Deuteronomy 26:16-19 - Our God is a Changeless God!

Today I read Deuteronomy chapters 19 to 26. I got some verses I noted, that go right through the heart of God’s Salvation for the Israelites in the Old Testament time and global Salvation for all in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19

“Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly.  You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands.  And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”

As I read these verses above, I don’t know about you, but I am excited. Why? Because even the Israelites who were under the law were called to the same process we are called to. Personally, when I read the Old Testament I am overwhelmed with rules and regulations. Yet, it was never about the rules and regulations and it was always about making sure the word of God penetrated their hearts until the law became part of their inner beings to change their attitude and transform them.

I have goose bumps as I write this, because my God is a changeless God! Can you recognize when we do not understand God’s grace and hide behind this “man made kind of cheap grace” idea that has taken the Church by storm, God cannot be pleased? The Puritans, along with Paul and the other apostles would be disgusted with us today. Sadly, we forget, being under grace bring us to a point where we are more accountable to God than the Israelites were because through Christ death, He can live it out in us.

If Christ, who is in you, doesn’t change your attitude and your inner life as you watch yourself growing spiritually in a phenomenal way on the inside, then Christ’s death makes no difference in your life. I do not mean growing in Bible reading and taking on more work in the church to feel like you are doing something for God. We got to make sure we are right with Him on the inside first before we live it out on the outside. Anything that shows itself on the outside should be because of who we are inside. Otherwise, all that we offer to Him, day in day out will be in the flesh. From the Old to the New Testament God has never accepted anything in the flesh. For us Christians it is only when it is offered to Him through Christ who is living freely in our lives with no hindrances, no lip service, no manipulation, no camouflage and no reservation. We leave it all behind and go to Him just as we are. In our mind, will and heart, we are totally bankrupt because there is no free will left; Christ is lifted up and given His rightful place.  We go empty handed to the One who loves us. In the end, He wants our best, not the rest.

I love saying to people “get with the program” in reality, the Christian life is a life where we all need to get with the program. I don’t know about you, but this song that we sing all the time at Church when there is an alter call “Just as I am without one plea, oh Lamb of God I come!” I sing it all the time, not because I don’t have the assurance of salvation and not because it is my favorite song. But, when you learn what it means to wait for God for years and He keeps testing you day in day out, it is easy to lose patience. It is easy to pack it all up and say the heck with everything.  So, I need to sing this song to my Lord and Saviour, because every day is an opportunity to offer our lives to Him, just as we are. When my life is too heavy for me, when people keep hurting me, when I am misunderstood, used and thrown away, when I feel alone and He is so far away that it feels like He is a figment of my imagination. When I feel abandoned by Him and I am tired of waiting, I usually sing this song.

I get there, because I know, no matter how this life is painful, so painful sometimes, even the verse of Jeremiah 29: 11 does not do anything for me, if anything it sounds more like empty words with no meaning whatsoever in my life. Times like that, I know I am getting in over my head and if I give in, I will go through a pity party with a one way ticket. So, like a brainless child, I go back to Him with this song and dump it all at His feet. The song brings me back to what is real and to what I know. While my feelings can betray me, I know how real He is even if I cannot recall it now. I know for sure for the past nine years or so, the most I have spent without seeing a spiritual growth spurt, is about two months. Strangely, when I feel I am at my lowest that is when I grow almost daily. Using the song to bring myself back to a level where I can endure is His grace at work in me.

Another reason for me to go back to Him in faith and humility, is because I believe in His promises, I can claim them, own them and hang on to them with every fiber of my being, because KNOW I am living the life He put before me. Like David in Psalm 119:9-60 “I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.” I live to do His will alone, to bring Him glory to worship Him with all that I am and to know Him. So, I delight in His word. His word is truly a lamp unto my feet; so, I can stand before Him with no shame, doubt and fear knowing that, this is my life before Him.  As I read psalm 119 today, many of those verses brought tears to my eyes because I can see myself so much.

One thing with God is that even though there is so much pain in the offering. You feel like an idiot because it is almost like there is something within you that is driving you right back to Him, in spite of it all. Incidentally, I know it is the life of Christ within.  But what is strange, is that if people could see into your heart, and knew the pain God testing has brought into your life. If they truly knew your business in a much deeper way, they would plainly accuse you of believing in pain because you keep going back for more of what look like on the outside “more pain.” But, it is part of being one with Christ, having a life set on Him at any cost by any way He leads, He then restrains you through His grace. 2 Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. He then restrains you through His grace. While you are in pain, instead of running away, you run right back to Him even though you know it means “more pain”

So, if the Lord is your God, and you have promised to walk in His ways, to obey His decrees, commands, and regulation, then do everything He tells you to do. Stop lying to yourself, life is too short.

