Independence from God

“This, then, is how you should pray: “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Matthew 6: 9-13

The thought occurred to me just yesterday as I contemplated issues regarding earthly relationships, that in God’s mercy to forgive a sinner like me, and in my need to be forgiven and to forgive others, I realized I must seek independence from God. “Independence from God you say, how outrageous a thought”, I can hear readers of these words reply; but yes, independence that I must receive from God, so that I must become fully dependent upon Him as my LORD and Saviour, alone.

There was an angry young man who, throughout his entire adult life as a lost sinner, struggled to win the approval of his parents. In that flesh driven state, the young man became more and more frustrated as he found himself constantly in need of his parents for material provision, much more than any man should be, and in his need he was constantly making compromises in order to keep his relationship with his unjust parents in good order. The angry man most deeply wanted his parents to love him, and to stand for truth, but the angry man, while he loved truth, stood on a bed of quicksand as he himself made way to every sinful behaviour a person could know.

One day that man had an encounter with the Living God of the universe, the LORD Jesus Christ, and everything changed! After 38 years of a filth driven existence, the angry man found his sins washed clean and his heart new; like a little boy with true hope in his eyes he began to see how many people he had hurt in his past life, as God revealed to him His heart. As the angry man was changed into a new man, he repented from the awful things he had done to sin against his LORD. The new man realized it was his own filthiness that nailed Jesus to the cross, and in that revelation the new man was compelled to allow his life to become that of His LORD’s.

As the years began to pass in the new man’s life, the LORD began many new works in him. But the new man was ignorant to the wisdom of the LORD, and many times he mistakenly believed that if he just tried hard enough he could persuade other lost people in his life to come to faith in Jesus too. So many times the new man had to fall on his face and seek the LORD’s forgiveness as he mistakenly attempted to be a lord to others, instead of relying on the LORD to do His work. So many times the new man would speak too often, and listen to the LORD too little, but the LORD is so merciful He continued His work in the new man.

The new man had old relationships that hovered over his head where he sought approval from his parents who had many times rejected him over the years. And since being saved by the LORD there were times in which the new man’s parents were actually reluctant to tell others of their knowing him; at times they were ashamed of their son and his zeal for the LORD. The new man felt deeply wounded by this rejection, as more than any other time in his life he was obedient and loving with them. But still the new man tried to win their approval, and in so doing, found he was making compromises and allowing himself to remain dependent upon them in ways he simply should not have allowed. In short, the new man was dragging the old man behind him as he refused to suffer the pain of accepting that which he could not change.

The new man was being deceived by sentiment as he really wanted to feel secure in his relationship with his parents, but in that sentimental state he was forsaking his trust in God. The LORD, Jesus Christ, saves souls, and the LORD, Jesus Christ, changes hearts and lives; it is not people who accomplish this task. So even though the new man was aware of that truth in most areas of his faith, he had allowed himself to remain dependent on people, and in his hope of changing them, he had inadvertently given reign of his life to his parents. The new man had to allow a suffering to occur where he would risk complete rejection from his parents if he would fully trust in God to deliver him from his sin. The new man had to fully trust in God to change his parents; the new man had preached the gospel to them, and he had made the truth known, so if he was going to follow Christ with all of his heart, the LORD revealed to him that he had to allow the possibility that his relationship with his parents could change forever.

When Mary and Jesus’ brothers came to pull Him out of the house where He was conducting His ministry, as they seemed to reject the truth, what did Jesus do? Jesus turned His back on them and focused on the will of God. He said whoever does the will of His Father, is His brothers, sisters, and mother. It seems Jesus teaches us that He is to be the centre of our faith, and that we need to make Him our LORD and step aside when others place stumbling blocks in our path, but continue to follow Him. What did Jesus say when the man wanted to go back and bury his father who had just died? Let the dead bury the dead, now come follow Me.

These are radical premises, but the basis for true faith. To step out on the water as the LORD calls us to walk with Him, will take much in the way of trust. And to do so we will risk every relationship on earth that fails to see Him as LORD. Whether it’s our love of a parent, our love of a child, our love of ourselves, our love of money, our love of our profession, our love of entertainment; whatever it is that threatens our allegiance to the KING, we must risk losing those things as we follow Him. Relationships can be the area where the enemy seeks to confuse the truth the most, because he will tempt us into sentiment when we actually need to suffer. Satan will tell us that love has no strife or struggle. Satan will try to convince us that if we love one another we will have no conflict whatsoever. Satan is a liar.

