It is all about Relationship

Previously in (Part 1) we discussed the need to have a proper view of God’s Holiness and sovereignty, and then we showed the real need to fear God, but did it in such a way that was clear in how we can fear God but have no fear.

[Click to go back to Part 1 It is all about Relationship]

We hear a lot about choice today. Some think we have the right (i.e. choice) to do all things; others do not. We hear much about it in the media, especially pertaining to the subject of abortion. My intention however is to help everyone understand that we all have a God given choice! Our heavenly Father created each of us with the ability to choose. Even Adam and Eve had a choice; to eat of the tree or not eat of the tree. Every person on earth has a choice today to do anything they dream up. Please understand; you may not have the freedom to carry out what you chose. We have many laws and regulations we should be following, and perhaps are forced to follow.

Every country in the world has its own set of laws, regulations, stipulations, and of course consequences for breaking such laws. It is no different with YHVH. God’s laws, regulations, and stipulations may be different than man’s laws but they are real, even if we choose to ignore them. If we break one of God’s Laws, there will be consequences, even if the consequence does not immediately follow the offence. This consequence I am referring to is really called justice; you have received the just result of breaking one of God’s laws.

Here is an easily understood example: YHVH set in place (i.e. Created) the law of gravity. This law, if broken, results in some sort of penalty that God does not have to enforce (He set the law in motion and natural consequences occur). For example: If you drop an egg onto a hard surface from a high enough height the egg will break. The consequence is, you lost the egg and have a mess to clean up; not a very harsh penalty. Now, if your body falls onto a hard surface from a high enough height you may break a bone or worse, even cause death; quite a severe penalty. However, sometimes YHVH extends His mercy which overrides justice; God could intervene in your fall and protect you from severe consequences.

Often we do not know what the right choice is. Have you ever wondered what color item to buy, or what brand of food? The penalty for the wrong choice most likely would only be minor. Conversely, the wrong choice made in larger decisions can be more severe. Making the wrong choice can affect you the rest of your life, just like making the right choice can affect the rest of your life. Would you rather have a life of misery and heartache or a life of joy (this is not to say that a joyful life is not without its trials or correction; remember God disciplines those whom He loves)? What help do we have for these questions or choices in our life?

Modern society has changed so much in the last few generations that the morality of the 1950’s is only laughed at today. What we see going on in our current generation is acceptance of anyone’s twisted idea of how to define right (this is often called "tolerance"). Normally, this is whatever feels good to them. This should not be surprising when God is removed from our schools, judicial system, and our work places. It was God and His Torah (instructions) that were given to his children to live by. Do you remember in the 5 books of Moses, commonly called the Torah, all the instruction that YHVH gave the children of Israel? Even with all the laws and regulations, in the end, the children of Israel had a choice, to obey or not to obey.

If you read the chapters previous to the above verse you will find that the laws (instructions) from YHVH were laws that led to blessings and to life. The Israelites had a choice then and we still have a choice today. Moses recommended, and in a way pleaded, that the Israelites choose life.

Now you may be thinking, "yeah, but way back then things were very different from today. We have so many more stresses and decisions to make, I don’t know what to do; the things that applied to the Israelites don’t seem to apply today." Well I say yes and no. Here is a principle from YHVH.

When Yeshua was walking around on earth He said that all the law (torah) and all the prophets hang on the two great commandments:

These verses contain the most basic commands in the Bible. This instruction has never changed. The problem is many people still go around living their lives for themselves, having a multitude of idols before God. How many times have we tried to put God in a box, by ignoring Him except at church or when you have some need in your life? I have done this, too many times in my life.

Do you remember me saying that God wants a personal relationship with all of mankind? Yet how many professing Christians really have a close personal relationship with Him?

I am not talking about a wonderful worship time at church. Nor am I referring to the opportunity you may have to go to the soup kitchen to serve, or even the large donation you gave to the homeless shelter. I am talking about having an intimate personal relationship; one in which God talks to you! Yes, God can, will and does talk to his servants today.