Psalm 119:97-109

Oh, how I love your instructions!
    I think about them all day long.
⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
    for they are my constant guide.
⁹⁹ Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
    for I am always thinking of your laws.
¹⁰⁰ I am even wiser than my elders,
    for I have kept your commandments.
¹⁰¹ I have refused to walk on any evil path,
    so that I may remain obedient to your word.
¹⁰² I haven’t turned away from your regulations,
    for you have taught me well.
¹⁰³ How sweet your words taste to me;
    they are sweeter than honey.
¹⁰⁴ Your commandments give me understanding;
    no wonder I hate every false way of life.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
    and a light for my path.
¹⁰⁶ I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
    I will obey your righteous regulations.
¹⁰⁷ I have suffered much, O Lord;
    restore my life again as you promised.
¹⁰⁸ Lord, accept my offering of praise,
    and teach me your regulations.
¹⁰⁹ My life constantly hangs in the balance,
    but I will not stop obeying your instructions.

Just as I Am, Without One Plea

Text: Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871 
Music: William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868 

        Just as I am, without one plea, 

        but that thy blood was shed for me, 

        and that thou bidst me come to thee, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

2.      Just as I am, and waiting not 

        to rid my soul of one dark blot, 

        to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

3.      Just as I am, though tossed about 

        with many a conflict, many a doubt, 

        fightings and fears within, without, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

4.      Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; 

        sight, riches, healing of the mind, 

        yea, all I need in thee to find, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

5.      Just as I am, thou wilt receive, 

        wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; 

        because thy promise I believe, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

6.      Just as I am, thy love unknown 

        hath broken every barrier down; 

        now, to be thine, yea thine alone, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

Song of Sighs-by Susannah Spurgeon -How she dealt with the death of her beloved husband Spurgeon

In Memoriam: A Song of Sighs

by Susannah Spurgeon 

If you know anyone who has lost a loved one lately, pass this on. Thanks 

I wrote this ten years ago, on my return from Mentone, that beautiful village on the sea-coast; when with one hand the Lord had smitten me well-near to death, while with the other hand He had poured into my wounded heart the oil and wine of His choicest consolation. It was a wonderful time to my soul, and He helped me to sing aloud of His faithfulness, and to bless His Name—though He had taken from me my husband—the joy and crown of my earthly life.

Because of this, because He had glorified Himself in my sorrow, and out of the inmost recesses of my heart had drawn forth this canticle of grief, the words went straight to other lonely hearts, and rested there like "the dew of Hermon." For a long time, I received constant testimony to the fact that, in a very remarkable way, God was using the experience He had given me, as a balm and cordial to heal and soothe others of His bereaved children; and none but myself can tell how precious was this knowledge to my aching heart. It seemed indeed worthwhile suffering and sorrowing, if God's love and pity turned it all into a sweet symphony of praise to Him, and enabled stricken ones to honor Him by a response of sweet submission and perfect truth.

So, to the glory of my dear Lord, whose grace was sufficient for me in my darkest and most distressful days, I have had my "Song of Sighs" reproduced; and my one earnest desire is that, as the Lord then gave it the approval of His blessing, so now he will not withhold the grace which alone call make it His voice of comfort to those who mourn.

How shall I sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

For I am brought into a strange, weary land of loneliness and sorrow. I am a captive to grief, and the light of my life has been suddenly quenched in darkness.

Yet there is a song to be sung.

Mercy has outrun misery. Divine love has pierced the gloom of an unspeakable sorrow with a ray of celestial glory.

The anguished cry of a stricken heart has been hushed by the sweet compassion of a comforting God! "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!"

It is the Lord's song.

"He Himself has done it!" "The Lord gave—and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord." Is our dear Master to hear only sobs and sighs, and see only tears and sorrow, when He asks for His own beloved ones back again, that they may be with Him, and behold His glory? Nay, truly. For all His will is love.

The harp may often hang on the willows, and some of its choicest strings may be snapped forever on earth; but faith's hand must reach it down, and love's skillful fingers will soon find some tender chords of thankfulness in which to repeat His praise.

He will help me to sing it.

All the weeks and months since the pearly gates opened that my beloved husband might pass into the excellent glory, there has been, (for his sake,) deep down in my heart, a low undertone of joy in God, like the singing of the pebbles on a beach when the tide comes rolling in.

I thank God for this. And now that the deep waters are somewhat assuaging, this hidden music ought to be more distinct and appreciable.

I have traveled far now on life's journey; and, having climbed one of the few remaining hills between earth and Heaven, I stand awhile on this vantage-ground, and look back across the country through which the Lord has led me.

A well-defined pathway is visible, but it appears devious and wandering; sometimes skirting a mountain-top, whence one could catch glimpses of "the land that is very far off"; and, further on, descending into a valley shadowed by clouds and darkness. At one time, it runs along amidst steep places, and overhanging rocks; at another time, it winds across an open plain, brilliant with the sunshine of goodness and mercy, and fanned by breezes which are wafted from the fields of Heaven.

There are flowers of joy and love growing all along the way, even in the dark places; and "trees which the Lord has planted," give shade and shelter from too great heat.

I can see two pilgrims treading this highway of life together, hand in hand—heart linked to heart. True, they have had rivers to ford, and mountains to cross, and fierce enemies to fight, and many dangers to go through; but their Guide was watchful, their Deliverer unfailing, and of them it might truly be said, "In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years."

Mostly, they went on their way singing; and for one of them, at least, there was no joy greater than to tell others of the grace and glory of the blessed King to whose land He was hastening. And when he thus spoke, the power of the Lord was seen, and the angels rejoiced over repenting sinners.

But, at last, they came to a place on the road where two ways met; and here, amidst the terrors of a storm such as they had never before encountered, they parted company—the one being caught up to the invisible glory—the other, battered and bruised by the awful tempest, henceforth toiling along the road—alone.

But the "goodness and mercy" which, for so many years, had followed the two travelers, did not leave the solitary one; rather did the tenderness of the Lord "lead on softly," and choose green pastures for the tired feet, and still waters for the solace and refreshment of His trembling child. He gave, moreover, into her hands a solemn charge—to help fellow-pilgrims along the road, filling her life with blessed interest, and healing her own deep sorrow by giving her power to relieve and comfort others.

"With Christ—which is far better!" Philippians 1:23.

Ever since the solemn midnight hour when God took to Himself my most precious treasure, "the desire of my eyes," my loving and dearly-beloved husband—the above inspired words have been a wellspring of solace and comfort to my desolate heart. In the first anguish of my grief, I wrote them on the "farewell" card, and the palm-branches, which waved over his dead body in token of everlasting victory, bore their grand message of consolation to the thousands of weeping mourners.

Now, as the days go by, and the sense of loss deepens, and is still more acutely realized, the blessed fact set forth by these words comes again with Divine power of healing to my sorrowing soul. It is because it is far better for him to be with Christ—that I can patiently and even cheerfully endure my lonely life. I can sometimes dwell with such joy on the thought of his eternal glory "with Christ," that I forget to sorrow over my own great and unspeakable loss.

A dear friend wrote thus to me, the other day—"Oh, when I think of him, as able to praise his Savior, and preach without fatigue or pain—no longer limping, or leaning on his staff—with no cough, no faintness—no swollen fingers or ankles—away from the fogs and mists; where no heresies distress his heart; when I think of him thus, my heart fairly leaps for joy!"

Yes, faith can truly exult in our beloved's glory.

After his translation, I had time and opportunity further to realize the consolation enfolded in my text, and to prove the comforting power of the assurance that, even though my precious husband had bidden adieu to the best that earth could give, his being "with Christ" was "far better."

In a lovely garden, I often wandered alone, where, but a few weeks previously, his sweet presence had heightened every charm, and doubled every delight. There, amid the olive-groves, and rose-covered terraces, the dear Master taught me His estimate of true affection by recalling to my mind His own words to His disciples, "If you loved Me, you would rejoice—because I go to the Father;" and thus He made me understand that the thought of my darling's everlasting bliss, must overcome and banish my own selfish grief and sorrow.

So, day after day, I roamed amid a profusion of nature's beauty, breathing the fragrance of her choicest flowers; with the deep blue sky above me, and the still deeper blue of the Mediterranean Sea, spread out like a sapphire lake below me; with the most charming view of mountains, valleys, and seashore, bathed in sunshine, and the distant towns on the coast glittering like golden cities in the clear light, and only the cry of a sea-bird, or the dash of the wavelets on the shore, to mark the rhythm of the ceaseless harmonies of earth, and sea, and sky. Yet, even here, and missing so sorely his tender interest and participation in all my joy, I was enabled to remember that this was but mere earthly beauty—all fleeting and perishable; and that, to be in the Glory-land, where "everlasting spring abides," and to be "with Christ," was "far better."

Sometimes, my thoughts would recall those glorious drives up the mountains, which we had so lately enjoyed together; when every turn in the road revealed some new beauty of prospect, and a perfect climax of delight was reached when, after long, steady climbing, the horses drew the carriage triumphantly into the "place" of the quaint mountain village or town where we were bound. Here, some eight or nine hundred feet above the level of the sea, the houses were crowded together among the rocks like swallows' nests, and the view before us was enchanting beyond description; and my beloved would, with childlike eagerness, turn to me, and say, "There, wifey, isn't that worth coming all the way to see?" Yes, truly; and if there had been nothing else to see than his exultant happiness at my long-desired presence with him, this would have well repaid any effort of love on my part.

But, good and precious as all that was—and, oh! how sweet is the memory now!—my heart understands that it was only a poor earthly joy—fading and shadowy; and again I have to say, "He is with Christ, which is far better!"

Mr. Hanbury's "marble halls" were full of all art-treasures and riches collected from many lands. Everything that the most perfect taste could desire was there in lavish abundance, and the rooms were filled with all the choice and precious things that earth and wealth could furnish. I made discoveries, every day, of something more rare and costly, or more beautiful than I had seen before; and my first impulse was to go and tell my husband about it, or bring him to share my pleasure and admiration.

But, alas! he was gone, and my heart would bleed afresh, and my grief awaken to a terrible intensity, until, in soft accents within my soul, the blessed Spirit would whisper, "He is with Christ—which is far better!"

