We hear about it and have no clue! What is a covenant relationship? I asked my pastor that question one day. The associate pastor participated in the discussion, also.
"If I have never experienced a covenant relationship, how am I supposed to know what my responsibility in a covenant relationship with God is supposed to look like?", I asked.
My pastor responded with, "your responsibility is to watch, pray and obey".
"Oh, just shut up!", I responded. "That is a corndog answer that doesn't mean anything to me and you know it"!
The associate pastor laughed and said, "Errol, your responsibility is to show that you trust God". Before I could jump down his throat, he continued with, "Let me give you an example. God led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt down to the Red Sea. Pharoah's army rode down upon the Israelites to destroy them, but God blocked the army of Pharoah with a pillar of fire, WHILE Moses led the people across the Red Sea. God proved that He was trustworthy there. Right?"
"Well, yeah", I said.
(Sidebar here: God is able to multitask)
"OK", he continued. "So, the people are getting ready to go into the Promised Land. The Jordan stands between them and Canaan. Water is raging. Joshua commands the Levites to take the Ark of the Covenant and step into the river. God did not stop the flow of the Jordan, until the people showed they trusted God to stop the flow of the river, just as He showed he could part the Red Sea".
And there it was.
God shows me he is faithful and them I have to show Him that I believe He will do it for me, by stepping out on that faith, KNOWING, not hoping, that He will show up when I need Him.
Not when I want Him, but when I NEED Him.
The Israelites had many opportunities, before then, to keep their part of the covenant. They had a chance to go into the Promised Land 40 years earlier, but let 10 of the 12 spies talk them out of what God had already promised them. They were toast when Moses agreed to sending the spies. God had already promised to give them the land.
So, who has talked you out of what God has already shown you He is able to do? And if God has already shown you He is faithful, that is He is able, why would you question Him? How do you serve a god that you have no faith in? Help me here, He can save me for Eternity, but He can't bless me or heal me or deliver me? Why serve a god like that?
Don't feel bad. I didn't have an answer, either.
The bottom line is I struggle to make the correct decisions, in the midst of those opportunities He provides me that help my faith and trust in Him to grow. The reason has to be I have not sought God's face (like Caleb and Joshua did). I only seek His hand. Think about that for a minute...if He has proven that He is able to cover my butt, the only purpose of those crises and challenges is for me to show Him I believe Him. Until I seek God's face and enter into a serious relationship with Him, I cannot enter into the Promised Land He has already given me.
Don't you want to go to the Promised Land? Listen, there has never been a time that God has solved a problem the way I thought that He should. Rarely, has He ever provided for me in the manner that I expected Him to. So, the only remaining question is do I want to do God's will or do I want Him to do mine?
Father, if it is possible to take this cup from me, I would appreciate You doing that. Yet, not my will, but THY will be done!
Amen.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Discipleship is NOT a Requirement for Salvation!
Wha.....? WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?
Well?
And HERE is where your dilemma occurs.
You believe that you MUST become a disciple to get into Heaven. The problem is you do not desire to become a disciple. Your flesh struggles against your spirit (Check Romans Chapter 7:17 - 8:1 for reference). And, since you refuse to feed your spirit (read your Bible!), your flesh wins out. Now, you are dealing with the shame of letting God down. That disqualifies you, in your mind, from going to ask God for anything, let alone forgiveness.
So, my first question to you is did Christ die for the sins you committed BEFORE you accepted Him or for ALL of your sins?
My second question is does anything that you EVER do catch God by surprise?
My third question is why would you need a Savior, if you were expected to be perfect?
When you get a chance, go back and read John 3:16 again. But, this time, read what it says. Do not add anything to it. Do not add the requirements of your religious upbringing. Do not add the expectations of your Mom or Dad or Pastor from the church that you grew up in (none of them were perfect, either. If they thought they were, then they are guilty of the sin of pride!). Just read what it says. As you read it, think about David. David, according to God, was a man after God's own heart. David was an adulterer and a murderer, among other things. So, even if you have killed somebody, salvation is available to you.
And Salvation has NOTHING to do with being a disciple.
A disciple is one who freely chooses to live by the principles that Jesus taught and modeled. The operative phrase in that statement is "freely chooses". Nobody is going to make you do anything. Nobody is going to force you. Nobody (well, maybe those who don't think they have earned God's forgiveness, so they appoint themselves to judge the hearts of others) is going to point out your faults and failures.
