SERIOUSLY DEVOTED

      It seems to me, that to be seriously devoted to a person one must become well acquainted with them! Speaking for myself; I now realize I went 36 years with only a superficial acquaintanceship with the Saviour of my spirit, my life, Jesus Christ. This my friends is to my great shame. I am responsible for my own self awareness, and the need to show my devotion to the one in Whom I live my Christian life. The gift of my former humble condition thru lack of knowledge however is, it brought me to a place of great need, which made me pliable for the potter in shaping me into a growing image of  His Son. The gift of need-fullness was given, to obtain a true devotion to Him.

 Please bear with me my friends as I repeat the story of the One in Whom our devotedness is to be centered, so we may become better acquainted with Him: Long ago in a beautiful place called earth a man was created by the living God of the universe. His name would become known as Adam, which means man in Hebrew. Adam was made Innocent free to openly communicate with his Creator, no question asked and no explanation needed! Then he, by his own volition, became self aware, and thereby self centered turning away from intimacy with His Creator, a rejection; which according to the Creators perfect will and ability to accept, was a impossibility; we call Adams turning to himself for answers, sin nature. Since this first man was by Gods command and intent the representative of all of mankind who would follow, and in whom would be found the same capacity for sin, mankind became doomed to suffering the death of their God consciousness; what we now know as eternal spiritual death. This, mans choice, also placed man under spiritual judgement, as God is perfect, sin could in no way enter into His presence. The result, a sentence must be carried out, which was death, both physical and spiritual, in other words the results of mans actions must result in the consequence, i.e. death! But God loved His creation beyond measure and purposed in His sovereign will to carry out His perfect justice in a way to afford a new life for man, therefore by His mercy He took on mans death sentence in a Representative, Substitution form Himself and was fully satisfied, by His own sovereign design, accomplishing mans redemption by that act! As we all know, He entered the world as a perfect sin free incarnation, a God-man, lived the life of a man, suffered and died on the Cross for us, unto our sin nature. Thereby fulfilling Gods Judaical right and accomplishing a open door to salvation, or redemption for all of mankind; which if this act were received by belief in the incarnated Son Jesus Christ and by that belief one received the gift of faith that Christ was indeed the Saviour of him, man would regain his original innocence and a present eternal fellowship in the view and economy [His sovereign will in fellowship] of God. This all was accomplished in the Household of God by Him in His Sons act, creating for us in His Son a new spirit in His Son, by God's design, to replace the old which was now judged dead; which we can now partake of in newness by a representation in the federal sense, by faith in The person of Jesus Christ, who again by God's design is all that we will or can become, our life. He ascended into heaven and in spiritual representation, we became a new creation, or us in God's mind seen in the presence before Him in His Son. The old being now by Representation completely dead, shown by His Son's death in the flesh, and we now also are proved recreated  new spiritual men and women, by His Son's Resurrection, in that same Representative form. We, here and now, by faith only, which is the only way we can please God, are as He is in The Fathers eye's in Heaven, and we may know that by His Gift of His Holy Spirit reveling our new creation in the object, Jesus Christ, who ever lives in us [our mind of faith] to proclaim Himself. A faith based position, occupied only by faith, established in The Son. Never reveled by a work, action or feeling!

      "Of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us...sanctification" 1 Cor. 1:30. Embracing the Christian life in true devotion is nothing short of us fully being immersed, in the life of the Lord Jesus. His life reproduced in us by faith; sanctification here being seen as the fruit of holiness in His Son separating us in spirit and forming us in spirit in and by The Son. I often wonder how many in the pews have any concept of this total truth? I know I did not, through 36 years of Christian struggle. A example of this hit home when a friend of mine was reading me the biography of his classmate of a very highly acknowledged fundamentalist bible college, submitted by the former students on the occasion of their 50 year class reunion. These men and women came from the cream of the christian crop, children of pastors, missionaries and highly committed traditional christian family's. Sadly, by their own words, many of them, had not only left the faith of Christianity they denied it true, renounced it as judgmental, cruel, confining. They had embraced the world philosophy turning in there once enthusiastic traditional fundamental stand for good works and wealth. By this example I can only assume they were never saved at all, never truly believed; but of course God will be the judge of that. I again wonder how many reading this, and siting in my church will one day stand before God in denial of devotion, never having formed a concept of their personal presence in Christ, because they were kept busy by works and remained placated in contemporary comfort, satisfied with their own natural humanistic approach to the truth.

      To be seriously devoted, for me, brings a most profound hope and joy, which I pray might be found by all my Christian friends. How can one partake of and enjoy this gift from The Father? First I believe rest must be entered into. This really is faith in all that God has accomplished in His Son. This would not be merely looking to receive from Him, for then I would be my own self-centered object of interest; but finding that He sees me as His object is primary; In other words seeing that He has made me His, and that He has made Himself my life! This would be a devotedness from intimacy, not to obtain intimacy. I am afraid that much of my Christian life was spent in seeking good results, affirmation of works, and praying for help, and not in the approving presences of Christ as my life; Him as my position found in devotion. By striving to seek to enter service with a mindset of Him exclusively as the object I may find His mind and thoughts for me.

      If we learn to rest in the reality that it is The Father through His Son, who entirely controls the outcome of our life, it will open the way to find the devoted heart He desires of us, and His will for us will be brought to light. Our personal devotedness must come first and then His direction in service will follow, and then we may satisfy His thought in His heart for us. In the beginning of this blog I stressed becoming acquainted with the object of our devotion. In applying this to the Living God of salvation who died  in the flesh so that we could be, upon belief, a immediate citizen of Heaven and in Whom your life is hidden; this would call for our hearts to be exclusively occupied with Him, therefore a requirement is to know Him, Who He is, and our position and identification in Him, nothing less will do if we wish to be seriously devoted to the one in whom we dwell.