Who are you following?

Daily Thoughts – August 30^th

“Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.” – 2 Peter 3:17 (in context)

The world is set on creating a comfortable perspective of the Holy, Sovereign, Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, that I commonly call God, the Father.  Just listen to the opinions of individuals from a recent survey:
 
“God is the universal energy that we come from”
“God loves me regardless of my choices, I know I’m forgiven”
“I live the way I want to live, and I know God will forgive my actions”
“All gods are the same, and as long as we are good, he loves us”
“There’s a higher power, but I wouldn’t call it God”
“I’m a good person, sure I have sex outside of marriage, swear, and lie; but by being good, he’ll forgive me”
 
Let’s face it, there are people you come in contact with every day that believe similarly to any of the above.  We acknowledge that God exists, and that we believe in God in order to get to heaven, but can we really say we are following Him?  What does it mean to follow God?
 
The scriptures tell us:
“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”  - Eph 5:1-2

“No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.” – Luke 13:5

“Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish, and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.” – Rev 16:10-11
 
Repent in Greek is (μετενόησα) metenoēsan; turn around, retreat from, back away, and changing one’s action.  Accepting Jesus Christ brings salvation to the lost, but repenting from our sinful actions is a necessity.  God doesn’t conform His rules to our desires, to our beliefs, or actions.  No, we must conform to His.  After all, He is sovereign, He is Lord, He is God Almighty.  He alone determines right from wrong, and righteousness from unrighteousness.  Claiming to be saved but remaining in sinful actions, knowing that they are sinful, is like slapping God in the face, and spitting upon Christ’s salvation.

Not one of us can live without sin.  I’m not claiming that you have too.  But, to continue to walk in repetition of our sins is creating separation between you and the Father.  Fall to your knees, earnestly ask forgiveness of these sinful actions, accept that God has forgiven you, and then turn from these actions as you move forward.  You will be tempted, because Satan doesn’t give up that easily.  He knows your weakness’ and how to convince you that it isn’t so bad.  This is when we call on God for strength and protection.  It’s not easy.  I struggle with it every day, as does your Pastor, your spiritual leaders, and your biblical mentors.  David struggled, Peter struggled, Paul struggled, and even Jesus was tempted by Satan, so don’t for one second believe that you won’t be. 

The world looks at God as a comfortable daddy, who won’t care if I sin.  His love and forgiveness is very real, but that doesn’t mean it’s unrestricted.  You are sinning against God, not just against mankind.  In 2 Samuel 12:13 David states, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  He doesn’t state I have sinned against Bathsheba, or Uriah, or the people of Israel.  No – through adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah, he sinned against God.  God is omnipotent and knows your heart and your thoughts before you have ever committed a sin.  He knows you are weak and wants you to come to Him before sinning, for His wisdom and strength to overcome.  There will be a judgement day, you will kneel before the Lord and be judged. 

In His sovereignty and through His grace, He has provided you the salvation.  Your job is to live with Him and to trust in Him for your remaining days, so that on judgement day you will come before Him washed by the blood of the Lamb.  Study His word daily, speak with Him daily, seek His wisdom, repent daily of your sins (yes, daily), and share His love with others every day.  You are His child, He will guide your steps.
 
 
 
© Sondove Enterprises, 2019
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Can you Love Them

They justify their position by claiming “Political Correctness” or “I don’t want to offend others” or “they’re entitled to their opinion”.  I’m tired of coddling to the feelings and sensitivities of others, who outright, blatantly disregard the reality that they are living outside of God’s will.  What do you think?  If someone is heading the wrong direction down a one way street with a blindfold on and a woman is pushing a stroller out into that very same street less than 50 feet away, shouldn’t someone tell the person they are wrong for doing so?  Aren’t we better to tell them they are making a mistake, than to let them continue in their path and destroy not only their life, but those around them?

The problem I am faced with, though, is how to love them, while still telling them their actions are going to bring harm.  When I say the word love, most think of an emotional feeling of kindness, gentleness and warm hearted affection.  We are caught up in the human perspective of love as a word to describe our emotional condition when we think about another person.  But is love a verb or a noun?  Is it something you feel towards another or is it something you have.  Well, grammatically it is both, based on how we use it.  (eg. The love he has for her is immeasurable. (n)   He loves her with all of his heart. (v)) 

So many today are proposing tolerance of other’s feelings, choices and decisions.  I have heard no less than 10 times this week, “You need to hate the sin, but love the sinner.”  Really?  Who says?  Well, God says in His scriptures; “Save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”  (Jude 1:23)  Can we truly love with God’s love as called out in Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us..”  I have to remind myself daily that God loves me unconditionally, that despite my iniquities and my transgressions, His love is unchanging.  But, I find this nearly impossible to live out.