On the most basic level, God speaks to us through His Word. Most Christians will stand and testify to that. Yet God does talk to believers in various other ways beyond His written Word. While this may sound fanciful, it is actually quite simple. I will present how we can "Hear" God in detail later in the series; but first I would like to focus on a huge resource many already have available, although it seems the more available it is, the less it is valued and used. Of course, I am speaking of the Word of God.

Do you believe the Word of God? I am not asking if you believe that God’s Word (the Bible) is His Word. I am asking you if you Believe God’s Word? Our loving creator didn’t just drop us on this earth to fend for ourselves. He gave us an instruction book, telling us all we need to know. And even in this instruction book God gives us a choice.

Every day, we all have a choice to make. Every day we have two paths before us. One path is from YHVH, the other path from another. We need to choose every day which path to follow.

Do you believe the above verse? If you do, how familiar are you with God’s word? If it is truth, then anything that is not of, or is against God’s Word is by definition not the truth; in other words it is a lie.

Let me ask a couple of questions.

Have you read your Bible today, or even in the past week?

If you have answered no, you need to re-evaluate your time spent in God’s Word. If you take seriously John 17:17 then you should become intimate with God’s Word, not just Psalms and Proverbs, not only the Gospels, but the entire Bible, beginning to end, Old and New Testaments. You see you have a choice. You can choose whether to read God’s Word, or to do something else that feels good to you. You have a choice to either wake up in the morning grumpy or lay all your burdens on Yeshua (Jesus) and take the yoke of Yeshua which is easy.

All too often, it is difficult or nearly impossible to have a relationship with the Heavenly Father because we are not intimate with His Word; instead we are too busy with our lives to put Him first. One of the 10 commandments says:

One way to really put YHVH first is to daily read, believe and obey His Word. We will need to bury Our noses in God’s Word, reading it daily, (before we do other things we may want to do) absorbing the wisdom it contains. Ask God every day, as we read His Word, to open our minds to His direction and His leading.

As you do this, you will soon find yourself changing.

Let me relate a couple of stories to you that I heard recently. Some of you may have heard of Brother Andrew. Brother Andrew spent a good portion of his life delivering Bibles to desiring Christians behind the Iron Curtain before it came down in the late 1980’s. Later he delivered Bibles to many brethren in China. One time, he delivered more than a million Bibles to waiting Christians on a remote shore in China. The stories I want to relate were told by Brother Andrew himself. One story is about a family who had no Bible. They knew, however, of another family who owned one. The first family would walk to the second family’s home, read the Bible for a while, and then walk back to their own house. This story does not sound very dramatic until you find out that the distance between homes was 32 miles. Think about that for a moment. If you had no Bible, would you walk 32 miles just to read one? Do you value God’s word enough to do such a thing? What if you had a car? Would you drive 32 miles just to read God’s word? God’s word needs to become of high value to each of us. We need to know and understand it. Ask YHVH; He will direct you. In fact, that is a promise from God.

Another story told by Brother Andrew relates how he delivered a Bible to a pastor of a small congregation in which no one owned a Bible. Brother Andrew gave the pastor a Bible and stayed for the service. The pastor, having taught his congregation for a time without a Bible, began to read from God’s word with tears in his eyes. The he did something that Brother Andrew said he did not think he personally would ever do; the pastor began to tear pages out of the Bible and give a page to each member of the congregation. After the service the pastor asked one of the members which page he had received. The member said, "Why Pastor, I have a page from the book of Jeremiah." The pastor then asked if he would rather have a page from one of the Gospels. The member promptly answered; "No Pastor; you see right here on my page, it says "And the Word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah…" Pastor, if Jeremiah can hear the Word of the LORD, then the LORD can speak to me. No pastor, I do not want another page, this page is for me."

Let me ask the question again. Do you value God’s word enough that you would do such a thing? We are used to having God’s word so available to us that it no longer holds much value. There is an old phrase which says, "Familiarity breeds contempt". But this does not need to be. We can value something greatly even when it is not rare. The choice is up to you.

End Part 2 [Click to go to Part 3 Hearing God Today]