what you know to be the truth, it's possible that you never really believed the truth, i. e., the truth about Jesus.
You have been elected as God's spokesman/woman for Jesus. You can't stop others from railing on God or speaking their pitiful excuses about why they don't believe in God, but you can stand up for God. You were once lost and destined for hell and now you are saved and your residency is reserved for you in heaven and during this life you have the power of the Holy Spirit within, and in you lives the creator and in you is all the knowledge necessary to become a child of the living God and through you, prayers are answered and by your own words God moves and makes earthly alterations. Just tell them what you know. And if there is nothing to tell them, I would be praying about that. No Christian should be ignorant of the basic truths that have set us free. If you are the kind of person that goes to church, but you have no real interest in the things of God, you always let someone else do the lion's share of the work and you complain all the time, you should be ashamed. That's not Christianity, that's religion.
It's not your age that has made you apathetic. Moses led the Israelites away from bondage starting at age 85. Why don't you take back some lost ground, claim it for Jesus and plant something, water it, cultivate it and then give away the fruits of it. That's good therapy for apathy.
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