Good Times

"He deserves our full attention."

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching THE GOSPEL of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” (Matthew 4:23)

Gospel, G2098, Strong’s Concordance, a good message

WE’RE WRITING His Words with a dull pencil when, if we’d sharpen it, we’d pronounce things so much clearer. It’s like one of those songs where you only know the chorus, so you mumble the rest. We can’t fudge the Truth of God’s Word, the Truth of His heart. We must KNOW WITHOUT ERROR. Is that possible? What isn’t is mixing in our own addendum. I can sing “The Star Spangled Banner” and make up any words I want, but that makes it not “The Star Spangled Banner” and insulting to this nation and those who served her to their deaths. Jesus died a horrible cruel death for you, one He didn’t deserve. He allowed Himself to be sacrificed, His body mutilated, so that the Truth of who God is would be written within us. He gave us what we don’t deserve, and it cost Him mental anguish and great physical pain. We are only called to speak His Word by His mercy, so He deserves our full attention.

“To whom you draw near and are closely approaching, even to a living and vibrant stone— that is, the One who indeed was rigorously examined and inspected and disapproved, discarded, and rejected by the scrutinizing tests of mere men. But, amazingly, God was watching all a long and had His gaze fixed upon Him—and although he was rejected by men, He was chosen by God, who cherished, esteemed, honored, and prized Him as being so very precious.” (1 Peter 1:4 RIV)

Quit copy-editing. Too much is said that has been said so often we’ve lost its meaning. We’ve grown used to it. The Spirit isn’t against repetition. It has its purpose. But when it no longer holds the depth of its meaning to us, we need to seek Him for greater revelation. It’s possible to stop growing and just become carbon paper. Horrible stuff. You make one error and it’s on every page. God is FRESH and NEW and never OLD and WORN OUT. Why does that matter? Because He is not boring. When our perspective is wrong then it affects our attitude and motive. We only seek what draws us, and there is no greater draw for the mind and the heart than God’s Word. It is LIFE which heals us, which alters our being.

“It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Galatians 6:15)

In school, they used to do this experiment where you’d repeat something that was told to you to the next person in line, and then the person behind you would do the same. The person at the end would speak it out loud. It was amazing how off the story had gotten between Person 1 and Person 12. This same thing happens in preaching and teaching. The story we’ve told over and over again alters slightly each time until it isn’t really truth and contains things the Spirit would never say. And that’s what we must guard against. He is so gentle and kind and forgiving. He will never correct you in public, and if you aren’t listening and open to Him, you won’t hear it in private either. But He is speaking clearly in the manner easiest for you to hear and wants God’s Word taught truthful. There aren’t many doctrines, but only His. Though there are many denominations, there’s only ONE BODY OF CHRIST, which Jesus called His CHURCH (Matthew 16:18). And all men can hear Him speak when He desires it.

“Those who live with the selfish nature in charge have their minds bent on self-indulgence and selfish pursuits; but those who live in harmony with the Spirit of truth and love have their minds focused on living in harmony with God’s principles of truth, love, and liberty. The mind of the selfish person is filled with death, but the mind governed by the principles of the Spirit of truth and love is filled with life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6, Remedy)

That’s A-L-L, all. He spoke to ungodly kings and prophets in the Old Testament. He appeared as a hand on the wall, as fire falling on the water-logged sacrifice, and fire and thunder on the mountain, and all people saw it (Daniel 5:5;1Kings 18:38;Exodus 19:16). But to those who are His temples where He abides forever (1Corinthians 6:19), He should be crystal clear. There is no limit to the depth, the closeness to Him, that you can grow. It is up to you to keep seeking Him, and in that is the message here. Don’t let time’s passing make your seeking become old news to you, or that dull pencil you were too lazy to sharpen. Sit up taller, write clearer, and marvel at His goodness to you. He is infinite.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com