We have them, too.
Even God will not override your free will and force you to follow Him. The beauty of being you and me, is we are the only creation of God that has the ability to choose to love God or not. That ought to blow you away! God seeks relationship with you, because you choose to love Him back. Not because you are perfect. Not because you make all of the right decisions. Not because you never lose your temper or you never yell at the wife and kids. He seeks you out, because you CHOOSE to love Him.
Being a disciple is my way of telling God that I love Him. And Failure is part of my journey to Success. If I never mess up, I never learn about God's Grace and Forgiveness. If others never hurt me, I cannot give away Grace and Forgiveness. And I cannot have more Grace and Forgiveness, unless I give that which I have received from God, away.
Back to David. If he was so terrible, what made God so giddy about His relationship with David? David always tried to make the next right decision. See, you think that disciples never make mistakes. Not true. Disciples just know it does no good in trying to cover mistakes up. Disciples know that it does no good in trying to justify your actions, when you know in your heart your actions do not glorify God.
God knows your heart. He knew David's heart, too. He knew that David wrote Psalm 51 from the heart.
Want to be a disciple? Live Psalm 51.
And forget about being perfect.
You heard me. Discipleship is not a requirement to be saved. Want me to prove it? Go read John 3:16. Go AHEAD! I'll wait.....
Well?
You read,"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son. That WHOSOEVER (that's us!) believeth in Him, should not perish, but should have everlasting life.
Fire Insurance! That's what it is. You didn't want to go to Hell, so you ask Christ to be your Lord and Savior. The ONLY requirement for salvation is to believe that you are saved by the blood of Jesus. But, you are struggling with that "Lord" part. You want to discuss things with God, when He confronts you about your issues.
And HERE is where your dilemma occurs.
You believe that you MUST become a disciple to get into Heaven. The problem is you do not desire to become a disciple. Your flesh struggles against your spirit (Check Romans Chapter 7:17 - 8:1 for reference). And, since you refuse to feed your spirit (read your Bible!), your flesh wins out. Now, you are dealing with the shame of letting God down. That disqualifies you, in your mind, from going to ask God for anything, let alone forgiveness.
So, my first question to you is did Christ die for the sins you committed BEFORE you accepted Him or for ALL of your sins?
My second question is does anything that you EVER do catch God by surprise?
My third question is why would you need a Savior, if you were expected to be perfect?
When you get a chance, go back and read John 3:16 again. But, this time, read what it says. Do not add anything to it. Do not add the requirements of your religious upbringing. Do not add the expectations of your Mom or Dad or Pastor from the church that you grew up in (none of them were perfect, either. If they thought they were, then they are guilty of the sin of pride!). Just read what it says. As you read it, think about David. David, according to God, was a man after God's own heart. David was an adulterer and a murderer, among other things. So, even if you have killed somebody, salvation is available to you.
And Salvation has NOTHING to do with being a disciple.
A disciple is one who freely chooses to live by the principles that Jesus taught and modeled. The operative phrase in that statement is "freely chooses". Nobody is going to make you do anything. Nobody is going to force you. Nobody (well, maybe those who don't think they have earned God's forgiveness, so they appoint themselves to judge the hearts of others) is going to point out your faults and failures.
We have them, too.
Even God will not override your free will and force you to follow Him. The beauty of being you and me, is we are the only creation of God that has the ability to choose to love God or not. That ought to blow you away! God seeks relationship with you, because you choose to love Him back. Not because you are perfect. Not because you make all of the right decisions. Not because you never lose your temper or you never yell at the wife and kids. He seeks you out, because you CHOOSE to love Him.
Being a disciple is my way of telling God that I love Him. And Failure is part of my journey to Success. If I never mess up, I never learn about God's Grace and Forgiveness. If others never hurt me, I cannot give away Grace and Forgiveness. And I cannot have more Grace and Forgiveness, unless I give that which I have received from God, away.
Back to David. If he was so terrible, what made God so giddy about His relationship with David? David always tried to make the next right decision. See, you think that disciples never make mistakes. Not true. Disciples just know it does no good in trying to cover mistakes up. Disciples know that it does no good in trying to justify your actions, when you know in your heart your actions do not glorify God.
God knows your heart. He knew David's heart, too. He knew that David wrote Psalm 51 from the heart.
Want to be a disciple? Live Psalm 51.
And forget about being perfect.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Betrayal
WOW!
