It's probably a dangerous thing to write a blog like the one I'm about to write late at night! However, morning, noon or night I have never been the sort of person who hides his heart away but one who prefers to wear it on his sleeve.
I am disappointed and angry with myself.
I have become complacent and maybe even a little lazy of late. I have become careless and allowed my weapons and armour to get rusty. My devotional disciplines have been slack – in short I have allowed "the world to squeeze me into its own mould."
The difficulty that I have is that contemporary Christianity and in particular the approach and lifestyle of contemporary Christians lulls me into a false sense of security and distracts me from my own understanding of the 'way of holiness'.
Sometimes the path down which I think God wants to lead me seems unnecessarily harsh when compared to paths walked by other people obviously more righteous than I am! The lifestyle I feel drawn to seems unrealistic (maybe even unnecessary) in 2009.
However, scripture encourages us to "work out our own salvation in fear and trembling' not each other's!
The requirements of holiness are (to my mind) unequivocal – the surrender of all things doubtful as well as all things sinful. Others may not feel the same, their understanding of holiness might be quite different from mine but at the judgement bar I will only be required to answer for myself.
So it's a couple of hasty steps back from the precipice of dangerous failure into the arms of holiness once more.
I must, from now on, keep my eyes fixed on Jesus – he is my benchmark, my teacher, comforter, healer and Lord and I will follow him!
Under the circumstances I couldn't help but be drawn to the following verses from Hebrews 12:
"let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."
Grace and peace, A
1 comment:
Blessings Andrew,
Yes and Amen! In my neighborhood there's a bike/run path and it's quite interesting to see runners carrying water bottles, MP3 players, jackets, cell phones... all adding weight and time and distraction, reducing their effectiveness. What a contrast to watching Olympic runners who wear as little as possible and stay focused on their personal race.
Perhaps God has given you the 'harsh' way because He can trust you to embrace it, obeying Him joyfully. Run unhindered my friend.
Genise
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