The Root Of It All

If I can be honest, whenever I'm reading Scripture and I get to a passage that is listing the attributes of the unrighteous such as hatred, greed, malice, decietfulness, sexual impurity,ect, I always get out a mental check list. As I'm reading I'm thinking, "Ok. Don't do this. I'm not supposed to do this. Christians don't do this so I can't either." My focus becomes the absence of these things rather than these things being the fruit of a Spirit filled follower of Christ. It's easier to look at the Scriptures as what I need to do to "be in good with God." This is completely contrary to what God desires for our lives. Yes He wants the absence of these things in our lives, but not as the means to salvation but the fruit of it. If when reading these lists of attributes of the unrighteous we see areas that our lives don't match up with, we shouldn't just try harder next time. The problem is not that we do these things, it's that there is something very twisted and wicked within us that reveals itself through these things. It's similar to a tree and it's fruit. Chopping down all the fruit of a tree doesn't keep fruit from being produced. If you want to stop the fruit from being produced you have to uproot the tree. It's the same with us. Our fruit is the attributes we have weather good or bad and the only way to cure the real problem is to uproot the tree, namely our wicked hearts. The catch is that we don't have the power within us to do that. God is the only one with the power to change our hearts and the fruit produced. So when we see anything in the Bible that contradicts our lives, that's a sign that we need to seek God diligantly in repentance for His Spirit to change our hearts. A constant tweaking of actions only mocks our God who sees the intents of our hearts. So, next time you're reading the Scriptures (which I'm hoping is often) and you see a commandment that isn't being kept in your life, don't just write it off as something you need to try harder at next time. Instead, I urge you (and me), to stop and plead with the God of heaven, who has the power to give life and take it away, for a renewed heart that reflects the heart of Christ.


In His Love,
matt j

No More Burden

It seems that one of the biggest turn-offs to non-Christians is the perception that there are a bunch of rules and that they would be missing out on something if they attempted to follow these rules. Even among believers it is common to find this same attitude. But this is not the picture that Scripture paints at all. Take Psalm 119 for example; the writer is not complaining that God's Laws are a burden to keep, but instead thanking God and praising Him for His mercy of giving His people direction through the Law. This whole Psalm, which is by no coincidence the longest chapter in the Bible, is nothing but praise for God's Laws, Decrees, Statutes, Word, and Commandments. Even in the beginning, before the fall, God gave His people directions(Gen. 1:26,28,29,2:15,16,17). God wasn't trying to spoil their fun, He was showing them how to live. Otherwise, how would Adam have known to take care of the garden, or what he could eat, or how to reproduce. Without God's direction, which is life(John 6:63), Adam and Eve would have died. The LORD was being merciful. After the fall, when the people of Israel were freed from slavery, God spoke to Moses giving them the Commandments and Laws. When first reading the books of the Law, such as Leviticus, it's easy to be overwhelmed with what all they have to keep. But like in the garden, Israel, after being enslaved needed to relearn how to live. So God, in His grace and mercy, told them what to do to be sanctified, or set apart. He told them how to make sacrifices that would be pleasing to Him and put them back in right standing with God. He gave them practical commandments so that disease wouldn't spread throughout the people. These Laws were not so much a burden on the people as much as they were God teaching His people how to truly live and be His people. Let us reflect and meditate on God's Word and the ways that He is mercifully giving us direction so that we no longer view what He says as a burden, but instead praise Him that we're not left to figure this life out on our own.

In His Love,
matt j