Back to Basics
I was at a meeting today (Saturday) when the speaker said something in a way I had not really thought of before. If we claim we are not sinners, we make God out to be a liar. There would have been no need of a sacrifice to atone for sins we had not committed; yet He sent His son to die for our salvation. The difference, our speaker said, between Christianity and other religions is that we have a God who does it all for us, all that is expected of us in return is love and friendship. People of other religions spend their time striving to please their Gods. We know, or we should by now, that God not only loves us unconditionally, but actually likes us too, in fact, He made us the way we are so that He could enjoy our company.
Sometimes God seems to have to try really hard to get our attention. I have written much in the last year about how NMEFC should move forward, there have been discussions, debates and prayer sessions galore, all have brought the same message, but we seem unable to accept it and continue to ask God for guidance. Looking back that message has always been ‘be ready and I will let you know when and how to act’. We are not meant to decide what needs to be done; we have a God who will do it all. We cannot make anyone believe, we cannot give the gifts of the Spirit, we have no authority of our own, but when we act in Faith, when we truly trust in the Lord God Almighty, when we have a personal relationship with Him, we can prophesy or heal or do anything else the Disciples did in His Name at Pentecost. The part of God we receive when we accept Him as our Saviour, that is alive in us, gives us that power.
Today’s speaker said a lot of things with which I did not fully concur and some that made me uncomfortable, but she was obviously sent as a reminder of that message we have been hearing. One text she quoted was “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.... Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Rev 2)
I think we have forgotten how to do the things, which we did when we were zealous new believers. We have become so busy deciding what should be done, how it should be done, who should do it, doing it and reviewing what was done that we no longer look at why we are doing it. We will have the machine so well oiled that it could continue to run without us – but the Holy Spirit would not be there, there would be no love or worship. The Lord does not send His messages written on paper but on human hearts (2 Cor. 3:3). We have to return to basics and spend time with the Lord in prayer, both speaking and hearing, as we would in conversation with our best friend, and then we have to pass on the message.
