Are you serving a stranger?

 

Are you serving a stranger?

I will never be a stranger to Jesus; He knows me better than even I know myself.  Yet, very sadly, no matter how much I desire to serve Him, it is possible for Jesus to become a stranger to me.  

As you may or may not know, I enjoy listening to sermons by the late preacher David Wilkerson.  His sermon, "Love Your God to the Last Breath," (please listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2ESBOHX4SQ ) is on the same theme as this writing and I encourage you to watch it.  

All his sermons touch and challenge me, but this one made me realize that if I fail to keep my routine of seeking God first, that Jesus could become a stranger to me (Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.). I currently do my best to read my Bible first thing in the morning before I check messages, feed the pets, play any Kindle games, start lunch etc. (Although I do make coffee first so I can sip while I read!).   For I know if I wait until after all these things are done, God has taken last place and will not get as much of my time, and sometimes none at all.

There absolutely was a time, as Pastor Wilkerson says, when I had no time for God, but had time for everything else. How many of you are the same way?  I once would spend hours playing a computer game while my Bible sat ignored on the table.  But Jesus convicted me of my spiritual laziness because He yearns so much for us to fellowship with Him know Him as a friend not as a stranger.  My desire to know Him better and better grows more and more and I look forward to reading my Bible first, and then later in the evening, listening to an audio version with my husband.

I could easily turn this blog into a finger-pointing game.  Look at all the so-called Christian artists, authors, and preachers that speak the name of Jesus, but have no clue who Jesus is? How many could not quote scripture and are living lives seeped in sin?  Yet I am not speaking about the hypocrites that proclaim "And honor" Jesus "with their lips, but their heart is far from" Him (Matthew 15:8).

I am writing today about you and me, not evangelists or other entertainers.

I once heard someone say that she loved God but refused to quit swearing and speaking filthy.  If we truly love God, we want to please Him, not rebel against Him.  If we truly understood who Jesus is, we would not dare to be so bold as to use His name in vain and speak of the King of Kings in jest!  He is not to be mocked! We should be on our faces before the Holy of Holies and tremble at the idea of treating Him like an equal. Like less than an equal in many cases.

(1 John 5:2-3; 18) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself.

On this side of heaven we can never fully know or understand God, but we can try.  The best way to get to know Jesus is to study His Word.  I especially love to read the gospels and the words of Jesus Christ.  I never tire of reading the same sermons over and over.  I want to read them so often that Jesus' messages of holiness and compassion become a part of me.  For example, when someone insults me, my first instinct should be turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39) and not to call anyone foolish or other demeaning names (Matthew 5:22).  Jesus' words should be so ingrained in me that it becomes easier and easier to reflect His character.  I cannot do that when His Words are far from my memory like some random and seemingly insignificant conversation I had with a stranger a few weeks or months ago. No, I need to keep studying God's truths until there is no second thought on how to act toward those I struggle to forgive or show compassion toward.

(2 Timothy 2:15) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth. 

My husband and have a wonderful marriage because we continue to build our relationship with great conversations.  We make the effort to never make the other a stranger. When we are apart, I cannot wait to see him again and tell him about my day at work, even the silly things. We should never stop communing with Jesus.  We are never separated from Christ as we are with people.  God is omnipresent, so we can speak to Him 24/7.  

While I am all for communing with the Lord as if He is your friend, we still need to remember to be respectful. Not all prayer times need to be on your knees, but at least once a day you should acknowledge the trinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Try not to allow even one aspect of God's character to be a stranger. When you pray make it a time not just of petitions or not even just a time of repenting (although confessing and repenting of your sins is vital to your relationship with Christ), but make it a time of praise.  If you are unsure of what to say, just be thankful for who Jesus is and all He has done and will do.

Do not pretend to know the Lord and call yourself a Christian when you do not even attempt to live a holy life. Going to church, giving to charity, being a kind person, none of these things count if you are going against the principles of the Bible.  If that is the case, Jesus is indeed a stranger to you if you think a Holy God will tolerate such things.
 
(Galatians 5:19-21 ) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

(1 Peter 1:14-17) As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.  

Daily repent of your sins, do your utmost to walk down paths of righteousness, read your Bible daily, and spend time in humble and worshipful prayer. Those are the keys to assuring you are not serving a stranger.  For if He is a stranger to you, you will be a stranger to him:

(Matthew 7:21-23) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"