Down by the sea-shore, with the clear blue waters kissing the shingle at my feet, and making even the stones to sing a constant song of joy, I used to sit and think of my beloved's eternal bliss, until I could almost join in the universal melody around me, though the tears were blinding my eyes, and my heart ached with an unspeakable grief. I could not see to the other side of the bright Mediterranean waters—the light was too dazzling, and my vision was bounded; but I knew that, beyond the horizon, there lay a beautiful summer-land, where the rigors of winter are unknown, and the icy winds of the North never blow.

Even so, I could not, with my bodily eyes, see to the other shore of that separating sea which my precious husband had so lately crossed; but faith knew that the Celestial City was there, and that he was even then walking the golden streets, rejoicing in the fullness of joy at God's right hand! Better, ay, far better, to be with Christ—than to be with me! With me remained tears, and grief, and pain, and sin; but there, God Himself had wiped all his tears away; and neither sorrow, nor sin, nor evil of any kind, could ever again hurt his gentle spirit, or vex his loving heart!

Many such ponderings were in my heart during those sad and sacred days; but the conclusion to them all was this—that there was no earthly bliss, no ravishing prospect, no precious ties of wedded love, no "best" that this world or its relationships could give, which was not silenced, and surpassed, and beyond measure outweighed—by the blessed fact that to be "with Christ was far better!"

Deuteronomy Salvation Gratitude and Love! 2/2

Deuteronomy 8:11
"But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today."

Deuteronomy 12:1
"These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live."

Deuteronomy 12:8
"Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please,"

When you digest the contents of the book of Deuteronomy, you can vividly see why so many Christians today are wrong. They find the true Christianity too hard and tedious and most of us are not quite acquainted with the inner life. Like the Israelites, God is taken for granted at every turn. In Deuteronomy 8:11 Moses told the Israelites “be aware not to forget the Lord by not keeping His commandments, His statutes and His ordinances.” We can clearly see as we read God’s word, that by keeping them we have life. In the February 7^th post, I mentioned that the Christian life God taught me was a busy one because it takes every ounce of one’s strength and every bit of who you are must abide. I want to elaborate a bit further on it because it could be misconstrued. In Deuteronomy like in today’s Christian life, God’s plan has not changed. He always wanted for all those that are His to learn to keep His word to regulate their lives. He wanted His word to be what they fed on, to sustain and guide them. He wanted through it all, to become their God and their sanctifier. Anyone who tries to walk in this manner will tell you that at the level of the mind, this life is extremely busy because you cannot achieve this level of obedience and intimacy with Him without making the effort, moment by moment to constantly keep His business in the forefront of your mind.

The Israelites missed out on God’s leading and they missed out on the activities of God’s transforming power in their lives. This is usually what happens when we reject His leadership while we get comfortable and take Him for granted. Most of the time you will find in the absence of God’s transforming activities in one’s life, there is a need to change our behaviour as we mimic the qualities and attributes of a model Christian, all in the flesh with no spiritual values.

Years ago I bought a water heater and put it on my fuel bill. But the interest rates were so high; it was like borrowing money from the mafia. So the next month, I decided to make a big payment that would cover at least half of the cost of the water heater. I intended to pay it in full in the next three months instead of two years as they laid it out for me. When I called customer service to have them apply the payment toward the water heater, during the conversation the lady at the end of the line told me, well by making this payment, you completely altered the terms of this contract with us. In my mind I remember thinking “so what?” But, even though I was a brand new Christian, I never forgot her words because I knew God is a covenant God. God does not take it kindly to have a bunch of pretenders in the Church. He does not take kindly to those who are butting heads with Him and expect Him to pay up because He cannot lie.

Most of what I see around me is people following their Pastors, their Priests and spouses and God is no longer the head of most Churches or households. We have learned to practice our religion while learning to behave well to get our hearts in a place of conformity. Believe me, I wish what I am talking about was simply my own opinion. But, it is not. Anyone with a sound spiritual mind can see this is the situation in today’s Church.  When God opened my spiritual eyes, I found out, me too, I was following my pastor instead of God and I was trying very hard to learn to conform even though I was not good at it. When we fail to make God’s word the very thing we feed on, meditate on it and live by it, and when we fail to let His word and activities transform us we become easy prey. Someone can stand in front of the pulpit, utter the grossest stupidities about God and we are so numb inside we can’t differentiate between truth, lies or wrong beliefs.

In the end, all He wants on a global scale is to lead us to become a people being changed from glory to glory. He wants us to love, serve and obey Him in His way. He wants to purify us, preserve us and renew us day by day as He uses us to influence those around us. This was His goal thousands years ago with the Israelites and it is still His goal today with us Christians. We serve a changeless God. Why do we insist on living like sheep without a shepherd, is beyond me. 

