Life Changes

Matthew 5: ³³ “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. ³⁵ And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. ³⁷ Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. When making statements, it is good to realize that a moment from making a strong statement about something that will happen, we need to remember who holds our future in His hands. In the above scripture, Jesus talks about how we must follow through with the vows we make per the Mosaic Law. And we shouldn't seal it by saying "by heaven,"which is us putting God in the mix like we ARE God. We don't know what could happen in the next moment, and making a statement or vow and using God's seal to make it happen is something Jesus spoke about that is dangerous. God is in control and we are not in control, but by His will. This smacks of living life like we are the ones controlling the heavens, the world, and even the holy city of Jerusalem. Trying to bring in a language that sounds spiritual or Godly will only frustrate us and those we speak it to.

Jesus said, "Just say a simple, Yes, I will or ' No, I won't!" All of the other verbiage is us speaking about something we know little about. In the fluid living of life in this world, situations will change, and we respond to those changes by saying yes or no as they happen. Then someone can't come back and say, "I thought you said..." to which you have to say, "Things changed, and I didn't know that change was coming." Duh! There is one God, and I am not Him!! This is why we say, "If it is God's will," and only respond to those things that we can, and respond in that simple way. Yes or no.

This brings up how precious and perfect God's Word is and how we must trust and follow that Word because He is reliable. I hear a lot of people trying to make excuses for God as they undermine His power and His perfection, so as to throw doubt on those who are seeking real life. They read something in scripture that really questions their total faith in God, and then they come up with a side truth that is built on human reasoning, which is totally flawed. This happens a lot with people who are searching for the truth about whether God really heals or not. God is our healer in every situation, and trusting His healing is a step of faith that some don't believe in until they need to see it at work. Then they cry out for God to heal with a heartfelt plea for help, and God responds to that kind of faith. Never try to explain away God from working a situation, and Jesus again and again alluded to the intervention of the heavenly Father with help, healing, and provision. Our problem is the "believing" part, which is usually weak at best. We must trust God in every situation and not try to rewrite the Bible in any form. Does God still work in our midst? YES. At times, do we really have faith in Him working? NO. Time to get back to the simplicity of faith and realize God is working and we can trust Him. Life changes, but the life giver never changes because He is perfect in every way!!!

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren