Christian Living

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I woke up and did what I usually do, and that’s to have my quiet time with the Lord. At such time I am aiming for honesty in everything I think, say and do. God is painfully drawing out of my life every religious ‘gunk’ and He has made me aware of the purpose of His pruning, chopping away or uprooting. (I have already formulating a few thoughts on paper about these processes but that’s for another article).

These processes that we go through only show God at work in us, directing us in total change, transformation, and eventually to a new beginning. This is a good argument and a concept to grasp, nevertheless, I can only say a painfully amen to what He is doing. For me personally, everything I do is under God’s spotlight and I’m left bare as I get closer to Him. I am really hungry to arrive at the place in my Christian life where it is no longer I but Christ. There was a shift in my usual quite time, to me it was like starting from back to front but God knows best.

Normally, during my quiet times I read a verse from the Bible relating to two daily devotionals subjects, i.e. the ‘Word for Today’ – UCB, and ‘My Utmost For His Highest’- Oswald Chambers. After completing the devotionals I would pray on the subjects that had touched my heart, and intercede on any stressing prayer topics and that could be varied. Next, I would then read other passages, a continuation of reading through the Bible slowly and then write notes as I am lead (what I’ve describe above could vary to a lesser degree some days).

Today was different. I began to pray about various things I was concerned about ‘doing’ as I poured out my heart before Him; the Lord spoke through His Spirit to my heart from a text in (Romans 10:9 – and I included verses10 -13). I knew the Lord had something to say so I stop praying and listened. The related text in Romans is usually used when leading someone to Christ, (just as we often used ‘Behold I stand at the door and knock…’ Rev 3:20) I saw the text in Romans as and encouragement to me or any Christian to continue believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Have I confessed with my mouth the Lord Jesus? Yes, I have. Do I really believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead? Yes I have. Then I am already saved on the merit of the blood, other things are not worth the worry.
What Jesus was speaking to me about was don’t get side-tracked and caught-up with outward trivialities and mundane toiling for recognition, continue to build up my relationship with Him and He would definitely work from the inside out. I was inspired to write and wrote pages non-stop.

The purpose for giving the brief outline in the above paragraphs is not to elevate me on ‘how dedicated I appear to be’ no, it is for the sole purpose of what the Almighty is doing in me at present. I pray it continue to increase until He calls me home. I am also amazed that God spoke the same word about relationship (drawing closer to Jesus) way back in the early nineteenth century as He is speaking today to others including me.
I will quote a few lines that has touched me as well as to substantiate what I wrote before reading the two daily devotionals, the first statement is from Oswald Chambers – ‘Usefulness or Relationship,’ the article I have written will enfolds following this statement:
“Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me – but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me.”

I have written (Romans 10:9) in reverse order the second clause came to me first and I wrote it exactly as it came into my mind; it goes like this- (1) “If you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead…”
Here again it’s about ‘to believe in my heart what I hear, the source of belief comes from what I’m hearing is in sync with my mind then move from mind to my heart.
Before I/we can believe our spiritual senses must be in sharp working order i.e. our auditory, mental, and belief system must be in agreement to bring confession pleasing to God.
(2) “That if we confess with out mouth the Lord Jesus…you shall be saved.” Wait a minute! Is it not to the unsaved or is it also to the Christians? Probably to both, because the word or God is universal, for any individual and to meet all needs.

(3) “With the heart (soul, seat of our emotions, feelings) one believes onto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made onto salvation.”

(4) It is written- “Whosoever (everyone, no distinction) believes will not be put to shame.” No distinction between Jews or Greeks… God is unbiased – whatever nationality, status, or position we may find ourselves, God’s fundamental principles are irreversible, His standards set in stone and we cannot change them at will, no matter whoever we think we are.

Are we living in the total freedom God gives us? The Word of God sets us free. If we are bound in anyway we are not walking in freedom. Yes, we are free to stand, sit, speak or be quiet. But are we free to love everyone as God commanded us? Love is demonstrative, we show our feelings by what we are thinking or doing to those whom God loves.

Yes, I’m free, we may say to all the above questions but our freedom must be used to do what is good and not by doing anything maliciously. Only by having right relationship with our Master can His Spirit guides us into all truth because we are not left alone to grope in darkness.

However, there are some grey areas which the Bible does not give a clear black or white answer on, but there is no shade given for sin – we are either practicing righteousness or sinning.
That is, whatever we do that does not line up with the Word of God is sin. Emphasis here, what is not done with God’s approval is sin. So check our mind-set about ourselves or others, whether or not the words we have received enable us to walk, believe and confess God’s Word and then put it into practice.

Are our thought processes beneficial to build ourselves or others spiritually? Or, are they damaging thoughts that slowly reaching to our belief system and then to our hearts, making us the person we are at present?
Results

What is the confession of our mouth, are they God’s (Word) and lined up with what He says? Our confession is not only in words but also in our non-verbal actions. These non-verbal actions have a language and speak effectively. Let’s be honest, are these calculated actions/attitudes speaking what God is saying?

