WHAT DID GOD REALLY MEAN?
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
There is no doubt within my mind that we think we have all of the answers neatly tucked within our mind and heart about the simple plan of salvation that even God Himself has said is so easy that a small child could understand it. The problem is not in the information, but in the dispense and the false intent of many men and women who are placed in charge of teaching the truth of the Good News from Christ to this world.
Jesus was very hard on teachers of the word; in fact He was more strict about this simple message being properly taught and lived by these teachers than almost anything else. That is why in our discussions this week it is important for me to open a rarely discussed topic. Do we really know what God has said to us? and do we really feel we are living in such a way that gives God the glory for what we do?
From the very beginning we can see through the actions that Jesus took in teaching His disciples that He had no interest in simply telling them something with the hope they would remember it. From the beginning He chose to demonstrate just how the things He spoke to these men would fit in their lives as a constant behavior. One of the very first among these things that we do not do nearly enough is prayer. Jesus was in almost constant contact with the Father through prayer that would often take Him through the night or perhaps hours at a time hidden away from others to get away from distractions. When we think about our personal prayer life many time it includes only a few moments at a time, and without any real diligent seeking of answers from God on a topic...it ends up being more of a grocery list of things that we can do a one stop shopping with. In truth we have been taught to pray in this manner by those whom we have learned from, but I have to ask...Is that what God meant?
I think it is fairly obvious that God's desire and intent for us was to follow the example that Jesus has given us of a prayer filled life. One of the very first areas that God has promised us is that we would not be left alone in this world. That means that we must stay as did Jesus in constant contact with the Father through the power of His Spirit (which He has also provided us with). Jesus used a style of teaching called Mentoring with His disciples, which meant the process took much longer than simply giving out information for people to interpret either correctly or incorrectly depending upon their understanding of it. We find that God chose to demonstrate what this belief system would look like on a moment by moment basis. He showed His disciples how prayer worked on a life style basis so that they could experience the difference with each situation that came into their lives.
Jesus also showed us through this mentoring process the life style changes expected in relationships both with the Father through our contact with the Spirit, and with those around us by showing examples of change within our own attitudes and values in life. It does not take long to understand why God would want us to stay in close and constant contact with Him. As we go through a moment to moment and day to day Mentoring by the power of God's Spirit it will obviously begin with baby steps, and as we grow in our understanding and in our ability to implement these teachings into our life we will have done so without any misunderstanding of what God has intended to say. Please understand that this is not the case for most Christians today!
I need to point out several areas from here where we find ourselves having drifted off from the truth in God's Spiritual teachings. Our belief in Jesus as the Son of the living God is the key to our salvation, and yet any kind of real spiritual awareness or growth in Christ has a very personal purpose attached to it. God's first intent is to save us and to secure our future life throughout all eternity to be with Him. The next question then has to be what does God mean when He says He wants to save us?
That opens up a question that we to ask about who does God view us as? It is this and other things that need to be made clear to Christians today. We will continue this discussion as we ask "WHAT IS IT OF US THAT GOD WANTS TO SAVE?" May you richly bless God tyhrough your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
There is no doubt within my mind that we think we have all of the answers neatly tucked within our mind and heart about the simple plan of salvation that even God Himself has said is so easy that a small child could understand it. The problem is not in the information, but in the dispense and the false intent of many men and women who are placed in charge of teaching the truth of the Good News from Christ to this world.
Jesus was very hard on teachers of the word; in fact He was more strict about this simple message being properly taught and lived by these teachers than almost anything else. That is why in our discussions this week it is important for me to open a rarely discussed topic. Do we really know what God has said to us? and do we really feel we are living in such a way that gives God the glory for what we do?
From the very beginning we can see through the actions that Jesus took in teaching His disciples that He had no interest in simply telling them something with the hope they would remember it. From the beginning He chose to demonstrate just how the things He spoke to these men would fit in their lives as a constant behavior. One of the very first among these things that we do not do nearly enough is prayer. Jesus was in almost constant contact with the Father through prayer that would often take Him through the night or perhaps hours at a time hidden away from others to get away from distractions. When we think about our personal prayer life many time it includes only a few moments at a time, and without any real diligent seeking of answers from God on a topic...it ends up being more of a grocery list of things that we can do a one stop shopping with. In truth we have been taught to pray in this manner by those whom we have learned from, but I have to ask...Is that what God meant?
I think it is fairly obvious that God's desire and intent for us was to follow the example that Jesus has given us of a prayer filled life. One of the very first areas that God has promised us is that we would not be left alone in this world. That means that we must stay as did Jesus in constant contact with the Father through the power of His Spirit (which He has also provided us with). Jesus used a style of teaching called Mentoring with His disciples, which meant the process took much longer than simply giving out information for people to interpret either correctly or incorrectly depending upon their understanding of it. We find that God chose to demonstrate what this belief system would look like on a moment by moment basis. He showed His disciples how prayer worked on a life style basis so that they could experience the difference with each situation that came into their lives.
Jesus also showed us through this mentoring process the life style changes expected in relationships both with the Father through our contact with the Spirit, and with those around us by showing examples of change within our own attitudes and values in life. It does not take long to understand why God would want us to stay in close and constant contact with Him. As we go through a moment to moment and day to day Mentoring by the power of God's Spirit it will obviously begin with baby steps, and as we grow in our understanding and in our ability to implement these teachings into our life we will have done so without any misunderstanding of what God has intended to say. Please understand that this is not the case for most Christians today!
I need to point out several areas from here where we find ourselves having drifted off from the truth in God's Spiritual teachings. Our belief in Jesus as the Son of the living God is the key to our salvation, and yet any kind of real spiritual awareness or growth in Christ has a very personal purpose attached to it. God's first intent is to save us and to secure our future life throughout all eternity to be with Him. The next question then has to be what does God mean when He says He wants to save us?
That opens up a question that we to ask about who does God view us as? It is this and other things that need to be made clear to Christians today. We will continue this discussion as we ask "WHAT IS IT OF US THAT GOD WANTS TO SAVE?" May you richly bless God tyhrough your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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