Portrait of Faith

I’ve mentioned before how I’ve been going through the Experiencing Christ Within workbook by Dwight Edwards. I’ve done my fair share of Bible studies, but this one seems so fresh and new. I am learning so much and hope some of what I’m learning is rubbing off.

In week two, I explored the idea that people are not God’s first priority. That God’s main purpose is to show his glory!

Did you get what I just said?

We are here on earth to serve the living God and reveal His glory through our actions. Dwight Edwards says it like this, “Nothing-nothing-matters more to God than the glory of His name. He is ablaze with a perfect, pure jealousy for His reputation.”

In this “What about me?” society we live in, this could be a shock to many. I had to read it a couple of times to fully understand what was being said. How many of us, me included, have been guilty of using God to meet our needs? Even the church and the Christian book stores are guilty of “selling” Christianity as a way to be successful and happy. But Jesus never promised success or happiness. Luke 21:12 says, “…they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.”

According to Dwight, the main point of our spirituality has been forgotten. The Bible is full of examples of God trying to further his glory, not “fix” lives. Sure, he loved, cared for, protected and answered the prayers of his people, but behind every answered prayer was the revealing of His glory.

Dwight says, “So the question isn’t whether God is on our side, responsive to our call, but whether we are genuinely on His side, responsive to His call. It isn’t how God fits into what we’re doing, but how we fit into what God is doing. He is the Creator; we are the creatures…He runs the universe. We fit in.”

So the phrase this week has been “do my actions glorify God?” I’ve used it a couple of times with my kids this week and it’s really stopped them in their tracks. Now I need to start applying it to my parenting. Do my actions with my children glorify God. Well, that’s a whole other post for another day.

I’ve started on a spiritual journey that has me intrigued and excited. Revolution Within and the companion workbook Experience Christ Within by Dwight Edwards is a fresh look at God’s covenant with his people. I’ve only completed the first chapter which was very indepth and time consuming with tons of scripture references to look up, but the good thing is I’m doing this study on my own and there’s no group deadline. So I can take my time to really absorb these principles.

To sum it up I’ll quote from the workbook:

“In the Old Covenant (the law), God’s people were instructed with the repeated words, ‘You shall…’ and ‘You shall not…’

But in the New Covenant, the watchword is no longer ‘You shall,’ but God’s ‘I will’:

‘I will put My law in their minds…and I will be their God…I will forgive their iniquity’; ‘I will cleanse you…I will give you a new heart…I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues.’ (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27)

Nothing is more fundamental to understanding and appreciating the difference between the two covenants than these two phrases.”

Did you get what the scripture is saying? For Choleric Meloncholies like me it has been the beginning of my freeing from doing, striving, trying to be perfect and right. What the new covenant says to me is that I don’t have to strive to be perfect. I can’t be perfect, that’s what the old covenant, the law, has shown us. I can’t do it, so God must! And he did by sending us Jesus.

In the old covenant we are told that obedience is our righteousness.(Deut. 5:28-33; 6:1-9,17-19, 24-25; 8:1-20, 11:8-21) In the new covenant Christ is the end of the law so there might be righteousness for those who believe. (Matthew 5:17-18; Romans 8:3-4, 10:4)

I’m just beginning to grasp the truth of this.

One of the other reasons I’m excited about this study is because it relates to my momlit I’m brainstorming. I’m beginning to realize my character is living under the old law of striving to do what’s right, but she’s failing miserably. She is easily swayed by other people’s advice, yet forgets to turn to God for the answers. She doesn’t trust herself to hear the voice of God, so she resorts to living under the old law.

So even though I will be silent (not online) tomorrow, I’m hoping when I study God’s Word, His truth will come through to me loud and clear!