If our loved ones have not the love of Jesus Christ transforming them, at sometime we may face the pain of parting with those loved ones without knowing if Christ will save them too. We won’t hate them, but we will love God much more than them, and so we will follow the Master as He leads us unto righteousness. We will quietly accept what we cannot change and trust in God to supply our needs. We will not make compromises in order to fulfill our carnal desire to feel comfortable, instead we will suffer the sting of the sharp edge of faith that sometimes divides.

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10: 34-39

These radical words can be painful when realized in human existence, and the new man is now learning that truth every day. To be lost in Jesus is to be lost to the world that denies Him as LORD. And if that leads to division with those that we love, we must not lose heart, but persevere in faith as our Saviour so commands, and follow Him... for His glory.

Amen.

A Five Dollar Deposit on a Twenty Thousand Dollar Deal

Are you a young man of this world? Have you got the idea that sex is the focus of what a relationship with a female is all about? Have you been “socialized” into believing that you’re going to have sex anyway, everyone else does, and so what’s the big deal? Is the idea of marriage just a “piece of paper” in your way of thinking?

Let’s get honest, shall we? If you find yourself having played the field for a number of years now, you know the emptiness of a sex driven relationship where both parties reserve the most significant parts of their spirit, never fully trusting in one another. You know how volatile such a relationship is, and how often you find yourselves teetering on the edge of ending the relationship for petty reasons. Have you ever stopped to examine why? Consider the following:

On the busiest Saturday of the year, a wealthy man (we’ll call Tom) walked into an electronics store to sample their products as he looked for a complete home theatre. The wealthy man desired some of the very best of what the store that he was visiting offered. He wanted a 65” top of the line Plasma TV, a 3D Blu-Ray Player, 8 pairs of 3D Glasses, a 135w/channel high current 7.1 Dolby TruHD Receiver, high end tower speakers complimented with equally high end centre channel, side and rear speakers, with a 500w RMS powered subwoofer capable of creating low frequencies that bring about nausea, and $3000 worth of the very best high end cables.

The salesman (we’ll call Peter) that helped the wealthy man worked very hard to satisfy his interests. Peter should have asked Tom upfront if he was looking to buy, but because of his past experience with wealthy men, Peter was intimidated and didn't want to risk losing a potential sale. Peter was paid on commission and he’d had a tough month, so he had to work diligently to please his customers if he hoped to receive a reward for his work. And besides, the way Tom behaved, Peter got the impression that he was looking to buy. So with hope, Peter made a commitment to help Tom the best that he could.

For 5.5 hours Peter took Tom through every piece of equipment he had that might have been of interest to Tom. He explained in great detail the differences between the products and how each one might be of benefit to Tom, based on Tom’s desires. While Peter was busy with Tom there were many people buying other products from other sales people, but Peter was committed to Tom and to serving him, so he gave Tom his full attention and missed those other opportunities.

After the 5.5 hours, Peter presented Tom with a package of equipment that was exactly as Tom had wished. Peter worked out an excellent price for Tom and the total for all the equipment, with tax, came to $20,000. Tom agreed that Peter had given him an excellent price, and Tom also agreed that the package was exactly what he wanted.

So Peter asked Tom if he’d like to take the equipment home today. Tom said yes! Peter was elated, and for the next 35 minutes he worked diligently to get every piece of Tom’s package out of the warehouse and piled it up high, next to the check out. With a sweaty brow and a hopeful voice, at the counter Peter asked Tom, “how would like to pay today”? To which Tom indignantly replied, “pay? I’m only giving a deposit today, but I want to take home the product first to see if it’s any good.” Peter stood for a moment, shocked by what Tom had said, and gathered himself enough to respond, “I’m sorry Tom, but that’s not our company policy”. Tom, sensing Peter’s desperation, quipped, “I don’t care about your policy, if you want this deal you’ll make it work”. Peter assured Tom he did want his business and so, as the Assistant Manager and a husband and father of 3 children, Peter decided to take a chance and allow Tom’s request.

Tom, with a growing sense of entitlement, seemed somewhat satisfied with Peter’s compromise. Peter then asked Tom, “so how much will you be putting as a down payment on this deal Peter? The minimum deposit we take that would normally hold a product is 10%, so that would be $2000. Will that be your amount?” Tom clenched his jaw and with an angry tone asked Peter, “do you know who I am? Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? I am the grandson of the man that developed this entire community! If I wanted to, I could buy this entire plaza and the entire inventory in each of the different stores! How dare you ask me to put a minimum deposit of 10%! You don’t trust me Peter? Is that it? I will give you $5, and you will give me all the product to sample in my home, for up to a year, or I won’t do business with you! Furthermore, if you don’t accept the terms of my offer, I’ll be contacting the owner of this store. Do I make myself clear?”

