Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Friday 08/20/2010)

Your Way, My Way, His Way, Which Way Is The Highway?...

Matthew 7:20-23 (Amplified Bible)

²⁰Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits. ²¹Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven ²²Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name? ²³And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].

Recently in the news I have witnessed an outbreak of Christians gone crazy. The reason why I say this is because, I have been watching as in the forum of public opinion (the media), we have been watching Pastors proclaim, this doctrine of once saved always saved, Spousal abuse in the home and still putting out books on marriage and family, Pastors and Christian artist coming out of the closet and boldly proclaiming homosexuality and saying that God would rather see them in a committed relationship with the same gender than not in one… We have seen men and woman of God alike caught up in scandals, of infidelity, embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, drug and alcohol abuse, scams and a bunch of random ridiculousness as bad if not worse than those not proclaiming a Savior.

Since when did it become popular to live any old kind of way and expect to make heaven our eternal home? I have always said this, but I have been called judgmental for it. But my Grandmother use to say “you have to live right to make it in, that you must go in through the door” When she use to sense when we were too far from the reach of the Master she would say to us, “You better pay attention and hear what the spirit is saying.” A few months back our Bishop said the word of the Lord was “Holiness or Hell,” in that moment my spirit leaped and became very aware, and in tuned. God was calling us to get it right. He went on to say “I would be very surprised if those who are choosing to live any kind of way will be making into the same heaven I am.” Again I sat up a little straighter. It was being confirmed. God is judging His house first, and the world will follow. He has grown tired of us passing any old kind of life style and treatment of others off as His will and salvation.

So many of us have entered into a mentality that God is just this old Grandfatherly figure that sits on high and just loves us to death (or to life, depending on your perspective), and will just take whatever we give Him, in the way of our living. Oh but if we were to delve into the Word of God, Jesus was the one filled with compassion and is ever interceding for us, It is true that God is LOVE, but He is also a God of order, He is a God of anger, vengence and Judgment and He is a jealous God. That has been proclaimed in the Word of God over and over again. God will not stand for any other God to be before Him… and for many of us that is what we have done, we have made ourselves a god, and we have created our own doctrine and our own version of what the Bible says and means and we have chosen to live by that and ignore, the truth for our own lust and desires. We think our way is the highway to heaven. But I remember growing up and singing, “It’s a highway to heaven, none can walk up there, but the pure in heart, It’s a highway to heaven walking up the KING”S highway.” If we are choosing sin, lust, pride, disobedience and stubbornness how can our hearts be pure? They cannot be. We are so ready to speak for God and adjust Him, and His Word, His Will and commands, just to try to live as we command, but that is not the way to Heaven, that is not the KING’S highway, that is the way to Bust hell wide open.

God is calling us to a place of repentance and acceptance of His way. We think continuing to do people wrong, living as we desire and appeasing this flesh and using phrases and statements like “God knows my heart and I am not Jesus or I am not God,” are going to give us that free pass that we need to make it into the Kingdom, but it is not. There is but one way to God and that is through Jesus and doing it the way He commands it to be done. II Chronicles 7: 14 states: If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” It is only after repentance and submission that God will embrace you and heal your land, your situations, your finances, and your life and let you enter into His eternal presence. And truly that is the fact Jack!