Deuteronomy, Salvation Gratitude and Love! 1/2

I come to love the book of Deuteronomy because it is filled with God’s

guidance to keep up the relationship we have with Him. It is also filled with God’s love and protection for his own. In return He asks obedience that comes right from the heart. Not just looking to play the part on the outside and to conform. But the motive behind it all should be our love for Him and in Deuteronomy 6:24 Moses made it clearer to them. I understand where God is coming from. I can also see why the Christian life He taught me, is so busy and requires every ounce of one’s strength and every bit of who you are, must abide. A closer look at the book of Deuteronomy will show that before love for God can dominate our lives, we need to acquire something of a monumental importance in our salvation, which is GRATITUDE. Read Deuteronomy for yourself, and see how many times God emphasized the importance of gratitude and the role it plays in this life He has in mind for us. Look at how many times He repeated how they were freed from Egypt, how well He cared for them in the wilderness and how not only they need to keep what He has done for them alive in their hearts, but they need to drill them down into their children so they too, could always be fearful and grateful.

This gratitude I mentioned above, is acquired when first Salvation touches you on the inside, I am not talking about the counterfeit Salvation we have today where we get people to say the sinner’s prayer under duress or through manipulation. I am talking about those who were touched by God and in their encounter with Him, they have reached the point where they felt the need to say even in their hearts “God save me” or “what do I need to do to be saved?” This encounter would have come in very quietly or with a bang. Whichever way it comes in, your conscience is pricked and all of the sudden you realize you are a sinner in need of a saviour. This is the difference between man made Salvation and God’s. With God in the process, even if we do not know what the next step is, but one thing for sure, you know of your condition within.

The point I am trying to make here is that gratitude and humility work together and both come from God. We do not need to work hard to live a grateful and humble life before God, because we can see our nothingness and how without Him we can do nothing.  All we need to exercise this humility in everything that we do is abiding in Christ. As we abide in Him, we make use of Christ’s humility. It is a phenomenal thing to see how, over the years the humility we possess on the inside is growing as we grow spiritually. Like the agape love of God, it flows through you. It is like there is something within you that keeps recalling those moments when we first found out we are nothing but miserable sinners who deserve hell. Yet, God in His grace not only sent His son to die for us, but you have something else to be grateful for, because somehow you have been chosen amongst billions who will be going to hell and your eyes were opened to your condition. I don’t know about you, but often times I try to make sense of the fact that I have been called and chosen to see and recognize that I am a sinner in need of Him, why me instead of someone else? When you can see your salvation through His eyes, love simply bursts out of your heart like a broken water main gushing out a river of water. Then, God takes over this love and exchange it for His Agape Love. This is the result of Salvation, and this is the life giver living out His life within us.

Now, some of you might say, well, not all of us have to see our salvation this way and it is not necessary. I am here to tell you that you either have a defective Salvation or you have made use of the free will that God has provided for you and like the Israelites you chose the wrong path. I urge you to examine your heart honestly and openly before God. If you find out that you cannot bring yourself to even examine your heart in the light of God, then that is one more reason to panic because God’s Salvation in your heart will be enough to get you there and drive you to your knees.

What is worse is that some of you call yourself Christian for decades, you will read this and feel like something is wrong with this picture, but will dismiss it all simply because you do not have the courage to face yourself.  There is a strong chance that the feeling you are trying so hard to suppress is the shame of finding out that you have no idea what this gratitude and humility are all about and the fear that you could have been wrong all this time can actually cripple your heart. From all that Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy, we can tell by the time we find the Israelites in the book of Jeremiah, we can see how badly they have deteriorated without being wiser. We find them clearly practicing religion but never truly taking “GOD” within. They cut off and rejected GOD the life giver. They failed to take God into their hearts and abide by faith in His love. Yet, they never rejected His promises and felt they were entitled to them.

 It is very easy for anyone of us and any group of people to get so entrenched and build religious practices around certain doctrines and beliefs, have these practices control our behaviour and regulate our hearts. But, know this, there is a big difference between Salvation in the soul changing you and me through grace, and working things from the outside so that we can conform to our “religion.” In the latter, all we have found is religion, NOT CHRIST. Like the Israelites, we too cut off and reject CHRIST the life giver for a substitute. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith because in the end, God loves all that He has created no matter what, but not all of us belong to Him.

Deuteronomy 6-9 – Warnings – Promises – Gratitude & Obedience to God-Part 4/4

Exodus 32:9-10

Then the LORD said, "I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation."

  

Moses recounted the story in Deuteronomy 9:24-29 “You have been rebellious against the LORD ever since I have known you.  I lay prostrate before the LORD those forty days and forty nights because the LORD had said he would destroy you. I prayed to the LORD and said, "O Sovereign LORD, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin.  Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, 'Because the LORD was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the desert.' But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm."

