Starting churches is like pushing a chain. It is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
Starting churches, however, is greatly needed.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Freedom and Obedience
When a person connects with God and develops a love relationship with Him by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, the person experiences a new freedom in his or her life--freedom from guilt, freedom from condemnation of sin, freedom from human expectations, etc. But surprisingly, when the believer understands all that Jesus has done for him in bringing him to the new freedom, immediately he desires to be obedient to the Lord in everything. The person understands that he has the freedom to be obedient to the Lord.
As time goes on, many interpret the new freedom to do anything they want. Many move to their own agenda rather than stay connected with God’s agenda for their lives. Some call this spiritual drift. In that condition, we slowly move away from God and settle on doing our own thing. (We adopt a new definition of freedom). God never intended that to happen. The nation of Israel in the Old Testament experienced that over and over again in their “sin cycle”. Believers start confusing the issues of freedom and obedience.
True spiritual freedom is the freedom to submit to God and not be controlled by sin. True freedom allows one to be separated from sin and be obedient to God. It is a freedom that allows anyone to make whatever adjustments are needed to be obedient to God.
Our freedom in Christ is not a license to do your own thing. It is a permission to be obedient. Please be careful to understand this distinction, otherwise your self-centered idea of freedom will take control and even though you do not realize it, you are in a place of disobedience to God. Independence is celebrated yearly in America, but, we must never allow our personal freedom to be interpreted as independence from God. Quite the opposite. Our freedom should lead to dependence and obedience.
As time goes on, many interpret the new freedom to do anything they want. Many move to their own agenda rather than stay connected with God’s agenda for their lives. Some call this spiritual drift. In that condition, we slowly move away from God and settle on doing our own thing. (We adopt a new definition of freedom). God never intended that to happen. The nation of Israel in the Old Testament experienced that over and over again in their “sin cycle”. Believers start confusing the issues of freedom and obedience.
True spiritual freedom is the freedom to submit to God and not be controlled by sin. True freedom allows one to be separated from sin and be obedient to God. It is a freedom that allows anyone to make whatever adjustments are needed to be obedient to God.
Our freedom in Christ is not a license to do your own thing. It is a permission to be obedient. Please be careful to understand this distinction, otherwise your self-centered idea of freedom will take control and even though you do not realize it, you are in a place of disobedience to God. Independence is celebrated yearly in America, but, we must never allow our personal freedom to be interpreted as independence from God. Quite the opposite. Our freedom should lead to dependence and obedience.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Following Jesus
I have been trying to quantify what it really means to follow Jesus. I am trying to keep it simple, because Christianity ought to be simply understood for the masses. It seems we have all tried to make it as complicated as possible.
My reduction of the spiritual truth that is between my ears has come to this: Luke 9:23 "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me'". Here is my verson of the verse: If anyone chooses to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, let him once and for all deny himself by putting aside his own agenda for life, and once and for all pick up and live by God's agenda in all that you do.
It appears to me that we are deceiving ourselves if we call ourselves Christians and fail to deny self and take up our cross and follow Jesus. The problem is, I don't see many people living what this verse seems to indicate. Most Christians I know are really sold on exercising their own agenda for life, and they try to work God in somewhere in order to be respectable. I really think that is a spiritually dangerous situation to be in.
My reduction of the spiritual truth that is between my ears has come to this: Luke 9:23 "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me'". Here is my verson of the verse: If anyone chooses to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, let him once and for all deny himself by putting aside his own agenda for life, and once and for all pick up and live by God's agenda in all that you do.
It appears to me that we are deceiving ourselves if we call ourselves Christians and fail to deny self and take up our cross and follow Jesus. The problem is, I don't see many people living what this verse seems to indicate. Most Christians I know are really sold on exercising their own agenda for life, and they try to work God in somewhere in order to be respectable. I really think that is a spiritually dangerous situation to be in.
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