I am angered by the actions of some; I am disgusted by the actions of others; I am overwhelmed by the evil in this world, that is condoned and accepted.  We have come to a point in our existence where evil has become the norm and those that call it out are seen as the radical minority.  Is this visible to the rest of you, or is it just me?  I want to help others realize they are partaking in evil, but I am shunned for “judging them” or “forcing my views on them” or “being intolerant”.  Well, so be it.  I am intolerant of watching those that I know and love, destroy their eternal life because they want to selfishly pursue the pleasures of today.  Pursuing the wickedness of this world, even for a moment will lead to destruction. 

People (including me) realize that their actions are outside of God’s righteousness, yet they continue to dwell therein.  Choices are made that it is worth it to turn from God and pursue our own desire, will and ambitions in life.  This is sin upon sin.  It is stated that we are all sinners, and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and by God’s grace we are forgiven and washed clean.  Yet, Romans 1:18 tells us; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”  When we know we are sinning against God and continue to do it anyways, we are suppressing His truth and stepping outside of His blessings.  Is God’s grace sufficient then for our sins, the answer is unequivocally yes as stated in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “…“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”.  But, it requires a repentant heart and for you to turn from your sinful actions. 

I believe this is the state of the world today.  We know right from wrong, good from evil; yet still, in knowing that, we are choosing to pursue evil, because it makes us happy temporarily.  This demonstrates the character of our true self-centeredness and the desires of our heart.  For evil does not enter into one’s heart from outside, but comes from within; Mark 7:19-23, “…“That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” 

Do you not see how far we have fallen from God’s plan for our lives?   How then can we claim to be walking with the Lord; if indeed we are intently disregarding His commandments and His will for our life?  We are blinded by our own lies and perception that we are “good enough” in our walk, and that God will forgive anything we do.  I fear for us as a people, that we believe we are heaven bound, yet continuing to live in our sinful nature would indicate otherwise.  I truly love you all, and want that none of you are blinded by the worldly passion and desire, but seek the Lord in all things.  For He alone is good, and nothing else in this world is. 

God is Love – period

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – Ephesians 5:1-2

As he got out of the car and grabbed his luggage from the trunk, he kissed his wife goodbye and waved to the kids in the back seat.  He started toward the airport, stopped, turned and called back to the car as it pulled away – “I Love You.”  The day had started like any other day of travel.  Get to the airport early, get checked in and grab a sandwich and coke while waiting to board the plane.  He boarded the flight to Portland for a quick customer meeting and then driving down to Seattle for a training event.  Upon arrival in Portland, he arrives at the hotel and turning on the television discovers that there has been an airline accident.  It seemed that there had been many more than normal that year, but it’s still a tragedy every time it happens.  Going about his business he leaves the hotel and meets with the customers that afternoon as planned. 

Returning to the hotel that evening, he calls his wife to see how things are back at home.  He is surprised to hear her voice completely distraught.  He can definitely hear the anguish and sadness in her voice as she breaks down sobbing.  Through the crying she tells her story of thinking he was on the plane that went down.  She was confused about his destination and this led to her hysteria for an entire day that day, believing she had lost him forever.  It brought to the surface the depth of her love for him.  The thought of living life without him was unbearable, yet that very morning it was something that had been completely taken for granted in the busyness of their life raising kids. 

In life, we are all running extremely fast.  The pace of life has increased exponentially with the improvements in communications, social media and technologies.  In the midst of our desire for more and more have we lost the simplicity of loving one another.  God has demonstrated His love for us by walking amongst us and sharing with us what true love is.  He has provided a plan of salvation for all mankind through His loving grace and the provision of His Holy Spirit to guide us along the way.  We have allowed the complexities of life to get in the way and distort the simplicity of loving each other as He has loved us.

Over the last week I have expressed that God is Love.  We are constantly looking for the presence of God in our daily lives, through actions, a divine experience or miraculous acts.  Some have asked God to prove His existence by solving a problem or appearing again in the flesh.  When we need to set back and realize God is all around us and within us.  He is the air we breathe, the water that nourishes our bodies and the love that fills our heart.  He is more real than we could ever imagine and yet we take His love for granted every day.  You’ve often heard the cliché that it is better to give than to receive, and so it is with love.  If you are looking to find God, look no farther than your own ability to love others.  Reach out to others today and express love unconditionally to those who may not deserve it based on their actions.  In doing this, you have fulfilled the scriptures found in 1 John 4:7-16; and trust in the words that clear state: “God is Love.  Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them.”  God need not do another thing for you or I to demonstrate His love.  He has done all that was necessary through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of our sins.  Trust in that and you will find God.

Prayer:

Loving God,You are Love.  The purest form of love that is available.  Unconditional, binding, immutable love that surpasses anything that man can demonstrate back to You.  A love that can never be returned is a selfless and giving love that cannot be fathomed within the mortal man.  I thank You for  
giving us Your love and plan of salvation that we might rest with You one day in eternity.  Fill me with Your love so others might see You through me and I might be a blessing to those I meet.  I pray these things knowing that You are my God and I am Your child.  Amen

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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