Beware Of Your Own Logic

We have an ability to think, to reason, to draw conclusions and act on those conclusion. We were created with a great capacity for intelligence. However, relying only on our observations can and will get us into a lot of trouble. Just because we think it doesn't make it the truth. Just because our observations bring us to a certain conclusion doesn't mean we can rely on it. Jesus never told us that we would be on our own and that it was up to us to figure things out. In fact, he told us the opposite.

Yesterday we considered how Joshua got in trouble for making assumptions instead of consulting with Yahweh. Life is fluid and things can change rapidly depending on the many individuals involved in our lives. Then right on the heels of that difficult lesson came another one that dealt with the problem of our logic. The people of Gibeon saw the writing on the wall, knew they were doomed to die at the hands of Israel, so they came up with a plan to deceive Joshua:

However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Joshua 9:3-5)

They had somehow heard that Israel was commanded to drive out all the nations within a certain area so they made it look as if they were a people from a distance. Joshua should have consulted with Yahweh for the truth to be revealed but instead they trusted their observations:

The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. (vs.14-15)

We are no better, living by observation instead of by the Word of Yahweh. We see and we draw conclusions and act on those conclusions, attributing it to the will of our Father. We may even fire off a prayer or two or three but we do not wait or listen for a response, we just react to what we see. Our Lord's desires is made manifest to us in the Scriptures:

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

We have to walk in his statutes, in what he says is right, not what we come up with in our own logic, our own opinions. It doesn't matter what you think according to the logic of man, all that matters is what Yahweh says on the matter. And if you do not agree then you are not a follower of Jesus Christ. You may carry the title but Jesus made it clear that if we love him we will obey him, and he is the Living Word of Yahweh, which means he is referring to all of it. We don't get to pick and choose. Simply put:

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

By faith, trusting the Word of Yahweh, and not by sight, the logic of my opinions.

Faith Like A Child

I wish it was possible to tell the world that we do not follow a book of laws as they perceive that we do. In fact, I wish it was possible to explain that to Christians. I am not a hyper-grace preacher and do not belong to a hyper-grace church, I simply believe it is easier to understand God when we look at it from a relational perspective instead of a religious one.

God is my Father because he has adopted me as his child. So when I study his Word I am not seeing a list of laws but instead a Father's loving instruction. My desire to obey does not come from a fear of punishment but from a heart of gratefulness. I love my Father for his love and grace. My response to his righteousness is a love response. There is more to it than that. For instance, since Jesus is one with me, I do not want to bring him into something that would break his heart. But my desire to walk in obedience and God's righteousness is an act of love; a relational thing.

This means that I do not need to understand why my Father tells me not to do something; it is simply enough he told me it is not acceptable. The rebellious nature in me tells me that I am not brainless, that I can't obey blindly, that I am free thinking and deserve an explanation, but the child in me says, okay daddy. The logic of man's thinking is it's downfall, it's barrier against the love and grace of our Father. The cry from the world all the time is "Come dance with us for we are free and wise and no one tells us how to think". It is a seductive cry but the Word of God says:

My son, if sinful men entice you,
    do not give in to them. (Proverbs 1:10)
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it. (1:18,19)

Our Father has told us that there is a way that seems right to man but it leads to death. The world is convinced of it's truth and throws our Father's words into the heap of all man's man-made religions. We cannot win the world by playing at it's game. We cannot build our churches on the principle's of man's wisdom and expect them to honour God. We cannot build our lives on the values of this world and expect to please our Father. These things that are pursued by those who claim Christ and yet walk in the logic of the world will take away their life.

Again today I plead with you and myself to live a life of no compromise. Do not compromise your relationship with the Father. No do compromise your desire to obey out of love. Do not compromise for the sake of appearing wise in the eyes of the world. Do not compromise to be accepted by man and rejected by God. Our Father has made it clear to those who are willing to be his children. We praise him for his grace, that he forgives all things and restores us to him whenever we get it wrong. But he knows our hearts. He knows if we are sincere in our love or if we are simply playing at it. I plead with you again today to:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength.

There is no compromise in love because love never fails. There is also no disrespect, no disobedience, no rebellious thought in love. Love never fails. So we, as the children of God, respond with a simple reality: If our Father said it we believe it and act upon it. Faith like a child.