Don’t Switch Your Life in God

 

"There is a song by Switchfoot that is called "This is Your Life" that came out in Two Thousand Three. They are a crossover band; which refers to a band that plays a certain style of music, and a song or album of theirs makes an impact in other genres. They are a "Christian" band that were accepted into the Alternative music scene, as their lyrics reference God, but not in an in your face way? I guess it could be categorized as "Spiritual."  The lyrics say, "Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead; yesterday is a promise that you've broken; don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes, This is your life; and today is all you've got now; and today is all you'll ever have; don't close your eyes." "Yesterday is a kid in a corner, Yesterday is dead and over" and the chorus says, "This is your life, are you who you want to be, this is your life, is it everything you've dreamed, that it would be when the world was younger, and you had everything to lose?" 

 

Matthew Six records The Beatitudes or The Sermon on the Mount, from where we get many updated words from what the law was, and how Jesus was changing things about faith and living. It says, 

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (‭ESV‬‬)  

God is here for us even when it may seem like He is not, and us worrying or thinking back on things like the Israelites did after they left Egypt is never good. They lived in the "how good we had it" mentality, and we do the same thing. We think, "in our younger days," or how good our life was before Jesus and even after coming to Jesus, the “so called” tribulations aren’t that bad. It is easy to sugarcoat our experiences or find excuses as to why we are who we are, and we can hide there forever. 

But God is saying; seek Me, and all these other things you think you should have and or be, are not important in the whole scheme of things. Life is short and we need to enjoy the life we have, and the people around us. If we have learned anything over the last few years is, nothing is certain, and only God is constant and loving. We can live in fear or look back to the good old days, but really how good was throwing up, being hungover, or doing the walk of shame and feeling worthless and used? How good was it to cheat on a test, a spouse, a friend and not feel less of a person, because when we are alone in the dark, those memories are truly not good; if we are honest with ourselves. Peter reminds us in Second Peter as he quotes Proverbs Twenty six eleven, beginning in verse twenty, 

“For if, after they have ESCAPED THE DEFILEMENTS of the world THROUGH the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are AGAIN ENTANGLED in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them NEVER TO HAVE KNOWN the way of righteousness than after knowing it to TURN BACK FROM THE HOLY commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”” (ESV) (Emphasis added)

Peter was talking about staying clear of false prophets who bring destructive teachings in the name of God and water down the message. He references the rebellion and sin of the Israelites at Beor, which was Balaam who couldn’t curse the people, so instead enticed them with sensuality and led them astray. Peter says that it’s better to have never known the word and truth, than to be a pig or a dog who return to filth and vomit respectfully. I know because I have done that myself thinking, “ This is it?” This Jesus isn’t “blessing” me” knowing I was choosing vomit over faith.

Jesus knows everything about you and your heart; and guess what, He still loves you and wants nothing more than to heal you, and give you a life abundantly in Him. Moses who had dealt with the grumbling people for forty years, and himself was not going to enter the promise land, says in Deuteronomy thirty beginning in verse fourteen, which is one of my favorite verses, 

“But the WORD IS VERY NEAR YOU. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, BY WALKING IN HIS WAYS, and by KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS and His statutes and His rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” (ESV) (Emphasis added)

The beauty of this, is that God was referring to the physical promise land to them, but in Jesus and the New Covenant, the promise is the same to us, but instead of a physical land, we get to experience a heavenly promise land. We can continue in our sorrow, pain, circumstances, and rebel against God because we think we deserve better. We think and believe those same false prophets who promise peace, security, and monetary blessings, but that’s not what Jesus was saying in the sermon on the Mount. Remember, seek FIRST the kingdom of God, everything else is fading, worthless vanity. 

So my question is, This is your life, what are you willing to gain to lose eternity with God? What are you willing to turn away from and run back to that is better than God? He is all I need and all I want, and my prayer is that you turn and seek His kingdom, and the rest will be given unto you, in His will and time. Don’t compromise like so many crossover bands for a temporary earthly crown, but stay the course and follow Jesus." Jose Barajas