In These Growing Dark Times It Is Vital To Know Who Possesses Your Love

Being a disciple of Jesus is a rather simple matter: It's all or nothing. Yahweh has never held back from those he has called his own, those who call on him by name. He has said from the beginning he requires complete devotion, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind". It makes it pretty clear when he commands this of us that we are to have no other god before him. Anyone who has ever read through the Bible can plainly see that it grieves the heart of Yahweh and forces him to take action when his people turn from him to idols.

Jesus also made it crystal clear that following him would cost us everything. He told us that if we don't love him above everyone else, we can't be his disciple. He told us we would have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. He told us that if we try to save our life we will lose it but if we lose our life we will save it. He told us that the world would hate us because of him. He made it clear, loving him would cost us everything.

The heart is always what has mattered to Yahweh. He always looks to the condition of our heart from which all things flow. We could sacrifice everything but if our heart is divided then the sacrifice has no value. We could be kind to everyone, generous to everyone, caring for everyone, but if our heart is possessed by idols then such things have no value. How many times do we read in Scriptures that Yahweh does not look at the appearance of things but instead at the heart? A simple example: Yahweh rejected Saul, a man who looked like a king but had a rotten heart, and chose a simple shepherd boy to be king because that boy loved him.

As Ezekiel met with the elders of Israel, Yahweh spoke to him:

Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and have put sinful stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all? (Ezekiel 14:3)

These important, great men who were responsible for leading Yahweh's people did not have a heart for Yahweh. They were divided, having set up idols where devotion to Yahweh belonged. There are so many idols, so many distractions in our own age, so many things to divide our hearts, to water down our love, to seduce us away from our devotion. How many of us have gone deaf because of the idols we have set up in our hearts? You know what I am talking about; you feel it even as you read this. The Holy Spirit hasn't given up on you; he is still convicting.

It has always been about our heart. Yahweh is not willing to share your love with any other. He created you, knit you together in your mother's womb, he has made you special just for himself, he died for us on a horrible cross, he completes us when he abides in us. Don't throw that relationship away over something that is here today and gone tomorrow. There is nothing that we can find in this world that is worth walking away from the love of Jesus and from eternity with him. He is the treasure of the field, the pearl of great price. It is certainly worth giving up everything to be possessed by him because we will experience no other love so priceless as his.

Check your heart. See where you stand with Jesus. If there is anything that you value over him you have set up an idol. If he is not your every waking thought; if you are not living just for him; if you are trying to do your own thing with Jesus on the side, you have a divided heart and you are in trouble. All or nothing, is what he told us. You can't have a foot in both worlds, is what he told us. Where our treasure is so is our heart, is what he told us. We can have no other love that compares to our love for him, is what he told us. Simply because we love him, we will obey him, is what he told us. It is a matter of the heart.

You Can Do Whatever You Want

You can choose to believe what you want. You can choose to believe that certain things of the Bible are cultural, no longer relevant and that God's love will win out in the end so that everyone will be saved. You can believe what was considered sin in the past is no longer sin today and that what was important is no longer important. You can believe these things but it doesn't make it right.

You can do whatever you want. For the most part society has thrown off the restrictive teaching of the Church and does whatever it sees fit. Forget society, the same attitude is found in the Church. Everyone wants to live the life they choose and they do not want to be judged for it.

There are Christians who will argue to my face that homosexuality is permitted by God. I visit their tumblr and find it filled with profanity, half-nude pictures and things that fly in the face of God's holiness. They are desperately seeking but never finding. There is no judgement in my heart or thoughts, only sorrow, because their tumblr is also filled with hurt, loneliness, fear, depression. All these things that Jesus saves us from but they have cut off the rescuer and have decided to do what they feel is right. The Church is filling up with these people but is no help to them.

The Church needs help. She does not need help or direction from the world or those lost in the world. She needs help from her source of existence, the Holy Spirit. She needs a cleansing, purifying, renewing moment with the Groom. She needs to remember that she is the Bride and stop prostituting herself.

We are a very intelligent people. God created us well. We can learn great things, build great things, achieve great things. We can honestly pretty well do what we want to do, whatever we put our mind to do. But that doesn't mean we should. We can build a church on our own strength. We can create powerful religions. We can start charities, climb mountains, fly to the moon. 

We can choose whatever path we want to in this life. We can become whatever we want to be. We can do whatever we want to do. We can carry the name Christian while we do it. We can convince ourselves of anything while we do it. We can do terrible things out of desperation and excuse it. It is amazing how the human mind and heart will distort values, truths and reality to preserve our psyche. But it still does not make it right.

We have certain freedoms in God's grace but it doesn't mean we should exercise them. God is very patient but it doesn't mean we should test his patience. We need to remember that even in this freedom we desire to be controlled by the Spirit. Yes, I said controlled. I need to be controlled because I do not trust my heart or mind. I don't trust my human nature. I don't trust my perception. I want to be controlled by the Spirit so I don't fill my life with emptiness but instead with the glory of Jesus.

The Spirit tells us this:

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord,and the Lord for the body. (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)

There is absolute truth and it is not found in the thoughts of man. Yes, you can do what you want but not everything you do is beneficial. You can think what you want but not everything is truth. You can shape God however you want but it doesn't mean that idol you have created is God. We use to shape gods out of stone, wood, silver and gold. Now we shape gods out of words, thoughts and ideas. There's no difference, they are still not God.

If you face loneliness, depression, and feelings of being lost there is an answer. Set aside your idols and discover the real Jesus. You will discover the real meaning of what he meant when he said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed". Everything is permissible for me ( a lie from the enemy) but not everything is beneficial. Too many things in your life are poison to your soul. Discover the healer, the great lover of your soul.