I’m also aware that for those who start plowing through these postings, it can pose some serious road blocks of sorts and troublesome questions. If any of these have prompted you to go dig through your bible, I have no doubt your brain wants to go in to ‘melt mode’ and something will quickly whisper in your year: “Don’t worry...you (did such and such) at some point in your church life and you are just fine...God is a Good God and would not let you be led astray.”
So you stop examining truth when it is presented to see if these things are true or not. Besides, who got time for that when there are games to be played and lawns to be tended to and trips to be taken and life to be lived. You checked off that ‘religious box’ so no worries there.
Again...I will continue as long as I feel led to share what I have no doubt has been a wakeup call for myself and many others who may have ‘ears to hear’. We see in scripture that prior to the return of the Lord, the church was either in a sleep state (Matt 25:5), a ‘fallen away state’ ( 2 Thess. 2:3) or a state of ‘busyness’ and little interest in the things of God. (Matt. 22:1-8; 24:37-39; Luke 14:16-24)
Years ago, while as a freshman student at ASU, I was walking across campus and some of those ‘CCC’ (Campus Crusaders for Christ) would approach me and want to talk about my ‘soul’. It always creeped me out...and I would quickly bypass the talk and toss out a quick “I’m good...I’m Catholic” as if that was my ticket in. sigh.... Believe me...I get all that goes on in our heads with this. And I don’t expect the world to come to a screeching halt and gather around to read/listen to all that I’m posting here. But that does not hinder me from continuing to share all that God has put on my heart. So for those of you who have been reading...and feel a mix of confusion, discouragement, fear, and yet...hope...this is a good sign. Let’s press on....
And on a side note...not sure who needs to hear this but the verse in Exodus 22:28 was brought to my attention. Let me just say that I understand we have a right to ‘free speech’ in this country. You can say for the most part whatever you want. I’m not here to judge you. But you might want to know that that passage reads: “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” This does not mean you have to agree with or support or be in favor of policies and such that elected leaders carry out and promote. But for the believer, you are walking on thin ice when you join the choruses that echo today throughout the land ridiculing and denouncing and judging/cursing those in power. They (leaders) will answer to God...as will you and I. (2 Cor 5:10)
And here’s a little verse we tend to gloss over...”For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measure back to you. (Matt. 7:2). I’m sure you are familiar with Matt. 25:40- “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ – Jesus. Imagine if you will, when you appear before God, and He does a quick replay of what came out of your heart while you professed to be a follower of Jesus...supposedly loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor...and your enemies...how will the judgment you passed on to others be administered to you? Thumb up or down? (And what if that judgement is handed down sooner than later? As in 'reaping and sowing?)
Did I mention this was my 200th post today? (My blog platform keeps that tally). But I digress...
We read in John 1 that Jesus was the Word who was ‘with God’ and ‘was God’ and then became flesh and dwelt among us. (1,14). We are also told that “He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. But...as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (11-12)
“To become children of God”. It’s easy to ‘camp out’ on one passage and convince ourselves that because we ‘say we believe in his Name’ that we are a child of God. And that is a great and beautiful passage. It Is...His word after all. But then when you read Romans 8:14, it brings some more clarity as we are told “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”
“Led by His spirit” ? So what does that entail? You mean there is ‘more to it’ than just saying you ’believe’? You tell me? How does that last verse read in your bible? But wait...there’s more. 1 John 3:7-10 clearly draws a line of distinction between the ‘children of God’ and the ‘children of the devil’. You might go see if those verses are highlighted in your bible.
If a new believer came across that passage in Rom. 8:14 and asked you what it means to be ‘led by His spirit’, how would you explain that to them? Would you know to point out Gal. 5:16 that says if we are ‘walking in the Spirit we won’t be fulfilling the lust of the flesh.’? And then scoot on down to vs. 19-21 that conveniently lists an assortment of what those ‘deeds’ are...followed up by Paul’s warning that ‘those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
No wonder we want to run back to our ‘pet doctrines’ that tell us we are just fine and just continue doing the best we can.
