Published by admin on 15 Oct 2010 at 01:52 pm
WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE?
People write to me and ask, What does God want me to do? I think it’s wonderful that people even want to know what God desires of them. But here’s the problem: if you meet a hundred persons, there will be a hundred opinions of what the Lord requires. Actually, the solution is simple; why not just let God himself tell us? How does He do that? Will He speak to us in an audible voice? It has happened at times, but why would He need to when He has already spoken to us through His Word? Through the years religion has clouded what God wants the most from us, and that is a one-on-one relationship with each and every one of us. Let’s have a look what is written in Deuteronomy 10:12-20:
Deu 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
Deu 10:13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
Deu 10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
Deu 10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
Deu 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
Deu 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
Deu 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Deu 10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Deu 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
Some would have us believe it is not possible to have a personal relationship with the Creator unless we fulfill certain religious rites, but God tells us there is a simpler way that each and every one of us can do, no matter how young or old we are, whether we are rich or poor, pretty or ugly, where we live, or what our place is in society. God truly makes it simple enough a child can understand, and that is to LOVE HIM and to serve Him with all our heart and soul.
You see, God isn’t asking you to stand on your head, paint your fingernails purple, face East and ring a bell while chanting something over and over. He isn’t asking you enter an altered state of consciousness or to bring Him a burnt offering. He isn’t asking you to face Mecca or to build Him some huge monument. He’s asking you to come and get to know Him, up close and personal like you would someone you have fallen in love with.
Did you know God actually took the first step toward establishing that kind of relationship with you? He isn’t after your money or possessions. What can you actually give God that He doesn’t already own, hmmm? He owns the earth you live on, and everything on it, in it, and under it. He created you and gave you life and breath. All the gold is His and the cattle of a thousand hills, and all the potatoes under those hills, I might add. All your skills with which you make a living, God gave to you. Have you ever seen a huge hand of God come down out of the sky and a heard a voice saying “Bring me your money and gold?” No, you haven’t. You see, that isn’t what God wants. He uses gold in heaven as paving material, like we use asphalt here, so gold holds no value there. Yes, everyone is after gold here on earth, everyone that is except God. He put money and gold here on earth for US to use and enjoy. Preachers seem to really like it a lot, as well as lands, houses, yachts, jets, and stuff like that. But God has no use for it. If He did, don’t you think He would simply come here and take it? Sure He would. Now I’m picking on preachers here for a moment. Keep in mind, I’m a preacher too. Many preachers would like you to believe if you “sow” enough money into their ministry, God will give you some kind of special favor. But I don’t find that in the Bible. Sure, it takes money to run a ministry, and who will give into ministries if it isn’t God’s own people? It takes money to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world in this technical age, we all know that. But you don’t get favor from God by giving your money away to everyone who tells you to give to their ministry. You get the favor of God by having a living, moment by moment relationship with Him.
Do you know how important you are to God and how much He loves you? I don’t think so, for if you did, your face would shine with His joy, and people who see you would be asking you, What is it with you, why are you so joyful? First off, let me explain something before you think I’m a nut case. Being joyful doesn’t mean you don’t have any problems, or that your body is in perfect health, or your finances are overflowing. Believe me, I know what trials and tribulations are firsthand, and the devil has tried to use them to steal my joy, but with me, that just doesn’t work. Joyful comes from knowing the Lord Jesus, and that whatever problem you are facing, there is nothing that you and He together cannot overcome. Actually, it is the Lord that does it, and you’re just along for the ride so you can witness the goodness of God. Your “works” aren’t what makes your relationship with God work. It’s the amount of time you spend with Him every day. Your works, however, reflect your relationship with God. You love your fellow man because the Lord loves you. You give unto others because God has first given unto you. You pray for the mercy of God to touch others because the mercy of God has first touched you.
If you have someone in your life with whom you are madly in love, don’t you do everything it takes to find a way to spend time with them? Sure you do. You will MAKE a way to spend time with them, one way or the other. What about God? Is He your number one, or is He somewhere down the list after family, job, hobbies, cleaning out the garage, mowing the yard, paying bills and paying taxes? You don’t have to tell me, but be honest, you know the answer. That answer determines where you are in your relationship with God. Let me help you: put God at the top of that list, and everything else just seems to work itself out. You see, God is a jealous God, He wants to be your Number One. Why? Because you want Him to make YOU His number one, right? I mean, when you call upon God, don’t you want Him to drop everything right then to pay attention to your need at hand? Sure you do, if you’re honest with yourself. I do, and that’s a matter of fact.
So it’s only right that if I’m requiring that of God, He should be able to expect the same from me, too. Hello? Anyone home? Bottom line: we expect Him to be our full-time God, shouldn’t He have the right to expect US to be His full-time beloved? I rest my case. Notice at no time there am I talking about religious ceremony. You come to God with your love and adoration, and His door is always open to you. How can that be? Well, the easiest way I can explain it to you is this: Our sin separates us from God. Oh, God still loves each of us, even though we are all sinners, but He is a Holy God, and He cannot dwell in the presence of sin. So, His Son Jesus, out of His fervent love for us, you and me, came and sacrificed Himself as payment in full for our sin, thereby removing the wall of separation between us and God. That means, when you ask the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins, it is done, and God the Father sees you as one who has never sinned, and He can have that relationship with you, just like the one He has with His Son.
Psalm 100 advises us to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Nothing there about religious ceremony or lighting candles or praying certain kinds of prayers, or anything like that. I don’t know about you, but I get plumb joyful and thankful when I think about what the Lord Jesus went through on that cross for me, so that I could have a loving relationship with Him and His Father, and giving thanks to God comes as natural as breathing. I just can’t wait to praise God for all His goodness and mercy. All that thanksgiving and praise comes BECAUSE of my relationship with God, not to GET a relationship with Him. Do you see the difference? God isn’t a religion, but rather, the Creator of the Universe who wants your love, and for you to know Him personally. So, what does the Lord require of you? Simple: love Him and obey Him. Everything He wants us to do is good for us. He isn’t trying to spoil our fun or get our goodies away from us. He’s trying to get us to line ourselves up with His Word so we can enjoy all His blessings. Oh my, how He loves YOU! Now, wasn’t that easy?