7-24-14 The
Law
Last
night, I reflected on the ‘law’ versus faith. I laughed at myself while
thanking God that He has shown me the light once again. What fools we become
when we try to do good by following the law.
Control,
unworthiness, inadequacies, insecurity are simply the result of trying to
follow the law and failing. Don’t get me wrong, I follow my heart and the
leading of the Spirit too. But you see, satan’s demons know that I have built
my career on ‘the law,’ rules, and procedures.
My nature is so organized that I make time for ‘due diligence’ in doing
my job, teaching parenting classes, reading the bible, studying my homework and
reading the Freedom in Jesus series. I feel overwhelmed and frustrated sometimes.
I become stressed, then defeated, then unworthy, then abandoned… that is
exactly what satan counts on from all of us. My stress level was so high that I
could not read my book for this semester of ministry classes. It seemed like a
foreign language and it didn’t make sense.
I
am not saying that not reading the bible is okay. Matthew 22:29: “Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the
power of God.” It is
important that we know the Word so that we can share it with others and prepare
our children and ourselves for what is ahead. I am saying that when we make it
a ‘must’, a law and attach fault to it, then we do it out of obligation and not
out of the desires of our heart and we set ourselves up for failure and the
resulting emotions that satan can use to keep us from right relationship with
God.
Do you see? Think
of it like this: If I tell my spouse that I need more affection, then what I
get is contrived, forced and insincere. Even though he loves me deeply, he now feels
stress over how much love that he must show me and when. It becomes a sense of
obligation rather than natural desire. But if I choose to just show him more
affection, from my heart, then I naturally receive it in return. We both win;
we both have peace and we are both successful. When we live from our hearts,
not our heads, following the Holy Spirit and His wisdom, then we succeed. But
when we look upon it as the law, then we fail and give satan a foothold into
our lives.
If you want your
children to get to know God, read the bible and go to church then don’t drop
them off and leave or tell them to go read the bible. Call the whole family for
a family meeting and start bible reading as a family first. Wake up early, get
ready with joy in your heart and take them to church. Be the example. Don’t
show them that it is an obligation. Express a deep desire of your heart to sing
His praises and learn about what the bible says. When you get home, as you sit
around the table over a meal, discuss what you learned and ask what they
learned. Encourage their sharing, support their ideas and explore the bible
together.
Once I made the
connection of control, inadequacy and the like with trying to follow ‘the law’
instead of living by faith and my own natural desire to serve Him, it was a
weight lifted off my shoulders. I don’t HAVE to do anything but have faith in
Him, love Him and follow His will for my life. The rest comes naturally.
So, I prayed to
Him for clarity and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that I could do what
He has led me to do. I reminded Him of His promises to allow nothing to get in
my way when it is to serve Him. I opened the ministry book again yesterday and I
understood it. I absorbed it like a sponge and could not put it down. We must live by faith, not by law or any
contrived obligation that we create in this world. TRUST God to lead you and
the Holy Spirit to fill you with the desire of God’s will.
Romans 3:31: Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this
mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we
have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
