There is under-the-table game you cannot see.
Its aim is to trick you, to train you and to teach you in ways other than Christ’s.
You think you are doing good,
because good you try to do,
but the only good you really do is for you. TRICKED.
You are too busy with life,
to find life in the Word. TRICKED.
You let people consume your time,
then you find no time with God. TRICKED.
You believe the more you control your world,
the more your world won’t batter you. TRICKED.
You believe your yesterday is at work to invalidate
the love God is showering on you today. TRICKED.
You believe that you can’t be forgiven,
for forgiveness could never cover the vast sea of your wrongs. TRICKED.
You believe that all joy, riches and happy days should follow Christians. TRICKED.
You seek knowing and loving the blessings over the blesser. TRICKED.
You are so much better than that other sinful man. TRICKED.
You cling, like a mother with a delinquent child, to avoidance and denial rather than crying out to your maker. TRICKED.
When we seek after rainbow, puppy dog and flower Christianity,
we end up loaded with cute things, but far from Jesus.
As a result, our heart holds bitterness and anger at the one who failed us. We see God as a failed Santa, rather than a gracious father. We see God as a punisher rather than a lover. We see God as an acquaintance, rather than a trusted confidante.
There are some hard lines to Christianity – and rather than tiptoe around them as if they don’t exist, sometimes, just sometimes, it is valuable to take a deep and hard look at them to say, “This is what I am called to and, heart, please follow through. God help me.”
5 Ways We Need to Get Real with Faith
– 1. As Jesus called the disciples to leave treasure behind, we must leave behind treasure that stands above the riches we find in Christ.
“Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Mt. 10:9-10
– 2. Expect to find unexpected persecution.
“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Mt. 10:22
– 3. If you can’t stand or speak in the face of pain, the Spirit will give you the words.
“At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Mt. 10:19-20
– 4. People will hate you.
“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Mt. 10:22
– 5. Standing firm in faith, means standing in joy in heaven.
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Mt. 10:33
Dying to self, means coming alive to Christ.
“To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil. 1:21
When we keep our eyes, not on the sleight of hand, but on the hand of God – we see that we can endure to the end with his help. We see that there are tricks, traps and talks set to deter us. We see we must “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves,” (Mt. 10:16) so that we can be sure that no one deceives us. (Mt. 24:4)
We get real about faith and we are equipped to really stand to the end.
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