What We Think

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV

When we first become Christians, we want to do everything right - we read our Bibles, we pray, we gather with other believers, and we want to do it all exactly as we've been instructed.

Then, as we walk it out every day, there are times the discipline of it becomes tedious. We want to watch a movie or play a computer game instead of reading the Word. We'll chat or text with friends instead of taking the time to pray... sleep in or go to the beach instead of going to church and then convince ourselves it's supposed to be a day of rest, anyway, and we're resting... or so we think.

I'm not saying that watching a movie, playing a computer game, chatting, texting, sleeping in, or going to the beach are bad things in and of themselves. The danger lies in thinking we know what's best for our lives. Left to our own devices, humans tend to choose the path of least resistance, the easy way, every time. Our text for today reads, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, not 'whenever' we feel like it.

If we read through to chapter 30, we find this in verses 19 and 20,
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;

Even though we know we are NOT God and we don't have in hand all the knowledge pertaining to life, we tend to make life-altering decisions based on what we think we know. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

God gave us a free will. We can choose to love Him or not. Daily, we can take up our cross as directed by Christ, or we can lay it down and walk our own way. Let's do it - taken as directed by His Word, not by what we think.

Prayer:

Father,
           Open our eyes to see that we don't know it all. Help us to make the right choice of following You and Your instructions to the letter. Father, we want to diligently obey Your voice. Help us to clearly hear and understand Your direction. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* It Doesn't Matter What They Think...

 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
Luke 7:39 NLT

Do you think Simon ever entertained the thought that Jesus was the Saviour of the world or was it more of a "He's the latest fad - very popular. I'm sure I can prove what He's not, but just in case He IS something, I can say I hosted a dinner in His honor" kind of thing? Do you think - at that moment - Simon was re-thinking the invitation he had extended to Jesus? The woman was a sinner!

Do you think for one second that Jesus was wondering what His status would be or what it would become in the community based on this - this sinner - touching Him? Do you think He recoiled at the thought? Not on your life! Or hers. Or mine.

What they thought of Him did NOT change who He was or is. For that matter, what WE think/believe of HIM does not change who He is, but by His Grace, it can and will change us. 

I love this story for SO many reasons... but mostly I love this story because Jesus was touchable by the untouchable. What they thought of Jesus at that dinner table, what they thought of HER at that dinner table... none of it mattered to Jesus or to her. His love was REAL and she knew it. 

Too often, we rehearse the history of our lives in terms of unworthy. We know our sins. Too many to count - how could God get past all that? He showed us how. He gave His life for ours. His spotless, sinless, pure and holy life for us... the Word says, "While we were yet sinners..."  (Romans 5:8).

Do you think it was only for Mary? Do you think it's only for someone else - someone who hasn't done what you've done? Simon the Pharisee would think that. He'd have wanted YOU to think that. Remember this. Simon was wrong back then and he'd be wrong now.

Christ came to be the sacrifice for our sin so that our sins could be forgiven and we could be restored into right relationship with the Father. Lovingly and touchable. We have only to go to Jesus.

It doesn't matter what THEY think about that - what do YOU think?

Prayer:

Father, 
          Create in us a right spirit. Give us clean hands and a pure heart, O God. Thank You for loving us beyond what we can comprehend and thank You for being touchable. Help us to walk resolutely - every thought in obedience to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen