Author : Vivian Gordon
Over the last several Sundays, I began some teachings on
our relationship with the Lord and the things He does for us
and also the things He demands from us in return. We
soon learn that our obedience and diligence to Him will then
reveal that we are now in the will of God and not our own.
God is not a genie in a bottle who will grant our every wish,
although He does say He will give us our hearts desires,
but this is where we must really rightly divide His Word and
see what the stipulations are, because there are many.Once we are saved, we start a very real relationship with
God, but we also need to learn how to connect in with Him
the way He desires us to. One of the questions asked in a
previous teaching was, "Does God want to know someone
like me?" The answer to that was "yes" very much. His arm
is long enough to reach you wherever you may be. He wants
to know us so much that He gave us His Son as a sacrifice.
What more do we need to know? Read Jesus' prayer as He
intercedes for us today in Jn. 17. It's a beautiful prayer. It is
the original "Lord's Prayer".Please note that Jesus is
praying not for people who are in the world, but for thoseGod
chose to give Him. So, God chose you for Himself and He
wants you to know what eternal life is (Jn. 17:3) It's knowing
Him, the One and Only true God and His Son Jesus Christ.Then David asked "Who may ascend into the hill of the
Lord? Who may stand in His Holy place?" (Ps. 24) We can if
we are upright and righteous. As David says, those with
clean hands and pure hearts. This is purity which is a virtue
and virtue develops into Knowledge, Self-Control, Patience,
Brotherly Love and Godliness. (2 Pt. 1:6)In Deuteronomy chapter 10, God tells the people they must
Fear Him, this is in respect to being reverent, to Walk in all
His ways, to Keep all His commandments, and to Serve
Him because it is for "our own good".James gives us a good lesson in James chapter one when
he says that we must not only HEAR the Word, but Do the
Word as well. Our acts of faith and works must operate side
by side. One without the other is just a waste of time.God wants us to know that He is faithful to us even when we
aren't faithful to Him. It's our own limited mindset that we
start thinking that God is thinking like us! This is why prayers
don't get answered. We aren't lined up in His will!"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny
Himself." 2 Tim. 2:13When we approach God to connect with Him, we must first
realize that we are not on equal terms with Him. Our arms
aren't long enough to go one round in the ring with Him. God
is God, we aren't. This relationship is on a vertical level. It
starts from above with Him and descends down to where
we are. Our relationship with other people however are on a
horizontal level. Since we are humans we expect to
disagree and argue and forgive because of
misunderstandings. Our relationships are GIVE and TAKE.
Not so with God. Our relationship with Him is GIVE and
RECEIVE. Only God gives way more than what He receives.
So if there seems to be a communication breakdown, odds
are it's on our end.In this second chapter of Timothy, Paul describes us as 1.
Soldiers who obey the One they serve. 2. Athletes who are
running for the prize. 3. Farmers who sow and reap and
reap what they sow at the end of the season. All of these
things take a lot of hard and diligent work. None of them can
quit midstream. God doesn't call us to give up. But, once we
do become a Christian, God doesn't give us a big Lazy Boy
recliner and a remote control so we can just relax. No, it's
hard work. Not because God wants it that way but because
sin entered into our lives. Once we do become God's
children, Satan is always at our heels trying to destroy the
victory we are intended to have. The sad thing is, he will win
if we stop fighting like the soldier, if we stop running like the
athlete or if we stop sowing like the farmer. Just keep going,
put one foot in front of the other and take it one step at a time
if you have to, but don't stop!Paul who was writing this letter to Timothy from jail, wanted
him to see the fair and anticipated results when he said
(vs.11) that if we "died with Him, in trusting Christ as our
Savior, then (vs. 12) we will "live with Him" forever. In other
words, when we endure the cross and crucify our flesh, we
will receive eternal rewards in heaven one day. But for those
who deny Christ and reject His death for their sins, He will
also deny them. Anyone who has not accepted Christ will
not be welcomed into heaven just because they
consider themselves to be a "good person" here on earth.But, then Paul writes the 13th verse which really turns things
around. God breaks all the "rules". Who's rules? Our man
made rules. If we are faithLESS, He remains faithFUL
because He cannot deny Himself! Denying Christ is one
thing and God cannot recognize us. But if we are faithless at
some point in our walk, He will remain faithful to us. God will
always forgive us of our sins if we confess them and
recognize Jesus as our Lord and Savior and believe that He
died and rose again. God's character is true, He is
not bound to our way of thinking. After all, He tells us that His
ways are not our ways, His thinking is higher than our
thinking. We tend to get our selves in trouble when we try to
analyze God on our limited terms of reasoning.As we remain true and obedient and long to grow He is also
faithful in helping us grow. Our faith starts with hearing, and
our hearing the Word. If we don't understand it all at once,
don't worry. God tells us in James 1:5 that if we lack that
wisdom and understanding, He will be faithful in giving it to
us. So, there are no excuses for not knowing. God gives us
teachers, pastors, preachers, books, etc. that will enlighten
us so that we will understand His Word. His Word brings life
and light into our world. No longer will we see things
through our natural eyes but He will give us a new eyesight
through the Spirit. Once you can start seeing things this way,
you will never experience life the same way again.To be in God's will and to be connected with Him takes alot
of diligent study, prayer, meditating, and fellowship with
other believers. This will develop into what God commands
you to do in order to receive His blessings. This is not for
the faint of heart. God calls those He knows can stand up to
the battles that are in this world. Are you ready for battle?Remember never to measure God's unlimited power by
your own limited expectations.Vivian Gordon writes inspirational and spiritual articles
in which to help strengthen the Believer's walk in Christ.
They are often taken from today's point of view and
used in conjunction with what God says about certain
situations and how we are to handle them. There is
always an answer for every problem. These articles are
not all about asking God "why?" but in finding the
answers.
Keyword : Christianity, Spirituality, Christ, Relationship, Faithfulness, Endurance, Soldier, Farmer, Athlete
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