Saturday, June 27, 2015

Straddling The Spiritual Fence




"…I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord. —Jeremiah 1:8

“God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally— “…your life shall be as a prize to you…” (Jeremiah 39:18). That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God’s personal deliverance. [..]  If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, “Why should I be treated like this?” If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, “Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.” Even the most devout among us become atheistic in this regard— we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God’s name to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6).” CHAMBERS

Hmmmm.  Oswald, do you mean to say that when people don’t do what they are supposed to do.  When they treat me poorly … I am supposed to “let it go?”  As a follower of Christ .. you are following Jesus right . .not just carrying the thought of Him around with you … we are supposed to hold things of this world in an open hand.  That’s right … but we have a death grip on some things in this world.  We have decided that for us to be “happy”, to feel safe, to not be fearful we need Jesus plus a few things.  The problem is that the Bible does not make allowance for that.  In fact, Jesus calls that being “lukewarm”, having a divided heart.  Revelation 3 or is it Revelations 3?  verses 15-17  “I [Jesus speaking] know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”   

Woah!  That sounds pretty harsh doesn’t it?   We live like it is OK to straddle the spiritual fence.  But it is NOT ok.  Matthew 22:37 uses the word “all” a lot.  That leaves no room for other devotions, if you desire to follow Jesus.  It is really up to you .. but if you are embracing the world as a Christian .. don’t deceive yourself any longer thinking it’s OK, because you certainly are not deceiving God. ELGIN

1 John 2: 15- 17  “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

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