When you are in need of someone to talk to, who do you call first?
When your kids are driving you crazy and you just need to speak to someone to give you advise, who do you call first? You mom? Your spouse? Your best friend (who does not even have kids)? Who do you call?
When you are late for work, and know that if you are late one more time, this could be it, who do you call first for advise? You fellow employee (who is at work already)? Your mom? Your spouse? Unemployment, just in case?, Who do you call?
When your wife, or girlfriend wants nothing else to do with you, who do you call first? Your divorced friend for advise? Your mom? Your boss? Your ex-girlfriend to see what she is doing on Friday night? Who do you call?
I can go on and on. Let’s think deeply about these questions. I am not trying to get the “Super Spiritual” answers to these questions. I am looking for you to personally answer these and so many similar questions honesty. Then look back and see where that advise got you.
Your kids probably still drove you crazy, you were still fired for being late for the 16th time this month, and your ex-girlfriend called you a DOGG and hung up on you.
If we prioritize the time we spend looking for “man’s” advise, and spend most of that time on our knees asking God for advise, I think those results could be different.
The kids come around and apologize and clean the house without being asked and you are perplexed. Your boss negotiated a later time for you to come to work because he saw the value of you as an employee. Your wife calmed down, suggested Biblical counseling and your marriage has never been better.
Does the last three sentences seem like fantasy? It is not. It is us trusting God to do His job instead of us trying to fix it.
To God Be ALL of The Glory
April 8, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Okay … So we can all learn a lot from this … This makes me think of something else also … Do we believe God is real? We believe our friends, spouses, kids, boss, etc. are all real and that’s why we call them. When we truly believe God is real, we begin to call on Him as a first resort, not a last. I appreciate your thoughts on this bro. Keep it up!!!
April 9, 2010 at 8:25 am
Maybe we should try to think of the way we live and Who we serve. There’s authority, jurisdiction, behavior policy/process, and a governed Body.
May we escape the boxes built by men, freed by the Truth
April 9, 2010 at 9:00 am
Wow powerful words from our Pastor. You is so right. Do we TRULY believe God is real? If you do not believe God is as-real as your family, friends, etc., it is time to ask someone for help. We, of course ask God to show Himself to you, not to prove Himself, but maybe to wipe some of the scales from our eyes. But I also agree that if you seek a person you can trust, that does TRULY believe God is real, and ask them to pray with you DAILY, in order for you both to be unified in the truth. God will reveal Himself to you also in that way. Prayer is the direct communication line between God and us.
God is Real! No if’s, and’s, or but’s!!!
April 9, 2010 at 8:15 pm
We are frail and faulty human beings, and have mistakenly attached our revelation of God and His Kingdom to the mouthpiece (or any physical conduit) from which that revelation came. If we attach the Word of God to a sermon, we will tend to seek sermons as the means of hearing the Word of God. If we attach the revelation of God to reading the Scriptures, we will feel that the Scriptures are the source of revelation.
This is how we become attached to evangelist and pastors, to denominations and philosophies.
Although hearing sermons and reading the Scriptures can be a large part of revelation, they are not what we should seek. We need to seek the Word of God to our spirits, we should first seek the Kingdom of God.
If we continue to misunderstand what the Word of God is, we will constantly seek the Word of God from the wrong sources or through the wrong conduits. The understanding of Who the Word of God is changed forever my relationship with the Father, and my very life. ♥
April 9, 2010 at 9:02 am
Lori,
Thank you for commenting. As I said, we all have been there, “seeking men’s approval or advise”. None of us have arrived and we all need to seek God Daily.
April 9, 2010 at 1:59 pm
This kinda goes back to the trust thing we’ve been talking about this week..
April 9, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Great topic my friend. Been learning everyday to seek Him first and everything falls into place. You once told me ‘Be faithful God will provide’ and I stand not on your words but on the living God that makes it possible to have faith like that. Wow… It takes faith to be faithful? That’s too deep. Thanks dude.
April 9, 2010 at 8:03 pm
We ALL demonstrate our convictions not just by what we do, but by what we fail to do and what we stand by and allow others to do. Yes we ALL stumble in many ways. 1 Timothy 1:15