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Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts

15 October, 2012

False Religion According to God’s Standards



DEVOTION


Read Jeremiah 7: 1-5

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord.  This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.  Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”

As I was reading Jeremiah 7 today, my heart was breaking because while this story is the Israelites story, specifically, in these verses Judah was targeted by God and it happened thousands of years ago, it is still us today. Things have not changed that much. We still go on with a vain confidence in mainstream Christianity. We find pride in our buildings, our achievements, the eloquence of our pastors, in our head knowledge, our plans, our standards, our denominations etc. We have compartmentalized Christianity, to us Salvation has become what we feel it should be. We bring God down so low, that His standards do not matter to us anymore. Our hearts are so callous, so much arrogance and pride in the Church and among Christians. Most of us in the pews along with our pastors have no idea what it means to be broken by God and the list goes on. Yet, we come and stand in His presence with no fear whatsoever. The Israelites felt they found protection too when they came into the temple. They too had compartmentalized their lives and expected God to honor His Word as if He could not see their hearts were not in it. We do not pay enough attention to the fact that God wants us to do things according to His Way and His standards.

We go through the Bible like lawyers going through documents to find loopholes. In the meantime we forget this is OUR GOD, the God of our Salvation. We offer Him sentimentality and we get caught up in our own hypes, our own deception and low standards of Christianity. But, true Christianity according to His standards demands that we live purposely for Him. Not according to what that means to us but according to His views, His Word., His standards and His plan for Salvation. When this is done according to His standards and by His grace, we are transformed on the inside. It is sad to see how we misunderstand Christianity because we do not know what it means to live under His grace and worst we have never learned to know ourselves because we have not been humbled by Him. So somehow, in the depth of our souls, we still think there is something good in us.

PRAY: Oh Lord, I pray we learn to embrace full Salvation according to your plan. I pray the eyes of our hearts would be open and we would get rid of Spiritual blindness. Take away the darkness that surrounds us Savior even though we do not deserve you, I pray that you would be glorified in all our lives.

In His Love & Service


In my book Apprehended & Apprehending I have gone more in-depth on this issue. I am running a promotion on my new book “Apprehended & Apprehending –Soaring In The Wilderness With God!” Find out how you can get it for free for a limited time only.


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10 October, 2012

BIBLE STUDY

When it comes to Bible study, like any important undertaking there are no shortcuts. Everything we need to live out the Christian life has been revealed to us in the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God and we need to believe it with every fibre of our being otherwise we are in trouble and we become sitting duck for Satan to ensnare us. The Bible is a road map and God has made provision for everything we could think of through examples and instructions, everything that could happen in our lives down here. Through it we learn to be a productive Christian, a good neighbour, how to deal with our enemies, how to be a successful family, a loving spouse and the list goes on. Therefore, reading the Bible in your quiet time alone with God, or together as a family has so many benefits and can only enrich the lives of those who partake in such practices. It also strengthens our faith, nourishes our souls and build our characters.

Throughout the Bible, God tells us how we are to study the Bible and some examples are: Psalm 119:11-12 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you; Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees". Verse 24 of the same psalm says "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors". In Acts 17:11 we read  "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."  We study the Bible with a purpose in mind, which is to bring Him glory and get to know Him personally. As we study the Bible, it is of the utmost importance that we are willing to listen with the ears of our hearts and obey the Word of God at any cost and by any means. As we do, we allow God's Word to affect our lives and touches our souls.

As we become more advanced in our reading and we are enjoying the learning and the growth we are experiencing from it, we might want to get ourselves a good concordance and a Bible commentary. I find that you never outgrow making notes, journaling your thoughts, your discoveries and revelations from God . So, I challenge you to set aside the time needed every day to delve into your Bible, with commitment, purpose and determination to reach the fullness of life He has in mind for you. Go before your Master and Redeemer, learn to love, trust, listen and obey.