Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Memory of the Month: Psalm 33:4
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
Today's reading: ZECHARIAH 9-12 REVELATION 20
It Goes On-Life God's Way
Robert Frost wrote: "All I have learned of life can be expressed in three words, 'It goes on' ".( Real life does not go on the way the world understands it-it goes on the way God wills it. )
Eurpides wrote: "The greatest pleasure in life is love". (Love is not a pleasure, it is a privilege.)
One famous 'Christian' writer wrote: "Our true identity is defined not by our past actions but by the Savior’s".
Some famous writers that have been studied for their 'great' works just did not have a grasp of real life as it is seen in the scriptures. On top of that, some 'great Christian writers' have said some things that are at least, in this writer's opinion, incomplete. All these things happen by design. The enemy has but two jobs: 1) to keep folks from coming to Christ, and 2) if he fails at the first, he works to keep the converted from allowing God to make them all He wants them to be.
These efforts are manifested in the worship of the gods of this world. The rich and famous are perceived to be the wise and so their words are used as 'gospel' and worshiped as great truth.
This is why the Bible teaches us to 'try' all things.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
21 but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.…
It is extremely hard for many to read the writings of history and hear the 'sayings of the wise men of the world' and recognize the evil or expose the ungodly because it has become the 'accepted' or because it has been 'borrowed from scripture' and tweaked just enough to still sound divine but corrupt all the same.
2 Corinthians 11:14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
One great problem with all of this is the number of Christians who go through the motions of 'being a Christian' and being in church for years just because someone said this is how you do it. There have to be other reasons.
First, it is good to be in church and to be with God's people but if that is all there is, there are some shallow lives that can never reach the full potential desired by the heart of God. At some point, folks who 'seek God and His kingdom' must realize we cannot live off the words of wise men-that we cannot grow just living from one sermon to the next-or we cannot live off the excitement of others.
I learned how to drive when I was ten years old and got my driver's license at fourteen(birthdate in 1953 was the last for age fourteen). I was driving a dump truck without a CDL for years. I could back a car around the old dirt track at school fast enough to scare the instructor just using the mirrors. In Spite of all that, I found myself on the side of the road out of gas a few too many times. I knew the car could not run without fuel. I knew an engine would lock up without motor oil and knew that without antifreeze an engine would freeze and crack and be ruined but that did not keep it from happening. Why? I ignored the basics.
Why does so much of the world that says they believe in God ignore the basics and try to 'keep running' without the proper fuel and maintenance? That is what we do, is it not. We know 'about' God from the knowledge of others. We have churches who have great worship leaders and teams who lift our 'spirits' and excite us but then we walk out the door and look forward to the next worship time-and that is just wrong. We listen to the doctrine taught to us by good teachers and expect the church to make us grow?
Growth of our souls and hearts will never happen with shallow understanding. Growth will never happen unless we look forward to the next time we are face to face with God himself or the next time we are deep into reading His word everyday and meditating on His word-written and living. Growth does not happen without a deep desire for God Himself. The scripture says for us to love God with all we are.
Think about it. When we love someone-really love them, how do we act and think towards them. We desire the very best for them in all things and we want to be with them when they experience the very best. We desire to be with them when the hardest of times hits us. We want to see those we love know real happiness and peace-real joy.
How do we experience this love in our hearts for God? We make the choice to desire Him. We commit our lives to knowing Him deeper and deeper. We want God to experience good pleasure from us and we want Him to share our deepest pleasures. We want God to know our deepest hurts-to be right there in the middle of it with us.
Desire is built from a commitment to loving-and love and desire grow together. Commitment is proven but can only be proven to ourselves by ourselves. No one else is 'keeping score', especially God. God's love for us-His pure love keeps no record-
1 Corinthians 13:5 ►it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Psalm 21:5>His glory is great because of Your victory; Splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.
A song of the last few years asked the question: "What are you listening to?"
Whatever it is we hear, is God's word our filter? Do we hear what God wants us to hear or that which brings us worldly pleasure? Is the wisdom we seek from the world or from God's heart. God loves you-the 'dead poets' do not. God loves you completely-the writers of the classic world's wisdom are all dead.
Our God lives and His love endures all things forever.
Commit to love God-love God's commitment to you.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Have mercy on me, oh God. Forgive me for not loving You the way You want me to. Forgive me my weak commitment. Forgive me for depending on my senses for my spiritual growth. Grow my desire to You and my love for You. You are all I need.
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