Did God Fit In?

                                                                    DID GOD FIT IN?

            Ever get busy? My day starts about 5:30 most mornings regardless of when I went to bed on the previous night. And then it all begins again. For most, the start of the day would mean a cup of fresh roasted coffee and then the morning shower/bath followed by some sort of breakfast (and more coffee). And at some point we would finally be able to mobilize sufficiently to dress ourselves and gather whatever materials would be needed for the start of our day.

            Arriving at work we would have some routine we follow as well. Going to our desk, starting some form of heavy equipment, beginning to make our phone calls, prepping patients for some procedure, or maybe sorting the morning mail for delivery on our route would be the norm. There is something we do almost every day to begin our work, whatever our work may be. And as we do, if we are among those who wish to do well, we find the energy to immerse ourselves deeply into the task that somehow has found a way to define us. We are car salesmen, mail carriers, truck drivers, corporate CEO’s, nurses, teachers, and preachers or maybe trash collectors. We work hard for a living and our jobs fairly absorb our days.

            At the end of our day we close up. Tidy things up so that we can have a good start on our next work day. Then we drive home. We may stop somewhere along the way for coffee or a quick errand but essentially we head home. We make plans for some sort of dinner. Maybe we call a friend or loved one. Maybe we just turn on the television and open a can of soup. But in the absence of any lawn care or other errands and without any other grand planning, we have dinner and retire for the evening. A couple television shows, maybe the reading of a book follows but we soon retire for the evening and prepare for another day.

            Did God fit in? Did we have a place to put Him? Some I am sure took a moment between the first coffee and the shower to read for 5 minutes or so. Others may have waited until their lunch break at work when they were a bit more alert and shared a few minutes of their lunch time with Him. Dinner time at home works best for many. There seems to be no real consensus on when or where to have a devotional time. But my question is, “Did God fit in?” Did He fit in at all?                    

            Isn’t this part of what is wrong with the Church today? People want God to fit in. They want to find a place to put Him where he will not interfere too much with their daily routine. Many churches are ‘considerate’ of schedules and offer religious services at times which are less conventional. In an attempt to make church convenient. In other words, there is an effort to look religious even to the point of self-deception. Jesus said in Matt 23:28, “Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” And he was talking to religious leaders of the day. They fully believed they were true followers of God.

            Paul addressed a similar condition in his day. In 2Cor. 5:15, 17 Paul writes, “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again…. (v.17)Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” In verse 15 he did not say we should fit God into our lives. He said that believers should not “live unto themselves” but rather “unto him which died for them.” Our lives are not to be about our lives. Yes, we need to provide food and shelter for our families. But our lives should reflect the rebirth of our souls. Verse 17 says that everyone who is truly born again “is a new creature.” We do not live the same way anymore because “all things are become new.” Our goals and objectives change. When we are saved we are said to be “in Christ” meaning that he now lives in and through us, Eph. 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” If all of this is true then how is it that so many simply try to fit God in? It raises the question of whether we are simply religious and not truly born again.

            A born again child of God does not fit God into his life. His life becomes the possession of God. Romans 14:8 “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.”  

Today, did God fit in? Or can you say that Christ lives in you?

Whose Servant Are You

 WHOSE SERVANT ARE YOU?

Romans 6:20-22 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. (v.21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. (v.22) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

“When ye were servants of sin” is a description of everyone who is unsaved. This state or condition is one not readily accepted by the unregenerate. They would say they are only doing what they enjoy, what they choose to do. But according to this passage, and several others, every one of us, if we are not born again, are the slaves of sin.

Look again at what Jesus told the Pharisees in John chapter 8 (Read the entire text. I selected 3 verses for brevity and continuity of thought.) John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin….(v.41) Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, we be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. (v.44) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do….” He says they “will do” these things. It is not a choice it is evidence of their family relationship. He is telling them that even though they outwardly claim to be religious and followers of Abraham their deeds, the daily activities of their lives, reveal a different story. They cannot give up the sins they practice every day because they are the children of Satan and they will, they in fact must, obey their father…they will sin. Some will be like Hitler or Mussolini and some will be like your kindergarten teacher but all will sin.

Look at verse 21 again. We view sin wrong. We are not seeing the wickedness of our actions. Paul said those days of sin are days we should be ashamed of. Most today, claiming to be saved, have no real shame or remorse over the ungodliness of their past. They easily fall back into sin because they never really felt godly sorrow over it in the first place, I Cor. 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” When we see sin as God sees sin we turn from it by choice not by command. Our own hearts see the wickedness of sin and we are repulsed by it. We do not need to see a Bible verse saying ‘thou shalt not…” because we are fully aware of the vile nature of sin in the presence of a holy God.

When we truly get saved we are freed from that bondage. We no longer serve sin. But we will always be servants. If we do not serve sin then we serve God. Look again at verse 22. Paul makes an interesting statement here. Read it carefully and you will see he is not asking for any change in behavior. Rather he is stating a fact he believes his readers already comprehend, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God….” In other words, since it is a fact that you are free from sin and have become servants of God you will be producing good works.

So then, why are so many who claim to be Christian still living in sin? Why are so many church members still looking like they did before they joined their local church? Why do we not see a greater difference between the world and those claiming to be children of God? Because we will, and in fact we do, serve our master. And our service will proclaim our true allegiance.

Whose servant are you?