Back to the basic - What is a Christian? What makes a Good Christian? Am I one? What kind am I?
If you go by moral teachings, all religions, including Christianity, are about the same. Every religion has some equivalent of the Golden Rule of Love.
If you go by blessings, Multi-Millionaires, then you can find Buddhist, Hindus, Unfreed-Thinkers etc richer than Christians --- does that mean they are better ? Is their religion better ?
If you go by championships, who has more gold medalists?
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So, the question is what should differentiate us – Christians –from the rest of the world?
We agree that it is not : miracles, prosperity, healing etc…because the others have them too.
How about this:… Exo 33:15-16
15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
The only thing that should differentiate us from the other people on the face of the earth is: The Presence of God!
Not just saying or confessing it without any manifestation of it.
The only way we can really experience it is to practice it.
We can have a mental agreement that we are children of God and that The Holy Spirit is with us 24/7 but without any kind of manifestation of it.
(I am saying this for those who have been a Christian for a while and time to start to grow up….)
How do we practice the Presence of God?
With diligence! aka: hard work!
See Heb 11:6b …He rewards those who diligently seek him.
Heb 4:11 …Let us, therefore, make every effort … to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
What is The Rest?
Isa 28:11 – 12 says that praying in tongues is The Rest (paraphrased)
1 Cor 14:2 says that when we pray in tongues we are “speaking” to God …the more we speak to a person the more we can recognize his voice.
1 Sam 15:22 talks about being obedience to his voice …which is better that sacrifice.
How many of us go through our daily life with constant communion with the Lord and ask Him for solution to our needs (big and small)?
How many of us tend to go to our intellect or emotions (our Soul ~ the Tree of knowledge of good and evil) in making day to day decisions instead of checking with the Lord (perhaps trying to sense His Peace to start off)? I know I don’t do it enough.
Is our obedience : an obedience to our knowledge of what we should do as Christians or our obedience is to His Voice?
I believe the more we practice “speaking” to God, the more we will be able to recognize His Voice and only then we will face the test of life:
Are we willing to obey it!
See what Isa 30:21 says…
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Obeying God can be a very hard thing to do. Unless we really “Know” our God, of how good He is, know his character and really believe that He always want what is best for us, we won’t be able to obey willingly.
For example: if a person who is suffering from cancer and pray for God’s healing hoping for a miracle.
Instead of getting a miracle, the person gets a word to forgive someone that has hurt him very badly.
Often you will find the bitterness is so deeply rooted the person may not be able to obey that simple instruction and yet
the healing that has been provided at the Cross is just behind that little obedience.
Too often, we pray for God to bless us according to all the blessings in Deu 28:2-14 but we may not be willing to change our ways.
Isa 1:19 says that if we are willing and obedient, we will each the best from the land.
My prayer and hope is that we will continue to grow and encourage each other towards a life of obedience to his voice.
Starting from this caregroup even, that we will grow up into a group of Believers that are willing to pay the price to seek Him daily and
practice His presence. For a “Hearing heart” or “Wisdom” like Salomon prayed for. And to accompany the hearing hearts, the Willingness to Obey his Voice!
Is it possible that Obedience to His Voice the Power that we are all looking for?
See 1 Cor 2:4-5 and John 14:21,1 Cor 2:4-54 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
I do not claim to know it all or to know how to hear God’s voice accurately all the time. But I have decided that that is what I am going to strive towards.
I still make mistakes and will probably make many more mistakes but the few times I have dared to venture and obey according to what I think He wants me to do,
it has helped me to avoid major mistakes and encouraged me.
Shouldn’t I be afraid of making mistakes or hearing wrongly?
Before I knew about the message of obeying His voice I went around leaving my life through my intellect only and was never afraid of making mistakes and
I do not see why I should be afraid of making mistakes now.
Christianity is about relationship with Jesus Christ - Son of the Most High God.
It is not about following morale laws, nor about being rich or getting lots of awards for God.
After knowing Christ, it is about discovering and fulfilling the calling that God has created us for. It is about responding to His leading, sharing His fellowship as we live out life out on earth bring glory to Him and being satisfied.
see http://christianity-rediscovered.blogspot.com/
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