Know the true God!

Today’s scripture:

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. (Acts 17:29)

The Lord is constantly pursuing our hearts! He is in so much more in pursuit of us than we are of Him. I mean take a look at how He knows us so intimately. He knows every hair we have on our body (Luke 12:7). He designed our DNA. He knows everything there is to know about you.

God is not limited to any one place or any one time. He cannot be contained to any specific thing or thought of our own. He is not known by a physical appearance. There is no direction you can look and not find Him. He is mysterious yet simple. He is present in other galaxies yet He sits right next to you.

“Am I only a God nearby, ”
declares the Lord,
 “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places
 so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
 “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24) Have you ever considered why God does not want us to make carved images even if they are an image of Him?

Lets look at the second of the ten commandments in Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” – Every human being has at his heart an altar. This means we are designed to worship. That is what we are meant to do. The question is what is at the altar of our heart.

I grew up going to a catholic church and Sunday after Sunday when we did go, I would always look at the statue of Jesus hanging on the cross (the crucifix) way up high at the front of the sanctuary. I remember thinking it was a picture of Jesus that brought a depressing and a grievance upon myself. I think that was one reason I had a hard time thinking that Jesus was happy to die for me. I also think that making carved images limits how much we will let God into our hearts because we tend to see Him in a way that wasn’t meant for us to see Him. I believe God wants us to know Him just like Jesus knew Him. In fact that is the whole reason Jesus died for us, so we can be near to God and spend eternity with Him.

Reflection:

The mercy in this commandment is more about us receiving the true nature of God and to know Him apart from any limitations we put before us. How can He work in our lives if we limit Him consciously or subconsciously? This is mercy for our need to be protected from that and to receive ALL of Him. Please refer to the mercy tab found at the top of this blog for a special definition of mercy.

I Challenge you:

This command is to keep us on the right path with God. Cry out to God and ask Him to give you mercy. Ask Him to give you ALL of Himself. He wants to, just ask.

-Doug McGowan

Desiring God

Today’s scripture:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1 NKJV)

The Ten Commandments may seem like a very legalistic and harsh set of rules, but did you know that they are full of love and kindness and mercy? In Matt 22:37-40 Jesus says to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor like you love yourself. He says that these are the two and greatest commandments. Not only that but He says that the whole bible is set around these two commandments. Does that mean that these commandments are more important than the ten in the old testament?

Well, lets look at that. The first four of the ten commandments are all about loving God. Which makes perfect sense that these would come first because before we can love our neighbor perfectly we need to know what it means to love God. Then the other six commandments are all about loving others (your neighbor). See how the two greatest commandments are the foundation of all ten and throughout the bible? So, now over the next few days I will go through each of the ten commandments showing you how there is mercy all through out them.

The psalmist David was one man who really pursued God. He desired to know Him on a very deep level. He went after the heart of Christ. This first verse of Psalm 23 means that David shall not want anything but God Himself and that the Lord is all he needs. If we are to desire God then that also means we should love the things that He loves and hate the things that He hates.

For me I have to keep in mind that to love God is to keep His commandments. I used to think that Psalm 119 was all about works and legalism because it speaks about holding true to God’s commandments. But, the more I studied mercy and Psalm 119, and the ten commandments, I realized it is about God’s heart and His mercy for us and us giving mercy to others. I need to remember that His commandments are about love. Love for God and love for others.

Lets look at the first of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” – If you have been born again then you are married to God. You have this special covenant with Him. A relationship with this much intimacy and closeness, there is no room for other gods. If we are married in an earthly sense then God’s word says to have only one spouse. To be committed to only that person until death departs you.

How much more does the Lord deserve our commitment to Him? How much more is He a husband to us? He will never cheat on us. He will never lead us down a wrong path. He will never abuse us or cut us down. He will always love us no matter how we treat Him. That love is unconditional Agape love! So, giving all that He has done for us already and continuing to love us unconditionally, why would we want other gods?

To have other gods could mean several things. Whatever takes up more of your time and takes your focus off of Jesus is considered to be a god. It could be your job, an addiction; it could even be your spouse. I find that a good gauge is figure out if you are spending less time or even no time in prayer, in the Word, and just in His presence?

I very much enjoy spending time with my wife because my heart is for her. I remember after my son was born, all I wanted to do is spend time with him because my heart was for him. Or, even material things, like a new car that you first purchase. All you want to do is find excuses to drive that car all day long. All these people and things can quickly, if we are not careful, can become an idol (a god) to us. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21)

Now, of course there is nothing wrong at all to enjoy your family or even buying a new car. That’s not what I’m saying. But, are those things taking up all of your time? Are they squeezing God out? Do you say things like…”It is too hard to find time to read my bible” or “I am just too busy to pray or read lately”?

Reflection:

The mercy in this first commandment is for our protection because we need it in this world. We need to not be deceived by false gods and for them to consume our time with promises that will not be fulfilled. Do you have anything in your life that is squeezing God out? Are you spending time with Him in His word and in prayer at least a half an hour to an hour every day?

I Challenge you:

Take an inventory of your life today and make sure nothing is getting in the way of pursuing God and filling a need in someone’s life. Even if it’s just praying for another today, deny your flesh and serve God by serving your neighbor.

Jesus – fully God and fully human

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
 he humbled himself
 by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8 NIV)

Have you ever considered Jesus as totally 100% human? Of course you have because that is what scripture tells us! But have you ever taken the time to really consider it? I mean to really meditate on that fact, to think what it really means for Him to be fully God and yet fully human? I admit, it’s a bit of a mystery, but I feel that God has been speaking to me recently about this.