As I read Deuteronomy chapter 9 I fell in love with Moses heart and attitude toward God and prayed that I never depart from what He taught me.  Verses 24-29 touched my heart and even though I know God has already dealt with this part of my heart in how I respond to Him in my daily walk, I felt the need to pray to Him for my preservation.  Here is why.  In these verses, we have a great example of what it means to use the deposit God makes in us to draw close in oneness and intimacy. When we read about Moses in the Old Testament, we have to be completely out to lunch not to see the meekness in this man’s heart, attitude and actions. Even God acknowledged his meekness.  On more than one occasion, God wanted to destroy the Israelites and blotted their names out from under heaven. By the same token, he offered Moses to make him a great and mighty nation. If Moses had accepted God’s offer and promise, he would have been in his right to do so. He would have been entitled to it because God made the offer and He could not have taken it back if Moses answer was “yes”

In the end, those chapters of Deuteronomy that I have been talking about in the past three posts, teach us a lesson that all of us should aspire to. Moses’s attitude and response to God in regard to His offer to make him a powerful nation shows what it means to truly love God and be one with Him. When your heart has been touched by God through His gracious and generous Salvation, and when you understand through the Holy Spirit’s eyes what this walk with Him is all about, you do not see God’s promises to make you something or give you something. You are past that stage so much, it is almost like it has become the last thing on your list. Of course, this comes with Spiritual growth and maturity in the faith. You do not see the fact that He promised you a place in heaven. You do not care about the privileges you are entitled to as the King’s heir. None of these matters to you. All your heart could see is “His glory.” You could care less about all that He can do for you. I keep repeating myself here for a good reason. I want you to see it through your spiritual eyes and I want to pay attention to it.

This kind of growth happens only when we become so merged with Him, regardless how long we have been a Christian, as we live in His Holiness and His righteousness, the self has been annihilated so much, that you are watching yourself not being elated by His promises to give you something especially IF IT IS AT HIS OWN EXPENSES. With the self being dealt with, there is room only for Him to live His life within you so much so, that your answer to Him is always according to what Christ would respond. Hence why, Moses did not want this blessing in Exodus 32:10. I love the fact that there is a paradox there. You would be wrong to think that Moses had the power to refuse something like God promised to make him “a great nation" without God’s grace at work in him. 

When this kind of things happens to you, it is like you are watching someone else doing things within you because you know there is no way on earth you would not go for His offer instead. When things like that happen, you know without a doubt that it is not you who is living this life but Him in you. You are jealous for His reputation and your answer to Him contains the same kind of motive, attitude and love that you see in Moses answer in Deuteronomy 9:28. The funny thing is, when you sort of sit down to think about what just happened there, you cannot help asking yourself why is it there is something in you that is guarding God so jealously that it feels as if you are completely forgetting that God can take care of Himself. Yet, you cannot help it simply because you are living out Galatians 2:20 in full fledge.

 I am not saying that we should not enjoy God’s promises. Oh No! That would be so wrong, I would not know how to describe it. I personally truly enjoy God’s promises and I live with expectancy in my heart. But what I am saying is that His promises are at the bottom of your list when your heart gets hold of Him. When you get what Salvation means, according to His plans, you actually find the next best things are a heart filled with gratitude toward Him, a strengthen faith a need to obey and you are watching His Agape love permeates your heart slowly.  In living out the real Christian life, in spirit, you will find out all these things I mentioned above come way before you even think about what’s in it for you.

This is why I keep saying, if after decades of calling ourselves Christian and we know nothing else about Him except holding on to His promises like a dog with a bone, then we miss the point of Salvation completely.  The Israelites already had this mentality and it did not work for God at all. In the end, God did not fail the Israelites and He did not fail in His promises to them. The truth is, they failed God! When we fail to know God and walk with Him in the way He planned for us, Moses tells us exactly in Deut 9:27, we are there because of our sin, our rebellious heart, and wickedness. Ask yourself, when was the last time you examine your heart to meet with God face to face and deal with your sinful and wicked heart?  Most of us can’t. We do not even accept the fact that we are wicked. We have no problem seeing it in unbelievers while we act as if it is not for us. I noticed whenever I speak about my wicked heart; I offend the people I am talking to. They have a need to correct me and usually they are quick to blame the devil for me feeling this way or even acknowledge that I have a wicked heart.

I could go on for days with what I see in Deuteronomy that we need to apply in our lives today. But I will stop there. I pray that God would touch your heart and that you would be moved to give Him the love and obedience that is due to Him. I pray that you would learn to see that Christianity cannot be compartmentalized, but it is a lifestyle lived out in Him and through Him!

YES GRACE IS FREE!

This morning as I was having the greatest time with God and I was worshipping in songs, prayers, bible study and so on. My heart and soul were engulfed with so much love for Him I could almost taste Him. The passion, the love, and the ache that I feel for His redeeming love for me made me want to scream from the top of my lungs how grateful I am for being under grace. The curse of my condition has been broken and I am allowed to go behind the veil to worship at His feet right there. What an honor? What love He feels for me and how much Christ must love His father to sacrifice it all for His glory.

I don’t know about you, but because I am under grace, all I want is to love Him just the same. Not because I am good or that I have more will power than any one of you. At the end of the day I am just scum. But, because I can truly say “because He lives I live.” I can truly say “it is not me living, but Christ lives in me.” YES GRACE IS FREE! But grace must be given room to work out God’s plan in our hearts and our lives for His glory.

