One thing I have come to realise, which confirms what Scripture says, is that what is right is now called wrong, and what is wrong is now called right. We live as though we gave life to ourselves, so we do whatever pleases us. For instance, we lie without blinking, we slander people’s names, we sleep around, and the next day we stand on the altar to offer our worship unto God. We sing ungodly music with our lips and then turn to the King to worship. We steal, we change partners like we change our shoes, without restraint. We even kill people in our hearts, and the list goes on. Yet we forget that the Spirit of God supervises the intentions of our hearts, gently nudging us to repentance because of His mercy. What do we do instead? We brush it under the carpet. Why? Because we think that since He has not struck us, He has tolerated it. Oh no, He has not. He is simply giving us time to repent. The truth is that when the cup of our iniquity becomes full, His anger will descend, and when it happens, we begin to cry and throw tantrums as if we were never warned.
So brethren, let me speak like Paul. Let us keep our bodies as the temple of God. Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess, and let us “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
One day I read a book about the fear of the Lord, and it drew my attention to something very important.
God is to be feared, because that is where wisdom begins.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
To fear Him and at the same time be intimate with Him is necessary because it keeps you alert and aligned. When you go through the word of God, even those who were close to God carried a deep reverence for Him. But today we have redefined it. We have created our own standards and overlooked what it truly means. Yes, He is a loving Father, but He is also a King, the Ancient of Days, therefore we must be careful not to cross certain lines.
I love my Father deeply, more than I can explain. I have had my moments where I throw tantrums, which is not right, but recently I realised that I had taken Him for granted. I treated Him too casually, as though He was my equal, like someone I could just play with, even with His Name.
For example, I would use His Name when I was shocked or upset, just as an expression, yet the commandment says “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
That conviction stayed with me. I had to tell myself, Marie, this must stop. You must “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) and allow the Spirit of God to work in you according to His will and purpose. There are so many examples i could highlight like: making choices as if i own my life meanwhile the word says the life that I live isn’t mine for I have been crucified with Christ. Galatians 2:20
Therefore brethren, let us not behave carelessly or be disobedient to the instructions of the Lord, because where there is a command, obedience is required. We often hear that it is not by our efforts, but let us be honest, God will not obey for you. There is still a responsibility on our part. We must bring our struggles before Him, but we must also choose to obey His Word, because in obedience there is life and life in abundance. When you look at the Old Testament, the laws were detailed because the people needed clear instructions. In the New Testament, Jesus used parables, but the standard did not become easier, it became deeper and more inward. So let us continually pray and ask God for the grace to obey Him regardless of everything happening around you, yeah this wasn’t meant to be easy but with Him we can get there. May we Stay anchored, stay sensitive, and stay obedient.
MPDK