Driven by Eternity DAY 8
GOD’S OUTRAGEOUS GOODNESS
“You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”
(Genesis 2:16–17 TEV)
John Bevere begins today with “God does not open heaven for those who simply call themselves Christians; He opens it only for those who have become Christians in truth by following Jesus and His teachings.”
So, we have some definition to the description of a Christian. A person is NOT a Christian just because they say they are; a person is a Christian because they have chosen to believe and follow Jesus.
Before we discuss the details of Christianity, let’s ask ourselves this one question: Is this the work of a hard and unloving God? If God is love then why are the requirements so difficult? Well, it’s NOT the requirements that are so difficult but the decision that is difficult. The decision is difficult because those who choose to be Christians must choose to give up their way of living for God’s way of living.
Going back to the garden, Adam chose this life that we now know as a life of sin. Adam wanted to be the god of Adam. Adam wanted his own wisdom and didn’t want to have to trust God’s word. The results of that decision are now difficult to live with but that’s what we know. So, now we must decide on God’s way of living over our own way of living.
Romans 2:4 says that the kindness of God leads us to repentance and Romans 5:6-8 demonstrates that kindness. God has given man this outrageous opportunity to live forever with Him even after man rejected God’s offer earlier. And not only did has God given man this opportunity but He bought and paid for that opportunity for mankind who had rejected Him earlier. However, we don’t become Christians just because God wants us to but because we have chosen what God wants over what our fallen, sinful nature wants. We have decided to leave our way and follow the Jesus way. As a result, we have been saved from the way of death.
From the Kitchen Table 