If we allow Him to teach us what it means to worship Him with our lives, we understand that it is the fulfillment of what we were born for and we do not have to wait to go to heaven to start fulfilling it. – The beauty, the embrace, the love, the passion and wholeness can all be ours right now. Would you surrender your soul to let Him be everything He can be in your life? Let go of all regrets, what might have been, the pain, and all the wrong that has been done to us, go to Him in the now and be ready to go forward with Him.

Guys, I am having one of those days with God that was not planned at all. It all started yesterday when God convicted my heart for not being in the "NOW" enough to let the passion of His love and grace flows through me. As I examined my heart, I came to the conclusion that He was right. Without realizing it, I have been concerned with certain things in my life which caused me to neglect Him.

 I then made the decision to let go and stop giving Him my second best. All night I kept thinking how grateful I am because He did not let me keep going in the wrong way for too long. That is a work of His grace working within. So as I woke up this morning, I emptied myself of all that entangled and offered myself up to Him. I can tell I am going to spend most of the day in worship. I had to really pull myself away while the CD is playing in the background, to share with you. I have to go spend more time with the GREAT I AM!

In His Agape Love,

MJ 

Deuteronomy 6-9 – Warnings – Promises – Gratitude & Obedience to God-Part 3

As I read Deuteronomy 6 – 9, I kept asking myself why is it most of us Christians dismiss those words of God when in reality they are there in black and white? How do we manage to find it so natural and easy to claim God's promises while dismissing what accompany His promises?

I am sure all of us Christians are familiar with a very popular and partial verse that Christians love saying “the Lord is faithful and He keeps His covenant.” But one look at Deuteronomy 7:9-11 you will see it is a partial truth we tell ourselves because God has conditions there. He also talked about those who love Him and keep His commandments.

I heard a well known pastor saying that since we are under grace, then, the conditions no longer applied to us, otherwise it would not be grace and grace is free. If only we can learn the meaning of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit’s teaching, we would understand it is exactly because we are under grace these conditions apply.  Yes, grace is totally free.  Grace transforms us, and because of His grace Christ lives within us. If indeed we are under His grace, then fulfilling His conditions become part of our own will, because we have the will of God within us to do, and to bring Him glory.

We are so creative when it comes to dismissing God's word. Like the Pharisees we get so busy covering up the lack of God in our lives and sadly, we get caught up in our own hype. Through it all, we are incapable of seeing the same God that we find in the Old and New Testament. Most of us are incapable of translating into our lives, the conditions and warnings found in the Old Testament, for what they mean to today’s Christians.

When you look at the Israelite’s path, meaning their ungratefulness, the blindness, lack of love, faith and their harden hearts, we see they have never changed from the time God left them to die in the wilderness. As we can see in Jeremiah, after decades of warning, they never took God at His word, always assumed they would be fine and never felt the need to change. In the end they lost the Promised Land just like God promised He would do if they did not follow according to His idea of what following Him meant.  Much later we find the Pharisees caught up in their religiosity, the word of God had not penetrated their hearts, and once again they did what was best for them, which means they killed their king. Can you see how easy it is to follow blindly the wrong path in our spiritual ignorance, blindness and lack of humility?

Sometimes, I am discouraged and feel like it’s a losing battle because hell is going to have way too  many Catholics, Baptist, Methodist, Evangelical, Adventist, Mormons, popes, pastors, priests, church leaders, nuns, etc. The list goes on. I can see the blindness which is so thick out there. The Spiritual ignorance that is leading the Church, while each one of them thinks it is the other one. Because of our lack of true Christianity, most of us have no idea what it means to be healed of our messy emotions that lead our lives.

Sometimes when I think of Christ dying on the Cross and tore the veil, my heart is overwhelms because I know too well what that means. This veil that has been removed gives us access to the Holy of Holies. Yet, the majority of Christians is living with no idea what it means for God to have removed the veil. One of the reasons the Israelites never get there, is because they could not switch gears and make it about God. No, it was like asking them for too much. Although God repeated several times in Deuteronomy that they were chosen not because they were impressive, but rather He chose them out of pure grace, it still did not sink into their hearts. And as long as they could not get them in their thick heads and in their harden hearts, they could never find gratefulness and gratitude to honour Him for who He is. They could never humble themselves in the way God truly sees them, so they took everything for granted. 

Deuteronomy 6-9 - Warnings - Promises - Gratitude & Obedience to God-Part 2

The other day I met a lady in the shopping center. I know her and her husband from my previous Church.  Although I used to interact mainly with her husband, when I saw her she smiled at me. I stopped and inquired about how her family was doing. Then, knowing very well they were part of what God has called me to leave behind, I inquired about her spiritual growth. She went on telling me how much they are growing in the Lord and how important it is to keep growing etc. She then asked me a question about myself, I said, unfortunately God told me He wants me in the background. She then answered what do you mean God told you? How do you know it is God? I responded, because I interact with Him on a daily basis and because I have a relationship with the triune God within. She then replied, “don't tell me you can hear God.” I said of course I can hear God talking to me in the new heart. Then the lady dismissed me like an old dirty sock and walked away while she is saying “I have to go”. I could tell from her attitude she felt, somehow I have become a deranged person.

