God is not sloppy nor wishy-washy. God is not a slacker with low standards. God is not…
lackadaisical, namby-pamby, banal, bland,
inane, milk-and-water, vapid, milk-toast,
enervated, languid, listless, spiritless
neither one thing nor the other
(-Babylon)
God is very sure of Himself! After all – who else is there like He? He is the One and Only. Who are we, puny little mud-men of clay — to contradict the Potter of the Universe?
See references to puny mud-man in these articles:
Puny humans, The Damning God, Be a little more Christian, What God did for man, Why Pray, Limited Thinking, Vile To Jesus, “I give them eternal life”, and Following Someone.
So when it comes to your salvation by God, there is no wiggle room. No half-way measures. Don’t get it wrong! Don’t try your own thing. Don’t “add God” to your laundry list of things to do.
There is no room at all – for error – when it comes to being right with God. You are either all in, or you are all out. Are you sure you’re in? Damn sure?
If you are not “all in”, what else is more important? If you are only partly into this “Christian thing”, then where is the rest of you?
You really think that the God who made you, THE God of the Universe, is going to accept part of you, a halfhearted commitment to Him? No way. A halfhearted plea is not what God is listening for. A heart-felt guiltiness and sadness because of your sin — is not repentance. Raising your hand to say yes to Jesus — is totally useless without acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God come to earth in the flesh, genuinely turning away from sin (“repentance”), and truly following Him.
God has communicated to us very clearly what He expects from us sinners. What He expects from us is shown to us all over the Bible. Take a look. Does this describe your heart, your soul, your mind, your will…? AMP version:
Matthew 22:37
And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
Mark 12:30
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’
Luke 10:27
And he replied, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”
Acts 8:37
Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Romans 6:17
But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.
This matter of “being saved”, “born again”, “accepting Christ as your personal Savior”, “following Jesus”… is a very, very, nothing airy thing. It is solid. Jesus said He was the only way. And Jesus said “you MUST be born again”. Nothing else will get you to heaven. Your commitment has to be solid — in God’s eyes. Jesus has to be first, #1 in your life. You must actually be following Him.
Is this you? Do you “…Fear God [with awe and reverence], and give Him glory [and honor and praise in worship]… [with all your heart] worship Him who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7 AMP version).
After God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to die as a man on your behalf… do you think He will tolerate a life lived “ho-hum” for Him? What are you thinking! Are you just “trying Jesus”, liking Him, or have you given Him your all: all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.
Is there anything more important to you – than Jesus? Is there anything you would not give up — to follow Jesus?
FOR MORE:
Practicing Sin – Not Following Christ
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