Good morning!
I had lunch with a friend Thursday. I was spiritually agitated and I think he knew it. Here is why...
I choose to acknowledge that Yeshua the Christ is God, and I am not.
"Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
~ Daniel 12:3
How can I contribute to the Kingdom of God without thinking of myself?
I understand and acknowledge that the only way to fill my life with significance is to submit to the Lord’s will and live my life for Him. Is it possible to serve the Lord for the wrong reasons? Perhaps He will change my heart and I just need to take the next step…just do the next right thing.
I could tell it wasn’t the conversation my friend was looking to have. I could tell that we don’t exactly agree philosophically – perhaps even theologically – regarding some of the issues we were discussing.
I don’t intend to upset people, but I’m getting increasingly restless and my own rebellious attitude toward God angers me.
It is rebellion that keeps my mouth shut when words of encouragement are required.
It is rebellion that keeps my wallet closed when there is a need I could help meet.
It is rebellion to sit on the couch when I could spend time in a God-honoring conversation with a child.
Like most folks I am concerned with my own “rights”. I think and talk about my “needs” as if I am the one responsible for ensuring they are met. The more I think about my relationship to the Master the more upset I become with my own hesitation. I still have reservations.
I truly believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.
It all starts there, with that statement. Jesus (Yeshua) is the Messiah, he is the Creator of all things.
HE humbled Himself and took the form of a man in order to pay the ransom for all of humanity. The vast majority of mankind rejected, rejects, and will reject His sacrifice. That is heartbreaking.
“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ''Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.''
~ Luke 22:41-42
Yeshua is the pattern I am to follow. I may be filled with righteous indignation…but my own guilt keeps me from standing up for what is right and true. In this way, our Enemy has been able to keep my mouth shut. When I am thinking clearly, I don’t want it to happen. Yet, when I am tested, I often fail. What am I trying to preserve?
We are silent to save ourselves the embarrassment of being set apart.
We are silent because we are unsure of how to defend the Bible.
We are silent because we want to avoid conflict.
The point here: We are silent.
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
~ Matthew 10:32,33
I cannot afford to be silent.
I do not dare.
I have the opportunity to willingly serve the Master with my life. A life I was given…there was no earning it, there was no self-initiation.
I was born into sin, and on my own I have knowingly & willingly contributed to that stain. I have no excuse. No one does.
We should never forget what Christ offered us. This is so easily forgotten (or laid aside).
You know that. We have all experienced it.
When we do wrong it is because we WANT to do wrong at the time.
We essentially say to God that WE are sovereign and His way is not the best way for us.
However, Jesus is no slave driver. He has not asked any more of me than He willing gave. The difference is, I OWED my life, and He did not.
The difference is…he died for us while we HATED the very idea of Him.
Why can’t we give back just one lifetime?
I may not be able to give Him my whole life…but I can give Him this moment, and I can ask Him for the grace to give Him the next.
We have to believe we are better off under His care versus our own…or we will not let go.
We must let go.
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
~ John 3:30
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Steve,
ReplyDeleteYour restlessness is that of a seeker in the land of the easily satisfied, which is the church. Seekers struggle in churchianity because their thirst for God is not quenched by the easy answers that come from shallow wells that water down the amazing promises of scripture. Seekers desire the promised supernatural experience of actual relationship with the Creator of the universe, to hear His voice and know that we are His.
Seekers have more questions than the church, almost 2000 years down the road from Jesus, has answers. Seekers want to go out of the camp and into the wild with the Good Shepherd.
Seekers want to live in the Kingdom now (Matt 12:28) and not be lulled into waiting for it with the church, thereby totally missing it. Seekers want to go into the wind (pneuma or Spirit) and know where it comes from and blow with it to where it is going and not just hear its sound and be puzzled like the church (John 3:8).
Seekers are bothered by certain scriptures that the church misinterprets and by the Angry God that the church presents as though God hasn’t even read 1 Corinthians 13! Paul plainly states that Love does not get upset or even keep a record of our wrongs or ever end or fail!
Seekers want to go from hope to a full knowledge of the Truth and His Way which is not broadly traveled. Jesus promised that the Spirit, not scripture or the church, would guide us into all Truth.
Seekers want to leave religion which Jesus ended when He destroyed the temple and rebuilt in in three days and simply live because He, not religion, is the Life.
The Seeker’s heart desires to be completely free for freedoms sake (Gal. 5:1), unbound from law with its rules and regulations that only make us feel guilty and miserable.
Seekers are as dangerous as prophets to organizations and institutions like the churches and religions which rely on authority to maintain the status quo and uniformity of thinking. The way of the seeker to the Way is frightening (you have to leave the presumed safety of the camp and go into the wilderness), and can be very lonely and frustrating because there are very, very few mentors and guides out there who really know the Way.
Steve, I pray a successful journey for you, trust me, it is worth the effort. Always remember the secret (Col.1:27) is Christ who is in you!
A fellow traveler.
I am not anonymous.
ReplyDeleteMy theology is no shack made with human hands.
You said, "Jesus promised that the Spirit, not scripture or the church, would guide us into all Truth."
Should we be led by the Spirit and not by scripture as if they would disagree? How would we even know about the spirit if not for the scripture?
You have crossed a line.
What pushed you over?
Why do you WANT this to be true?
I have read it all, multiple times, I continue to search the Bible and yet I have found nothing in it that troubles or bothers me.
I am not some immature believer, that struggles with the Sovereignty of God.
I am comfortable with being an ash tray if the potter so chooses.
You have a lot of explaining to do.
I'm interested in a conversation.
Care to shed the anonimity?