Hebrews 13: 8 NKJV
There was a time when I followed with interest the story of the Isrealites. Gods chosen people. The Isrealites were pretty devout in faith. Even today, Judeism is one of the more devout religions. However, the Isrealites were also good at something else which God wanted nothing to do with. They were good at forgetting who they were. They were excellent at forgetting all which the Lord had done for them. So much so that even after being delivered out of Egyptian captivity, the Isrealites acted as if God had left them high and dry. Of course, God continued to not only provide for His people, but to guide them as well. I would say that we today have a lot in common with Isrealites of yesterday. For there are times when we ourselves forget the grace and mercy of the Lord in our lives. I have found that this is easy to do when things are going well for us. Of course, things will not always go well. So, when the struggles of life come upon us, we once again cry out to God for help. I get it. This is all we have been conditioned to do. Trust me, I've been there. One of my favorite pieces of advice is that the very first words of a man in trouble will always be..."Help me God!" Why is that? I'll tell you why, because in our hearts we know that in our time of need God will always be there. And He is. It is God who has promised to never leave us {Hebrews 13:5}. We know that God cannot lie, so we trust in Him to deliver us out of our most frightening moments. However, all too often what happens is that after the moment passes we seem to forget the mercy which God has shown us. Our lives are normal once again. I believe that this belief is part of the error of the belief that we are somehow seperated from God. That God is in heaven and we are living here on earth. God is only known for helping those of us in need? Is this all that Gos is to you? If so you might want to reconsider how it is that you see Him.
20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2: 20 NKJV
Why is it that we forget what God has done? Why is it that we all too often forget who we are in Gods eyes? Did God somehow change over time? No, I will venture that it is we who have changed. We've changed not only in how we see God, but in how we see ourselves as well. We've become like those Isrealites of old. Not only do we see God as being a distant part of our lives, but we see ourselves as being distant from Him. The Genesis creation story tells us that we have been lovingly created in our Fathers image {Genesis 1:27}. That He breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}. These aren't simply some words spoken from a pastors sunday sermon. They actually happened. Yet all too often we forget where we've come from. No, God didn't change, we changed. We have forgotten who it is that we are. The apostle Paul reminds us in Galations, that it is Christ Jesus who dwells in us {Galations 2:20}. Does that sound to you like God is seperated from your life? Far from it. Not only is He in us, but He is involved in each and every detail of our lives. All that He is...we are. How can I then say that God is not a part of my life? If I did I wouldn't be honest with myself. We know that it is the desire of our heavenly Father that all would be saved {John 3:16-17}. So, are all indeed saved? Think carefully on that. What if, just what if all of Gods children were indeed saved but just didn't realize it? We cannot disregard this truth simply because we don't see it as feasible. After all, this is Gods show, not ours. Yeah, I remember the christians of yesterday. Those of Gods children who had forgotten who they really were. They forgot...God didn't.
~Scott~
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