On His Terms
The scripture says, morning by morning new mercies I se. There is always more to learn…God opens the eyes of our spiritual understanding as we walk daily in the newness of life. As we walk in the light of the truth, we will know by the experience that God is love and in him there is no darkness at all. We will understand His “terms of endearment” as we walk in His love, mercy, and grace.
In the Old Testament, Israel repeatedly turned their hearts from the truth of the Word of God to follow their own devices. According to Romans 1:18-32, Paul outlines the downfall of a culture and nations who descend into perversion and depravity…. Directly contrary to the truth of Scripture and the truth of the Word of God.
The devil’s ploy is to steal, kill and destroy. His tactic is to divide and conquer. He separates people into factions so they will fight against each other and destroy each other. He pits husbands against wives, brothers against sisters, parents against children, liberals against conservatives, Republicans against Democrats, haves against have-nots, rich against poor, citizens against aliens, Angels against Dodgers, Trojans against Bruins…. And on and on ad infinitum. He stirs up strife and contention for where there is strife there is confusion and every evil work.
In order to stand against the schemes of the devil, be alert…. Be on your guard. Acquit ye like men. Be strong in the Lord. To identify the counterfeit, we need to become familiar with the genuine… the truth of the Word of God. To identify the sin, train our eyes to see the glimmer of the reflection of sin in our own minds and in the world around us. Then as we approach the end of God’s assignment for our lives, as Paul said in 2 Timothy 4, I’ve fought the good fight, I have run my race, I have finished the course. Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness and to all who love his appearing and anticipate the joy of Christ’s return.
Jesus said, don’t hide the light of the truth of the Word of God under a bushel basket. When we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As we walk together with other believers in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, we are God’s light bearers… his photo-multipliers in a perverted world of darkness. For we have this treasure (of God’s Holy Spirit) that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
Walking in the love and the light of Christ, is according to God’s terms, not the world’s. The word of God separates the sheep from the goats. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and they know me and I give unto them eternal life…. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Following Jesus Christ according to God’s terms is not a popularity contest. Quality and not quantity is the requirement for walking in the light as he is in the light. The quality of life is tested in the crucible of tribulation…. For tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience (proven and tested character) and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit which is given to us.
Jesus did three things: He bore up under suffering, he sacrificed for the good of others. He stood in the face of danger. Likewise, our testing and trials, through tribulation and pressure, reveals God’s true character within us.
Jesus warned the people about the false prophets who look like sheep. They are ravenous wolves disguised in sheep’s clothing. Their purpose is to ravage and devour the flock. They serve the thief whose ultimate purpose is to steal, kill and destroy God’s flock.
Unbelievers question God’s motives: they question the love of God and the Word of God. However, believers walk by faith and not by sight. For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen through the eyes of the flesh. As believers who walk by the spirit we see through Christ’s eyes behind our eyes. Through his eyes God reveals to us the hope of his calling and the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.
The devil will distract us to focus on the problems of this world…. When we fight against the worldly powers as Martin Luther said, “Did we in our own strength confide, our battle would be loosing, were not the Right Man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing. Doth ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is he. And he must win the battle.”
When we approach God’s throne of grace with meekness and humility, He will teach us what is really important in this life. The understanding is gained in the crucible of refinement. As the Psalmist said, the crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but God refines the heart. Paul learned this lesson the hard way. After he had prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh, God finally answered Paul’s prayer. But the answer was not what Paul expected… God finally revealed the hardest life lesson of all: God said to Paul, My strength is made perfect in thy weakness, My grace is sufficient for thee.
When Paul wrote the epistle of joy to the beloved believers in Philippi, he told them, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. As Jesus had said, seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things…. The necessities of life, will be added unto you. To live for Christ is to die to self and to the things of this world… For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Jesus Christ raised the standard of the Word of God to cull the crowd. Christianity is not a popularity contest. In God’s eyes the majority doesn’t win. God wins according to His word. One with God is a majority (of power, grace, mercy, and love.). The victory is on God’s terms.
On God’s terms, the greatest victory is in the greatest surrender. In surrendering to Jesus Christ and submitting our will to God’s will and our desire to His desire, our greatest blessing is to bless the Blessor. According to Psalms Delight thyself also in the Lord and he will give thee desires of thine heart. Therefore, thanks be unto God who always giveth us the victory in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place.
Be therefore steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord in as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord…
…That according to His terms we may live to love God above all to the praise of the glory of His grace,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
