October 15, 2014

For many years, both before and after I was saved, both before and after I was baptized by God's Spirit, I ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; there's still a part of me that leans in that direction. At this late time in my life, I have come to realize that God the Father desires for me to 'eat from' The Tree of Life--who is Jesus. We 'become what we eat'. My son in law can tell you all about that. I have come to realize that my testimony--my witness--rests on the manifestation of CHANGES that God has brought about in me. It is not the correctness of my doctrine, or the logic of my theological arguments. We all receive a measure of Faith, but like muscle or skill-sets, it must be exercised in order to grow. We must hear His voice, we must obey His voice, and we must look for and discern the confirmation that comes with and from our obedience. Like the cross, there is a vertical and a horizontal element to that. I have to pray [yes! more than I do]; I have to worship Him out loud both by myself and with others; and I have to give and receive from others in His Body. Jesus and Paul speak of believers as part of His Body, and the necessity for unity and mutual submission--giving to and receiving from each other what each of us has been given by God. God is love--He is truly a loving Father--He is for Real and he insists on a personal relationship (that's what a covenant is). If we refuse to obey, if we refuse to change, if we resist the power of His love to transform us into the image and likeness of His Son, we'll have no part in Him now or in eternity.