Praying earlier today I had been thinking about the fact of how unworthy I am to receive God's grace... But how grateful to have done so as nothing I would ever accomplish in my life could allow my spiritual well being to earn the richness of God's mercy granted me through His Wonderful Son... We have read in Luke chapter 17 where Jesus illustrates the very purpose of coming in full flesh to die for us, and ensuring that those who believe in HIM will indeed be accepted by God because of Who He is...
"7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
Admitting our unworthiness even after one is called can also prove to be challenging simply because a spirit of arrogance, ignorance, and the acceptance of misguided principles that are contrary to God's Word are adopted as Truth through congregations, organizations, or movements that use our Savior's Name for their own vain purposes... In time our once spirit of humility towards God, and our appreciation for HIM can take a turn for the worse... An individual believer can develop a spiritual state that actually has them at odds with God rather than for HIM.... Leading one to believe they are owed by God, or become demanding of God because of their own form of righteousness that has been embraced that is in reality spiritually damaging... God becomes a god of their own making rather than Who HE truly is...
Priorities can change, and our desire to truly seek HIM for the very Word He represents can begin to be clouded with false doctrines, and exercises of faith that in reality only please ourselves, and not God... Deceiving oneself into believing through a form of righteousness that we have no need to further our understanding, and scope of His goodness through seeking HIM on a spiritual plane...
When trying to take the perfection that God alone accentuates, and change His Word to suit our own desires, one only defines themself by imperfection through sin... This has been the case from the beginning as God gave Adam, and Eve instruction on how to ensure life is preserved through what our Creator alone as perfect LIFE... Why change perfection as there is no need to do so... By seeking that which is contrary to God's will is to only seek imperfection leading to the antithesis of His calling to seek LIFE HIMSELF...
Once this occurs, finding oneself believing he, or she is worthy despite being at odds with God as the flesh has clouded one's judgment, and priorities in what should be a spiritually binding relationship with the Creator... Rather becoming fools gold through what has become priority to one's fellow believer rather than the fulfillment of God's spiritual awakening, and His purpose for having done so...
From the 1st century to our day, we have seen God's Way to salvation become a misrepresentation of what HE originally intended, and therefore not redeeming those who have been taken in by the lies that have been adopted as truth concerning the WAY of GOD... This separation from our Redeemer being fomented by the misuse of His Most Holy Name has led many to believe they are owed something from the Eternal One... Whether it be wealth, healing, or anything that appeals to the comfort of one's physical desires..
We should be humbled by God's presence within us, and not have this feeling of entitlement... This misleading spiritual state will only lead to one disheartened through the misapplication of why Christ Jesus died, and the purpose of one's calling through Him... This of course can lead one to seek other spiritual avenues with which to fill the void that all human beings have need to be purpose from within...
One's love for money, and the acquisition of it for the wrong reasons can certainly misguide one into believing they are blessed by God.. When in fact that individual is actually being tested, and judged by God as to how important wealth from a physical perspective is when compared to the true, and unseen richness of God's Gift of Himself within one's being... Jesus pointed this out to some of the sects of the Pharisee's, and Sadducee's who had abused their authority, and loved wealth to the point of justifying even sin as a way to acquire, and maintain it... Using God's name in the process of acting out their misguided love for physical mammon... In Luke chapter 16 we read:
"10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 And if you have not been faithful in the use of that [earthly wealth] which belongs to another [whether God or man, and of which you are a trustee], who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand devotedly by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [that is, your earthly possessions or anything else you trust in and rely on instead of God].”
Using physical mammon as a front to declare oneself righteous before God by the misuse of it... To assert power in a misguided fashion in order to attain's one's own personal agenda was indeed the result this system of worship the priesthood's of the 1st century AD as Jesus continued to rebuke these individuals within chapter 16 of Luke:
"14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were sneering and ridiculing Him. 15 So He said to them, “You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God." (Amplified Version)
King Solomon allowed for power, and the acquisition of wealth to cloud his judgment as it became a stumbling block between God, and himself... Despite the wisdom God granted this man, he also allowed for the flesh to become priority, and guide his decisions... Solomon did this to ensure his power over the people remained solvent as God was forsaken in the process of this change of heart within him... Affecting his decisions, and rationally believing that he had the authority to supersede, and change the perfect will of God by living a life contrary to what his Creator intended for him... Jesus pointed this same issue God had them with as they had taken the Law, and the declarations of the prophets, and replaced His authority over the lives of the people of Judea to one of their own making, and desire:
"16 “The Law and the [writings of the] Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God has been and continues to be preached, and everyone tries forcefully to go into it. 17 Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void."
The Law of God, and the declarations of our Eternal Lord's prophets will never fade away as God is perpetual, and the very Word HE presents is as well... But we can as human being believe through the emphasis being on physical mammon, or anything of the creation as priority, and come to a conclusion that we can earn, or are owed by God to enter into eternal life through our form of righteousness... We have to be careful not to fall into this snare through the false gospels that exist which will only lead one to be disillusioned by it's ultimate outcome.. That being suffering, sorrow, and destruction...
When false forms of the worship are sought in the Name of God essentially the kingdom of God is being sought in a misguided assertive way.. One that our Savior did not in reality die for... When this occurs generally what has occurred as a result is that Spiritual aspect of one's calling becomes more of a physically oriented one.. Which of course is not acceptable to God because to truly worship HIM requires one to do so in Spirit, and in the Truth only our Savior Jesus Christ defines...
Remember that the process of salvation begins upon receiving the Holy Spirit through repentance, and the belief in what our Savior, the Word of God, actually stands for, and defines... His Spirit defines who are truly His children, and maintaining His presence within us all requires our submission to Him as we respond humbly, and willingly to His perfect will being worked out within us... God's love being perfecting within us will never fail as long as Christ Jesus remains our Wonderful Counselor on with what is a Spirit journey to prepare ourselves for eternity spent with HIM... Blessings, and His peace be with us all through His Spiritual presence...
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