For me, it’s easy to think of Jesus as performing all these miracles while here on Earth. I mean, everywhere you look you see Jesus healing the blind or a woman touching His clothes and being healed. Even bring a man back from the dead! Who else could do that but God? And that’s just it; no one can do it but God INCLUDING Jesus! That’s right!

When the Jews wanted to kill Jesus in John 5:16-23, they wanted to kill Him because they thought He was making Himself equal with God the Father. But, Jesus’ response to them is in v.19 “…Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do, for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” And also in v.36 “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish-the very works that I do-bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

See, it isn’t Jesus in Himself who has the power to heal and feed thousands of people with a couple of fish. It is the Father who gives Him the power. It is the Father working those miracles through Him. Do you realize that He wants to perform those same miracles through you just like He did with Jesus? My first question to you would be…Do you have Jesus living in you? Have you asked Him to be your personal savior and are you submitting yourself to His will daily? Then I would ask you…How often are you talking to God? How often do you rely on God to live through you? How much of your life are you willing to put into His hands?

Jesus was always going to the Father in prayer. He was always giving thanks to Him. He limited Himself the power when the Word became flesh. Not only did He limit Himself power but He did it so He could depend ONLY on the Father. He did it so He can be a servant. He did it to be like us experiencing pain, temptation, weakness, happiness, sadness and anger. That is a prime example of what it means to meet someone where they are at and do it without sinning. He did it to show us how to live our lives totally devoted to God and totally being dependent on Him for EVERYTHING!

We are supposed to follow Him in His steps. It is possible to hear God speak to you the way Jesus did. It is possible for you to heal the blind and cure diseases and to feed thousands of people with a handful of fish. But, again the question is…How much of God do you want? When I came to this realization, it opened my eyes to see God more intimately. He became more approachable to me.

My wife Cyndi had the Job of cooking for 150+ people at a live-in discipleship at "Restoration Ministries" every day by herself for the most part. Half the time she would go into her work not knowing what she was going to cook. She told me that she just had God tell her what to do and she would do it. Sometimes she would have surprises that she had to come up with a menu on the spot not having much food to pick from and she had to do it quick. So, very quickly she would say “God its up to you!” She would have to be completely dependent on God. He gave her those circumstances to teach her how to depend on Him. And the stories that she tells me are amazing. You know it had to be Him!

Today, think how you can become totally dependent on God just like Jesus was. What areas of your life are still dependent on your control? Try and establish getting alone with God and spend time with Him daily. Be conscious on how much you converse with God even driving the car or doing laundry. Invite Him to be with you every step of the way!

If its not bringing me closer to Jesus, why bother?

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

Who do you belong to? Is your life your own or have you given it to Jesus? The truth is, if your not living for God then you are against God! God is very black and white on this issue. His word says in Matthew 12:30 - “Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.”

There are two eternal homes that we will all spend the rest of our life after death at. Either we will spend eternity in Hell separated from God or we will spend Eternity in Heaven with God. It is either one or the other. We will also receive rewards in heaven for what we have done for the Lord while here on Earth.

Now, this world is full of corruption and deceit. Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31). So, we now live in a world that is smack dab in the middle of a very real spiritual war between Satan and us. To make matters worse we ourselves are selfish in our own humanism. Yes, Satan is a liar and dangles a carrot of temptation in front of us all the time, but there is something in us that wants that carrot! This is not to say that it is like a tug of war between God and Satan. God already won the war on the cross over 2,000 years ago! We need to allow God to fight the battle for us.

So, what does that actually look like, to let God fight the battle for us? If you were in a fight of loosing your child to a gang, you would want him to have nothing to do with that gang or any other gang or anything to do with gangs. Same is true with our Father in Heaven. He wants to protect us from this world. He doesn’t want us to have anything to do with the love of this world.

See, if it isn’t bringing you closer to Jesus then it is driving you further away from Him! Don’t be deceived! There is no middle ground, no gray area, no sitting on the fence. You are either totally devoted to God in every area or you are against God in some or all areas. Now, to be against something, you would be anti-this or anti-that. If you are against abortion, you would be anti-abortion. So, if you are against God, you would be anti-Christ. Now, hold on, I’m not saying you would be THE anti-Christ, but you would be taking on characteristics of the anti-Christ.

We as christians say “Yes, I have separated myself from this world because I want to live a life pleasing to the Lord.” But, do we really mean that? Have we really cut things of this world out of our life that God hates? I mean, take a look all around you. Anti-Christ characteristics are all throughout the media, in Hollywood, the newspapers, magazines at the checkout counter, billboards along the highway, soap operas, TV shows, movies, music, and books. It’s all over the place!

Even commonly well-liked TV shows like the Simpsons showing how Homer being the typical male leader of a home would act with his family. Homer is a lazy man who is more of a friend to his family instead of a father or a husband looking out for the welfare of his family protecting them. We tend to look at this as just a comic thing and we laugh it off and go about our day when the show turns off, but before we realize it, things like the characteristic of Homer kind of takes us in and we start to imitate it.

We need to be truly separated from the things of this world, constantly aware of our surroundings. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t ever watch television again or anything else like that, or that we need to not have fun and live like a monk. But, I am saying we need to monitor the things around us and be careful to what we subject our ears, eyes and minds to. If you don’t need it in your life and if its not going to improve and bring you closer to Christ, then it’s better to go without it.

Think of it this way, if you invited Jesus into your home to stay for a month, but you went on your normal day-to-day life with Him there, would you feel the need to hide certain things or feel that you need to change certain things? It’s not about right and wrong. It’s more than that. It’s about protection. Protection for us and for our children and families from the sways and temptations of this world.

Take an inventory of your day-to-day life and ask yourself… No…better yet, Ask God what He would have you change in your home to fit the verse…”As for Me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15b