August, 1998
As a christian you will be faced with making decisions that affect the very life that you are leading. When faced with these choices there are two ways in general which you can go.
The emphasis my friends is on the word "WAY"! How many times have we heard the term "the way", when relating to the walk of a christian? The new testament is filled with many guide posts that are snapshots, small instructions, pointing the direction out for us. Then walking it out in our lives we try to do the best we can. Or do we?
How many of us divide the areas of our life into different categories; church activities, work, home, friends, sports, etc... and have a different set of rules, ways, in which we conduct ourselves? We have codes of behaviour called attitudes. They are different from person to person. And they are put on as garments, a cloak, that we change when moving into a different environment. But the true person stays hidden underneath this cloak. You may catch glimpses of who this person truly is in times of stress when life's problems are more than he/she can bear. When they take action, it is then you will know whether they are in "the way".
Is your christian walk simply a cloak that you drape over your shoulders so that others will think that you are christian? This my friend is an attitude, a code of behaviour, and not the real thing. God is not interested in changing your outward behaviour, He is interested in changing your heart, the mind following after that.
So what does this have to do with the scriptures above?
If your life is one where you are putting on cloaks, then you are hiding yourself from the truth. It is not attitude, codes of behaviour, but a state of "being", the condition of your heart. You can do all the "right" things... sacrifice and burnt offerings... But will you obey the Voice of the Lord? That inner voice of His Spirit within you telling you what is the truth and the way to go. He does not use the word of God to make you conform outwardly but uses the word of God, the guide posts, to point you in the direction that your heart must go.
If we try to conform to the word of God outwardly, without having a change of heart, we will compromise the truth. For you to bear spiritual fruit, the heart needs to change, not just your outward actions. A person can read and do the word without touching his heart or changing it. Many deafen their ears because it is easier to obey a written code than to humble themselves and let God change them. The Spirit of God is in the renewal business: not in the paint it over business. He not only wants you to read His word but also to hear His voice through those words.
When the Spirit of God begins to move upon you, trying to lead you to repentance, then my friend do not rebel against His voice. Do not stubbornly hang on to the outward appearance but allow Him to work within you. He is doing it in His time... not your schedule. Then you will be one step closer to being a "king" and "priest" in the kingdom of God. If not, you do take the chance of Him rejecting you from being a "king" because you have rejected the Spirit of the word of the Lord.
Today, if you will hear His voice (and obey), the kingdom of God will be opened to you; blessings, honour, glory, etc... Close your ears, reap from your own works; death, apostasy, etc...
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