Embrace the Within no. 185

“Those who truly love me are those who obey my commands. Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved by my Father. And I will passionately love him in return and will reveal myself to him” (John 14:21 TPT).

The only cure for bad theology is good theology. And there is a lot of bad theology to unlearn. A lot of bad theology is within our own control. I am responsible for reading and studying His Word. I am responsible for having a relationship with Him. And through studying His Word and building a relationship with Him, I get the beauty of the Spirit revealing my own bad theology. And I have had to unlearn a lot of bad theology that led to a lot of confusion for me as a young adult. Bad theology led me to question a lot of things about Christianity. Bad theology took me on a long journey outside of His Word and a personal relationship with Him. Bad theology led me to a lot of questions that could have been easily answered with good theology. BUT I wasn’t ready for good theology.

“The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 8:14 TPT).

I had to be ready for good theology and that took a lot of time for me. I had to go down a lot of paths and side quests until I finally cracked open The Bible myself and started studying. I was content in just taking everyone else’s word for what The Bible meant. I had read good chunks of The Bible BUT I never really took responsibility for reading it and making my own decisions. I was suffering from outsourcing my theology to other people. And that isn’t what God wants. He wants a personal relationship. He wants me to be so interested in Him that I undertake the accountability to actually reach out and try to get to know Him. And that isn’t getting done one day a week. That isn’t getting done in snippets of scripture. That isn’t getting done in podcasts. I have to start dating God. I have to start spending time getting to know Him. I have to learn that all first hand. I can’t take the word of other people for that.

“But if we freely admit our sins when his light uncovers them , he will be faithful to forgive us every time. God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ , and he will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 TPT).

There was a lot to unlearn about God that I had to work through over those first couple months. And there is probably still a lot of unlearning I have to go through. BUT it is a process of cleansing and sanctification that we can walk together as a body in The Christ, however, one we ultimately only walk with Him. And I enjoy the idea that I wasn’t wrong about my problems with theology in my salad days. I had some really bad theology. BUT I found the cure for that bad theology. And it involves denying myself, taking up His cross, and following Him obediently. I can only do those things if I work on my relationship with God through the example of Jesus.

“Jesus explained, ‘I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too. And from now on you will realize that you have seen him and experienced him’” (John 14:6-7 TPT).

I am going to keep focusing on the example Jesus provides of who the Father is. Through understanding Him and walking in His example, I get to become a better representative of His Kingdom. He is the Truth. And knowing the Truth is the best way to get to know God.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 184

“For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without [regard to] the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged and condemned by the Law. For it is not those who merely hear the Law [as it is read aloud] who are just or righteous before God, but it is those who [actually] obey the Law who will be justified [Because of one’s personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, God graciously credits His righteousness to the believer. Justification denotes a legal standing with God as designated only by God. God declares a believer to be acquitted or innocent, then designates the believer to be brought into right standing before Him][pronounced free of the guilt of sin and declared acceptable to Him]”(Romans 2:12-13 AMP).

I can’t just hear the Law. I have to obey the Law to be justified. It is great to know a lot of scripture. It is great to go to a church on the weekend. All that is great and good BUT none of that is going to make me obedient. Christianity requires a lot more than those things. Those things, as great as they are, are not examples of a change in me. I need to manifest a change in me to deny myself, take up His cross, and follow Him in obedience. None of those other things matter if I am not different.

I used to spend a lot of time worrying about the rules of being a Christian. I had a really legalistic approach to the faith. Is this okay? Is this a sin? What should I do in this situation? BUT Christianity is a relationship that involves me understanding The Christ enough to internalize the rules as not some list. I need to internalize the relationship as a way of living and not just some legal code. And I think a lot of us are content with saying things like, “Well The Bible doesn’t tell me I can’t do that” and focus more on our walk as a relationship.

I can’t have a solid relationship with whom I don’t understand. I need to get to know those people. I need to listen and hear and learn. Just because my friend never said I shouldn’t do something is not an endorsement of doing that thing. I don’t need to have everything spelled out for me in the terms of my relationship with someone like a contract. I don’t need any witnesses or a notary to have a relationship.

And I need, you need, we need, to stop treating Christianity like a contract. We need to move away from legalism and move into a relationship. And that means something a lot more difficult than a list. It means change. And that takes courage. Courage is choosing to change.

I pray that I move away from lists and move into a relationship with God. I pray that I listen, hear, and learn all that He has for me to understand. I pray that I obediently follow whatever He has for me to do. I pray that I deny myself, take up His cross, and follow Him obediently. I pray that my relationship with Him is an example for my home, my community, and my world.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH