More on... Things That Accompany Salvation

ATree on sinking sands

One of the reasons that I keep pushing Christians to stop being people who reason with common sense and their own understanding is because I used to be like that too. I used to have a beautiful Christian life on the outside. Busy in the Church service in almost every aspect of the Church. From being an usher to being a leader in the alpha group, and so much more. This is on top of my Bible study, mentoring group, weekly prayer group, weekly evangelism group and weekly visit group where we would go out and visit the newcomers in the Church. I do not need to continue, this should give you a good idea what my life looked like on the outside. Furthermore, I was always a good person on the inside, I knew how to turn the other cheek, I respected my elders and leaders even when I did not agree with their leaderships. I was really good at forgiving others because the bible says so and the list goes on.

I never thought for a second that the changes that I put forth in my life, were not from the Holy Spirit, nor that I ever thought, there was something wrong with what I was doing. With all my heart, I truly believed that I was honoring God. But, the truth is, anyone of us is capable of these things. Anyone human being is capable of change and transformation. I used to be somewhat content to live my life where I stumble and fall, pick myself up and go right back to God. But, something was nagging me on the inside. I was so annoyed by the fact that I stumbled way too many times. I guess the reason it bothered me it was because my relationship with Christ looked like my marriage where for every one or two good days I had ten to twenty horrible days. There was that little bell inside that kept nagging and would not give up. It caused me to ask myself the question “why is my relationship with Christ, like that of a human being? Shouldn't it be different?”  After all, everything in the Bible indicated that God was supreme, so what gives?

When He got hold of me, lead me to the wilderness where He could teach me, only then my eyes opened and I could see that my beliefs were wrong.  How could that be when I believed these things with all my heart and I truly love God?  He finally showed me, spiritually, I was not doing things, “IN CHRIST”. My being “in Christ” was activated in full fledge for me to live out to the fullest, only after my consecration to Him. The Holy Spirit made it clear to me that it was not like I did not have this deposited in me at the moment of salvation, but it was activated in a moment of clarity when I made the decision to follow Him like in Luke 9:23-25. At that time, I surrendered all in complete abandonment to Him, as He became more than a savior, but my Master too. Through walking in Him, I also discovered, the reason I could see my relationship with Him was almost like having a human being relationship, it was because in living apart from Christ, I knew nothing of what it means spiritually speaking to live in His power and to be victorious.

Now, you all my faithful readers know how much I like Oswald Chambers and you know that I have been reading his devotional for almost as long as I have been a Christian. But, today, as I read his devotion, God took me back around that time where I used to live a powerless life with my own understanding and revealed something to me, and I knew I had to share it with you in today’s post. The Spirit took me back to that time where I used to believe that Christ love me, died for me, forgave me, and the cross was the only ground that allowed me to stand before God. Then, He said to me, “can you see how your understanding of me was as veiled and unspiritual as the apostles? Because they were not living in the power of the Holy Spirit yet, they had no idea what to do after my death.”  HERE COMES THE BIG REVELATION…., He said, “my death threw them off and they were lost, so each one of them went back to what they knew, to the best of their abilities.”  You might say to me, well, everybody knows that about the apostles, you are not saying anything new to us. But, I am here to tell you that even the smallest and most common truth, when revealed to us personally by God, become a big affair within. In this revelation, He was showing me how the apostle’s mind could not comprehend what was right there from the beginning and was also inevitable. While we have been reading so much about His death and we take all that we know for granted, but, put yourself in the apostle’s shoes who thought they found their kings, then, there was a twist to it that they did not expect.

It was an exciting revelation because He showed me their hearts, and in their intents, I was like them. The Spirit then explained to me that most of us are like that after we receive His salvation. Our expectations are different from God’s way, God plan and intention. Our intention will never be good enough and His intention alone has to prevail. But, He said, “the danger is when we remain there all of our lives and build our Christian lives on our own false foundation.”

There is no way the apostles would have understood that Christ death was the ultimate sacrifice. This was the big moment, this was the reason that all of it was put in motion in heaven. Remember something, Peter knew and said it in front of all the other apostles that Christ was God’s son. Yet, after Christ’s death he went back to his fishing business.

I am trying so hard to make you understand, how our understanding, even though sometimes might be honorable. Sometimes, we can even say the right words, and we make a great impact on others because of our knowledge, but without the Holy Spirit to walk us through things step by step, to reveal the true meaning behind what we cannot see and especially, GOD’S REAL INTENTION, then we have no idea that we cannot see. So, back then, even though I believed the right things, but they amounted to nothing in my life, until God made them real and made them part of me.

Our walk in the Spirit is like that. It is one lesson after another and every time we learn more we move forward to seeing more and more through His eyes. Explaining this is easy for me in a way because I can see it with the eyes of the spirit and they are also part of me. But, I do understand for some of you, if anything, I am giving you a headache and you might even see me as a fool or someone who complicates salvation. But, the reality is that when you can see with the eyes of the Spirit and when you become truly spiritual, this is a piece of cake. It is what’s become natural to you. So, I encourage you to be patient, and go to God with an open heart, knowing it is not about me or you, but about Him. Bring Him your understanding, whatever it might be. Bring your open heart to Him, with a willingness to follow Him with a heart totally consecrated and abandoned to Him. One of my favorite prayers when I was young in the faith was “LORD, MAKE ME WILLING TO BE WILLING TO DO YOUR WILL”

Faith is our belief in action, but never apart from Christ. It has to be “in Christ”

OSWALD CHAMBERS NOVEMBER 21 DEVOTIONAL