Backslide?

To backslide is to lose ground, a falling away from what was once known. To know what that means in terms of being a Christian we have to ask ourselves what being a Christian means. In the first twelve chapters of Matthew it is clear that we must forsake the life we live apart from Christ (Mat 10:38) and turn to follow Him. Not only that but as followers of Christ we believe that He is the Son of God, not just a teacher or prophet sent by God but Jesus said when we look at Him we see the Father! Today I read about a parable Jesus told about a farmer who planted seed and the different types of soil the seed landed on as he scattered it. Two of the places that seed landed shows examples of a backward sliding. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts (Mat 13:19). Although brief take note that Jesus said the "seed" was planted in their hearts, which indicates that they did receive Jesus into their hearts but because they did not understand what they had the evil one snatched it away. Next we see something even more revealing, the seed on the rocky soil. This ground represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word (Mat 13:20-21). Jesus' own words "They fall away..." describes this backwards movement. Let me say after years of consideration I believe we have people on both sides of this ideal of backsliding that are simply wrong, although intending good but in fact causing harm. Some say of these two types, well they were never saved in the first place but they cannot determine the happenings inside someone else's heart. Others say we have to earn our salvation and be careful for one wrong move and what we were given will be taken from us but both ideals are misguided. When we come to Jesus and accept Him as Savior and Lord absolutely nothing or no one can take away what He gives us - we are secure. But at any point in the journey we can choose to leave behind what we once knew, meaning we can accept Him and be accepted ourselves by Him but because of a lack of understanding or problems or persecution we are free to walk away and leave behind all that Jesus gave us. If that offends I am sorry but my burning desire is that people are not blinded by a belief that this salvation offered by God is not costly, for it cost God His only Son and He asks of us to give up everything to follow Him.

(Matthew 10:38-40 NLT) "If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me, you are not worthy of being Mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it. Anyone who receives you receives Me, and anyone who receives Me receives the Father who sent Me."

A prayer of rejoicing

Lord, thanks for the music I find in you. For you saturate my life and you lead me on to your purpose. You make my life worth living, for all it's ups and downs, ins and outs one thing remains and it is because of you I can dance. I read your Word and you tell me that you delight in me and my heart wells up with delight in you too! Nothing I could ever do or say would even begin to express what you've done - you have separated me from fear and despair, you have set my feet to dancing and I will raise my voice in praises to your holy name. Now all the days of my life I will dwell in your temple for I cannot leave your presence. King David said, "If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there! If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me." You have taken my inner most being and woven it with your gladness therefore I rejoice in You! O, Lord I shout because you make me to stand in your victory and triumph.

Do You Dance?

Jesus gave warning to the people who came to expect miracles but took no action to move towards true, lasting change. (Matthew 11:16-17 NLT) "To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, 'We played wedding songs, and you didn't dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn't mourn.'" How often do we seek God's blessings in our own lives but are frozen with indifference when He gives us the opportunity to bless someone else? If you are ready to be completely honest test yourself this way, when you catch someone doing wrong is your first reaction to criticize or pray for them? Too many times I have criticized. See we are not given God's light for our own purpose but it is to move us, as He moves. We are to show compassion as He has shown us compassion. Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables or stories so the people might understand what the Kingdom of God is like. Luke records one such story in chapter 12. There Jesus tells of a master who leaves a servant in charge of his household and this servant was tested by the way he cared for those under him. As you can imagine he would be rewarded for doing good or punished for doing bad when his master returned. "And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn't prepared and doesn't carry out those instructions, will be severely punished." (verse 47). (Luke 12:48 NLT) "But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." So you've been asking for music in your life - God has given you the music but will you dance? When someone rejoices do you rejoice with them or do you sit and stare? When someone mourns do you come along side them and mourn too or do you turn and walk away?

