John 1:10
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him.
That verse from John always causes me to take a pause.
It always brings up the thought of "Really? They didn't recognize the very one they had been looking for? The Messiah?"
Such a thought then leads me to the next landing point of..."How can we be so arrogant to think that we have all knowledge and understanding of who Jesus really is?" I mean we live in a day where knowledge has gone off the charts....technology has changed the very way we live and do business. But the one thing that hasn't changed is the human heart. Everything we face daily is filtered through that heart.
Now when I speak of heart, I mean the very core of our being. Our will, intellect and emotion. Throw in a heaping portion of our sin nature, and you've got a dangerous combination. You looking at a body that is motivated and driven by being selfish and self centered. There is no room to recognize Jesus when all the room has been filled with "ME!" Such an existence always seeks to keep Jesus at arms length. Oh, we will recognize him as the Son of God...we'll lay claim to the understanding that he is Jesus the Christ...but we will not let him into the darkness of our heart.
Romans 1:18
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
In the Romans verse, we see the actions of those who are living outside God's will. They suppress the truth. They push it down and keep it away from themselves. They deny the truth and continue down the slippery slope of self destruction.
I received numerous calls last night from people who have chosen the darkness, and not one of them asked how they could turn their mess around. Some of the calls were to justify the choices they made. Some were railing against the unfairness of life. Not one asked "what do I have to do to be saved?" I shared as best I could what the answer to their problem was, but not one wanted to heart it. I think maybe this would fall under the whole "suppressing the truth" part.
Romans 1:21-23
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
I'm telling you right now, if that doesn't describe someone who is trapped in addiction, I don't what does. Some people become so entrenched in this sin-cycle that they actually consider themselves to be very intelligent. It doesn't matter what you share with them, they've got it all figured out. Such people are usually referred to as being "Too smart to recover". These are the ones that you can pretty much bet are going to continue on until they crash and burn. And the sad part in this twisted play they call their life, is that they can be some of the most religious people you'll ever meet. Because they can quote some scripture, or they hold their hands up during a worship service, they somehow think that they've made it. They have reached the pinnacle of knowing God. When their own dark hearts testify to the truth that they know a ritual or have memorized some verses. It profits you nothing to know the verse and be totally ignorant of the One who it testifies to.
I remember one individual who came into the Rapha program. His first day in my class, he was all up into Jesus. Every other word was "praise God"...or "Amen". This guy had not even detoxed to the point of having an unclouded mind. But here he was all about this Jesus. He loved Jesus....He taught Sunday school...but he loved crack more. His behavior went on for a few days until one day in class, I spoke to him. "You love Jesus don't you?" His reply? "Yes I do, Amen..praise God". I replied to his answer with..."You know what? Your Jesus sucks." Well, he looked like I had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. He was offended and wanted to argue with me until he heard the next thing I had to say. "If your Jesus is so wonderful, what are you doing in Rehab? Why are you hooked up in crack houses and sleeping with prostitutes? My Jesus wouldn't lead you to such a life".
The point I wanted him to understand was that he had an idea...a concept...that had nothing to do with the truth of who Jesus is, and nothing was going to change until he met the real Jesus.
Maybe we all need to look at our understanding of who Jesus is.
The last thing I need is for me to allow wrong ideas or concepts to creep into my heart and change the way I see Jesus.
How about you?
Think on this today.
God on you...
mbb
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