The Root of Salvation
A man once asked Jesus, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Jesus told him to keep the commandments. The man persisted asking which commandments. Jesus replied, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself." The young man then said that he had kept all of these and asked what he still lacked.
This was the Christ's reply:
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
The young man walked away sadly. Why? He was rich, rich and unwilling to part with it. Not all of us are rich, but each of us has something that we hold on to, no, something that we clutch desperately in hopes that God will not ask us to do without it.
I had something like that, computer video games. Now, you're probably thinking, "What kind of idol is that?" Idol? Yes, idol. That's exactly what I am talking about, idolatry. Anyone remember these words, "You shall have no other gods before me?" I wasn't paying my tithe. Yet I was paying a monthly fee to play a game online. A wee bit of idol worship there I'm thinking.
This is not what I was going to write about today. I had my passage all picked out, Romans 10:9,10: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
You can see where that ties in with the title. But I was led in a different direction, a direction I believe relevant for all believers. We must put God over all. No matter what it is God must take priority over it. Sometimes, this isn't easy. Computer games was easier than I thought it would be. Now I must sit back and survey my life and look at what else has assumed the role of a god.
What is your god? What keeps you from serving God to your fullest? Where does your heart lie? These are questions for you. You must answer them yourself.
"Father, I know there are things in my life that I put ahead of you. Lord, I ask that you take away my dependency on them. As ever, my cry is less of me, more of you. I want to serve you. I want to touch people's lives that they might see you. Please make me an able servant. In the name of Jesus, amen."
This was the Christ's reply:
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
The young man walked away sadly. Why? He was rich, rich and unwilling to part with it. Not all of us are rich, but each of us has something that we hold on to, no, something that we clutch desperately in hopes that God will not ask us to do without it.
I had something like that, computer video games. Now, you're probably thinking, "What kind of idol is that?" Idol? Yes, idol. That's exactly what I am talking about, idolatry. Anyone remember these words, "You shall have no other gods before me?" I wasn't paying my tithe. Yet I was paying a monthly fee to play a game online. A wee bit of idol worship there I'm thinking.
This is not what I was going to write about today. I had my passage all picked out, Romans 10:9,10: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
You can see where that ties in with the title. But I was led in a different direction, a direction I believe relevant for all believers. We must put God over all. No matter what it is God must take priority over it. Sometimes, this isn't easy. Computer games was easier than I thought it would be. Now I must sit back and survey my life and look at what else has assumed the role of a god.
What is your god? What keeps you from serving God to your fullest? Where does your heart lie? These are questions for you. You must answer them yourself.
"Father, I know there are things in my life that I put ahead of you. Lord, I ask that you take away my dependency on them. As ever, my cry is less of me, more of you. I want to serve you. I want to touch people's lives that they might see you. Please make me an able servant. In the name of Jesus, amen."
posted by Douglas at 1:47 AM
1 Comments:
"Sad are we who play,
Forgetting the purpose of our stay,
Losing sight of 'Honor and Obey',
Taking hold of the World's empty tray.
Oh, that we would hold to hope,
And latch to joy.
Then we would be heaven bound,
Instead of looking for light,
In the barrenness of this ground."
May the Lord wean us from the world's pap, so that we might drink of the refreshing waves of life. Only in Him is sustenance, and only through Him can we acheive such a goal: To know, to live, and to be Christ, which comes only by emptying ourselves of us.
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