COLLISION OR COLLUSION

I Was Just Thinking About - - -

A Biblical Christian, in addition to the requirements of one who wishes to meet the cost of  a disciple of Jesus Christ (Luke 14:25-33), must determine whether there is the willingness to Collide with the Culture or to be one who is known by his/her Collusion with the Culture.

The proposal of Jesus Christ for anyone who follows Him is Total Surrender to Him. On a day when an expert in the Law confronted Jesus (Luke 10:25-28) and asked: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The response of Jesus was, “How do you read what is written in The Law?” The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus responded, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:21-24), Jesus declared, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…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.”

In the Strength for the Journey Devotional for Saturday, June 4, 2016, Joseph Stowell makes this comment and observation: “Betrayal often comes from those we would least suspect. And—here’s a news flash—the person you might least suspect could even be you. The seeds of betrayal are sown in the unseen world of our hearts. And while the seeds may be unnoticed for a time, left unchecked they will inevitably begin to pop up to the surface of our lives in tragic ways. Some of us have already betrayed Jesus at the heart-level. Often it is a slow, subtle shift from being fully devoted to Him, to following the seductive lure of personal pleasure or gain. Hearts dedicated to cash and comfort are quick to bail when Jesus calls us to sacrifice and suffer for Him. But, whether the betrayal is “big” or seemingly small, it is always in the face of His love. That’s what makes it so wrong, so brazen. When we lose the wonder of His amazing love for us, when we fail to look at His nail-scarred hands, when we start taking His daily provision for granted, we run the risk of cultivating a compromised heart.”

In 1898, Eliza E. Hewitt wrote some very succinct words in the Hymn Lyric,

Give Me thy heart, says the Savior of men,

Calling in mercy again and again;

Trust in Me only, I’ll never depart—

Have I not died for thee? Give Me thy heart.

Give Me thy heart, says the Spirit divine;

All that thou hast to My keeping resign;

Grace more abounding is Mine to impart—

Make full surrender and give Me thy heart.

Are you ready, willing and committed to a Collision course with the Culture or are you trying to play it safe by your Collusion with the Culture? Prayerfully – Consider these things with me!