April 15, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]The high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days
—2 Chronicles 15:17

Quote[/b] ]Asa was not completely obedient in the outward, visible areas of his life. He was obedient in what he considered the most important areas, but he was not entirely right. Beware of ever thinking, "Oh, that thing in my life doesn’t matter much." The fact that it doesn’t matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God. How much longer are we going to prevent God from teaching us even one thing? But He keeps trying to teach us and He never loses patience. You say, "I know I am right with God"?yet the "high places" still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.

Are there some things regarding your physical or intellectual life to which you have been paying no attention at all? If so, you may think you are all correct in the important areas, but you are careless?you are failing to concentrate or to focus properly. You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit. It also takes a tremendous amount of time. Yet some of us expect to rise above all of our problems, going from one mountaintop experience to another, with only a few minutes’ effort.

 

[Kidan]

Who determines importance?  Who tells you which tasks you are given are the most important?

Where I'm work, I have three or four on-going projects, and am routinely given side-projects.  With each of these items, I am assigned a priority for its completion and a completion date.  

If I don't get that project done by that date, I'm in trouble, even if I've continued to work on all my other projects.  Why?  Because I've failed in my priorities.  Basically I didn't take down the high places, even though my heart was loyal.

The same follows in our walk with Christ.  Whenever He tells us something needs to go, that is a priority.  Get it out of your life!  Run from it!  That doesn't mean that you're to stop the day-to-day business of being a Christian, rather it's another aspect of that day-to-day business.

Everyone talks about the spiritual highs they've experienced.  The MOUNTAINTOP!  The ultimate spiritual high!  Yet mountains are tall, there peaks are fare away from the valley where you spend most of your time, doing the day-to-day business of being a Christian.  Yet when God tells you to change something, He's not doing it just for fun, or just to throw a wrench in your plans, rather He's actually providing you with a ski-lift to get to the top of that mountain, an express-lane to get to your next spiritual high.  

For a spiritual high is that point where you feel yourself grow closer to God, because you've overcamed yet another sin or because you've been obedient to Him in some task.  

So the next time you feel that little doubt about your actions, realize that that doubt is the express train to a closer walk with Him.