A whole year! Time sure flies, when you're having fun...NOT! Miserable does not begin to describe the past year! Fed up with people. Fed up with God. Fed up with myself for being fed up. I think the frustrating part of walking with God, is every time you think you finally get it, you are confronted with the sad truth that you don't. And the confrontation is violent and tears your heart out. You fight with yourself. You question your purpose. Why are you wasting your time trying to do something that does not matter to anybody else? You could feel this way without God and His people. You felt like this, before you came to Christ. How is this better? It's supposed to be better.
It shouldn't hurt like this when you walk with God, should it?
And then I got my devotional for today. Here it is:
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman
12-18-2007
A whole year! Time sure flies, when you're having fun...NOT! Miserable does not begin to describe the past year! Fed up with people. Fed up with God. Fed up with myself for being fed up. I think the frustrating part of walking with God, is every time you think you finally get it, you are confronted with the sad truth that you don't. And the confrontation is violent and tears your heart out. You fight with yourself. You question your purpose. Why are you wasting your time trying to do something that does not matter to anybody else? You could feel this way without God and His people. You felt like this, before you came to Christ. How is this better? It's supposed to be better.
It shouldn't hurt like this when you walk with God, should it?
And then I got my devotional for today. Here it is:
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman
12-18-2007
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend. - Psalm 55:12-13
"You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the breakfast table. "God has called you to bring people together and to impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships." Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.
I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.
If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.
Look at it again:
It is the most difficult and most gut wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. (you can get this every day by clicking on the link to the right side of the page)
My NATURAL response is satan's most powerful weapon!
I am so wrapped up in my circumstances, that I miss some very important elements. The first thing I missed is that my response does matter. It is important to Christ. Yours is, too!
The second thing that I missed is this is a spiritual attack. God allows satan to use my NATURAL emotional responses against me, to teach me how to control my emotions. Why? Because, if I do not learn to control them, they become a weapon against me. Not just ANY weapon, either. The enemy's most powerful weapon.
The third thing that I missed is, if I am walking around with unforgiveness and bitterness in my heart, AFTER Christ has forgiven me for everything (go get your Kleenex! It gets real ugly right about here!), then I blaspheme the Blood that Christ shed for me. My requirement, once I accept Grace, is to give that Grace away in the same manner (Unconditional) and the same amount (Unlimited) that I received it.
Busted, aren't you? I was.
I want God to forgive me for everything that I have done and stuff I haven't even got to mess up yet. But, my flesh is walking around in unforgiveness and bitterness. I am more important than God (to me) when that happens. I know that is wrong. How can I struggle with something that I know is wrong? If I am a servant of God, how can I make that decision?
And because I understand the consequences of my willful decision, I don't ask God to forgive me. Now, I am separated from God.
I feel the distance between us. I put it there. I want tangible evidence, that in the midst of all of this pain others inflicted upon me (DING! DING! DING!), that God cares about what's happened to ME!
When it's not about me. That is what God wants to teach me. That it is never about me, when I think it should be. AND, it always about me, when I think that it shouldn't be.
I did not sign up for this, Lord!
Oh yes, you did, Errol. In your haste to get "Fire Insurance", you failed to read the fine print. It reads, "give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US". Been saying that since you were knee high to a cockroach, haven't you? Never paid attention to the fine print.
Go back and read the fine print. Read Psalm 55. God put it there to show where your greatest hurt will come from. And to show you what the right answer is. Go read John Chapters 14 through 17. God put that there to show you that, if you are following Him, they are going to hate you and talk about you. He wants to show there are those who call themselves Christians, who are not of Christ. He will provoke them to show their true colors. The crisis of faith will be too great for them to go any farther than their character can carry them.
Read: IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!
And just as Christ set an example of just what Grace looks like when He forgave His disciples for abandoning Him, even after they all proclaimed their allegiance, He is asking me...you...to sacrifice your rights and be an example of what Grace and Forgiveness looks like.
Read: IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!
Don't you have a right to be hurt and angry? No. The only right you have, as a child of the Living God, is to obey.
If you don't make that choice, well, God says that if you do not forgive others, then He cannot (Not WILL NOT, CANNOT!) forgive you.
Think about that for a moment, will you?
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me!
"But, I don't, God".
"Sure, you do, Errol".
"None that I am aware of, Lord".
"And THAT is the problem".
"Sure, you do, Errol".
"None that I am aware of, Lord".
"And THAT is the problem".
