Living by the Book
This morning I was tired when I sat down to read. The coffee machine was sputtering in the background and I had one responding brain cell. I decided to pray before I read because I’m serious about this being a living thing, not a religious duty.
The first thing I read in Deut 4:6 was that if the people followed God, others would look at them as being wise and understanding. Another cell must have gone online. A bunch of thoughts came…”fooled them” and “if you keep quiet people will think you’re wise” and “this isn’t us, or at least me.” Then it hit me, we look wise and understanding, even act wise and understanding, but only because we are doing what God said. It’s actually God, not us. If you follow a recipe people may say what a good cook you are, but what they are really saying is that whoever put the recipe together is brilliant and you, at best, are a great direction follower. The original chef gets the glory and we get the joy and delight of seeing the recipe work and make those who eat it happy.
What a case for “putting on our Lord Jesus Christ” and submitting to God. When we add to the recipe or ignore it, we ruin it. The Spirit makes us imitators of the chef and everyone sees his glory and splendor. We get a pat on the back, but it is never us, it is Him.
And then the reading in Luke 6 was, “Why do you call me Lord, and don’t do as I say?” and then the houses…one builder followed Jesus’ words, the other ignored them. It is not in us, it is in following the building instructions, the cook book.
And I’m sad to think that we have all this and it is as simple as following directions, but we ignore, doubt, neglect, forget and worst of all, interject our ideas, emotions, self-righteousness, and sin into the recipe and we ruin it and people don’t like it, and then they call God a failure.
This is why Paul says, “Besides this, you know what hour it is…Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light….put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the Flesh, to gratify its desires.”
In helpless, humble, grateful Love we need to watch Jesus in the Bible and with great care and confidence, follow His recipe.
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