"Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on Me when you are in trouble and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory." Psalm 50:14-15 NLT
"But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God." Psalm 50:23 NLT
In my life I have tried to practice two things with faithfulness. One is being faithful to God and the other is being thankful for all that God does in my life. According to what I read in this Psalm those two things are really important to God. In fact, I believe that obedience and thankfulness are two things that God will bless more than most of the stuff we do to "gain" his favor.
A few years ago someone wrote a book that talked about a prayer from the Old Testament prayed by an obscure character. The masses took from the book that if you prayed this prayer on a daily basis God would bless you. Around the same time someone got the idea of wearing WWJD bracelets however for the most part it didn't change anyone's behavior.
I am convinced that change only comes when our hearts and minds change. We change when we believe that God is real and that He demands and expects obedience from our lives. I don't know any other way to live. The most prominent theological flavor in the world today says that it is impossible to live above sin. People have willingly bought into the fact that we have to sin every day in word thought and deed. If this is true then God is just plain sadistic because all through the Bible He has one standard and that is "live holy lives." We are encouraged, commanded and prodded to be holy. We are told that with every temptation there IS a way of escape. I believe it is possible to live without sinning butI believe that most people I know have found a comfortable place in the cradle of a sinning faith. This is almost more than I can take. I don't know any other way to preach then to tell it like the Bible says it but truly I understand how Elijah felt after coming down from Mt. Carmel. I am some where between the "broom tree" and the cave. (you may have to do a little Bible study to understand that line)
I am tired of preaching the same thing over and over yet going up against every major Christian author and legitimate radio and TV preacher who tell people on a regular basis to just live by grace and whatever you do will be okay because Jesus will not see your sin. The idea is that there is nothing you can do to ever lose your salvation. Sorry don't buy it and never will. Obedience matters and it always has.
Holiness is what I long for, Holiness is what we need.
