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HOUSMAIL HM035 13
September 1999 WHAT WOULD JESUS DO Of
course, this is EXACTLY the question a Christian should ALWAYS ask when
deciding what to do! If we TRULY BELIEVE Jesus, we know that, beyond all
dispute, His answer to that question, is the ONLY correct choice; and that
doing things His way is the ONLY way to please God. That is called FAITH! And
faith like that leads inevitably to action! (James
2:20-26) If
Jesus is TRULY our Lord, and if we TRULY love Him, then we will want to ask
it, and when we have the answer, WE WILL OBEY His commandments. (Luke 6:46, John 14:15,23) There
is no "legalism" in this. Nor does it fly in the face of
"grace"! It
boils down to a simple question of whether or not the grace we have received,
leads us to BELIEVE Jesus enough, and LOVE Jesus enough! If we have TRULY
received REAL grace, it is the only possible response! We
MUST NOT attempt to evade this hard test of LOVE! Jesus Himself laid down the
challenge. "He who DOES NOT LOVE ME does not keep my words." (John 14:24) BEWARE
THE "GOSPEL CHANGERS"! Many
modern "gospels" pay lip service to asking what Jesus would do. Alas
..... all too often, these gospels finish up dodging AROUND what Jesus
actually said or did, and telling us instead, what SOMEONE ELSE would do!
(Such as Moses!) Learn to recognise the symptoms of this modern infection
which plagues the Church to the EXCLUSION of the REAL Gospel! To
avoid this mistake in OURSELVES, we will need to be VERY HONEST about our
motives. Let us never make the dreadful mistake of regarding what Jesus said
as "inconvenient" or "impractical". Let us never fall
victim to our own desire to justify doing things OUR OWN WAY instead. Let us
never "shop around" until we find a way to EXPLAIN AWAY what Jesus
said. And let us never seek to ease our consciences about doing something
different. Most
important of all, let us NEVER grow lazy in our search for the answers about
what Jesus would do. "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent
shall be made fat." (Proverbs 13:4) "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I
might not sin against thee..... O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all
the day ..... Through thy precepts I get understanding." (Psalm 119:11,97,104) Only
when we become SINGLE MINDED about those things, are we guaranteed answers to
our prayers for wisdom! (James 1:5-8) WHAT
WOULD JESUS DO? Jesus
isn't just a "good example" of optional good behaviour ..... HE
IS OUR LORD ..... TO BE BELIEVED, AND LOVED, AND OBEYED ..... REGARDLESS OF
PERSONAL COST!!!!! (Luke 14:25-33) Of
course, the biggest question of all is: How is it possible to love Jesus that much? Well
..... It isn't easy! But then neither is it impossible! Jesus left us both a commandment,
and very clear instructions about how to love that way! God
willing that will be addressed in the next HOUSMAIL. Allon |