Don’t leave out one word
I know that I have sweetened my words quite a bit when it comes to my place of employment and the associates I work with. Do the same thing with my family. I do that because I still have to live with them – that is 8 hours at work and then another 8 hours at home and if I want to sleep with my wife as opposed to the couch, another 8 hours there.
Thus the world of dysfunction begins with being passive aggressive, depression, denial, hear no evil-see no evil-speak no evil etc.
I think we do the same thing to God. I think we always hear Him saying. “I love you,” and I believe He does, but I also thinks He challenges us and calls us out on things but we stop listening after the “I love you.”
The scary part is that most of us are going to church at least once a week and think we are all right – just take a look at the letters written to the seven churches in Revelation and we know that it really is possible to mess our relationship up with God.
If I am going to be of any use to God, I think I need to hear/read God’s Word and apply all of it in my life, not just the portions that make me swoon in my love relationship with Him.
We do the same thing these days in church while we worship. For those old enough to remember the hymns that used to be sung, they were really convicting – talked a lot about prayer, sin, confession, repentance and holding the line in our commitment to God. Not today, we all raise our hands up in the air, tell Jesus how much we love Him, sway a bit and bend our knees as we worship with adoration – but I digress with another partial rant.
So, Lord, as I hear you and read your Word, may I have the courage to not leave out the uncomfortable stuff. May I be brave enough to come before you and get the truth of where we stand in our relationship and to do what You are asking me to do. Lord, if I do and find that I can, may you also lead me with wisdom to share these same truths with others, not to judge, but in love, to ask others to follow You with the same mission of transparency and honesty. Lord, as my relationship with You is healed, may my relationship with others be healed also. Amen.
master of life in earth, sky and sea 
What a thought provoking post.
I remember the old hymns. I deplored them when I was young. They were slow and boring. Something I was made to particiate in.
Now that I am ….. grown up, I hear them and realize the depth of my Saviors love for me. How could I ever have missed that before?
Now and only now, am I able to sing to Jesus how much I love Him. How much I adore Him. How much I want to be like Him.
In a world of “seeker friendly” and “grace”, I believe we’ve dumbed down the gospel, and we seem to have left out the parts about holiness and obedience and reverence.
Don’t get me wrong, He is definately a God of grace, and we need to approach people in seeker friendly ways, with grace and love in our tones and actions.
We also need to remember that He is a God of justice – Every knee shall bow.
A watered down gospel is of not much use.
Jesus was not passive aggressive. He spoke the truth. In love, with grace, and when necassary, with sterness.
I love your blog. I wait for your posts.
I love how you let Holy Spirit guide your thoughts and words.
Your description of God’s working in me is right on – scary for sure but thankful that He has called me to be a blessing – thanks for seeing Him in me and sharing that with me today
Thought-provoking post, and how easy to forget that God’s Word is a TWO-edged sword and that following Him involves not only praise and worship and receiving God’s love, but counting the cost of following Him, (dying to self), obedience, accountability, longsuffering, and so much more than the basic truth of ‘Yes, Jesus loves me…’ Appreciate your reference to the 7 Churches of Revelation. The Lord’s word to these churches (which seem to encapsulate the ‘endtime church’) powerfully deliver a clear and steady faith focus for 21st c. Christians to learn from, and more than ever we need to hear more about God’s final word to ‘the church’ from pastors courageous enough to ‘keep it real’, not just share the ‘feel good’ Gospel. Your post was timed nicely for me today alongside a devo I read from Pastor Greg Laurie, Harvest Church, CA. http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.html
Yeah – those are sermons we rarely touch on these days – really needed I think for incentive – we all need some of that from time to time 🙂
p.s. Like the porcupine photo 🙂
it’s been a while since I have been so “proud” of one of my photos – this one is so cool!
I found your blog purely by accident. Thank God for this. That was a great post. It so important to be just totally naked with The Lord. And i mean this figureratively. It’s not like we can hid anything from him. It’s my belief that he is waiting for us to tell him what he already knows. I always want to come clean with him. After all he’s our Daddy and he knows all of about us his kids. I’m so thankful for finding this blog.
awesome encouragement and thankful for your comment – you have been a blessing today!
*hide* forgive typos.
🙂
Well said good friend… well said. As our pastor works through the Minor Prophets, I am reminded of exactly why Jesus went to that Cross. But as you say so well, the Cross empowers us to be transformed… so much of Scripture identifies what that change is supposed to look like in a believer’s life. Blessings…
For sure – thanks and blessings to you too!