Lena's Discipleship Journalin to Acts 24

Who is your judge? Who do you account before? Who do you stand before on things you say or do?
Most Christian believers say it is God. That is true in the end, but He’s set up governors now to help us pre-account to get some of the math out of the way.
Many believers do not like to give accounts to men of who they really are, especially when it comes to discipline and accountability.
There is such independence to our culture, with a self righteous attitude of, “No one tells me what to do, but God”.
The thing is, God has been speaking in very unlikely places. He’s been speaking through human beings to lead and guide us into all truth. The Holy Spirit has taken us places and set us up to hear God the Father’s voice at home, at work, at church, and out in our own community.
There is a scripture that says, the word of God is near us. It is in our mouth and in our hearts. Don’t say do I need to climb a mountain to find it, or swim a channel, or dig a very deep pit (working so hard to hear it), for it is right here, right where you are already at. He is speaking to us through who is around us. (That was definitely a paraphrase to help open our understanding.)
God is most interested in heart change. More than any good action anyone could take for Him or to work His kingdom, He wants to see spiritual fruits growing on our heart tree.
He comes up to the Fig Tree of our lives looking to see something fruitful on that tree. Is it there yet? It should be. How long have we said we are following Him or love Him? Do we give ourselves over to character development? See THAT is what is most important to God.
Why do I do what I do, respond as I respond. Hear people how I do? It has to do with His character development inside of my secret part, my heart.
Many times Christians will excuse their actions saying, well God sees my heart and man is judging me wrongly because he is looking outwardly and God will judge me by what I intended inwardly.
Man looks at what he sees outwardly, because he cannot see the heart, but GOD knows our hearts and no matter what we say, he knows what is working on the inside. Is His character being worked inside? He knows if I want to look good outwardly and I say something sweet, but my words are not motivated by love. He knows what made whatever words come out of me, for he sees what is inside in abundance where that word flow comes from. Yes man only sees what he sees, but what is it man is seeing come out of you? If it is filthy outwardly, what does it look like inwardly?
Let’s not go too easy on ourselves, excusing ourselves for all kinds of unrighteous thinking and behaviors. We must come under discipline; we must submit our character development to THE accountable rule for change.
It would be far better to be judged now By scrutinizing men than to stand before a righteous Holy God without any excuse at all for not submitting ourselves here.
Men and women who willingly submit themselves even to unfair treatment here, understand there is a far more Righteous Judge who they will encounter later on. They use willful obedient submission as an exercise, and a discipline now.
There is always a way that seems right to a man, an easier way to do this work, but anyway around God’s way, as defined by men for themselves will lead them to a life of pain, sorrow, grief, and death.
BUT, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Whatever the circumstance, whatever the situation; (Look at Paul) one can be developed if they submit themselves to it as though it is God Himself training us for something else.
It is those who kick against the rules that stay in the prisons of self inflicted guide for as long as it takes to silence the flesh and become led by God’s Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is oh so gentle. He speaks once, He is God. When He speaks through whatever avenue He so chooses, He is looking for a reciprocal response. If we excuse ourselves form even His simplest words, we are going our own way. How can one be blessed by God, when he told God he was going his own way, with a cordial “thank you, see you, goodbye”?
Practicing and exercising obedience in the smallest matters, is the way to become an obedient son of God, who lives to do His word and will.
Think about it, simple obedience. You are at church, the pastor says, “Lets’ all stand”. You excuse yourself from standing. You don’t need to, he doesn’t mean everyone has to. It’s just an invitation for whoever wants to do it. I don’t particularly want to do it, and anyway, God knows my heart and I’m standing on the inside! Next time the pastor makes the “invitation” a little clearer. He says, “Let’s all stand for the sake of unity”. You excused yourself the first time, believing that scripture that says man looks on the outside to judge, but God sees my heart! So you sit again, because the pastor doesn’t really mean all of us, he again just means, those of us who really would like to!
We wonder later on in another situation we are in why we cannot hear God’s voice. We ask, seek, knock, when we want to, and we don’t hear anything at all. We ask others to help us hear and they do hear something. When they tell us we are so deceived by not practicing obedience in the simple stuff) That we regard their words as mere suggestions too and we have made no plans to ever do them, at all. They are options to us, and man is looking at us outwardly, but God knows what’s going on, on the inside, and since He is a gentleman, He is silent where we are concerned. We don’t listen to anyone; we want a conk over the head, a falling planet to land in our yard, or thunder to clang in our ears. We want it our way, and God is gracious enough to give us over to our own way. (James 1 says a man is deceived if he hears and will not do what he heard)
Would it have hurt you to have stood in church every time the pastor or leaders asked you to? Was God trying to beat you up? Remember God sees the heart, and the heart even deceives us personally, who can know it? We thought we were excused. God saw something like pride or rebellion rooted, and its fruit was there in a bud stage. Now it’s full bloom and the person is miserable.
The death-walk is a self centered, self serving misery walk.
Many feel confused and wonder why such misery is happening, I mean, don’t they love God, doesn’t God love them? Jesus said, if you love Me, you’ll keep my words, then at the point of obediently keeping My words the way I see it, then you’ll be my disciples and you’ll be sensitive enough to know truth intimately and that intimate exercised in obedience truth will set you free. This is where freedom lies, in obedience. There is no freedom kept outside of it. We may be relieved for a moment, but our freedom must be maintained obediently.
God does love us all. He loves us into obedient actions that we may be blessed.
Love is not ever earned. Blessings are released through obedience! As we reciprocate, we are blessed. He’s not looking for or at good intentions, He‘s looking for obedient action and lasting fruit. Paul had said that God was using his circumstances to try Him, Perfect His faith, and make it sure.
What are your circumstances doing for you today?
Search me oh God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me (and watch me follow even in the simple things obediently) in THE way everlasting! (This is a repentant prayer with opportunity for following action. It says, I’ll stop excusing myself to do it my own way, which I’ve dishonored You by doing it that way in the past, but I’ll do what You say, as You say it and I’ll purposely not disregard whoever You use to say it. Ya know, He could even use unsaved people! Remember Baalam’s donkey?)