Do you Think what you Think you Think?

Greetings again. As I begin this evening, I have no particular direction in mind, therefore, as is often the case, I'll just launch out and see what happens. Often, folks will discuss the moment that we stand before the Lord Jesus as we're judged according to the things done in this life. We often tell of this coming judgment as a warning to those who know not the Lord; letting them know that this life will end and eternity will be forever. We also must give this our utmost consideration, knowing that that every word, every thought, every motive is known about by God. John chapter two tells about many who believed on Jesus at the passover in Jerusalem when they saw the miracles that he did. Verses 24-25 read "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." He knows us far better than we know ourselves. That's both comforting and scary. It's very comforting to know that as we seek him with a pure heart, he knows it and is receptive to our petitions. It's also scary in that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It's an ever so subtle shift to move from walking in the Spirit to working in pretense. Many examples abound, but one would be something that took place at an Apostolic church where I was fellowshipping for about six months. During an awesome service, the pastor made the statement "Aren't you glad that you're apostolic tonight?" The focus shifted from honoring the Lord Jesus to honoring a title that a group of believers gave themselves. It went unnoticed and I know for certain that it wasn't the pastors intention to do that, but it happened. One of the best examples is the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-5. They were very busy about the work of the Lord. They were patient, didn't tolerate sin in the camp and tried those professing to be apostles but weren't. They were really busy. They got so busy, in fact, that they left their first love. They allowed the mechanics of serving the Lord to eclipse the personal relationship that we all need. I've done it and you probably have too at one time or another. I've even blogged at times when I should have been in prayer. (you can probably point out the ones where I'm out of sorts) I can always tell right away when I'm starting to get out of sorts because my patience begin to run short. It's as though the Lord gave me that as an alarm to let me know when "we need to talk." Jesus is the True Vine and unless we abide in him and allow nourishment to flow from the vine down to us, we'll begin to slip; the old man will reassert himself, and eventually, if we don't come to repentance and get right, we'll die . I was in a backslidden state for over thirteen years, because, when I moved from Virginia back to Michigan, I thought that I was stronger than I actually was. You can't possibly imagine how depressing it was to wind up in such rebellion and you can't imagine how grateful I am that the Lord Jesus pulled me out of it in March of 2004. He could have just let me go, but he didn't and today I love him more than ever. II Corinthians 7:11 is very real in my life and I have learned to just trust the Lord and not worry about the storms that are certain to come. (These are they that came out of great tribulation) If we just keep our eyes on Jesus things will fall into place as they ought and he'll keep us from wandering. What an awesome God we serve. What a privelage to know Jesus as Lord and to know that no matter what happens in this world, he's always with us. He never takes a vacation and leaves us to "tough it out" because in our own strength we would surely crash and burn. He is Faithful and True and I long for the day when we're all together forever with jesus. Until then, it's my prayer that we all would "keep our hearts with all diligence."