“For this commandment which I command you today is not too
difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.
It is not in heaven, that you should say ‘Who will go up to heaven for
us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say
‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we
may observe it?’ But the word is very
near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.” Deut. 30:
11-14
God has
left us without excuses. He has given us
His Word, clearly and easily understood.
He didn’t hide it or put it out of reach so that we had to search for it
or have someone else interpret it for us.
He has written it down for us, and then He lived it for us.
We have
many excuses for not living our lives the way we know God would have us
live. We’re tired. We’re shy.
We’re broke. We don’t know what
His will for our lives is. It’s
hard. The whining becomes an
overwhelming litany that we have used for so long it springs automatically to
our lips. But it’s not the truth.
The truth
is that God has made His word immanently accessible to each of us. He has made His word clear, and has not
hidden how He wants us to live. He
wanted to make sure it was clear, so He came to earth as one of us, and gave us
an example of how it could be done. He
placed His word in our hearts and on our tongues so that we could obey.
We have the
choice. We can live by faith, reflecting
the image of the Son, or we can continue to wallow in excuses, being defeated
not by Satan or the powers of hell, but by our own weakness. We win this battle “not by might, not by
power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord”.
As we conform to the image of the Son, making each decision by modeling
it after His character, depending on His strength to succeed, we live by
faith. It is simple, and yet the hardest
choice to make. We must be vigilant,
making each choice consciously and deliberately.
We cannot
live by the Word unless we know the word.
Without study and meditation on the Word of God we leave ourselves
defenseless, floundering in a sea of uncertainty. We cannot make choices based on the character
of God unless we know the character of God.
God has made His word abundantly available to us. Every Goodwill Store has several copies for
sale, most hotel rooms come furnished with one, many Christians would give one
to any one who asked. You have questions? We all have questions. Ask. Ask your
pastor or your Bible study leader. Ask me. But ask.
Give up
your excuses. Reach out to God and ask
Him to help You live His way. You’ll be glad
you did.
“If you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in
Him will not be disappointed.’” Romans
10: 9-11
These words are very true for those of us who are fortunate to live in a literate society with the means to obtain a Bible but I also believe God reveals Himself in other ways as He finds each heart.
ReplyDeleteYour premise is that a person may only know God's character if they study the word. I'm arguing that education is a privilege. Many in this world are illiterate, yet they have the same promise that those who believe will not be disappointed. The Holy Spirit speaks to each individually according to their circumstance and position, revealing God's character. Faith and salvation aren't predicated on being educated but in belief.
Yet, ironically, we're having this discussion because you and I are literate. So I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I noticed you weren't sure if anyone read your blog and I wanted you to know that I read every one of them ;o)
Thank you for your comment! You are correct in that I am writing to people who are literate. It makes sense, since one would have to be literate to read my blog. I do not believe that you can only know the character of God by reading. God reaches to each of us as he knows we are able to receive. I do believe that each of us has the responsibility to study God as he reveals himself to us, to engage in relationship with him. I am certainly western in thought and I appreciate you reminding me that God is bigger than our culture or education or whatever else we use to define ourselves. I love the conversation.
ReplyDelete