Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”
Don’t let them make God safe!” These words of send-off for me at the Bombay airport were from an Indian Christian evangelist. He had a low opinion of western churches. After visiting them he confided, “They have managed to turned a dangerous God into a safe one…instead of a God that burns with fury against hypocrisy, idolatry and injustice, they have a God that turns a blind eye to all our faults, just keeps on loving us with a disinterested air, and seems not to care whether we stand out for him or not.”
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If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”
Don’t let them make God safe!” These words of send-off for me at the Bombay airport were from an Indian Christian evangelist. He had a low opinion of western churches. After visiting them he confided, “They have managed to turned a dangerous God into a safe one…instead of a God that burns with fury against hypocrisy, idolatry and injustice, they have a God that turns a blind eye to all our faults, just keeps on loving us with a disinterested air, and seems not to care whether we stand out for him or not.”
It sorta gets to the issue of serving God out of fear or serving God out of love. I guess one must have both in serving God, but having a loving relationship with someone produces a different obedience than having a fearful relationship with someone. Eventually, if one's relationship is based on fear it will eventually bring some sort of rejection of the object of their fear.
I want to love Him and have a reverential fear of Him but I don't want to walk around waiting for something like this.....
America serves a lopsided God... a Santa-Claus God if you will. If you do good, he rewards your goodness. If you send in your wish list, along with your tithes, bad things won't happen to you, and you'll get everything on your wish list.
It is NOT the God we find in the pages of the OT and NT. For that reason, most people in churches never pick up their Bibles and read them, because the words found there HURT. Take up your cross and follow me... sell all you have and give to the poor... he that is LEAST shall be greatest... If you suffer with me you shall reign with me... on and on the words written speak to the greatest fears of our flesh... and so most avoid any of those scriptures and focus more on the ones that appease our flesh.
But, God is not mocked, what you sow is what you shall reap!
It is high time believers began to really read their Bibles again, and be convicted of their ways! God is indeed a God of love, but He also is a God of righteous judgments. If you don't believe me, read Rev. 2 and 3 where Jesus speaks to the seven churches, full of believers, and see how deeply His words cut them to the core! How would we fare if Jesus were to speak to us today?
I shudder to think of the condemnation HE would have for us today.
Thanks for sharing this Cindy. Timely words indeed!
America serves a lopsided God... a Santa-Claus God if you will. If you do good, he rewards your goodness. If you send in your wish list, along with your tithes, bad things won't happen to you, and you'll get everything on your wish list.
It is NOT the God we find in the pages of the OT and NT. ...
You can find that God very easily in the Bible, both in the OT and the NT.
Psalm 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Psalm 91:11-12 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Matthew 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Etc.
You can pretty much find any God you want, in the Bible.
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
You can find that God very easily in the Bible, both in the OT and the NT.
Psalm 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Psalm 91:11-12 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Matthew 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Etc.
You can pretty much find any God you want, in the Bible.
I disagree with your last sentence, Timmy. We find God, not any God.
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If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
While I've been in Singapore I've noticed there are a LOT of little shrines all over the place. They are tiny, maybe 2 ft. by 2 ft. by 6-8 ft tall. They always have candles, incense, oranges and pineapples in them. I believe this is a Chinese shrine. Then there are the many 'prayer rooms' in most of the buildings or places of work. I believe these are mostly for the Muslims.
They are MUCH more devout in their practices here, no matter what religion. I could see why this man would say that. We've watered our God down.
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'Some folk don't understand that the middle "F" in AFF is the most important ingredient!' -noeticknight
A huge eye opener for me was the book "Tortured for Christ" it was powerful.
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Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4)
Scripture is its own interpreter. Nothing can cut a diamond but a diamond. Nothing can interpret Scripture but Scripture" Thomas Watson.
'Some folk don't understand that the middle "F" in AFF is the most important ingredient!' -noeticknight
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