Recently, I’ve become troubled by how much I honour God. I should tell you if you’re reading this blog for the first time that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, so he is the one I’m referring to.
The Bible if full of commands about putting God first, not just the New Testament, but the Old also. The simple truth for me is that for God to dwell amongst people, the people must change, not God. The book of Exodus tells the story of a people who have been set free from slavery in Egypt, by God. God then wants to build a relationship with the Israelites. To do this they had to change. They could no longer live as they wanted to. Their lifestyle and behaviour had to alter. Failure in this meant the God would not dwell with them. God not dwelling with them meant that God’s power, protection and provision was absent.
In the New Testament I am encouraged strongly by Jesus to obey all his commands. Jesus’ last words known as the “Great Commission” even included a line that said, “…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”. Jesus mentions obedience may times and his life is a demonstration of obedience. In fact, we cannot be his disciples unless we give up everything else.
I wonder whether somehow this message has become lost? Christians are no longer expected to change their behaviour and the very mention of it seems to offend. Grace is the password. Yet I’m not sure that grace means I can live in disobedience and God will just cover it all with “grace” when I come to stand before him?
Finally, I’m troubled by the lack of power. New Testament Christians where filled with power as was Jesus. Modern Christianity seems to have much, but not power, or at least not consistently. Could it be that my lack of honouring God with my whole life is the reason for the lack of power? If this is so, I need to change my life. I need to change my behaviour. If a release of God’s promises is on the condition of honouring God with my life, no amount of prayer is going to change anything, unless perhaps a prayer for God to help me honour him.
The answer is simple. If I honour God in the way I live, he will live with me and supply all that is promised.
I hope this blog will help me explore and document that intention and maybe you will join me on a journey to encounter God?!
Simon Smailus 