A Prayer and Rededication

I wrote this in my journal many many years ago. It is a prayer that is still valid today.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the lessons you've taught me. Thank you for the experiences that have strengthened me. Thank you for the promises you gave me for they've kept me true to the calling you've placed over my life. I have had to say goodbye to many things and many people in my lifetime. But I am so thankful that I will never have to say goodbye to you, my dear Saviour. You are always with me until the end of time.

I am sorry for becoming too familiar with you. I realize that the way you've communicated with me in the past is indeed unique. That the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would come and speak to my mind and heart is indeed a rare privilege. Please dear Lord, the path set before me is fraught with danger and uncertainty. I need to hear you more clearly; so please speak to me also in dreams and visions. Develop in me a seeing and hearing heart. I long for you, Lord. I long to know you more intimately than this. Please show me your way, show me your will, never let me go astray from the path you've set before me. I want to be faithful until the end. Hear you say "Well done good and faithful servant!" Remove from my heart the dust and debris of the past. Let nothing hinder your pure and holy purpose for my life. I consecrate myself - body, soul and spirit to you once again. I belong to you. My past, present and future are in your hands. You are my way, my truth and my life. Set your seal upon me. Now and always and for all Eternity. Amen.

Prisoner of God

What you are about to read is not for the faint of heart. Only a few will understand and even then struggle to accept it. But if you can recognize the slightest bit of yourself in it, remember that you were sought after, pursued, taken captive to be kept in remand for as long as He wishes for no clear reason apart from the fact that it pleases Him to do so.

You can spend your life trying to escape it, even endure it but as most of us have discovered that the best way to deal with it is to face it, make a total surrender to it; this peculiar call of all God's prisoners and embrace it as your eternal destiny - to bear the mark of one chosen by God.

Others May - But You Cannot

If God has called you to be really like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it; and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag on themselves, on their work, on their success, on their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but it is likely that God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something better than gold, and that is a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.

The Lord will let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hid away in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.

He will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him, and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done, and this will make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feeling or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and He will not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.

He will take you at your word, and if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot do or say. Settle it forever, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes in ways that He does not deal with others.

Now when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven.

–– GD Watson 1845 - 1924

A people belonging to God

A PEOPLE BELONGING TO GOD
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

If someone discovers you are a Christian, they will ask you which church you go to, what denomination you belong to, what ministry you are involved in, what are your spiritual gifts, what doctrinal position you hold on too. Is that what defines a Christian?

Today Christianity has become a sub-culture with its own banners and labels. We can look like a Christian if we speak the right lingo and wear the right t-shirt. We have Christian entertainment, Christian jewelry, Christian TV/radio, Christian books, cards, mugs, ringtones etc. But just what is it that sets us apart from the rest of the world? Is it our baptism certificate, Sunday attendance and praying before our meals and such?

To look for the answer to that question, we have to look at the Old Testament. What set the nation of Israel apart from other nations? What was unique about the people of God? What gave them their identity (character and personality)? What made them unique from all other communities and inhabitants of the land they were called to possess?

It’s true; they shared a history and a heritage (birthright, legacy). Their past and their future united them and made them a family. But what distinguished them from the rest of the world was much more than that.

1. GOD’S PRESENCE – Deuteronomy 4:7 what other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8. And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

From the time God had delivered his people from the hand of Pharaoh, He had led them through the Red Sea through the wilderness right to the Promised Land. God’s presence in their midst is described as a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire. (Exodus 13:21-22 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.)

The people of God had a visual that reminded them God was with them and was leading them on their journey. It shaded them from the heat of day and kept them warm them at night. It went ahead of them to show them the way and withdrew to the back to protect them from enemy attacks. (Exodus 14:19Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 24During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.

Read Numbers 9: 15ff. If the pillar moved, they followed suit. If it stayed, they stayed put. It did not matter how long it took. They depended on that pillar to show them what to do.

[After God gave Moses the plan for the tabernacle, this ‘Tent of Meeting’ became the place where God met with His people. The tent stood in the center of the camp with the various tribes camped around it. Moses would go to the tent of Meeting to speak with God and from there God would instruct His people]

In Ex 33, the people of Israel foolishly make themselves gods of gold while waiting for Moses to return from Mt Sinai. God was so angry that He told Moses that He was withdrawing His presence from among His people. However He would send them an angel who would escort them to the Promised Land.

It was a solemn and sobering moment for all Israel. The people were devastated and began to mourn. They knew they were nobody without God’s presence. It was the relationship they had with God that made them great. The secret of their success was their dependence on Him. [You see, WHERE you are going is not as important as WHO is going with you] It would have been so easy. No God to offend, no commandments to keep, no laws to break, no punishment to face. God Himself was guaranteeing them safe passage and success.

