What Has God Said to You?

Caution:  If this is TOO DEEP for believers, we are more ignorant of His Word and steeped more in religion than we ever imagined.

In my Bible reading the past few days, several verses caught my attention and left me with these questions:

"Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me ... "  (Genesis 48:3)

~When was the last time God SAID something to me and what was it?  Did I pass it down to my children, grandchildren ... or anyone else?

"Then all the disciples deserted him and fled."  (Matthew 26:56)

~Is it possible I am deserting Him now and don't even realize it?  How would I know?

"But Peter followed him at a distance ... "  (Matthew 26:58)

~Am I following Him so closely that I can barely see or hear the multitude behind us or am I one of the multitude who is too fearful to leave the "group"? 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."  (Matthew 28:19-20)

~Am I teaching the Scriptures, or am I teaching what He said to teach?

Sharing what He has said to me?  It was just over a year ago when God spoke to me and let me know I was so busy with good church stuff that I had no time to train my grandkids in the Word ... just as I had had no time to train my children in the Word.  Now, I am not one to flippantly go around saying, "God told me this and God told me that," so for me to write here and say, "God spoke to me," my heart had to have been pierced so deeply by Him that I know without a doubt it was He who spoke and not just my emotions.  (As I've shared here numerous times, I was a good mom who had mealtime prayer, and a bedtime prayer after a quick-read devotion with my kids, but other than that, it was the job of the church and Sunday School to train them, not me).

I have spent the past year sharing this message God gave me with so many people I could not possibly begin to count them.  I've shared it on Facebook, at the grocery check-out, in the produce section, in the post office, on the sidewalk, in the coffee shop, in my kitchen, in the doctor's office, on the phone, on vacation, in McDonalds, in Burger King, in friends' homes ... as well as in the church where it was often unwelcome.

Deserting Him?  Yes, I had been deserting Him.  Disobedience to obeying the Scriptures, is the same as deserting Him and His Word.  Deuteronomy 6 is not a passage of Scripture to be read once a year, it is the very foundation of our relationship with Him.  We either obey it or we desert Him in our disobedience (complacency).

Following Him at a distance?  If I am with the church crowd, doing what the church crowd is doing, performing as the church crowd is performing and saying what the church crowd is saying, I cannot possibly be following Him closely; I am following at a distance.  If I blend in so well with the church crowd that there is no significant difference between myself and one who has chosen to leave all to follow Him, then I am in the crowd which is diligently united in trying to get closer to Him.

Teaching the Scriptures or teaching others to obey His commands?  Is it possible that all these years, the Church has overlooked these words of Jesus?  " ... and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Are we, am I ... teaching others to obey what He commanded us, which means, am I teaching others what He said or am I teaching others the need to go to Him directly to seek His own Words to see exactly what He said?

What I know for sure today is that if the Church is ever going to obey the Great Commission exactly as Jesus says we are to obey the Great Commission, the Church is going to have to let go of a whole lot of beliefs that did not come from Jesus Christ ... just as I have had to let go of a whole lot of beliefs that came from the church and NOT Jesus Christ.  There is no way on earth we can read the Gospel of Jesus Christ and continue to live as we do.  There is no way on earth we can read the Gospel of Jesus Christ and continue to do church as we do.

Doubtful?  Look around.  Listen.  Look at the church.  Listen to the church.  Look and listen at YOUR church.  Look and listen at MY church.  Look at the multitude of believers and then look at those who have pulled away to be as close to Jesus as they possibly can.  How many can you count who have chosen to stand out and stand alone ... as Tim Tebow has?  (While I love sharing Tebow's name, how ironic is it there aren't more to choose from?)  How is it that we have so few believers willing to be mocked, criticized and persecuted for their faith like this young man has?  Why aren't there more of us willing to leave the "religious church crowd" in order to be one with Jesus Christ?  Could it be because we do not want to be seen as a religious nutcase, a religious zealot, a radical or extremist?  Could it be because it is safer in numbers?

What was the last thing God said to you and what have you done about it?  Are you deserting Him because the truth is too hard to follow?  Are you following Him at a distance or are you so close you can hear every word He is saying to you?  And are you teaching the Scriptures or are you teaching people how to go to Jesus Christ directly to be taught by Him?