Peter, with a rather large frog growing in his throat, and a bright crimson tone on his face replied, “OK sir, I’m sorry. I’ll take everything out to your car.” “My car”, barked Tom, “oh no, you’ll be delivering and setting up this product... today!” With a deep breath, and a long sigh, Peter submitted to Tom’s demands. Peter was vulnerable and Tom knew it. Peter was desperate to keep his job and feed his family, and Tom knew it. So Peter did just as Tom demanded, even though in the end Peter could have done so much better if he had just helped somebody else that Saturday. If Peter had followed the righteous path and not made such increasingly wicked compromises with Tom, he would have had peace. But Peter, in desperation, fell to his own greed and to his own need. Peter didn’t trust truth, instead he trusted Tom.

Maybe today you’re involved with a woman that gave you sex the first time you asked? Maybe you’re involved with a woman who made you ask 10 times before she gave you sex? Maybe when a woman says no to your requests you look for an easier woman? Maybe you’re living with a woman, having sex at your leisure, but still able to live the life of a bachelor? Maybe every time a woman asks you about marriage you become angry and call her a ball and chain? Maybe your attitude is that of Tom’s. Maybe you sense the desperation and confusion of the modern woman, and maybe you’ve told yourself it’s not your fault that they give you such easy sex? Well guess what? You’re wrong!

This world has turned black to white, up to down, wrong to right, and right to wrong. But there is a standard of truth, a policy that is black and white; it’s God and His word. His Ten Commandments tell us that we should not commit adultery, and Jesus said that to lust after a woman is the same as committing adultery with her in our heart; married or not. The Bible says all sexually immoral will have their place in Hell. These standards of God’s are not set simply to deny us from pleasure, but to uphold truth and the righteousness of God.

When you get easy sex, deep inside you know there’s something about you that feels dirty. If you’re beyond that feeling of dirtiness, remember back to when you did feel that dirtiness, and then be careful. Because God’s word cautions us about knowing the truth and then ignoring it, that our conscience might not become seared as with a hot iron. In other words, if your heart starts to grow a crust around it, and you’ve become insensitive to the truth your conscience is revealing to you, you better be careful because you may go too far and never hear truth again.

Jesus Christ came and lived a perfect life, for you and me. He took the punishment of our sin and was brutally murdered and left to die on a tree. He was guilty of nothing, but yet he took the wrath of God so that we can have hope in God, hope in life, hope in death, and know truth really exists! He is risen today, and He lives so that we can receive His free gift of salvation. Repent from your sinfulness, get honest with God and confess to Him, and put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you from your darkness and sin. Don’t try to be a “better person”. You will fail to make yourself presentable to God. He is a perfect Judge who cannot overlook your crimes. But put your faith in Jesus Christ to change you, and you will be born again; born new with a new spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. He will change your ways forever, and like a 5 year old boy, you will have hope again, and a light in your eyes. You won’t crave the darkness anymore!

Please take this opportunity and put your faith in Jesus Christ!

I Long To Have Your Fragrance LORD

I long to have Your fragrance LORD,
Mighty King of all around.
Keep me in Your presence Christ,
May Your truth on earth abound.

Your “self” never known in this world,
Your Father’s will was done.
The Perfect Lamb, a living sacrifice,
Alone You paid and won.

I can never shed this flesh of mine,
Thank You for your Spirit.
I long to see this reflection fade,
Help me turn away the mirror.

I hope when I wake each morn,
That I bathe in all that’s You.
You cleansed me from who I was,
My life today is new.

Even still, I must remain in check,
Examine, pray and read.
To know You and the price You paid,
Please keep me in Your need.

If I never immerge a successful man,
Your glory be my goal.
Your sufferings dwarf all I am,
Your victory fill my soul.

I am nothing LORD without Your grace,
It’s by that You gave me life.
Your blood the perfect substitute,
For my lust, my hate, my strife.

Please keep me in Your truth O’ LORD,
Ignite me with Your fire,
Let others hear the hope that’s Yours,
Use me to reach the liar.

And when I’m hated or scorned because,
Of Your message that I bring.
May I always rejoice and know that You,
Bring glory to Your Name.