Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
James 4:8
Devotion
We want closer to God right, but it's as if we are standing with one clenched fist stretched behind us, holding all of the bad habits and sinful ways that we don't want to let go. The other hand stretches out open in front of us to keep God at a distance so that He "won't see" the things that are closer to our hearts, the hard spots inside of pride or bitterness or you name it. So we block in front, because if He gets too close to "see" those things (which He already sees anyways) He may ask us to let Him change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. There's no praying, no quiet times in His presence, just this struggle against the one who loves us. All the while we are saying, "God, I want to see your blessings, please help, please love, please be near." But our body language just isn't getting the same message across. Worst of all, while we are stalling God at the front door our Enemy finds the back door and has full view of the strongholds that we clench and the resistance to the Lord.
You see my friends, devotion in the Lord must be in full.
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
We want closer to God right, but it's as if we are standing with one clenched fist stretched behind us, holding all of the bad habits and sinful ways that we don't want to let go. The other hand stretches out open in front of us to keep God at a distance so that He "won't see" the things that are closer to our hearts, the hard spots inside of pride or bitterness or you name it. So we block in front, because if He gets too close to "see" those things (which He already sees anyways) He may ask us to let Him change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. There's no praying, no quiet times in His presence, just this struggle against the one who loves us. All the while we are saying, "God, I want to see your blessings, please help, please love, please be near." But our body language just isn't getting the same message across. Worst of all, while we are stalling God at the front door our Enemy finds the back door and has full view of the strongholds that we clench and the resistance to the Lord.
You see my friends, devotion in the Lord must be in full.
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Everyone is doing it! Bah!
The age old excuse between children in the home and on the playground (also the not-so-young people that use this excuse all the time as well, without the childish strain in their voices) Everyone was doing it!
Donna Otto (the founder of Homemakers By Choice) says that she told her daughter the motto "Wrong is always wrong, no matter how many people are doing it, and right is always right no matter how few people are doing it."
In Romans 3:3-4 Paul explains that God will always hold the truth, speak the truth even if everyone contradicts God. God is true and all that contradict Him are liars. God is by definition of His eternal qualities and divine nature truth. He cannot be wrong; He cannot bear false witness.
A statement made by author, Dallas Willard, reminded me that this quality in God's character, and thus all that He says He is profoundly falls back on this primary principle, that it is true, because God is true. This remains true, even if we deny it.
But we, humanity, we like to deny, deny, deny. We have different beliefs and different thoughts about what eternity really is, what it will be like, who will be there (end up there) and how they got to be there. Even in "Christianity" there are those churches (which are really social groups that follow Christ as their common uniting factor) that use the Bible, rather than believing, trusting and obeying it. They will read from it, speak from certain parts, and will conveniently navigate around passages that might bring conviction or contradiction. Amongst other peoples of the world, who are held accountable by the Creator Himself, (Romans 1:19-21 For what can be mknown about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, nhave been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,7 in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they obecame futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened).
God leaves humans responsible to choose Him or to reject Him (a lack of choice of God is the reject of God, for His radically amazing person is not something that can be ignored or occasional). Pantheist, Agnostic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, Christian, Atheist ECT! Every single human must choose for themselves if they believe or not that what the God of the Bible, Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh, Jesus Christ, The Word, Holy Spirit, says in the Bible is true for the world. It's a yes or no.
Donna Otto (the founder of Homemakers By Choice) says that she told her daughter the motto "Wrong is always wrong, no matter how many people are doing it, and right is always right no matter how few people are doing it."
In Romans 3:3-4 Paul explains that God will always hold the truth, speak the truth even if everyone contradicts God. God is true and all that contradict Him are liars. God is by definition of His eternal qualities and divine nature truth. He cannot be wrong; He cannot bear false witness.
A statement made by author, Dallas Willard, reminded me that this quality in God's character, and thus all that He says He is profoundly falls back on this primary principle, that it is true, because God is true. This remains true, even if we deny it.
But we, humanity, we like to deny, deny, deny. We have different beliefs and different thoughts about what eternity really is, what it will be like, who will be there (end up there) and how they got to be there. Even in "Christianity" there are those churches (which are really social groups that follow Christ as their common uniting factor) that use the Bible, rather than believing, trusting and obeying it. They will read from it, speak from certain parts, and will conveniently navigate around passages that might bring conviction or contradiction. Amongst other peoples of the world, who are held accountable by the Creator Himself, (Romans 1:19-21 For what can be mknown about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, nhave been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,7 in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they obecame futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened).
God leaves humans responsible to choose Him or to reject Him (a lack of choice of God is the reject of God, for His radically amazing person is not something that can be ignored or occasional). Pantheist, Agnostic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, Christian, Atheist ECT! Every single human must choose for themselves if they believe or not that what the God of the Bible, Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh, Jesus Christ, The Word, Holy Spirit, says in the Bible is true for the world. It's a yes or no.
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