Blogs

Really God?

Yes it’s true for everyone.

Mark normal Christianity is no threat to Doubt at all. In fact it’s the opposite. Normal Christianity keeps you in a cocoon of comfortable belief. A nice easy belief. You don’t have much call for Doubt because you seldom risk your comfortable faith by trying to hear a God who might not speak.

Do you watch the news and pray according to what you see? This is better than watching the news as a detached and disinterested observer. Yet there is a still better way. Prayer is traditionally done in a closet. You can pray anywhere, but the principle of seeking me in secret that I may share my heart with you is still valid. Do those who produce the news have the mind of Christ? My Kingdom comes not with observation, but I will reveal it to my servants. The things on my heart for you to address in prayer may not yet be visible in world events, but if you look to me I will lead you to pray according to my eternal will. 

Thank You, Father, for Your mercy on my loved one. A long, fearful, prayerful day, yesterday. And now life continues, by Your grace. What would you have me hear from You this day, Lord?

Everyone has an outward appearance, and this is your first impression of them. Is this all you see? You know that your own identity runs deeper than your appearance, and that this is true of others as well. You use the term essence to describe the true nature of anything as opposed to superficial appearance. You have one as well. Don’t you long to have people know and accept you for who you really are? They feel the same way. The most essential way of knowing is by the spirit. This is how I know you and this way of knowing is available to those who are spiritually alive. Look past the flesh which profits nothing to the true essence of the spirit in others. 

Mmmm…cookies.  My friend Paige will now think of nothing else for the next several hours.  Can’t blame her.  But I digress…

When do you think is the most opportune time for Satan to tempt you with a familiar sin?  Call it an addiction or not, we all have struggles that are more familiar to us than others.  When do you feel most tempted to give in?

That ‘god’ is an imposter, a judge, a condemner, an accuser.

At the end of my ministry on earth I called my disciples my friends. By extension this applies to you. During the time I spent with them, I accepted their humanity and at the same time sought divine purpose in their lives. I do the same with you. Have you found that this is the highest ideal of friendship, to offer human acceptance and jointly seek the noblest things? Some people aren’t interested in either of these and some only one or the other, so you should recognize those who are interested in both for the rare and precious treasure they are. Seek them as friends and seek to be such to those you would befriend. 

When you encounter unmarried unbelievers living together, do you think they should get married? Would this put them in a state of holy matrimony? This would not deal with their true condition and needs. Wouldn’t it be better for them to come to me? Then they could inquire of my intentions for them. Isn’t it possible that I would say, Go (your separate ways) and sin no more? If this is the case, wouldn’t it be better if they were not married? If you have a high regard for the sanctity of marriage then you should not recommend it to be entered lightly or unadvisedly. I am the Lord who turns two into one. 

Do you lead a busy life, with a constant unbroken sequence of events? Do you make it a point to spend time with me early and in deliberate structured ways? A regular daily devotional or your attendance at church with fellow believers would be examples of this. These are beneficial habits but you may find even greater blessings seeking me in unstructured ways. Have you ever devoted time to me without an agenda, but sought to follow where I would lead? Your time is always at hand. Be about your Father’s business even as you go about your business in the marketplace and I will give you unexpected opportunities to minister life in my name. 

Modern technology makes it possible for you to talk to your friends anywhere you go. Do you see this as having only advantages? For it also makes it easier for you to ignore the people around you. In many cases these are also your friends and family members, but you also encounter strangers and casual acquaintances in the course of your day. Not all of these are random, for some are appointments that I made for you. Will you have the awareness to know which ones these are, and to be present in your immediate surroundings to minister life in my name? Beware lest a technology meant to connect you serve to isolate you and diminish your abundant life.