The Upward Call--A Strenuous, Godly Lifestyle

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(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 11)

"Finally, I will share with you one more insight from the Greek definition for 'run.'  It compels me to run more diligently, and I hope you will find it equally compelling.  This word 'run' is used to compare, figuratively, the public races of Biblical times to a Christian's call to a strenuous, godly life.  This race, this course that has been set for us by God Himself, which allows for the weeding out of sin and encumbrances along the way, is to be the priority of our lives.  We are to become like Christ, and that will never happen if we leave our sin unattended and unchecked.  This race is not intended to be for fun and games, nor for a Christian life of ease.  It is for the prize, upward call of Christ Jesus!  [Those who ran in the Biblical games competed for one reason: to win.  They had no other motive.  They ran strenuously and with reckless abandon!  They removed every obstacle to gaining the prize, and ran, leaving all of themselves on the race track.]

But one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind [our sin] and reaching forward to what lies ahead [our holiness and the active knowledge of God's constant presence with us], I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:13b-14).

You are nearing the end of this book [these particular blogs of excerpts from Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory) , but the journey of the spiritual healing of your heart is just beginning.  Our hearts, tattered and ripped by our sin and our stumbling blocks, are also divided by them.  But we can still run with endurance the race of which every believer is a part:  the race of holiness and Christ-likeness as characterized by our surrender of the sin in our lives and by obedience to Christ, which replaces it.  By enduring the race in this way, our hearts will be sewn up, and we will begin to see God 'unite our hearts to fear His name.'  To have a united heart is the goal.  It is the prize.  Living the upward call is our spiritual healing!  And now it is time to tie on your running shoes!  Ready, set, GO!

INTROSPECTION

1. What are you practically doing to lay aside your 'encumbrances and sin'?  Are you surrendering those places in your heart daily to the Holy Spirit for transformation?
2. What is currently impeding your walk that is not specifically a sin?
3. What sin is satan using to attack you, seemingly from every direction, so that he can prevent you from finishing the race and being a positive influence on other believers?
4. What can you do to make a course correction and run the race well?
5. You have not yet endured like Jesus, to point of death.  But since He has, He is your example.  Are you willing to make 'enduring the journey' your life task?"

(My husband Nevin, the runner, chose this picture from many, because it portraits the struggle at hand, as well as the strength required to accomplish this run.  Wasn't it a great choice?)

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The middle section of Spiritual Healing: The Surrender That Brings Victory is based on a diagram of a broken and divided heart that God had me draw. When filled in with my own personal sin issues, it revealed to me in a very painful way, the truth of my heart.

"After God had me draw [a] very ugly heart, He said to me, 'You have stuff hidden in the creases of your heart.  What has been clearly noticeable as sin, you have let Me work on.  But what remains are these.  They are your sinful attitudes, and they are deeply rooted in your heart.  Each of them is a god of your own making.  You have trusted them in a thousand different moments when you weren't trusting in Me.  Each one must be recognized, confessed, surrendered to Me, and crucified.'

God spoke so plainly to me about what was in my heart, and I knew He definitely wanted me to respond in the way He had described to me.  But the choice would be up to me.  Would I confess it, vowing to turn away from it by my true repentance?  Would I really surrender each sinful part to Him?  Pharaoh hardened his heart ten times.  Would I choose to have a Pharaoh-like attitude that resulted in an unchanged and hardened heart, or would I choose to be Christ-like, surrendering my heart to the will of God so that He could transform it?"

If you would like to read what happened next, the rest of my testimony can be found in Chapter 6 of Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory which can be purchased at www.cherylgnagey.com.

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 22

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Day 22:  Matthew, the Tax Collector (Luke: 5: 27-32)

Jesus had created more than just a little stir in Capernaum.  He taught with great authority, He was casting out evil spirits, and He was healing people of many different diseases.  News about Him spread throughout the city, and soon the whole city was camped outside the home where he was staying.  Knowing it was time to minister in other cities, Jesus and His few followers left Capernaum.  But after awhile, He returned, and it didn’t take very long for the word to get out that He had returned.  Again, the crowds were attracted to the Man with power.  One day so many gathered in the home where He was that people had to be turned away because there just wasn’t enough room.  That was the day that He healed the paralytic who was let down through the roof.

Everyone was talking about Jesus.  Even Matthew, the town’s tax collector, had spent many hours pondering the miracles of Jesus.  Who was this Man who did the impossible?  Could He be sent from God?   But there was no one to answer his questions.  Who could he ask?  He was hated because he took their taxes, and he hadn’t always been honest. 

Then Matthew saw Jesus coming toward him on the way to the seashore with many townspeople following behind Him.  “Are they coming for me?” he nervously thought.  What might this Jesus say to him or do if He passes by?  But his logic reassured him that Jesus likely wouldn’t even notice him amongst all those who were following after Him already.  And surely someone had told Him what a wicked man he’d been.   “No, I have nothing to be anxious about at all.  He probably hates me as much as they do.  He is a righteous man.  What would He have to do with me, a sinner, anyway?” he convinced himself.

To his amazement, Jesus passed by, turned to him and said, “Follow Me!”  Without a second thought, Matthew obeyed, leaving everything behind.

Following Jesus is what we are called to do after we have been saved.  Have you been willing to leave everything of your sin life behind so that you may follow Him toward Christ-likeness?  What have been your most recent victories over sin?  Can Christ be seen in you?

Though we struggle with laying down our sin, our greatest difficulty is rooted in our response to Jesus' simple, yet profound, words to us . . . "Follow Me!"  Who is truly leading your life?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 2

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Day 2:  Abraham's Part of the Covenant (Genesis 17)

At the age of 99, God Almighty, El Shaddai, speaks again to his servant Abram, calling him to “walk before Me, and be blameless.”  God reminded him again of the blessings that would come and even changed his name to Abraham (from “exalted father” to “the father of a multitude.”)  All the blessings that would come from God’s covenant with Abraham were God’s part of the covenant.  But Abraham wasn’t off the hook.  God clearly told him his part in the covenant, “This is My covenant, which YOU SHALL KEEP, between Me and you and your descendants after you:  every male among you shall be circumcised.”

I can’t even begin to imagine Abraham’s initial response to such a command!  Can you?  Yet, he immediately went out from God’s presence and obeyed what the Lord had commanded.  Maybe it was the terms of the consequences of disobedience that catapulted Abraham to such obedient action.  God had precisely told him that any who refused to comply with the covenant agreement would be cut off from his people.  Disobedience would be evidence of a broken covenant, and God takes covenant very seriously!

Abraham understood his relationship with God. He knew his responsibility was to keep his end of the covenant in order to stay in covenant relationship.  It is clear that God has a part for us to do as well.  While Abraham’s part was to circumcise the flesh of the foreskin of every male, our part is to allow God to circumcise the foreskin of our hearts.  God wants to weed out every sin that still lies in our hearts, every wrong motive, every wicked word of our tongue, with the goal being Christ-likeness.  Our circumcised hearts are a sign to God that we are living obedient, surrendered lives.  This is our part of the covenant.

Another way to look at the circumcision of our hearts is to return to God’s words to Abraham:  “Walk before Me, and be blameless.”  These words He still loudly speaks to us today.  God is calling us to personal holiness (“Be holy, for I am holy”), to sanctification.  This includes walking in the Spirit, growing into mature Christians, dying to our fleshly disobedience, and living a life of integrity.  Are you as willing to obey God’s command as Abraham was?  Are you today?  Consider your answer, and talk to God about it.  Remember, God takes covenant seriously.  So should we!