Church - Wake up from your slumber!

The world may be able to see how clean we are on the outside, but God can see how clean we are on the inside, there is no hiding place.

Source: Living By Faith Blog

Every day I pray earnestly for friends and family to know and except Jesus into their hearts however I have been recently asking myself the question; ‘what do people see when they look at me and what example am I demonstrating?’ Do they look at me and see someone who lives by the example of Jesus, someone who is not immune to the trials and tribulations of life, but deals with circumstances in a calm assured and loving way? Do they see someone who reflects the living spirit of Jesus back to them or do they in fact see a hypocrite? Is the reality of what they see someone who claims to know Jesus, who quotes scripture to them and on the surface, appears to be compassionate and caring, but instead demonstrates the values of the world through gossip, slander, using coarse language, dis-honesty and the like?

It is not difficult to see why those in the World who do not know Jesus, question even His existence when they often see the hypocrisy of those who claim to know Him. Isaiah had some strong words to say about the Jews in Isaiah 29:13 ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught’. These words were spoken nearly 2000 years ago however they are so relevant today. There are some further strong words in Titus 1:16 ‘They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good’. How sad it would be if God sees us as detestable and disobedient because the words that come from our mouths are hollow and meaningless making us unfit to do anything good. 

In Matthew 23 Jesus did not hold back in rebuking the teachers of the law and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy; Matthew 23:27-28 ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness’. It is true that when we gave our lives to Jesus that we were washed clean, spotlessly clean, in His precise blood. It is also true that when we sin we can come to Jesus with a truly repentant heart and He will wash us clean over and over again, that’s how much He loves us, WOW! You may be able to hide your inner thoughts and feelings, your sins and everything else that is going on the ‘inside’ from humans, but you cannot hide anything from God. God knows exactly where you are in your life right now, He knows what your thoughts are, He knows what problems are and He knows what your sins are. Trying to hide anything from God is pointless, it is impossible: Jeremiah 16:17 ‘My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes’. The world may be able to see how 'clean' you are on the outside, but God can see how clean you and I are on the inside, there is no hiding place. It always makes me smile when I think about Adam and Eve trying to hide from God in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:8, it was pointless. God knew exactly where they were, just like He knows exactly where we are in our lives and our relationship with Him right now.

Source: Find the Shepherd

Maybe it is a good time to take stock of where we are in our relationship with God. Are there things in our lives which we are trying to hide or conceal? Are there unresolved issues? Are we holding onto the pain and troubles of the past? Are we struggling with unforgiveness? Are there things going on that we doing which we know are not right? These are things that you may not tell people about, but God knows all about them and in detail! If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then these are all blockages that will prevent Jesus from dwelling in you and using you effectively for His Kingdom. Before God can use us to do His work we must get ourselves right with Him first. Let’s listen to His Words for advice and guidance: James 1:22-24 ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like’. God is clearly telling us to practice what we preach, to not give lip service to His Word but to demonstrate that Jesus is in us by living the Word, let me repeat; by living the Word.

When people look at me I don’t want them to see me, I want them to see Jesus in me. Not through anything I have done or can take credit for but through the wonderful power of Jesus who is able to use me as a vessel because of my relationship with Him. Jesus can only dwell in a clean temple and any uncleanliness will prevent Him from doing so. If you are wondering why Jesus is not present or having little impact in your life then maybe it’s time for you to 'clean the temple'. We want our families, friends and many others to know Jesus but this will only be possible if they can see Jesus in us or in somebody else, we cannot save anyone, we do not have the power, only the Presence and Power of Jesus is able to do this. Let us allow Jesus to work under His own authority and not try to do it under our own. Let us not be hypocritical as this is so detrimental to the body of Christ and in fact we are warned, in no uncertain terms about what will happen if we are lukewarm; Revelation 3:16 ‘So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth’. Instead let us choose to accept and display the fruit of the Spirit; Galatians 5:22-26 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other’. Let us all live for Christ so that Christ can dwell in us and in doing so allow people to see Him and accept Him into their lives. If we profess to know Jesus then let the World see Him in us and may His light shine from us as a beacon in this sometimes-dark world. If you know Jesus as your Lord and saviour then the wake up! Romans 13:11 ‘The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed’.

Author: Anonymous

May God bless and enrich your life    

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