The last two days we spent time comparing this ‘walk of faith’ with the walk through the wilderness and into the Promised Land in the OT. Paul makes quite the case in 1Cor 10:1-11 that their experiences then, serve a useful purpose for us today as examples and warnings.
God has a land for us to possess. It’s our hearts that need to be purified. We don’t do it in ourselves...as it’s the Spirit of God who leads us to do this. That Angel in Exodus 23:20 that led the Israelites...yeah...that was Jesus who leads us today.
Let me leave this with you for study and meditation.
Prior to repenting and turning our hearts back to God, we were all under a curse of death and condemnation...dead in our sins and under the influence of the wicked one. (Eph 2:1-4; John 3:36; 1 John 5:19). We were living in darkness and death was all over us. Jesus came as a light to lead us out of darkness. Our heart were filled with all kinds of evil and sinfulness and selfishness and unclean things. And remember...there was no need for Jesus to come and condemn us as we were already condemned. He came to save us; to lead us out and to reconcile us back to God.
When we heard the gospel and responded...turning to Him, because of His great love and mercy, He took us in and loved us and embraced us much like the father did when his prodigal son returned to him in that well known parable. There was not a thing you could do in that moment to ‘clean yourself up’ and make yourself ‘more acceptable’ to Him. And in that moment, you most likely sensed...felt...and experienced a love and a joy and a peace that defies understanding.
Did this mean you were ‘a new creation’ and completely changed in that moment? Absolutely not. This...was the Beginning of your salvation...which is ‘being saved from the wrath of God’. (Rom 5:9) This was the point when you (in theory) ‘surrendered your life/heart’ to God. You were to become a ‘follower’ of Christ. And He was going to begin to lead you and clean your evil heart up in this process of ‘sanctification’. But you were supposed to follow. And obey. (Heb 5:9)
Did you know in the gospel of John, we read where for many of Jesus’s followers...they reached a point where they no longer were thrilled about the walk...and decided to follow Him no more...turning back. (6:66) – isn’t that an interesting set of numbers? We are also warned in Hebrews 3-4 not to do like many have done in the past and ‘turn away’ or ‘depart from the living God’...letting the deceitfulness of sin harden our hearts and we end up going astray. That is not a good thing...yet so many people do.
When we entered this covenant walk with Jesus, He placed this hedge of protection around us. It is His peace that surrounds you, and we are to ‘walk in this path of peace’, letting the ‘peace of God rule in our hearts’ as our minds are set on Him which brings ‘perfect peace’’...a peace that defies understanding. But guess what. This loving Father of ours...has to discipline us and lets us know when we mess up. To not receive correction from Him makes you illegitimate. (Heb 12). So how does he let us know when we mess up? We lose our peace. The hedge comes down and the enemy has access into our lives again. God is not messing around with this. He is serious. He was serious about the Israelites following and obeying in the Promise Land and He’s serious about us following Him in this walk of faith. He even warned others to ‘sin no more or worse things may happen to you.” (John 5:14)
What has become a point of contention for many is this idea that we can ‘go and sin no more’. This is one of the great lies that the enemy has fed God’s children into believing...which makes sense when you think about it. IF you believe that lie, then you are an open door for him to come in like a thief and work more destruction in your life. Yet, did Jesus not say whoever commits sin is a slave to sin and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son does? And if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed? (John 8:31-36)
Now...for me to tell you I ‘have no sin’ would mean I am deceived. (1 John 1:8). Do you know why? I have no idea what is in my heart, but God does. And He leads me and allows test to arise to show me what is in my heart so that I will confess and repent of those sins that He then drives off the land’ or ‘evicts the spiritual culprit’ who had me bound in that area. You know...when Jesus called Lazarus back to life out of that dark tomb, Lazarus walked out. But Jesus then directed his disciples to go and ‘loosen him and remove the grave clothes’ (John 11:44)
Do you think too many of us are still walking around with grave clothes that need to come off?
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