My philosophy is that we get to go round and round our own personal Mt. Sinai, in our own personal wilderness, until we get it. We wave at the little desert critters that we have befriended along the journey, as we make our laps around the mountain. They give us little packages to drop off to their critter relatives on the other side of the mountain. We make so many laps around that mountain, that we become a courier service comparable to the United States Postal Service.
WHY? Because we do not get it! What is IT? Anything that distracts us from our duties as a servant! Our job, our function in God's Kingdom, is to be servants. NEWS FLASH, I know. But, that is what we do.
Second New Flash! God blesses His servants. BUT, ONLY IF THEY SERVE!!!!
And since He will not override my free will, He sends me around the mountain over and over and over...WAIT! That's not true! If I possess free will, then I am CHOOSING to go around that mountain over and over, until I CHOOSE (there's that word again!) to be obedient and trust God enough to lay whatever it is that stands between He and I (finances, jobs, failing marriages, just feel free to enter your own issue that you SAY you trust Him with, but your actions prove otherwise!).
We worry when He tells us not to. We try to fix it and it only gets worse. And sadder still, we are oblivious to the fact that our attempts to "fix" the issue with worry (sounds stupid when I put it that way, huh?), declare we have faith in God to save us, but not to provide for us or to heal broken relationships.
Question...what is the point of serving a God that can give you eternal life, but cannot feed you or heal you? The answer is, there is no point. Your relationship with God has reverted back to religion. And God is not a happy camper around religious people! (SEE: Pharisees)
We make our issues, the cares of the day, a god that we place above our Lord! Jesus explains in the Parable of the Soils that the cares of the day (bill paying, bill collectors, broken hearts, broken homes, etc) chokes out the purpose and steal the Word of the Lord from our hearts, before it can grow deep roots and take hold of our lives.
And God LOVES me enough to frustrate my efforts to function outside of His power and His provision to force me to rely upon Him.
I call it the "Fram Oil Filter Theory". We can be obedient to that first commandment and pay Him now, or we can suffer from our own inadequate efforts and pay Him later.
I'm taking my wallet out now, Lord! I'm laying my cares at the foot of Your throne. It never works when I try to fix it, anyway! I know how that movie ends, when I am the director. I understand that You may have a different outcome in mind, than I do. But, Your word declares that You always have my best interests in mind, even if I do not think so.
Let Your will be done, Father.
Let Your will be done.
WHY? Because we do not get it! What is IT? Anything that distracts us from our duties as a servant! Our job, our function in God's Kingdom, is to be servants. NEWS FLASH, I know. But, that is what we do.
Second New Flash! God blesses His servants. BUT, ONLY IF THEY SERVE!!!!
And since He will not override my free will, He sends me around the mountain over and over and over...WAIT! That's not true! If I possess free will, then I am CHOOSING to go around that mountain over and over, until I CHOOSE (there's that word again!) to be obedient and trust God enough to lay whatever it is that stands between He and I (finances, jobs, failing marriages, just feel free to enter your own issue that you SAY you trust Him with, but your actions prove otherwise!).
We worry when He tells us not to. We try to fix it and it only gets worse. And sadder still, we are oblivious to the fact that our attempts to "fix" the issue with worry (sounds stupid when I put it that way, huh?), declare we have faith in God to save us, but not to provide for us or to heal broken relationships.
Question...what is the point of serving a God that can give you eternal life, but cannot feed you or heal you? The answer is, there is no point. Your relationship with God has reverted back to religion. And God is not a happy camper around religious people! (SEE: Pharisees)
We make our issues, the cares of the day, a god that we place above our Lord! Jesus explains in the Parable of the Soils that the cares of the day (bill paying, bill collectors, broken hearts, broken homes, etc) chokes out the purpose and steal the Word of the Lord from our hearts, before it can grow deep roots and take hold of our lives.
And God LOVES me enough to frustrate my efforts to function outside of His power and His provision to force me to rely upon Him.
I call it the "Fram Oil Filter Theory". We can be obedient to that first commandment and pay Him now, or we can suffer from our own inadequate efforts and pay Him later.
I'm taking my wallet out now, Lord! I'm laying my cares at the foot of Your throne. It never works when I try to fix it, anyway! I know how that movie ends, when I am the director. I understand that You may have a different outcome in mind, than I do. But, Your word declares that You always have my best interests in mind, even if I do not think so.
Let Your will be done, Father.
Let Your will be done.
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