Afterward, I felt bad as if I let God down. I knew this lady was going to talk to her husband and both of them would agree that I am crazy. I felt even as she was leaving, I should have given her at least one verse reference to this fact. I guess one of the reasons I am stuck in Deuteronomy 6-9 it is because I know too well how my previous church was like most Churches today. They function as if the God of the Old Testament is a God of the past and a God of history and the God of the New Testament is more loving. So they could not see anything wrong with practicing the kind of Christianity where everything is under some kind of cheap grace. This kind of teaching was such a stumbling block for me when the Holy Spirit decided to teach me Himself.

Once again, I will go down in history for saying we Protestants has taken way too much out of God's word. Yet we cannot see the big tree in our eyes because we are too busy judging the Catholics for adding too much. God is truly all knowing. He did not say these words in Deuteronomy 4:2 in vain. “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” He knew an important group of people would add to His word another important one would take away from His word. The only way to find a balance is to rely on His grace. When God was dealing with the Israelites in the wilderness, it was His grace at work through them, even today, it is still His grace at work through us. – Nothing has changed, He is the same today and forever.

One of the first things He decided to teach me in the wilderness was to get rid of this kind of love that I felt for Him. I sobbed uncontrollably when He showed me that the only love I am capable of feeling for Him had nothing to do with the love that He talked about. By then, my heart was engulfed with gratitude for my salvation, so I truly thought I loved Him. You can imagine how bad I felt when I recognized within me, I did not have the capacity even to do something as simple as loving Him. I cried because I felt I had nothing to offer this big God. I remember the Holy Spirit consoles me as He explained to me how it was okay for me to offer a defective human love (Philos love) to Him. He also taught me as long as I am willing to let Him take my defective love and change it into His agape love, that’s all it takes.  A few years down the road He showed me how I am making use of His agape love flowing in my heart.

Without going to God in humility, we keep recycling and loving God with the same kind of feelings of friendship love that the unbelievers use to love each other. The love God is talking about in the Bible is so much more than what we know and what we have to offer. This Godly love that we are commanded to love our God with, as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ and also the unbelievers, is not the kind of love that we withdraw “just because.” In time, I also understood why it took God so long to finally show me His agape love was now flowing through me. Like anything that belongs to Him that we have to make use of, He has to first empty us. Whether we talk about His Holiness, His Righteousness or His Agape Love, if we are too full of the self, He needs to empty us first before He can fill us up with Himself.

With all my heart, I did not care about this lady dismissal of me as she walked away. God already made it clear to me that I am not going to gather friends by speaking the truth that He taught me. If I were to care about myself, this would mean I have not learned to serve one God, and man’s opinion still matters a great deal. Paul told us it is wrong in Galatians 1:10. God has dealt with my heart over the years to learn to focus on serving Him and let Him deal with man’s opinion of me. But, my heart was aching knowing that, this lady's husband is well respected in the Church and he is part of the leadership. He also has a bible study group that I attended once in early 2000 a few months after I became a Christian. I care because I missed an opportunity to let God use me properly. I care because I realized since I left the Church, the pastor is different, but the teaching has not changed much. It makes sense when you consider the pastor who took over was a mentor to the previous one.

So, as I read Deuteronomy 6-9 I kept asking myself, how on earth can a Christian read these chapters and not seeing the cheap grace that permeates the Church then, and now?  I ask myself why do we take it all for granted, and throw “diligence” out of the window while living with the assumption that it is okay to do that to God. One of the reasons cheap grace permeates the Church so much is because, like the Israelites, we have never learned to let His grace help us love Him with all our heart. It is only by learning to love Him with all our heart that the self can fade away while the heart and soul embrace the saviour and take on His interests alone. 

Sadly, often times, we have followed a path for so long that we cannot get off of it even if we wanted to. So, when we hear the truth and it does not sit well with us, most of the time we automatically respond with our fragile ego. We use it as a shield to protect us from our fear and shame. But just the fact that our ego is leading, should be a major indication that we are nowhere near where we should be with God. Like the Israelites the only thing that was leading them in the wilderness was their ego. When the ego (the self) has not been dealt, with then we have nothing to offer as we insist on living in the flesh. The moment the flesh is leading there is no room for the Holy Spirit to be heard and to work within us. It makes sense because we already have a master at work, why would we need the Holy Spirit's leadership?

God is good.  He made arrangement for me to see this lady again, three days after our first encounter. It is funny that I did not see them since 2007 and suddenly I got to see the wife twice in three days. When I saw her I took her on the side and told  her, the other day I made her uncomfortable for saying that I could hear God, but I had no intention of offending her simply because God’s word says "my sheep hears my voice" She looked at me straight in my eyes, changed the subject while walking away. I was at peace knowing that I did what I had to do. I gave her something to think about and will no longer worry about my part, the rest is up to God.