- Dec 22, 2023
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"God does not call us to worship Him for His sake, but to worship Him for our sakes."
If God were proud in the human sense, He would not expend so much effort patiently serving US.
To respond to Him in gratitude by actually desiring to know Him, is the opening He longs for to establish an intimate, personal relationship with us. It is only then when we discover Who He really is, and who He designed us to be.
And wouldn't you know? As we allow Him to mold us into the image of His Son, we actually begin to realize all of the core things we long for - peace with ourselves and others, *genuine* faithful sacrificial love, purpose, dignity, confidence in our identity that cannot be shaken by anyone else, hope for this life and certainty about the next.
There is a joy so profound to be had... in hearing His voice through His Word, through His Spirit to our spirit, through His creation, and through others who likewise hear His voice.
No pleasure on earth can match that. And the beauty of it is - this joy of the Spirit lasts through all trials and decay beyond death, and survives into a new eternal reality so wonderful it is beyond our imaginations!
There is a major obstacle in His way to leading us there, however. While we are precious to Him, because of our sins we are separate from Him.
"All we like sheep have gone astray." "There is no one righteous, no not one." "The wages of sin is death."
And due to this inherited sin nature we, like automatons, gravitate towards worshipping anything or anyone other than God. That is called idolatry, which Gospel veteran Cliff Knechtle elaborates upon so well in the accompanying short video.
It is our inherent pride that desires self-autonomy, and seeks out to fill our minds with the words of anyone who reinforces that quest - who indeed worship themselves as well.
God has made it clear Who alone is worthy of such adoration - the only One Who lived a sinless life, suffered far beyond what we can imagine, spoke Words of Life, and had the courage to - like His Father - humble Himself to offer the ultimate act of service in taking the punishment we deserve upon Himself.
We are each called by our Creator, every day of our short time here, to stop and gaze intently at His Son, and embrace His gift of Love. How many will tragically continue to turn away in indifference to Christ's agony suffered at our hands - preferring to cling to all of our idols that we will ultimately lose anyway, including ourselves - as we are not the source of life and love ourselves.
If we choose not to decide, unfortunately, we still have made our choice, and will endure the horrifying consequences of choosing self over Him.
God bless us all who do, and shall, repent and trust Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and obey Him. To Him alone belong all glory, honor and praise!
If God were proud in the human sense, He would not expend so much effort patiently serving US.
To respond to Him in gratitude by actually desiring to know Him, is the opening He longs for to establish an intimate, personal relationship with us. It is only then when we discover Who He really is, and who He designed us to be.
And wouldn't you know? As we allow Him to mold us into the image of His Son, we actually begin to realize all of the core things we long for - peace with ourselves and others, *genuine* faithful sacrificial love, purpose, dignity, confidence in our identity that cannot be shaken by anyone else, hope for this life and certainty about the next.
There is a joy so profound to be had... in hearing His voice through His Word, through His Spirit to our spirit, through His creation, and through others who likewise hear His voice.
No pleasure on earth can match that. And the beauty of it is - this joy of the Spirit lasts through all trials and decay beyond death, and survives into a new eternal reality so wonderful it is beyond our imaginations!
There is a major obstacle in His way to leading us there, however. While we are precious to Him, because of our sins we are separate from Him.
"All we like sheep have gone astray." "There is no one righteous, no not one." "The wages of sin is death."
And due to this inherited sin nature we, like automatons, gravitate towards worshipping anything or anyone other than God. That is called idolatry, which Gospel veteran Cliff Knechtle elaborates upon so well in the accompanying short video.
It is our inherent pride that desires self-autonomy, and seeks out to fill our minds with the words of anyone who reinforces that quest - who indeed worship themselves as well.
God has made it clear Who alone is worthy of such adoration - the only One Who lived a sinless life, suffered far beyond what we can imagine, spoke Words of Life, and had the courage to - like His Father - humble Himself to offer the ultimate act of service in taking the punishment we deserve upon Himself.
We are each called by our Creator, every day of our short time here, to stop and gaze intently at His Son, and embrace His gift of Love. How many will tragically continue to turn away in indifference to Christ's agony suffered at our hands - preferring to cling to all of our idols that we will ultimately lose anyway, including ourselves - as we are not the source of life and love ourselves.
If we choose not to decide, unfortunately, we still have made our choice, and will endure the horrifying consequences of choosing self over Him.
God bless us all who do, and shall, repent and trust Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and obey Him. To Him alone belong all glory, honor and praise!