Are you under the spotlight? Do you feel “God, who am I! I’m losing myself.” I believe in these last days God is demanding that we seek to connect with Him above the works we do for Him. He wants us to spend time with Him and get to know His heart and have eyes only for Him. This is the place where He is leading you.

He is not looking at our usefulness, ‘but He is taking note whether we are listening and obeying His voice.’ It is only by spending time with Him do we get to really know Him and desire what He desires.

We are being prepared by the constraint of the Holy Spirit because Jesus wants His Bride to be ready for the marriage supper, our garments must be pure and white without spot or blemish. This purification is a place of loneliness, but a place of joyfulness as we get accustomed to His voice directing us; then the pain presently experiencing will give room for joy. The experience of joyfulness always follows any times of distressing or maturing circumstances and that’s our loving Father’s plan to succour us.

Yes, “Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning” this period will pass as we abandon ourselves into the mighty hand of our heavenly Father. He gives the reward and it will be great, it’s worth the wait, joy is coming although it does not feel like it while going through the process.

It is inevitable we cannot bypass the process of God’s way of building; He is building a people of power and you/me/us are a part of those building blocks, a part of His plan for His Church and we are the Church and we must shine individually, even if we are the only one. The intensity of the heat is to get rid of the dross and purify His diamonds. We are those precious stones.

Every diamond increases its value as it goes through intense fire, diamonds shine brighter in every direction which ever sides they are turned, and so do we shine brightly through the fire of any adversity which God allows. It is not a comfortable place to be but joy is coming. Praise God!!

God wants you, me, us to be those collection of precious stones when He puts all His gems together, the greater the fire the more they (diamond, gold, silver etc.) shine; this is His purpose and we must go through the process. I suppose this is a place we can individually identify - this heat of adversity, although our trials might all be different.

So it’s back to basic I’m afraid! The intensified furnace is to get rid of the dross, do we believe that? It’s dropping off unwanted baggage’s,’ it’s dying to self and making ourselves open and naked to God and others in order to be healed (James 5:16). So don’t let our pride stop us from being vulnerable because of fearing what others think when we are being opened, when we want to have a deeper relationship with our Lord we will have nothing to hide and don’t care what others think. Distorted belief can rob us of our victory.

Everything is based on our belief system and its authenticity, so it is important to check what we’re thinking is from God. It’s all about our mind being the mind of Christ and being activated by love. Here’s a few lines from this morning’s topic on love in WFT:

“Don’t allowed self-centredness, masquerading as ambition (or religious Zeal!), keep you from showing love to those who need it most…Most of the time people don’t need our wise analysis or brilliant answers, they just need our love and support and they will find their own answers.”

A wise statement, how many times do we find ourselves lacking in love although we are busy doing ‘God’s work’ we leave the things we should be doing, such as showing love and mercy to others, undone.

When love motivates our actions both in verbal and non-verbal and we believe in our hearts that Jesus dwells in us as well as embracing others we are genuinely saved (transformed into the image of Christ). I am not talking about being ‘Born Again’ as stated earlier.

But what I am talking about is after being saved and knowing Him, what kind of ‘work-fruits’ are we producing, are walking close to His precepts or far away from them? The Bible says our works will be tried as by fire. Are our works motivated only by our approach to the things we do naturally and not on God’s set of guidelines?

We can not sacrifice one at the cost of the other, nothing about God is segmented, everything about Him and His commands are whole (line upon line, precepts upon precepts) and so is His precepts they must be obeyed. Oswald Chambers said.

“If you keep right-relationship with Jesus, then regardless or our present circumstances, He will continue to ‘flow out of us rivers of living waters”.
This is so true if we sift through the article it is about our relationship with God and others. God Word shows us the importance of what He expects us to communicate; as long as we continue to walk in the light God uses the very circumstances we go through to fulfil His purpose, so nothing that happens to us is wasted.

These main doctrines set out in the Bible are to adhere to, there’s no other way around them but to follow them through and having our mind and heart correspond with the confession of our mouth which leads us to right action. This is walking in step with Jesus and every step is a process that reaps reward.

The thrust of this topic is about allowing the things we hear go from our inner ear
to our mind and that our beliefs activate our heart to confess with our mouth. It’s only by hearing God’s thoughts and we act on this belief can true confession comes.
Nonetheless, if what we’re hearing is not lined up with the precepts of God it’s already contaminated, so it is paramount to get tuned in to God’s wave length and that could only be achieved by our relationship with Him.

It is not based on the perception we embrace about ourselves, how good we think we are or how spiritual, or based on our feelings of importance or usefulness to God because of the things we do, for when we measure ourselves or others by our usefulness we are setting up ourselves to be failures.

If Jesus had measured His life on usefulness (He was rejected and died on a cross), “Then Jesus was the greatest failure who ever lived…it is the work God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him… but all that our Lord gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God… something of great value to His Father ” Oswald Chambers.

When we develop right relationship with our Lord
and Saviour, we become like Him and take on His characteristics which is motivated through ‘love,’ we get to know His heart, we speak, think and act like Him and do the things we are commanded to do, these enabling principles are radically demonstrated. Amen!!

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