In v15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us; do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” At this God relents and promises to go with them.

From the beginning, God has desired to live among His people. Not in a casual relationship or like an uninvolved benefactor but a father who loves his children, leads and instructs them, rewards obedience and disciplines the ones who disobey Him.

God’s Presence was conditional on Israel obeying the laws He gave to them. Exodus 19: 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine 6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Their obedience would ensure they stood blameless before God and man. The law would govern every area of their lives, their relationships (with God, spouse, family, neigbour, slave, judge/ruler, enemy and needy) their livelihoods/jobs, their civil obligations, their possessions, their diet and their justice system.

So the 2nd distinguishing factor of God’s people was the Laws of God.

2. GOD’S LAWS The laws God gave to Israel were unique; expressive of God’s Holy character. As God’s people, they were subject to the laws that were not binding on any community of people (Leviticus 18:1-5). The laws of Moses were many but Jesus summarized them to simply two. He said the books of the Law and Prophets hung on these two commandments. Matthew 22: 37-39 Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’

God promised His Presence to His people who made a covenant with Him to obey Him fully. The first time God made a covenant with Abraham, He commanded Abraham and his household to be circumcised. The rite of circumcision was passed down to all his male descendants and dependents. Circumcision was the outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and His people. The Jews still practice it today. There was nothing extraordinary about it. Ancient civilizations also practiced it before Abraham. It was not the act itself that made Israel unique but failure to be circumcised meant certain expulsion from God’s community (Ex 17:14)

The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians that circumcision itself had no value unless one observed the law. And the one who observed the law was as good as one who was circumcised.

The act entailed the permanent cutting away of the flesh. It was to be made carefully and with great deliberation. Metaphorically, it meant the decision to obey God’s Word is a personal one; not to be taken lightly. [Reciting the sinner’s prayer does not automatically include you in the community of God’s people] We also need to note that the Covenant was made first and foremost to God. Not to a set of rules and certainly not to a man or the community. Each male was responsible to make the covenant on behalf of the family he was raising and leading.

RELATIONSHIP vs. RELIGION
But before long, Israel starts to wander away from God. It began harmlessly enough but carelessness and complacency eventually leads to compromise and corruption. The more they prospered, the less they thought about Him. Pride filled their heart and they became unthankful. Soon they started to worship other gods and pervert the laws God had given them. Instead of justice and mercy, they practiced evil and wickedness in the very land God had given them. The temple King David had built remained standing, the daily sacrifices went on, and the priests continued to minister. But something had changed. Religion had replaced Relationship. Israel thought it was the structure that God was looking to make his dwelling but they were wrong. While the temple – a structure of brick and stone was beautiful to behold, God was not in it. The people continually rebelled against God and His ways and resisted the warnings of the OT prophets. God gave them many opportunities to repent and return to Him but they just hardened their hearts. Ezekiel had a vision in which he saw the Glory of God departing from the temple in Jerusalem. God was withdrawing His presence from His people. The judgment of God fell heavily on the very nation God had chosen to represent Him to the world. The people had wrongly presumed that religion could save them.

WORD vs. WORKS
Moses warned the people against finding substitutes for the word of God. Deuteronomy 4:12 ff. He reminded them that it was God’s voice and commands they had heard so watch that you don’t try to make an image of something you did not see (anything) and claim it is god. Don’t be enticed to worship what you create with your own hands. Don’t exchange the Glory of the Immortal God with that which will soon decay. Don’t give up the Eternal God for lesser gods. The worship of the golden calf/ bull idol was especially heinous because that which God had provided as animal sacrifice was set in gold and made the object of worship. The works of our hands must not be worshiped but offered to Him a sacrifice.

Are we a people of His presence or do we want His blessings more than the relationship He offers? Have we become unthankful and self-sufficient that we have no need for Him? Have we substituted His voice for the philosophy and ideas of man?

On Rabbit's feet and Christian relics

During the Raya holidays, I caught an interesting documentary on television. Two months before Princess Diana’s untimely death, she’d given permission for her gowns to be auctioned off and the proceeds given to charity. Each garment had been finely crafted and richly embellished - fit for royalty. The outfits sold for between USD 20K and USD 200k and followed their new owners to various parts of the world. The documentary was an attempt to trace what had happened to these exquisite one-of-a-kind gowns.

It was interesting to see how the new owners saw their purchase as an extension of the popular princess. One woman hired a personal bodyguard for the dress which she would periodically show to the public. Another woman bought 3 dresses and displayed them in her shop window. In the week following her death, the grieving public left flowers and cards at the window turning it into a mini shrine to the late princess. A few of them would wear the dresses to feel closer to her. Almost all of them had connected with her emotionally and owning the dresses she had worn helped to make that nostalgia just a little more real.

Princess Di was a secular saint who was loved and cherished by all. She’s become an icon that’s unmatched by any member of royalty before and after her. Diana will always be the world’s best loved princess.

But since she died in that tragic car crash, all that’s left are the memories and keepsakes she left behind. While its interesting to read about what these women have done to keep her memory alive, it is also sad because none of them can bring her back. They are merely lingering shadows of a past reality.

During the days of King Hezekiah, Israel had drifted far from God. Many ‘high places’ were built, images erected and sacrifices offered to them. One such ‘high place’ was a shrine built to a relic left behind from Moses’ days. A brazen snake mounted on a pole. Moses had commanded those who had been bitten by the poisonous snakes to look at it and they had been instantly healed! Apparently the brazen image had been preserved throughout the years and had finally ended up an object of worship. Nehustan was the name given to it.

The glory of the moment had long faded, Moses was dead but hundreds of years later, people regarded it with some reverence. Did they still believe in its ‘healing powers’ or did they simply want to crystallise a historical moment to remember how God had marvellously healed his people? The bible does not say.

But what it does tell us is God raised a godly king to purge the land from such images, ordering them to be torn down and destroyed. You can read the story in 2 Kings 18.

Throughout history, the Church has shared a similar reaction with the women who bought a ‘piece’ of Diana. Anything directly or indirectly associated with Jesus’ life became a valuable artefact. During Martin Luther’s day, Rome boasted an impressive collection of bone fragments, limbs and hairs belonging to saints and martyrs. Pieces of the cross, John the Baptist’s skull and today, we have the Turin shroud, crying statues, bleeding hearts etc. Many have been safely enshrined in the continuing belief that such practices can bring us closer to God.

But can they?

Saint Jerome declared, "We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore him whose martyrs they are" (Ad Riparium, i, P.L., XXII, 907).

Hmm..

Imagine asking someone for advice on how to improve your relationship with your lover. And the advice you get is, “You should frame a picture of his cat, have regular conversations with his dead relatives, save his nail-clippings and carry a photo of his best friend in your wallet.”

If Jesus came to remove the sin barrier that separates us from God, why does the church keep replacing it with more useless things? There is no lack of religious paraphernalia to keep us busy with religious activity and sadly this extends to even charismatic circles. Although her Protestant brothers will proudly say that they have no such traditions and images as the Catholic church, they are just as guilty of indulging in equally distracting religious activity. The Church at large has become so deprived that it is reverting back to practices it abandoned during periods of revival and reformation. Instead of feeding God’s people with the living word, pastors are throwing out scraps of human intellectualism from the pulpit! God’s people are starving for lack of spiritual nourishment. They keep their members busy with many 'good' and 'right' activities but deny them the 'one' thing that Mary settled for.

Jesus didn’t hand out souvenirs from his earthly life so we could better remember him by. Instead he gave of himself and when he had given all that he could give, he poured upon us his eternal spirit without measure. One that dwells in us and is close to us and will never leave us for all eternity. If Emmanuel (the name given to Jesus) means ‘God with us’, then the Holy Spirit is God in us!

When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his death, he gave them an interesting analogy.

You can read it in John 16.

16"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." 17Some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" 18They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."
19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? 20I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

An expectant woman goes through many physical changes during her pregnancy. She feels the baby move and kick within her and that brings her much joy. She enjoys the way her husband and family fuss over her. But no pregnant woman wants to be pregnant forever! She dreams for the day when she will hold her baby in her arms. She longs to see him, touch him, kiss and cuddle him close to her heart. She knows she must suffer the pain of childbirth but all will be forgotten once the baby is safely born.

The disciples would sorrow over the separation that physical death will bring but the outcome will cause them to forget their sorrow. The physical Jesus has to make way for the Spirit of Jesus who will dwell in them! Isn't that amazing? The mother witnesses the invisible becoming visible with the miracle of birth. But in God's kingdom, the visible makes way for the invisible!

On that day, they can go direct to Father God as Jesus did and they won't need any translators for the job!

No need for rabbit’s feet or lucky horse shoes. There’s no place for Christian mediums in the Kingdom of God.

If someone had said to the apostle Paul, “Let us immortalise these handkerchiefs (Acts 19)you used to heal the sick, so people can have a sense of closeness with you and indirectly with the Jesus you preach!” How do you think Paul would have responded? If the early apostles wanted to, they could have amassed a variety of Jesus collectibles ... crown of thorns, the purple robe, hairs from the donkey he rode, his breakfast mug etc. (Jesus didn’t really have a lot of material possessions, did he?)

But why would they do that when they had walked with the Bread of Life? The Light of the World. The Living Water. The Word that became alive and walked among men.

Why indeed!

If you could have an audience with King Jesus, would you ask him for a signed autograph? Pose for a group photo with him? Flick his sandals when he wasn’t looking and sell it on e-bay? Ask if you could add him on Facebook? Invite him to give the opening address in the ‘Evangelize your community’ conference?

I don’t know about you, but I know what I would do. I would take hold of him, and beg him to take me with Him wherever he goes.

The world had an audience with the living, breathing Christ more than 2,000 years ago. But the religious community decided he had outstayed his welcome and put him to death. His true disciples were devastated but Jesus promised them, “I will be with you till the end of the world”. His disciples believed his words and accordingly received his promise by the mighty outpouring of His spirit on the day of Pentecost. Natural limitations gave way to a Spiritual explosion and the world has not seen the end of it!

Why settle for anything less?

If you haven’t got the slightest idea of what I’m talking about, it isn’t too late. Ask with the faith and honesty of a child. Seek with the desperation of a man who hasn’t eaten in days! Knock with the impatience of a man who has been unjustly wronged!

This is not the usual, safe, run-of-the-mill ‘Sinner’s prayer’ that you’ re accustomed to. Pray this at your own risk!

“God, I am SO sick of church. I am so tired of religion. I am so fed up of tithing, praying, fasting, fellowshipping, serving and evangelising and still not tasting the eternal life you promised. I can’t keep up the charade anymore! I can no longer keep it together. Nothing is working. The leaders are not helping. Everybody does what they think is right. My theology is so air-tight, it’s choking me! It can’t give me the answers i seek.

I’m not going to pretend everything is ok, when it’s not. I don’t want to keep defending what I don’t believe in anymore. I’m done playing the hypocrite. I don’t care what people think. I don’t care about my ministry. I don’t care about my reputation. All I care is what you have to say.

Enlighten my eyes, so I can see. Open my ears, so I can hear. Loosen my tongue so I may sing the praises of the one who loved me and died for me!

Holy Spirit, fill me. Not just a drop, not a trickle but let the fullness of Him who fills all things flood my soul!”

Friend, if you get real with God, He’s going to get real with you! And I mean a relationship that you never dreamed possible. You will hear his voice speaking personally to you. (You don’t have to imagine what he’d say!). When you read the bible, it’s going to be in 3-D colour! (You will wonder why you didn’t see it before!). You won’t need another human being to tell you what to believe. (Jesus will be the only pastor you’ll ever need!)

I must warn you though of other 'side effects' you can expect.

You will discover who your true friends are. You will have trouble fitting in with the usual Christian crowd. You will never see ‘church’ or ‘ministry’ in the same way you did before; which means you won’t flow with the agenda of the organized church. You won’t care about material possessions or earthly promotions. You will find the unlovely and lonely worthy of God's love. You will develop a love and passion for Truth. You will love Righteousness and hate Evil which won't sit well for people who love the safety of Compromise. You will give cheerfully and generously from whatever little you have and still feel rich!

I could go on. But your experience is infinitely more valuable than any explanation I can give here.

Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Back to Basics

Words today have evolved and changed so much so that they bear little or no resemblance to their original meaning. You still spell them the same way but the meaning that was originally attached to it has been replaced by another.

Some words in our christian vocabulary need re-defining too. 'CHURCH' is a good example of a word that got re-invented and eventually took on a life of its own. We say, "I go to church every Sunday" or "Which church do you attend?" as if it refers to a place or activity but it didn't use to be that way.

When Jesus said "I will build my church", he wasn't referring to a building project. He was talking about a living breathing body of Christ believers. He challenged the religious leaders to destroy the temple which He would raise up again in 3 days (John 2: 18-22). They thought he meant the temple that stood in Jerusalem. But He was talking about the death of his physical body and the raising of a body of believers that He would indwell by the Holy Spirit. 'Church' in actual fact refers to you and me. You and I are the living temples that house God's presence and Jesus is the high priest who makes us worthy to come to God.

We do not automatically become His body by simply signing on the dotted line. You can fill in an application to become a member of an institution but to be joined to Christ's body is a different thing altogether.

John 10 makes it clear - please take a moment to read this.

3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

[Compare this with how western ranch owners cruelly brand their sheep and employ cowboys and sheep dogs to round up their herds. On the other hand eastern shepherds use a unique call/whistle to get their sheep to follow them]

Jesus does not recognise us by our doctrinal position or denominational preference. Membership certs mean nothing to him. He knows who belongs to him by their willingness to obey his voice and follow his leading.

So if Jesus is your shepherd, then you are his sheep. And if Jesus is your head, then you are his body. God entrusted only one person for the task. His One and Only Son. One flock with one shepherd. I read somewhere, that the diverse denominations we have in the world today is more a testimony to our division than it is of our unity. I totally agree.

The answer is not calling for ecumenical oneness - trying to find common ground to agree on. Jesus called people to HIMSELF; not a denomination, movement, community, creed or cause. If you reject His headship over your life, you detach yourself from His body. And we know a headless body is a dead body! The Body of Christ has only one Head.

[Trivia: How many heads does the institutional church have? Lets see...pope, cardinals, bishops, elders, deacons, senior pastors, cell/zone/cluster leaders, ministry heads etc. Friends, there is no hierarchy in God's house.]

Sadly, God has been relegated to 52 days on the calendar (with special mention on Easter and Christmas, of course) and a fixed home address. Once discipleship identified us with our Lord and Master Jesus Christ but today evidence of membership is a worthless certificate. Pledges, decision cards and baptismal certs. These are mere tokens, reflecting a decision we made in the past and by no means are they indicative of our standing with God.

There is a test you can do to find out if you are His disciple. It's found in John 15. Read it and tell me in all honesty. Do you qualify?

You may be surprised to find who God actually has on His list.

The curse of serving two masters

3 years ago, the church i was serving in suffered a leadership crisis...the senior pastor resigned and many people left, hurt and disillusioned. For some inexplicable reason, i became obsessed with the character of Jonathan in the Bible.

If you study him you'll discover that he really was a fine individual. (1 & 2 Samuel)

He was the firstborn to King Saul and heir apparent to the throne. He was a valiant warrior fearless in the face of danger and all his men regarded him a champion. One time, he tasted some honey not knowing that his father had rashly forbidden the men to eat. When he was found out and sentenced to die, his men spoke up for him and rescued him from certain death. History records how he attacked a Philistine outpost with only his armour bearer for backup. His faith in God was echoed in his words, "Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few" (ISam 14:6).

When it became clear that David was going to be Israel's next king, Jonathan simply submitted to God's plan and loved David as his own. But he was also a filial son and continued to serve his father although he knew God had removed the kingdom from him. This conflict of loyalties did not distort his objectivity and ability to discern between right and wrong. When David told him of Saul's plot to kill him, he chose the role of peacemaker. But Saul's promise to relent did not last. Only when Jonathan witnessed for himself his father's madness, did he finally believe Saul was intent on murdering his rival.

He was a man who truly loved God's people. He didn't believe in ousting his father but patiently waited for God's timing. He always believed David would one day be king and that he would become David's second in command.

While he refused to be an accomplice to his father's wicked plan, he still fought alongside him in the war against the Philistines. It was one such battle against the Philistines that took the lives of Saul and his sons including Jonathan. A tragic end for a noble soul. King David grieved for his friend whom he loved as a brother and wrote a moving eulogy for him.

Here was the difficulty.

Jonathan committed no crime yet he died in defeat, his body shamelessly displayed on enemy walls as a trophy of war.

How could God allow Jonathan to become a casualty?

How could almighty God who judged between the wicked and righteous allow such a travesty of justice?

But the confusion melted away when God spoke these words to me 3 years later.

You are Jonathan. And you too will die if you continue to serve the House of David while still being loyal to Saul.

Could this be you too?

Listen.

You don't get extra brownie points for serving a religious system that has already rejected Jesus. Sadly, many precious men and women of God have become casualties because they tried to serve two masters. For some it is affecting them emotionally. For others, it has taken a toll on the physical body - breathlessness, backaches, migraines and other chronic ailments. They've consulted doctors and counselors for a cure. But they can't see a way out of their predicament because the system is paying their salary.

In Matthew 6, Jesus says -
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Come away even if it means you have to live without the comforts and conveniences you are accustomed to. If you can hear His voice calling you to join David in the wilderness but you're choosing to remain in Saul's palace, please please reconsider! The cost of compromise is too high. There is only one Master worthy of our love and devotion - The Lord Jesus Christ.

Who do you pledge allegiance to?

Who is your Master?