Your faith has made you well

"Your faith has made you well." Jesus says this time and again after healing someone but where did they get such faith? Was it not given to them by God's Holy Spirit? God used the miracle of healing to draw people to Jesus so that the world would know who God was and the extreme measures He would go to in order to have relationship them. Before Jesus came there were many things that kept people from God such as, rules and requirements from the Pharisees and religious teachers, sickness and disease, a life of bad decisions, and oppression from an enemy of God who was set on destroying the thing He loved most. People knew God was holy and because of that He separated Himself from them. Because of their knowledge of the Old Testament they knew about Israel wondering in the desert for forty years because of their inability to surrender to God's leading, they were taught to offer sacrifices for their sins and failures but a better way was coming. It was not through a great army marching into the camp of their oppressors and wiping them out but it would come through sacrifice, similar to the sacrifices they themselves have been offering for so many years. You see their history and even their present situation pointed to Jesus and what He was preparing to do! Even though it was all coming to this one point in time no one could see it because God had not revealed it to the people yet. Let's read Matthew 9:8. Jesus just forgave a paralyzed man of his sins and of course the teachers of religious law had a problem with that. Jesus knew their hearts, which only God can know but somehow they missed that and he asked them is it easier to say "Your sins are forgiven, or stand up and walk?" So Jesus told the man to stand up and go home, when he did it this is what happened. (Matthew 9:8 NLT) "Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority." Even after all of this God covered the eye of their hearts so that they would still believe this is a man that God had given great authority but not the Son of God. Soon a faith even greater would be required of them...

Sending Him away

Matthew chapter 8 tells of Jesus healing many people and fulfilling prophecy but when he came to a town with two demon possessed men and healed them the entire town asked him to leave. It is hard to imagine but sometimes there are situations where we would rather put up with something that is not right than deal with it. As we saw earlier in the chapter there were people coming to Jesus asking him for miracles who had never met him before, yet they knew of him either from hearing others talk or by seeing people be made whole or by God's Spirit speaking to them. Many signs pointed to Jesus as the answer, he represented freedom from this life of physical and spiritual sickness they had been living. I believe this town knew of Jesus also either by what he did for these two men or maybe even before he reached their shore but it is the condition of their hearts and how easily they missed what their very souls were crying out for that concerns me this morning.

Lord, I welcome you to enter my heart for God's Holy Spirit has revealed that you are the Truth and the Way. Don't let my heart grow cold or my flesh become comfortable with the current state of my situation, causing me to miss out on the deliverance you bring even in my darkest hour may I turn to you.

Forgiveness

(Matthew 6:14-15) "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." Jesus did not mix words, he spoke clearly and with authority yet he allows us to make our own decisions. This scripture is one that stays in the forefront of my mind. Many times I find myself reluctant to offer forgiveness when I have been done wrong but just as often I am reminded of all the things I need to be forgiven for. While Jesus was talking about meeting our needs in the same breath he also talked about integrity, trust in God, motive, and forgiveness as they are all connected. So when I find myself struggling to make ends meet these items are good things to monitor.

Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven

What does God expect of his children? Though we are weak we are to be strong, though our site is dim we are to see that which cannot be seen, and though we are poor we are to give out of our riches. "God blesses those who are poor and realizes their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter five. We have a Father in heaven who knows us intimately, He sees our pain and He knows just how much we need Him yet Jesus is telling us who we are and as He speaks He not only reminds us of who we are but He opens our eyes to what our part is in His plan for all humanity. We must see beyond our own needs and understand that God has a divine purpose in our brokenness and the healing of the same. It's through our brokenness that we are training to be warriors of the spirit. Because of the healing God brings we learn to trust Him and because of this intimate trust we will follow Him. By following Him we become like Him. "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Jesus (Matthew 5:48). Failure does not equate to quitting because God knows we will fall yet He calls us to more, we have a Father with high expectations and those high expectations requires us to reach outside of our own strengths, which is the heart's cry of the One who loves us most but Jesus warns us against religion, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I warn you - unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" Religion is man trying to control the means by which he is saved and God says NO! If God has the ability to save us He also has the ability to lead us!