The God Switch?

After discussing my last blog with a group of men a theme began to develop. This theme was the recognition of something the guys called a "God switch". This is a switch that guys turn off and on when it suits them. This is how they push through and indulge in sin, otherwise, they could not bring themselves to do it. I knew what they meant. I have turned off my so called God switch in some dark periods of my life. My charge for them, and it remains for me, is to live in such a way that I have no switch to be turned on or off. You see I am a new creature in Christ, my life is hidden in Him, and my identity shall forever be dependent upon Him. I want to live out of a true heart of love. I am not playing games. Turning a switch off and on is just a delirious self deception. God ask us, "Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and the earth?" (Jer. 23:24) We may ignore God but He is never absent regardless of what we choose to do. We will always pay the consequences of living like there is no God, and in those moments where we choose to have nothing to do with God we invite sin and death to have its way in us. Now, I may have got to the point of maturity in my relationship with God where I do not turn God off and go do something really stupid and blatantly sin, but sometimes I push God away when I am home and tired or interested more in the television than finding some quiet time before my Lord. My God, help us all who call ourselves Christians to never turn or tune you out! Help me to know your heart for me so I will never want to choose anything other!!

Am I not everywhere?

This is the question God posed to the Israelites in the midst of their darkest period. The Babylonians were on the verge of invading the Holy Land. God's prophet, Jeremiah, warned the people of the preeminent doom, yet they refused to listen. Rather, the people turned their ears and attention to the false prophets who spoke soft words and filled their ears with promise. If you know the history of Israel at all you know the outcome, and these prophets indeed proved themselves to be false. The Holy Land was devastated, most everyone was killed, and the few who remained were carried away as slaves. In Jeremiah 23:29 the Lord also asks, "Does not my word burn like fire? Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?"

At this point, you may be asking yourself what kind of loving God is this? The very reason we ask this shows our human ignorance. The Israelite thought the same thing. Surely, God will not destroy us. He is far too loving and kind for that, and after all we are His chosen people. So instead of fearing God and tuning in their ears to His warning, which would have lead to repentance and deliverance, they chose the soft words of the false prophets instead of the rock smashing words of the Lord. The Lord asks in Jeremiah 23: 24, "Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" We who grew up in the church, like myself, learned in Sunday school that God is everywhere but I have found in my adult life this is not always the easiest thing to believe. If I really believed it then perhaps I would walk more closely with him throughout my busy day and allow Him to be a part of the small details and decisions of my life.

How foolish this is! God does not sit far away in heaven occasionally looking down at me. He is right here! Right now! Lord lead my heart to believe, and remember this always. At times, I am like the people of Israel. I prefer not to hear the words of the Lord because His word smashes my plans and desires. The Lord's words may be harsh at times and smash us like a hammer, but we should never doubt His love and ultimately His sovereign nature. The Lord's words save us from destruction, give us life, and lead us to the best possible outcomes. Even if we cannot immediately see this we have to learn to truly, actually live by this fact. If we do not learn from history we repeat it. Let us, me, not be like the Israelites and ignore the very words that would have saved them from destruction and instead choosing to listen to what sounds good and what is popular. 

This is my first post and serves as the official beginning to my blog. The main function of this blog is to lead me into a deeper relationship with my Lord so that I may hear Him more clearly and love Him more adequately. If you happen to stumble across this I pray the same for will be done for you.