My faith in Almighty God keeps me at peace in a topsy-turvy world. And to accept and respond to challenges that confront me.
Being a “born-again” Christian for far too many years to mention, I realize that there is a great distinction between truly knowing God in a very personal way, and just knowing about Him.
It is easy to go through the motions of Church attendance, reciting prayers and creeds, singing psalms and hymns, and yet not worshipping God in spirit and truth as He requires. The Lord said: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
“The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” (Isaiah 29:13 NIV).
In his commentary on this text, Dr Charles Stanley says: “God isn’t just unimpressed with passionless prayers and dead devotion—He detests them. He has no interest in outward compliance devoid of inward desire to please Him. He wants us, not just our words, deeds, or possessions” (The Charles F Stanley Life Principles Bible, p. 826 NKJV).
Such people may be saying the right things. However, it is inconsistent with the insincere condition of their hearts. This can be classified as purely external religion as it completely lacks spiritual depth.
John exhorts Christians, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him” (1 John 3:18,19).
Dr Harold J Sala writes: “Many today know a great deal about God without really knowing Him. They know the creeds and the liturgy, sing the hymns, know when to bow and rise, all without knowing the reality of His presence. Others refuse to accept the burden of accountability, and, therefore, have a blind spot in their thinking, which leads them into further bondage.” (365 Guidelines For Daily Living, Today Can Be Different, July 17).
Dr Sala makes mention of knowing the reality of God’s presence. When a person comes to know Christ as his/her personal Savior, that person “will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38), and whose “body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians. 6:19). This enables a Christian to stand strong in the spiritual realities of God.
God has never and will never abandon or fail His children. He has declared: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8). Little wonder David could confidently say to God, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).
The Christian also lives in anticipation of the Lord’s return. Therefore, this should inspire us to live spiritually productive lives and allow God’s presence to “establish [our] hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13).
The believer’s heartfelt desire must be to worship and serve God in sincerity, faithfulness and truth. In doing so, we are honoring God. And God has promised: “for those who honor me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30).
Christians are set apart for God. Therefore, we must pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness in a godless, indifferent and depraved world. Let us keep on trusting, keeping on believing, keeping on hoping; never becoming weary of doing good for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.
Jude concludes his letter with this very inspirational Doxology: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24,25).